The Globe and Mail
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These are the top stories:
B.C. to proceed with Site C hydroelectric dam
Construction of the most expensive public infrastructure project in British Columbia's history, the Site C dam, will continue under the minority NDP government. Premier John Horgan, who earlier denounced the project as a "boondoggle" that will leave British Columbians owing billions for power that may not be needed, confirmed on Monday that the dam, already $2-billion into construction, "is past the point of no return." He argued poor decisions by the previous BC Liberal government forced his hand.
In its decision to proceed with the contentious dam, Gary Mason writes, "B.C.'s NDP government chose a path of political pragmatism over hell-bent ideology. While the party's activist environmental wing will be upset, and possibly disillusioned enough to begin drifting toward the Green Party, Premier John Horgan's decision to push ahead with the much-maligned project will be a lot less costly to his government in the long run."
Despite the Greens' anger and disappointment over the government's decision, BC Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver says he and his caucus will not topple the B.C. NDP government.
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Up to 100,000 Canadians could wrongly be on no-fly list, research suggests
Research by two University of Western Ontario students suggests as many as 100,000 Canadians are being falsely flagged as suspected terrorists. In 2007, Ottawa said the no-fly list contained up to 2,000 people listed as "an immediate threat to civil aviation" under the Passenger Protect Program. For security reasons, the federal government has since refused to share the number even though the Office of the Information Commissioner has gone to court to seek this information. Finance Minister Bill Morneau is facing pressure from Liberal and opposition MPs to fund the establishment of an independent no-fly-list computer system to stop the false positives that have made travel difficult for law-abiding Canadian airline passengers and their children.
Federal government to give provinces 75 per cent of marijuana tax revenue
Ottawa will give 75 per cent of the tax revenue from sales of marijuana to the provinces under a new two-year deal reached by Canada's finance ministers. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the deal following two days of meetings in Ottawa with his provincial and territorial counterparts. Manitoba was the lone holdout, as Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said his government needed more time to review the details. The deal comes with less than seven months to go before Ottawa's planned July 1 start date for allowing the legal purchase of marijuana for recreational use. (for subscribers)
Globe in California: More than 4,000 firefighters continue to battle Thomas Fire
Southern California is bracing for its second week of massive wildfires, forcing new rounds of evacuations as firefighters struggle to gain control of what is on track to become the biggest blaze in the state's history. More than 4,000 firefighters continued to battle the sprawling Thomas Fire, which authorities said grew another 20,000 hectares on the weekend to more than 93,000 hectares – an area 1.5 times the size of the City of Toronto – destroying more than 800 homes and threatening another 18,000 residences. The Globe's Tamsin McMahon reports from Santa Barbara, California.
At Six Nations' deer hunt, aboriginal rights become a target
In a community that faces challenges in affording food, a diabetes epidemic and loss of culture, the Short Hills hunt has been a small but significant victory – an important step toward reconciliation. Hard-won battles for recognition of fishing and hunting rights have been similarly transformative for other Indigenous communities. That's why the protests have been interpreted as an attack on Indigenous culture.
MORNING MARKETS
Oil prices jumped on Tuesday after the shutdown of a North Sea pipeline knocked out significant supply from an already tightening market, while global stocks took a break from a three-day rally. Tokyo's Nikkei lost 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.6 per cent, and the Shanghai composite 1.3 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent by about 5:40 a.m. ET. New York futures were little changed, and the Canadian dollar was just below 78 cents (U.S.). Brent crude rose above $65 a barrel for the first time since mid-2015 as an unplanned shutdown of the U.K.'s biggest North Sea oil pipeline supported a market already tightened by OPEC-led production cuts.
FYI: The Globe now provides all users access to real-time stock quotes for both Canadian and U.S. markets. Go here to find out about the major changes to our Globe Investor site.
WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT
Alabama, your time has come
"If Roy Moore – a right-wing fundamentalist, overt racist and alleged pedophile – wins a seat in the U.S. Senate, it will be a victory for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. His election would reinforce the Republicans' slim majority in the Senate, all for the low, low cost of the party's withered dignity. And it would soothe the raging insecurities of the President, who has endorsed Mr. Moore. If Doug Jones, the Democratic underdog, wins the election, it will be seen as a miraculous rebuke of the unpopular Mr. Trump, whose current approval rating is 32 per cent. … Above all, it would signal that even a state that has embodied the very worst aspects of American politics and culture has its limits when it comes to Mr. Trump's win-at-all-costs amorality." – Globe Editorial
Quebec's bold new basic income offer: Does it benefit the right people?
"As jurisdictions around the world study and mull the concept of guaranteed income, Quebec has taken one of the boldest steps yet. But the province's Economic Action Plan to Foster Economic Inclusion and Social Participation 2017-2023 does not embrace the concept of a basic income for all. On the contrary, while bolstering support for those unable to work, Quebec continues to embrace punitive measures for those deemed fit to work, particularly single men." – André Picard
Bitcoin's bubble might burst, but its financial revolution will live on
"Tulip mania is not the right analogy for understanding bitcoin, any more than the fax machine was the right analogy for understanding the internet. As the South Sea Bubble of 1719-21 revealed, financial innovations are often accompanied in their initial stages by bubbles; the inevitable bust doesn't necessarily kill the innovation. Something similar, I now believe, will prove to be true of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. It's not so much that blockchain-based coins and tokens will replace the fiat money we have grown accustomed to using since the demise of the gold standard. Rather, there are at least three other uses for the new financial technology that will persist even after this bubble bursts." – Niall Ferguson (for subscribers)
HEALTH PRIMER
For the first time, scientists have fixed a protein defect that causes Huntington's disease by injecting a drug into the spine, offering new hope for patients with the devastating genetic disease. The success in the early-stage clinical trial has prompted Roche to exercise its option to license the product, at a cost of $45-million.
MOMENT IN TIME
Le Salon – a bank for women – opens
Dec. 12, 1966: Long before the era of micro credit and female entrepreneurs, the Bank of Montreal launched Le Salon, a branch intended exclusively for female clients – with at least $2,000 to their names. The swank premises on Montreal's Sherbrooke Street, which contemporary chroniclers compared to a high-end dress shop, opened to the public on Dec. 12, 1966. The concept of a women-only branch was borrowed from the United States and Europe, but was new to Canada. The idea was that women would feel more comfortable transacting their business in a feminine environment – the bank featured Regency furniture and pink rugs – but the place was actually run by a male manager who oversaw the five female tellers. At the opening, Bank of Montreal president G. Arnold Hart said he would lose his job if Le Salon didn't fly. He survived as CEO until 1974, and Le Salon persisted until 1982, when it was merged with a nearby branch. – Kate Taylor
Morning Update is written by Kiran Rana.
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