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Billions of dollars belonging to former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi are sitting in Canadian bank accounts almost 12 years after his death, says a former diplomat.
Fathi Baja, who served as Libya’s ambassador to Canada from 2013 to 2017, disclosed in an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail that Mr. Gadhafi secretly stashed “billions” in Canadian financial institutions during his 42-year rule in Libya.
The revelation comes as Libya is renewing efforts to recover billions of dollars’ worth of missing assets that were looted by Mr. Gadhafi and his inner circle. That global hunt is resuming as political deadlock threatens to thwart plans to hold long-promised democratic elections in Libya this year.
Former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, pictured in 2010, attends a ceremony in Tripoli. Mr. Gadhafi, who died in 2011, is suspected of having billions stashed in Canadian financial institutions.Abdel Magid Al Fergany/The Associated Press
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Why an increasing number of Quebec family doctors are leaving the public health system
Quebec has quietly developed a parallel, privately paid health care sector that defies conventional wisdom about Canada’s embrace of universal medicine.
Because of decades-old government decisions, Quebec currently has more than 600 doctors that operate completely outside the province’s health insurance plan. At clinics run by these doctors, patients foot the bill for services already covered by medicare.
Data analyzed by The Globe and Mail show that this unique feature of Quebec health care, although still a small part of the system, keeps growing – particularly among family doctors, who are leaving the public system at a quicker rate than before, and earlier in their careers.
West African leaders to hold summit after Niger’s junta defies key deadline, closes airspace
Leaders of West Africa’s regional bloc will meet Thursday to discuss next steps after Niger’s military junta defied a deadline to reinstate the country’s ousted democratically elected President
The bloc has warned of using military force if President Mohamed Bazoum is not returned to power. Niger’s mutinous soldiers have since closed the country’s airspace and accused neighbouring powers of preparing an attack.
On Monday, a U.S. official met with coup leaders, but said they refused to allow her to meet with Bazoum, whom she described as under “virtual house arrest.” Bazoum’s ascendancy was Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France in 1960.
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Also on our radar
Canadian visa officers abroad to get anti-racism training: MPs have highlighted complaints that staff in South Africa and other countries processing Canadian visas may be discriminating against non-white applicants.
Prince Harry and Meghan buy movie rights to Canadian romance novel: Meet Me at the Lake, by Canadian author Carley Fortune, has been optioned by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for Netflix. The romance novel set in Toronto topped the bestseller lists upon its release by Penguin Random House in May.
Tilray tripling U.S. beer business: Canadian cannabis producer Tilray will add eight new alcohol brands as federal cannabis legalization in the United States remains a distant prospect. The move will bring in an estimated US$250-million in revenue, according to the company.
235 Canadian scouts to evacuate South Korea as storm looms: Scouts Canada says its scouts and 143 volunteers are in good spirits, though some participants experienced heat-related illnesses. Tens of thousands of scouts will begin evacuating Tuesday from their international scouting jamboree before the expected arrival of a typhoon.
Morning markets
Global stocks ticked lower today and bond yields dropped as investors assessed the latest weak economic data out of China and looked ahead to a key inflation reading from the U.S. on Thursday.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng slid 1.8 per cent to 19,184.17, while Japan’s Nikkei added 0.38 per cent to end at 32,377.29.
European stock indexes opened lower, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.26 per cent. In early trading, Germany’s DAX was down 0.45 per cent, Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.22 per cent and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.37 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 74.48 U.S. cents.
What everyone’s talking about
How a mining standoff in Saskatchewan can be a boon to both reconciliation and the economy
“A potential political storm looms [in Saskatchewan], with Indigenous people and their leaders – who have an assured place in Canadian mining, based on treaties and Supreme Court decisions on the duty to consult and accommodate – saying that the transfer of control over natural resources via the 1930 Natural Resources Transfer Act ignored treaty rights and other legitimate Indigenous interests.” – Ken Coates
I’m putting in an offer for 24 Sussex. You’re welcome, Canada
“For the entirety of his current reign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family have lived at Rideau Cottage because the official residence is in disrepair and needs major renovations. In 2009, one estimate put the cost of repairs at $10-million; a more recent number – the basis of which was dug up by a group of Ottawa heritage advocates – predicted it would take $36.6-million.” – Vicky Mochama
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon, Aug. 8, 2023.Illustration by Brian Gable
Living better
The science of boosting your creativity
Creativity isn’t magic. Scientists are learning more about what spurs novel ideas and how you can generate more of them. Here’s a hint: drugs and alcohol generally don’t help. Instead, studies are finding being open to new experiences and curious about the world around you are the keys to thinking creatively.
Moment in time: Aug. 8, 1974
Richard Nixon goes before television cameras to tell Americans of his resignation from the presidency on August 8, 1974.Bettmann/Getty Images
U.S. president Richard Nixon announces his resignation
Knowing his presidency was effectively over, U.S. president Richard Nixon announced his resignation on this day in 1974. He was the first president in American history to do so, delivering his televised 16-minute speech from the Oval Office without a sign of self-pity or emotion in his voice. Nixon finally bowed to pressure for his involvement in the Watergate scandal. “By taking this action … I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America,” he said. While Nixon acknowledged that some of his judgments were wrong, he did not confess to the three articles of impeachment that the House Judiciary Committee approved. He ended his term as the 37th U.S. president the next day before there was a vote, departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn. He smiled farewell and raised his arms in a peaceful salute. Minutes later, vice-president Gerald Ford was sworn in – he pardoned Nixon a month later. Negin Nia
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Editor’s note: A previous version of Moment in Time stated incorrectly that Richard Nixon had been impeached. This version has been corrected.