Good morning,
These are the top stories:
A Senate committee will launch an inquiry into the failed prosecution of Mark Norman
The national defence committee voted in favour of a Conservative senator’s motion to probe the circumstances that led to the suspension and breach-of-trust charge against the vice-admiral. The Crown stayed the charge last month, and Norman recently spoke with the Chief of the Defence Staff about returning to the post as second-in-command of the Canadian Forces. (for subscribers)
Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais said his motion, which came after the Liberals blocked a Tory effort for a House of Commons-led investigation, is aimed at giving Norman a chance to tell his side of the story.
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Thunder Bay’s police board is in turmoil
Mayor Bill Mauro is facing calls to resign from the oversight body just days after another member was removed, the latest development in the aftermath of reports detailing systemic racism against Indigenous people in Thunder Bay.
The push to remove Mauro from the police board stems in large part from what critics say is his reluctance to acknowledge the extent of the racism. Earlier this month, Mauro said reports detailing the mistreatment of First Nations residents drive him “insane” and argued that “we all have the same problems, pretty much.”
Late last week, lawyer John Cyr was pulled from the board days after his swearing-in over a 2017 letter he wrote to the local paper where he defended Senator Lynn Beyak, who has been accused of racism for saying some good came out of residential schools.
B.C.’s latest target in its money-laundering crackdown? Postsecondary schools
The province has instructed colleges, universities and private language and career institutions to stop accepting large cash payments for tuition or other fees. The B.C. government will audit cash rules at almost 350 schools; it’s also exploring whether to extend the ban to private elementary schools and high schools. (for subscribers)
It’s not clear how widespread the issue is, though a recent report on money laundering included public input on how some international students sign up for programs in cash, cancel before classes begin and get a refund cheque.
Chrystia Freeland says two Canadians detained in China are facing ‘very difficult’ conditions
The Foreign Affairs Minister says she wants to speak with her counterpart in Beijing to resolve the diplomatic standoff but acknowledged that “the Chinese practice tends to be to hold off” on high-level talks.
A senior government official told The Globe that Freeland requested a call with China’s foreign minister immediately after Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in December, to no avail. On the same day, Freeland also called Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to Canada. Last week, Lu said Canada must free Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou – who is currently out on bail – in order to unfreeze relations.
Our editorial board offers this take: “By its cruel actions [against Uyghurs] in Xinjiang province and its blatantly political arrest of Spavor and Kovrig, China has done what Lu warned Canada not to do: aggravate differences to the breaking point. The ambassador and the Communist Party he represents might want to listen to their own speeches.”
Andrew Scheer says there’s ‘no room’ for intolerance, racism and extremism in his party
The Conservative Leader used a speech on immigration to respond to Liberal criticism that the Tories are anti-immigrant, saying: “I find the notion that one’s race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation would make anyone in any way superior or inferior to anyone else absolutely repugnant. And if there’s anyone who disagrees with that, there’s the door. You are not welcome here.” (for subscribers)
On immigration, Scheer said his party would help reunite genocide survivors and improve language training for newcomers. He also took aim at the Liberals’ handling of the asylum-seeker file while steering clear of saying how many immigrants Canada would welcome under his leadership.
Here’s Campbell Clark’s view: “Andrew Scheer’s big immigration-policy speech was not about immigration policy, but about telling the country that he’s not a bigot. That section of the speech, laying out the Conservative Leader’s personal commitment to diversity and equality, and telling racists they have no place in his party, was personal, and it was important. Good thing, too. The parts about immigration policy were a bust.”
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Facebook execs Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg were no-shows at a meeting in Ottawa on data privacy that saw global leaders grill representatives from big tech platforms. MPs responded by issuing a summons that will require the pair to appear before the committee the next time they set foot in Canada. If they decline, they will be held in contempt of Parliament. (for subscribers)
A major Canadian pension fund manager terminated four executives after a misconduct investigation into alleged conflicts of interest and, in one case, links to organized crime. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec said it made the decision after an independent probe confirmed “serious” ethical breaches linked to personal activities of four employees, including the CEO of its commercial real estate division. (for subscribers)
Malaysia is vowing to send plastic waste back to Canada and elsewhere as the country responds to an influx of shipments after China’s ban last year. The Globe has reported on how Canada’s recycling industry is in crisis, with nowhere to send plastics and other waste that are very hard if not impossible to recycle.
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks slide
With no sign Sino-U.S. trade tensions will let up and fears of an Italy-European Union confrontation growing again, the global bond rally accelerated on Wednesday, as investors dumped shares and scurried for the safety of German and U.S. government debt. Tokyo’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Send were down 1.2 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively while the Shanghai Composite was flat. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 1.3 and 1.7 per cent at about 6 a.m. ET. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was at 74.01 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
We can no longer ignore our long-term-care crisis
André Picard: “Bedlam. That is the perfect descriptor of the state of long-term care in Canada today. The bulge of aging baby boomers, combined with head-in-the-sand planning and a lack of investment in care homes has resulted in mind-boggling wait lists, crumbling infrastructure and catastrophic staffing shortages. And it’s only going to get worse.” (for subscribers)
The diehard Raptors fan who embodies the best of Toronto (it’s not Drake)
(Rob Carr/Getty Images)Rob Carr/Getty Images
Muhammad Lila: “Nav Bhatia is always there, always cheering, his big grin treating every possession like it’s a game-winning shot. Sports can be a great equalizer. When you’re an immigrant, nothing feels more validating than waving a flag while cheering on your team. Nav could’ve just showed up and called it a day. Instead, he now spends $300,000 on tickets for kids – mostly from brown, immigrant families – to come to Raptors games. He does it to show them they belong.” Muhammad Lila is a journalist from Toronto. He hopes the Raps will win in 6.
Jason Kenney is not really the carbon-tax killer he claims to be
Trevor Tombe: “Alberta will continue to levy a carbon tax on more emissions than any other province: specifically, a $30-per-tonne charge on nearly 140 million tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions from the province’s largest emitters, including oil-sands projects, power generators, petrochemical facilities and more. … In short, a carbon tax remains central to Alberta’s climate policy, even under the UCP. In a political environment lacking in nuance and rife with partisanship and hyperbolic rhetoric, this fact deserves attention.” Trevor Tombe is an associate professor of economics at the University of Calgary and research fellow at the School of Public Policy.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Air Canada’s takeover of Air Transat could wreck your next European vacation
Right now, Air Transat offers flights to scores of European destinations, including less popular cities like Marseille, Nice, Barcelona and Lisbon. But as Konrad Yakabuski writes, Air Canada – which is in talks to buy Transat for $520-million – could cut back or eliminate some routes entirely in order to push up fares and enhance its margins. (for subscribers)
MOMENT IN TIME
Queen Victoria and Russia’s future czar dance the night away
(Alamay; Karl Bogdanovich Wenig/Royal Collection Trust)The Globe and Mail
May 29, 1839: It was a flirtatious encounter that nearly kicked imperial history off its course. Alexander II, the 21-year-old future czar of Russia, was on a European tour, looking for a bride. Queen Victoria was 20 years old, two years into her reign and under pressure to marry. They met in London and hit it off, attending dinners together, taking in the opera and dancing into the wee hours. Victoria gushed about Alexander in her diary entry for May 29, 1839: “I felt so sad to take leave of this dear amiable young man, whom I really think (talking jokingly) I was a little in love with, and certainly attached to; he is so frank, so really young and merry, has such a nice open countenance, with a sweet smile, and such a manly fine figure and appearance.” Dispatches to Russia said that if a proposal were made, Victoria would accept. But the czarevich’s father, Nicholas I, hit the roof. His heir was destined to rule in Russia, not serve as consort in England. So Alexander reluctantly left London after giving Victoria kisses on the cheek and a dog named Kazbek. Within two years, they were both married to Germans. – Joy Yokoyama
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