Now, a few words from the court and AG Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. March 25, 2021 could go down as a crucial hinge point in the annals of Canadian politics. At day's end, the Supreme Court might have slapped the word unconstitutional on parts of the federal carbon tax. The auditor general might have found serious deficiencies in signature pandemic relief programs like the CERB and wage subsidy, not to mention public health surveillance and border control measures—and, for good measure, billions in infrastructure spending. Or the opposite could happen. In its ruling this morning, the top court might take Ottawa's side against belligerent provinces that argued the feds had no right to impose a carbon price. Auditor General Karen Hogan could flag only minor issues with the manner in which hundreds of billions in relief and infrastructure dollars have been doled out. (That outcome is pretty unlikely.) Either way, the gulf between yesterday's politics and tomorrow's will be determined by what happens today. Vaccine supply: The success of Canada's massive immunization campaign is well known to be at the mercy of doses made in the U.S., India and European Union. This week has brought new anxiety. EU legislators could pass a new law that would set stricter limits on vaccine exports. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's "concerned," but maintains that Canada won't be cut off—and spoke yesterday to Ursula von der Leyen , the President of the European Commission, about "rolling out safe and effective vaccines as quickly as possible." The Tories want written assurances. Bloomberg published a chart that showed Canada has received more European doses than anyone other than the United Kingdom. India, which is producing a large quantity of the AstraZeneca vaccine bound for Canada, is also pausing exports amid a spike in domestic demand. Health Canada still stands by the AstraZeneca vaccine, but federal regulators have modified the "product monograph"—aka the label—to reflect concerns about "very rare" instances in which vaccinated individuals experienced blood clots. The department says it's aware that scientists have identified a "possible cause" for the blood clots, but "little information is available about this emerging research." They insist the shot is safe for Canadians. The latest pandemic budget: Ontarians heard their finance minister's plan for economic recovery. Peter Bethlenfalvy pledged billions in new health-care spending, new and bigger tax credits, more money for parents of school-aged kids and broadband across the province. A balanced budget won't come until at least 2029-30. But we're cribbing from TVO's John Michael McGrath. Read his analysis. More sanctions: For the second time this week, Global Affairs announced sanctions against human rights abusers overseas. The target this time: nine Russians who the feds say were involved in the attempted murder of opposition leader Alexey Navalny and, more recently, his prosecution. GAC lamented Russia's "shrinking space for civil society and independent voices." Russia smacked down Canada's "moralizing," pointing to a "worrying" human rights record on treatment of Indigenous people. Earlier this week, China claimed systemic racism was "rampant" in Canada. Meanwhile, CBC News reports that a Chinese cyber-espionage operation targeted Uyghur activists in Canada. Facebook said "fewer than 20" users in Canada were targeted, and the social media giant traced malware used in the campaign back to China. The cost of logistics: Last September, the feds inked a multi-year deal with Metro Logistics for "inventorying, warehousing and distribution" of PPE. The price tag on that contract was at least $89 million—and up to $236 million—according to a briefing note obtained by Maclean's via access-to-information laws. Ottawa was looking for up to 2 million sq.-ft. of storage space in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. The note says the Public Health Agency and the Department of National Defence teamed up with a third-party consultant to review bids. (DND's role in vaccine logistics kicked in last November, but the department confirmed to Maclean's that military logistics teams have worked at PHAC since last April.) Foreign Minister Marc Garneau appointed a new top envoy to Ireland. Nancy Smyth, a career public servant who first joined the department in 2005. Smyth replaces Kevin Vickers, the former Commons sergeant-at-arms who left the Dublin gig in 2019 when he chased a new role as leader of the New Brunswick Liberals. The ambassador job had been left vacant for more than two years. Cheers to Suzanne Drisdelle, the Chargé d’Affaires who held the fort. Cool toy of the day: The Canadian Grain Commission is on the lookout for an "ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometer system." A mass spectrometer, this YouTuber explains, "smashes molecules into little bits" so scientists can learn more about them. This machine will be used to identify "small molecules in grains and grain-related matrices at concentrations in the low parts-per-billion range," including pesticides, mycotoxins, and fungal biomarkers. —Nick Taylor-Vaisey | 
