Morning Update: Jewish communities shaken by spike in hate incidents since onset of Israel-Hamas war

Good morning,

Hate-crime cases have been surging in Montreal since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Most recently, two empty Montreal Jewish schools were shot up overnight Wednesday, two days after Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue and a Jewish non-profit’s headquarters in that city. The hate incidents have brought a new level of anxiety to Jewish communities across Canada as antisemitism rises nationally at alarming rates and the Israel-Hamas war enters its second month.

Montreal police have tallied 45 incidents targeting Jewish people and 14 targeting Arab-Muslim communities since Oct. 7, outpacing the usual rate that the city’s residents report hate crimes. Investigators opened 238 such cases last year, according to Statistics Canada.

Israeli air strikes hit Gaza’s biggest hospital, the Al Shifa, on Friday, killing one person and wounding others sheltering there, Palestinian officials said, one of several hospitals reported struck at dawn as Israel battles Hamas in the heart of the enclave.

Read more:

• Brian Mulroney condemns rise of attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions
• More Canadians cleared for Gaza exit today

Open this photo in gallery:

This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 other Globe newsletters on our newsletter sign-up page.

Redacted and out of reach: Canada’s access laws keep the country’s history locked away

Unlike most other G7 countries, Canada has no system in place to open government records after a set period of time. The result is that everything that isn’t voluntarily released by government is closed by default – forever – until someone applies for it through an access request.

A myriad of problems – a lack of technology, staff, subject matter expertise, overly cautious public service – has made it nearly impossible for Canadian researchers to rely on Canadian archives to do their work. Perhaps second only to journalists, historians are the most upset about Canada’s broken access system. A professor who was denied access to WWI conscription records because of solicitor-client privilege – even though everyone involved had been dead for a generation. A doctoral student who nearly couldn’t graduate because they couldn’t get material. An academic who was told a document was too sensitive for release – except another department had posted it online.

In interviews with The Globe, dozens of historians, researchers, archivists and academics who regularly deal with Library and Archives Canada say the situation has become so dire that Canadian historians now often rely on the public archives of other countries to do research.

Open this photo in gallery:

Procurement department launches review of IT firms accused of contracting misconduct

The federal procurement agency has launched an in-depth review of the security verifications of three IT staffing firms facing contracting misconduct allegations, but is not imposing a government-wide suspension with the three companies.

Public Services and Procurement Canada told The Globe and Mail that it is taking a closer look at GCStrategies, Coradix and Dalian and will take “appropriate actions” once the reviews are complete. The three companies have received nearly half a billion dollars in federal outsourcing work over the past decade. Both GCStrategies and Dalian have said they each have just two employees. Coradix has more than 40 employees.

Open this photo in gallery:

Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop

Also on our radar

Liberals back NDP MP’s bill to criminalize coercive behaviour: A push to criminalize a type of domestic abuse known as coercive control is gaining momentum in Canada, after a private member’s bill put forward by the opposition New Democrats received cross-party support in Parliament on Thursday.

• Coercive control can be a life or death issue in relationships. But few people even know how to recognize it
• What is coercive control? Why understanding the warning signs is key to preventing intimate partner violence

Canadians should be prepared for rates to remain higher in the long run, Bank of Canada senior deputy governor says: Canadians need to be prepared for the growing likelihood that interest rates won’t return to the low levels seen over the past 15 years, Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers warned Thursday.

Conservatives table bill on open banking, pressing Liberals to move forward with stalled legislation: The Conservatives introduced a private member’s bill Thursday in the House of Commons that calls on the federal government to move ahead with its delayed rollout of an open banking system.

Canadian Tire cutting 3 per cent of work force, trimming costs as economic pressures hit consumers: Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. has laid off 3 per cent of its work force and is cutting costs and slowing planned capital spending, as persistent economic pressures continue to affect consumer demand and weigh on retail sales.

Take our business quiz:

The federal government paid $670,000 to consultants at KPMG for advice on how to do what? Take the quiz here.

Take our general news quiz:

In a rare show of unity, premiers of all political stripes joined together to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for what decision? Take the quiz here.

Morning markets

Fed comments hit stocks: World stocks slipped, with European shares retreating from three-week highs on Friday, while the U.S. dollar was steady as hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dashed expectations of a peak in interest rates. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 1.10 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.65 per cent and 0.92 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.24 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.76 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was weaker at 72.39 US cents.

What everyone’s talking about

Which country’s finances are in better shape, Canada or the U.S.?

“On the plus side, employment is higher than before COVID-19. Wages are up. Unemployment is low. Compared with the Great Recession, the post-pandemic economic recovery was remarkably quick. But because the stimulus was so big, the needle moved from deflation, past the happy medium of moderate inflation, into the red line of high inflation. Central banks had to raise interest rates to cool excessive demand. And borrowing costs, including for governments, shot up.” – Tony Keller

No-show Trump survives another debate, but the Republican race isn’t over

“For a dismal record, it’s hard to top the candidate with 91 felony charges. But incredibly enough, the debaters, with rare exception, passed up on this golden opportunity to harpoon the runaway leader in the GOP race.” – Lawrence Martin

Today’s editorial cartoon

Open this photo in gallery:

Living better

Will mouth taping actually help me stop snoring and sleep better?

Snoring only really becomes a problem when it’s someone else’s problem first – a long-suffering spouse or the friend you’re bunking with on a guys’ getaway. Or in Dave McGinn’s most recent case, the colleague he shared a tent with this summer on a work trip. He told McGinn that he should seek medical attention in the morning, looking exhausted and too polite to throttle him, although he could see in his eyes he wanted to. Could sleeping with a small piece of special tape across McGinn’s lips, forcing him to breathe through his nose, have saved the day – or, more accurately, the night? Read here to find out.

Moment in time: Nov. 10, 1958

Open this photo in gallery:

Harry Winston donates Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian

When New York jeweller Harry Winston donated the famous Hope Diamond – a 45.52-carat deep blue diamond – to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958, he sent it by registered mail in a box wrapped in brown paper. Insured at the time for US$1-million (today it is worth an estimated US$250-million), it was a bizarre way to send something so valuable. However, it was also in keeping with the wild journey this rare gem has been on since its discovery in India in the 17th century. Its first owner was France’s Louis XIV who wore it on a ribbon around his neck. During the French Revolution, thieves took off with the jewel, known then as the French Blue. It did not reappear until 1839, when it was listed as part of the collection of British banker, Henry Philip Hope, where it got its name. The diamond was rumoured to be cursed and misfortune fell on many who owned it. Its next owner, American socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean, also had to sell the Hope Diamond to pay off debts. That is when Mr. Winston stepped in. Today, the Hope Diamond is a star attraction at the Smithsonian. Gayle MacDonald.

Enjoy today's horoscopes. Solve today's puzzles. Read today's Letters to the Editor.

If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.