Good morning,
Experts who have examined the three available vaccine options in this country are giving Canadians some simple advice: Take what is offered as quickly as possible.
“I would take what is offered as it decreases your likelihood of severe disease and death,” said Tania Watts, an immunologist at the University of Toronto.
While no direct head-to-head study has been conducted on the COVID-19 vaccines, current data suggest the AstraZeneca shot is just as effective as the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccines at preventing serious illness and death. However, it may be less effective at preventing mild illness.
Read more:
B.C. says all adults could be offered first vaccine dose by end of July
Supply issue slows Toronto vaccinations for people 80 and older
A man receives his COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic at Olympic Stadium marking the beginning of mass vaccination in the Province of Quebec based on age in Montreal, on Monday, March 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul ChiassonPaul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
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Paper trail in Beirut explosion winds back to London address used by shell companies
There isn’t much reason to visit 13 John Prince’s St., an unfamous address just a minute’s walk from the Oxford Circus subway station, in the heart of London’s shopping district.
And yet, two investigations – five years apart, and into subjects as divergent as an explosion in Lebanon and unrelated corruption allegations involving a Canadian company – have ended up at the same narrow five-storey red brick building, wedged between a golf store and a makeup school, but just beyond the area that most tourists would ever see.
Experts say the confluence suggests that the address was used by a “network” of shell companies – including some tied to Kremlin insiders, and others to the Moscow-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – that wanted the appearance of legitimacy that comes with a London address while their real business activities went unscrutinized in other parts of the world.
Canadians see broad gains in household wealth, despite COVID-19 pandemic
Household wealth has increased across all income brackets during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to government income support and buoyant stock and housing markets, according to a new analysis by Statistics Canada.
It’s a trend that stands in stark contrast to the labour market, where low-wage workers and young people have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic. However, federal government programs have more than offset lost wages, while easier credit conditions have contributed to a frenzied phase of home-buying in nearly every market.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
COVID-19 has changed everything about the Canadian high-school experience: Across Canada, some of public education’s most dramatic changes in response to the pandemic have played out in high schools. Many students are in a hybrid model: Roughly a quarter to a half of their learning happens in the classroom and the rest is online. Varsity sports have been cancelled or strictly limited, along with many of the other extracurricular activities – from school plays to chess clubs – that have defined the high-school experience for generations.
CMHC boss acknowledges ‘errors’ on last year’s prediction of housing collapse: Evan Siddall, the chief executive officer of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., has conceded the agency’s 2020 housing prediction was wrong. The CMHC for months defended its forecast of plunging home prices and soaring mortgage arrears.
Retail appetite for psychedelics surges: Retail investor interest in the psychedelics industry has exploded over the past three months, driven by a heightened appetite for risk in equity markets that are awash in volatility, but big-name investors remain wary of the industry.
Torstar plans online casino launch to help fund journalism: Torstar Corp., the parent company of the Toronto Star and other Canadian newspapers, is launching an online casino in Ontario to help fund its journalism. “Doing this as part of Torstar will help support the growth and expansion of quality community-based journalism,” Paul Rivett, chair and co-owner of Torstar, said in a news release.
MORNING MARKETS
Europe steady: European shares steadied as the session progressed on Tuesday as investors sought to guess the bond market’s next move, while weak German retail sales were a stark reminder of continued COVID-19 fallout on the region’s biggest economy. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.56 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.24 per cent and 0.23 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.86 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.21 per cent. New York futures were weaker. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.04 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Editorial Board: “Money can be toxic in a democracy, and as always the dose makes the poison. As long as individuals can continue to donate thousands of dollars, there will be the perception – and very real possibility – of the buying and selling of influence.”
Cathal Kelly: “Djokovic doesn’t need to win so much as he needs to be acknowledged as a winner. It’s probably not how you’d want to live your life – requiring others to supply you with emotional sustenance. But based on the evidence so far, it works. It works so well Djokovic can do his job part-time and still be the very best. Maybe that need will make him the best there ever was.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Globe Craft Club: Next up in our series of livestreamed events – learn to embroider
Get your needle and thread ready for our next Craft Club session. On Tuesday night, host and Globe and Mail feature writer Jana G. Pruden will be talking about embroidery with writer and journalist Neda Toloui-Semnani. The free event will be livestreamed March 2 at 7 p.m. ET at tgam.ca/craftclub, where you’ll find a list of supplies and videos of the previous events in our biweekly series. If you try any of the projects, show us on social media with #globeCraftClub.
MOMENT IN TIME: MARCH 2, 1972
Canadian musician Neil Young is joined onstage by Graham Nash (left) and David Crosby (right) as they perform with his band The Stray Gators at the Forum on April 1, 1973 in Inglewood, California.Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Heart of Gold hits No. 1
Was Canada’s Neil Young ever young? A chicken farmer at the age of 10 and a working musician before he was old enough to drink, the songwriting singer-guitarist was in his mid-20s when he wrote the chorus to his highest charting single: “Keep me searchin’ for a heart of gold, and I’m gettin’ old.” Suffering from a bad back, he recorded Heart of Gold in Nashville for the 1972 album Harvest. Accompanying Young were country-music session players known as the Stray Gators. Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor handled the backup vocals. Pining lyrics mingled with Young’s doleful harmonica on a mellow expression of twanged balladry in E minor. The second verse begins with “I’ve been to Hollywood, I’ve been to Redwood,” possible allusions to Young’s relationship with actor Carrie Snodgress – she inspired the Harvest song A Man Needs a Maid – and their home in northern California. It was Young’s first and only No. 1 single. “This song put me in the middle of the road,” he later said. “Travelling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch.” Brad Wheeler
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