Good morning,
A specialized unit within Global Affairs Canada sends diplomats overseas to report on security matters without rigorous oversight, adequate training or safeguards to protect their sources in authoritarian countries, according to a national-security watchdog report released yesterday.
The report from the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency found instances where the activities of some Global Security Reporting Program officers strayed into covert collection of intelligence. The unit is linked to the detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.
The GSRP has come under the spotlight after The Globe and Mail reported that Spavor is seeking a multimillion-dollar settlement from Ottawa, alleging information he unwittingly passed on to Kovrig, a GSRP officer, was turned over to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and spy services from the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Michael Spavor, centre left, and Michael Kovrig, centre right, receive a standing ovation in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Friday, March 24, 2023.Adrian Wyld/CP
This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 other Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
Alberta government wanted no mention of ‘influenza’ or ‘COVID′ in fall vaccine campaign
The Alberta government directed the provincial health authority to remove the words “influenza” and “COVID” from advertisements for the province’s fall immunization campaign, and to limit information on vaccine benefits and efficacy, internal government documents show.
The documents, obtained through an access to information request, consist of dozens of pages of communications between officials at Alberta Health, the government ministry, and Alberta Health Services, the provincial health authority.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith won the leadership of the United Conservative Party last year largely because of her fierce opposition to Alberta’s pandemic public-health restrictions. She has voiced skepticism of vaccines, promoted alternative treatments, and repeatedly blamed AHS for failures in the health system.
- Kelly Cryderman: Danielle Smith won’t let old resentments be forgot
Ottawa to announce nearly $500-million for housing in Toronto
The federal government is set to announce today that Toronto will receive $471-million under a housing agreement, according to sources. The payment will be the largest so far to a city from the government’s Housing Accelerator Fund.
The deal with Toronto caps a week of announcements through the accelerator fund that add up to close to $900-million. The fund requires cities to loosen zoning rules that protect neighbourhoods dominated by single-family homes.
The $4-billion fund was introduced in last year’s federal budget and is Ottawa’s highest-profile policy aimed at the housing-affordability crisis, which has undermined support for the federal Liberals as real estate and rental prices have surged across the country.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
Also on our radar
Bank of Canada confident rates high enough: The Bank of Canada is growing more confident that interest rates are “sufficiently restrictive” to get inflation under control, even though the central bank hasn’t ruled out further rate hikes if needed, according to a summary of the meeting that took place ahead of the bank’s early-December rate decision.
- David Parkinson: Bank of Canada’s attempt to bring more transparency proves tricky
Canada’s health care system overwhelmed: A steep rise in respiratory viruses across the country, combined with low vaccine uptake and busy holiday parties, are raising alarm among medical experts who say the spread of preventable illness is going to add more strain to an already overwhelmed health care system.
Afghan humanitarian worker waits for family to come to Canada: For more than two years, Farouq Samim has worked tirelessly to help bring dozens of Afghans fleeing Taliban persecution to Canada. But the final family on his list, left behind and living in a cold and cramped room in Pakistan, is his own.
High inflation is driving rush to food banks: As high inflation, rising housing costs and static social assistance affects many Canadians, food bank usage across the country reached record highs this year. At the same time that demand is rising, donations have slowed in many places, for similar reasons. As the year draws to a close and people are feeling in the giving holiday spirit, three food bank managers shine a spotlight on their donation wish list this holiday season.
Airports hope for clear skies ahead of holiday travel: Dave Parco sits in the air traffic control centre of Toronto’s Pearson airport watching the planes coming and going. Parco and his team direct when and where planes land and take off, but one thing they can’t control is the weather. Canada’s busiest air travel days – the weekend before Christmas – coincide with the start of winter, and the threat of snow and ice present a fresh challenge to the aviation sector’s readiness.
Morning markets
World stocks wobble: Global markets had an end of year wobble on Thursday, while bonds completed a remarkable round trip for the year on the consensus view that large parts of the world will be chopping interest rates in 2024. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.44 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.57 per cent and 0.47 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished down 1.59 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.04 per cent. New York futures were positive. The Canadian dollar was higher at 74.89 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Campbell Clark: “Mr. Trudeau’s Liberals have accused Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives of importing MAGA politics, and the Prime Minister has expressed concern about a vein of ugly political outrage in Canada. But if he is really worried about angry-Trumpian rhetoric, a good thing to do is fix the botched policies that can fuel support for this kind of xenophobia in Canada.”
Editorial: “While Canadians spent 2023 watching their grocery bills rise, or cutting back on food to make ends meet, or going to food banks in record numbers, our MPs used the crisis to score political points. It’s been hard to stomach.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by David Parkins, Dec. 21, 2023.Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
Loyalty programs are ruthless. Here’s how to keep your points from expiring
Canadians love their rewards programs, but keeping track of them all can be difficult. With all those loyalty programs on the go, a key challenge is to keep the accounts active. Not doing so risks having your points expire, and that’s like leaving money on the table. While it doesn’t take a lot of effort to hang on to your points, it’s crucial to know the rules.
Moment in time: Dec 21, 1965
John P. Humphrey (left), Director of the UN Division of Human Rights, conversing with Jacinto Castel Borja (Philippines), First Vice-Chairman at the Commission on Human Rights, Feb. 18, 1964.UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata
Convention to end racial discrimination adopted
Fifty-eight years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination – a time when antisemitism persisted after the Second World War, the United States grappled with Jim Crow laws and South Africa remained firmly in its era of state-sanctioned apartheid. Canada, which conducted nutritional experiments on hundreds of malnourished Indigenous children the prior decade, signed the agreement in 1966 as it continued to oversee a network of Indian Residential Schools. The declaration mandates that countries outlaw and eliminate racial discrimination and asks signatories to submit periodic progress reports. Canada, like many other countries, has often failed to submit these updates in a timely fashion and, like many former colonies, has often been criticized for systemic inequalities Indigenous citizens still face. In 2017, when the UN reviewed its last country report, Canadians were commended for taking in thousands of Syrian refugees, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report and the House of Commons condemning Islamophobia after a white nationalist shot six men to death at a Quebec City mosque. But, also noted, Canada’s attempts at eliminating racism were hampered by a lack of data on the myriad ways it affects the lives of racialized citizens. Mike Hager
Enjoy today's horoscopes. Solve today's puzzles. Read today's Letters to the Editor.
If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.