General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff speaks as the Canadian Armed Forces addresses the findings of a Statistics Canada Survey on sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces during a news conference at National defence headquaters in Ottawa on Monday, Nov. 28, 2016. The military’s top police officer says his service will review all sexual assault cases that were dismissed as unfounded going back to 2010.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
TODAY'S TOP STORIES
Military police to review sexual-assault cases
Canada's military will review all sexual-assault cases dismissed as unfounded going back to 2010, the military's top police officer said, making the Canadian Forces Military Police Group one of more than 50 forces committing to similar audits in response to a Globe and Mail investigation. The military police say 167 unfounded cases will be in its review.
Sick military veterans want Health Minister to further probe tainted marijuana
A group of military veterans who say they suffer from health problems connected to the consumption of tainted medical marijuana is calling on Health Minister Jane Philpott to launch a formal investigation. The group says Health Canada has failed to examine the problem properly and fairly on behalf of patients. The call comes after Health Canada said Friday that it determined "low health risk" posed by several banned pesticides found in medical marijuana sold by two federally licensed companies.
Trudeau approved blocking of candidate from Liberal MP race
Despite often saying that open party nominations would allow local members to choose who can become a Liberal candidate, The Globe and Mail has learned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau played a key role in blocking the candidacy of Alan DeSousa, the long-time mayor of the Montreal borough of St-Laurent, ahead of the nomination meeting in the St-Laurent riding last week.
Turkish dispute renews concerns ahead of Dutch election
Voters in the Netherlands go to the polls on Wednesday, with race and immigration the central issues as the campaign nears its end. Geert Wilders of the Freedom Party has led most polls with an anti-immigrant message that calls for banning the Koran and closing mosques, and his campaign gained some momentum after protests this weekend following a Dutch government decision to block visits of two Turkish cabinet ministers. The vote will closely be watched as a possible precursor to upcoming votes in France, Italy and Germany.
MORNING MARKETS
An event-packed week for global markets got under way on Monday with stocks steady and the greenback recovering from a three-day fall as investors braced for a potential interest rate hike in the U.S., a Dutch election and the first G20 finance ministers' meeting of the Trump era. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.1 per cent, and the Shanghai composite 0.8 per cent. In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 was up marginally by about 5:45 a.m. ET, while London's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX were up 0.1 per cent. New York futures were little changed. Oil hovered around three-month lows, as rising U.S. inventories offset optimism over OPEC's efforts to restrict crude output.
THE LOOKAHEAD
The U.S. Federal Reserve is all but certain to increase its key interest rate this week for the second time in three months, raising concerns that bonds and the Canadian dollar will be walloped. Investors have been anticipating higher U.S. interest rates ever since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November, sending yields on U.S. Treasury bonds sharply higher and causing all sorts of mayhem on fixed-income investments. The anticipation of U.S. rate hikes has hit the Canadian dollar. The loonie has fallen close to 74 cents against the U.S. dollar, down more than 2 cents in the past two weeks. If the Fed suggests this week that it is going to continue to raise its key rate as the year progresses, there may be more pain ahead for the loonie. (for subscribers)
WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT
"It was about time for the government to clear out invalidated provisions from the Criminal Code and mere happenstance that the effort, which includes deleting the defunct section outlawing abortion that was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1988, was launched while the Conservatives are divided, and in the heat of a leadership race. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould insisted it wasn't about reopening the abortion debate, but about cleaning up a whole bunch of defunct sections such as the one that made it a crime to spread false news, so apparently it was coincidence that it was announced on International Women's Day. One gets the feeling there might be more coincidences coming – the kind that make Conservatives, and some of their leadership candidates, squirm." – Campbell Clark
"There are so many good reasons for Conservatives to laugh off the prospect of Kevin O'Leary as their leader. He does not appear to be terribly conservative, other than on some fiscal matters. His knowledge of how this country's government works appears rudimentary at best. He has been the only candidate to duck debates in which he might have to attempt both official languages. His commitment to their party is so minimal, he has not bothered to move back to Canada full-time while running for its leadership, and not committed to seek a seat in Parliament if he wins. Yet, despite the entrepreneur and TV celebrity launching his campaign much later than any of the other 13 candidates in the race, the consensus in rival camps and among neutral party insiders is that he is among the top three in that crowded field, and possibly leading in first-choice support." – Adam Radwanski
"There is a lot of angst in Canada about the looming renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement. Perhaps no sector has more to fear than the dairy industry. It's highly protected. It has been a frequent target of U.S. trade complaints, even before U.S. President Donald Trump. And unlike other vulnerable Canadian sectors, it has few natural allies in the United States and a long list of enemies from big dairy-producing states, including House speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York. When Mr. Trump comes looking for concessions from Ottawa, you can bet dairy will be near the top of his NAFTA 2.0 hit list." – Barrie McKenna (for subscribers)
HEALTH PRIMER
Magic number for fruits and vegetables
According to a new review, published last month in the International Journal of Epidemiology, 10 is the optimal number of daily servings of fruits and vegetables you should be striving for. The review, which combined data from 95 independent studies conducted in Europe, the U.S., Asia and Australia, showed eating 10 servings a day was associated with a 24-per-cent lower risk of heart disease, 33-per-cent lower risk of stroke, 14-per-cent lower risk of cancer and a 31-per-cent reduced risk of early death.
MOMENT IN TIME
News of Macdonald's wedding reaches Canada
March 13, 1867: Although the wedding took place on Feb. 16, details of the marriage of John A. Macdonald in England only made it to Canada in mid-March. Macdonald was in London to handle final negotiations on the British North America Act, but he took time out to marry Agnes Bernard, his second wife. They had met years earlier – when her brother was Macdonald's private secretary – but became reacquainted in London. The Globe reported the "splendid affair" took place at St. George's church on Hanover Square, and included 90 guests. "John A. made one of his best and happiest speeches," declaring that he had been so preoccupied with the idea of union in the Confederation talks that he thought he should apply it to his own situation. Lady Macdonald became an avid diarist and writer, and famously rode a train through the Rockies sitting upfront on the cowcatcher. – Richard Blackwell
Morning Update was written by Steven Proceviat.
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