Justice Richard Wagner is shown at the Supreme Court in Ottawa on Tuesday Feb.10, 2015.The Globe and Mail
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Richard Wagner named new Supreme Court Chief Justice
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Richard Wagner, 60, the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Tuesday, maintaining a tradition of alternating between anglophone and francophone chief justices on the country's top court. Justice Wagner, who is seen by some as a "small-c" conservative, was a business lawyer in Montreal for nearly a quarter-century. He was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 2004 by a Liberal government and to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2011 by a Conservative government. He was then appointed to the Supreme Court in 2012 by prime minister Stephen Harper's government. Justice Wagner replaces Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, who spent 17 years in that role, on Dec. 18.
Ottawa says it won't buy fighter jets from companies that harm Canada's economy
In a direct response to U.S.-based Boeing's ongoing trade dispute with Canada's Bombardier, the federal government will make it harder for companies that harm Canada's "economic interests" to win the $26-billion competition to provide 88 new fighter jets. Under the new rules, bidders must submit to a new "economic impact test." Ottawa is moving forward with a plan to acquire new Australian fighter jets as an "interim" measure to help Canada meet its international obligations.
Globe in Alabama: In high-stakes Alabama race, Moore goes all-in on God and Trump
Voters in Alabama have been at the polls today deciding between Republican Roy Moore, a former Alabama judge accused of molesting underage girls, and Democrat Doug Jones, a former prosecutor best known for sending two Klansmen to prison for bombing a black church. The race has been neck-and-neck in the polls with both former Democratic president Barack Obama and Republican President Donald Trump recording robo-calls for the races. The Globe and Mail's Adrian Morrow is in Alabama and will be watching the results after voting ends at 7 p.m. Central Time.
A Globe editorial argues that for those in Alabama, your time has come. "This is their chance to tell another story about their home state, and about their country."
10 things jurors at the Laura Babcock trial did not hear
A jury has begun deliberating the fate of two men accused of killing a young Toronto women who disappeared more than five years ago. The men have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the presumed death of Laura Babcock, whose body hasn't been found. The Crown alleges the two men killed Laura Babcock because she became the odd woman out in a love triangle.
Now that deliberation has begun, we can now share what the jurors didn't hear during the trial. The men were both convicted of first-degree murder last year in the death of Tim Bosma. One of the men also faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of his father. Here are 10 things the jury didn't hear.
MTY looks beyond the food court with $248-million deal for Imvescor
MTY Food Group is buying Imvescor Restaurant Group and its full-service restaurant and grocery products businesses for $248-million. The deal will bring together MTY banners such as Thai Express, Vanellis and Manchu Wok with Imvescor's Baton Rouge, Pizza Delight and Score's Chicken & Ribs restaurants to create a company with a portfolio of more than 5,700 stores under 75 brands. The deal, which must still be approved by Imvescor shareholders and regulators, is expected to close in March.
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MARKET WATCH
Canada's main stock index ended slightly higher on Tuesday, boosted by gains for some financial and materials stocks while energy companies weighed with lower oil prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed up 10.52 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 16,114.03. Six of its 10 main sectors rose, although decliners slightly outnumbered advancers overall. Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc. was down 2.6 per cent to $4.07 after rival MTY Food Group Inc. announced it has signed a deal to buy the company in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $248-million. Shares of MTY fell 4.7 per cent to $51.97. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Dow registered record closing highs, boosted by bank stocks as investors eyed a potential cut in U.S. corporate taxes and continued economic growth after strong inflation data.
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WHAT'S TRENDING
Kate Taylor has reviewed the new Star Wars film The Last Jedi and says it is weighed down by too many new additions. "As it seeks to uphold a giant cultural legacy, this unfolding trilogy struggles to maintain a balance that often seems just out of reach."
TALKING POINTS
Putin's 'mission accomplished' moment in Syria was all for show
"Mr. Putin would like his people to believe his forces were in Syria to fight the ISIS terrorist network, which had seized nearly a third of Syrian territory. With the exception of Russia's liberation of Palmyra from ISIS, Russian forces were more likely helping to prop up the al-Assad regime, guilty of killing nearly 200,000 of its own civilians, than engaging in any fight against ISIS." – Bessma Momani
What of CBC's strange corporate culture?
"The CBC has the strangest corporate culture in this country. It got hammered, rightfully, for handling the Jian Ghomeshi situation so atrociously, then it swings completely in the other direction and fires a hard-working reporter who decides to write a book that is likely to only reflect positively on both him and his employer." – Gary Mason
Trump and Jerusalem: a deeply destabilizing move for no real gain
"That decision – with not even the slightest companion proposal to bring the two sides to resume real negotiations – will only have negative impacts, starting with the inevitable bloodshed from fruitless, yet understandable, Palestinian demonstrations against it. The gift to his base will have no impact on the President's abysmally low popularity, nor will it entice Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change his stance on the negotiations, or lack thereof." – Ferry de Kerckhove
LIVING BETTER
'Man flu' might be a real thing, according to a review of literature published by a Canadian doctor. The review, which looked at studies on the role of gender and influenza going back to the 17th century, suggests flu symptoms in men are often more intense than the female version. The study considered the hypothesis that testosterone may have a relationship to influenza by acting to suppress the male immune system.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Luxury retailers join stampede to e-commerce as competition heats up
Luxury retailer Hermès isn't ready to sell its waiting-list-only Birkin bags, which cost $10,000 to $175,000, online, but Hermès, Canada's Harry Rosen and other posh retailers are feeling the need to embrace cyberselling after years of dabbling in it or outright ignoring it. As well-heeled customers inexorably shift online, these upmarket retailers are rushing to invest in their virtual stores and offer a wider range of merchandise, even as they try to maintain an aura of exclusivity. But, as Marina Strauss reports, the digital path can be risky. (for subscribers)
The wolf has become our scapegoat in the battle for the West
Wolves, long misunderstood as mindless killers, were decimated by trappers and ranchers in the American West by the 1920s. With help from U.S. wildlife officials – and an assist from Canada – the wolves are making a comeback, but not everyone is celebrating. The real fight, as in so many other controversies in the West, isn't about wolves, it's about land – what it should be used for and who should have the right to decide. And, as Nate Blakeslee writes, the lesson is how dangerous ideological polarization can be to our species.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and Kiran Rana. 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.