CENTURY-OLD OAKS SOUGHT FOR NOTRE-DAME SPIRE

French forestry experts are searching for 1,000 trees older than 100 years, to rebuild the spire of the Notre-Dame cathedral that was destroyed by fire almost two years ago. The trees will be cut by the end of March to replicate the original spire, designed by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, which was destroyed along with a large chunk of the roof when the Paris landmark went up in flames in April 2019. “For now, we are in the phase of selecting the trees according to the frame that will be needed for the spire. We will choose trees in the forest according to their dimensions: height, diameter, quality,” Francois Hauet, a forestry expert in Louviers said. President Emmanuel Macron wants Notre-Dame restored to its former glory by 2024, in time for the Paris Olympics.

Canada must justify its $100-billion post-pandemic stimulus plan before committing to significant new spending and should commit to a clear fiscal anchor, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The IMF, in a report, said Canada's response to COVID-19 was “timely, decisive and well-coordinated.” But it warned the crisis had exposed cracks in the country's social safety net and urged clear targets for support and stimulus. “The federal government's commitment to spend up to 4 per cent of GDP over the next three years to support the recovery needs further justification,” the IMF said. It also said a clear debt anchor is needed to ensure “credibility in the fiscal framework is maintained over the medium term.”