Evening Update: Liberal cabinet backs Trudeau’s response to SNC-Lavalin report; Hong Kong on brink of recession, Cathay Pacific CEO abruptly resigns

Good evening, let’s start with our top stories:

Liberal cabinet ministers back Trudeau’s response to Ethics Commissioner’s report on SNC-Lavalin affair

Liberal cabinet ministers are backing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s response to the Ethics Commissioner’s scathing report that found he broke Canada’s conflict-of-interest rules by orchestrating his government’s efforts to obtain an out-of-court settlement for SNC-Lavalin Group.

The Globe and Mail asked all 34 cabinet ministers if they agreed with Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion’s finding that Trudeau used his office to improperly try to further the engineering giant’s interests and to discredit former attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould.

All ministers responded, expressing support for the Prime Minister’s defence of his actions. Some ministers simply said they would “refer to the Prime Minister’s comments.”

Opinion: “The most disturbing sight on display in this report is the senior staff of the PMO plotting with SNC staff, senior executives from the Bank of Montreal and former Supreme Court justices to order the world as they knew it should be ordered. And when Jody Wilson-Raybould refused to play along, Mr. Trudeau sacked her.” - Margaret Wente

Read more:

• Bank of Montreal chair Robert Prichard stands by his role in effort to secure deal for SNC-Lavalin
• Retired Supreme Court judge John Major says it was only ‘logical’ for SNC-Lavalin to seek senior legal help
• SNC-Lavalin affair began with 2016 meeting between Trudeau, company

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Hong Kong is on brink of a recession and Cathay Pacific’s CEO abruptly resigns

Hong Kong is on the verge of its first recession in a decade as increasingly violent anti-government protests scare off tourists and bite into retail sales.

The economy shrank 0.4 per cent in April-June from the previous quarter, revised government data show, and conditions have sharply deteriorated since then as demonstrations spread.

The Asian financial centre was already under intense pressure from the escalating Sino-U.S. trade war and China’s biggest economic slowdown in decades.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Rupert Hogg resigned in a shock move today, amid mounting Chinese regulatory scrutiny of the Hong Kong carrier over the involvement of its employees in the city’s anti-government protests.

The sudden departure signals growing pressure on the corporate sector in the Chinese-controlled former British colony, home to multinationals such as HSBC Holdings, to support Beijing.

Opinion: “I write this on the eve of another weekend when, once again, massive rallies are planned. With protests now in their 10th week and increasingly violent, many of us long-term residents despair for an uncertain future. Satellite photos of armoured personnel carriers being massed just over the border in China don’t help.” - Tom Grimmer, Hong Kong-based consultant and writer

Related: Rudderless rebellion: Inside the Hong Kong protesters’ anarchic campaign against China

U.S. congresswoman Rashida Tlaib declines visit after Israel reverses ban

U.S. congresswoman Rashida Tlaib says she would not visit her grandmother in the occupied West Bank, despite being granted an Israeli permit on humanitarian grounds, saying Israel’s “oppressive” conditions aimed to humiliate her.

Israel barred Tlaib and another Democratic congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, from visiting Jerusalem and the West Bank over their support for the international boycott movement following a tweet from President Donald Trump to deny them entry.

Israel had said Tlaib could visit relatives on humanitarian grounds, but then released a letter she purportedly signed promising not to advocate boycotts during her visit. That appears to have led to Tlaib’s decision to cancel the visit.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

No art of the Greenland deal for Trump: Greenland today dismissed the notion that it might be up for sale after reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had privately discussed with his advisers the idea of buying the world’s biggest island.

Ottawa unveils $1.75-billion package for dairy farmers: Ottawa has announced $1.75-billion in compensation for Canadian dairy farmers to offset a loss of market share resulting from free-trade agreements with Europe and countries on the Pacific Rim.

Publication ban to be lifted on van attack suspect’s statement: Details of what Alek Minassian, accused in Toronto’s deadly van attack last year on Yonge Street, told police after his arrest will be made public when a publication ban is lifted on Sept. 27.

Myanmar, Bangladesh to try Rohingya repatriation again: Myanmar and Bangladesh will soon make a second attempt to start repatriating Rohingya Muslims, 700,000 of whom fled a security crackdown in Myanmar almost two years ago, officials from the two countries and the United Nations say.

Yatim family upset at Forcillo’s day parole: A lawyer representing the family of Sammy Yatim, the teenager who died after being shot by Toronto police officer James Forcillo, says they’re upset at a decision to grant him day parole. He had served 21 months of a six-year sentence for attempted murder.

Toronto startup Nudge Rewards raises $11-million: Nudge Rewards, a Toronto startup that connects restaurant, retail and hospitality companies to front-line employees through their smartphones, has raised $11-million in venture capital, making it one of the few Canadian technology firms led or co-founded by women to secure eight-figure private financing.

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MARKET WATCH

Canada’s main stock index bounced back from a two-day slide today, as expectations of further stimulus from global central banks eased concerns of an economic slowdown. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 137.26 points at 16,146.79.

U.S. stocks rebounded as an ebbing bond rally and news of potential German economic stimulus brought buyers back to equities, but major indexes still ended the week with losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 306.62 points to 25,886.01, the S&P 500 gained 41.08 points to end at 2,888.68 and the Nasdaq Composite added 129.37 points to close at 7,895.99.

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TALKING POINTS

Failing to prevent gun violence costs lives. But we’re ignoring the other price tag

“We spend more than $300-million on criminal-justice costs associated with shootings in a given year. This includes money for police, prosecuting alleged shooters and legal aid for people navigating the courts, as well as for incarcerating offenders and those awaiting trial.” - Jooyoung Lee, author and associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto

Jay-Z shows he has no conscience as he sells out Kaepernick, grabs big money from NFL

“Remember when Jay-Z was a dynamic hip-hop artist whose stark lyrics gave voice to the oppressed and downtrodden? Well, those days are over. He may have 99 Problems – but a conscience certainly ain’t one.” - Paul Newberry

What Squamish lost when the Sea to Sky Gondola fell to Earth

“The gondola is worth so much more than just its parts. It is the definition of community and gathering.… The view may be what gets people up there in the first place, but we keep coming back for the love.” - Kirsten Andrews, co-producer and artistic director for the Squamish Constellation Festival

LIVING BETTER

Many Ontario nursing-home residents with advanced dementia, especially men, are subject to treatments and procedures that potentially add to their distress and discomfort in the last 30 days of life, researchers have found. "Burdensome interventions” include invasive procedures, physical restraints, transitions of care to unfamiliar and stressful settings and antibiotics.

The findings underscore the need for health-care practitioners, patients and their family members to have conversations early on to plan and make sure those with dementia receive the care they want as their condition progresses, the researchers said.

LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE

The smell of coffee, cumin and hot-dog water fills the Coney as Jake MacLaurin contemplates an important question: What is it about this place? How did Coney Island Westfort, a 70-year-old diner in a working-class part of Thunder Bay, become as much a haven as a restaurant?

Jake thinks about it while he jokes with a waitress about his belly. He thinks about it some more while he eats. He’s having two dogs and a burger with everything, everything being diced onions, yellow mustard and a mysterious red chili called Coney sauce that is the house specialty and an essential local dish.

There’s a lot to think about. Conflict is baked into everything in Thunder Bay, which is among the country’s per-capita leaders in murders and hate crimes.

But conflict passes over the Coney. Amid its cramped booths and rickety lunch-counter stools, letter-board menus and out-of-date Pepsi signs, an oasis of racial harmony has emerged. Read Eric Andrew-Gee’s full story here.

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