Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna makes her way to speak with media at the UN Headquarters in New York City, Sept. 20, 2017.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Liberals unveil overhaul of environmental legislation
The federal government is proposing to overhaul the way environmental assessments are conducted in Canada, aiming to reduce red tape, provide greater transparency and allow greater input from the public and Indigenous populations. Liberal cabinet ministers held news conferences in cities across the country on Thursday to roll out the long-promised environmental legislation that will in many ways rewrite regulations that were loosened or eliminated under the previous Conservative government. Ottawa says it will also replace the National Energy Board with an oversight body designed to respond to emerging energy developments that will make faster decisions guided by science and Indigenous knowledge.
Police recover remains of sixth person in Bruce McArthur investigation
Toronto police say they have recovered the remains of at least six people in their investigation into alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur. They say more charges are expected against Mr. McArthur, who is currently charged with first-degree murder in the presumed deaths of five men. Some of the body parts recovered belong to Andrew Kinsman, one of the men Mr. McArthur is accused of murdering.
Lorimer Shenher, former Vancouver Police Department detective and lead investigator of Vancouver's missing women investigation in the 1990s, writes about the sad predictability of Toronto's alleged serial killer: "Could such a failure as the Pickton case happen again? Time and again I answer, no, nothing has changed, and yes, this will happen again. And no one feels sicker than me that a new community is grieving, this time in Toronto."
Dow plummets more than 1,000 points into correction territory as sell-off intensifies
U.S. stocks took another beating Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,000 points falling into correction territory. Investors remain wary as equities struggle with bond yields and volatility continues to be high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,032.89 points, or 4.15 per cent, to 23,860.46, the S&P 500 lost 100.66 points, or 3.75 per cent, to 2,581 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 274.83 points, or 3.9 per cent, to 6,777.16. Canada's main stock index ended the session at its lowest level in nearly five months, pulled down by falling energy stocks. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 265.03 points, or 1.73 per cent, at 15,065.55.
OLYMPICS 2018
The Games have already begun with Canada's mixed-doubles curling team losing to Norway in the morning and then winning against the United States later on Thursday.
Cathal Kelly writes from Pyeongchang that when it comes to mixed curling and a furry mascot, you have to congratulate the International Olympic Committee when it gets something right: "This is transparently a way to make curling more appealing to TV audiences who do not understand it. And in this case – a little like Twenty20 cricket or rugby sevens – it works. You still get the best of the game – the strategy – without all the bumpf required to fill time before it gets serious. It's as though basketball were reduced to the fourth quarter – which, come to think of it, is not a terrible idea."
Moguls skiing, a sport in which Canadian athletes are expecting to win medals, begins Friday morning (Thursday evening in Canada) with round one of qualifying for both men and women. Canadian sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe are the defending gold and silver medalists from Sochi. On the men's side, Mikael Kingsbury is the most decorated moguls skier of all time with the most World Cup wins. Here is a multimedia feature on Mr. Kingsbury's new trick.
Figure skating also begins Friday morning (Thursday evening in Canada) with the men's single and pair short programs as part of the team event. Canada is the defending silver medalists from Sochi, where the team discipline debuted. Here is a full guide of what to watch at the Opening Ceremonies and on day one.
The opening ceremonies begin at 6 a.m. Eastern Time Friday with coverage beginning on CBC at 5:30 a.m. Three-time Olympic medallist ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will carry the Canadian flag, leading a delegation of 225 athletes.
New to the Olympics this year is the long-track mass-start speed-skating event. It is a hybrid of short-track action, long-track strategy and roller derby-like roughness. Twenty-four athletes skate on a track that usually has two on it for individual races or six in the team pursuit event. Space is tight, drafting is allowed and there aren't many rules. We detail how the sport works and the strategy to win in this interactive feature.
Grant Robertson writes from Pyeongchang on how Canadian speed skaters are looking for an edge, including wrapping themselves in high-tech skin suits that have a pattern like the dimples on a golf ball to slice through the wind.
Globe in South Korea: Amid 'peace offensive,' North Korea flexes military muscle on eve of Pyeongchang Games
North Korea put its most potent new military hardware on display Thursday as supreme leader Kim Jong-un watched with a broad grin a parade of missiles believed capable of striking North America. But there were signs North Korea sought to blunt the impact of its military display, such as taking steps to ensure images on South Korean TV would be of a marching band instead of missiles. As Nathan VanderKlippe reports from Seoul, this willingness to exercise restraint raises hope for a potential breakthrough in the dispute with the United States.
Here is a video of what you need to know about Korea's DMZ.
SNC wins big in bidding for Montreal's $6.3-billion rail project
Canadian engineering firm SNL-Lavalin was awarded the contract to build the $6.3-billion infrastructure for Montreal's new light rail transit project and also won a bid with a partner to supply some 200 train cars and related equipment. Construction of the 67-kilometre system is scheduled to start in April with the first passengers planned for the summer of 2021. When completed, it will be the fourth-largest automated light rail transit line in the world. This marks another blow for rival rail company Bombardier.
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WHAT'S TRENDING
A B.C. school district is looking for people to work on call, but they don't need a teacher's certificate. This comes as the province grapples with hiring more teachers because of a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that restored clauses related to class size and composition that the former Liberal government stripped from teachers' contracts in 2002. The ruling meant the province had to restore about 3,500 teaching positions.
Gerber announced that an 18-month-old boy with Down syndrome has been named its "Spokesbaby" for 2018, an action hailed by advocates for people with the genetic condition.
TALKING POINTS
Canada's moral policing at the Olympics could come back to bite us
"One day, Canada is a quiet participant. The next, it's become the Rupi Kaur of the sports world. We're the guys out there trying to tell you how we feel about all of this, and would really like to recite something to you from our dream journal. We've also apparently decided we are now the moral arbiters of the Olympic movement. I'm not sure why anybody would want the job, or that we're best suited to it." — Cathal Kelly
Forget the TTC vision, just make the subways run
"Bridgeable and the TTC brought together hundreds of employees, customers and other 'stakeholders' to pool their ideas in who knows how many chat sessions. Senior managers formed 'cross-functional groups' to bring forward ideas and plans. How any of this helps the working mother stuck on the Finch bus on her way to pick up her kids at daycare or the businessman watching three packed subway trains pass by as he tries to make a breakfast meeting is hard to say." (for subscribers) — Marcus Gee
Removing Cornwallis from his perch: History evolves. Statues do not
"If you expose its linguistic roots, 'history' literally means 'inquiry.' Successful inquiry demands that we look carefully, weigh evidence and evaluate contrasting interpretations. Statues do none of these things because they are manifestations of heritage and not history. At best they are crude proxies of our history, and at worst they are propagandists for special interests. They bestow honour, they commemorate and they declare, but they don't evolve. History does, and so should we." — Jonathan Fowler
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LIVING BETTER
Chocolate is sensual, mysterious and addictive. It's also a perfect gift for lovers and the best choice for a Valentine's Day dessert. Today, chocolate can be as fancy as wine, but what about if you are baking with it? Lucy Waverman has some tips on working with chocolate. She suggests to start with trying different brands to discover the chocolate you love. She prefers bittersweet chocolate, which has a percentage of cocoa mass of 64 to 70.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
How restaurant lighting helps set the mood – and makes you look more attractive
Lighting is the first impression a restaurant makes. Before the host says hello, or we taste the food or even hear the music, the level of illumination already sends a signal if this is a place for us. Candlelight creates a more flattering ambient glow, which is why so many restaurants serve meals in warm, dim lighting. In general, older crowds prefer more light and darker is for romance. As Corey Mintz reports, the two biggest things restaurants do to make us feel more attractive are lighting from below and diffusing the sources, but there are 1,000 little decisions to get the right feel.
Toronto's Aloette is a downmarket eatery as serious as its upscale sister
With the opening of Aloette, the new sister restaurant to the celebrated, high-end Alo, chef Patrick Kriss is staking claims on opposite ends of the culinary spectrum. Alo, with its carefully plated, critically acclaimed $155 tasting menu, represents fine dining at its peak. The decidedly more downscale Aloette, meanwhile, aims to be Toronto's finest diner. Mr. Kriss launched the ambitious and expensive Alo in 2015 and has long coveted the street-level space beneath, which used to be a nail salon. He initially envisioned a classic French bistro, but as Jason Chow reports in his review of Aloette, the concept Mr. Kriss ultimately unveiled marries American classic with urban cool.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and Omair Quadri. If you'd like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.