Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
A cargo ship lost power and crashed into a major bridge in Baltimore today, destroying it in a matter of seconds and plunging it into the water below. The dramatic collapse was caught on camera and could disrupt a vital shipping port for months. Six people, part of a crew filling potholes on the bridge, were missing and presumed dead. The ship caught fire, with black smoke billowing out of it. The crash happened in the middle of the night, well ahead of the usually busy morning commute.
In the latest update, Maryland’s Governor said the ship’s crew had issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the bridge, which helped authorities limit vehicle traffic just as the ship was barrelling toward the bridge at a “very, very rapid speed.”
Meanwhile in Canada, authorities reassured the public about the safety of various bridges across the country.
- Explainer: Why did the bridge in Baltimore collapse and what do we know about the ship?
- Shipping traffic freezes up in Baltimore port waters after bridge collapse; GM and Ford will reroute shipments
The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of the container ship Dali after the bridge collapsed, Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26, 2024. The bridge collapsed early March 26 after being struck by the Singapore-flagged Dali, sending multiple vehicles and people plunging into the frigid harbor below. There was no immediate confirmation of the cause of the disaster, but Baltimore's Police Commissioner Richard Worley said there was "no indication" of terrorism.AFP Contributor#AFP/Getty Images
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Bank of Canada warns of low productivity ‘emergency,’ making it harder to control inflation
The Bank of Canada is warning that weak productivity and low business investment has become a national emergency, making it harder to control inflation and risking the erosion of living standards. Senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers, the central bank’s second-in-command, issued the warning in a speech today, saying Canada’s economic output per worker is slipping further behind that of the United States and other peer countries. Before the final quarter of 2023, productivity had gone down for six consecutive quarters.
Rogers pointed to weak business investment, meager competition and a failure to properly integrate skilled immigrants into the Canadian work force. “I’m saying that it’s an emergency – it’s time to break the glass,” she said.
- Opinion: The productivity puzzle: How could we be doing so poorly? We did everything right!
MPs vote to examine security breach at Winnipeg infectious-disease lab
Opposition MPs on the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations voted today to examine the massive security breach at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. Liberal MPs on the committee tried to curtail the examination, but opposition MPs want to know how the breach happened and what steps are being taken to make sure it can’t happen again.
- Background: Censored documents about Winnipeg scientists reveal threat to Canada’s security
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ontario budget 2024: Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy tabled the province’s 2024-25 budget this afternoon, outlining a “deterioration” of the province’s fiscal situation and a higher deficit projection next year. Highlights include new spending on health care, auto insurance reforms and money for policing in the GTA.
Foreign interference inquiry begins: This year’s public inquiry into foreign interference is focusing on how China, Russia, India and other foreign actors may have meddled in past federal elections – and whether the government and its agencies have the ability to detect and counter that kind of interference in the future. More public hearings begin tomorrow. Here’s a look at how we got here.
B.C. immigration: International graduate students in B.C. are urging new requirements to the provincial nominee program be reassessed. Currently, graduate students in some fields can directly apply for permanent residency upon graduation. However, effective January, 2025, students will need a minimum one-year, full-time job offer and pass an English language proficiency test to qualify for the program.
Dead whales at Marineland: Two beluga whales have died at Marineland, bringing the total number of whale deaths since 2019 to 17. Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services has been probing the facility since 2020. The province didn’t say how the whales died.
Evacuations from Haiti: Thirty-six Canadians were helicoptered out of Haiti in the first two Canadian airlifts this morning, which flew them to the Dominican Republic. Haiti is in crisis, with armed gangs controlling much of its capital city.
- Related: Roots of crisis in Haiti stretch back to old alliances between politicians and gangs
Former U.S. president selling Bibles: Faced with mounting legal bills, Donald Trump is selling ‘God Bless the USA’ Bibles for $59.99. The website calls it “easy-to-read” with “large print” and “the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!”
Mining industry news: The federal government’s corporate ethics watchdog says Vancouver-based mining company Dynasty Gold Corp. has allowed forced labour at its gold mine in the Xinjiang region of China, even though the firm lost control of the project before the alleged slavery took place. The company calls the allegations baseless. The report today marks the first determination made by the watchdog since the office was created in 2018. China denies all allegations of slave labour in its Xinjiang region.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. stocks were little changed today, giving up modest gains late in the session, as investors awaited economic data. Canada’s main stock index was down almost 30 points.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 29.76 points at 21,912.52. The S&P 500 lost 14.61 points, or 0.28 per cent, to end at 5,203.58 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 68.77 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 16,315.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 31.31 points at 39,282.33.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.68 cents US.
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TALKING POINTS
Were we horrible for speculating about Princess Kate’s disappearance? Or just human?
“Are we horrible people? Did the public’s voracious need for gossip and drama just force a sick mother of three into reluctantly revealing her cancer diagnosis?” – Robyn Urback
Women’s rights advocates should stand up for victims on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
“Recognizing the suffering of “the other side” is not a sign of weakness, but rather, a recognition of our shared humanity.” – Sheema Khan
LIVING BETTER
A guide to family finances and the new CRA reporting rules for bare trusts – are you in the crosshairs?
Bare trusts must be disclosed through the filing of a T3 trust income tax and information return and a related Schedule 15 form, both of which can be a challenge to navigate, Rob Carrick writes.carlosbezz/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Got a joint bank account with a family member, or a name on your child’s title in order to help them qualify for a mortgage? You might have a bare trust on your hands. Rob Carrick asks Pam Prior, a tax partner at KPMG in Vancouver, to answer some reader questions on how to file a T3 tax return.
- Related: New tax rules forcing many Canadians to spend hundreds on accounting, legal fees
- More from Rob Carrick: A how-to for people caught up in CRA’s confusing new rules for reporting bare trusts
TODAY’S LONG READ
Yellowknife’s Snowcastle is a Gaudi-inspired winter masterpiece
Visitors and volunteers take in the sights and sounds of the Snowcasle and carvings at Snowking’s Winter Festival in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories on March 3, 2024.PAT KANE/The Globe and Mail
The Snowkings’ Winter Festival in Yellowknife, and its centrepiece Snowcastle, are a cultural mainstay attracting visitors from around the world. Every year, a colourful cast of characters, led by Yellowknife royalty the Snowking, spend four months building a huge winter playground on Great Slave Lake. Read more from Pat Kane here.
Evening Update is written by Maryam Shah. 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.