Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
U.S. President Joe Biden is taking aim at Donald Trump’s “big lie” that the 2020 election was fraudulent, blaming the former president for inciting a mob that “held a dagger at the throat of America, at the throat of American democracy,” during the attack on the Capitol one year ago.
In a speech marking the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot, Biden cast the insurrection as the culmination of Trump’s failed efforts to have his election defeat by Biden invalidated. And he called on his country to fight back against efforts by Republicans to make it easier for politicians to overturn elections.
“For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol,” the President said outside the House of Representatives chamber Thursday morning. “His bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy … he can’t accept that he lost.”
Read more:
- On anniversary of U.S. Capitol riot, public fears repeat performance while suspects still roam free
- Biden’s speech both rallying cry and cry of despair over the persistence of Capitol riot divisions
- Chaos is coming to the U.S. What will Canada become?
In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo rioters supporting former U.S. President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington.John Minchillo/The Associated Press
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The latest COVID-19 news
In Canada, provinces are tightening restrictions and vaccination protocols as the Omicron variant takes hold.
Quebec will require people to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter liquor and cannabis stores starting Jan. 18, as a way to coerce unvaccinated people to get their first doses. Cineplex is temporarily laying off 6,000 part-time employees due to mandated closures of its venues amid surging COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant in Ontario, and the Montreal-based operator of Air Transat has announced cancellations of almost 30 per cent of its flights for much of its winter schedule, blaming poor sales because of the latest wave of the pandemic and government restrictions on travel.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says those unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should be accommodated through measures such as rapid testing, as health experts warn the lightning-fast spread of the Omicron variant threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus infections is on the wane in Xi’an, a city in central China that has become emblematic of the country’s draconian zero-COVID policies in recent weeks, reports our China correspondent, James Griffiths. But even as officials in Xi’an prepare to ease restrictions, other cities are once again shutting things down.
New clusters of cases have been reported in Zhejiang and Henan provinces. The latter has already shut its borders, and there are fears the Lunar New Year travel period, which begins next week, could result in more infections – and more lockdowns.
Not more severe, but not ‘mild’ either
The more infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19 appears to produce less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta strain, but should not be categorized as “mild,” World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Thursday.
“While Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to Delta, especially in those vaccinated, it does not mean it should be categorized as mild,” director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the same briefing in Geneva.
“Just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalizing people and it is killing people.”
People wait in line at a COVID-19 testing and vaccination site in Montreal, Dec. 29, 2021.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Thousands of Russian troops descend on Kazakhstan following deadly uprising
In scenes that recalled the crushing of the Prague Spring five decades ago, thousands of Russian soldiers were deployed into neighbouring Kazakhstan on Thursday to help prop up that country’s wobbling authoritarian regime.
Dozens of anti-government protesters, as well as at least 18 security officers, were killed in a second day of violent clashes across Kazakhstan, an oil-rich former Soviet republic that is the largest state in Central Asia. Videos posted to social media showed smoke rising over the centre of Almaty, the country’s largest city, amid the sound of automatic weapons fire that didn’t stop for minutes at a time.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the newly arrived Russian forces – formally described as “peacekeepers” – were involved in the violence. Their presence was expected to stabilize a kleptocratic and repressive regime that seemed to be on the brink of collapse Wednesday after protesters overran Almaty’s city hall and main airport.
Read more:
- Fresh violence in Kazakhstan after Russia sends paratroopers in bid to quell deadly uprising
- What’s behind unrest rocking oil-rich Kazakhstan?
- In photos: Dozens reported dead during protests in Kazakhstan as Russian Alliance sends troops
Troops are seen at the main square where hundreds of people were protesting against the government, after authorities' decision to lift price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, in Almaty, Kazakhstan Jan. 6, 2022.MARIYA GORDEYEVA/Reuters
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Dave Fuller, head of Rogers Communications’ wireless unit, to exit in wake of tumultuous boardroom battle: Fuller’s departure comes in the wake of an explosive boardroom battle that resulted in the company’s CEO, Joe Natale, being ousted late last year.
Death of Golden Globes is well-deserved, but let’s not bury awards shows quite yet: This weekend’s Golden Globe Awards are actually something of a paradox: the biggest non-event in recent Hollywood history. And these 2022 faux Globes portend a future in which the entire idea of film awards, and the massive industry infrastructure that is built around them, disappear entirely.
Mutual fund sales blow past ETF inflows as ‘pandemic phenomenon’ sees investors opting to capitalize on strong recovery: Investors injected billions of dollars of their pandemic savings into conventional mutual funds in 2021 as sales far outstripped new investments in exchange-traded funds for the first time in four years.
Trudeau’s new national security adviser Jody Thomas is hawkish on China: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named a veteran public servant who views China as a threat to Canada as his new national security adviser in a major reshuffle of senior bureaucrats.
MARKET WATCH
The S&P 500 ended a volatile session close to unchanged on Thursday, with financials among sectors lending support a day after the market sold off on a hawkish slant in Federal Reserve minutes.
The S&P 500 financials index rose, extending recent strong gains. Other economically sensitive sectors including energy were up as well.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 3.77 points, or 0.09 per cent, to end at 4,696.25 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 15.54 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 15,084.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 170.72 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 36,236.39.
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TALKING POINTS
The disturbing reality is that millions of Canadians support Trump
“With the anniversary of Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection on Thursday, many Canadians will be thumbing their noses at the Donald Trump cult and what it has done to the beleaguered great republic. Except for about six million of them.” – Lawrence Martin
Canada’s North reveals the limits – and the humanity – of pandemic responses
“Grandiose pandemic plans by governments tend to look ridiculous in the face of the realities of the North. There, emergencies cannot wait for scheduled departmental briefings; twice-weekly committee meetings to analyze “submissions for assistance” are laughable. Well-meaning politicians and bureaucrats are working to map national plans to these unique local conditions, but they’re trying to manoeuvre in organizations that are as nimble as the Titanic. This system needs to sink.” – Tanya Talaga
Canada, U.S. take sharply contrasting approaches to containing Omicron
“The most common, and best, explanation for the differing values of the two cultures lies in the fact that America was born in revolution, resulting in the celebration of the individual and the local, while Canada remained loyal to the Crown and evolved gradually from colony to sovereign state, resulting in higher levels of trust in public institutions.” – John Ibbitson
François Legault pushes his political luck with another curfew in Quebec
“It is hard to imagine any other government in Canada, or North America, resorting to such a coercive measure and getting away with it – much less twice.” – Konrad Yakabuski
LIVING BETTER
From more plant-based products to low-proof tipples, look for these food and nutrition trends in 2022
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many consumers will continue to focus on healthy eating and personal wellness this year.
Functional foods and supplements that support immune health, stress resilience and mental well-being will continue to trend in 2022, and perhaps more so than last year.
Environmental sustainability will play a more dominant role in this year’s food trends, especially as it relates to the immediate concerns of climate change. Here’s a quick look at some food trends likely to emerge in 2022.
TODAY’S LONG READ
As physicians, the ‘safe supply’ of opioids is one of the best tools we have to tackle Canada’s drug-poisoning crisis
A man waits to enter the Safeworks supervised consumption site at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre in Calgary, Alta., Aug. 26, 2021.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Some physicians will sympathize with Vincent Lam’s recent opinion (Nov. 27) column, in which he argues that safe supply is harmful. Although taking this position might release a doctor from the discomfort of prescribing opioids at a time when physicians are encouraged to “deprescribe,” or take patients off their medicines, others understand that safe supply is a critical component of any strategy to end drug poisonings. Regardless of where a physician stands on this issue, the importance of getting it right has never been higher. It is truly a matter of life or death.
Dr. Lam’s critique of safe supply concentrates on prescribing hydromorphone – one of several opioid medications for severe pain that can be used this way – to patients with opioid-use disorder. “Safe supply” has many facets, however, only one of which is prescribing pharmaceuticals to replace tainted drugs. Compassion clubs, or co-ops where resources are pooled to purchase and check substances for contaminants, offer another model of safe supply that does not necessitate any doctors’ involvement.
Dr. Lam also assumes that provision of safe supply is meant to be a treatment for addictions. This is a mistake, because the primary outcome of ensuring access to drugs that are not poisoned is survival, not recovery. The first must precede the latter in any case.
The prescribing of opioids is misattributed by many, including Dr. Lam, as the cause of the current crisis. At best, this is only partly true historically and is now practically irrelevant. Nearly all opioid-related poisonings in Canada are currently caused by an adulterated supply, coupled with prohibitionist drug policy. Present-day mortality is not caused by prescriptions, nor a rise in substance-use disorders. In fact, many deaths have nothing at all to do with “addiction.”
People who use drugs do not want to be sickened or harmed, and – just like everyone else – they have the right to interventions that keep them alive. People consume substances for many reasons, even in the face of risk – particularly if abstaining causes intolerable effects such as suicidal thoughts, the surfacing of awful memories, being assaulted if you fall asleep on the streets, or the severe symptoms of opioid withdrawal.
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.