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The head of the public inquiry into foreign interference is granting opposition parties the right to cross-examine witnesses at hearings that will investigate meddling in Canadian politics by foreign countries.
Justice Marie-Josée Hogue is giving more powers to those critical of the federal government’s record on the matter, according to a March 11 letter from lead commission counsel Shantona Chaudhury, obtained by The Globe and Mail.
The move from Justice Hogue follows months of criticism, particularly from the Conservative Party, which was denied full party standing at the inquiry despite being a target of meddling by China.
The Peace Tower in Parliament Hill is pictured in morning light in Ottawa on Thursday, March 7, 2024.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Accused killers in B.C. go unprosecuted for murder as judges rule that police unit is flouting search laws
Judges in British Columbia have thrown out crucial evidence found on cellphones in at least three murder cases after they ruled the province’s RCMP-led homicide unit had flouted Canada’s evidence-handling laws.
Defence lawyers have successfully challenged evidence gathered by B.C.’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team by alleging breaches of their clients’ rights because of police searches and seizures, court records show.
The B.C. government has declined to criticize the unit saying instead that Ottawa has failed to tackle cumbersome warrant laws that may be hindering police investigations.
Father asks court to stop 27-year-old daughter’s MAID death
An Alberta father has asked a judge to block his daughter from accessing medical assistance in dying because he believes she is ineligible and unable to consent, despite physicians approving the woman’s application.
The 27-year-old woman, identified as M.V. in court documents, argued her father, known as W.V., does not have legal grounds to challenge her right to MAID. The case could help define the rights of patients and family members under Canada’s new assisted death legislation and could help determine what role the courts have in reviewing expert opinion from medical professionals when it comes to MAID.
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Also on our radar
Uneasy quiet in Haiti after prime minister resigns: Haiti’s prime minister Ariel Henry stepped down yesterday in a move that was welcomed by many Haitians exhausted by months of escalating gang violence. But Henry’s resignation has left even more uncertainty over the country’s political future.
- Kenya’s pause to Haiti deployment follows growing doubts about mission
- Robert Rotberg: The plan to contain Haiti’s gangs won’t be enough
Aid ship sets sail to Gaza: An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food set sail for Gaza yesterday in a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
TD Bank CEO took pay cut in 2023: Toronto-Dominion Bank chief executive officer Bharat Masrani took a $1-million cut to his bonus pay last year in response to a terminated takeover deal and the bank’s continuing troubles with U.S. regulators and law enforcement.
New therapies could present cure for sickle cell disease: Treatment options are limited for sickle cell disease, but that could soon change because of two new gene therapies that work so well that many say they represent a possible cure for the disease and could pave the way for more gene therapies to treat a range of inherited disorders. But the high costs and the complexity of administering the treatments will keep them out of reach of many.
Morning markets
Steady Europe keeps stocks near record highs
World shares held close to record highs on Wednesday thanks to new all-time peaks in Europe and on Wall Street, as investors bet hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation won’t stop the Federal Reserve and other central banks from cutting interest rates. Asian shares hit seven-month highs overnight as a number of tech sectors made gains, but Europe went even better early on by squeezing out its fifth record high in six sessions.
Volatility in currency markets remained low. The Canadian dollar opened at 74.12 U.S. cents. It hit a five-day low on U.S. inflation data yesterday.
What everyone’s talking about
Campbell Clark: “The NDP Leader was supposed to be making this pharmacare deal the vehicle for NDP success, but in the first weeks, Mr. Singh steered it into the curb.”
Editorial: “At the heart of Ms. Miville-Dechêne’s bill is the assumption that Parliament, not parents, should take the lead in keeping pornography away from minors. But if there are values to be imparted – a healthy view of sex, for instance – a child’s parents should be the first, and ideally the last, stop.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by David Parkins, March 13, 2024.Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
Thirty-two reasons to avoid ultra-processed foods
Eating too much ultra-processed food has been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases including obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, colon cancer and cardiovascular-disease-related death. Now, a new review – the largest one conducted to date – has linked industrial foods to 32 harmful health effects. Here’s what to know.
Moment in time: March 13, 1781
William Herschel (1738-1822), famous astronomer discovering the planet Uranus. He is assisted by his sister, Caroline Lucretia (1750-1848).Bettmann/Getty Images
William Herschel discovers Uranus
By day, 42-year-old William Herschel was a successful German-born musician who made a comfortable living as a church organist in Bath, England. By night, Herschel’s other great passion took over as he spent hours scouring the heavens with a home-built seven-foot-long reflecting telescope. He was roaming through the constellation Gemini one March evening when he came across a curious object that looked more like an extended disc than a point-like star. When he observed it again four nights later, it had shifted with respect to the stars around it. Herschel thought he had found a comet. But the object’s slow and stately motion soon revealed it to be something much more exciting: a planet – the first to be added to the solar system since prehistoric times. The discovery made Herschel famous and earned him a pension from King George III that allowed him to pursue astronomy full-time. Herschel had proposed naming the new orb after the King, but the idea fell flat outside of Britain. Instead, the planet became known as Uranus, the sky god of ancient Greek myth. Ivan Semeniuk
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