Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
More than two years after telecom giants Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. faced off against Canada’s anti-competitive watchdog in the biggest case ever heard by the Competition Tribunal, Ottawa has cleared the way for the Rogers-Shaw $20-billion takeover.
The deal comes with conditions. Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced during a news conference Friday morning that Rogers and Videotron have signed written undertakings agreeing to 21 different conditions relating to the affordability and accessibility of wireless services, saying that there will be stiff financial penalties if those promises are not upheld.
The deal combines the country’s two largest cable networks and allows Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron to expand outside of its home province of Quebec by acquiring Shaw’s Freedom Mobile, Canada’s fourth-largest wireless carrier, for $2.85-billion.
Read more:
- Opinion: Competition Bureau picked the wrong right with Rogers-Shaw
- Opinion: If Rogers-Shaw deal is good for competition, how is it good for Rogers-Shaw?
- Explainer: The Rogers-Shaw takeover is going ahead. What you need to know about the $20-billion deal
Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne holds up a contract between the telecoms and the federal government as he speaks at a news conference about the Rogers-Shaw merger on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 31, 2023.PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press
Bodies of two more migrants found along Canada-U. S. border, bringing death toll to eight
The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service says they are investigating after the bodies of eight people were found late Thursday afternoon in the St. Lawrence River by a marsh area in the Quebec section of the Mohawk territory of Akwesasne, which straddles the Canada-United States border.
Authorities say a 30-year-old Mohawk man is still missing while two children are among the bodies of eight people of Indian, and Romanian descent who were trying to enter the U.S. from Canada.
A team of rescue searchers look for victims March 31, 2023 after a boat capsized and left six people dead and one infant missing in Akwesasne, Que.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
A year after Russia’s crimes in Bucha came to light, Ukraine marches toward justice for its civilians
It’s been a year since the Kyiv suburb of Bucha experienced a brutal month-long occupation by Russian forces. Since then, the world has heard testimony from survivors on the systematic torture, rape and executions that took place.
Now, as Ukrainians commemorate its liberation and remember those who died, Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General, Andrii Kostin, says he has evidence of 9,000 Russian war crimes committed in Bucha and the surrounding area, including 37 children killed during Russia’s 33-day occupation of the region.
Residents of Bucha lined as live chain near the map of Ukraine made from candles to greet Ukrainian soldiers participated ion the liberation of the city of Bucha, Ukraine, March 31, 2023.Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail
Global Affairs told Sajjan to press Qatar for arms deal during World Cup
International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan was briefed to lobby for an arms deal between one of the country’s leading military equipment manufacturers and Qatar’s armed forces ahead of a visit to the emirate for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Sajjan met with Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a member of the emirate’s ruling family, in November last year. A briefing document prepared for Sajjan by Global Affairs Canada and obtained by The Globe and Mail references the deal, which was apparently in the works with Ontario’s General Dynamics Land Systems.
Belgium Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, wears a "One Love" armband on the tribune during the World Cup group F soccer match between Belgium and Canada, at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 23, 2022.Natacha Pisarenko/The Associated Press
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was sent to you as a forward, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters here. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Canadian economy regains momentum, thwarts recession calls: In the face of the highest interest rates seen in 15 years, Canada has managed to avoid going into a recession and has instead gained some momentum in the first few months of 2023.
The peril and promise of artificial intelligence: ChatGPT, released last November, attracts over 100 million users a month, spurring a language processing arms race between the world’s biggest tech companies – but a lot of people are terrified, Ian Brown writes, and reasonably so.
The federal minimum wage is going up. Where does it apply and how do provinces compare? The federal minimum wage in Canada is going up by more than a dollar, to $16.65 on Saturday, from $15.55. The federal government said the rise is based on the Consumer Price Index, which went up 6.8 per cent last year. But who does it apply to, and what about provincial and territorial minimum wages? This explainer answers these questions and more.
Trump to be arraigned April 4 to face New York hush-money indictment: When Donald Trump turns himself in, he’ll be booked mostly like anyone else facing charges, mug shot and all. But he isn’t expected to be put in handcuffs, he’ll have Secret Service protection and will almost certainly be released that day.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in New York. What do you want to know? The Globe’s David Shribman will answer reader questions about Trump, the indictment and what happens next to the 2024 presidential candidate. E-mail audience@globeandmail.com
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index climbed more than 150 points Friday to close out the first quarter of the year in positive territory in spite of this month’s Silicon Valley Bank-related market turmoil.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 158.90 points at 20,099.89.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 415.12 points at 33,274.15. The S&P 500 index was up 58.48 points at 4,109.31, while the Nasdaq composite was up 208.44 points at 12,221.91.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged, trading at 73.89 cents US.
The May crude contract was up $1.30 at US$75.67 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up 11 cents at US$2.22 per mmBTU.
The June gold contract was down US$11.50 at US$1,986.20 an ounce and the May copper contract was up less than one cent at US$4.09 a pound.
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.
TALKING POINTS
The National Hockey League has a war crimes problem
“By minimizing Vladimir Putin’s crimes, the NHL is sport-washing mass atrocities. Now, with an ICC warrant out for Mr. Putin’s arrest, will the NHL and Alexander Ovechkin finally change their tune?” – Mark Kersten
The word ‘woke’ is dead. We hardly knew her
“For a time, woke was the new It Word. It was to late-stage capitalism what ‘cool’ was to the Jazz Age – a saying seemingly headed for a comfortable place in the daily vernacular. How did woke lose its way?” – Vicky Mochama
Is it just me, or is society becoming ruder and meaner?
“It can’t just be generational, this perception I have that society is becoming ruder and meaner. The unapologetic boorishness of so many newsmakers and those who spend their days spouting hate and threats online seems to be having a trickle-down effect that taints even the most banal interpersonal exchanges.“ – Mary Fairhurst Breen
LIVING BETTER
Can we inoculate our brains against misinformation? A new book suggests we can
If you think you’re immune to falling for hoaxes, here’s some bad news for you: You’re probably not. As Erin Anderssen reports, even an expert in misinformation fell for a fake NASA video that landed in his Twitter feed (unfortunately, he didn’t know it before retweeting it out to his 13,000 followers.) But a new book offers some hopeful research about ways we can avoid falling victim to misinformation. In Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity, author Sander van der Linden lays out research that suggests our brains can be ‘inoculated’ against fake news, priming our brains to recognize and reject this false information before we spread it.
TODAY’S LONG READ
TikTok is helping libraries flip their quiet, stuffy reputation on its head
Illustration by The Globe and Mail
Libraries are more than just books, writes Maryam Siddiqi. Alberta’s Grand Prairie Public Library became one of the first in Canada to launch a TikTok account. Now, with more than half a million likes on their videos, this one-branch library system’s social strategy is a model for educating and entertaining viewers, whether they regularly visit their local library or not.
Evening Update is written by Emerald Bensadoun. 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.