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The RCMP has reversed a decision to let go more than a dozen Ukrainian nationals who were working on a police training mission in Kyiv that has now been suspended, a move that would have left them without any income as Russia continues its assault on the capital.
All 18 Ukrainians employed by the Canadian Police Mission in Ukraine (CPMU) will have their contracts renewed and are being notified of the new decision, the RCMP said in a statement late Thursday.
The change came after The Globe and Mail reported that the RCMP sent termination letters on Wednesday to Ukrainian translators, drivers, administrative staff and analysts.
More coverage:
- Hundreds of the children fleeing Ukraine are unaccompanied, raising fears that some could be abused or exploited
- Ukrainians fleeing conflict can stay in Canada for three years
- Rescuers search for survivors at theatre in Mariupol hit by Russian air strikes
- Burger King parent company to pull out of Russia after franchisee refused request to close restaurants
- Ballet icon and Soviet defector Mikhail Baryshnikov calls Putin’s invasion of Ukraine ‘unconscionable’
- Opinion: The West is allowing Vladimir Putin to ‘escalate’ his way to victory
A mother and son are among the Ukrainian refugees who crossed into Slovakia via the Vysne Nemecke border crossing.Dorota Holubová/The Globe and Mail
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Nova Scotia gunman’s spouse describes to police how her partner unravelled ahead of mass killings
For five weeks before the mass shooting that terrorized rural Nova Scotia, the gunman spent much of his time unwilling to get out of bed, obsessing over Donald Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic, his common-law wife told the RCMP.
Lisa Banfield, in three transcripts of police interviews released through a public inquiry into the horrific attack, described how Gabriel Wortman descended into a depressive state as the first public health lockdown hit Nova Scotia in March, 2020. After closing his denture clinic and retreating to their cottage in Portapique, N.S., she told police how her spouse no longer had any interest in sex.
Instead, a man she described as a workaholic became unmotivated to do anything. The night his attack began, he told her he wanted his life to end.
Ontario rejects Toronto school board’s request to keep mask mandate
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has denied the Toronto District School Board’s request to maintain a mask mandate when students return to classrooms next week.
In a letter to the board’s chair on Thursday, Kieran Moore wrote that many of the public-health measures, including masks, can be gradually removed with “the peak of Omicron behind us.”
Alexander Brown, chair of the TDSB, said in an interview on Thursday that he wasn’t surprised by Dr. Moore’s letter, given it was consistent with comments made recently.
More COVID-19 coverage:
- Ontario COVID-19 modelling projects moderate rise in infections, hospitalizations after mask mandate lifts
- Many small businesses choose to keep masks, despite mandates ending
- Deloitte reverses COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but remains one of few large employers to do so
- WHO may reject Canadian-made Medicago COVID-19 vaccine because of ties to Big Tobacco
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
BBC apologizes to former Princess Diana aide over interview deceit: Britain’s national broadcaster said it apologized and paid a “substantial” sum to Princess Diana’s private secretary, Patrick Jephson, over subterfuge used to get an explosive television interview with the late royal in 1995.
Why the price of seemingly everything is on the rise: Two years into the pandemic, Canadian households are increasingly finding it difficult to avoid steep inflation – and it’s only likely to get worse as the Russia-Ukraine war hampers the supply of key commodities. Here, The Globe looks at why five products are becoming more expensive.
- Decoder: Why rising inflation in Canada could lead to a wave of strikes and lockouts
Unifor tells staff it may not release investigation findings on retired head: At an internal meeting, Unifor’s leadership team told staff on Thursday that they were still debating whether to make public the findings of a report into the conduct of former president Jerry Dias, according to multiple sources who were present at the meeting. Dias is being investigated for alleging breaching the union’s constitution.
Listen to The Decibel: Putting a name to the hidden pattern behind domestic abuse: Every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by an intimate partner, and yet it’s rare to have discussions about intimate partner violence (IPV). The Globe’s Elizabeth Renzetti talks about the stigma surrounding IPV and how to recognize coercive control.
MORNING MARKETS
Global stocks cling to weekly gains: Global stocks clung to their gains for the week on Friday but a cocktail of rising interest rates, high oil prices and no end to war in Ukraine kept a lid on the rebound as yields sent a warning signal for the economy. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.33 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.69 per cent and 0.76 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.65 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.41 per cent. New York futures were weaker. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.25 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The West is allowing Vladimir Putin to ‘escalate’ his way to victory
“Economic sanctions and censure? Sure. UN investigations of abuses? Yes. Direct military engagement? Firm no. The unintended effect on Mr. Putin was to signal our collective unwillingness to engage in certain activities, while reinforcing his freedom to escalate. He is now inclined to continuously ratchet up the type and range of Russia’s military activities.” – Alex Wilner
How Canada’s political parties can get more Black candidates elected
“Intentionally creating a culture centred on inclusivity – from having diverse staff, to justice, diversity, equity and inclusion training and policies – is critical for parties to not only attract but retain top political talent from Black and equity-seeking communities.” – Petros Kusmu
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Stretching has legitimate benefits – they’re just not the ones you assume
From teaching body awareness to helping with recovery, stretching has its benefits, writes personal trainer Paul Landini. He shares two stretches he swears by.
MOMENT IN TIME: March 18, 1662
Paris’s carrosses à cinq sols begin operating
French public carriages - from illustration by Eugène Courboin, c. 1912.Culture Club/Getty Images
Mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal is probably most famous for his “wager” on how to live not knowing whether there is a god. But city-dwelling straphangers might want to remember him for helping invent the world’s first modern transit service. Carriages dubbed Les carrosses à cinq sols, for their cheap fare, began operating in Paris on this day in 1662. It’s remarkable how many of their features continue to be used by transit agencies today. There were fixed routes and schedules, with vehicles on the first line departing every 7½ minutes – better than many bus systems now – even if empty. Carriages were branded and carried uniformed employees. Three of the five routes began at the Luxembourg Palace, making it a terminal of sorts. There was even a version of fare-by-distance on a longer circle route. The system was initially popular. But soon there was backlash about vicious punishment meted out to anyone deemed to have interfered with the vehicles. And a fare increase – never popular among transit riders – pushed the price from five to six sols. Profitability declined, the franchise was sold and the service faded into history. Oliver Moore
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