Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
World Court orders Israel to halt its Rafah offensive
Citing the “immense risks” of an assault that would threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians, the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah. The ICJ, the UN’s highest judicial body, issued the legally binding order with the support of 13 of its 15 judges. Only the judges of Uganda and Israel opposed the order.
The judges also ordered Israel to open the Rafah crossing, between Gaza and Egypt, to allow the unhindered supply of humanitarian aid. And it ordered Israel to ensure access to Gaza for any UN-mandated investigation of genocide allegations. Israel must submit a report within 30 days on its compliance with the orders.
The court did not, however, order a complete ceasefire across Gaza, which had been requested by South Africa.
Judges also reiterated their call for the “immediate and unconditional release” of the hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.
Though its orders are legally binding, it does not have an enforcement mechanism, and, in the past, countries such as Russia have simply ignored rulings by the court.
Today’s orders are interim measures by the world court in response to the South African application, as part of a larger case in which South Africa alleges that Israel has breached the Genocide Convention, a 1948 treaty signed by Israel and 152 other countries.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signalled his support for the court’s ruling. He also accused the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of throwing obstacles into the path of a two-state solution.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the Israeli army has recovered the bodies of three hostages killed in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The bodies were found overnight in Gaza.
And Israeli forces bombed targets in Rafah even as the UN’s top court ordered Israel to halt its offensive there. Heavy fighting was also reported in Jabalia, in the north.
U of T issues trespass notice to pro-Palestinian protesters as deadline to accept proposal passes
The University of Toronto has issued a trespass notice and says it will take “all necessary legal steps” if those participating in a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus do not clear out by Monday morning. It had made an offer to the protesters yesterday, with a 24-hour deadline, aimed at ending the weeks-long campus protest. Calling that offer a farce, the protesters accused the university of acting in bad faith.
Late this afternoon, encampment organizers say university administrators have agreed to meet on Sunday at 5 p.m. for continued negotiations.
Demonstrators have been calling on the university to disclose its investments and divest from companies connected to the Israeli military. They’ve also demanded that the university cut ties with Israeli academic institutions that operate in the occupied territories.
The university has said it would expedite a review of the divestment request and create an expert working group to consider greater transparency in its investments. But it rejected the student demand to cut ties with Israeli universities.
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Resetting the code on HIV and crime
Between 1989 and 2020, more than 200 Canadians were prosecuted for alleged HIV non-disclosure. Of the 187 cases where the outcome is known, 130 cases ended in conviction, the vast majority with prison time.
The Canadian law doesn’t focus on actual transmission of the virus, but on the act of not telling a sexual partner that one is HIV-positive prior to sex that poses a “realistic possibility” of transmission. This means that people who did not pass HIV to anyone have been charged, convicted and imprisoned.
It is a sweeping, punitive approach that sets Canada apart from many other jurisdictions internationally.
The Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization is pushing for amendments to the Criminal Code that would limit criminal prosecution to a measure of last resort, reserved for rare cases of intentional transmission. Among other changes, the group also wants to see an end to charging these cases under sexual assault law. Zosia Bielski reports.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Putin wants Ukraine ceasefire on current frontlines, sources say
Russian sources are telling Reuters that President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognizes the current battlefield lines. They add that the Russian president is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond.
Ontario to allow beer in corner stores by September – at a cost
Queen’s Park announced that will expedite its long-promised rollout of beer in corner stores, starting Sept. 5, but it will require a payment of as much as $225-million in transition costs to the brewery-owned Beer Store retail chain.
Beer, cider, wine and premixed alcoholic drinks will be sold in convenience stores, big-box stores and an expanded number of grocery stores this fall.
Board orders deportation for trucker in horrific Humboldt Broncos crash
Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the truck driver who caused the horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team, has been ordered to be deported. Sidhu is from India and has permanent resident status in Canada. His lawyer has said there are still numerous other legal procedures to come, and the deportation process could take months or years.
Loblaws and Sobeys’ parent companies being investigated for anti-competitive practices
Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched investigations into the parent companies of Loblaws and Sobeys for alleged anti-competitive conduct, court documents reveal, with Sobeys’ owner calling the inquiry “unlawful.”
The Commissioner of Competition launched the probes on March 1, claiming the controls that the grocery giants have baked into lease agreements are designed to restrict other potential tenants and their activities and are hampering competition in the grocery market.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. stocks rebounded on Friday from sharp losses the day before on news of an improving consumer outlook on inflation, sending the Nasdaq to a fifth straight week of gains and record closing high. Canada’s main stock index also rose as heavily-weighted financials led broad-based gains.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.33 points, or 0.01%, to 39,069.59. The S&P 500 gained 36.88 points, or 0.70%, at 5,304.72 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 184.76 points, or 1.10%, to 16,920.79.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 120.08 points, or 0.5%, at 22,320.87, rebounding after it posted on Thursday its lowest closing level in nearly three weeks. For the week, the index was down 0.6%.
The loonie was trading at 73.19 cents (U.S.), up 0.35 cents.
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TALKING POINTS
Eighteen years and $46-billion later, the CPP admits it could have earned more just by buying index funds
Andrew Coyne: “The news is not that the fund trailed its benchmark in its most recent fiscal year. The news is that it is now trailing it, on average, over the entire 18-year period since the fund, until then a small, low-cost outfit that mostly just bought the indexes, went all in on active management.”
The carbon tax is dead man walking. Any last words?
Tony Keller: “We also failed to anticipate that the Trudeau government would somehow never figure out how to explain the whole money-back part of the equation. Canadians in the eight affected provinces appear to be only vaguely aware that hundreds of dollars are being regularly deposited into their bank accounts.”
Trudeau needs to read the writing on the wall
Stephen Maher: “Mr. Trudeau can’t win an election if he can’t convince those voters that he, not Mr. Poilievre, has their backs.”
LIVING BETTER
Seven must-see summer TV series
For many, it’s the great indoors that beckons – luring us in, away from the early summer sun, with promises of couch slouching and air conditioning. Let the small screen be your summer friend. Here are seven series and events worth staying in for.
TODAY’S LONG READ
The federal public service is broken. Is it too late to fix it?
In 2015, there was much merriment among the public servants in the Pearson Building as Justin Trudeau, freshly sworn in as Prime Minister, addressed the Global Affairs staff and promised the country a release from the restrictive policies and combative tone of Stephen Harper.
Nine years later, the PMO has become almighty, while the role of the bureaucracy has been reduced to processing orders, and not always very effectively. Konrad Yakabuski reports.
Evening Update is written and compiled by Andrew Saikali. 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.