Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy gives a news conference at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Dec. 22, 2017.OSCAR DEL POZO/The Globe and Mail
Good evening and happy Friday,
This is the last edition of Evening Update until the new year. If you're looking for some reading material over the break, we've included a special section pointing to a few of our favourite Globe and Mail long reads from 2017. Thanks for being a subscriber, and happy holidays.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Official warns more civil servants could see 'low pay or no pay' over holidays
New issues with the troubled Phoenix pay system may lead to a surge in requests for emergency pay from civil servants over the holidays. Federal government managers were to receive lists of "low pay or no pay employees" by Friday, and were being encouraged to reach out to those who might need help. The memo was issued Wednesday after problems were discovered in processing of pay requests for the final payday of the year, Dec. 27. According to the auditor general, more than 150,000 government workers have been affected by the Phoenix fiasco.
Inconclusive Catalan election exacerbates sharp regional divisions
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy opened the door to negotiations with separatist leaders in Catalonia on Friday, but insisted that any talks must be done within the constitutional framework. Thursday's regional election gave both sides in the independent debate cause to celebrate. While it threw into question Mr. Rajoy's strategy of taking a hard line against the independence movement, it wasn't a victory for sovereigntists, either. If anything, the results seemed to exacerbate the already sharp divisions in the region.
Fatigue may have played role in crash that killed Quebec Mountie during border crossings surge
A coroner has found that Constable Richer Dubuc didn't touch the brakes of his patrol vehicle before he drove 112 km/h into the back of a slow-moving tractor on a rural highway south of Montreal in March. The coroner found that Constable Dubuc may have fallen asleep at the wheel from fatigue due to a heavy workload. The pathologist and coroner were unable to determine if sleep, distraction or medical incapacity was the cause of the incident.
Sobeys assails Loblaw for throwing it 'under the bus' in bread probe
Sobeys, Canada's second-largest grocer, is attacking Loblaw for saying major rivals conspired to fix the price of bread. On Tuesday, Loblaw admitted to participating in what the company called an industrywide scheme to jack up packaged bread prices over 14 years. Loblaw said it was co-operating with the Competition Bureau investigation in exchange for immunity. Now Sobey's CEO, who doesn't believe it has violated the Competition Act, says the Loblaw statement was "unfair, unsubstantiated, and quite possibly defamatory." (for subscribers)
Wondering what price-fixing is and how it work? Here is an explainer.
Miracle on Main Street: Why these eight small businesses have been thriving for decades
Every day, main-street businesses across the country shutter their doors, falling victim to the tremendous pressures of competition, globalization and technological change. Yet despite it all, there are hardy business owners who manage to beat the odds and stay open. From Halifax to Vancouver, we spoke with the owners of some of these businesses – a bakery, a seed store, a barber shop, and more – to learn how they've managed to thrive, decade after decade.
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter, a roundup of the important stories of the day and what everyone is talking about that will be delivered to your inbox every weekday around 5 p.m. ET. If you're reading this online, or if someone forwarded this e-mail to you, you can sign up for Evening Update and all Globe newsletters here. Have feedback? Let us know what you think.
MARKET WATCH
Canada's benchmark stock index slipped on Friday but notched its sharpest weekly gain in almost three months, as big banks and some miners pulled back. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 17.36 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 16,165.27. It gained 0.8 per cent over the course of the week, its sharpest weekly gain since last November, after notching a fresh all-time high on Monday. Six of the index's 10 main sectors closed lower, although most of the moves were marginal in lower volumes ahead of the Christmas holiday break, which closes Canadian markets next Monday and Tuesday. Wall Street's major indexes dipped on Friday in low trading volume before the holiday weekend as several blue-chip stocks slipped, including Nike. Nike Inc shares fell 2.3 per cent after the company forecast muted growth in current-quarter revenue, reflecting its struggles in the North American market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28.23 points, or 0.11 percent, to 24,754.06, the S&P 500 lost 1.23 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 2,683.34 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.40 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 6,959.96. For the week, the Dow rose 0.42 per cent, the S&P gained 0.29 per cent and the Nasdaq added 0.34 per cent.
WHAT'S TRENDING
Minimal carbs, lots of fat, incredible dieting results – but no science
To some, the word "fat" conjures up a heart attack; to others, it may be the key to healthy living. The question is among the most important and controversial in all of medicine: Can a diet that has bacon at its centre, and shuns whole grains, actually be the key to a healthy waistline? A spate of doctors claim it is. So why won't the medical community accept their findings?
TALKING POINTS
A Christmas without Stuart McLean
"I miss those phone calls. And I miss all of that laughter. But while as Stuart's friend, I mourn the loss of him, as his editor, I also mourn the loss of his writing. After Stuart died, many fans wrote to say that they were heartbroken that the little world he created, the world of Morley, Dave, Sam and Stephanie, would be no more. The idea that they would not hear about what happened next to these characters was hard to accept. I understood this completely. I, too, wanted to know what the future held for these old friends." — Meg Masters
Donald Trump's diet is driven by fear. I tried it for a day
"The bacon tastes like briquettes and the eggs are tough as pucks, but washing down this incinerated breakfast with soda No. 3, I come to a realization: If Trump is afraid of the perils of undercooked pork and runny eggs, no wonder he's afraid of other so-called threats: immigrants, Muslims, transgender people, stairs." — Chris Johns
What do Mounties have to do with Christmas?
"It's long been time to stop romanticizing the RCMP. The imaginary lifestyle-brand version of the Mountie is not the same as the Mountie in real life. By continuing to categorize the Mountie as charming Canadian iconography, we play down the harm that can be done by police in this country. That's a lot to overlook for the sake of a cheese knife." — Carly Lewis
LIVING BETTER
How can I make sure I'm happier in 2018?
Only 8 per cent of people actually keep their New Year's resolution, according to a study. Gayle MacDonald, like the 92 per cent majority, hasn't been able to follow through with hers over the years. So this year she's not making a resolution. Instead she is taking an idea from Neil Pasricha – he's the Canadian author who wrote The Book of Awesome. He's never made a New Year's resolution, but instead recommends finishing these sentences if you want to be happier: I am grateful for … I will focus on … I will let go of worrying about …
PSA: Every year during the holidays, The Globe and Mail offers subscribers its giant holiday crossword. You can go here to print off the PDF, or pick up this Saturday's Globe for the printed version.
LONG READS FOR A THE LONG HOLIDAY WEEKEND
Mysterious symptoms and medical marijuana: patients are looking for answers
Scott Wood had been losing weight for weeks. His skin developed strange blistering rashes, he couldn't stop coughing, he was spitting up gobs of thick, clear mucous that looked like Vaseline and he was at the ER seven times in six months. Eventually, Mr. Wood learned the medical marijuana he was prescribed for a back injury was contaminated with several dangerous pesticides banned by Health Canada. The federally-licensed producer recalled its products, but the company told its customers there was nothing to be concerned about. That's when The Globe got involved, only to learn Mr. Wood's prescriptions not only contained the two banned substances that triggered the recall, but also three pesticides outlawed by Health Canada.
In a few months, the federal government will end nearly a century of prohibition on cannabis, in a move affecting millions of Canadians. It is one of the most sweeping new policy decisions the federal government has undertaken, relying on licensed producers, such as this company, to supply the new multibillion-dollar retail market. Grant Robertson's investigation raises questions about oversight, quality control and if growers are pushing for profits at the expense of customers' health. As a result of the investigation, Health Canada now requires all federally-regulated medical marijuana companies to submit to mandatory pesticide testing before a product can be sold. (for subscribers)
Deportation in Trump's America: 'My life, my house, my children. Everything in one second'
Beatriz Morelos was heading home from work one Sunday in July when an officer stopped her in a routine traffic stop. She was handcuffed and put in a local lockup, flown to Texas and forced to walk across the border. If she was pulled over a year ago, before Donald Trump was elected President and made immigration enforcement a priority, lawyers and experts said, she would likely still be living with her husband and four kids in Ohio. Ms. Morelos was an undocumented immigrant in Mr. Trump's America – and that determined what happened next. Joanna Slater travelled to Ohio and Mexico to tell one family's story.
Inside Western Canada's wealthiest dynasty – and the question of who will run it next
Over the past 160 years, the Richardson family has quietly built a $9-billion prairie powerhouse. Little known outside of Canada's agricultural heartland, the company that started trading grain is now Canada's largest independent, privately-owned enterprise. CEO Hartley Richardson is hoping to retire soon, but it's not evident who, if anyone, from the sixth generation could replace him because not one of them works for the family firm. The Richardsons allowed Sean Silcoff unprecedented access to interview 12 members of the notoriously discreet clan as they try to figure out who will run the company. Directors and executives of James Richardson and Sons Ltd. candidly reflected on their successes, their failures and their outlook. (for subscribers)
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and David Read. 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.