For those eager to experience the last total solar eclipse that will touch Canada for a generation, it was reason enough to put daily routines aside and make an otherworldly pilgrimage.
A total solar eclipse from the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Oh., Monday, April 8, 2024.Timothy D. Easley/The Associated Press
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CSIS briefed PMO in 2023 about China’s interference in 2019, 2021 elections, inquiry heard
A top-secret Canadian Security Intelligence Service briefing prepared for the Prime Minister’s Office in February last year said Beijing had “clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 general elections,” the foreign interference inquiry heard yesterday.
The classified document said that there had been 34 previous CSIS briefings on foreign interference for the PMO, senior ministers and top civil servants, including officials responsible for election integrity. Those briefings were held between June, 2018, and December, 2022, it said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had at least two briefings, one in February, 2021, and one in October, 2022.
Trudeau has dismissed foreign interference, particularly in the 2021 election, insisting the overall results of that election, in which the Liberals were returned with a minority, are not in doubt.
Ottawa pledges to boost defence spending, but still falls short of NATO target
The federal government will increase defence spending, officials said yesterday, but will still fall short of the NATO target of 2 per cent and has no timeline to reach that pledge.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair released a new defence policy called Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence at CFB Trenton yesterday. The road map lays out plans for the Armed Forces for the next 20 years, but only details the yearly spending for the first five years. It focuses on enhancing Arctic capabilities, a region both Russia and China are interested in.
The Canadian military is struggling with a personnel shortage and procurement delays that have put its force readiness at risk and pushed back critical equipment upgrades by years.
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Also on our radar
Provinces signal growing backlash against exclusive deals: Several provincial regulators of the pharmacist profession say they are exploring options to restrict the use of exclusivity deals between insurers and pharmacies, signalling a growing backlash against such arrangements after Ontario called for stricter legislation.
MPs approve rare censure of ArriveCan contractor: ArriveCan contractor Kristian Firth will be called to the bar of the House of Commons next weekto be censured for not answering parliamentarians’ questions. The House unanimously passed a motion yesterday approving the plan and declaring Firth to be in contempt of Parliament.
Several Canadian banks rank high for AI research:Canadian banks hold three of the top 10 spots worldwide for artificial-intelligence innovation, according to a new ranking. Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal ranked third, sixth and ninth in the world, respectively, according to a report published today.
Gaza truce talks still deadlocked as date for Rafah offensive set: No progress was made yesterday in truce talks between Israel and Hamas after a senior Hamas official said the group had rejected Israel’s demands. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a date was set for an invasion of Rafah, Gaza’s last refuge for displaced Palestinians.
Houthi attacks on Suez shipping a problem for Egypt: Egypt is feeling the economic pain as ship owners have been forced to avoid the Red Sea and the Suez Canal because of Houthi attacks. Analysts say ship traffic through the Suez Canal is down by 50 per cent costing Egypt billions of dollars in revenue.
Morning markets
Global shares were mixed ahead of this week’s U.S. inflation reading and a crucial European Central Bank meeting, while industrial metals prices extended recent gains on expectations of a worldwide manufacturing rebound.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.1 per cent in early trade, while futures on Wall Street were muted. In early trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.19 per cent, France’s CAC 40 slid 0.41 per cent and Germany’s DAX lost 0.61 per cent.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan increased 0.6 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.08 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.57 per cent.
The dollar traded at 73.69 U.S. cents.
What everyone’s talking about
André Picard: “But so obsessed with the constitutional division of powers, turf protection and penny-pinching are our public officials that they’d prefer hungry children over investing in uniform, quality programs. Our well-intentioned, but not-good-enough approach should leave us hungering for better.”
Tony Keller: “Fixing our long-standing housing shortage will take years. Fixing our economic productivity issues will also take years. But the two are not unconnected. To the extent that we can loosen our zoning rules and approval processes, allowing developers to build more housing in existing neighbourhoods of biggest cities, thereby allowing more Canadians to move to where the highest-paying and most productive jobs are, we will all be better off.”
Beat rising gas prices by stacking loyalty rewards at the pump
Everything in Canada is more expensive these days and gas prices are no exception, forcing people to come up with all sorts of ways to save at the pump. A good strategy would be sticking with a gas station that earns you rewards. Every major gas station chain is now partnered with a significant loyalty program, and that means you can now get instant savings, earn points, and stack offers. Here are your options.
Singer and actor Paul Robeson at the piano, March 30, 1938.H. F. Davis/Getty Images
Paul Robeson is born
One of the most accomplished Americans of his generation, Paul Robeson was born on this day in 1898, the son of a father born into slavery and a mother from a family of free Blacks active in the anti-slavery movement. A gifted bass baritone, Robeson won world renown as a concert, theatre and film artist. On his first visit to Toronto in 1929, the Royal York Hotel was unable to provide a room for him, and the long-time Massey Hall manager, John Withrow, took Robeson home with him. In the following decades, Robeson became well-known for supporting anti-fascist and civil-rights causes and later campaigns for world peace and nuclear disarmament. In 1950, his opposition to U.S. foreign policy caused the State Department to suspend his passport. Even without a passport, Robeson was able to perform in Canada for the last time at Massey Hall in 1956. Plans for a cross-Canada tour that year were cancelled when the Canadian government refused to approve his admission to Canada. Robeson’s passport was restored in 1958, but he never did return to Canada before his death in 1976. David Frank
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
