Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Fully vaccinated Canadians to be exempt from post-travel COVID-19 quarantine restrictions starting July 5
Starting July 5, fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents will be spared from current post-travel quarantine restrictions on return to Canada as long as they test negative for COVID-19, Ottawa says.
This first stage of relaxation of travel restrictions does not apply to fully vaccinated foreigners aside from a few exceptions, including international students attending school in Canada.
These changes mean eligible travellers will be exempt from existing quarantine rules including a mandatory hotel stay for those arriving by air and testing on the eighth day after return.
Opinion: Two good reasons for keeping the border closed, and one bad one - Globe Editorial
In other COVID-19 developments: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant jumped 66 per cent in Canada last week to more than 2,000. Across the provinces, Ontario is expanding accelerated second dose vaccine accessibility, Alberta adds more prizes to its vaccine lottery, Quebec is reducing restrictions in three regions, and Saskatchewan will end all public health measures on July 11.
Opinion: Kids should get COVID-19 shots – and the sooner, the better - André Picard
Explainer: Waiting for a second dose? Here are answers to your COVID-19 vaccine questions.
Read more:
- What’s driving Waterloo Region’s COVID-19 surge?
- How COVID-19 exposed long-term health-care issues at Brampton hospital
- Kenney touts post-COVID-19 infection immunity, but experts remain unsure
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PHAC president admonished by House of Commons, continues to withhold documents on two fired scientists
Iain Stewart, president of the Public Health Agency of Canada, has defied an order of the House of Commons and refused to provide secret documents about the dismissal of two scientists from Canada’s high security infectious disease laboratory.
He appeared, as ordered, before the bar of the House today to be admonished, but did not turn over documents that opposition MPs have been seeking, including information on the transfer of two dangerous viruses from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Government House Leader Pablo Rodriquez did offer a compromise, saying the government was prepared to show them to the Commons law clerk and parliamentary counsel so he could examine hundreds of censored documents - provided there is oversight from national security officials.
Hong Kong’s Apple Daily tabloid may shut down this week, memo says
The pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily looks set to close for good by Saturday following police raids and the arrest of executives – a move that rights groups say would undermine the city’s reputation as a free and open society as Beijing tightens its grip.
An adviser to the jailed owner and staunch Beijing critic Jimmy Lai said the newspaper would be forced to shut “in a matter of days.” In an internal memo to staff seen by Reuters news agency, the Apple Daily said: “The board will decide on Friday whether [the company] will continue to operate.”
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Inter Pipeline takeover battle morphs into legal spat: The takeover battle for Calgary-based Inter Pipeline is growing more contentious, with Inter Pipeline and its friendly merger partner, Pembina Pipeline, asking Alberta’s securities watchdog to intervene and block what they call “coercive tactics” by rival hostile bidder Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
Today’s episode of The Decibel podast: Rwanda had been heralded as a model for reconciliation after the 1994 genocide, but that view has started to shift. For human-rights groups, the prosecution of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda, is the latest example of the government’s crackdown on dissidents. The Globe’s Africa correspondent, Geoffrey York, discusses the situation with host Tamara Khandaker.
Supreme Court sides with NCAA: In a ruling that could help push changes in college athletics, the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the NCAA can’t enforce certain restrictions limiting the education-related benefits – such as computers and graduate scholarships – that colleges offer athletes.
Gretzky, Nash back lacrosse venture: Hockey icon Wayne Gretzky and basketball legend Steve Nash are teaming up with golf’s Dustin Johnson and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai in the ownership group of National Lacrosse League’s new Las Vegas franchise.
Cav returns to the Tour: Veteran sprinter Mark Cavendish, who has 30 stage wins at the Tour de France, will return to the cycling Grand Tour after a three-year absence. Canadians lining up in the three-week cycling race, which starts Saturday, include general-classification contender Michael Woods and Guillaume Boivin for Israel Start-Up Nation and Hugo Houle for Astana-Premier Tech.
Spielberg inks Netflix deal: Steven Spielberg, a filmmaker synonymous with big-screen enchantment, has reached a multiyear deal with Netflix in which his production company, Amblin Partners, will make feature films for the streaming giant.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street ended sharply higher today, with the Dow seeing its strongest session in over three months as investors piled back into energy and other sectors expected to outperform as the economy rebounds from the pandemic. Canada’s main stock index also closed higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 586.89 points or 1.76 per cent to 33,876.97, the S&P 500 climbed 58.34 points or 1.4 per cent to 4,224.79, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 111.10 points or 0.79 per cent at 14,141.48.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 156.77 points or 0.78 per cent to end at 20,156.77.
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TALKING POINTS
Tories need to look beyond an election with COVID-19 recovery plan
“The Liberal blueprint is out there, sort of, in a budget bill before Parliament. But the Conservatives’ recovery plan is still a few bullet points sketched out by Leader Erin O’Toole. So it’s worth asking. Do the Tories have a different economic recovery policy?” - Campbell Clark
Who is Indigenous enough?
“Indigenous heritage is something definitely worth fighting for, but not, I also think, at the expense of creating our own casualties due to friendly fire.” - Drew Hayden Taylor
At U.S. Open, Mackenzie Hughes’s hopes for a major get treed
“He was in it with the very best in the game. In that situation, it takes some luck to push you over the hump. Hughes got a ton, all of it bad. They’ll be replaying that tree shot for the rest of his career.” - Cathal Kelly
Related: Rahm birdies last two holes to win U.S. Open as Hughes fades
LIVING BETTER
In only a few years, Peloton has achieved near-universal brand recognition for its exercise bike. When people ask personal trainer Paul Landini if they should buy a Peloton, his response is the same as his answer to almost every fitness question: It depends on your goals. Bikes are great for cardio, but not much for building strength. And it can be cost-prohibitive. He finds the most interesting aspect of Peloton happens once you step off the bike. Members have access to a huge collection of fitness classes from yoga and Pilates, to strength training and stretching.
TODAY’S LONG READ
A ticking time bomb: Canada’s tick seasons are getting worse, and they’re no longer just a rural menace
Coming into this summer, researchers are seeing an explosion of black-legged ticks (also known as deer ticks) that can infect people with Lyme disease. That could spell big trouble as Canadians, fed up after months of lockdowns and restrictions, plunge into the great outdoors.
But ticks don’t only affect campers and other adventurers – not any more. Climate moderation, coupled with changes in land use (like farmland to forest), have fuelled the tick’s rise in a couple of ways. They’ve improved survival rates among host animals, particularly deer and mice, which thrive in urban areas (They’re also found on groundhogs and coyotes.)
Milder temperatures mean more of the parasitic arachnids, which have a two-year life cycle, are surviving Canadian winters and staying put year-round. And they’re spreading. Read Serena Marotta’s full story here.
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