Good morning,
These are the top stories:
New information supports claims that Kagame forces were involved in the assassination that sparked the Rwandan genocide
President Paul Kagame has long blamed the Hutu-led army for missile strikes that killed the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi in 1994. But now, serial numbers of missiles from the same series as those involved in the assassination have been found in the missile lists of the Ugandan military, which supplied weapons to Kagame’s Tutsi rebels. Belgian scholar Filip Reyntjens, who obtained the lists, said the absence of the offending serial numbers suggests they were transferred to Kagame’s forces. The Rwandan genocide saw an estimated 800,000 people killed, mostly Tutsis, before Kagame defeated the Hutu government and took over.
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 all Globe newsletters here.
Canada has abandoned support for Michaëlle Jean’s Francophonie candidacy
Ottawa decided to stop backing Jean’s re-election bid for secretary-general to avoid alienating allies who have united behind a different candidate. The abrupt shift from the Trudeau government – it had supported her effort as late as Monday – came after officials concluded that Jean had no chance of defeating Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo at a summit later this week. Jean, who served as Canada’s governor-general from 2005 to 2010, was looking to secure a second term at the Francophonie, which represents 274 million francophones around the world.
An Enbridge pipeline ruptured and sparked a massive fire north of Prince George, B.C.
The rupture of a natural gas pipeline prompted evacuations in the rural region yesterday evening. Approximately 100 people from the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation were ordered to leave, but within a few hours the evacuation zone was reduced and residents were allowed to return home. There were no injuries or damage beyond the actual pipeline; investigators are working to determine the cause of the rupture.
Quebec’s new government is weighing limiting a religious-symbols ban to new hires
Coalition Avenir Québec still wants to implement a ban on civil servants including judges, police and teachers from wearing religious symbols. But François Legault’s party says it’s open to a compromise in which the ban would only be applied to new hires or those in appointed positions.
The CAQ position is based on a report from a decade ago which suggested officials with “coercive functions” shouldn’t wear religious garments. But those recommendations didn’t include teachers. And the CAQ isn’t going to follow through on the suggestion to take down the crucifix in the National Assembly.
What Jean Chrétien thinks of Trump and the USMCA trade deal
“He was supposed to be out [of NAFTA] weeks after he became President. And now he changed the name, and it’s the best deal ever, since God created the Earth,” the former prime minister said in an interview (for subscribers). Chrétien, who calls Trump “unspeakable” in his upcoming book, says he’s not able to take the President seriously. He warned that Trump’s demeanor will have long-term consequences for the United States' standing on the world stage: “It’s not good for America. And it’s not good for the globe.”
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
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nikki Haley is resigning as the U.S. ambassador to the UN
Her planned departure will reduce the already small number of high-profile women in Trump’s cabinet. Haley was an early critic of Trump and her appointment was seen as an olive branch. They appear to have formed a friendly relationship over her tenure, and Haley offered praise to his family yesterday: She called Jared Kushner a “hidden genius” and Ivanka Trump “a great friend.” Trump plans to name Haley’s successor in the next couple of weeks.
MORNING MARKETS
Markets mixed
World stocks inched off eight-week lows on Wednesday as U.S. long-dated borrowing costs held below multiyear peaks, though market gains were checked by fears for global economic growth and the possibility of an Italy-EU clash over budget spending. Tokyo’s Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite each gained 0.2 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.1 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.1 and 0.7 per cent by about 6:10 a.m. ET. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was just above 77 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Will coalition of premiers make Andrew Scheer PM?
“If Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs becomes premier of New Brunswick, and Jason Kenney wins the spring election in Alberta − both of which appear likely − that will make five provinces opposed to a carbon tax. Which means that the federal government will impose financial penalties on provincial governments representing 60 per cent of Canada’s population because they refuse to put a price on carbon. Scheer also opposes the carbon tax, which will be a front-and-centre issue in the next election. A coalition of premiers campaigning to axe that tax would be a powerful asset for the Conservative Leader. It could help make him prime minister.” – John Ibbitson (for subscribers)
Why are Canadian governments funding American tech innovation?
“MobSquad and Terminal are set up to employ high-skilled data scientists and computer engineers in Canada to do work for Silicon Valley startups – who can’t find the talent to fill jobs in their market, either. MobSquad and Terminal can charge Silicon Valley prices, pay lower Canadian wages and rent, and pocket the difference – a gap so large that venture capitalists have piled in to fund them both. … While it’s fair game for savvy entrepreneurs to exploit a cost advantage, it’s disturbing to see governments cheering on and bankrolling this activity. Is this the kind of podium Canada wants to own? If so, then we are competing not with Silicon Valley but with markets such as Bangalore and Ukraine, on price.” – Globe editorial
With Trump, there can be no Canadian-U.S. rapprochement
“The U.S. President still has no plans for a visit. He isn’t interested and Canadians wouldn’t want him anyway. The new trade agreement has some benefits for both countries. It likely wouldn’t have happened were it not for Trump forcing a North American free-trade agreement renegotiation in the first place, but that won’t change the northlanders' attitude toward him. The differences are so deep there can be no rapprochement. For Canadians, he is the least-respected president since the dawn of polling. The reasons go beyond the insults, the threats, the unfounded accusations. It’s because of what he represents, which is anathema to all but a small percentage of Canadians, most of whom are on the far right.” – Lawrence Martin
LIVING BETTER
What’s new on the ski slopes this winter
Competition is leading to improved options for globetrotting skiers and snowboarders. Alterra Mountain Company recently introduced a multi-resort Ikon Pass to challenge Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass, as the two corporations invest more than $250-million in upgrades at many of their collective 31 resorts. Meanwhile, the new Pangea Pod Hotel in Whistler is being billed as “Canada’s first pod hotel.” Read all about the changes happening from B.C. to Quebec and beyond.
MOMENT IN TIME
Tuxedo first worn in North America
(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Oct. 10, 1886: It is, oddly, the great leveller – a garment equally suited to Cary Grant and a gangly teenager on his way to the prom. Properly fitted and deployed, the tuxedo is the modern gentleman’s equivalent of evening armour. The origins of the formal suit are obscured by the fog of legend, but almost certainly began with the famed Savile Row tailors Henry Poole, which in 1865 created for the Prince of Wales “a short celestial-blue evening coat to be worn at informal dinners at Sandringham.” (Midnight blue is still an acceptable colour for a tuxedo; please see James Bond in Skyfall.) In 1886, the magnificently named tobacco heir Griswold Lorillard and his high-living friends also chopped off the tails of their evening suits and debuted the new fashion at the Autumn Ball held in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. Since then, the tuxedo has evolved, but maintains its basic structure: dark jacket and trousers, formal shirt, some hint of satin. It has been taken up by women as an alternative to evening gowns, whether accompanied by a top hat, à la Marlene Dietrich, or worn backward with panache, as Celine Dion did at the 1999 Academy Awards. It may yet evolve further, but will always remain timeless. – Elizabeth Renzetti
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.
Arik Ligeti