Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
A senior RCMP official told the public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting that communication procedures she used to alert the public to an active shooter led to a crucial delay during the killer’s rampage.
Lia Scanlan’s testimony stands in sharp contrast to what she told inquiry investigators last September. Scanlan, who was director of strategic communications for the Nova Scotia RCMP at the time of the shooting, had insisted she would not have done anything differently that morning.
That was her response in September when asked why it took the RCMP more than three hours to warn the public that the killer was driving a mock RCMP cruiser.
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Moderna says Omicron-targeted COVID-19 shot boosts protection
Moderna on Wednesday said an updated version of its COVID-19 vaccine produced a better immune response against Omicron than the original shot.
The vaccine, which was given as a fourth dose in a trial that enrolled more than 800 people, raised virus-neutralizing antibodies by eight-fold against Omicron. Moderna is pursuing a booster that would work against a surge in infections in the fall.
It said it plans to submit data on the vaccine, which targets both Omicron and the original strain, to regulators in the coming weeks. Those doses, Moderna said, could be available to consumers in late summer.
Read more:
- Ontario to lift most remaining COVID-19 mask mandates on Saturday
- Global agreement on waiver for COVID-19 vaccine rights within reach, WTO chief says
- My employer is mandating a return to office. How can I make the best case to stay remote?
Former TRC director to serve as independent special interlocutor for residential schools
Ottawa has appointed an independent special interlocutor to connect Indigenous communities dealing with the discovery of unmarked graves with the federal government.
As interlocutor, Kimberly Murray, a former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will work with communities to recommend ways of strengthening federal laws and practices to protect and preserve burial sites found at former residential school sites.
Last year, the government promised to create the position after ground-penetrating radar detected what are believed to be hundreds of unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
- ICYMI: Archeologist Kisha Supernant is at the forefront of the search for unmarked graves
- Tanya Talaga: Now is the time for truth-telling about surviving residential schools, not denial
U.S. accuses China of putting its diplomats in danger with fake quotes about Xinjiang
Most diplomats work in relative obscurity, with the exception of ambassadors and the occasional consul-general. So it was a shock to see the names and faces of two foreign service officers employed at the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou splashed over Chinese media this week and credited with exposing a conspiracy of lies by Washington, reports The Globe’s Asia correspondent James Griffiths.
According to an unnamed “supplier for a well-known international sports brand,” the diplomats – Sheila Carey and Andrew Chira – told guests at a reception last year that the U.S. was “using the Xinjiang issue to hype up so-called forced labour, genocide and human-rights abuses” as part of a “tug of war” with China.
Since about 2017, hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang region have passed through what former detainees have described as “re-education camps.” The authorities have also heavily suppressed the Uyghur language, as well as cultural and religious practices, and allegedly used detainees for forced labour. In 2021, both the Canadian Parliament and the U.S. State Department said the campaign amounts to genocide, an accusation Beijing has fiercely denied.
As the claims about Carey and Chira spread through Chinese state media, the U.S. embassy issued a forceful denial, urging Beijing “to stop attributing false statements to U.S. officials or taking other actions that might subject our diplomats to harassment.”
- Opinion: Canada’s supply chains have a forced labour problem. Are we ready to seriously act?
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ukraine’s forces pull back as Russia presses assault on key eastern city: Ukrainian forces retreated to the outskirts of the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk on Wednesday in the face of a fierce Russian assault, the regional governor said. Moscow has concentrated its troops and firepower on the small eastern city in recent weeks to secure the surrounding province on behalf of separatist proxies.
Enbridge consultant’s report fuels debate over true impact of Line 5 shutdown: Shutting down Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline would lead to a 1- to 2-cent rise in gasoline prices for Ontarians and Quebeckers, according to a U.S. energy consultant hired by the company. Environmental Defence, an environmental group seeking a shutdown of the pipeline, says this report supports its assertion that the impact of closing the line would be negligible for Central Canadian consumers.
Armed man arrested near home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice: An armed man who made threats against Justice Brett Kavanaugh was arrested near the justice’s house in Maryland, the Supreme Court said Wednesday. The man reportedly told the police he was upset by a leaked draft opinion suggesting the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion case.
Foo Fighters to play two tribute concerts for drummer: The rock band’s late drummer Taylor Hawkins will be honoured with a pair of tribute concerts in September, with one in London and the other in Los Angeles.
Listen to The Decibel: How Johnson survives scandal after scandal: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a long history of being at the centre of scandals, dating back to his days as a journalist when he was sacked for fabricating a quote. The Globe’s Europe correspondent Paul Waldie is back to tell us why the Partygate scandal he’s embroiled in now might be the thing that brings him down.
MARKET WATCH
North American and European stocks slid on Wednesday as the outlook for rate hikes sullied sentiment, while bond yields rose after euro-zone gross domestic product beat expectations, adding to bets of a more hawkish European Central Bank.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 135.78 points to 20,792.43. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 269.24 points at 32,910.90. The S&P 500 index was down 44.91 points at 4,115.77, while the Nasdaq composite was down 88.96 points at 12,086.27.
The Canadian dollar traded for 79.74 cents US compared with 79.65 cents US on Tuesday.
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TALKING POINTS
Mandatory voting works in Australia. It can work here
“Unless you make participation mandatory you don’t get a representative result. And representation is what an election is supposed to be all about. There’s another benefit to mandatory voting: it eliminates turnout as a factor in the parties’ calculations. Much that is wrong with our politics, the relentless animus and bile, is rooted in turnout-based strategies, aimed either at riling up a party’s own supporters – enough to get them to the polls – or depressing its opponents’ enough to induce them to stay home. When voting is universal there’s no point in either.” - Andrew Coyne
The English language is not the menace it’s made out to be
“English is a fungus. English facilitates exchange from different people all over the globe. In our hyper-connected world, English is the lingua franca of business, technology, academe, the international political class and tourism. Like it or not. And cutting yourself off from it, or your children, or trying to push out the English community so fewer chances of “exposure” exist, does not protect anyone in a co-operative model. It isolates. It prevents exchange. It blocks opportunities. In short, it is not useful.” - Sheila Das
LIV Golf Series’ assault on the PGA Tour is a lesson on money and power
“The formerly dead-in-the-water Saudi-backed breakaway tour is now pulling a Jaws on the PGA Tour. It isn’t just circling the boat. It’s starting to eat it. Up until yesterday, most of the pros who’d quit the PGA Tour and jumped ship were middle-aged dad types – Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, et al.” - Cathal Kelly
LIVING BETTER
Tempted to buy a home with siblings or friends? Here’s what you need to know
In the latest Stress Test episode, we hear from two sisters who are trying to buy a house together – and who are struggling to get into the market even after joining forces. Plus, co-host Roma Luciw interviews Leah Zlatkin, a mortgage broker at Mortgage Outlet and expert at LowestRates.ca, about why legal agreements are critical for those considering buying as a group.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Travel east of Amsterdam, a hub of architectural design and good food
Butcher Korrel.Robert vt Hoenderdaal/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
It’s not often you find yourself on an epic walk through Amsterdam. In the misty 17th-century streets of the canal belt, connecting the dots will take barely 20 minutes. And that’s when you’re not cycling – on two wheels, the streetscape whizzes by. Even if you’re not an architecture buff, as I am, it seems a shame to rush through a city this deserving of being savoured.
I got lucky on a recent visit when an unexpected meeting came up in remote Watergraafsmeer, beyond the houseboat villages on the Amstel River in Amsterdam East, or oost. I had ample time to hoof it, and I’m glad I did. Outside the confines of the Golden Age centre, leaving behind the tourists toggling between Anne Frank and Rembrandt, I wandered into a quiet, colourful, hyper-local version of Amsterdam I never knew existed.
Because, of course, Amsterdam is more than Golden Age wonders and world war horrors. The east especially acts as a habitable timeline of modern Amsterdam – its rise, fall and indisputable rise, uniting progressive design with lowland gardens and great food. Read the full story by Ellen Himelfarb.
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.