When the chips are down

Good morning. In a very Canadian promotion, Subway and Ruffles have teamed up to create a sandwich sauce inspired by all-dressed chips. We respect the innovation, but there’s no way a sauce beats the textural experience of putting actual chips inside the sandwich. 

FYI: In case you ever wonder what all-dressed chips are supposed to taste like, they apparently are a combination of BBQ, salt and vinegar, ketchup, and sour cream and onion flavourings. Who knew? 

Today’s reading time is 5½ minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index rose to a new record high as continued military action in Iran sent oil prices surging. Stocks were also bolstered by new data that showed Canadian manufacturing hit a 13-month high last month. The S&P 500 also finished the day up slightly, as investors shook off fears of a protracted war in the Middle East.

The Ontario government may be pocketing billions in gambling revenue, but that windfall has come with some serious downsides.

Driving the news: A new study from the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that calls to Ontario’s mental health hotline for gambling issues have skyrocketed over 300% among young men since the province legalized private online gambling in 2022. 

Catch-up: Ontario is the only province in Canada that allows private sportsbooks and casinos to operate. The province takes a 20% cut of what they bring in from Ontario bettors, amounting to a staggering $2 billion in tax revenue since 2022. 

Why it matters: The growing number of hotline calls underscores just how quickly the public's gambling habits can shift when the market is opened up to private online sportsbooks and casinos. The surge in gambling problems is a stark warning to other provinces, like Alberta, that are following Ontario’s lead. 

Zoom out: Even with stricter regulations in other provinces, ~60% of Canadians are now gambling every month. Ontario is showing what can happen when a province really opens the floodgates.—LA

Ottawa tightens economic relationship with India. As he wrapped up a four-day visit to India, Prime Minister Mark Carney signed a $2.6 billion pact to supply New Delhi with Canadian uranium and officially launched talks on a free trade deal between the two countries. Carney struck a very different tone around India than his predecessor, saying, “We are family,” despite Canada’s top intelligence agency insisting that India remains a top foreign interference threat. (CTV News)

Donald Trump says Iran strikes will continue for weeks. The U.S. president said he’ll do “whatever it takes” to win the war in Iran (though the White House has sent mixed messages on what success would look like), adding that he expects strikes to go on for four to five weeks and that he would consider sending U.S. soldiers into Iran. (NBC News)

B.C. is ditching daylight saving clock switches. After the clocks turn an hour ahead this week, most of B.C. will permanently end the twice-a-year time changes, which Premier David Eby said are difficult on businesses and families. Studies have linked daylight saving to negative health outcomes, including heart attacks, as well as a drop in productivity. (Globe and Mail)—LA

📡 What else is on our radar: 

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What they’re saying: “My responsibility is to ensure that our deterrence maintains — and will maintain in the future — its assured destructive power,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in his announcement that France is expanding its nuclear arsenal for the first time since 1992. Currently, it’s estimated that France has around 290 nuclear warheads. 

Why it matters: With Russia’s war in Ukraine dragging on and the U.S. proving to be a mercurial partner, Western Europe has suddenly had to get serious about re-arming. As the only nuclear power in the EU, France has a key role to play in bolstering the bloc’s defences.

Tax season is in full swing, so spare a thought for the nation’s accountants who are dealing with a growing problem: AI tax slop. 

Driving the news: A recent survey of 500 Canadian accountants and bookkeepers found that 44% of respondents who encountered AI mistakes spend up to three hours a month correcting these mistakes, The Logic reported, while another 38% spend as many as 10 hours correcting them.

Why it’s happening: While the Canada Revenue Agency told The Logic that it updates its website so that AI tools can easily scrape information from it, chatbots still often provide generalized advice based on outdated information or policies from the U.S. tax filing system.

Why it matters: This survey data only captures tax forms that actually made it into the hands of accountants. Considering that just a third of Canadians pay a pro to prepare their taxes, there’s a lot of uncaptured data about AI errors from folks who file taxes themselves. 

Our take: Ultimately, most Canadian tax filings aren’t super complex, so AI systems might be able to handle them. That said, TurboTax exists, and the federal auto-filing system that’s being piloted with lower-income Canadians might one day be a preferable alternative.—QH

💉 250. Albertans who have died from influenza this year, the highest total since at least 2009. Experts have pointed to the province’s low vaccination rate, with only one in five Albertans receiving a flu shot this season. That’s the lowest vaccination rate in the province since 2010.

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Three easy steps to a good morning: 1) play the mini-crossword, 2) play the daily sudoku, 3) play Codebreaker.