Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Plans for major Quebec EV battery plant unveiled
Quebec Premier François Legault’s government is making one of its biggest bets, pledging $2.9-billion in financing to Sweden’s Northvolt for a new $7-billion lithium-ion battery factory outside Montreal.
The province is providing loans and taking equity worth $1.37-billion to allow Northvolt to build the first phase. It will also offer to pay up to one-third, or $1.53-billion, of $4.6-billion in production incentives, the province said in a news release.
It’s the largest private investment in Quebec history and a major wager of public money as the province aims to build itself into an EV battery industry powerhouse.
Ottawa is committing up to $4.4-billion to Northvolt, including $1.34-billion to build the plant, and providing the bulk of the production incentives.
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Saskatchewan to invoke notwithstanding clause over pronouns
Premier Scott Moe says his government will use the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution and pass legislation this fall to ensure the province’s pronoun policy remains in place.
His comment comes after a judge granted an injunction to pause the policy that requires parental consent when children under 16 want to go by different names and pronouns at school.
Moe said in a statement he’s extremely dismayed by the injunction, calling it judicial overreach.
Explainer: Gender-identity policies for kids are gaining attention in Canadian politics. Here’s what to know
About one-third of Toronto office buildings are ‘obsolete’ as leasing becomes harder, major landlord says
Michael Cooper, chief executive of Dream Office REIT, said the past few years have been challenging for landlords as tenants reduce their office footprint to deal with the shift to remote work.
He estimates that about 30 per cent of downtown office towers are obsolete because they have high operating costs and require an infusion of capital to make them attractive to tenants.
And now that nearly 20 per cent of downtown Toronto’s office space is available to lease, prospective tenants have a lot of choice. Cooper said filling his buildings is like “a game of snakes and ladders.”
The latest developments in U.S. politics
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are set to push ahead with conflicting government funding plans, raising the chances of the fourth partial shutdown of the federal government in a decade by Sunday.
That would suspend or hamper a long list of government functions, from immigration enforcement to national parks to food subsidies for low-income families. Find out why this is happening and what the U.S. can expect in the coming days in our explainer.
Meanwhile, during the first hearing in an impeachment inquiry against Democratic President Joe Biden, House Republicans detailed foreign payments to members of his family, but did not provide evidence that Biden had personally benefited.
- Read more: Seven takeaways from the Republican debate that seemed to offer everything except an audition for the presidency
- Analysis: The Republican nominees that debated last night would be almost unrecognizable to Ronald Reagan - David Shribman
- Opinion: While Trump’s rap sheet widens, it’s Joe Biden who’s feeling the heat - Lawrence Martin
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Nagorno-Karabakh to end: The separatist government says it will dissolve itself and the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by year’s end after a three-decade bid for independence. Armenian officials say over half of the region’s population has already fled.
War in Ukraine updates: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky to discuss the status of the war and needs of troops. Earlier in the day, Russia had launched a big wave of air strikes on three Ukrainian regions.
Flames executive on life support: Chris Snow, 42, the Calgary Flames assistant general manager, has been put on life support while arrangements are being made to donate his organs. After battling ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, for more than four years, he had a cardiac arrest Tuesday that resulted in a catastrophic brain injury.
RIP Michael Gambon: The veteran actor known for his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films has died at 82.
MARKET WATCH
Major North American stock indexes ended higher as investors assessed the latest batch of economic data and as a surge in Treasury yields stalled ahead of a key U.S. inflation report.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 154.76 points or 0.8 per cent at 19,590.74, after posting on Wednesday its lowest closing level in three months. The dollar traded at 74.14 U.S. cents.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 116.07 points or 0.35 per cent to 33,666.34, the S&P 500 gained 25.19 points or 0.59 per cent to 4,299.70 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 108.43 points or 0.83 per cent to 13,201.28.
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TALKING POINTS
As Canada’s fertility rate declines, the debate over how to respond will get ugly
“Should we try to bribe women to have more children through baby bonuses? Should we restrict a woman’s right to abortion and contraception? Should we replace the missing babies through immigration?”- John Ibbitson
Senate bill to revamp Bank of Canada is doomed, but it could start an overdue conversation
“It’s not a terrible idea to ask if there are better ways to do what the Bank of Canada has been trying to do, without those questions necessarily implying that politicians want to undermine the cherished independence of the central bank.” - David Parkinson
LIVING BETTER
Unlike making CPP contributions, which is automatic, you need to be more vigilant in drawing retirement benefits, personal finance columnist Rob Carrick writes. Enrolment is automatic at age 70, but if you want payments before then, it’s up to you to apply or else risk losing potentially lose thousands of dollars in benefits. Find out more in his guide to starting CPP and OAS benefits when you retire.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Newfoundland aims to woo oil sands workers back from Alberta with the lure of new jobs
File photo of the steam generating facility at the Cenovus Foster Creek SAGD oil sands operations near Cold Lake, Alta.Todd Korol/Reuters
Alberta and Newfoundland are engaging in a game of tug of war with oil sands workers as both energy-producing provinces attempt to lure Atlantic Canadians in a tight labour market.
Premier Andrew Furey made his sales pitch face-to-face with Newfoundland workers at a job fair last week in Fort McMurray, a community at the heart of the Athabasca oil sands in Northern Alberta and home to a diaspora of more than 10,000 workers from the easternmost Canadian province.
Furey said now is the time for Newfoundlanders to come home. He said an expected 80,000 jobs will open up over the next decade in traditional industries as well as the emerging wind and hydrogen energy sector, with many in skilled trades, transport and equipment operation. Read the full story by Alanna Smith, Lindsay Jones and Emma Graney.
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