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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
What we know about the Toronto van attack
Moments before the Toronto van attack took place, a post was made on Facebook from the account of suspect Alek Minassian. The post was in praise of Elliot Rodger, who killed six people and then himself in 2014, and described himself as an “incel,” someone who is involuntarily celibate. Facebook says it deleted the suspect’s account, in accordance with its community standards that disallow mass murderers to maintain a presence.
Mr. Minassian has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder and made an appearance at a court in north Toronto this morning. Police say that a 14th charge of attempted murder could be laid. The Globe and Mail has learned that he was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces for two months last year. The military said he was in basic training for 16 days and was “voluntarily released” at his own request before his training could be completed. The suspect has been described by some people who knew him as socially awkward and a tech expert.
The term “incels” is used by people, most of them young men, who commiserate about their lack of sexual activity – many of them placing the blame on women. The group has received substantial criticism for its apparent misogyny, including posts that appeared to condone rape.
The first of the 10 victims to have been publicly identified is Anne Marie D’Amico, an employee at an investment company with its headquarters on Yonge Street near the site of the carnage. “She only had kindness to her,” the D’Amico family said in a statement. “Her name has been broadcasted around the world attached to this terrible tragedy. But we want everyone to know that she embodied the definition of altruism.” Ontario’s Chief Coroner said that it may take days to identify the victims. Dr. Dirk Huyer said that a team of pathologists, coroners, dentists and scientists is working together to make the identifications, but that they are being careful to ensure there is no confusion.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slammed the attack as “senseless” and offered his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of the victims. He held a news conference early this morning to address the incident and commended Toronto police and emergency medical teams that responded in the aftermath of the attack.
Marcus Gee writes in a column that the cop who didn’t shoot responded the right way: “Whether it was training, instinct or simple humanity, The Cop Who Didn’t Shoot deserves all the praise and attention he is getting. He kept his cool. He arrested his man. He spared a life. He showed us all the best way to respond to terror: with calm, discipline and determination.”
Stephanie Carvin, a national security expert, writes in a column that although the attack invoked terror, we can’t call it terrorism: “In the hours between the attack and the press conference on Monday night, speculation as to whether the attack was a terrorist incident grew on social media. Sadly, it was not so long ago that we had a similar conversation in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting. How could it be that someone who accumulated machine guns in order to kill innocent concert goers was not a terrorist? In Canada, the answer to this question is somewhat unsatisfying, but worth discussing. Section 83.01 of the Criminal Code states that any act carried out for political, ideological or religious reasons is terrorism. But not all political, ideological or religious reasons are alike. When an act is carried out in the name of a listed terrorist entity – such as al-Qaeda or the Islamic State – prosecutors can easily point to a coherent set of ideas upon which a terrorism charge can be laid. However, when it comes to fringe movements and broad anti-government ideologies, prosecution becomes trickier.”
Canadian data firm AggregateIQ breaks silence, insists it did nothing wrong
AggregateIQ, a Victoria company accused of misspending and dirty tricks during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign, insists that it did nothing wrong. Jeff Silvester and Zack Massingham, the two founders of the company, broke their silence and told lawmakers on Parliament Hill that the work they did for Vote Leave was legal. Mr. Silvester said the company manages standard voter databases and places political ads digitally. “We’re not data harvesters, by any stretch of the imagination. And certainly, we don’t do psychographic profiling or profiling of any other type. We’re not psychologists, we’re tech people and we place ads,” Mr. Silvester told MPs. Politicians in Britain grilled Aleksandr Kogan, the academic who created the app that harvested Facebook user information. He later sold the information to Cambridge Analytica, the Britain-based consultancy at the centre of the data-misuse scandal. He said that researchers at the University of Toronto also had access to some of the Facebook data, but declined to name who exactly.
Restaurant Brands vows to win back business with Tim Hortons makeover
Tim Hortons’s parent company has a plan to stem sliding sales at the iconic coffee chain – a $700-million facelift. Daniel Schwartz, the chief executive officer of Restaurant Brands International, which owns Tim Hortons, said its new “winning together” strategy includes renovated restaurants, improved product quality and pumped-up marketing. The makeover is needed, Mr. Schwartz said, in order to deal with “flat” sales in Canada and “soft” sales in the United States. Sales at existing Tim Hortons restaurants fell 0.3 per cent in the first quarter. Tim Hortons is also dealing with angry franchisees who have raised concerns that the company’s heavy cost-cutting has resulted in a drop in quality and product supplies. Franchisees say these problems are hurting their bottom lines and the coffee chain’s brand. A Leger report earlier this month found that Tim Hortons’s reputation among consumers fell from fourth place in 2017 to 50th in 2018.
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MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index dropped on Tuesday on falling oil prices and investor worries on the possibility of higher global borrowing after the U.S. 10-year bond yield hit the 3 per cent mark. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 0.5 per cent to 15,477.00. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks slid on rising bond yields and as quarterly earnings failed to deliver positive outlooks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.73 per cent to 24,025.37, the S&P 500 lost 1.34 per cent to 2,634.55 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.7 per cent to 7,007.35.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
The Quebec government is intervening in a cultural tug of war between the National Gallery of Canada and two Quebec museums, saying a historic painting worth millions of dollars, Jacques-Louis David’s Saint Jerome, must stay in the province. The National Gallery in Ottawa is selling a Marc Chagall painting in order to finance the acquisition of the David.
TALKING POINTS
Another summer, another border crisis
“The border crisis is a huge vulnerable spot for Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal government. If they can’t show they’re in charge of our borders, they’ll pay for it in the next election. We are one of the most immigrant-accepting countries in the world. We’ve gladly taken in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. But we don’t like being played for suckers. And that’s the way this feels.” — Margaret Wente
The MMIWG inquiry cannot be allowed to fail
“There is still significant work needed in critical areas of research and forensic investigation. Further hearings on topics such as the justice system, sexual exploitation, health care and addiction services are required. The government has made strong statements about its commitment to this issue and the importance of the national inquiry completing its work. It is now up to the government to honour commitments made, make the right decision and grant the extension. We need ‘all hands on deck’ to meet the ongoing challenges, to continue and conclude the essential work that needs to be done. It is time for Indigenous organizations and governments, families, survivors, communities and Canadians from coast to coast to coast to come together once again on this critical issue that affects all of us.” — Marion Buller, chief commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Trump’s foreign policy: Jarring, juvenile – and possibly effective
“Mr. Trump’s unpredictable, often disruptive impulses do not improve anyone’s disposition and his dubious personal behaviour may ultimately be his undoing as President. But as he turns conventional wisdom on its head, he may actually deliver some global dividends, such as peace on the Korean Peninsula. As Mr. Trump himself is inclined to say: ‘We’ll see what happens.’ Not even he really knows what that will be.” — Derek Burney and Fen Osler Hampson
LIVING BETTER
Travel stress can be a part of any holiday experience. But that doesn’t mean that it has to derail your whole trip. Here are five ways to stay calm when it hits: Keep up your morning routine, meditate, send good energy to fellow travellers, let go of your expectations and take time to wind down at night.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Bad books: How Ontario’s new hydro accounting could cost taxpayers billions
As Ontarians head to the polls in June, voters have to make sense of two competing versions of their province’s bottom line: The Auditor-General’s and the Kathleen Wynne government’s. Matthew McClearn investigates how creative accounting in hydro revenue made their math so different
Evening Update is written by Mayaz Alam and Omair Quadri. 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.