A Toronto Police dog is escorted from a home owned by alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur at 227 Conlins Road in Scarborough, Ont. on Friday, January 19, 2017.J.P. MOCZULSKI
Good evening and happy Friday,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Three former rail workers found not guilty in Lac-Mégantic disaster
Four-and-a-half years after a runaway train exploded and killed 47 people in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic, a jury has acquitted three men charged with criminal negligence causing death. After nine days of deliberation and a period where the jury in the high-profile case said they were at an impasse, jurors on Friday afternoon announced that Thomas Harding, Richard Labrie and Jean Demaître were not guilty for their roles in the disaster.
Our investigative team spent months documenting the monumental tragedy. Many of those who died in the disaster were inside the Musi-Café, a popular bar packed with friends, lovers, neighbours, husbands and wives. The night of terror is told through the eyes of the survivors.
Police searching home connected to alleged Toronto killer
Forensic investigators and the canine unit have arrived at a Scarborough home as part of an investigation of a man who is charged with the murders of two missing men from Toronto.
Bruce McArthur, who is facing two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Selim Esen and Andrew Kinsman, made a brief appearance in court Friday morning and was remanded in custody. Both men were reported missing from the area of Church and Wellesley streets at separate times last year. Their bodies have not been found. Police also say they believe Mr. McArthur is responsible for the deaths of other men, though they did not say who or what led them to that conclusion.
Marcus Gee writes that the Toronto police response to Gay Village disappearances demands an explanation: "Chief Saunders said he was simply going on the evidence at hand when he dismissed concerns about a serial killer back in December. 'In policing, what we do is we follow the evidence,' he said. What he said at that time, he argued, 'was accurate at that time.' That will not do. If it turns out that a serial killer has been abroad in Toronto, perhaps for years, the chief will need to be clear with the public, and especially the gay community, how the force decided despite a string of suspicious disappearances that there was not."
McGuinty chief of staff found guilty of destroying documents in gas plant trial
David Livingston has been found guilty of destroying government records and dishonestly obtaining special access to computer hard drives in the premier's office, an Ontario judge has ruled. However, Mr. Livingston's deputy, Laura Miller, has been found not guilty. The two were initially accused of destroying e-mails and other government records related to the cancellation of two gas-fired power plants.
More than 1,300 pages of e-mails from Ontario Liberal staffers were released in 2013 concerning the controversial closing of two power plants. Here are the most interesting and revelatory exchanges.
U.S. online-shopping pitch would cut 300,000 Canadian jobs, study says
As part of North American free-trade agreement negotiations, the U.S. is urging Canada to raise its tax and duty-free limit for cross-border shipments from $20 to $800. A detailed study conducted by PwC – commissioned by the Retail Council of Canada and provided to The Globe – warns more than 300,000 jobs would be eliminated by 2020 and Ottawa and the provinces would lose more than $10.8-billion in annual revenue. (for subscribers)
Back in November, eight U.S. governors wrote a joint letter calling on Canada to raise its duty-free limits for online shoppers.
John Ibbitson writes on the Liberals and Conservatives forming a united front: "This writer has long suspected that the Liberals and Conservatives would, eventually, fall out over the NAFTA talks, that the falling-out could become a key election issue, might even prompt an election on that issue. But so far, the very opposite is happening. Which, considering what's at stake, is a good thing."
Austrian superfan calls joint Korean Olympic hockey team 'a nonsense idea'
Werner Koidl, an Austrian who organizes orchestra concerts, likes to joke he is more supportive of North Korea's female hockey players than many of the players themselves. He is also in one of the world's smallest sports fan clubs. For about seven years, he has faithfully travelled to international tournaments attended by the North Korean team, sitting and watching every game. He can name the strongest players, analyze their practice formats and evaluate the state of their equipment. And, as Nathan VanderKlippe reports, North Korean players have obvious disadvantages.
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MARKET WATCH
Canada's main stock index rose on Friday in a broad-based rally that was led by financial and industrial shares, while lower oil prices weighed on energy stocks. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 0.42 per cent to end at 16,353.46. Meanwhile, Wall Street rose, led by gains in consumer stocks, even as a possible government shutdown loomed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.21 per cent to close at 26,071.52, the S&P 500 gained 0.44 per cent to finish at 2,810.31 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.55 per cent to end at 7,336.38.
WHAT'S TRENDING
Labatt Breweries of Canada is betting big on a new advertising campaign for its Bud-branded hockey goal light ahead of the Olympics. The original "Red light," which went off when a customer's favourite team scored, will turn gold. The gold-plated lights are part of a new partnership with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, whose replica signature and No. 99 appear on the lights, which cost $400 (more than double the cost of the usual lights).
TALKING POINTS
Can Justin Trudeau tolerate real diversity?
"I am a strong advocate of choice. But I don't believe that the substantial minority of Canadians who oppose abortion, or some restrictions on it, are un-Canadian. I believe that the liberal doctrine of diversity should allow us to make room for diverse religious and moral perspectives, just as it does for diverse sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and skin tones. Real diversity should allow for views that are not the views of the prevailing liberal elites. But that is an increasingly unpopular view." — Margaret Wente
One year later, many lessons learned from the worldwide women's marches
"To what end? To no end, really, because there is no end in sight. There is only a path. There is only a never-ending quest for justice and equality, which is why thousands of women will put on their shoes and boots and sandals again this weekend, and knock on their friends' doors, and say, 'Let's go.' " — Elizabeth Renzetti
Toronto has a chance to design a better future on Yonge Street
"This is a huge urban-design decision that will affect the quality of life for tens of thousands of people for decades to come. Yet it might be undermined in order to save a few hundred drivers a few minutes. This at a moment when ride-sharing, autonomous vehicles are reshaping mobility in ways we can't predict, and much more growth is slated for this area. Sadly, Mr. Tory seems to be ducking his head to avoid an inevitable stream of hot air from his presumptive opponent in 2018, Doug Ford." — Alex Bozikovic
LIVING BETTER
Facial exercises, such as contorting and pinching up your face, may significantly reduce some of the signs of aging, according to a new study published in JAMA Dermatology. It found that middle-aged women looked three years younger after a few months of exercising. The basic premise is that the exercises provide a kind of resistance training for the facial muscles and make those muscles stronger, theoretically reducing wrinkling and rounding facial contours.
LONG READS FOR THE WEEKEND
Two Ontario school boards pull sponsorships from musical about gay teen
When Mark Hall was a student in Oshawa, Ont., he took the Durham Catholic District School Board to court to bring his partner to his school's prom. He won the legal battle in 2002. That story is now a musical, but one public and one Catholic school board have pulled their sponsorship from the student-run production being staged at the Grand Theatre in London, Ont. They say the musical doesn't reflect their culture of supporting all students, contains too much profanity and is meant for a more mature audience. When the boards read the script, they decided, for the first time in 20 years, to pull the $15,000 in funding for the production. But, as Caroline Alphonso reports, the play will go ahead.
Globe in California: Salvadorans in the U.S. look for Plan B after end of Temporary Protected Status
Santos Reyes's family fled El Salvador for the United States. As a child, he had nightmares that immigration officials would take his mother. Now, his fiancé fears the authorities will come for him. Last week, the Trump administration ended a long-standing program that has shielded immigrants from El Salvador from deportation after devastating earthquakes struck the country in 2001. But, as Tamsin McMahon reports from Los Angeles, the announcement has also sparked a renewed push by the Canadian government to remind many of those covered by this program that the chances of claiming asylum in Canada are slim and the consequences of a failed refugee claim can be dire.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and Kristene Quan. 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.