Morning Update: Leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision suggests majority set to overturn Roe v. Wade, Politico reports

Good morning,

A leaked initial draft majority opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court has voted to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion across the country, Politico reported yesterday.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the draft opinion, which is dated Feb. 10, according to Politico.

Four of the other Republican-appointed justices – Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett – voted with Justice Alito in a conference held among the justices, the report added.

Just hours after the leak was reported, scores of protesters began to assemble outside the Supreme Court, flowing into the area well into the early morning hours Tuesday.

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Conservatives, NDP call on CRA Commissioner to explain allegations of wrongdoing at global tax division

The Conservative Party and the NDP are calling on Canada Revenue Agency Commissioner Bob Hamilton to testify before a Parliamentary committee after a massive disclosure of sensitive internal documents revealed numerous allegations of wrongdoing at a CRA division responsible for ensuring multinational companies pay appropriate levels of Canadian tax.

The government documents, which were submitted in a federal court case late last year, reveal the names of several whistleblowers who have made a wide range of allegations from within the agency, as well as the names of senior CRA officials who were subject to internal complaints. The documents also include a 2021 report by an outside team of psychological consultants that found half of the staff in the division said they had been victims of bullying, harassment or intimidation.

In the small Ukraine city Khust, a rare public display of dissent over war with Russia

Tucked away in the hills in southwestern Ukraine, the small city of Khust couldn’t feel more removed from the war raging on the other side of the country. Life carries on here pretty much as normal.

But Khust became something of a social-media sensation over the weekend when a video appeared on Twitter showing a few dozen women protesting the mobilization of their husbands for military service. In the video, the women can be heard shouting at soldiers in front of the local recruitment office. Various comments online described the group as “demanding explanations why their loved ones are sent to the front line without necessary training and equipment.”

The protest was surprising because there have been few, if any, public displays of opposition in Ukraine to the war with Russia. People instead appear eager to volunteer for combat duty or to contribute in some other way to the war effort.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Two wildfire country towns erect permanent evacuation centres: Two towns in Western Canada, both nestled in the heart of wildfire country, have begun the work of erecting permanent evacuation centres. In Spences Bridge, B.C., and High River, Alta., summer fire season is becoming more powerful and erratic than ever before.

Stellantis announces $3.6-billion retool of Ontario plants: Stellantis NV says it will spend $3.6-billion to retool its Ontario plants to make zero-emissions vehicles – the latest announcement from an automaker aimed at hastening the Canadian auto sector’s shift away from internal combustion engines.

As Canadians return to offices, mental health struggles need to be addressed: Employers drawing a burned-out workforce back to the office need to help managers better address the mental-health challenges and individual needs of employees, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, which has released a new toolkit to deal with such issues in hybrid work environments.

Journalists’ lives at risk in Mexico: Mexico has long been the most murderous country in the hemisphere for media workers. A confluence of the country’s rampant drug cartel violence, political corruption and near total impunity – few crimes committed against journalists are prosecuted or punished – has turned the country into a cemetery for journalists. Eight Mexican journalists have been murdered in 2022 – nearly matching the nine murders in 2021, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Use of facial-recognition technology must be limited, watchdogs say: All of Canada’s provincial, territorial and federal privacy watchdogs are imploring Ottawa to limit how law enforcement can use facial-recognition technology, seeking to minimize the sharing of data with businesses or other police agencies and restrict its use to investigating or preventing “serious” crimes.

Canadian Solar vows probe into forced labour allegations: A Canadian solar company that built a photovoltaic plant in China’s Xinjiang region is promising an independent investigation into whether any workers in its supply chain are there against their will, after telling a shareholder activist firm it was impossible to do such an assessment and accusing those raising forced labour concerns of “battering the victims.”

MORNING MARKETS

World stocks advance: World stocks rose on Tuesday and U.S. 10-year Treasury yields moved above 3 per cent as investors prepared for the Federal Reserve’s biggest rate hike since 2000. Around 5:30 a.m. (ET), Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.33 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.46 per cent and 0.84 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.06 per cent. Markets in Japan were closed. New York futures were steady. The Canadian dollar was trading at 77.69 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Ethan Lou: “A central-bank digital currency, on the other hand, cuts out the banks and credit-card companies. It’s essentially an electronic payment system directly controlled by the government … But having all our financial data directly in the hands of the government is a frightening thought.”

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

LIVING BETTER

Are you getting enough vitamin C?

The main dietary source of vitamin C – fruits and vegetables – is a food group that most Canadians fall short on. And that’s concerning. Beyond its role in immunity, vitamin C is critical for healthy blood vessels, wound healing, antioxidant protection and much more. Here’s a primer on vitamin C, why you need it and how to get more of it every day.

MOMENT IN TIME: MAY 3, 1966

Johnny Carson helps launch a Twister craze

Even in the Swinging Sixties, the game of Twister was seen as too risqué. The game that put players on all fours, entwined with others as they stretched to touch the polka dots on a vinyl sheet, was first marketed in early 1966. But Twister was doomed to oblivion when Sears, Roebuck and Co. refused to list it in its catalogues. It was derided as “sex in a box,” inappropriate for kids and unseemly for adults. Twister was a flop, until Eva Gabor and Johnny Carson got on their hands and knees and played it for millions of viewers of NBC’s Tonight Show on this day in 1966. In a low-cut gown, Gabor, the glamorous star of the sitcom Green Acres, and Carson, the popular talk-show host, strained and contorted to reach the dots as sidekick Ed McMahon spun the dial and called out the moves. Hilarity ensued. So did popularity. Milton Bradley ramped up production and was scrambling to keep up with sales by Christmas. Teenagers drove the craze, and Twister became a staple at basement parties. Eric Atkins

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