As Canada enters the third week of its federal election campaign, party leaders are ramping up their efforts on the road. New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh is expected to announce new policies in Toronto today, following campaign stops over the weekend on the East Coast. There, he proposed implementing national rent control policies and ensuring that every Canadian has access to a family doctor within five years. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is concluding his campaign tour on the West Coast and heading to Edmonton for an upcoming rally. Liberal Leader Mark Carney is dedicating his day to engagements in British Columbia, where he is slated to meet with B.C. Premier David Eby.
In global financial news, markets have experienced significant turmoil, with shares plummeting worldwide on Monday. This downturn was triggered by increased U.S. tariffs and a strong backlash from China, leading to massive sell-offs. European stocks followed suit, with Germany's DAX falling by 6.5% to 19,311.29. Paris's CAC 40 dropped 5.7% to 6,861.27, and the UK's FTSE 100 declined by 4.5% to 7,694.00. U.S. futures also indicated continued weakness, with the future for the S&P 500 down by 4.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 4.1%, and the Nasdaq declining by 5.3%. The previous Friday saw the worst market crash since the onset of COVID-19, with the S&P 500 plummeting 6% and the Dow down 5.5%.
Further developments include a court case concerning a tragic event in Quebec where a bus collided with a daycare, resulting in the deaths of two children and injuries to six others. The accused driver, Pierre Ny St-Amand, is in Superior Court today, where both defense and Crown will argue that he was not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. Prosecutor Karine Dalphond revealed in February that independent expert evaluations indicated he should not face criminal charges. St-Amand was arrested following the February 8 incident in Laval.
Today's court proceedings also involve a case in Ontario challenging a provincial law banning supervised consumption sites within 200 meters of schools or daycares. An Ontario judge surprisingly called for lawyers to reconvene regarding this legal matter, which has raised concerns about the constitutional rights and the effectiveness of such sites in saving lives. The Neighbourhood Group, which operates a downtown Toronto consumption site, argues that the law violates citizens' rights. Their site remains operational, unlike nine others that have shut down due to the law.
In a curious medical incident, Chase Delorme-Rowan from Edmonton will undergo surgery to replace a section of his skull that was accidentally discarded during a medical procedure following an injury. While on a family trip celebrating his 18th birthday in the Dominican Republic, Delorme-Rowan sustained a serious skull fracture. Following the accident, doctors removed a piece of his skull to relieve pressure, but it was thrown away. In the upcoming surgery, doctors in Edmonton plan to use either plastic or titanium to secure the missing piece.
Finally, a notable achievement was highlighted in the space exploration realm, where a Canadian company claimed to have captured the first-ever X-ray image taken in space. Amol Karnick, the CEO of KA Imaging based in Waterloo, Ontario, announced this significant milestone during a mission involving four space tourists who orbited Earth. The three-and-a-half day journey aboard a SpaceX Dragon Capsule launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on March 31, marking an exciting moment in Canadian contributions to space research.
