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Good evening,

In today’s The Decibel, host Tamara Khandaker speaks to personal finance experts and co-hosts of the Stress Test podcast Rob Carrick and Roma Luciw about what to do with new-found pandemic savings, the meaning of ‘revenge spending,’ and how to stave off FOMO in a postvaccine world.

Now on to today’s top stories:

Ottawa enters legal battle over Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline

The federal government is formally wading into a legal battle over the future of Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, a major cross-border energy conduit for Ontario and Quebec, warning a U.S. court that Michigan’s effort to shut this down unilaterally would not only disrupt Canada’s energy security but damage bilateral relations.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has ordered the pipeline to permanently cease operations by tomorrow, citing the risk of oil spills and calling it a “ticking time bomb.” After that, she has warned, Enbridge will be breaking the law.

Calgary-based Enbridge has defied her order and challenged it in court, saying it will not shut down the line, which carries 540,000 barrels per day. The two sides have been in mediation since April.

Read more: Union to make last-minute plea as Michigan shutdown of Enbridge’s Line 5 looms

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Canadian company wins COVID-19 vaccine deal with Bolivia – and WTO support

The World Trade Organization says it welcomes a landmark decision by the Bolivian government to seek a compulsory licence for Canadian company Biolyse Pharma to produce and export COVID-19 vaccines without the permission of the patent holder, Johnson & Johnson.

The agreement, if approved by the Canadian government, is an almost unprecedented step to open up avenues for expanded vaccine production with fewer patent restrictions at a time of severe shortages in lower-income countries.

It also offers an alternative to a full waiver of vaccine patents – an issue that has been debated at the WTO for the past seven months without resolution, partly due to a lack of support from governments such as Canada.

In other developments:

Ontario’s top doctor David Williams says the province will stop giving out first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine out of an abundance of caution because of increased instances of a rare blood clotting disorder linked to the shot. The decision follows a similar move in Alberta.

The Canadian government must create a comprehensive quarantine and screening system for international travellers to help stop the COVID-19 crisis – and to prepare for the next threat, infectious disease specialists say.

The pandemic has reached the world’s tallest mountain, prompting concerns for the safety of climbers and locals after multiple people were evacuated from Everest base camp and later tested positive for COVID-19.

Dozens of dead bodies have been found floating down the Ganges River in eastern India as the country battles a ferocious surge in infections.

Read more: Nova Scotia’s border ban delays dream of a fresh start for B.C. family

In photos: Signs of optimism as NYC sees rise in tourism

Filmmaker Michelle Latimer breaks her silence after Indigenous ancestry controversy

After five months of silence, Michelle Latimer is ready to talk.

The filmmaker became the centre of an explosive debate about identity, representation, diversity and opportunity. On Dec. 17, CBC News published an investigation that scrutinized Latimer’s Indigenous heritage, focusing on her ties to Kitigan Zibi, an Algonquin community in western Quebec.

Latimer resigned from CBC’s Trickster, the series that she co-created and directed, based on the books by Haisla and Heiltsuk author Eden Robinson. Her documentary Inconvenient Indian was pulled from distribution, including a planned Sundance Film Festival premiere.

In a wide-ranging and emotional conversation with The Globe’s Barry Hertz, she discussed her actions, her past and her hopes for her future.

Opinion: As an Indigenous professor, Egerton Ryerson’s name haunts me - Anne Spice

ALSO IN THE NEWS

Israel, Hamas conflict escalates: A confrontation between Israel and Hamas sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem escalated as Israel unleashed new air strikes on Gaza while militants barraged Israel with hundreds of rockets. The exchange killed a number of militants and civilians in Gaza and at least two Israelis.

Mass shooting at Russian school: A 19-year-old suspect was arrested after a gunman launched an attack on a school in the Russian city of Kazan that left at least nine people dead – including seven youngsters – and at least 21 hospitalized, six in extremely grave condition, officials say

Paper Excellence to buy Domtar: Western Canadian forest products company Paper Excellence is moving into the U.S. market by acquiring Montreal-based pulp and paper producer Domtar Corp. for US$2.8-billion.

Canadians advance in Italy: Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is heading to the third round of the Italian Open after an upset victory today over No. 8 seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina. Earlier, fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov crushed Polish qualifier Kamil Majchrzak in a first-round match.

Raptors out of playoffs: Two years after their thrilling run to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the Toronto Raptors were officially eliminated from a spot in the NBA’s post-season play-in tournament last night with an Indiana Pacers’ victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

MARKET WATCH

North American stocks closed lower today as rising commodity prices and labor shortages prompted fears that despite reassurances from the U.S. Federal Reserve, near-term price spikes could morph into longer-term inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 473.66 points or 1.36 per cent to 34,269.16, the S&P 500 lost 36.33 points or 0.87 per cent to end at 4,152.1 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 12.43 points or 0.09 per cent to 13,389.43.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 87.84 points or 0.45 per cent to 19,274.04.

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LIVING BETTER

Tom Brown, a Calgary artist and miniaturist, will be teaching our ninth Globe Craft Club class, live-streamed today at 7 p.m. EDT. Brown has created miniatures since childhood, and seven years ago started a kitchen project recreating tiny versions of mugs, bowls, plates, cutlery, appliances and more. He’ll teach Craft Club how to make a miniature bowl and wooden spoon using a pop can, popsicle stick and twig. Watch the class at tgam.ca/craftclub or on Facebook, and for the latest updates join our Facebook group.

TODAY’S LONG READ

Sonja Smits opens up about her 40 years in the acting business

Open this photo in gallery:

Sonja Smits in Drifting SnowGame Theory Films

Some stars you love for their mystery, and some stars feel like family. Sonja Smits, 63, is the latter. She’s got a voice like warm buttered toast and a laugh rich with mischief. She carries herself elegantly; her wavy hair is now chic COVID-silver. But there’s raucousness in there, too. She tells me precisely one off-the-record story (Sharon Stone, Malta), which makes me long to sit in the garden of her Prince Edward County winery, Closson Chase, pour her a fat glass of red, and dish. Instead we are on Zoom, behaving ourselves.

She inscribed herself on Canada’s collective consciousness with back-to-back, pre-millennium series, Street Legal and Traders, that everyone sat down on Thursdays to watch, and defined a certain sort of shoulder-padded power woman – what Smits calls, “Tough, but.” She worked for David Cronenberg in Videodrome; co-starred with Philip Seymour Hoffman in Owning Mahowny; and parodied herself on the Rick Mercer Report.

But hers is a Canadian career, which means she hit roadblocks, first in the early 1980s. Smits recalls, “It was, ‘You’ve done your one CBC movie for the year, so now which do you want to do on screen: be raped, attacked by dogs or take your clothes off?’” Instead she spent three years in Los Angeles. Read Johanna Schneller’s full story here.

Film review: Canadian drama Drifting Snow finds brutal beauty in Prince Edward County

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