Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The latest COVID-19 developments: New restrictions in Manitoba and Nova Scotia plus more
Canada is expecting to receive about 1.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week, including its first shipment of single-dose shots from Johnson & Johnson. It’s set to receive about 300,000 doses of the J&J vaccine, in addition to more than one million Pfizer-BioNTech shots and roughly 650,000 from Moderna.
Ontario: Ottawa will be providing military medical personnel to help the province’s beleaguered health care system. The plan involves sending teams of nurses and medical technicians to hospitals and other facilities following a formal request by Ontario.
Also today, a private member’s bill that would have mandated paid sick leave failed at Queen’s Park, with Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives voting it down 55 to 20. Last week, Ford said that his government would be bringing in a sick-leave policy that would fill “gaps” in a federal benefit.
Nova Scotia: Health officials are reporting 66 new cases, another single-day high since the beginning of the pandemic. All public schools in the Halifax Regional Municipality and surrounding areas will close tomorrow and move to at-home learning on Thursday.
Manitoba: The province is tightening some of its public-health orders as cases rise. Starting Wednesday, people will not be allowed to have any visitors at their homes, indoors or out, with some exceptions.
Quebec: The number of new daily COVID-19 infections reported has dropped below 1,000 for the first time this month, with the province reporting 889 today – the lowest number since March 29.
Internationally: The United States says it will begin sharing its pipeline of vaccines from AstraZeneca once it clears federal safety reviews, with as many as 60 million doses expected to be available for export in the coming months.
Opinion: “It shouldn’t take a dead child to wake us up. But the death of 13-year-old Emily Viegas is just that – a wake-up call, and a brutal reminder that COVID-19 is not done with us yet.” - André Picard
Emily Victoria ViegasSupplied
Read more:
- Canadians frustrated by search for vaccine appointments through fragmented booking systems
- Ontario doctors prepare for worst-case COVID-19 triage decisions
- Plans revived for mass COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Alberta meat-processing facilities
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Historic night at the Oscars as Chloe Zhao wins best director for Nomadland
At last night’s Academy Awards ceremony, Chloe Zhao was named best director for Nomadland, making her the first Asian woman and only woman of colour to take home the trophy. Nomadland also netted star Frances McDormand two statues, one as best actress – for a third time – and one as a producer of the film, which was named best picture. Film editor Barry Hertz breaks down the best, worst and weirdest moments of the night here.
In photos: Oscars 2021 red carpet is a scaled-down affair
Port of Montreal hit by dock workers strike as tensions simmer ahead of possible federal intervention
Canada’s biggest eastern port has ground to a near-halt for the second time in less than a year after dock workers walked off the job early today, further raising tensions ahead of possible intervention by the federal government.
The Port of Montreal’s container terminals and dry bulk operations are shut down because of the general strike by about 1,125 workers affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, a port spokeswoman said.
Federal Labour Minister Filomena Tassi said on Twitter yesterday that Ottawa has filed notice that it will table back-to-work legislation if an agreement is not reached. The earliest such a law can be introduced is tomorrow.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Police probe fire that destroyed MindGeek CEO’s mansion: Montreal police are investigating after a mansion under construction owned by Feras Antoon, CEO of MindGeek, parent company of the Pornhub website, burned to the ground last night. They believe the fire was criminally set and no arrests have been made.
Trans Mountain ordered to halt pipeline expansion work: Ottawa has ordered Trans Mountain Corp. to halt work on a section of its oil pipeline expansion project in Burnaby, B.C., for four months to protect hummingbird nests, a government spokeswoman says.
Added charges in White House poison case: Pascale Ferrier, the Quebec woman accused of mailing poison last year to former U.S. president Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty to additional charges in a Washington court today.
MARKET WATCH
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs on Wall Street today, fueled by Tesla ahead of the electric car maker’s quarterly report, the first of several this week from U.S. heavyweight growth companies. Canada’s main index also ended with gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 61.26 points or 0.18 per cent to 33,982.23, the S&P 500 rose 4.63 points or 0.11 per cent to 4,184.80 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 111.25 points or 0.79 per cent to 14,128.06.
Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index added 68.23 points or 0.36 per cent to end at 19,170.56.
Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes capital gains advantage, best balanced ETFs and three picks in an under-the-radar sector.
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TALKING POINTS
The threats to Canada’s public health officials are unacceptable
“These physicians deserve our admiration, not our derision. They have made enormous personal sacrifices, taken risks and worked around the clock to steer us through the worst public health crisis of our generation.” - Allan O’Dette, Ontario Medical Association CEO
Unravelled: The strange public and political media strategy of Doug Ford
“Ford is not a natural on TV. But, watching him, you suspect he thinks he is. His natural mode is combative, dismissive and inflexible. And that has led him and his handlers down a disastrous road.” - John Doyle
Where did the Gardiner Expressway go? Once a barrier, now exciting things are happening underneath
“If you had said in 1975 that the Gardiner would one day be flanked by glittering skyscrapers, that people would be skating underneath it and that its shadowed underside would one day become a place to display public art and creative landscaping – well, you would have been laughed out of the room.” - Marcus Gee
LIVING BETTER
This year’s edition of the ETF Buyer’s Guide offers a look at how exchange-traded funds responded during of the most dramatic periods in recent stock market history – a massive crash in the winter of 2020, followed by a sustained surge higher. The guide shows you how ETFs in six categories managed these ups and downs: Canadian, U.S. and global international equity, Canadian dividend, Canadian bond and balanced ETFs, also known as asset allocation funds.
TODAY’S LONG READ
In New Brunswick, experts try to figure out why dozens have been affected by a mystery brain disease
It typically starts with uncharacteristic irritability, anxiety and depression. Then comes pain, along with insomnia, and a constellation of other devastating symptoms, including terrifying hallucinations, a loss of balance and co-ordination, and in a few cases, Capgras delusion – the irrational belief that family members or other familiar people have been replaced by imposters.
By now, physician Alier Marrero knows what a mysterious brain illness that has sickened dozens of New Brunswickers looks like.
But what he can’t tell you is how to best help these patients – or how to prevent others from suffering the same fate. Because before Marrero can tackle these questions, he must find the answer to another, more basic one: What has made all these people in his province ill in the first place? Read Wency Leung’s full story here.
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