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These are the top stories:
The World Bank has accused Bombardier of corruption to win a contract in Azerbaijan
And the findings could lead to the Montreal-based company being blacklisted from projects by the international financial institution. An audit by the bank alleges Bombardier colluded with officials at Azerbaijan Railways to win a 2013 contract worth US$339-million, according to findings obtained by The Globe and Mail. For its part, Bombardier disputes the World Bank’s findings, which have not been proven.
Among the allegations contained in the audit:
- Bombardier was made aware in advance of the project’s budget and priced its bid to fit that number exactly, winning the deal despite cheaper competing offers.
- Bombardier paid a total of US$120-million to two shell companies, controlled by prominent figures in Russia’s rail industry, who in turn used their influence to ensure Bombardier won the contract in Azerbaijan.
- The World Bank called the involvement of the two shell companies a “sham,” saying Bombardier paid one of them US$85-million “for no work.”
- The audit says Bombardier took 15 months to hand over internal e-mails, and that one missing e-mail from a whistleblower was proof that knowledge of the problems extended to the company’s headquarters in Montreal.
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More than $40-billion in dirty money: The scale and impact of laundering nationwide
At least $5-billion was washed through real estate in B.C. – in turn driving up the cost of buying a home by at least 5 per cent. That’s just one finding from two new reports released by the B.C. government which detail how failures in law, regulations and enforcement are impacting the Canadian economy.
The problem extends far beyond B.C.: Ontario, Alberta and the Prairies accounted for even more laundered funds, with one report estimating the total figure across Canada at $40-billion just last year.
“Clearly this is a national issue,” B.C. Attorney-General David Eby said, underscoring “the total indifference of governments – until now – to this malignant cancer on our economy and our society.” He reiterated his call for further federal support, saying that changes at the highest level are the only way to solve the issue.
Unlike other money-laundering watchdogs around the world, Canadian rules prevent officials from accessing the federal financial intelligence database. That lack of two-way information flow is hindering action, the report said.
Trump’s tariff hike on Chinese goods has kicked in as the two sides extend trade talks
Unable to reach a resolution last night, the U.S. and China are continuing discussions today in Washington even as President Donald Trump increased levies on $200-billion in goods.
The two sides appeared to be close to ending the trade war as late as last week when China weakened commitments to U.S. demands. Trump responded by issuing his new threat, raising the tariff from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. China says it will retaliate.
Ottawa is changing the rules for its $26-billion fighter-jet contract after U.S. threats
The move to open up the tender process follows threats from the U.S. to pull the Lockheed Martin F-35 from competition if Ottawa didn’t scrap a Canadian spending quota. Under the new rules, the federal government won’t force all bidders to commit 100 per cent of the value of the contract on spending in Canada; instead, those who don’t follow that rule will lose points in the scoring system.
The long-delayed bidding process to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18s has now been pushed further back, from this spring to midsummer.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
The husband of a murdered Toronto physician has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 14 years. Mohammed Shamji had pleaded guilty to killing Elana Fric-Shamji in the couple’s bedroom in November of 2016, days after she filed for divorce. Denise Balkissoon writes that while the trial is over, the suffering of the three Shamji children continues.
Senator Lynn Beyak was suspended for refusing to remove racist letters from her website. The Senate voted to adopt the recommendations of an ethics committee report, which called for her suspension without pay for the current parliamentary session over sharing letters it said imply Indigenous people are lazy, opportunistic and greedy.
The Supreme Court says it has “full confidence” in Clément Gascon to fulfill his duties as a justice. But it wouldn’t discuss why Gascon briefly disappeared on Wednesday, citing respect for his privacy. Gascon is set to retire in September for personal and family reasons. (for subscribers)
The co-founder of Facebook has called for the company to be split up as U.S. lawmakers pushed for the launch of an antitrust investigation. “Mark’s power is unprecedented and un-American,” Chris Hughes wrote in a New York Times piece, referring to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The social giant rejected the call to split Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram into three separate companies.
The Raptors will play the Philadelphia 76ers in a do-or-die Game 7 on Sunday after Toronto failed to close out the series last night. This is the second time in Raptors history that they’ll play Philadelphia in a Game 7 in the second round: In 2001, Vince Carter missed a shot at the buzzer, with the 76ers advancing.
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks mixed
Global stocks were mixed on Friday as investors held out hopes for a trade deal between the United States and China, even as another round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods took effect. China says it will retaliate. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.3 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite shot up 3.1 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.4 and 1.1 per cent by about 6:30 a.m. ET. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was below 74.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
My mother couldn’t choose her story’s end. This needs to change
Kathleen Venema: “Canada finally passed medical-assistance-in-dying legislation in June, 2016, but without a single provision for people with dementias. So that, even now, almost three years later, people with serious and incurable dementias, people who are, unarguably, in states of irreversible decline, people who can reasonably foresee their natural deaths, still cannot choose – as my mother could not choose – the conclusions to their own stories.” Kathleen Venema is the author of Bird-Bent Grass: A Memoir, in Pieces.
John Horgan’s position on B.C. gas prices comes back to haunt him
Adrienne Tanner: “It doesn’t matter that the total provincial tax on gasoline is only 34.39 cents a litre, a fraction of the current costs. And never mind that experts in the field agree British Columbia’s lack of refining capacity and market forces beyond any one province’s control are the true drivers of the price spike. Commuters getting hosed at the pumps are looking for someone to blame. And when it comes to the optics of gas price increases, Horgan has made himself extremely vulnerable.” (for subscribers)
A ban on shark fins is long overdue – and common sense
Jessica Scott-Reid: “While the actual practice of shark finning has been banned in Canada since 1994, we continue to fund the industry – which kills an estimated 70 to 100 million sharks globally each year – through importation. However, we have the chance to change this. … advocates are urgently appealing to members of Parliament to pass [a bill banning importation] before the House of Commons adjourns for the summer. If it is not passed now, the bill will die, and so will many more sharks.” Jessica Scott-Reid is a Montreal-based writer and animal advocate.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Three films opening this weekend
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is unrelentingly weird. It’s also breezily watchable, if slightly insubstantial beyond its strangeness. (2.5 stars)
Diane Keaton’s elderly-cheerleader comedy Poms has spirit, yes it does, but also a lot of unnecessary vomiting. (2.5 stars)
Buddy comedy The Hustle, starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, sets high expectations but instead hinges heavily on gags about Wilson’s looks while failing to give Hathaway’s character any backstory. (1.5 stars)
MOMENT IN TIME
Man who would assassinate Lincoln is born
(Library of Congress)Library of Congress
May 10, 1838: John Wilkes Booth – an actor, proponent of slavery and eventual assassin of president Abraham Lincoln – was the ninth of 10 children born to noted actor Junius Brutus Booth in Maryland. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, John Wilkes Booth, an ardent opponent of abolition who despised Lincoln, was persuaded by his mother not to enlist with the Confederate army. Instead, he continued to act, becoming so popular that fans would tear away at his clothes. But he also continued to hate Lincoln – for expanding the reach of the federal government, imposing an income tax and for ending slavery. Two days after the war ended, Booth, who previously conspired to kidnap Lincoln, became incensed by the suggestion the president might extend voting rights to African-Americans. When newspapers reported the president would attend Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater in Washington, Booth was determined this would be his final act. Booth approached the president’s box and, during a break of laughter, fired one shot in the back of his head. Lincoln died the next day. Discovered two weeks later by Union soldiers in a barn, Booth refused to surrender. He was shot and died, April 26, 1865. – Jessie Willms
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