Morning Update: ArriveCan faces more scrutiny as federal watchdog opens investigation

Good morning,
Public Sector Integrity Commissioner Harriet Solloway is launching an investigation into alleged wrongdoing related to the ArriveCan app, as well as accusations that two former border agency officials faced reprisals after criticizing their superiors.
The commissioner’s investigation is the latest among nearly a dozen completed or active reviews related to the government app and broader issues involving how Ottawa awards billions of dollars a year in federal outsourcing contracts.
Solloway confirmed her investigation in a letter to Conservative MP Kelly Block, who had written to the commissioner about the government’s management of the smartphone app for international travellers.
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Global coalition close to finding path to restoring stability in Haiti, Trudeau says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday that a group of countries was close to agreeing on measures to stem escalating violence and restore stability in Haiti, after talks on the deployment of a multinational force and a transition council to oversee the country ahead of elections.
Trudeau said he had spoken to Ariel Henry, the Prime Minister of Haiti, who is currently locked out of his country, and pledged help for the beleaguered Caribbean nation – where armed gangs are threatening to topple the government – including through financial and humanitarian aid.
Henry announced early Tuesday that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created.
The small-town opioid crisis hidden in the big-city shadow
With an abundance of good manufacturing jobs and walleye fishing derby every spring, Belleville, Ont., doesn’t seem like the type of place that would be home to opioid overdose crisis. But one afternoon in early February, overdose victims were dropping on the sidewalks of the city.
The rash of overdoses – none of which were lethal – shocked outsiders and generated national news coverage because the crisis seemed so incongruous with the setting.
Everything about the opioid epidemic reads as urban. The crisis lives in tent cities, downtowns blighted by crime and danger. It seems like the prototypical big-city problem, except that it’s not. By virtually every marker, the scourge of opioids is not as bad in Canada’s small cities and towns as in its largest cities – it is much worse.
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Former prosecutors make up most of Ontario’s judicial picks: More than two-thirds of the judges appointed by the Ontario government since Premier Doug Ford was elected had worked as prosecutors, a dramatic increase compared with the previous Liberal government and one that some defence lawyers say is a concerning trend for the fairness of the justice system.
Ottawa killings reverberate in Sri Lanka: The shock waves from last week’s mass killing in Ottawa are reverberating in Sri Lanka, where all of the victims and the suspect who has been charged had extensive family ties. Gamini Amarakoon, who was among six people stabbed to death, had only recently arrived in Canada and was the sole breadwinner for his entire family back in Sri Lanka.
Palestinians in Gaza begin Ramadan amid war: The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began yesterday as Palestinians in Gaza are dealing with a worsening hunger crisis and as ceasefire talks are stalled, signalling no end in sight for the five-month-old war between Israel and Hamas.
Newspaper chain files for creditor protection: SaltWire Network, the largest newspaper business in Atlantic Canada, has filed for creditor protection. Documents filed in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia yesterday say the company, which runs 23 titles including its 150-year-old flagship newspaper, the Halifax Chronicle Herald, is more than $94-million in debt.
Inflation much higher for rental apartments: Demand for purpose-built rental apartments is driving up the cost of rent for these units much faster than for condos, experts say, creating another issue in Canada’s overheated rental market.
Stocks edge up ahead of U.S. inflation test, yen slips
Global shares edged up on Tuesday ahead of U.S. inflation data that could confirm how soon the Federal Reserve might cut rates, while the yen tumbled after Japanese officials dampened expectations of an imminent policy switch by the central bank.Gold held just below record highs and the dollar edged up as traders awaited the U.S. consumer price index. U.S. stock index futures were up 0.2-0.4%, suggesting a pickup at the opening bell later, while in Europe, the STOXX 600 rose 0.4%. Chinese stocks rose, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index up 2.6%, led by the tech sector. The dollar opened at 74.17 U.S. cents.
Editorial: “Above all, if Mr. Trump and the neo-autocratic movement he represents are to be stopped, it needs to be done at the ballot box. A court decision or criminal conviction that prevented the much-indicted Mr. Trump from running would be a blow to him, but Trumpism would continue. A Biden victory, on the other hand, would be a powerful signal to the U.S. and the rest of the world – Mr. Putin included – that autocrats are yesterday’s men.”
Kelly Cryderman: “If Mr. Nenshi manages to clinch the leadership of the province’s main opposition party and go head-to-head with Ms. Smith in an election scheduled for 2027, it will make for one of the country’s most riveting clashes of political ideologies and personas, ever.”
Agility training may be the key to staying injury-free as we age
If agility drills are not part of your daily workout, they should be. While agility training is important for children and athletes, it’s also important for adults later in life when declining cognitive function, difficulty focusing, and diminished balance can lead to more frequent falls.
Sir John A. Macdonald introduces his national policy
A decade after Confederation, Canada was at risk of foundering, with more people emigrating each year than immigrating. Farmers profited from exports into the giant American market, but manufacturers struggled to compete. On this day in 1878, prime minister John A. Macdonald introduced his new National Policy, dedicated to forging a united and prosperous Canada.
The policy created a new wall of protective tariffs against the import of American manufactured goods. Canadian manufacturers expanded and prospered in response, though many of the factories were simply Canadian branches of American firms.
Central Canadian manufacturers provided the steel and machinery for the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway. The CPR, in turn, flooded the Prairies with immigrants. But Westerners chafed at having to buy expensive products from Central Canada rather than cheaper American alternatives. If the National Policy gave birth to industrial Canada, it also created and stoked regional resentments.
For decades, Conservative (always) and Liberal (usually) governments defended the National Policy. But global tariffs started coming down after the Second World War, and in 1989, Canada ratified a free trade agreement with the United States. For better or worse, the National Policy was at an end. John Ibbitson
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