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France has re-elected its centrist President Emmanuel Macron with a comfortable margin after a closely fought campaign, handing a major defeat to the far-right populist Marine Le Pen, and reaffirming the country’s place in NATO and the European Union for the next five years.
The result bolsters European unity and the Western military alliance at a time when they are being tested by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writes The Globe’s Eric Andrew-Gee. A long-time defender of Vladimir Putin’s regime, Le Pen vowed to reduce France’s role in NATO and the EU if elected, while Macron has been a key diplomatic player in talks with Russia and the arming of Ukrainian forces.
In a concession speech, Le Pen hailed her result as a “smashing victory,” as she came closer to power than her party ever has before. The race revealed a growing mainstream acceptance of Le Pen’s brand of extreme nationalism.
- Konrad Yakabuski: Le Pen’s showing testifies to deepening divisions in France, which risks making Macron’s second term a rocky one
France's centrist incumbent president Emmanuel Macron beats his far-right rival Marine Le Pen for a second five-year term as president on April 24, 2022, in Paris.JEFF J MITCHELL/Getty Images
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RCMP considered whether to charge Justin Trudeau over Aga Khan trip, documents show
The RCMP considered charging Justin Trudeau with fraud over a family vacation at the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas, but decided against doing so because it was unclear if the Prime Minister had the authority to approve the all-expenses-paid gift for himself.
RCMP documents from 2019, recently released in response to an access-to-information request, outline the force’s investigation into the Trudeau family’s Christmas vacation in 2016 at the Ismaili Muslim leader’s luxurious retreat. The documents reveal the Mounties looked at whether they could charge Trudeau with breach of trust or fraud based on the findings in a report from the federal Ethics Commissioner, report The Globe’s Robert Fife and Joy SpearChief-Morris.
The December, 2017, report, issued by former ethics commissioner Mary Dawson, concluded that Trudeau had violated four sections of the Conflict of Interest Act by accepting the vacation, because there was official business between the federal government and the Aga Khan.
Ukrainian refugees mark Orthodox Easter with a cry for peace amid devastating toll of war
They came by the hundreds to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary church in Warsaw on Sunday, carrying their small baskets of coloured eggs and offering their prayers for Ukraine, a country most of them fled because of the war.
So many Ukrainian refugees showed up to the Orthodox church’s early morning Easter mass that they packed the sanctuary, filled a nearby garden and lined the sidewalk for several blocks in both directions, writes The Globe’s Europe correspondent, Paul Waldie.
Orthodox Easter is a supposed to be celebration of renewal, hope and everything that keeps families together. Those messages took on new meaning this year as the war entered its third month.
More coverage:
- Zelensky meets with top U.S. officials in first high-level visit since Russia’s invasion
- Hungarians in Ukraine say Russia’s invasion has brought new suspicions of their community
- Russians opposed to the war seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border
Who failed Traevon? A Cree teen’s death in an Indigenous agency’s group home points to a ‘broken’ system
When Traevon Desjarlais-Chalifoux arrived at the group home in Abbotsford, B.C., he was a boy in crisis. The 17-year-old was shattered by news that his uncle – who was more like a father – had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
He’d been assigned a bedroom in the basement of the faded ranch-style house, a staircase away from Jamie, an Anishinaabe boy one year his senior, reports Nancy Macdonald. Xyolhemeylh, the Indigenous child welfare agency tasked with caring for the boys, told Jamie that its staff would help him turn his life around after years of horrific abuse at the hands of his dad.
But the agency failed both boys. Jamie left the home a few months after Traevon arrived in January, 2020. Traevon never made it out.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Unvaccinated disproportionately risk safety of vaccinated people, study shows: People who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 contribute disproportionately to the risk of infection among those who have been vaccinated, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Fiscal watchdog raises concern about unexplained military spending in budget: Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux is raising concerns about nearly $15-billion of unexplained military spending buried in the 2022 federal budget – money in excess of what’s outlined in the Department of National Defence’s spending plan released earlier this year.
Federal Court asked to review decision that cleared judge accused of bias without disciplinary hearing: Muslim and Arab-Canadian groups are asking a court on Monday to review a decision that cleared a Jewish judge accused of anti-Palestinian bias without a disciplinary hearing, when his own court would not allow him to hear cases involving Muslim litigants or lawyers.
Consumer groups join opposition to Flair Airlines’ request for 18 months to address its foreign-control issue: Flair Airlines faces opposition from powerful consumer groups as it seeks an 18-month exemption from limits on foreign control of Canadian air carriers. The two groups say the government should impose strict rules to protect customers if it’s allowed more time to resolve possible violations.
Listen to The Decibel: Welcome to the age of private space travel: For a cool US$50-million, which Canadian businessman and philanthropist Mark Pathy paid, you could buy a ticket to visit the International Space Station. That’s what the 10-day trip with Axiom Space cost Pathy, who spoke with The Globe’s science reporter while he was floating around the station.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks tumble: Traders ditched riskier assets on Monday as relief over Emmanuel Macron’s French presidential election win quickly gave way to renewed concerns about the global economy and the impact on it of rising interest rates. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 2.34 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were off 1.95 per cent and 2.31 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.90 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 3.73 per cent. New York futures were negative. The Canadian dollar was trading at 78.53 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The climate fight is getting harder. Can Mark Carney keep his green finance push on track?
“Even before Russia’s aggression led to oil and gas price spikes, the global energy supply situation was tight, and the push for green energy was being criticized in some quarters as insufficient to meet needs, especially in Europe. Mr. Carney and others had spent no small amount of time explaining that draining the economic system of carbon would be gradual, difficult and expensive. That’s more than evident today.” - Jeffrey Jones
Canadian politicians are remarkably adept at sending cheques to voters. But governing is mostly not that
“If Ontario could manage a booster campaign with the same alacrity with which it is distributing car registration rebate cheques this spring, there wouldn’t be a person in the province who hadn’t had three shots. And if Ottawa could procure payroll software with the same determination and skill it displayed in quickly delivering pandemic support cheques, the Phoenix pay system might not be the embarrassment it is today.” - Editorial
Two wise men from Lviv gave us the legal foundation to prosecute Putin for war crimes
“If there ever was a time and place to invoke this fundamental assertion arising from the work of Lauterpacht and Lemkin, it is in present-day Ukraine. As Mr. Putin continues to condone the massacre of civilians, the international community can look to the rules-based limitation on the uncontrolled exercise of his power provided to us by two Ukrainian-born legal scholars and activists.” - Lloyd Axworthy
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
The secret to well-being could be a walk in the woods
From Baja, Calif., to Nagano, Japan, people are signing up to become forest therapy guides and mentors. Parks are creating self-guided forest therapy trails, while high-end spas and remote wilderness retreats are now offering forest bathing sessions to soak up the lush environment.
The modern concept and experience of forest therapy can be traced to 1980s Japan, where the practice of shinrin yoku, which translates to “forest bathing,” became part of its national health program as a way to foster a greater connection with nature and as a means to manage stress.
Its premise is simple: Go to the woods, breathe deeply and tune into your senses. Its appeal lies in its simplicity, writes Gayle Macdonald.
MOMENT IN TIME: Ukrainians in Canada, 1984
Teacher Randy Hawryluk leads recital of nursery rhymes in Ukrainian at Gilbert Plans Elementary School, Gilbert Plains, Man., March 12, 1984.Richard Cleroux/The Globe and Mail
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo editors working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe will feature one of these images. This month, it’s Ukrainians in Canada.
In 1916, the province of Manitoba abolished Ukrainian education and about 120 Ukrainian schools closed as a result. The law wasn’t rescinded until 1979. In Richard Cleroux’s Globe and Mail photo above, from March of 1984, Gilbert Plains Elementary School teacher Randy Hawryluk leads recitals of nursery rhymes and poems in Ukrainian, with a class dressed in traditional costumes. Proud parents wanted to show off what their children had learned after the local school board approved Ukrainian-English teaching for the farming community west of Dauphin the previous year. However, the ambitious program was cancelled the next fall. But heritage can’t be wiped out by fiat. Today, six Manitoba school divisions offer bilingual English-Ukrainian programming: Winnipeg, River East Transcona, Sunrise, Seven Oaks, Lord Selkirk and Mountain View. Philip King
Subscribers and registered users of globeandmail.com can dig deeper into our News Photo Archive at tgam.ca/newsphotoarchive
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