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Leaked Pentagon documents show that hackers working with Russia’s spy agency claimed to have disrupted operations at a Canadian natural-gas pipeline company, inflicting costly damage on its infrastructure. The pro-Russian hacking group, known as Zarya., said it has the capacity “to increase valve pressure, disable alarms, and initiate an emergency shutdown of an unspecified gas distribution station” in Canada, the documents said.
The Globe and Mail has been unable to independently verify the allegations in the U.S. intelligence documents. There is no evidence to date that a natural-gas pipeline company in Canada suffered such an attack, which the Pentagon documents suggest occurred earlier this year
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Canada’s watchdog for corporate wrongdoing abroad slow and bureaucratic, complainants say
The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise – known as the CORE – is a watchdog set up by the federal government to probe corporate wrongdoing abroad. But the work it is doing is ineffective and has created a process bogged down in bureaucracy, say two of the groups whose complaints sparked the office’s first active cases last year.
The complaints alleged that 12 companies in the clothing industry in Canada sold products made with forced labour in China, and that two mining companies also in China had operations linked with forced labour. In response to The Globe and Mail’s questions about the complaints, the CORE said it is “unable to directly comment on individual cases” because of confidentiality reasons. The CORE has also made no one available for interviews after requests over several months.
- Also read: Canada’s watchdog for corporate abuses abroad struggles to act, leaving devastated communities behind
Bank of Canada expected to hold interest rates steady
The BoC is expected to remain in a holding pattern on interest rates Wednesday, weighing the resilience of the Canadian economy against stress in the global banking system. The bank has kept it’s lending rate stable at 4.5 per cent since early March after eight consecutive increases.
The Canadian economy is holding up better than expected in early 2023, but banking-sector turmoil in America and Europe has raised concerns about financial stability. Governor Tiff Macklem has said the decision to pause rate hikes is “conditional,” and that the bank may move again if it sees an “accumulation of evidence” that inflation is not subsiding.
- Opinion: Sifting through the discouragingly strong job numbers for signs of upbeat weakness
Some Quebeckers and Ontarians still stuck in the cold after storm
Without power for much of the past four days, people in parts of Quebec and Ontario turned to each other for warmth and assistance after an ice storm left hundreds of thousands in the cold.
Hydro-Québec continued the process Sunday of restoring power in the wake of last week’s ice storm, but said some customers may not be back online until Tuesday. At least three people died in the two provinces in the aftermath of the storm. About 85,000 Hydro-Québec customers were still without power on Sunday afternoon, down from a peak of more than 1.1 million on Thursday morning. Most of the remaining households were in Montreal.
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Also on our radar
Canadian resources: Teck Resources chief executive Jonathan Price says Glencore’s proposed takeover is a structurally flawed deal that will end up destroying value for Teck’s shareholders, and called it “a complete non-starter.”
National Gallery of Canada: Consulting companies had profound influence on the gallery’s reimagining, intended to make the institution, its collection and its staff more diverse and inclusive, documents released through access-to-information requests reveal.
Back to the office: Companies turn to perks such as baristas, free food and socializing to lure employees to return in person as Canadian firms continue to see resistance from workers who wish to stay home.
Mideast conflict: Israeli warplanes and artillery struck targets in Syria after rare rocket fire from the northeastern neighbour, as Jewish-Muslim tensions reached a peak Sunday.
China-Taiwan: China’s military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan in a second day of drills around the island, with Taiwan’s defence ministry reporting multiple air force sorties and that it was monitoring Beijing’s missile forces.
War in Ukraine: Attacks continue with missile, rocket and artillery fire, Ukrainian officials reported Sunday, as Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby used their Easter messages to highlight the war and other conflicts around the world.
Morning markets
Wall Street futures muted: U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Monday, as traders returned from Easter break to growing risks that the Federal Reserve will continue to hike interest rates after Friday’s jobs data highlighted a still-strong labour market. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.42 per cent. Markets in Europe and Hong Kong were closed. The Canadian dollar was higher at 74.13 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
It sounds good, but tougher bail laws and more cops won’t improve public safety
“We are obviously not advocating for dispensing with police or bail laws. Both play an essential role in ensuring our safety. Rather, they need to be reconceptualized within a wider context that prioritizes prevention rather than reaction.” - Kent Roach and Cheryl Webster
Quebec’s top language cop targets franglais
“The question is whether young Quebeckers are contributing to the degradation of French or contributing to its modernization and enrichment – and, hence, survival. Or both.” - Konrad Yakabuski
This Easter, we would do well to remember what the Bible really teaches
“Jesus didn’t come to Earth for our complacency, but instead for our religious, emotional, and even political radicalism.” -Michael Coren
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by David Parkins, published on April 10, 2023.David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
Living better
A beginner’s guide to a zero-waste kitchen
Skyrocketing grocery prices, an increased desire to be self-sufficient and a deeper understanding of the environmental impact of the food we eat – and discard – has helped drive a collective shift toward using what we have. As with so many things in life, the first step to reducing food waste is paying attention to what we have, and what can be done with it before it’s too late. Julie Van Rosendaal offers some tips to extend the useful life of your food and prevent it from reaching the tipping point that takes it from edible to compostable.
- Also read: Alison Roman on unfussy food, her love of maple syrup and bouncing back after being ‘cancelled’
Archive Monday: Tattoos as acts of remembrance
Erin Aleck, a wellness counsellor with Nlaka'pamux Nation Health Services, works on a beading project in her temporary office in Skuppah First Nation, June 8, 2022.Melissa Tait/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 news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re looking at tattoos in Canada.
Sometimes people get tattoos to remember loved ones. Other times, the ink recognizes a life-changing event, and is far more profound than just “mom.” In the photo above, from Globe and Mail photographer Melissa Tait last June, Erin Aleck shows her tattoo that commemorates the horrific 2021 wildfire in Lytton, B.C. Ms. Aleck, a member of the Lytton First Nation, narrowly escaped with her wife and dog before the fire destroyed her rental home in the B.C. interior community, where 32,000 people were evacuated and two died. Ms. Aleck’s tattoo signifies the survival from the flames and floods that followed, and helps her deal with her continuing grief. Tattoos are often worn as a permanent, therapeutic reminder of significant events, part of a healing ritual that helps people cope with sadness or loss. They offer huge mental-health benefits, too, as they provide a sense of control over something that was otherwise uncontrollable. - Philip King
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