Evening Update: Unsupported by any evidence, Russia claims 162 Canadians have been killed in Ukraine

Goodnight, Let’s start with today’s top news:

Jordan Mullins, a 26-year-old from Oshawa, Ontario, was fighting in the Ukraine. He caught shrapnel in his leg after his unit ran into Russian military. However, as he recovers in Canada, he scoffs at a Russian Defense Ministry claim last week that 162 Canadians have been killed in the four-month war.

Russian Defense Ministry figures, released Friday in state-controlled media, paint a picture of almost 7,000 Western fighters and claim 601 are Canadian. The figures are likely intended for domestic consumption, as “proof” that Russia is fighting not only Ukraine but also NATO and the West.

The Canadian government declined to comment on the claim and there are no known funerals for Canadian fighters in Ukraine.

Mullins isn’t convinced either. “I’m pretty sure our government would have to deal with over 100 of our citizens who die in a foreign conflict, right?”

• Opinion: With enough support, Ukraine can still defeat Russia
• From the Arts: Ukrainian Art in Canada Reflects War and Our Responses to It
• The show must go on: Ukrainian ballet dancers, now refugees in Paris, vow to continue dancing for their country

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Canada to spend $4.9 billion to modernize NORAD

Today, Defense Minister Anita Anand announced that Canada has pledged $4.9 billion over six years to help the US improve NORAD’s continental defenses and address the growing threat posed by hypersonic missiles and advanced missile technology. cruise missiles developed by Russia and China.

Defense experts said the spending commitment, nine days before the NATO Leaders’ Summit in Madrid, appears to be an effort to create the appearance that Canada is spending more money on the military.

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On taming inflation

• News today: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have pledged to help central banks fight inflation by cutting deficit spending, but Yellen was cold in reopening talks on the Keystone pipeline as a way to reduce oil prices. The two politicians met in Toronto to address a growing fear among economists and investors that central banks will act too aggressively and force their economies into recession.
• Taxes and expenses: At the start of the pandemic, Federal Liberals often proclaimed that Ottawa was taking on debt so Canadians wouldn’t have to. Rising inflation has reversed that mantra. Now, he will have to cut his family budget, because Ottawa will not reduce his expenses.
• David Parkinson: On controlling inflation, the Liberals’ fiscal policy is more part of the problem than the solution
• Listen to the Decibel: What tools does the federal government really have to help correct prices at grocery stores and gas stations? Bill Curry, deputy chief of the Globe’s Ottawa bureau, explains the limits of the levers ruling liberals can use for this economic dilemma.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Canadian National Railway workers go on strike: Signal and communications workers have gone on strike at CN Rail in a development that threatens to exacerbate transportation bottlenecks across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airport screening officers to protest Ottawa’s ‘disrespect’: Screeners will go public at more than 40 airports starting Monday with what they see as substandard pay and “disrespect” from the federal agency that oversees their work.

Parliamentarians can get panic buttons to increase security: Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino revealed that he has been the target of death threats on social media in recent weeks and says he is seeking to give parliamentarians panic buttons to increase their personal security.

The National Gallery of Canada Appoints Angela Cassie Interim Director and Executive Director: She will take over from Sasha Suda, who has been at the helm of the gallery for three years but is leaving for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

MARKET WATCH

Canada’s main stock index rose on Monday after last week’s slide, helped by gains in cyclical and financial stocks, although trading volumes remained low with US markets closed for the National Independence Day of 16 December. June. Global stocks on Monday also posted modest gains.

Investors are now waiting for the domestic inflation figures to be released on Wednesday and will present a clear picture of the economic situation in Canada, Sawhney said.

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SPEECH POINTS

In this graduation season, let us follow all these seven sacred teachings

Tanya Talaga: “The real purpose of your education is to help you open your mind to who you are, your purpose for why you are here and where you fit into the larger community you are a part of. How can you make a difference for the common good? This is the secret to living a balanced life: the Anishinaabeg call this mino-bimaadiziwin.”

The European Central Bank is running out of ammunition to fight a new debt crisis

Eric Reguly: “Mistakes have already been made, the biggest of which was abandoning Quantitative Easing (QE), which is due to end in July, rather than extending it.”

Why is it so difficult to reduce carbon emissions? Consider the 5,000-pound chunk of metal in your driveway.

Editorial Tip: “Many people like to imagine that fighting global warming is as easy as pointing a finger at the tar sands. Yes, there is a lot of work to be done there to reduce emissions. But Canada’s millions of SUVs and light trucks emit about two-thirds of the GHGs each year as all the tar sands.”

LIVE BETTER

This is how you can start exercising again

Thoughtful, consistent effort may be the not-so-secret recipe for achieving your fitness goals, but we must leave room for unplanned interruptions. Treat your comeback as a long, meticulous warm-up, one where you’re paying close attention to physical cues. How does your body feel? Slow and lazy or responsive and ready? Maybe 15 minutes of movement is all you have energy for, and that’s okay. It can be a real challenge to minimize your effort, especially if you are used to performing at a high level. But what’s worse is asking too much too soon.

Read the complete strategy Paul Landini uses to regain all that lost momentum every time his training program stops.

TODAY’S LONG READ

Can NFTs Help Stop Art Piracy?

Canadian visual artists say piracy is rampant in their field, with unscrupulous operators offering framed prints, digital “paintings” and T-shirts featuring artwork they don’t own the rights to. Artists are sometimes credited; other times watermarks and signatures are removed. Indigenous artists are particularly affected with numerous examples of pirated art appearing on T-shirts sold for Orange Shirt Day.

Now, artists’ rights advocates are discussing other solutions, asking whether the blockchain technology behind much-hyped NFTs in the art world could actually help artists control their images by including digital signatures. But NFTs can be expensive to mint and require some knowledge. Worse yet, many are already subject to their own ownership disputes as unscrupulous players flood a booming market.

Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. If you would like to receive this newsletter by email every weekday evening, go to here register. If you have any comments, send us a Note.