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Ottawa is once again delaying plans to expand medical assistance in dying to people whose only medical condition is a mental illness, just weeks before such plans were scheduled to take effect.
Canada is not yet ready to go ahead with this move, Health Minister Mark Holland said yesterday, drawing the same conclusions as a joint parliamentary committee, which had released a highly anticipated report shortly beforehand.
Holland said the government agrees with the committee’s findings that more time is needed. He did not say, however, how much more time. The minister promised to bring forward legislation soon that will set out a new timeline. As of now, provisions to allow MAID for mental illness are to take effect on March 17.
Federal Health Minister Mark Holland listens to a question from a reporter during a news conference, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
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ArriveCan bids regularly listed subcontractors who never did work, watchdog finds
An investigation into government spending on the ArriveCan app by the procurement ombudsman has found outsourcing companies repeatedly won contracts by listing subcontractors who ultimately did no work. The finding is one of many that led Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic to conclude contracting rules were not followed.
Jeglic specifically singles out contract work by two-person IT staffing company GCStrategies, saying the company frequently failed to prove that its proposed team of subcontractors had the résumés and work experience required.
The report is the first of what is expected to be several findings from various watchdogs, committees and government departments into how the cost to build and maintain the app for cross-border travellers came to exceed $54-million.
Commissioner vows to uncover truth about foreign interference in Canada
Marie-Josée Hogue began public hearings into foreign interference yesterday with a vow to uncover the truth about meddling in the 2019 and 2021 elections, and to suggest ways to limit the influence of countries such as China, Russia and Iran on Canadian democracy.
Allegations of sophisticated Chinese foreign-influence operations in the past two election campaigns were raised last year by The Globe and Mail, based on secret and top-secret intelligence documents compiled by agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
The CSIS documents and revelations that several MPs had also been targeted in disinformation campaigns by China need to be examined in detail, said Justice Hogue, a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal.
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Also on our radar
Israeli document details allegations against UN employees: An Israeli document obtained yesterday laid out allegations against a dozen UN employees the country says took part in Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault. The allegations against staffers for UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees, prompted the United States and several other countries to freeze funds vital for the body, which is a lifeline for desperate Palestinians in Gaza.
- Nearly 1,000 Palestinians apply to come to Canada, but can’t exit Gaza
- Muslim council cancels meeting with Trudeau over Liberal stand on hate crimes, Gaza
- Enemy drone that killed U.S. troops in Jordan was mistaken for a U.S. drone, report suggests
Liberals, Tories battle over affordability as Parliament returns: The Liberals and Conservatives sharpened their attacks in the House of Commons yesterday on the return of Parliament, with Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre charging that under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government people are starving, while the minority government accused Poilievre’s party of crying “crocodile tears” for struggling Canadians.
- Campbell Clark: All Parliament wants to talk about is each other
Victim can’t consent to sex act that leads to death, court rules: Alberta’s top court said yesterday that death or serious injury during rough sex negates any possibility of consent in a ruling that upholds the manslaughter conviction of Bradley Barton, who was convicted in one of Canada’s most notorious sex killings in the past 15 years.
One-third of deceased organ donors died from drug overdoses: People who died from drug overdoses account for more than one-third of deceased organ donors in British Columbia, which set a record for donations and transplants last year, according to data released yesterday by BC Transplant.
U.S. pause on LNG spurs hopes for B.C.: The White House’s decision to pause approvals for new projects in the U.S. seeking to export liquefied natural gas has raised hopes for British Columbia’s struggling LNG export plans, even as climate activists demand curbing the use of natural gas.
Taxidermy bear stolen from Alberta resort: Call it the case of the missing 10-foot-tall polar bear. The RCMP in Alberta are investigating after an old resort property near Edmonton had a 500-pound taxidermy polar bear stolen last week.
Morning markets
Markets look ahead to Fed: Global stocks traded at two-year highs and the U.S. dollar edged up on Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting, while Asian equities took a knock from the court-ordered liquidation of Chinese property giant Evergrande. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.52 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.16 per cent and 0.35 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended up 0.11 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.32 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was higher at 74.60 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Editorial: “There are no quick fixes when it comes to societal change. Like sustained weight loss, it’s hard work, and it takes time. The improved labelling of foods at the grocery store will not alone ease obesity but it’s the type of fundamental shift that can contribute to lasting results.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by David Parkins, Jan. 30, 2024.Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
How to stay warm during Carnaval
Who better to advise travellers about how to stay warm than those who live through Quebec winters? Staff from The Globe and Mail’s Quebec bureau share their tips.
Moment in time: Jan. 30, 1947
Workers dig out train tracks covered by snow during a massive blizzard that hit Saskatchewan on Jan. 30, 1947.Supplied
Massive blizzard hits Prairies
For more than a week, starting this day in 1947, one of the worst blizzards in Canadian weather history raged across the Prairies. More than a metre of snow fell in parts of Southern Saskatchewan, while the temperature plummeted to -40 C and stayed there. Then, the winds started to howl, hitting speeds of more than 112 kilometres an hour in places. The blowing snow created incredibly huge drifts that made travel dangerous, if not impossible. Rail lines and roads were choked with snow, while telegraph lines were either blown down or buried. One railway branch line between Weyburn and Talmage in the southeastern part of the province was completely buried under a mountainous mound of snow. Rural Saskatchewan, without electricity and indoor plumbing at the time, was hit hardest. Completely cut off from the outside world, people ran dangerously low on food and fuel. A few dug tunnels to get out of their homes, while one farmer cut a hole in the roof of his two-storey barn to get inside to milk his cows. Once the storm ended and life slowly returned to normal, a new challenge loomed: heavy spring flooding. Bill Waiser
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