Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges accusing him of mishandling classified documents and obstructing efforts to get them back.
He surrendered to be arrested shortly before 2 p.m., becoming the first former U.S. president to face a federal criminal indictment, ahead of a 3 p.m. arraignment at a federal courthouse in Miami Tuesday afternoon. A few hundred pro- and anti-Trump protesters gathered near the court but the scene was largely peaceful.
The charges mark a major escalation of Trump’s legal peril, which already includes a state-level criminal indictment in New York over hush-money payments to a porn star. Two other investigations, meanwhile, are mulling further charges over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Illustration by Romain Lasser
The Globe and Mail’s Secret Canada investigation series
- News today: A chorus of opposition MPs and experts on civil liberties and government transparency are calling for an overhaul of the federal access to information regime, warning that without urgent changes to the system democracy is threatened.
- From Globe EIC David Walmsley: The Globe’s Secret Canada project aims to make governments more transparent
- Robyn Doolittle: Transparency in government isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s law
- Tom Cardoso: There’s no limit to what public bodies can charge to access
Last week, The Globe and Mail began publishing Secret Canada, an investigation into the country’s broken access regime.
Send us a note or use the hashtag #SecretCanada on social media. This information helps us grow the project. To stay updated on FOI news, upcoming data releases and new features, sign up for The Globe’s Secret Canada newsletter.
Former national security adviser didn’t regard CSIS memo as call to action on targeting of Conservative MP
David Morrison told MPs he read a July 2021 CSIS memo flagging China’s targeting of a Conservative MP and his relatives, but said he didn’t brief Prime Minister Justin Trudeau because he did not regard the document as a call to action.
“It was not a memorandum for action. It was a report for awareness,” Mr. Morrison, now deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, told the Commons procedure and House affairs committee Tuesday.
Canada expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei last month for his part in the targeting of Michael Chong, who upset Beijing in 2021 by spearheading a Commons motion that declared China’s repression of Muslim Uyghurs in its Xinjiang province to be genocide. It turns out Chong was only one of at least three MPs – all opposition party members – targeted by Beijing.
Exclusive: Gadhafi associate denies trying to flout UN rules over Toronto condo
The man who has power of attorney to sell Saadi Gadhafi’s Toronto penthouse says he was unaware the luxury property remains subject to an asset freeze by the UN and has since halted plans for a sale.
Karim Murabet said he was only making inquiries on behalf of Gadhafi, 50, the third-born son of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. His comments underscore the urgency for Ottawa to decide whether the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada needs new powers to counter sanctions evasion
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
The Globe in Ukraine: Ukraine counteroffensive continues after Russian missile attack kills at least 11 in the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Kyiv invades Russian army out of territory it has held for most of the past 15 months.
Employment: CERB helped a significant number of Canadians get better jobs, mainly because it gave them the financial means to improve their skills, a new study has found.
Justice: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada says the allegations against former justice Russell Brown are lamentable, but to take heart in the fact there was a process to deal with the situation.
Resources: Glencore is selling its agriculture division, which includes Canadian grain giant Viterra Ltd., to create a dominant North American company. St. Louis-based Bunge is paying US$8.2-billion in shares and cash, with US$6.2-billion in stock and $2-billion in cash.
Britain: A long-awaited public inquiry into the British government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic opened with pointed comments about the country’s lack of preparedness.
Listen to Better For It podcast: Tech veteran Sylvia Ng gets candid about why she views her experience with breast cancer as a moment of failure, and why she wants women in the industry to reject the traditional CEO mould.
MARKET WATCH
TSX climbs to one-week high as U.S. inflation eases
Canada’s main stock index rose on Tuesday to its highest closing level in one week as higher oil prices boosted energy shares and data showing slower U.S. inflation bolstered risk appetite ahead of a Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 69.09 points, or 0.35%, at 19,990.40, its highest closing level since last Tuesday.
Unofficially, the S&P 500 climbed 0.69% to end the session at 4,369.06 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.83% to 13,573.32 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43% to 34,212.25 points.
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TALKING POINTS
Do Canada’s governments spend too much? Or tax too little?
“We’ve chosen to spend scarce taxpayer dollars, billions of dollars worth every year, on free roads. But that has a price. The price is all those other broken things we can’t afford to fix.” - Tony Keller
Canada’s courts offer new hope for Canadians who are defamed online
“Canadian courts may soon boldly acknowledge that the law must reimagine itself in light of the digital age, as well as the tremendous imbalance of power between everyday Canadians and online intermediaries.” - Karen Eltis
LIVING BETTER
Stay healthy by tracking fires and air quality across Canada
Canada is experiencing its worst wildfire season of the 21st century.
The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is a scale from 1 to 10+ that provides an indicator of the health risk related to air quality. Staying inside with doors and windows closed and using an air filter can reduce inhalation of fine particulate matter. But still, there are growing concerns about how to grapple with the long-term health impact of worsening air quality.
Here’s what Canada’s wildfire seasons and air quality looks like in maps. These maps are updated daily.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Acropolis Museum Director Nikolaos Stampolidis (L) speaks to Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni (second from the left), Greece's Orthodox Church Archbishop Ieronymos (C) and Bishop Brian Farrell, a Vatican secretary for promoting Christian unity (first from the right), during a ceremony at the Acropolis Museum in Athens on March 24, 2023.ANGELOS TZORTZINIS
Two centuries ago, pieces of an ancient Athenian monument were carried off to London. Now, repatriation has gone from a pipe dream to a potential reality.
The Acropolis Museum in Athens was built largely to house the Parthenon marbles and other artifacts of the cradle of democracy. But about half of the surviving sculptures are in the British Museum. Greece is making a play for all the marbles – if the British Museum will play along.
Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. 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.
Sierra Bein