Morning Update: U.S. drug maker in talks to expand Winnipeg vaccine plant

Good morning,

Ottawa is planning with a U.S. pharmaceutical giant to finance the expansion of its Winnipeg plant, which already has the technology to do the final stages of production for several types of vaccines. That includes the highly sought-after mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the federal government plans to help Emergent BioSolutions expand its production capacity so that it can attract some major COVID-19 vaccine players that Canada has contracts with. Even though this won’t have an impact on the current vaccination rollout in Canada, it could bring more reliability to future vaccination campaigns.

Also read: Ontario labour ministry investigating Amazon warehouse in Brampton following shutdown

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Some other (lighter) COVID stories:

• Injections of hope: B.C. health workers share stories of the first few months of the vaccine rollout
• Opinion: The case for optimism, a year into the plague
• Silver linings: Five art projects born out of the pandemic
• In photos: A journal of the pandemic’s isolating year

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World: Amid pressure from China, Taiwan stands firm

Chinese officials gathered last week for annual political meetings that have renewed Beijing’s threats to take over Taiwan by force. But despite China’s power, there is value in shaming Beijing, one of Taiwan’s most senior political figures says.

Frank Hsieh is a co-founder and former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is currently in power in Taiwan. He calls on democracies to come together.

“The unity of democratic countries must be preserved – not only for the sake of Taiwan, but also for themselves,” he said.

• Elsewhere in the world: Canada commits nearly $30-million in assistance for Colombia as country grapples with waves of migrants and internal conflict

Energy: Canada bets on hydrogen

On Tuesday, Canada will sign a new agreement with Germany to work together on the clean-energy transition, including developing policies and regulations, and integrating large shares of renewables into electricity systems.

It’s our play in an increasingly heated global race to produce and sell hydrogen, courtesy of interest from one of the world’s largest emerging markets for the alternative fuel source. But even as it expresses that sort of enthusiasm, Germany may also call into question the nature of Canada’s strategy to develop its hydrogen industry.

• Alternate opinion: The myth of the green hydrogen revolution

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

London police chief rejects calls to resign over clashes at Sarah Everard vigil: Public anger in Britain builds over the force’s handling of a murder investigation that involves a fellow officer. Tensions escalated during the weekend when hundreds of people defied COVID-19 restrictions and gathered in a London park Saturday night in a vigil for the victim, Sarah Everard.

Office probing human rights abuses by Canadian companies abroad to begin investigating complaints: As of March 15, Sheri Meyerhoffer, the federal government’s first Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, will start accepting complaints.

What went wrong at WE Charity’s sprawling Arizona ranch: The Windsong Peace and Leadership Centre sheds new light on how WE’s rapid expansion led to financial pressure and, at times, haphazard disclosure.

How can Canadian athletes aim for gold at Games compromised by COVID-19? Under usual circumstances, Canada would aim to improve its medal count from the previous Games, but setting a performance benchmark for Tokyo isn’t that simple.

Sex workers say their voice is needed at Commons committee studying Pornhub: Some worry that a parliamentary committee in Ottawa studying the porn industry could make it more difficult or impossible for them to keep working.

MORNING MARKETS

World shares inched higher while U.S. bond yields hovered near a 13-month peak on Monday on bets economic growth would accelerate even though investors became wary of the Federal Reserve and other key central bank meetings in the days ahead. European shares rose 0.7 per cent in morning trading following gains in Japan, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.2 per cent, just below a record high level touched last week. The Canadian dollar was trading at 80.32 US cents.

Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes beat-up tech stocks, ‘phantom’ ETF distributions and the cryptocurrency craze.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Fox News is now doing really well in the ratings, by attacking women

John Doyle: “There’s a distinct pattern to Tucker Carlson’s recent rants and obsession. It suggests he is really mad at one woman and venting anger by attacking all women.”

For Indigenous people, the urban-Northern divide has produced a tale of two vaccination efforts

Tanya Talaga: “But it has been staggering to see the stark difference between the carefully planned, vaccination rollout that took place there and what is happening on the streets of cities such as Toronto and Thunder Bay, which are proving to be ground zero of the dreaded third wave of the pandemic.”

The great generational wealth transfer is under way

Gary Mason: “Boomers are much more savvy and much less inclined to wait until they are gone, when their wealth can be taxed by the government.”

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

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LIVING BETTER

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Healthy habits are important – especially for older adults

Today, regular physical activity is universally recognized as a pillar of preventative medicine. Even so, four out of five Canadians are still not spending the recommended minimum 150 minutes per week engaged in physical activity.

This was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As fitness and health experts, we are concerned that prolonged lockdowns and restrictions during the pandemic have reduced physical activity levels even further.

MOMENT IN TIME: Photo Archive

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Shipbuilding in Collingwood

For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography for The Globe and Mail. Every Monday The Globe features one of these images. This month marks the centenary of the launch of the Bluenose, so we’re exploring shipbuilding in Canada.

For a hundred years, you couldn’t miss the growing giant steel hulks as you looked north on Collingwood’s Hurontario Street toward the water. More than 200 vessels were built at the Ontario town’s shipyards, nestled on the southern part of Georgian Bay, and every year at least one new ship would dominate the streetscape. Collingwood specialized in side-launch vessels, in which a new hull would slide from the dry dock into a channel. In 1945, Canada Steamship Lines bought Collingwood Shipyards and began churning out lake freighters. The bulk carriers were the workhorses of the Great Lakes, hauling everything from coal and iron ore, to wheat and cement. The last vessel completed before the shipyard closed in 1986 was the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier. It’s still in service, based in Victoria. 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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