In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of March 3 ...
What we are watching in Canada ...
One year after the Bank of Canada's aggressive rate hike cycle began, economists widely expect the central bank will stick to its plan of holding its key interest rate steady at its next scheduled announcement.
In making its rate decision next week, the central bank likely feels assured about its move to pause rate hikes, said Karyne Charbonneau, given recent economic data showing inflation is trending downward and the economy has slowed.
"They wouldn't want to announce a pause and then immediately not go through with (it)," said Charbonneau, CIBC's executive director of economics.
Since last March, the central bank has raised its key rate from near-zero to 4.5 per cent, the highest it's been since 2007.
While announcing its eighth consecutive rate hike in January, the Bank of Canada said it would take a conditional pause to allow the economy time to react to higher borrowing costs.
It stressed the pause was conditional, however, making it clear that it'll be ready to jump back in and raise interest rates further if the economy keeps running hot or inflation doesn't come down quickly enough.
The central bank's next rate decision is set for Wednesday.
The most recent inflation data suggests the country is inching closer to normal price growth. Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to 5.9 per cent in January, down from the peak of 8.1 per cent reached in the summer. Recent monthly trends show inflation is heading much closer to the Bank of Canada's two per cent target.
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Also this ...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to make a child care announcement today in Winnipeg.
The Prime Minister's Office says Trudeau and Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson are to meet with parents to talk about the importance of affordable, high-quality child care before a news conference.
He is then scheduled to visit health-care workers at a hospital.
Trudeau arrived in Winnipeg Thursday and attended an evening Liberal party fundraising event.
Earlier this week, he was in British Columbia, where he signed a $27-billion health-care deal with the province.
Ottawa reached a $6.7-billion health deal with Manitoba last week.
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What we are watching in the U.S. ...
WASHINGTON _ Daniel Ellsberg, who copied and leaked documents that revealed secret details of U.S. strategy in the Vietnam War and became known as the Pentagon Papers, has announced he has terminal cancer and months to live.
Ellsberg posted on his Facebook page Thursday that doctors diagnosed the 91-year-old with inoperable pancreatic cancer on Feb. 17 following a CT scan and MRI.
Doctors have given him between three and six months to live, he said, adding he has opted not to undergo chemotherapy and plans to accept hospice care when needed.
The documents in the Pentagon Papers looked in excruciating detail at the decisions and strategies of the Vietnam War. They told how U.S. involvement was built up steadily by political leaders and top military brass who were overconfident about U.S. prospects and deceptive about the accomplishments against the North Vietnamese.
Ellsberg, a former consultant to the Defense Department, provided the Pentagon Papers to Neil Sheehan, a reporter who broke the story for The New York Times in June 1971. Sheehan died in 2021.
Sheehan smuggled the documents out of the Massachusetts apartment where Ellsberg had stashed them, and illicitly copied thousands of pages and took them to the Times.
The administration of President Richard Nixon got a court injunction arguing national security was at stake and publication was stopped. The action started a heated debate about the First Amendment that quickly moved up to the Supreme Court. On June 30, 1971, the court ruled 6-3 in favour of allowing publication, and the Times and The Washington Post resumed publishing stories. The coverage won the Times the Pulitzer Prize for public service.
The Nixon administration tried to discredit Ellsberg after the documents' release. Some of Nixon's aides orchestrated a break-in at the Beverly Hills office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist to find information to discredit him.
Ellsberg was charged with theft, conspiracy and violations of the Espionage Act, but his case ended in a mistrial when evidence surfaced about government-ordered wiretappings and break-ins.
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What we are watching in the rest of the world ...
WASHINGTON _ German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is visiting the White House on Friday for a private meeting with President Joe Biden as both allies become increasingly vocal about their concerns that China may step off the sidelines and supply weapons to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Such a step could dramatically change the war's trajectory by allowing Moscow to replenish its depleted stockpiles.
China is Germany's top trading partner, and European nations have generally been more cautious than the United States in taking a hard line with Beijing. However, there are signs that may be shifting as global rivalries grow more tense.
In a speech to the German parliament on Thursday, Scholz called on China to "use your influence in Moscow to press for the withdrawal of Russian troops, and do not supply weapons to the aggressor Russia.''
The U.S. and Germany have worked closely together to supply Ukraine with military and humanitarian assistance. But there has also been friction over issues such as providing tanks, and Washington has occasionally grown frustrated with Berlin's hesitance.
Maintaining a steady flow of weapons to Kyiv will be critical in the war's second year, especially with both sides planning spring offensives.
John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the U.S. has not seen any indication that China has made a decision on whether to provide weapons to Russia.
Scholz last visited the White House a little more than a year ago, shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine. Very little of Friday's meeting will be open to the public, and no announcements are expected afterward.
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On this day in 1921 ...
Doctors Frederick Banting and Charles Best officially announced their University of Toronto team had discovered insulin to treat diabetes.
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In entertainment ...
TORONTO _ Canadian Film Fest has announced the lineup for its hybrid festival taking place from March 28 to April 1.
The fourth iteration of the indie film festival will screen nine features, 25 short films and a digital series that can be viewed in person at Scotiabank Theatre or virtually on Super Channel Fuse with a subscription.
The festival will open in Toronto with "Babysitter'' directed by Canadian Screen Award nominee Monia Chokri.
The comedy is adapted from Canadian playwright Catherine Leger's play of the same name and follows a man's therapeutic efforts to rid himself of sexism and misogyny.
Opening night will also include the premiere of Toronto-based filmmaker Christopher Yip's digital series "Streams Flow From a River'' via Super Channel.
It follows a Chinese-Canadian family trapped by a snowstorm forcing them to confront past events that drew them apart.
Also among the films that will be showcased is "Bloom,'' directed by Fanie Pelletier, which dives into the world of teenage girls.
The film details the hyper-connectivity that teens live in, exploring themes of loneliness, struggles with self-image and alienation.
Tickets for theatrical screenings can be purchased on the festival's website starting March 7.
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Did you see this?
WINNIPEG _ Manitoba has joined other provinces in the move to ban the use of the TikTok social media app on government-owned devices.
The province says the ban will take effect on March 6.
James Teitsma, who is the consumer protection and government services minister, says after a careful review the province has determined the level of security and privacy risk with the use of TikTok on mobile devices is unacceptable.
The move was initially implemented by the federal government and has been followed by Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia.
Provincial and federal privacy watchdogs recently announced an investigation into whether TikTok complies with Canadian privacy legislation.
The mobile app collects data from mobile devices, making them susceptible to surveillance but Manitoba says there is no evidence that the app has compromised Manitoba government information.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2023.
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