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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Families separated, children detained: What we know so far about Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance’ policy
The Trump administration’s hard-line approach toward migrants at the southern border is separating children from their parents, fueling accusations of human-rights abuses and dividing Republicans. On Friday, it was reported that since the administration announced new measures in April to criminally prosecute more people caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally, nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period. On Monday, President Donald Trump told reporters that “the United States will not be a migrant camp, and it will not be a refugee holding facility.” On Twitter he tried to shift blame for the family separations to Democrats, and defended the policy by falsely claiming that Germany’s crime rate is rising. Here is a look at how it started and what could happen next.
To predict the toxic health impacts of Mr. Trump’s zero-tolerance policy, André Picard looks to the fallout of Canada’s treatment of First Nations and Inuit children: “In addition to the separation, many of the Indigenous children were abused, physically and sexually. (There are reports of abuse of migrant children too.) The results have been horrific. The trauma, on individuals and communities, has been profound and multi-generational. Children have a fundamental need to know they are safe.”
Sarah Kendzior writes: ““This is not America,” Republican politicians like to say about the imprisoned children, “this is not who we are.” These statements ignore U.S. history – this was the United States for Indigenous children torn from their parents and sent to boarding schools, for African children sold into slavery, for Japanese families held in internment camps.“
Germany is also engaged in its own refugee policy fight, as Chancellor Angela Merkel spent the weekend and Monday scrambling to broker a short-term agreement with her coalition government’s partner, the Christian Social Union. The leader of that party wants to close Germany’s borders to any asylum seekers already registered in other EU countries. Ms. Merkel bought some negotiation time by postponing the final decision on the issue until after the EU summit at the end of the month. She hopes to have an outline of a new EU-wide asylum system by then.
Millionaires revolt: B.C. homeowners fight new taxes on properties valued over $3-million
Thousands of B.C. properties, including more than 30,000 detached houses in the Vancouver region, will be hit by a new surtax starting next year on homes valued above $3-million. Anger has been rising steadily since the provincial government first announced the surtax in its February budget. Homeowners, who are millionaires based on their home values, say they don’t feel rich and that they are being unfairly targeted. They say the NDP is offside in pursuing tax revenue from unrealized capital gains. (for subscribers)
Ethics watchdog says Bill Morneau didn’t break law with pension bill
The federal ethics commissioner said Monday that Finance Minister Bill Morneau didn’t violate any conflict of interest laws when he sponsored a pension bill in fall 2016, which critics insisted would benefit Morneau Shepell, his family company. Because the bill affects all federally regulated private-sector employers, certain Crown corporations and all pension plan administrators, the ruling found it to be “of general application” in the words of the conflicts of interest law. That wording means that Mr. Morneau’s stake in the company and those of his relatives don’t fall under the scope of the law.
Mr. Morneau is in the news today for another reason, too: A new report has found that 40 per cent of children residing in his downtown Toronto riding live in poverty. The report by Campaign 2000, an anti-poverty advocacy group, tracks child poverty rates across all 338 federal ridings. The group hopes the data will prod the government to approve a soon-to-be-finalized poverty-reduction strategy before next year’s federal election.
Doug Ford orders public sector hiring freeze in Ontario
Ontario’s incoming premier, Doug Ford, has ordered a public sector hiring freeze, as part of a series of measures meant to limit spending as he re-examines the province’s books. He has also directed government ministries to cancel “subscription-based services”, which includes newspaper subscriptions, and to restrict out-of-province travel. A source said essential frontline staff, including those from policing and fire services, are exempt from the freeze.
Magna strikes deal with BJEV to build electric vehicles in China
Magna International, the Ontario-based company that is North America’s largest auto supplier, plans to engineer and build electric cars in China. Magna is forming joint ventures with China’s largest EV maker with the intention of producing vehicles by 2020. In 2015, China surpassed the U.S. as the largest market for EVs, helped by government subsidies and stringent emissions rules.
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MARKET WATCH
Global stocks were lower as investors eyed an escalating trade dispute between the United States and China, while oil prices rose on bets that an OPEC production increase would be smaller than expected. Canada’s main stock index rose on Monday, boosted by the energy sector. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index was unofficially up 69.21 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 16,383.63. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 101.91 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 24,988.57, the S&P 500 lost 5.79 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 2,773.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.65 point, or 0.01 per cent, to 7,747.03.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
Two senior lawmakers on U.S. intelligence committees are warning the Trudeau government that Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is a national-security threat to Canada and other western allies. The U.S. lawmakers said Huawei’s smartphones and equipment shouldn’t be used in Canada. The telecom giant is driving to be a world leader in 5G technology, which is expected to bring near-broadband speeds to smartphones and enable breakthrough technologies like driverless cars.
A recent Globe and Mail investigation revealed the universities, governments and smartphone companies that are helping Huawei to develop ultra fast wireless technology. (for subscribers)
TALKING POINTS
After Galloway: We must value a woman’s pain above a man’s reputation
“We allow laws to stand that permit men to disclose details of allegations against them while the women making those allegations cannot. We continue to give the impression that sexual violence only matters when it has the potential to hurt men. Is that really the message we want to send? That allegations of sexual assault hurt a man more than actual sexual assault hurts a woman? What does that say about us and our ability to see women as full human beings?” - Alicia Elliott
Ottawa pay mess shows how hard it is to fire anyone in this town
“We know that three senior bureaucrats badly botched the creation and roll-out of a new pay system for nearly 300,000 federal workers. The trio left behind a trail of misery, including a relentless stream of pay errors, disrupted lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns. But Ottawa won’t say who the three are or how they were disciplined. We do know that no one was fired.“ - Barrie McKenna
How Canada deals with America in seven simple steps
“Third, by all means say that Canada will stand up for its interests, but never say that it won’t be pushed around. That implies there is a bully, and they don’t like to be called out.” - Ed Whitcomb
LIVING BETTER
Looking to escape the city and do some scenic cycling? Adam Bisby looks at new additions and upgrades to Canada’s weekend cycling scene. He begins with a ride on the much-improved Niagara River Recreational Trail, a 56-kilometre route that is part of the Canada-spanning Great Trail and a beneficiary of the country’s bicycle-tourism boom. From Nova Scotia to B.C. there are a number of routes to choose from, including increased opportunities for urban cycling.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Trump, Kim, Erdogan, Putin: When strongmen stick together, democracy should watch out
Last week was a good week for autocrats - just look at the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. A decade ago, it was a different cast of characters, but now a chaotic new order is emerging in which might-makes-right strongmen stand tallest on the international stage. These are authoritarian leaders who share a disdain for the rules and for liberal democracy, and embrace a common concept of patriotism that bleeds into ethnocentric nationalism. It is a pattern we saw in the 1920s and 1930s. As Mark MacKinnon writes, it is clear the old system is broken, and rogue behavior is the new normal around the world.
For this generation of Filipino-Canadians, broken policies have left a scar
To start new lives in Canada, Filipino parents are at the mercy of Kafkaesque and ever-changing policies that often separate them from their children for years. And, as Doug Saunders writes, even for the kids who make it, reunion isn’t always the happy ending they hope for.
“These teenagers, and their unique emotional traumas and challenges, are part of a far larger generation of young Filipino-Canadians, likely numbering in the tens of thousands and populating every major city, whose family lives have been ripped in two and held in limbo as a result of a serious flaw in Canada’s immigration policies.”
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and Audrey Carleton. 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.