Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cast doubt on the business case for exporting natural gas directly from the East Coast or Quebec – an assessment he delivered as he welcomed Germany’s chancellor, who is in Canada seeking alternatives to Russian energy.
He and German leader Olaf Scholz signalled their priority instead is producing cleaner energy such as hydrogen, a technology that does not yet exist on a large scale in Canada.
Scholz separately announced that two major German auto giants, VW and Mercedes, are signing agreements with the Canadian government to co-operate on supply chains for electric vehicles. Germany is engulfed in an energy crisis after Russia dramatically cut deliveries of natural gas to the European power after being sanctioned by Berlin and other Western countries.
Read more:
- Why Newfoundland is betting big on wind and hydrogen
- Opinion: Trudeau and Scholz need to face up to hard truths on energy security
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Senior RCMP member learned of killer’s replica car in the news, N.S. shooting inquiry hears
The former RCMP commanding officer in Nova Scotia, Lee Bergerman, has told the inquiry into the April 2020 mass shooting that she first saw the killer’s replica police cruiser in a news report before she went to work on the second day of the rampage.
In a transcript of Bergerman’s Aug. 2 interview with inquiry lawyers, the former assistant commissioner said she only had scant details early on April 19, 2020, of the mass shooting that had transpired the night before in the small rural community of Portapique, N.S.
Bergerman said she was first notified that something was happening in the town at around 11 p.m. on April 18, before she went to bed. She confirmed that she learned the next morning about killer Gabriel Wortman’s replica car but was “stunned” when she saw it on the news shortly before she left home to head to her office around 9:30 a.m.
Read more:
- Nova Scotia RCMP ‘dysfunctions,’ labour shortages predated 2020 mass shootings, report says
- Mounties stand by political-interference allegations against Commissioner Brenda Lucki
Ukraine bans Independence Day rallies for fear of Russian rocket strikes
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv banned public celebrations this week to commemorate independence from Soviet rule, citing a heightened threat of Russian attack in a war that the United Nations said on Monday has killed more than 5,500 civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the weekend that Moscow could try “something particularly ugly” in the run-up to Wednesday’s 31st independence anniversary, which also marks half a year since Russia invaded.
Near front lines in the south of the country, Ukraine said Russia fired rockets into several towns north and west of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, captured by Russian forces shortly after they invaded Ukraine in February.
Artillery and rocket fire in the region of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor complex, on the south bank of the Dnipro River, has stirred fears of a nuclear disaster and led to calls for the surrounding area to be demilitarized.
Read more:
- The war in Ukraine forced many to abandon their pets. One woman is standing her ground to rescue them
- Russia’s security service accuses Ukraine of murdering ultra-nationalist’s daughter in car blast
- Ukrainian refugees concerned about plummeting global support as war reaches six-month mark
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ottawa cuts funding for anti-racism project over ‘vile’ tweets: Diversity Minister Ahmed Hussen says the government has cut funding to an anti-racism project over “reprehensible and vile” tweets by a senior consultant involved in the strategy.
Moderna to supply 12 million doses of its Omicron-targeted COVID-19 vaccine to Canada: Canada will also purchase an additional 4.5 million doses of the Omicron-containing candidate, and is moving forward the scheduled delivery of 1.5 million doses of the bivalent vaccine candidate from 2023 to 2022.
Dr. Anthony Fauci announces December departure from government service: The top infectious disease expert in the United States, who became a household name – and the subject of partisan attacks – during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Monday he will depart the federal government in December after more than five decades of service.
Ford cuts 3,000 jobs as it pivots to EVs, software: Ford Motor Co. said it will cut a total of 3,000 salaried and contract jobs, mostly in North America and India, as it restructures to catch up with Tesla Inc. in the race to develop software-driven electric vehicles.
The Canadian real estate that smart money is still desperate to buy: industrial warehouses: Unrelenting demand for Canada’s storage and distribution warehouses is vaulting that segment of the real estate market into a new echelon, with industrial properties in and around cities such as Toronto and Montreal commanding some of the fastest-rising prices in the world.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street ended sharply lower today as investors fretted about a U.S. Federal Reserve gathering later this week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that is expected to reinforce a strong commitment by the central bank to stamp out inflation. Losses were milder on Bay Street, thanks to some modest strength in the heavyweight energy and materials sectors.
The S&P 500 lost 90.49 points, or 2.14 per cent, to end at 4,137.99 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 323.65 points, or 2.55 per cent, to 12,381.57. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 643.13 points, or 1.91 per cent, to 33,063.61.
The TSX lost 136.46 points or 0.68 per cent, ending at 19,974.92.
The Canadian dollar traded for 76.72 cents US compared with 76.98 cents US on Friday.
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TALKING POINTS
Like the two Michaels, Xiao Jianhua deserves Canada’s support
“Mr. Xiao is a victim of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s attempted diversions for the political turmoil on his home turf.” – Peter MacKay
In Wyoming, Republican voters chose the god that failed
“The reason for Ms. Cheney’s loss is as simple as it is undeniable: she refused to kowtow to Mr. Trump and his Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was ‘stolen.’” – Nina L. Khrushcheva
Michelle O’Bonsawin’s nomination to Canada’s Supreme Court is good for Canadians
“She doesn’t just bring much-needed perspective as an Indigenous person to the country’s highest court; she’s also experienced in criminal law and in the operation of the health care system.” – Robert Janes
Why it may be a good time to ditch dairy
“Though milk does contain nutrients that humans need, such as protein and calcium, those nutrients are not unique to dairy, and can be easily found in other foods.” – Pamela Fergusson, Jessica Scott-Reid
LIVING BETTER
How to keep your hips, spine and shoulders in shape
Mobility training is a lot like flossing your teeth: we all know it’s good for us, yet for the most part it gets ignored. By zoning-in in three general areas, and choosing the right movements for each, you can unlock a world of physical autonomy that carries over into every aspect of life. The hips, spine and shoulders are the areas in question. Paul Landini’s go-to mobility exercise is the tactical frog (a.k.a., the frog stretch). Learn more.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Deadly Ontario house blast remains a mystery two years later, but like Wheatley’s explosion, old gas wells are suspected
The property where David and Dianne Nadalin’s house once stood on the shores of Lake Erie in Leamington, Ontario.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
A year before an explosion wrecked several buildings and injured about 20 people in Wheatley, Ont., a retired couple was killed in a blast at their home only 10 kilometres away.
The possible culprits in both cases are old, leaky natural gas wells.
David and Dianne Nadalin died when their small beach house along the Lake Erie shore outside Leamington, Ont., exploded on July 12, 2020, with such force that debris was thrown more than 40 metres.
While the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) did not reach a firm conclusion about the cause, methane gas from a well at the edge of the couple’s property was noted as a potential source along with a propane-gas system that provided heat and powered appliances. Unsafe levels of hydrogen sulphide were also found around a gas well vent near the house, which is located in a narrow, cottage-lined spit of land known as Marentette Beach.
The explosion at Marentette Beach set off alarm bells for Ontario government engineers and other experts who had been warning successive provincial governments about thousands of abandoned wells in Southwestern Ontario, many of them leaking toxic gases.
Evening Update is written by Prajakta Dhopade. 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.