Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived as a guest at the NATO leaders’ summit today with remarks that suggested he didn’t expect much with regard to his country’s membership in the defence alliance.
“It’s unprecedented and absurd when a time frame is set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership,” Zelensky tweeted as he headed to the summit.
By the end of the day, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s leaders had done little to advance the process.
“We reaffirmed Ukraine will become a member of NATO and agreed to remove the requirement for a membership action plan,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters, referring to a key step in joining the alliance. “This will change Ukraine’s membership path from a two-step path to a one-step path.”
The decision highlighted the divisions among NATO’s 31 members over giving a date or a straightforward invitation for Ukraine to join. Kyiv has been pushing for a swift entry, bound together with security guarantees, since even before Russia unleashed its invasion in February 2022.
The broadside from Zelensky came shortly after it saw a burst of goodwill after Turkey agreed to advance Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
Nike Canada investigated by watchdog over claims it uses forced Uyghur labour in China
Canada’s corporate ethics watchdog has announced two probes into businesses that operate in China, including one focusing on Nike Canada to determine whether it is selling goods produced with forced labour by members of China’s Muslim Uyghur minority.
Vancouver-based gold mining company Dynasty Gold is also under investigation over potential forced labour at an open-pit mine in China’s Xinjiang regions.
The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), established in 2021 by Justin Trudeau’s government, is investigating these companies in response to complaints filed last year by a coalition of human-rights groups.
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As B.C. port strike drags on, union blames ‘greed’ of shipping companies
With the B.C. port workers’ strike stretching into an 11th day, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada is contending that the five major shipping companies made US$103.3-billion in profit last year, compared with US$6.2-billion in 2019, and blaming corporate greed for the impasse in bargaining.
A report commissioned by the union says shippers and terminal operators like the ones represented by the BC Maritime Employers Association took advantage of the pandemic to profit by raising shipping charges.
The strike by 7,400 unionized waterfront employees started on Canada Day, hitting the Port of Vancouver, the Port of Prince Rupert in northern B.C. and terminals on Vancouver Island.
Meanwhile, economic fallout from the strike is getting worse, with imported goods from Asia and exports of Canadian raw materials such as potash being delayed.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Laurentian Bank puts itself up for sale, hires advisers to approach other Canadian lenders
The board of directors of Canada’s ninth-largest lender has hired financial and legal advisers with an eye toward a sale that would further consolidate financial services in the country, sources tell The Globe and Mail.
Ottawa could improve health care with better international recruiting, premiers say
At the annual premiers’ conference in Winnipeg, where health care is among the main topics being discussed by provincial and territorial leaders, the federal government is being told to improve recruitment and mobility of international health workers.
Israelis block highways to protest government’s plan to overhaul judiciary
A plan to limit the Israeli Supreme Court’s oversight powers, safeguards proponents say are needed to prevent corruption and improper political appointments, has provoked about 10,000 protesters to demand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu halt the overhaul.
Elina Svitolina, with Ukraine war and her baby on her mind, advances to Wimbledon semi-finals
Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, a wild-card entry to Wimbledon this year who spends most of her time as a new mom and a concerned family member of Odesa residents, is one win away from the finals after a 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory against No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek.
MARKET WATCH
In anticipation of the release of more data on the economy’s second quarter in the U.S., investors helped the major stock indexes end higher today, while the TSX also closed higher.
U.S. consumer price data is due tomorrow, while a U.S. producer prices report is due on Thursday.
The S&P 500 rose 29.73, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,439.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 317.02 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 34,261.42, and the Nasdaq composite added 75.22, or 0.5 per cent, to 13,760.70.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 56.11 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 19,878.56.
One Canadian dollar could buy 75.56 cents U.S.
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TALKING POINTS
There are better ways for a government to help journalism
“Among other problems, Bill C-18 creates the perception that some media are preferred by the government of the day, and it will reinforce the industry status quo by stifling innovative startups that don’t fit with Ottawa’s notion of acceptable journalism.” – The Editorial Board
The West cannot let Pakistan’s democracy wither
“Imran Khan is known as one of the greatest cricket players to have ever lived. But politics – especially in a country like Pakistan – is a real blood-sport. ... He says he will never leave his country, and it seemed to me that Mr. Khan was sincere in his hope for Pakistan’s democracy. Yet the West’s relative silence around the protests effectively supports the failed status quo over the rule of law.” – Omer Aziz
LIVING BETTER
Walk of Fame ‘mega-induction’ to include rockers Loverboy, Glass Tiger, Trooper
This September, a who’s who of Canadian classic rock will be recognized for their cultural contributions in a ceremony that will place them on the Walk of Fame in Toronto. Homegrown talent from the 1970s and 1980s – including April Wine, Loverboy, Trooper, Glass Tiger, Chilliwack and more – will be honoured with a ceremony and performances in a night dubbed Canada’s Rock of Fame.
A tour led by mountain goats offers a new way to see the Swiss Alps
Led by goats rescued from slaughter by entrepreneur Nicole Buess, these slow, meandering journeys take visitors to Madulain, Zuoz or St. Moritz and allow them to absorb the stunning scenery in a new and memorable way. It’s a chance to meet locals, to learn more about mountain life in Switzerland, and to connect with the goats in a way that helps us understand why their lives are worth saving.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Crawford Lake is part of the Crawford Lake Conservation Area near Campbellville, Ont.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Scientists name small Canadian lake as marker of when humans started changing the planet
A small lake near Toronto is the most representative site marking humanity’s impact on the planet across geologic time, according to an international panel of scientists.
Crawford Lake was announced today as the best place to signal the dawn of the Anthropocene, an era that began around the middle of the 20th century and is a newly recognized interval in geologic time.
At least, that’s the case being put forward by Dr. Francine McCarthy and her Canadian colleagues, a case that is bolstered by today’s announcement at a meeting of the International Commission on Stratigraphy in Lille, France.
While few doubt that humans have had an extraordinary impact on the planet, the question for scientists is whether this qualifies as the start of a new chapter in the 4.5-billion-year history of Earth.
That Crawford Lake has been selected to represent this demarcation is a bonus for the Canadian researchers.
Read more on this development by Ivan Semeniuk.
Evening Update is compiled and written weekdays by an editor in The Globe’s live news department. 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.