These are nine of the 45 properties where The Globe and Mail investigated lending processes that drug dealers can use to invest and launder their money, and reap tidy profits in return – all without actually owning any of the properties involved.BEN NELMS
Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Globe investigation into money laundering in B.C. real estate will lead to new rules, AG says
B.C.'s top lawmaker says the province will bring in new, concrete measures to "close the loopholes" that allow lenders connected to the fentanyl trade to launder money by granting large cash loans and mortgages to Vancouver-area property owners. Attorney-General David Eby said possible changes include requiring private lenders to provide proof of how the money they are loaning was obtained and provide more information about who they are, before they can register a mortgage or claim against real estate. "For too long it's been too easy to do business in B.C. under a cloak of secrecy," Mr. Eby said. "I can reassure British Columbians we are fully engaged in this issue. We are formulating the policy work to ensure that our responses are as bullet proof as possible." The pledge comes as a result of a Globe and Mail investigation, which revealed how 17 local residents, most associated with drug trafficking, are effectively parking millions of dollars in Vancouver-area real estate. Those private lenders issue mortgages and short-term loans, just as banks do, except in cash, likely derived from drug trafficking and other crimes.
Olympics 2018
At the Olympics, losing is painful, horrific – and inevitable for most of the athletes
"Coaches never prepare for a loss. If you prepare for a loss you prime a loss. It's better to prepare for 'do your best' rather than 'the loss is unavoidable.' Athletes always believe they can win, also against opponents that are objectively superior to them," one expert says. In Pyeongchang, 2,493 athletes are competing for 222 gold medals. The near certainty that loss will plague even top-ranked competitors has produced an entire subset of elite sports psychology devoted to losing.
Elsewhere on the Olympics front:
Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir broke their own world record in the short dance component of the ice dancing competition. The duo have their sights set on winning another gold medal at the Olympics to add to their haul but face stiff competition from French pair Guillaume Cizeron and Gabriella Papadakis.
Rachel Homan's women's curling rink has turned around its Olympic Games, winning three straight to move to 3-3. The team defeated Japan 8-3 and looks to continue its momentum by hunting for a playoff spot. Kevin Koe's men's rink lost its third straight, dropping a game against the U.S. in extra ends.
A Russian athlete who won a bronze medal earlier at the Games has left the Olympic village amid a doping probe. Alexander Krushelnitsky, who finished in third place mixed-doubles curling event while competing with his wife Anastasia Bryzgalova, is suspected of testing positive for meldonium.
Cathal Kelly writes in a column that the future of the Winter Olympics needs more big air snowboarding and less ski jumping.
Medal count (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Total)
- Norway 9, 9, 8, 26
- Germany 9, 5, 4, 18
- Netherlands 6, 5, 2, 13
- Canada 5, 5, 6, 16
- USA 5, 3, 2, 10
Want to get caught up further? Our daily Olympics guide gives you everything you need to know about the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
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Three weeks later, Patrick Brown launches bid to reclaim job as Ontario PC leader
On Sunday, the former leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party and current candidate in the race to replace himself – stood at a small podium bearing his name, flanked by his two sisters and 18 PC candidates running in the coming provincial election. Patrick Brown told the crowd he is ready to take back the job he resigned from only three weeks ago under a cloud of sexual-misconduct allegations. The 39-year-old said he should lead Ontario's Official Opposition into a June election and denied the allegations brought forward by two young women in late January. He also lashed out at the media for reporting the story that threw the PC Party in chaos. "To be vilified without due process is absolutely gutting. To be shunned as an outcast from the party that I love over fabricated news reports, it hit me like a ton of bricks," said the Barrie-area politician. Before the allegations surfaced against Mr. Brown, polls showed he was likely to unseat Premier Kathleen Wynne in June.
Florida school-shooting survivors denounce Trump, politicians supported by the NRA
Students who escaped the deadly school shooting in Florida focused their anger Sunday at U.S. President Donald Trump, contending that his response to the attack has been needlessly divisive. "You're the President. You're supposed to bring this nation together, not divide us," said David Hogg, a 17-year-old student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, speaking on NBC's Meet the Press. Hogg was responding to Trump's tweet Saturday that Democrats hadn't passed any gun-control measures during the brief time they controlled Congress with a supermajority in the Senate. Trump also alluded to the FBI's failure to act on tips that the suspect was dangerous, while bemoaning the bureau's focus on Russia's role in the 2016 election. Trump was at his Florida estate Sunday but did not mention the attack in a series of tweets. After more than a day of criticism from the students, the White House said the President would hold a "listening session" with unspecified students on Wednesday and meet with state and local security officials Thursday.
David Shribman looks at why Robert Mueller's indictment of 13 Russians for interference in American politics signals a broader probe and not the ending of the threat to the Trump camp.
Canadian solar companies challenge Trump's tariffs in court
Three Canadian solar manufacturers have gone to a U.S. federal court to challenge the Trump administration's recently imposed tariffs on imported panels, saying the trade penalties could force them out of business. The Ontario companies – Silfab Solar Inc. of Mississauga; Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. of Guelph, and Heliene Inc. of Sault Ste. Marie – have asked the U.S. Court of International Trade for a ruling overturning the tariffs that President Donald Trump announced last month. A hearing date has been set for Feb. 26. Each of the companies manufactures crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) modules that are used in solar-energy panels – both large utility-scale projects and rooftop installations – and each exports a significant portion of its product to the United States. The companies' complaint says the tariffs will cause "immediate, severe and irreversible injury" to them. (For subscribers)
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Canada's race to 5G: How carriers plan to win the next wireless era
Telus, Bell and Rogers are racing to build the next generation of lightning-fast wireless networks that will power everything from smart cities to driverless cars. The Globe and Mail's telecom reporter Christine Dobby looks at why 5G is set to change everything. (For subscribers)
Here's an explainer on 5G technology and how it's going to change your life.
MORNING MARKETS
Canada's main stock index is closed for Family Day. Financial markets in the U.S. are closed for Presidents' Day.
FYI: The Globe now provides all users access to real-time stock quotes for both Canadian and U.S. markets. Go here to find out about the major changes to our Globe Investor site.
WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT
To get the flu shot or not
"As a particularly nasty flu season rages on, and the deaths of children continue to make headlines, one question arises repeatedly: How effective is the flu vaccine? That's not a simple question to answer. The effectiveness of the vaccine depends on what strains of the flu are circulating, how virulent they are, how well the vaccine matches to the circulating strains and, finally, how much protection it provides against those strains." — André Picard
The XXX generation: How porn is hurting our kids
"You can hardly blame parents for being anxious about cellphones and screen time. They contribute to a host of modern ills, including distraction, bullying, and the steady erosion of family life. All of that is bad enough. But what we tend to avoid – or take for granted, or ignore, or discount – is a much more uncomfortable truth. Our screens and cellphones are direct conduits to gushers of pornography on demand, in forms and volumes that are simply stupefying. What is this doing to our kids?" — Margaret Wente
Being a jerk doesn't make you a better Olympic competitor
"Here's a radical notion: You don't have to be an awful person to be good at what you do. Giving yourself permission to be a jerk is the first step on a slippery slope of knock-on bad behaviour: heedlessness, punching down, harassment. It's also true that, though jerks sometimes do succeed in the world, that's no reason to stop calling them out. I won't bother naming anyone who happens to reside, sort of, on Pennsylvania Avenue." — Mark Kingwell
HEALTH PRIMER
Could overdressing during your run improve performance?
If you're planning to go for a run, think about piling on the layers. New research shows that overdressing during exercise may have performance benefits, particularly if you're training in cool conditions for a competition that might take place in hot weather. According to the study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, enduring the discomfort of a few extra layers triggers psychological adaptations that help you better handle the heat. So the next time you lace up your sneakers for a run, make sure to dress in full sweats.
MOMENT IN TIME
The Feminine Mystique is published
Feb. 19, 1963: Today's stereotype of the 1950s housewife portrays a neurotic bird in a suburban cage, bored silly, if not totally mentally unhinged, by the limited experience of caring for a house and children: Thank Betty Friedan. On this day in 1963, the American feminist published The Feminine Mystique, a book first inspired by her interviews with fellow Smith College alumnae who revealed they did not feel fulfilled by their lives as wives and mothers. In her controversial best-seller, Friedan argued that advertising and the male editors of women's magazines propagated a myth that women could only be happy at home and that career women were inevitably unhappy – it was that she dubbed the feminine mystique. The book sold one million copies in its first year and is credited with launching the second wave of feminism in the 1960s that helped propel millions of middle-class North American women back into the work force. Today, it is criticized for ignoring working-class women, single mothers and anybody who isn't white, but it also remains so influential that as recently as 2005 a conservative magazine included it on a list of the 10 most harmful books of the 19th and 20th centuries. — Kate Taylor
Morning Update was written by Kristene Quan and Mayaz Alam.
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