Good evening,
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Poland today to visit U.S. troops stationed near the border with Ukraine and to talk to regional leaders about Russia’s invasion.
Biden told the U.S. soldiers they were “in midst of a fight between democracy and an oligarch.”
The Russian attack on Ukraine has led to more than two million Ukrainians fleeing to Poland. The European Union says that 3.5 million people in all have left Ukraine, half of them children.
The Globe and Mail’s Paul Waldie spoke to one Ukrainian couple who had fled the country while nine months pregnant. Their child – a girl named Vira – was born last week, happy and healthy. “I think that to believe for us, for Ukrainians, now, it’s really important. To believe that everything will be good and to believe that we will come home soon,” Vira’s mother, Olena Tsebenko, said.
Vira, who was born last week in Przemysl, Poland.Anna Liminowicz/The Globe and Mail
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Toronto Mayor John Tory will seek third term in Oct. 24 election
He’s in. After once promising to only serve two terms, the mayor of Canada’s biggest city says he at least has his family’s blessing to go for another run.
Canada’s red-hot housing markets hint at cooldown as higher rates, inflation bite
Make no mistake – houses in major centres like Toronto and Vancouver are still eye-wateringly expensive and rising. But those who sell homes say they are seeing fewer offers and slower sales, which suggests that climbing rates may soon calm down the out-of-control housing market, at least a little bit.
Landmark EU rules regulating U.S. tech giants likely to set global standard, lawyers and experts say
Europe’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager is betting legislation will take a bigger bite out of the tech giants than individual investigations would.
Chinese streaming platforms take down films starring Keanu Reeves after he participated in Tibet-related concert
If you live in China and want to watch The Matrix, John Wick or Speed, you may be out of luck. Reeves participated in an event with the Dalai Lama earlier this month, which appears to be the reason why his movies have been removed from streaming services and his name is censored on Chinese social media.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. Treasury yields jumped on Friday, with the benchmark 10-year note surging to nearly three-year highs, as the market grappled with high inflation and a Federal Reserve that could easily spark a downturn as it aggressively tightens policy.
Canadian bond yields tracked U.S. Treasuries higher, with the closely followed five-year yield – influential on the direction of fixed mortgage rates – taking out their 2018 peaks and hitting their highest levels since 2011. The five-year was fetching 2.503% by late afternoon, up 21 basis points for the day.
Canada’s 2-year yield soared 19.5 basis points to 2.337%, its highest level since November 2018.
Bank of Canada deputy governor Sharon Kozicki hinted on Friday that a half-percentage point interest rate increase may be on the table for the central bank’s upcoming rate decision in mid-April.
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TALKING POINTS
There’s a stinking albatross around Patrick Brown’s neck. Why is Michelle Rempel Garner standing so close?
“Whether or not the allegations are true, it’s a leap to take CTV’s admission that it reported a few incorrect details and conclude, as Ms. Rempel Garner did, that ‘it appears the news outlet has cleared Patrick Brown’s name.’ Indeed, the settlement saw no money exchange hands and evidently did not require CTV to take down its report (independent reporting by other news outlets remains online as well). In a court of law, errors in an accuser’s story could damage her credibility to the extent that it might be difficult to convict a defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. But we are not in a court of law, and a few errors in reporting do not de facto render a story ‘fake news.’” – Robyn Urback
Canada needs a modern privacy law before allowing open banking
“This might be the one instance where our legislators’ knack for puttering is actually a blessing in disguise. The fact is, the federal government should modernize our privacy laws before giving open banking the green light.” – Rita Trichur
The cleaner vs. the military: A historic battle against sexual harassment
“Ms. Robichaud was a young married woman with five children when she took a job as a cleaner at CFB North Bay in 1977. Her supervisor began to harass and intimidate her, forcing her into sexual acts against her will. In 1979, she began her series of complaints about the supervisor’s behaviour, and was ignored or blocked at every turn by her employer and her union. One union official told her, ‘a guy had the right to chase a woman if he wanted to.’ Incredibly, the man who harassed her remained her supervisor through the years she pursued her complaint. (The union paid his legal fees, while refusing for a long time to pay hers.)” – Elizabeth Renzetti
LIVING BETTER
Kim Paris and Aran Armutlu standing on a dock from when Aran proposed, in Port Coquitlam, BCHandout
Thinking of getting married this year and want to book a wedding venue? Good luck. Those in the industry say the pandemic has caused pent-up demand for weddings and popular spots are booked up into 2023. Costs are up, too, because of rising food prices. “It was like the whole world was trying to get married,” one fiancé told The Globe.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Interview quotas (though not hiring quotas). Flex time. Encouraging women to own their accomplishments. These are just a few of the steps five corporate leaders say they are taking to get more women into Canada’s C-Suites. Read more from this month’s ROB Magazine.
Evening Update is written by Chris Hannay. 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.