Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The city of Winnipeg has been granted a temporary injunction to remove the blockade at the Brady Road landfill
Dozens of protesters have been blockading the landfill since last week, when the province announced it would not support searching the privately owned Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of Indigenous women. Today, a judge ruled the protesters may continue to demonstrate at Brady Road, but cannot block traffic.
Yesterday, the Assembly of First Nations wrapped up its general assembly demanding the authorities take immediate action to locate the remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman whose remains have not been located and whom elders have named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman).
Governor Tiff Macklem explains why Bank of Canada restarted rate hikes
The Bank of Canada wasn’t supposed to be hiking interest rates this summer. Governor Tiff Macklem and his team paused their monetary policy tightening in Janurary, but that lasted only two rate decisions. The bank restarted rate hikes in June and moved again this week, raising its key interest rate to 5 per cent, the highest level since April, 2001.
That’s because, while the rate hikes are having an effect, “it’s not working as quickly or as powerfully as we thought it would,” Macklem told The Globe and Mail in an exclusive interview.
The Globe spoke with Macklem about why the economy and inflation aren’t evolving as he expected, what that means for the trajectory of interest rates and whether governments could be doing more to help the central bank in its fight against inflation.
- In the wake of the Bank of Canada’s latest move, here are the savings rates that are on the rise
- Opinion: The Bank of Canada is right to shoot for low inflation. But is 2 per cent too low?
Nineteen-year-old BC Wildfire Service member dies on duty
Police say a 19-year-old firefighter was killed yesterday by a falling tree near Revelstoke, B.C.. The young firefighter has been identified by her brother as Devyn Gale, who was a former member of the B.C. gymnastics team and a star pupil at her high school.
Revelstoke RCMP said the firefighter’s team lost contact with her before finding her pinned under a fallen tree. They immediately gave her first aid, but she succumbed to her injuries after being airlifted to a hospital in Revelstoke.
Her death is now under investigation by police, the BC Coroners Service, WorkSafeBC, as well as the BC Wildfire Service.
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was sent to you as a forward, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters here. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ukrainian visas: Canada’s emergency visa applications for Ukrainians fleeing war are set to end tomorrow, but the country has yet to announce whether it plans to offer long-term refuge for the claimants. More than 1.1 million people have applied and more than 800,000 visas have been approved as of July 1, though only about 21 per cent of the visa holders have actually come to Canada.
Real estate: The Canadian Real Estate Association has lowered its forecast for home sales this year after the spring housing market rebound eased in June following the Bank of Canada’s move to resume interest rate increases.
Greenbelt: Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province’s Auditor-General is overstepping her authority by demanding interviews and documents from two prominent developers who are benefitting from the government’s decision to carve land out of the protected Greenbelt.
Trade: Former Australian foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop says Australia and Canada should consider a trade agreement to deepen economic ties.
Space mission: India launched a rocket to the moon’s little-explored south pole this morning, four years after its failed effort to land a spacecraft. If Friday’s mission sees a successful landing, India will become the fourth country to achieve the feat and the first to land at the lunar south pole.
MARKET WATCH
Toronto’s main stock index ended slightly lower on Friday but still posted a solid weekly gain as investors eyed U.S. bank earnings reports for signs of health in the U.S. economy.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 15.57 points to 20,262.07. For the week, the index was up 2.2 per cent.
The S&P 500 lost 4.62 points at 4,505.42, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 113.89 points to 34,347.43, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 24.87 to 14,117,70. The loonie traded for 75.66 cents U.S.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
TALKING POINTS
There must be (at least) nine more ways for the Liberals to defend democracy
“Here are nine things Mr. Trudeau can do to defend the principles and values of democracy without leaving Ottawa, spending much money or storming the private beaches of billionaire tech CEOs.” – The Editorial Board
If Canada really is at war with Big Tech, we aren’t covering ourselves in glory
“If our fine nation is indeed on the brink of an existential struggle with Big Tech – a fight on par with the Second World War, as our Prime Minister recently suggested – I am afraid I have some bad news for my fellow countrymen: Canada is France, not Britain. Our resolve is as thin as our cause is just, and most Canadians appear content to light a joint as troops march through the Arc de Triomphe.” – Jen Gerson
LIVING BETTER
Four eco-tourism experiences for ocean-lovers
The tourism sector has historically contributed to pollution and degradation of biodiversity, but a new wave of coastal and marine tourism initiatives is trying to change that. Vicky Qiao writes about four eco-tourism experiences that have little negative impact on the environment.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Illustration by James Lee Chiahan
A crisis of neglect: How society can help those with mental illness
People with severe, persistent mental illness are much more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators. While headlines can be troubling, it’s important for us to recognize that violence is exceedingly rare and it’s important for us to keep perspective.
What we have isn’t simply a perceived crisis of violence, but a crisis of neglect, wherein decades of failed public policy, combined with recent developments (the pandemic, potent street drugs), have left society’s most vulnerable languishing in our subway stations, on our streets, in our parks. Quick fixes such as deploying more police or forced treatment are unlikely to resolve anything. There is hard work to be done, but there is a way forward.
Let’s start by exploring how we got here, with a focus on deinstitutionalization, the pandemic, the drugs and access to care. Read more on this by David Gratzer.
Evening Update is written by Mahdis Habibinia and Hope Mahood. 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.