Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The shelling of the Buzova maternity hospital occurred weeks before the March 9 bombardment of a maternity hospital in Mariupol. Images of that attack, with bloodied late-term women on stretchers, caused a global outcry.
The Globe and Mail’s Nathan VanderKlippe interviewed two women who were at the Buzova clinic when it came under attack, which was confirmed by local authorities and Adonis, the company that owns the clinic. “They told us it was the safest place on Earth,” said one of the women who arrived in late February. They described in detail an atmosphere of fear, panic and black humour as Russian forces approached, launching an attack that left gaping holes in the walls, bullets lying on its floors and charred debris in the rooms.
Also read:
- Canadians join efforts to preserve Ukraine’s digital history that are at risk of being erased
- Opinion: When will the war in Ukraine end?
- Editorial Board: The West cannot let Putin outlast it in Ukraine
Trevor Kequahtooway, a grade 12 student from White Bear First Nations, runs a dog sled at Cannington Lake, Saskatchewan as part of land based education on Thursday, February 10, 2022.Tim Smith/The Globe and Mail
Outdoor education program gives First Nations youth in Saskatchewan a new taste of old ways of life
Unlike typical outdoor education programs, which usually focus on physical fitness and non-cultural activities, Garrick Schmidt’s class explores Indigenous practices and traditions. Schmidt, who is Nehiyaw and Michif and grew up in rural Saskatchewan also teaches students about taking on important roles in the community, both in and out of the classroom.
The program, which incorporates activities like picking berries, harvesting traditional medicines, tanning hides and trapping, is not only helping Indigenous students get the credits they need to graduate, it is helping them embrace their traditional way of life.
The demise of traditional Indigenous practices is one of the painful consequences of the residential schools system. Many young Indigenous people haven’t learned these traditions because the relatives who would’ve taught them were taken away from their families and forced to learn residential school curriculum.
Pandemic updates
- Sixth wave: Ontario announced plans to expand testing and the distribution of antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19. In Quebec, there have been 54 deaths linked to ongoing outbreaks in Quebec’s long-term care homes. Health officials are also saying that getting infected twice with Omicron is more common as immunity wanes.
- Business: The federal government’s pandemic supports for businesses may end next month, as Ottawa looks to wind down two years of emergency spending. Three subsidy programs are still on the books: one that targets businesses in the hospitality and tourism industries, one that targets those affected by lockdowns, and one that provides benefits to help companies rehire workers. All are set to expire on May 7.
- Opinion: Before Canada focuses on fourth COVID-19 shots, let’s get third doses to everyone. Given the diminishing benefits of additional shots and the growing reluctance, indifference and hesitancy about vaccines, public-health officials also need to do some serious rethinking about strategy, writes André Picard.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Bank of Canada expected to announce oversized rate hike this week: The Bank is expected to announce its first oversized interest-rate hike in more than two decades this week after hawkish comments from the country’s top central bankers and growing signs that the economy is overheating.
Shopify announces 10-for-one share split: Shopify Inc. is proposing changes to its governance structure to preserve founder and CEO Tobi Lutke’s voting power, while also proposing a 10-for-one split of its class A and class B shares.
Canada leaves former embassy guard stuck in Kabul: An Afghan security guard who was twice wounded and decorated for protecting the Canadian embassy in Kabul has been stranded in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August, his appeals for help from Canada left unanswered. The Canadian government promised to evacuate the guard.
Watchdog asked to probe allegations that imports made with forced labour in China: A coalition of human-rights groups is asking a federal watchdog to investigate allegations that some products sold by 14 Canadian companies are made in whole or in part with forced labour in China. The office, which operates at arm’s length from the government, has a mandate to probe wrongdoing linked to overseas corporate conduct in three sectors: mining, petroleum and the garment industry.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street closed sharply lower on Monday as investors started the holiday-shortened week in a risk-off mood, as rising bond yields weighed on market-leading growth stocks ahead of crucial inflation data.
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended deep in negative territory, with tech and tech-adjacent stocks pulling the Nasdaq down the most. The TSX, however, was relatively unscathed, losing 0.38%, even though energy stocks fell hard. Heavyweight tech stock Shopify rose after announcing a stock split and plans for governance changes.
Canadian government bonds tracked U.S. yields higher, with the five-year bond - closely followed because of its influence on fixed mortgage rates - rising to as high as 2.655%. That was the highest in more than a decade.
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TALKING POINTS
Inflation isn’t the only reason food prices are rising
Anthony Winson: “Until competition laws and government priorities are changed, consumers may only have recourse to class-action lawsuits to address this pressing issue.”
Data Dive with Nik Nanos: For Canadians, the only certainty is uncertainty
Nik Nanos: “Canadians are both spectators and participants. Spectators in the sense that the conflict is far away. Participants in the sense that Canada has more than 1.3 million citizens of Ukrainian descent – the third-largest group of Ukrainians outside Ukraine and Russia.”
France’s presidential election will make divisions worse, whether Emmanuel Macron wins or loses
Konrad Yakabuski: “France appears set to emerge from this presidential election more divided than it went into it. Mr. Macron’s second quinquennat promises to be more agitated than his first. He will need all his chutzpah, and a bit of luck, to keep the populists at bay.”
LIVING BETTER
On Sunday night, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television broadcast its 10th annual Canadian Screen Awards – a mostly prerecorded celebration honouring the best in homegrown film, television and digital media.
Some, like deputy arts editors Barry Hertz, might even call it a refreshingly brisk, slap-free affair. He writes about Scarborough’s big win, Kim’s Convenience’s last hurrah, and gala’s other best, worst and weirdest moments.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Canadian CEOs share the leadership lessons they learned from the pandemic
A handful of the country’s business leaders stepped back to capture their company’s journey through the pandemic. Thirty CEOs from businesses on the front lines of the health crisis wrote deeply personal accounts of what they’d experienced over the prior 18 months. They reflected on how those lessons will shape their companies – which employ a total of a million people around the globe – and their country going forward.
The stories became Unprecedented, a book compiled by investment banker Steve Mayer, president of Greenhill Canada, and Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Willis that will be published tomorrow. When COVID-19 hit, there was no case study or textbook on how to manage the crisis. Now there is. Read an excerpt of the book.
Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.