Justin and Joe talk climate change, too Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. Here's something you don't hear every day. Yesterday, the loonie's value jumped—here's the chart to prove it—when Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem made an announcement. The central banker's latest monetary policy report predicted economic growth of 6.5 per cent this year, a more confident forecast than the federal budget's 5.8 per cent guesstimate. Interest rates won't budge, but faster-than-anticipated economic recovery means the BOC will reduce its weekly purchase of government bonds from $4 billion to $3 billion. Economists refer to this program as quantitative easing, an attempt to lower the government's cost of borrowing. Here's an explainer. Vaccine diplomacy: U.S. President Joe Biden floated to reporters that he'd send more doses north of the border at some point. The prez agreed to loan 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses—in pharmacies now!—last month. Biden spoke yesterday with PM Justin Trudeau, and neither "readout" sheds any more light on future loans. Trudeau's version of events only said the pair "discussed the recent exchange" of vaccines. The White House's official record said the two leaders would "collaborate on public health responses." Other topics of conversation: Biden's Leaders Summit on Climate, which starts today; and China's arbitrary detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, which started two years and 135 days ago. A vaccine system for the fortunate few: Our Ottawa bureau chief, Shannon Proudfoot, joined thousands of 40-and-up Ontarians in scrambling for an AstraZeneca vaccine once they were eligible this week. But in a bizarre twist, she ended up getting the shot before even her parents who live in another part of the province. She also recognized that an enormous number of higher-risk people still have so few opportunities to get vaccinated: COVID hasn’t changed our patterns of privilege and power; it has only laid bare what’s always been true. There are the lucky ones who are generally safe and secure and empowered, and there are the more precarious, who are least able to insulate themselves from the greater risks they bear—often directly to the benefit of the rest of us. There are the people whose screams of protests over police overreach or the asinine closure of playgrounds were (rightly) heard, and there are the voices of essential workers begging for paid sick leave, PPE, mass testing and prioritized vaccination, somehow muted by those who could make better decisions. Today's talker: Ontario Premier Doug Ford went into self-isolation at his late mother's home yesterday after a staffer tested positive for COVID-19. The Toronto Star reported the preem's technical savvy is somewhat lacking, and Ford aides were "scrambling to get him a laptop computer and to teach him how to use it." He reportedly clings to a "stack" of 2014-era BlackBerry phones that he buys from a Mississauga retailer. "He's 56", a reference to Ford's age, trended on Twitter. Paid sick leave: As Ford's cabinet starts to consider a new sick-leave policy for the pandemic's third wave, the most powerful small-biz lobbyist in Canada—a consistent opponent of compliance costs for businesses—appears open to the new measure. Dan Kelly says the benefit should wind down after the pandemic and the province should reimburse employers quickly for the added costs. Kelly's talking about Ontario, but this could be a debate in any province facing a surge in cases. Ralph Goodale's new gig: The former Liberal minister of many things had a decent win-loss record in elected politics: nine wins (1974, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015) and four losses (1979, 1980, 1988, 2019). Goodale also fought two elections as Saskatchewan's Liberal leader. He served in cabinet under three prime ministers, and most recently led an investigation into the downing of Flight PS752. Now, Trudeau has offered up a plum appointment: Canada's top diplomat in London. Goodale replaces Janice Charette, the interim clerk of the Privy Council. Fun fact: Goodale was raised on a farm near Wilcox, Sask., the very same tiny town where Alberta Premier Jason Kenney went to high school. 'Only athletes pay the price': The pandemic forced athletes to rethink how they train and compete. COVID is here to stay for a while. And after this year's Summer Games in Tokyo, Beijing will host the Winter Games in 2022 amid credible claims of genocide against Uighur people in Xinjiang province. Tricia Smith, the president of the Canadian Olympics, talked about all of it with your newsletter correspondent. Smith draws a hard line on boycotts: At the time of the 1980 boycott, I thought, okay, everyone has to do their part. But then I noticed really quickly it was only the athletes that paid a price. It further entrenched the positions of the governments, but it achieved little else. Nothing changed. Business went on as usual. When I went back to school after that summer, someone actually asked me how we’d done at the Moscow Games. Apology of the day: Bloc Québécois MP Sébastien Lemire copped to having snapped a screenshot of Liberal MP Will Amos, the only Canadian parliamentarian ever to gain notoriety for on-screen nudity (that we know of). Lemire claimed not to know how the photo found its way to the public sphere. But somebody did. Forwarding is, after all, an easy click away. —Nick Taylor-Vaisey | 
