Evening Update: Wilson-Raybould resignation sends shockwaves through Ottawa

Good evening,

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Open this photo in gallery:

Jody Wilson-Raybould resigns from cabinet

“Her presence in cabinet should actually speak for itself.”

That’s what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday in reference to then Minister of Veterans Affairs Jody Wilson-Raybould in one of his rare comments on the allegations the Prime Minister’s Office interfered in the SNC-Lavalin criminal case. Today, Ms. Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet. “With a heavy heart, I am writing to tender my resignation,” she wrote.

Here are the latest details of this rapidly moving story:

• Mr. Trudeau is scheduled to speak from Winnipeg around 5 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET).
• In her resignation letter, Ms. Wilson-Raybould said she cannot discuss what has transpired since The Globe and Mail first reported the allegations.  
• Ms. Wilson-Raybould has hired former Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell as a legal adviser.
• Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer called on the Prime Minister to “preserve all documents relating to the ongoing SNC-Lavalin affair.”
• NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh urged the Prime Minister to allow the Commons justice committee to launch hearings into the matter. 
• Yesterday, the federal Ethics Commissioner launched an investigation into the allegations of political interference. 

For the latest updates visit (and bookmark) our explainer, SNC-Lavalin, Jody Wilson-Raybould and Trudeau’s PMO: The story so far, which is constantly updated throughout the day and evening and provides all of the background and context you’ll need.

We have much more context, analysis and comment coming this afternoon and this evening, including a timeline that chronicles the past and current highlights of this story, lots of reaction from political parties and Indigenous communities, what it means to have former Supreme Court judges involved, what it means for prosecutorial independence, what it means for Western Canada and ultimately, what this means for Mr. Trudeau.

One of the most popular articles today is our From the comments feature that reprints some of your best comments on today’s breaking story. ‘You’re a model for all Canadian elected officials.’

Meanwhile, it was learned today that the company at the centre of this, SNC-Lavalin, faces the possibility of new criminal charges tied to a contract to refurbish Montreal’s Jacques Cartier Bridge.

This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.

Open this photo in gallery:

Prosecutors say no political directions in handling of Mark Norman trial

The legal team representing Vice-Admiral Mark Norman raised questions in court yesterday about the independence of federal prosecutors after Crown lawyers and lawyers from the Privy Council Office discussed trial strategy last year. Today, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada issued a statement reaffirming its independence and said it never sought or received instructions from the government. Nevertheless, a lawyer for the vice-admiral, who is accused of leaking government secrets, told a judge that the Crown’s actions are “more concerning” than the SNC-Lavalin case because the Crown dealt directly with the Privy Council Office.

Winter storms, severe storms hit provinces coast to coast

Open this photo in gallery:

A third major snowstorm has hit British Columbia’s south coast and Vancouver Island, closing schools and disrupting all forms of travel. Also, a massive winter storm of snow, ice and high winds is moving through Ontario on its way into Quebec and New Brunswick. Meanwhile, much of the Prairies sit under an extreme cold alert as temperatures fall as low as minus-40 overnight. In other words, it’s winter. In Canada.

President Trump ‘not thrilled’ with border-security deal

President Donald Trump said today he’s “unhappy” with a hard-won agreement to prevent a new government shutdown and finance construction of more barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, but he didn’t say whether or not he would sign the measure. Mr. Trump said he needs to look further at the agreement, which would grant far less than the US$5.7-billion he wants for a long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Republican congressional leaders swung behind the proposed deal, selling it as a necessary compromise.

Open this photo in gallery:

Toronto researchers discover how immune cells use neurochemicals to fight infection

For almost a decade, scientists have wondered why blood cells that are crucial to the body’s defences against infection also produce a molecule that is better known for its role in conducting signals within the brain. Now, science reporter Ivan Semeniuk reports, researchers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto think they’ve found the answer: The molecule, called acetylcholine, is used by immune cells to trigger a chemical chain reaction that loosens blood vessels, opening a doorway into infected tissues.

MARKET WATCH

Canada’s main stock index closed higher today, as energy shares rose amid a surge in oil prices. Marijuana and tech stocks also rose. At the close, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 73.25 points, or 0.47 per cent, at 15,642.10.

Wall Street rallied on Tuesday as investors were heartened by a tentative congressional spending deal to avoid another government shutdown and by optimism surrounding the U.S.-China trade negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 372.65 points, or 1.49 percent, to 25,425.76, the S&P 500 gained 34.93 points, or 1.29 percent, to 2,744.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 106.71 points, or 1.46 percent, to 7,414.62.

Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.

WHAT’S POPULAR WITH READERS

Open this photo in gallery:

Notorious drug lord El Chapo convicted on all 10 counts in U.S. drug-trafficking trial

Mexico’s most notorious drug lord, Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman, was convicted today of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation after a three-month trial. The long list of guilty verdicts on drug and conspiracy charges could put the 61-year-old escape artist behind bars for decades in a maximum-security U.S. prison selected to thwart another one of the breakouts that made him a folk hero in his native country. As the Associated Press reports, a jury whose members’ identities were kept secret reached a verdict after deliberating for six days in the expansive case, sorting through what authorities called an “avalanche” of evidence gathered since the late 1980s that Guzman and his murderous Sinaloa drug cartel made billions in profits by smuggling tons of cocaine, heroin, meth and marijuana into the United States.

WHAT ELSE IS ON OUR RADAR

• British Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons she needed more time to salvage the European Union withdrawal agreement, which was soundly rejected by members of Parliament last month, but so far EU officials have refused to make any changes to the agreement, leaving Ms. May scrambling to find a solution that will win enough support among British MPs. (The Globe and Mail)
• An expert on cellphone towers says the chances are “very small” that Richard Oland’s cellphone was still in his Saint John office when it received a final text message on the day the multimillionaire was killed. (The Canadian Press)
• Authorities have laid charges against 17 people allegedly involved in an extensive international money-laundering network with ties to organized crime. (The Canadian Press) 
• The parliamentary budget watchdog is projecting the federal deficit this fiscal year will come in $2.1-billion lower than the Liberals have predicted. (The Canadian Press)
• Three women who attend Yale University sued the school and nine all-male fraternities today, seeking to force the social organizations to admit women in response to alleged sexual assault, harassment and discrimination. (The Associated Press)

TALKING POINTS

Never mind Jeff Bezos’s privacy – worry about your own

“The likes of Mr. Bezos and Amazon are at the top of that food chain, but there are thousands of smaller players. Local news is full of stories of hacked baby monitors or full-on digital home invasions in which needlessly smart devices are taken over remotely and, sometimes, held for ransom. But the novelty of the minute conveniences offered by smart devices – such as houses that warm up when we pull into the driveway – have obscured that it’s creepy to have inanimate objects watching over us.” ― Denise Balkissoon

Donald Trump hones his killer mentality with snake venom

“Books on Donald Trump are by authors who either like him or can’t stand him. Finally there’s one – Team of Vipers, by his former special assistant Cliff Sims – which falls into neither camp.” ― Lawrence Martin

In Memoriam: The 2019 Academy Awards

“On Monday, the Academy’s board of governors took out a shovel, dug a hole, and jumped so deep inside this new, previously unimaginable low that their voices could barely be heard above all the dirt steadily showering itself into their gaping maws.” ― Barry Hertz

LIVING BETTER

Open this photo in gallery:

Henry Winkler, television’s most sweetly complicated man – and the happiest guy in the room

“The door opens, in strides Henry Winkler – this sweet and complicated man – and brings happiness and warmth with him. He’s beaming, shakes hands with each of us, remembers that he met one of us before and compliments a young woman on her leather jacket. She blushes and you know what she’s thinking: “The Fonz just told me my leather jacket is cool.”

That’s John Doyle, writing from Beverly Hills, Calif., at the annual TV critics tour, about Winkler and his Emmy-winning role in the HBO show, Barry. Winkler is 73 now and is best known for his role of the Fonz on Happy Days. Doyle reports Winkler is very much enjoying a late renaissance and how happy he is with his role as an acting teacher who has a scoundrel side to him in the show.

New show turns the art of glass blowing into high-stakes competition

A new reality show that pits glass blowers against each other for a prestigious museum contract worth about $80,000 launches on the craft channel Makeful next week before it moves to Netflix in the spring. As Kate Taylor reports, the 10-episode reality series, called Blown Away, is recorded in Hamilton and its producers are looking to capitalize on the success of baking and metalwork reality shows. The series gives the contestants 10 assignments, some artistic, some practical, such as a lamp, a vessel, a piece on a pop-art theme or a sculpture that has to be created with another contestant. Contestants only have a few hours to consider each assignment and then another few hours to execute it.

Open this photo in gallery:

Embrace Prince Edward Island’s new cool on your next family vacation

Lola Augustine Brown, who has been taking her kids to Prince Edward Island for more than a decade, says it’s gotten a whole lot more interesting for grown-ups in recent years, a place where craft breweries, indie music cafés and sporty pursuits can be a part of your holiday. Lola covers what you can find on the island, including Trailside Music Café, the Hopyard Beer Bar and Cavendish Beach.

LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE

Open this photo in gallery:

Birdwatchers flock to Ottawa woman’s backyard to catch a glimpse of a rare bird

Denise Smith, a grandmother and 30-year daycare provider who loves birds, still laughs about what has happened to her over the past couple of weeks. Feature writer Roy MacGregor writes that she and husband James live in a tidy bungalow that backs onto wooded parkland in Ottawa. A small songbird landed on one of their feeders in late January. Ms. Smith took a photograph and sent it off to a friend. The bird, it turned out, was a rare lazuli bunting, a male whose plumage will turn bright blue come spring.

The rare bird was identified and mentioned on an electronic mailing list for birders. Someone added the Smiths’ names and their address. Soon there were detailed instructions on where to park and how to walk through the National Capital Commission woods to get a good view of the feeders.

Evening Update is written by Michael Snider. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.