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Speaking out for the first time since her resignation on March 27, the former chair of WE Charity’s Canadian board of directors, Michelle Douglas, said she left her position after “concerning developments” at the organization.
In an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail, Ms. Douglas said that her departure was not part of a routine process. Her resignation came during what the organization said was a planned turnover of the board.
WE Charity has been facing increasing scrutiny after it was awarded a now-cancelled contract by the federal government to run a $912-million student volunteer program. Since then, conflict-of-interest allegations have been levelled against various members of the Liberal government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
Ms. Douglas will testify at the House of Commons finance committee on Tuesday about her departure. The committee is studying the controversy over the contract.
Michelle Douglas, seen here on June 18, 2018, tweeted that 'almost all of the board of directors of WE Charity in Canada and the U.S. resigned or [were] replaced in March, 2020.'David Kawai/The Canadian Press
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Unrest and violence in protests for racial justice across U.S.
Calls for racial justice and police reform rang out across Canada and the United States this weekend, as protesters staged demonstrations in cities including Portland, Seattle and Toronto. In the United States, many of these protests resulted in violence as police and federal agents cracked down.
In Seattle, smaller groups of protesters lit fires at a youth detention centre construction site, smashed windows of businesses and blew an eight-inch hole through the wall of a police building. In response, police used flash grenades and pepper spray while abruptly rushing into crowds, knocking people to the ground. In one incident, police shoved away people who were trying to help a woman badly injured by a flash grenade.
Similar waves of violence occurred at protests in cities across the United States, as people took to the streets demanding action on racial injustices. In Toronto, community members gathered on Saturday to demand justice for Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a Black woman who fell to her death from her apartment balcony while police were present.
N.S. reaches milestone with zero confirmed COVID-19 cases as other provinces see a resurgence
For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, Nova Scotia has zero confirmed active COVID-19 cases, including no new cases and no hospitalizations. The province has not had a new case since July 14.
This milestone comes as a COVID-19 resurgence is hitting other parts of Canada, namely B.C., Alberta and Ontario, with young people accounting for many of the new cases.
B.C. had an average of more than 30 new cases each day last week, a concerning uptick after the province had rarely seen more than 20 new cases a day since May. Alberta recorded more than 100 new cases every day last week, a level also not seen since May, while Ontario and Quebec also consistently report more than 100 cases a day.
Read more on COVID-19 in Canada:
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Florida overtakes New York with 9,300 new COVID-19 cases: New York was once the worst-hit state in the U.S., but its position has now been overtaken first by California and now by Florida. On Sunday, Florida had a total of 423,855 cases, behind California’s 448,498 cases. New York is third with 415,827 cases.
Read more on COVID-19 in the U.S.
- Affluent U.S. parents turn to private ‘pandemic pods’ to navigate new homeschooling reality
- Canadian in critical condition after massive COVID-19 outbreak in U.S. immigration holding centre
Chinese police corral crowds at closing of U.S. consulate: The closing of the consulate in Chengdu drew crowds of onlookers as police attempted to stop any demonstrations. Its impending closing, along with the closing of a Chinese consulate in Texas, is the latest symbol of rising tensions between China and the United States.
Twenty-four Rohingya feared drowned off Malaysian resort island: The group of Rohingya refugees went missing while trying to swim to shore from a boat off the resort island of Langkawi, with only one person reaching land. Muslim-majority Malaysia is a favoured destination for Rohingya Muslims, who had to flee their homes in Myanmar after a 2017 military crackdown and an alleged genocide against the minority.
Activists will strike as calls continue for a public inquiry into N.S. massacre: Women’s rights advocates in Atlantic Canada are calling on Canadians to join them in a brief general strike on Monday as part of increasing pressure for a public inquiry into April’s mass shooting. Activists are unsatisfied with the federal and provincial governments’ expert panel announced last week and are calling for more systemic change.
MORNING MARKETS
Gold hits record high, stocks mixed as U.S.-China ties worsen: Gold soared to an all-time high on Monday as worsening diplomatic ties between China and the United States rattled investors and fired up demand for the safe-haven metal, while stock market sentiment was mixed ahead of corporate earnings. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.17 per cent. Germany’s DAX rose 0.32 per cent and France’s CAC 40 was down 0.14 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended down 0.16 per cent. New York futures were mostly down. The Canadian dollar was trading at 74.71 cents.
Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes caution on high-yield bonds, a thriving under-the-radar stock and brokerage GIC alternatives.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
This is the most important science lesson of our lives
Jacob Berkowitz: “This is why the pandemic, for all the confusion and suffering, is the ultimate teachable science moment. Science is the best intellectual tool we have for dealing with COVID-19. But it’s not magic. Talking with our kids, we can acknowledge the vaccine hopes, the changing mask rules, the uncertainty and share that this is what it is to be human, seeking to know in a complex, mysterious world.”
Alberta and B.C. grapple with an overdose epidemic deadlier than COVID-19
The Editorial Board: “Rehabilitation is everyone’s goal, but Mr. Kenney’s government underestimates the intractability of addiction. Treatment can’t happen if a person overdoses and dies because important health care such as supervised consumption is not available.”
During the pandemic, one prison crisis was eased – but another one got worse
Aisha Francis: “In our work with families stitching their worlds back together again and reimagining what their lives and families look like after prison, we have come to know that reintegration is a process that must consider the entire family unit.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
David ParkinsDavid Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
What are my chances of catching COVID-19 if I take a flight?
Over all, though, experts believe that the time spent on the plane isn’t particularly risky – especially if your seatmates are members of your household and you wear a mask as well as sanitize nearby surfaces.
In fact, the flight itself might be the least of your worries. “It’s not just the plane ride you have to consider – it’s how you’re getting from point A to point B and everything in between,” says Janine McCready, an infectious-disease specialist at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto.
MOMENT IN TIME: Archive Jazz 4
Lillian Hardin Armstrong on stage at the Penny Farthing coffee house in Toronto, August 30, 1965: the real first lady of Jazz. Lil Armstrong, second wife of Louis Armstrong, is the most important (and neglected) all-round woman jazz practitioner the form has produced. Photo by Boris Spremo / The Globe and Mail. Originally published September 1, 1965. Lillian Hardin Armstrong (February 3, 1898 - August 27, 1971) was a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in the 1920sBoris Spremo/The Globe and Mail
Lillian Hardin Armstrong performs in Toronto
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography for The Globe and Mail. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re celebrating jazz.
Taking in a performance by the jazz great Lillian Hardin Armstrong in Toronto on Aug. 30, 1965, The Globe and Mail’s Patrick Scott gushed over the 62-year-old singer-pianist. “I think that Lil Armstrong is the most important (and most neglected) all-around jazz practitioner the form has produced,” he wrote. The performance was early in her three-week residency at the Penny Farthing, a jazz house that lasted from 1963 to 1968. Often referred to as Louis Armstrong’s second wife, Hardin Armstrong was playing with King Oliver’s Original Creole Band in Chicago in 1920 – a full three years before her future trumpeter husband arrived in the city from New Orleans. “She is the real First Lady of Jazz,” Scott wrote, “and a sweetheart in the bargain.” Brad Wheeler
Subscribers and registered users of globeandmail.com can dig deeper into our News Photo Archive at tgam.ca/newsphotoarchive.
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