Good evening,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Kenney warns of a constitutional crisis if Ottawa’s environmental-protection bill is not amended
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney warned of a constitutional crisis brewing over the Liberal government’s energy and environmental policies today, telling a Senate hearing that Ottawa has no business regulating provincially owned resources.
Unless the federal government accepts major amendments to its bill to overhaul the assessment of major resource projects, Mr. Kenney said Alberta will challenge Bill C-69 in court.
He likened the legislation to the 1980s National Energy Program, a source of deep resentment in Alberta over what then-premier Peter Lougheed condemned as unacceptable federal encroachment. Mr. Kenney also met today with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; it was the Liberals led by his father, Pierre Trudeau, that introduced the NEP.
Canadian pork producer Olymel says China is refusing shipments from Alberta plant
Canadian pork producer Olymel LP says China is refusing meat shipments from its plant in Red Deer, Alta., amid growing tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.
Canada’s agriculture minister said yesterday that the Chinese government has suspended the export permits of two Canadian pork entities.
Also this week, Ottawa announced relief measures for farmers in the wake of China withdrawing the import licences for two major canola sellers, which growers say does nothing to address the root issue.
The trade actions are seen as retaliation after Canada’s Dec. 1 arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a top executive with Chinese telecom giant Huawei, at the request of the United States. Since then, again in apparent retaliation, two Canadians have been detained in China and two others sentenced to death.
Bombardier to sell Belfast, Morocco factories; suspends financial targets for 2020
Bombardier is moving to sell its aircraft component factories in Morocco and Northern Ireland and suspending financial targets for 2020, in the fourth year of a five-year turnaround (for subscribers). The shares fell 5 per cent today in Toronto to $2.22.
The move highlights chief executive Alain Bellemare’s effort to reduce costs and position Bombardier for the future by selling parts of the business he sees as having the least growth potential.
Separately, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is backing a proposal to end Bombardier’s dual class share structure and remove the control of the founding family. Although CPPIB is one of Bombardier’s 25 biggest shareholders, the proposal by investor rights group Médac is likely to fail.
SNC-Lavalin to step back from 15 countries, stop fixed-price bids in mining
CEO Neil Bruce says SNC-Lavalin Group will scale down its operations in 15 countries and stop bidding on fixed-price contracts in the mining industry, focusing instead on infrastructure and oil and gas work in its core regions (for subscribers).
He noted the company is undergoing an organizational revamp, combining its oil and gas business with its mining unit as part of a cost-reduction program.
Meanwhile, Spain’s largest construction company, Ferrovial, and Canada’s biggest pension plan, CPPIB, are expected to increase their stakes in Ontario’s Highway 407 by trumping a $3.25-billion offer for SNC-Lavalin Group’s holding in the toll road by OMERS pension plan.
Before and after images show the scale of devastation in flooded parts of Quebec
Greater Montreal has been among the regions most affected by this year’s spring floods, which also wreaked havoc in other parts of Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. The Globe and Mail obtained recent satellite images of extensively flooded neighbourhoods. Check out the before and after images here.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Playoff action: The NBA’s Toronto Raptors play the 76ers in Philadelphia tonight, trying to rebound from a loss in Game 2 that tied the series 1-1 (for subscribers). Check back later tonight at GlobeSports.com for the score and highlights.
Vancouver home sales slump to 24-year low: Housing prices in the Vancouver region are falling while sales have decreased to a 24-year low as the real estate industry blames government policies for the slowdown (for subscribers).
Pelosi accuses Barr of committing crime: Congressional Democrats stepped up pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration today as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Attorney-General William Barr of committing a crime and an influential committee chairman threatened to hold Mr. Barr in contempt of Congress.
Oxford selling stakes in four Fairmont hotels: Oxford Properties Group is planning to sell half of its ownership in the Fairmont Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise and two other Rockies resorts in what could be one of the biggest hotel deals in recent years (for subscribers).
Hockey legend Red Kelly dies: Hockey Hall of Famer Red Kelly, an elite defenceman and centre who won eight Stanley Cups in a 20-year career - and moonlighted as a member of Parliament - died today in Toronto at age 91.
Women’s hockey stars announce boycott: More than 200 of the world’s top female hockey players have declared they will not compete in North America next season in a dramatic attempt to establish a single, economically viable professional league.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index fell today, as lower crude prices pulled down energy shares, while precious metal miners were hurt by a fall in gold prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 91.87 points at 16,410.88.
On Wall Street, major indexes gave up initial gains and closed in the red, weighed down by energy shares as oil prices slumped.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 122.35 points to 26,307.79, the S&P 500 lost 6.21 points to end at 2,917.52 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 12.87 points to 8,036.77.
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TALKING POINTS
No, you don’t have to choose. Canada should say ‘Yes’ to both carbon taxes and pipelines
“Pardon the pun, but it’s not a pipe dream. It shouldn’t even be all that difficult. We know what to do. But politics, on the left and the right, keeps getting in the way.”- Globe editorial
Give it up, Democrats: Russiagate is over
“Their problem ... is that the Mueller missive comes more than a month too late. By getting out first with a Trump-friendly spin on the report, Mr. Barr shaped the public narrative to the President’s lasting advantage.” - Lawrence Martin (for subscribers)
LIVING BETTER
Alex Trebek, the longtime host of Jeopardy!, opened up in a recent TV interview about his battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, including his struggle with depression during chemotherapy. He said he wanted to use the attention he’s received to raise awareness. He said he often felt depressed the day after a chemotherapy treatment. “Chemo affects people in different ways, and people have to understand that,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with saying, ‘Hey, I am really depressed today and I have no idea why. Why am I crying today?’”
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Canadian author Wayson Choy inspired others with tales of a Chinatown childhood and as a role model for LGBTQ artists
In 1995, when Canadian literature felt very white, Wayson Choy published a novel that was not only an exceptional piece of writing, but one that depicted a family that many readers recognized: new Canadians, non-white, living in the inner city, dealing with racism and struggling to balance tradition with hopes for a more modern life. The Jade Peony, the story of a family in Vancouver’s Chinatown during the 1930s and ’40s, led the way for many other Asian-Canadian artists.
Mr. Choy was gay and also a role model for LGBTQ artists. He had a rich family life but one that was anything but traditional. Long before people spoke of chosen families, Mr. Choy selected his own, living with two – one in Caledon, Ont., then one in Toronto – in houses they co-owned. He was godfather to their children and had a rich circle of friends.
On Sunday, eight days after he turned 80, Mr. Choy died after suffering cardiac arrest at the Toronto home he shared with Marie and Karl Schweishelm. It was what he might have called a lucky death – quick and painless. “There wasn’t even a sound. That’s how fast it was,” Ms. Schweishelm says. “If you love somebody, that’s what you’d wish for.” Read Marsha Lederman’s full story here.
Wayson Choy in 2009. (Photo by Jennifer Roberts for The Globe and Mail)JENNIFER ROBERTS/The Globe and Mail
Evicted: The loophole Ontario landlords use to force tenants out
It is a little understood loophole in Ontario tenancy laws, but one so potent that it can put tenants out on the street with little recourse. Called an N12, it allows a landlord to evict a tenant simply by stating the owner or an immediate family member intends to move in.
And in tight rental markets such as Toronto’s, where demand far outstrips the city’s supply of available units, it’s a tool that a growing number of landlords appear to be using to flip units back into the market and charge higher rents.
The number of N12 evictions disputed before the Landlord and Tenant Board has almost doubled since 2012, according to data reviewed by The Globe and Mail. Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, says that concerns about illegal evictions represent the “No. 1” concern of renters who call his organization for help. “It’s just through the roof,” he says. Read Shane Dingman’s full story here.
Manal Khader says she was homeless for six weeks after losing a challenge to an eviction order at a Landlord and Tenant Board tribunal.. (Photo by Marta Iwanek for The Globe and Mail)Marta Iwanek/The Globe and Mail
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