Good evening,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
More than 100 scholars, former diplomats call on China to release detained Canadians
More than 100 top academics and former diplomats have called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to release two Canadians detained in what has become a heated dispute over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver, Nathan VanderKlippe writes.
By seizing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor days after the Dec. 1 arrest of Ms. Meng at the request of U.S. officials, Chinese authorities have sent a message that forging cross-border connections and seeking the exchange of ideas “is unwelcome and even risky in China,” according to an open letter signed by 115 people from 18 countries.
This comes days after John McCallum, Canada’s ambassador to China, informed members of parliament that Chinese authorities are mistreating Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor, holding them in prison cells with the lights on 24 hours and day and subjecting them to lengthy interrogations.
Separately, the Chinese government appears to be distancing itself from remarks made by its ambassador to Canada, saying Beijing has no plans to retaliate against Ottawa if it blocks the installation of fifth-generation cellular technology made by Huawei.
Opinion: For the security of Canadians, Huawei should be banned from our 5G networks, former national security adviser Richard Fadden argues: “If the current brouhaha between Canada and China holds a lesson for Canadians, it is that China is willing to take extreme measures to guard its national interests.”
Britain PM Theresa May holds firm on Plan B approach to Brexit as she waves off calls for delay, new vote
British Prime Minister Theresa May is hoping to tweak her failed Brexit deal with the European Union in order to win parliamentary approval, but she’s facing long odds and EU officials have already said they won’t agree to changes, Paul Waldie writes.
Ms. May has been struggling to come up with a new Brexit strategy ever since her deal with the EU was soundly rejected by parliamentarians last week by an overwhelming 230-vote margin. That has put Brexit in chaos with less than two months to go before Britain leaves the EU on March 29, and there is growing angst across Britain.
And it has opened the door to attempts by members of Parliament to wrest control over the Brexit process while the government flounders.
Brandon Truaxe, founder of Toronto-based beauty brand Deciem, dies at 40
Founder of Toronto-based Deciem Beauty Group Brandon Truaxe has died, according to a source close to the company, Joe Castaldo writes. The cause of death of the 40-year-old has not been disclosed.
Mr. Truaxe developed a reputation as a disrupter and a savvy marketer. Estée Lauder purchased a minority stake in the company in June, 2017. Deciem has roughly 30 stores around the world, including 10 in Canada.
Last year, however, company officials and investors became concerned over Mr. Truaxe’s mental health and suspected drug use. He made erratic postings to Deciem’s corporate Instagram account (for subscribers). Lawyers for Estée Lauder went to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and successfully had Mr. Truaxe removed, and he was ordered to stay away from offices and employees.
Mr. Truaxe continued to post erratic videos to his personal Instagram account, including four over the weekend. Many online commenters expressed concern for his well-being.
Deciem founder Brandon Trauxe is shown in this undated handout photo posted to Instagram. (The Canadian Press)HO/The Canadian Press
Rwandan murder suspects had ‘close links’ to Rwanda’s government, prosecutors say
There are “close links” between the Rwandan government and the main suspects in the 2013 assassination of exiled Rwandan dissident Patrick Karegeya, according to a newly disclosed letter from South African prosecutors, Geoffrey York writes.
The letter is of “vital importance” and yet was never disclosed until now, a South African judge said in a court ruling today.
The letter is further evidence to corroborate a 2014 investigation by The Globe and Mail that revealed the role of the Rwandan government in plots to assassinate Rwandan dissidents in South Africa.
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MARKET WATCH
World stocks were subdued today after China reported its slowest economic expansion in nearly 30 years and the International Monetary Fund cut its forecasts for global growth this year. Canada’s main stock index reversed early losses and continued its rise (for subscribers). The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 50.33 points at 15,354.16. U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King Day.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Quebec’s coroner’s office is investigating the death of the mother of former Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe, after the 93-year-old left her seniors' residence when a fire alarm sounded and she ended up locked out in the middle of a frigid snowstorm.
The number of Canadians who are $200 or less away from financial insolvency at month-end has jumped to 46 per cent, up from 40 per cent in the previous quarter, as interest rates rise, according to a new poll.
Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic has advanced to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open after defeating No. 4 ranked Alexander Zverev of Germany in straight sets and will next play France’s Lucas Pouille (for subscribers).
First-term Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California, an ex-Montrealer who is a rising party star and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, launched her 2020 campaign for the White House today.
After a dramatic three-man duel at the Desert Classic, Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin fell one shot shy of earning his second career PGA title yesterday afternoon (for subscribers).
TALKING POINTS
Why I’m thinking about my mental health on Blue Monday
“Every day, people around us are struggling; struggling to understand and come to terms with how they are feeling; struggling to find the courage to reach out to someone and ask for help. ... While it may not have an official spot on our calendars, Blue Monday is a gift. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness and have open and candid conversations about mental health.” - Rola Dagher, president of Cisco Canada
Americans are taking notice of Canada’s red-tape revolution
“Stateside, Canada’s success is starting to get attention. In 2016, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin launched an initiative to reduce red tape by 30 per cent in three years. Sound familiar? The model his team was most interested in was B.C.” - Laura Jones, chief strategic officer, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
I was a corporate executive addicted to work. But an unexpected crisis made me realize I was on the wrong path
“While in the hospital at the peak of my blood loss, I had what one might call an awakening. At that moment, I knew I had to quit my job and focus on my own health, my family and my true passions. Even though I had practised many tenets of great health for so long – a good diet, regular exercise, supplements and more – I had still managed to push myself to the brink of exhaustion through an intense focus on work and achievement, which led to very high levels of stress, anxiety, anger and resentment.” - Jason Tafler, a former Rogers executive, shares the new habits that helped transform his life
LIVING BETTER
The keys on the chain just keep adding up. The house ... mailbox ... bike lock ... and eventually they just don’t fit in your pocket or purse. It’s not a life crisis, but it is annoying enough that a robotics engineer in Chicago quit his day job to invent a smarter system. The original KeySmart has two outer layers of lightweight aluminum held together with stainless steel hardware. Up to eight keys are layered between the outer layers so they face each other while not in use. Spin a key out to use it. Extra features have been added including the QuickDisconnect to attach your auto fob, layers of tools and even a USB fob.
Key Smart ExtendedKeySmart
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Back from death’s door, this CEO has a hot new venture – and investors are piling in
Jonathan Ross Goodman isn’t supposed to be alive.
Yet here he is, answering the door of his new home on a Friday evening, wearing a sharp blazer and an infectious smile, his brood standing close like a protective secret service detail.
The 51-year-old Montreal multimillionaire and pharmaceutical entrepreneur has experienced trauma you can’t immediately recognize when you meet him. First outrunning cancer and later coming back from a monstrous brain injury, he came perilously close to losing everything and everyone. Unfortunately, Goodman’s body reminds him daily of this near-loss by sapping his energy and clouding his short-term memory.
Investors in his current company, Knight Therapeutics Inc., have placed a dizzying amount of faith in him. The reason is obvious: He made a ton of money for them with his first company, Paladin Labs Inc. They want a repeat. Globe subscribers, read Nicolas Van Praet’s full story here.
(Photo by Guillaume Simoneau)GUILLAUME SIMONEAU
From SCTV to The Kids in the Hall, hair-design virtuoso Judi Cooper-Sealy helped comedians concoct quirky characters
During the filming of the 2010 CBC miniseries Death Comes to Town, Scott Thompson was worried about one of his characters. “I had no idea how to play her,” the Kids in the Hall comedian told The Globe and Mail recently, referring to the fictional television reporter Heather Weather.
Frazzled, Mr. Thompson confided in Dave Foley, who calmed down his fellow troupe member. “Dave told me to just wait until I got in the dressing-room chair, and that he never knew who his characters were until our hairstylist, Judi, put a wig on him.” The advice was sound. "When the hair came on, I grasped exactly who this woman Heather Weather was,” the comedic actor said. “Judi just knew – she was that good.”
Judi Cooper-Sealy, the hair-design virtuoso who won two Emmys, one Gemini and undying loyalty and appreciation from her famous friends and clients, died Dec. 15. Diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2014, the native Nova Scotian and wife of Juno-winning jazz pianist Joe Sealy was 77. Read Brad Wheeler’s full story here.
(Photo courtesy of Joe Sealy)Courtesy of Joe Sealy
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