Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Canada’s envoy left Kabul in July amid Taliban advance and calls for Ottawa’s help from stranded Afghans
Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan took time off in mid-July as Taliban militants were capturing territory and former Afghan employees of the Canadian embassy in Kabul were pleading with Ottawa to offer safe passage out of the country.
Reid Sirrs, who is now in Ottawa but remains envoy to Afghanistan, went on leave because he needed to take a short break from the stress of working in a dangerous country, Global Affairs said Wednesday.
“Under the Foreign Service Directives, measures are currently in place to recognize the hardships of these postings,” Global Affairs said in a statement to The Globe and Mail. “These include a mandatory decompression program that directs employees to leave the post periodically in order to address psychological stresses of the assignment.”
Read more:
- Rebels hold out in Afghan valley as Taliban prepare new government in Kabul
- Afghan staff at the Canadian embassy in Kabul had asked for an immigration program in 2012. Ottawa approved the initiative this July, almost a decade later
- ‘It looked apocalyptic’: Crew describes Afghan departure
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More than 20 deaths after Hurricane Ida’s remnants hit U.S. Northeast
U.S. residents on the East Coast woke up Thursday to a rising death toll, surging rivers and destruction after the remnants of Hurricane Ida pounded the region. Though warnings had been issued about potentially deadly flash flooding, the region hadn’t braced for such severe a blow from the since-downgraded storm.
More than a dozen people from Maryland to New York were killed by the storm Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The New York City Police Department said nine people in the city died, including eight in flooded basement apartments, which often serve as relatively affordable homes for low-income people.
Read more:
- As Hurricane Ida hit, homeless, other vulnerable people left behind
- U.S. energy firms strain to get offshore operations back running after Hurricane Ida
- Biden says Hurricane Ida shows ‘climate crisis’ has struck
Day 19 of the federal election campaign
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s pre-debate photo op hit a snag this morning after his custom poutine truck lost a wheel en route to a Montreal event. The NDP was forced to delay Singh’s appearance by two hours to allow the food truck to be towed to the next event after hitting a pothole.
Off the campaign trail, four party leaders – the Liberals’ Justin Trudeau, the Conservatives’ Erin O’Toole, the Bloc Québécois’ Yves-François Blanchet and Singh – will take the stage tonight for the first French-language debate hosted by TVA. In the 2019 campaign, the TVA debate was seen as pivotal. Tonight’s debate starts at 8 p.m. ET.
More coverage of the election campaign:
- NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s custom poutine truck loses wheel on way to pre-debate photo op
- Explainer: How does mail-in voting work?
- Konrad Yakabuski: Party platforms are hiding the fiscal truth from Canadians
- Parties can look to swing B.C. in suburban Vancouver ridings, say experts
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Poland declares state of emergency on Belarus border: In the first move of its kind in Poland since communist times, the country declared a state of emergency in two regions bordering Belarus on Thursday amid a surge of irregular border crossings that Warsaw has blamed on its neighbour. Poland and the European Union have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of prodding hundreds of migrants to stream into the territory to put pressure on the bloc over sanctions it has imposed on Minsk.
Chinese newspaper claims Michael Spavor photographed Chinese military equipment: A Chinese state-run newspaper is saying that Michael Spavor – a Canadian citizen recently sentenced to 11 years for espionage – allegedly took photos and videos of military equipment. Citing an unnamed source, the tabloid Global Times also claimed that he may have provided them to fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig. Both Spavor and Kovrig are due to mark 1,000 days of imprisonment in China this weekend.
Divided U.S. Supreme Court leaves Texas abortion law in place: The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency petition from abortion providers and others who sought to block enforcement of a Texas law that strips most women of the right to access such services. The law, which went into effect Wednesday, prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity. That’s usually around six weeks and before many women know they’re pregnant.
CIBC strikes deal to be sole issuer of Costco Mastercards in Canada: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and retail giant Costco have struck a multiyear deal that will make CIBC the sole issuer of Costco-branded Mastercards in Canada starting next year. The deal comes as U.S.-based lender Capitol One, which has been issuing the cards, ends its partnership with Costco. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Listen to the latest Decibel: Students are entering their third school year of the pandemic. Now that more than 65 per cent of Canadians have been fully vaccinated, most students are returning to in-person learning after 18 months of disruptions. The Globe and Mail’s education reporter, Caroline Alphonso, joins the pod to help parents understand the measures schools are taking to keep kids safe and facilitate as normal of a return to school as possible.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s benchmark stock index closed at another record high Thursday in a broad rally led by the energy sector. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 84.36 points at 20,773.94. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq squeaked to record highs as Wall Street’s main indexes all ended in positive territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 131.29 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 35,443.82, the S&P 500 gained 12.86 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 4,536.95 and the Nasdaq Composite added 21.80 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 15,331.18.
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TALKING POINTS
Doug Ford just did a U-turn on vaccine passports. Better late than never
“... the Delta variant of COVID-19 is ploughing its way through the country, cases and hospitalizations are rising, especially in the West, and Canada still hasn’t vaccinated enough people to bring it under control. And that is what really matters right now.” - Editorial Board
Schools are reopening, but disabled children have been forgotten
“How many students in B.C. with high-risk medical conditions have been learning at home? If there’s an official number, I haven’t seen it. As the saying goes, if you don’t count people, they don’t count.” - Sue Robins, a health activist in Vancouver
LIVING BETTER
Is there an easy hack to make fancy pastries, such as croffles, at home?
Though cronuts still have a loyal following, there’s a new kid on the block: the croffle. The ultimate breakfast pastry is a cross between a waffle and a croissant. It’s relatively easy to whip up: Pop rolled-out croissant dough into a waffle iron to make a waffle packed with layers of buttery dough. Polish it off with toppings of your choice – fruits, ice cream, chocolate, nuts or caramel, or savoury bits such as bacon or sautéed sausages.
TODAY’S LONG READ
National Arts Centre Orchestra’s eclectic new CBC Gem series showcases Canadian talent
The National Arts Centre Orchestra introduced a new program, commissioning four musical artists to each curate a 30-minute television episode in collaboration with the NACO.National Arts Centre
The disruption caused by COVID-19 has been cataclysmic for the performing arts – for companies, the artists and audiences. Deeply concerned about the impact of the pandemic on artists, along with erupting social-justice issues, the National Arts Centre Orchestra introduced a new program, commissioning four musical artists to each curate a 30-minute television episode in collaboration with the NACO. The women were given free rein, told that they would be able to express themselves in an undisrupted way. The result: four eclectic episodes that show off Canadian talent – the orchestra, the creators and a long list of other artists. Undisrupted is now streaming on CBC Gem. Read Marsha Lederman’s full story.
Evening Update is written by Beatrice Paez. 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.