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Canadian Robert Schellenberg’s bid to have his death penalty overturned was rejected by a Chinese court on Tuesday morning, while Michael Spavor, a businessman and one of two Canadians detained in China on charges of espionage, will be sentenced Wednesday.
The ruling on Schellenberg’s case will be reported to the Supreme People’s Court for approval, the Higher People’s Court of Liaoning Province said in a statement.
The two verdicts, which come just before an anticipated election call in Canada, could mark a momentous week in Canada-China relations, which have sunk to their lowest level since 1989, when student protesters were killed in Tiananmen Square.
Spavor, along with fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig, has been imprisoned in China since late 2018. Their detentions were in apparent retaliation to the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was detained in Canada in November, 2018, on a U.S. extradition request.
More on Canada-China relations: Canadian legislators join global network seeking to reduce Taiwan’s isolation
Police vehicles exit the Intermediate People's Court, where Michael Spavor, a Canadian detained by China in December 2018 on suspicion of espionage, stood trial, in China's Dandong, Liaoning province, on March 19, 2021.CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS/Reuters
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Ottawa eyes appointment of independent official to help guide identification of unmarked graves
The federal government intends to appoint an independent official who would help guide the process of identifying and protecting unmarked graves at former residential school sites, but not be involved in criminal investigations, according to a document obtained by The Globe and Mail.
Over the summer, Indigenous communities have identified more than 1,200 unmarked graves near the sites of former residential schools. Many of the remains discovered are believed to belong to children who were forcibly removed from their communities in order to attend these institutions, say First Nations chiefs who are working alongside ground-penetrating radar experts to search the sites.
Indigenous leaders across the country have been calling for an independent inquiry into what happened at the government-sponsored schools, including a criminal probe overseen by experts other than the RCMP.
The three-page draft document from the Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General says that the minister is proposing the appointment of an “independent special interlocutor” to work with Indigenous communities, governments and churches, which ran most of the residential schools.
ICYMI: The Catholic Church in Canada is worth billions, a Globe investigation shows. Why are its reparations for residential schools so small?
‘A great injustice’: Indigenous leaders call for reparations from Catholic Church for residential schools abuses.
U.S. says it’s up to Afghans to defend country as Taliban claims more territory
The Taliban captured a sixth provincial capital on Monday, in addition to border towns and trade routes, ratcheting up its campaign to bring down the government as U.S. troops leave after 20 years of war. The U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end Aug. 31.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that, while the United States is deeply concerned about the Taliban’s steady encroachment, Afghan security forces had the capability to fend off insurgents.
“These are their military forces, these are their provincial capitals, their people to defend and it’s really going to come down to the leadership that they’re willing to exude here at this particular moment,” Kirby said.
Perspectives: In Afghanistan, I saw firsthand how these interpreters saved lives. Now who will save them?
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
In latest Decibel: What the new IPCC report tells us about our climate future: Globe science reporter Ivan Semeniuk returns to the pod to dig into the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which unequivocally details how humans are the main driver of climate change.
Time’s Up leader resigns after criticism over ties to Cuomo: Under fire for her work advising New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Roberta Kaplan has decided to step down as chair of the Hollywood-backed organization, which was founded at the height of the #MeToo movement. Kaplan, a women’s rights advocate, counselled the Cuomo administration last winter when the governor was faced with the first of the harassment allegations.
Epstein accuser sues Prince Andrew, citing sex assault at 17: Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accusers, has filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew, alleging that he abused Giuffre on multiple occasions when she was under the age of 18. The lawsuit was brought under the Child Victims Act and filed in Manhattan federal court.
Meng’s lawyers petition court for stay in proceedings over ‘abuse’ in case: Legal counsel for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou argued that former U.S. president Donald Trump’s comments on the case in 2018 – which they say treated her as a hostage in his trade negotiations with Beijing – are grounds to have the U.S.’ extradition request tossed out. The evidence phase of her hearing begins mid-week.
Three Liberal MPs not running for re-election: Liberal MPs Karen McCrimmon, Will Amos and Adam Vaughan have decided not to run in the next federal election. A former Toronto city councillor, Vaughan said the pressures of being a Parliamentarian have token a toll, while McCrimmon said she’s sitting out the widely anticipated race because of “health challenges.” Amos, who twice exposed himself during virtual proceedings in what he said were accidental incidents, didn’t rule out a return to politics.
MORNING MARKETS
World hold near record highs: Global shares hovered below record highs on Tuesday, while anticipation of earlier tapering by the Federal Reserve kept investors cautious which drove the U.S. dollar to a four-month high versus the euro. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.16 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.06 per cent and 0.01 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed up 0.24 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished up 1.23 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.50 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Trudeau’s big break in his 2021 election campaign may have already come
“François and Justin stood side by side, calling each other by their first names. That relationship can matter a lot in the election campaign that is now expected to be launched in a matter of days. The Liberals won’t get a majority government without picking up seats in Quebec, and certainly, they can’t afford to lose any there.” - Campbell Clark
Erin O’Toole’s anti-trade, anti-business stand is at odds with his own party’s history
“In its golden era under Mr. Harper, free trade was the cornerstone of its economic strategy. Now, the party prepares to fight an election with a leader who is openly expressing suspicion of both.” - David Parkinson
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
David ParkinsDavid Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Form follows function for Noren Studio founders and their fine jewellery
Fine jewellery is a family affair for the duo behind Noren Studio. Keith Lau and Josephine Liu’s aesthetic is guided by the principles of industrial design, where form follows function. Inspiration strikes them from unexpected sources – from the ergonomics of cutlery to the austerity found in some contemporary architecture, says writer Caitlin Agnew.
MOMENT IN TIME: Aug. 10, 1921
FDR stricken with illness at Canadian summer home
Franklin Delano Roosevelt sailing off Campobello Island, Canada, where he has a summer home, circa 1916. The Island is linked to neighbouring Maine by a bridge.The Associated Press
In 1921, James Roosevelt’s 39-year-old son, Franklin, was still 12 years away from becoming the 32nd president of the United States. That year, he joined the family at their summer home on Campobello Island, N.B., where he would experience a great dividing line in his life. While vacationing on Campobello, Franklin fell into the icy waters of the Bay of Fundy. The next day, Aug. 10, he was stricken by a host of symptoms that ranged from fever to nausea to lower back pain and chills. Two days later, he lost movement in his legs. A day later, he was paralyzed from the chest down. After a fortnight of excruciating illness, Roosevelt was diagnosed with poliomyelitis or polio. Over the year, he would make a long, painful recovery but remained paralyzed from the waist down. Years later, in 1938, his experience spurred him to form the National Foundation of Infantile Paralysis, later known as the March of Dimes. Support from the March of Dimes to scientists contributed to the creation of the polio vaccine. Today, only two countries in the world have active polio transmission. Uday Rana
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