Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Ottawa to include $40-billion for Indigenous child welfare compensation and reform in tomorrow’s fall economic statement
Developing story: The federal government has earmarked $40-billion in its fall economic statement, to be released tomorrow, on Indigenous child welfare compensation and long-term reform, The Globe and Mail learned ahead of comments this afternoon by Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller.
Since November, confidential talks have been taking place on Indigenous children who were unnecessarily taken into the child welfare system. The goal of the talks was to reach an out-of-court settlement worth billions before the end of the year.
Sources have told The Globe that Ottawa’s announcement does not amount to a settlement with the parties involved.
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Bank of Canada renews 2-per-cent inflation target, emphasizes maximum employment
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has told the Bank of Canada to continue targeting low and stable inflation, while also directing it to put emphasis on maximum employment when making monetary policy decisions.
That moves the Bank of Canada closer to a U.S.-style dual mandate – which seeks to maintain price stability alongside full employment – although it stops short of directing the central bank to hit explicit employment targets.
The central bank’s “primary objective” remains stabilizing the value of the Canadian dollar by aiming for 2-per-cent inflation within a 1-per-cent to 3-per-cent range.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai among those jailed over Tiananmen memorial
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai and seven other Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have been sentenced to as many as 14 months in prison for their roles in a banned vigil held last year for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
A candlelit ceremony had been held every June 4 until 2020, when police banned the event on pandemic grounds, despite the fact Hong Kong had few cases at the time. Large crowds turned up regardless, ignoring police barriers around Victoria Park to hold a peaceful commemoration. It did not result in a mass infection.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ottawa apologizes to military victims: Defence Minister Anita Anand has apologized to victims of military sexual misconduct on behalf of the federal government, saying Ottawa has long failed to protect those who willingly signed up to protect Canada.
At least 64 dead after U.S. tornadoes: Residents of Kentucky counties where tornadoes killed several dozen people could be without heat, water or electricity in frigid temperatures for weeks or longer, state officials have warned, as the toll of damage and deaths came into clearer focus in five states slammed by the swarm of twisters. In photos: Town of Mayfield, Ky., grieves in tornado aftermath.
B.C. lifting gas restrictions: The British Columbia government is lifting a restriction tomorrow on gasoline for the general public that was put in place after flooding and landslides cut off supplies.
New Brunswick inks child care deal: New Brunswick has signed a deal with the federal government to create 5,700 new child care spaces at an average cost to parents of $10 a day by 2026. That leaves Ontario, Nunavut and Northwest Territories as the only jurisdictions that haven’t reached a deal with Ottawa.
Nassar victims reach settlement: Victims of sexual abuse by disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar have reached a US$380-million settlement with USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and their insurers after a five-year legal battle, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Time magazine taps Musk: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2021, a year in which his electric car company became the most valuable car maker in the world and his rocket company soared to the edge of space with an all-civilian crew.
Golden Globe nominations announced: After widespread criticism forced the organization that puts on the Golden Globes to lose its televised award show and overhaul its membership, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have announced nominees for film and television awards despite skepticism from the entertainment industry.
On today’s episode of The Decibel podcast: Environment reporter Kathryn Blaze Baum explores the world of natural assets, looking at the complex issues of how values are ascribed to landscapes and why some people are worried about the consequences of this shift in thinking.
MARKET WATCH
North American stock markets ended lower today, with shares of Carnival Corp and several airlines tumbling on Wall Street as investors worried about the Omicron coronavirus variant ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 320.04 points or 0.89 per cent to 35,650.95 points, the S&P 500 lost 43.05 points or 0.91 per cent to end at 4,668.97and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 217.32 points or 1.39 per cent to 15,413.28.
The S&P/TSX Composite slid 142.17 points or 0.68 per cent to 20,748.45.
The loonie also fell by 0.64 per cent to 78.055 U.S. cents
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TALKING POINTS
We have a lot to learn about COVID-19 immunity
“COVID-19 is here to stay. It’s in our interest, individually and collectively, to bolster our immunity as best we can because that will minimize illness and death. Ultimately that’s what matters.” - André Picard
NHL should have known about Beijing’s COVID-19 rules
“If the millionaires of the NHL want to be the ones who drop out en masse, that’s their business. But for the love of god, spare us weeks of public garment-rending about how agonizing this decision is.” – Cathal Kelly
LIVING BETTER
While carbs have gotten a bad rap when it comes to a healthy diet, not all are bad for you. Some types should be limited, such as added sugars and refined grains, but ousting others can rob your body of nutrients, drain your energy, worsen your mood and, possibly, affect your long-term health. Here are four signs that you may need more carbohydrates – and what you can do balance your diet to maintain health.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Mel Lastman, Toronto’s gaffe-prone mayor, was a salesman like nooooo-body! else
Mel Lastman during an interview with The Globe in his photo-lined office at City Hall on Jan. 15, 2003.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail
He was the least likely political success story: a high-school dropout with reading difficulties whose greatest natural talents were selling refrigerators and placing his foot in his mouth. Yet, over a career in municipal government that spanned 35 years, Mel Lastman proved an outstanding salesman in the realms of both politics and appliances. He died Saturday at 88 years old.
He will be forever remembered for calling in the army to shovel Toronto’s wintry sidewalks, for imploring the Spice Girls to reunite and for his fear of African “natives” who would boil him alive, but between these gaffes lived a serious politician staggering under the burden of an amalgamated Toronto.
For a very short man, Lastman had a very large mouth, a quality that endeared him to allies and infuriated foes, including much of the intelligentsia of downtown Toronto. Read Elizabeth Renzetti’s full obituary here.
Related: Family, friends say goodbye to former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman at funeral
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