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These are the top stories:
RCMP arrested 14 people in northern B.C. as tensions escalate over a proposed pipeline
The arrests took place on a forestry road at the Gidimt’en checkpoint, one of two checkpoints erected by Wet’suwet’en people to oppose the Coastal TransLink pipeline (for subscribers). On Monday, the RCMP set up a roadblock near the checkpoint and turned media and members of the public away from the site. That followed a December B.C. court ruling ordering opponents to allow workers to access the site.
Both checkpoints restrict access to a road that is needed to build the pipeline that would transport natural gas to an LNG terminal in Kitimat, part of a $40-billion project. Twenty Indigenous bands along the route have signed project agreements with TransCanada, but a group backed by key Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs remains opposed.
NDP MP Nathan Cullen, who represents the region, called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get involved to address the impasse, which raises questions about Indigenous rights and title.
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B.C.’s top court has given Ottawa five extra months to overhaul solitary-confinement laws
The appeal court granted an extension to June 17 on the condition that the Correctional Service of Canada complies with eight conditions immediately. Those include ensuring that segregated inmates get seen at least once a day by medical staff, giving these inmates an additional 30 minutes outside of their cells each day and confirming an inmate’s right to make calls to their counsel outside their cells in a private area. The federal government said it intends to comply with the interim conditions.
Separately, an Alberta court gave an inmate 3.75 days’ credit for each day he served in solitary, calling it a form of cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Charter.
Plans to raise interest rates have been upended by the slowing global economy
Barely two months ago, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell were talking about a future with much higher interest rates. But talk has suddenly shifted to themes of patience and flexibility, reports Barrie McKenna (for subscribers). Today, Poloz is expected to keep the Bank of Canada’s key rate at 1.75 per cent. He’ll also release the bank’s first quarterly forecast of the year for the Canadian economy, which is expected to be much more pessimistic than October’s outlook. And economists say the Fed, which had planned up to three rate hikes this year, may not even increase at all.
Meanwhile, experts predict fixed-term mortgage rates in Canada are set to drop. Those shopping for a new rate should wait, according to Ratehub co-founder James Laird. “If there’s nothing urgent, hang on for a week and check back, and there should be some changes.” (for subscribers)
More children are being admitted to hospital with the flu this season
The number of children in hospital with the viral illness is more than twice as high as it was this time last year, and more than three times as high as in the 2016-2017 flu season. More children have also been sent to the intensive-care unit to fight bad cases. The reason behind the spike with children and adolescents is the return of the H1N1 strain after two seasons in which another type of influenza prevailed. While H1N1 is tough on kids, it’s easier on the elderly, the group most prone to serious complications and deaths from influenza.
Here’s André Picard’s view on the flu season: “The holidays are over. And in Canada, that means it’s now officially ‘hospitals ERs are bursting at the seams because of the flu’ season. After all, every year around this time, hospitals from coast to coast are beset with an ‘unexpected surge’ in patients. Just one thing: There is nothing unexpected about it. It’s not a surge so much as it is an entirely predictable increase in demand that has an entirely predictable impact on an overburdened, mismanaged system.”
France plans to toughen sanctions on undeclared ‘yellow vest’ protests
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the government will introduce legislation to “sanction those who do not respect this obligation to declare protests, those who take part in undeclared protests, those who arrive at protests with balaclavas.” (for subscribers) Philippe spoke hours after rioters torched motorbikes and set barricades on fire in Paris. The latest wave of “yellow vest” marches against high living costs and President Emmanuel Macron started peacefully before protesters threw missiles at riot police blocking bridges on Saturday.
Andrew Hammond of the London School of Economics writes that Macron faces a tough task ahead: “Although a majority of voters decided to favour Macron’s hope over [far-right candidate] Marine Le Pen’s anger in 2017, the tide could now turn decisively against him if he fails to address the anti-establishment anger that has been fuelled by double-digit unemployment numbers, low economic growth and citizens' economic pain, all of which predated his presidency.”
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump agreed to push Beijing to free two detained Canadians
During a phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to back off an earlier suggestion he might drop the extradition request for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou as a way to extract concessions from China on the trade front. The two leaders “reaffirmed the importance of respecting judicial independence and the rule of law,” according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office.
The call came hours after a delegation of Canadian lawmakers pressed Chinese officials to immediately release former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor. Their detention “represents a major chill” in efforts to advance Canada-China relations, said Conservative MP Michael Cooper, who was part of the Canadian delegation.
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks rise
A solid start from Europe kept world stocks at a three-week high on Tuesday after Asia was knocked back by a shock profit warning from tech giant Samsung and a tick-up in borrowing costs. Hopes that Washington and Beijing may be moving towards a trade deal also helped the mood and gave the greenback a lift in the currency markets after its weak start to the year. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.8 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.7 and 1.2 per cent by about 6:35 a.m. ET. New York futures were also up. The loonie was up to almost 75.5 US cents. Oil prices edged higher on the trade talks and OPEC cuts.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Trump’s wall is burying the middle ground of U.S. politics
“As a consequence of the reality gap between [Republicans and Democrats], 800,000 federal employees are about to miss their next paycheque, and U.S. citizens relying on their services – 38 million federal food-stamp recipients among them – are out of luck. All because of a fantastical wall that to date has been more resistant to the truth than it likely ever will be to illegal border crossers. Lost in this absurd sideshow are real and pressing immigration problems that the United States has failed time and again to address.” – Globe editorial
Bohemian Rhapsody’s surprise Golden Globe wins portend the Most Problematic Oscars Ever
“That ‘whoooooosh’ noise you just heard was a can of gasoline being emptied onto the now-raging inferno that is the Academy Awards. It all leads to the question: Are you ready for the Most Problematic Oscars Ever? On the Bohemian Rhapsody front: While audiences have been flocking to the Freddie Mercury biopic (current worldwide box office: US$743-million, or nearly twice the amount earned by presumed sure-thing Solo: A Star Wars Story), its performance Sunday night underlines a sad if not shocking truth about Hollywood. Namely, that no one cares about anything. Other than money, of course.” – Barry Hertz (for subscribers)
How Canada can forge a path forward in this new world order
“Governments are elected to lead, not follow public opinion. Instead of adopting campaign platforms that attempt to give things to distinct groups of Canadians, our party leaders should offer authentic prescriptions that will improve the future prospects for all Canadians – especially in this much tougher global environment.” – Derek Burney, former Canadian ambassador to the United States
LIVING BETTER
The Globe picks 10 places to visit in 2019
If you’re looking for a sun destination beyond the usual suspects, try Belize. The Central American country is welcoming a number of swank properties to its shores, from Leonardo DiCaprio’s wellness-focused ecoresort to the nature-focused Gaia River Lodge. For something completely different, 2019 promises to be a great year to head to Berlin. There are events marking a number of anniversaries, including 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Subscribers can go here to read about the other selections.
MOMENT IN TIME
El Chapo captured again
(Tomas Bravo/Reuters)© Tomas Bravo / Reuters/Reuters
Jan. 8, 2016: As the head of the Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquin Guzman Loera was hard to capture and even harder to keep. The accused leader of a drug empire used tunnels to escape from prison and evade capture over several years, all while enjoying growing infamy and great riches from flooding the United States and other countries with tonnes of cocaine and heroin. After his second escape, the alleged drug lord was finally caught by Mexican Marines in 2016 in Los Mochis, Mexico. Guzman fled his hideout home through a tunnel connected to the sewer system, but was captured on a nearby highway in a car he had commandeered. Known as El Chapo (Spanish for Shorty), the 168-centimetre Guzman was extradited to the United States and is now on trial in New York for a sprawling drugs-and-murder conspiracy. El Chapo had escaped once before in 2001. Before his capture three years ago, he embarrassed Mexican authorities by escaping his maximum security prison in 2015 through a 1.6-kilometre tunnel that featured air vents and a motorcycle, connecting a hole beneath his shower with the outside world and six months of freedom. – Eric Atkins
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