Good morning,
These are the top stories:
The fight over the Trans Mountain pipeline is escalating
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is suspending talks on purchasing electricity from British Columbia, a move she says could cost the western-most province up to $500-million a year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also weighed in, saying "we're going to get this pipeline built." The pronouncements came after B.C. moved to block shipments of heavy oil over environmental concerns. But the federal government holds jurisdiction on pipelines, and Notley wants more than just Trudeau's assurances: Ottawa must "commit specifically to the tools that they will use to make sure that this happens," she said. Pipelines are a politically sensitive area for Trudeau, who doesn't want to lose the gains he made in B.C. during the 2015 election.
Gary Mason writes that the pipeline fight is a no-win situation for Trudeau, Notley and B.C. Premier John Horgan.
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B.C.'s public auto insurer has only half the capital it's required to have on hand to pay claims
The Insurance Corporation of B.C. already revealed its deficit is expected to reach $1.3-billion this year. And now it appears that its ability to pay claims could be in jeopardy. The root of the problem can be traced to a policy enacted in 2013 that capped increases in ICBC's insurance premiums. All the while, claims costs have been rising. In 2013, ICBC had $2 in capital for every dollar it expected in claims that year. But now it has just 50 cents for every dollar it might need to dish out. "We are approaching D-Day, when they don't have any capital left. Then, how will they be able to pay their claims?" said Aaron Sutherland, the Pacific regional vice-president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Two new entrants are joining the Ontario PC leadership race
Political newcomer Caroline Mulroney, a 43-year-old lawyer and the daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, is preparing to launch her campaign. And former Tory MPP Christine Elliott, 62, announced her candidacy yesterday. She came in second during the party's 2015 leadership contest, losing out to Patrick Brown, who has resigned amid sexual-misconduct allegations. Former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford, 53, was the first to enter the fray. Interim leader Vic Fedeli had planned on running, but decided against it to focus on internal party issues, including a probe into the legitimacy of new PC memberships. The next leader of the party will be revealed on March 10, just three months before the Ontario election.
Here's Adam Radwanski's take on the race: "What we are about to witness is a fight not just to be the face of the party that continues to lead opinion polls, but to determine its soul. And because of the stakes, the short timeline and the state of the party going into it, that fight promises to be messy and brutal and filled with controversy, even by leadership campaigns' normal standards." (for subscribers)
The Trump-FBI-Republican memo drama, explained
Earlier this week, Republicans on an intelligence committee voted to release a secret memo that alleges law-enforcement officials omitted key information when investigating Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election. President Donald Trump will likely authorize the memo's release today, with it being made public shortly thereafter. But the FBI and the Justice Department say the memo isn't accurate and could compromise intelligence gathering. Democrats have called the push to release the memo a political ploy aimed at discrediting the Russia investigation.
NDP MP Erin Weir has been suspended from caucus over harassment allegations
Party Leader Jagmeet Singh has launched an investigation after an allegation against Weir of "harassing behaviour towards women." The claim first arose in an e-mail sent by a fellow NDP MP to members of caucus. Christine Moore said she heard complaints from female staff that Weir harassed them. Moore also wrote that "as a woman I would not feel comfortable to meet with you alone." Weir, who represents the riding of Regina-Lewvan, said he wasn't familiar with the specific allegations and added that he is "confident that I have not harassed anyone."
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Olympic doping bans for 28 Russian athletes were overturned
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said there was insufficient evidence to uphold doping penalties. Another 11 athletes remain on the doping list but their lifelong Olympic bans have been reduced to a suspension from this year's Games. The International Olympic Committee has banned Russia from competing as a country in Pyeongchang, but Russian athletes are still able to compete as neutrals. It's not clear whether any of the 28 athletes whose names have now been formally cleared will be able to participate.
Here's Cathal Kelly's take: "Given the opportunity to ban Russia outright – bypassing the CAS altogether – the IOC went for a neither/nor solution. Neither a flag nor an anthem. The clumsy attempt at humiliation will still see 169 (and now possibly more) Russians-who-may-not-call-themselves-Russians competing in Pyeongchang. That punishment was based on the laudable idea that only cheaters should be denied the right to compete. Like a lot of half-baked solutions to complicated problems, it's having some unintended results. Yesterday, those 28 Russians athletes were proven cheaters. Today, they are not. But the IOC still says they are because … well, just because."
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks fall
Global stocks were set to post their biggest weekly drop since late 2016 on Friday, as talk of central bank policy tightening and expectations of higher inflation boosted borrowing costs globally, a move that sparked a sell-off in shares. Tokyo's Nikkei was down 0.9 per cent while the Shanghai composite was up 0.46 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.12 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was down 0.36 per cent by about 5:30 a.m. ET, with Germany's DAX down 1.56 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 down 1.41 per cent. New York futures were tumbling, and the Canadian dollar was at about 81.25 US cents. Oil prices were down slightly.
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
Even after death, Canada denies Tina Fontaine dignity
"Heartbreak. Horror. Fury. Desperation. No one word adequately describes the emotions that surface when considering the life and death of Tina Fontaine. The 15-year-old Manitoba girl died in 2014, her 77-pound body pulled out of Winnipeg's Red River attached to 11.5 kg of rocks. A trial began this week for Raymond Cormier, the 55-year-old man charged with murdering her. … Death hasn't brought Tina any more respect. Criminal trials can be a nauseatingly detailed process, made more so by the stultifying language and procedural details that define them. It's too easy for journalists, lawyers and court staff to forget that it isn't just bodies, or profiles, they're dealing with, but real people who are still loved." – Denise Balkissoon
The Czech Republic has its ugly Trump moment
"In recent years the Czech Republic has served an undervalued role as a bastion of liberal democracy amid the growing authoritarianism and hardline nationalism of its neighbours, Poland and Hungary. This is the land – or half of it; it split from Slovakia in 1993 – of the Prague Spring and the Velvet Revolution. So it was all the more disturbing when, last week, Czech voters handed a second term to their very own Donald Trump. Milos Zeman, 73 and ailing, has styled himself as a Czech Trump; his vulgarity, sexism, xenophobia and admiration of Vladimir Putin suggest he has pulled off the impersonation. In a presidential runoff on Jan. 26 and 27, he beat the pro-European academic Jiri Drahos after an inflammatory campaign that played up the fear of migrants." – Globe editorial
HEALTH PRIMER
A guide to navigating the grocery store bread aisle
100-per-cent whole grain breads are your healthiest option, because they contain more fibre than white bread. Whole grain loaves with extras like flaxseed, oats or barley kernels offer added value. You'll also want to pick breads that are low in sodium – less than 200 milligrams per slice – and have little or no sugar.
MOMENT IN TIME
A race against time to bring a vaccine to Nome, Alaska
Feb. 2, 1925: In the depths of an Alaskan winter in 1925, children in the remote port town of Nome were getting sick. The town's sole doctor, Curtis Welch, first diagnosed tonsillitis, or simply sore throats. But the children started dying: Nome was dealing with an outbreak of diphtheria, a highly contagious disease that The Globe would refer to as "the black death of the Northland." The town's stock of serum to treat the disease had expired and its Bering Sea port had closed for the winter before new supplies had been delivered. Nome could be reached only by a trail of more than 1,000 kilometres. A hospital in Anchorage sent a shipment of the antitoxin by rail to the town of Nenana, from where it was carried by dogsled relay by 20 mushers, most of them Indigenous Alaskans, and about 150 sled dogs. The first musher set out on Jan. 27, in -46 weather. The journey, which normally took 25 days, was undertaken in extreme subzero temperatures, fierce winds and often whiteout conditions. A number of dogs would die during the trip and several mushers would suffer severe frostbite. At 5:30 on the morning of Feb. 2, 51/2 days later, the last musher pulled into town, with every ampule intact. – Ian Morfitt
Morning Update is written by Arik Ligeti.
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