Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Britain to purge Huawei from 5G network by 2027 in abrupt policy U-turn
In an abrupt reversal, the British government said it is banning Chinese tech giant Huawei from the country’s 5G network and will remove the company’s existing parts by 2027.
Some context: Originally, in January, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Huawei components could be used in non-core parts of the fifth-generation network and remain in 2G, 3G and 4G networks in reduced amounts. This decision became a model for other countries – including Canada.
Why now? Growing concerns about China’s tightening grip on Hong Kong is affecting Huawei’s international partnerships. Recently, Johnson criticized China’s security law and announced that Britain would pave the way for up to 2.5 million Hong Kong residents to immigrate to the United Kingdom.
In the United States, the Trump administration blacklisted Huawei in May and offered to help countries finance purchases of next-generation telecom technology from Western providers to avoid buying from Huawei.
What does this mean for Canada? Canada is now the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence group – which also includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand – that has not taken a firm stand against Huawei.
First Canadian clinical trial of any COVID-19 vaccine is launched in Quebec City
A volunteer participates in Medicago’s Phase I clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Quebec City.Supplied
On Monday, six volunteers received shots at a study site in Quebec City, officially launching the first Canadian clinical trial of any COVID-19 vaccine.
For the next three days, the volunteers’ response to the vaccine will be monitored. If nothing looks amiss, the next group of volunteers will be called in and the process will continue with up to 180 subjects receiving the vaccine either at the Quebec site or at a second location in Montreal. The participants, women and men between the ages of 18 and 55, will receive a second dose of the vaccine three weeks after the first.
The vaccine, developed by Medicago Inc., a Quebec biopharmaceutical company, has shown positive results in animal studies. But this is its first test in humans.
MORE COVID-19 NEWS IN CANADA
Quebec first province to require masks in indoor public spaces, businesses must help enforce
Quebec is the first province to make masks mandatory in indoor public spaces and is asking pandemic-weary businesses, over some objections, to enforce the new rules or risk fines as high as $6,000.
Anyone over 12 years old will be required to wear a mask in stores, restaurants and other indoor public places starting July 18, Premier François Legault told reporters on Monday.
54% of Canadian cancer patients have had tests or treatments delayed as a result of COVID-19, survey says
More than 50 per cent of Canadians affected by cancer have had treatments and tests cancelled or delayed as a result of COVID-19 precautions, according to a survey from the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network.
Nearly three-quarters of patients reported the delays had a major effect on their mental and emotional health and 15 per cent of respondents said they had surgeries or procedures cancelled.
The CCSN is calling on Canadian governments to ensure cancer care is made a top priority during any public-health crisis in the future, suggesting the cancer care appointments should not have been delayed at all.
Canada-U.S. border to remain closed to non-essential travel until at least Aug. 21, sources say
Until at least Aug. 21, the Canada-U.S. border will remain temporarily closed to non-essential travel due to Canadians’ concerns about surging COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to sources.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear Monday that he has serious concerns about a major spike in coronavirus infections in most of the American states. He will announce Canada’s continued efforts to limit non-essential travel across the border later this week.
IN U.S. COVID-19 NEWS
Trump administration rescinds rule on foreign students
A rule that would have required international students to transfer schools or leave the country if their colleges hold classes entirely online this fall was rescinded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday.
The policy would have forbidden international students from obtaining visas and students already in the U.S. would have been deported if they transferred schools or left the country.
Also: Alabama, Florida and North Carolina reported record daily increases in COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday.
WE CHARITY UPDATE
Bloc, NDP join Conservative call for Trudeau to testify on WE Charity contract
On Tuesday, the Bloc Québécois and NDP joined the Conservatives in calling for the Prime Minister to testify at the House of Commons finance committee over the Liberal’s cancelled WE Charity contract. The Bloc also repeated its call for Trudeau to step aside while the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner investigates whether he broke federal law.
The finance committee can’t force Trudeau to testify but if the Prime Minister refuses, the committee could refer the matter to the House of Commons.
One NDP MP asks: why did the government create a new program for students rather than putting more money into pre-existing programs? How was the contract awarded? Why didn’t Trudeau recuse himself from the decision?
Catch-up: Over the past 10 days, the story about the Liberal government’s now-cancelled contract with WE Charity has been evolving. The Globe compiled a guide containing everything you need to know about the unfolding story.
In opinion: Campbell Clark says Justin Trudeau offers a mea culpa, but not transparency: “The PM has taken responsibility. But there are still two other things to come: transparency and accountability.”
ANTI-RACISM POLICY
Ontario issues directive to end controversial practice of issuing birth alerts in the province
The Ontario government is ordering children’s aid societies in the province to cease the controversial practice of birth alerts.
Birth alerts are notifications issued by hospitals when children’s aid societies believe an infant may be in need of protection after delivery. The alert prompts the hospital to contact the society when the baby is born regardless of whether hospital staff have independent concerns about the expectant parent and their ability to care of their infant.
The Ontario government is issuing the directive as part of efforts to address systemic racism in the province’s child-welfare system. Birth alerts have regularly affected members of communities particularly near Thunder Bay, Hamilton and Brantford.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Mary Trump can publicize explosive tell-all book, judge rules: A judge ruled Monday that Mary Trump can talk about the highly critical book she wrote about her uncle, Donald Trump, over objections of the president’s brother and an attempt to block her from publicizing or distributing her work.
U.S. carries out first federal execution in nearly 20 years: A man convicted of murdering an Arkansas family in a 1990s plot to build a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest was killed by lethal injection, marking the first execution in almost two decades.
Judge rejects $19-million settlement between Harvey Weinstein and some of his accusers: A U.S. District Judge said Weinstein’s accusers in the proposed class-action settlement were too varied to be grouped together in a $19-million settlement.
Family-friendly deal dictates new Torstar owner: Five families who collectively own 93 per cent of the voting shares in the Toronto Star newspaper pledged their holdings to NordStar Capital LP on Saturday in a $60-million takeover.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street surged on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending more than 2 per cent higher as investors bought energy and materials stocks and looked beyond a recent rise in coronavirus cases. The TSX also gained amid the rally in commodity stocks.
The S&P 500 energy, materials and industrial indexes jumped more than 2 per cent, while health, technology and consumer staples each rose more than 1 per cent.
Amazon slipped 0.6 per cent. It and other recently strong performing technology and growth stocks, including Facebook and Netflix, recovered from deeper losses, giving the Nasdaq a last minute spurt. Shopify in Toronto rose 0.76 per cent, a lackluster performance given its surge on many days this past year. National Bank Financial raised its price target on Shopify to a new Street high.
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TALKING POINTS
Showbiz Kids: Tales of anger and abuse in new HBO program
John Doyle: “Many of the people interviewed in the vividly compelling 90-minute program are rueful, angry, or outright incensed. Some are angry at parents, others at the industry or agents and lawyers who handled their careers. Few are happy.”
Trump’s racism isn’t new, but now it’s destroying America
Gary Mason: “As much as many of us wanted to believe that Mr. Obama represented a harbinger of good things to come in the fraught association between white and Black America, it turns out it was a mirage. That became clear the moment Donald Trump put his hand on a bible on Jan. 20, 2017, and was sworn in as the country’s 45th president.”
Is Alberta selling its soul for a lump of coal?
Stephen Legault: “The Livingstone River is by no means pristine; it’s been marred by logging, off-highway vehicle use and general government neglect for decades. Still, this is the sort of country people think about when they reflect on Alberta: cattle ranching, fly fishing, family camping trips and prairie grasslands rising up into soaring peaks. And now Mr. Kenney is working to systematically undo any remaining obstacles to coal mining in the Rockies.”
LIVING BETTER
From reduced-capacity to drive-in concerts, Live Nation assesses options to bring live shows back
A big question remains for live music. When concerts come back, will audiences?
One option is the drive-in concert, with fans self-isolated in their automobiles. Live Nation’s idea is to erect screens in the parking lots of its North American amphitheatres.
The promoter’s first drive-in series took place this past weekend, with “Live From the Drive-In” shows held in Nashville, Indianapolis, Ind., and St. Louis, Mo. A pair of drive-in concerts by Canadian rockers July Talk is set for Aug. 12-13, at a yet-to-be announced location outside Toronto.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Rick Thompson, who had all of his limbs amputated after contracting bacterial meningitis and septic shock in 2015, poses for a photograph in Coquitlam, B.C., on Monday, March 9, 2020.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
B.C. man prepares for Canada’s first double-hand transplant
Rick Thompson left work early one day in May, after feeling like he was coming down with the flu, and decided to sleep it off. A few hours later, he woke up to get a drink of water.
“But when I stood up my feet were like on fire. I could barely walk. I made it downstairs to where my wife Rita was watching TV. And that’s pretty well the last thing I remember. I just collapsed on the floor.”
He woke up six weeks later in intensive care, confronted with the choice of dying in palliative care or amputation.
“In the end, the will to live is stronger than anything else,” he said.
As early as August, if things go as planned, Mr. Thompson will be Canada’s first double-hand transplant patient.
Read more here.
Evening Update is written by Hannah Alberga. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.