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A non-profit foundation dedicated to the memory of Pierre Elliott Trudeau is returning a large financial gift from a Chinese billionaire after The Globe and Mail reported that the largesse was part of a Beijing-directed influence operation to curry favour with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
President and CEO Pascale Fournier said the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is returning $140,000 of a $200,000 pledge. The foundation received two payments of $70,000 each but never received the rest of the money, she said.
On the broader issue of Chinese meddling in Canada’s democracy, the Commons procedure and House affairs committee heard testimony on Wednesday from Jody Thomas, national-security adviser to Trudeau, and other security officials.
None of the officials who testified, including Thomas, would discuss the specifics of Chinese interference in the past two federal elections, saying they are bound to secrecy by the Security of Information Act. She did, however, express concerns that whistleblowers leaked highly classified CSIS documents, viewed by The Globe and Mail, about Chinese election-interference tactics. Trudeau has said that he wants CSIS to find the leakers, who risk prosecution under the Security of Information Act.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to questions about China's alleged election interference after a health-care funding announcement at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, in Langley, B.C., on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
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Ottawa, B.C. reach deal on health care, plan to add nurses, doctors
British Columbia will collect an additional $1.5-billion in health care funding from Ottawa this year, after signing a new bilateral deal that includes a joint commitment to fast-track immigration pathways for foreign-trained doctors and nurses.
Ottawa says B.C. will receive a total of $27.5-billion in federal funding over 10 years, including $3.3-billion for the new bilateral agreement. That money will go to the agreed-upon priorities with a detailed breakdown to be worked out later. The total figure includes increases to the Canada Health Transfer.
B.C. is the ninth province to sign a bilateral health deal as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s health care funding proposal that promises to increase transfers over 10 years. Quebec and the territories have yet to reach agreements.
First Nation says it was not told about contaminated water leaked from oil sands project
For almost a year, water tainted with dangerous levels of arsenic, dissolved metals and hydrocarbons has been seeping from tailings at the Kearl oil sands project in Alberta’s north, soaking into muskeg, public lands and waterways that are home to wildlife and fish.
Then, last month, a drainage pond at the site overflowed, spilling an estimated 5.3 million litres of industrial wastewater laced with pollutants into the environment.
But a local Indigenous community downstream from the site says it was kept in the dark until then.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam told The Globe and Mail that neither the oil company responsible for the leak nor Alberta’s energy regulator notified him or his council of the extent of the problem, until after the pond overflowed in February onto Crown lands in the remote area about 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.
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Also on our radar
Death toll keeps rising in Greece’s deadliest train crash: Rescuers searched late into the night yesterday for survivors amid the mangled, burned-out wrecks of two trains that collided in northern Greece, killing at least 43 people and crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots in the country’s deadliest rail crash.
Law meant to protect free speech is misused: A law meant to protect the exercise of free speech from abusive libel lawsuits has been turned on its head, with powerful groups attempting to use it as a licence to smear reputations, Ontario’s top court said in a ruling on Tuesday.
Ukraine to rebuild war-damaged homes: Ukraine is set to begin using money seized from Kremlin-controlled banks to rebuild homes that were damaged or destroyed over the course of Russia’s invasion. Last year, Kyiv seized 17 billion Ukrainian hryvnia (about US$460-million) in assets from the Ukrainian subsidiaries of two banks owned by the Russian state. That money will soon be used to repair shattered homes.
German politician dismissed Poilievre’s claims: Far-right German politician Christine Anderson dismisses federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s suggestion that three of his MPs had no information about her politics before they met her last month.
Business insolvencies reach new highs: The era of a historically low number of business insolvencies has come to an end, and a new epoch of business closures may have just begun, new data suggest. The federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy reported Wednesday that business insolvencies in January were 55 per cent higher than the same month a year ago.
Remote work hurting productivity, RBC CEO says: The stunted pace of workers returning to the office is taking a notch out of productivity and innovation, Royal Bank of Canada chief executive officer Dave McKay says. While some employers in Canada have mandated that staff work at offices more often, corporate leaders have grappled with employees resisting calls for teams to return to the workplace.
Morning markets
Inflation worries weigh on sentiment: World stocks sputtered on Thursday, pressured by a pullback in Chinese stocks and higher U.S. yields amid fears the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank will keep raising interest rates to combat high inflation. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.43 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.62 per cent and 0.58 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished down 0.06 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.92 per cent. New York futures were mostly lower. The Canadian dollar was down at 73.44 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
David Parkinson: “British Columbia and Alberta went into their 2023 budgets from a similarly strong position ... But what the two provinces definitely do not share is a political landscape. That’s apparent in the strikingly different paths they have chosen from their enviable financial position.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by Brian Gable, March 2, 2023.Illustration by Brian Gable
Living better
Five ways savers and investors can exploit high interest rates
Interest rates climbed steadily last year, and they’re now expected to hold more or less steady for the remainder of the year. Whether you’re a saver putting cash away for future use or an investor looking for temporary parking, it’s possible to keep your money both safe and productive. Here’s a detailed look at five different ways savers and investors can keep cash safe while earning a decent rate of return.
Moment in time: March 2, 1835
Joseph Howe in 1854.Library and Archives Canada
Joseph Howe is acquitted of libel
The accusation, printed in the Novascotian, was considered scandalous for a newspaper in 1835. Local politicians, said a letter signed “The People,” had pocketed £30,000 over 30 years. The politicians, known as magistrates, were an appointed body; the era of responsible government had not begun. Short of rebellion, it was difficult to hold the magistrates to account. Publisher Joseph Howe was charged with criminal libel, and faced the possibility of jail. With little formal schooling, and lawyers telling him he was sure to lose, he holed up for a week with law books. Truth could not be used in his defence. The prosecution had only to show an intent to “injure reputation, and to endanger the peace of society,” attorney-general James Gray told the 12 men of the jury. Mr. Howe defended himself in a six-hour peroration. “Leave an unshackled press as a legacy to your children.” The jury took just 10 minutes to acquit him, sending a message that reverberates still: The state should not use the criminal law to muzzle a free press. It was the beginning of freedom of the press in the British colonies. The magistrates resigned, and six years later, responsible government came to Nova Scotia. Sean Fine
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