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A year after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, opposition MPs and non-profit groups are urging the Liberal government to do more to help thousands of vulnerable Afghans who remain trapped in the country, even after being promised refuge in Canada.
The Canadian government vowed to bring 40,000 Afghans to Canada. At first, it promised refuge to those who had worked alongside Canadian troops or at the Canadian embassy in Kabul. Later, it committed to bringing over Afghans who would be particularly vulnerable to harm under fundamentalist Taliban rule, such as women’s rights activists and people who are gay or transgender.
But one year on, many who believe they fall into one of those categories have repeatedly contacted Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to no avail. After months of automated replies, Afghans who formerly worked for Canada have told The Globe and Mail they feel completely abandoned. And they are growing increasingly anxious about what will become of them if Canada denies them resettlement.
Read more from The Globe’s reporting in Afghanistan
- One year after Taliban takeover, Afghans left behind feel betrayed by Canada, fear for lives
- ‘There’s no future for me’: Afghan girls and educators share their fears after one year of Taliban rule
Women walk down the street during a celebration of the first anniversary of the Taliban's return to power on August 15, 2022 in Kabul, Afghanistan.Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images
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How did Pearson airport’s delays get so bad? Inside the patchwork system that failed to stop the crisis
As throngs of passengers headed back to airports when pandemic restrictions eased, it became immediately clear that the air travel industry wasn’t ready for the rebound. Airlines and the government agencies that screen travellers at security and customs checks were scrambling to hire and train new employees and recall those they had laid off during the pandemic, many of whom declined to return. Cancellations soon followed.
Yet despite the long queues going through security, last-minute flight cancellations and lost luggage, airlines continued to aggressively add flights in the weeks that followed. Air travel in Britain, Europe and elsewhere in Canada was also disrupted amid staff shortages, but the delays at Toronto’s Pearson airport were worse than anywhere else.
The chaos at Pearson has laid bare a broken governance system, not only in the Canadian airport model itself but among the multiple federal agencies serving the aviation industry, The Globe and Mail has found. There is no clearly defined chain of command overseeing the industry, according to interviews with experts, union officials, House and Senate committee testimony and governance reports. As a result, no one stepped in to prevent the crisis when it first became evident the airport could not handle the traffic volumes.
Canadian home prices down 6 per cent in July from February peak
Canada’s housing market slowed for the fifth straight month in July, with the volume of home sales down significantly and the typical home price down 6 per cent from the peak in February, marking the largest decline since the 2008-09 financial crisis.
The national home price index fell 1.7 per cent to $789,600 from June to July on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
The suburbs and less populated cities in Ontario and British Columbia have lost the most value since the peak of the market. They were all areas that had seen prices soar during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, when residents took advantage of record low interest rates and fled cities in search of more space.
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Also on our radar
Long-time CTV anchor ‘blindsided’ after contract ends: Lisa LaFlamme was dismissed from her role as anchor of CTV National News after 35 years at the network in a decision that “blindsided” the veteran journalist and prompted shock from colleagues and viewers.
Liz Cheney’s political fate hangs in the balance: Liz Cheney’s trajectory from rising Republican star to party apostate may reach its conclusion today in the primary election for Wyoming’s lone House seat. Polls show her trailing Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman by more than 20 percentage points. The vote is a major inflection point for the Republicans. If a conservative as rock-ribbed as Cheney is banished to the political wilderness, it will cement Trump’s hold on the party.
Retired judge urges federal witnesses to be more ‘forthcoming’: Thomas Cromwell, a former Supreme Court of Canada justice, assisting the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission, has written to Ottawa, saying that he is “deeply concerned” about the possibility that federal witnesses are being advised against volunteering information.
William Ruto wins disputed presidential election in Kenya: Deputy President William Ruto, a self-described “hustler” who campaigned as a champion for the young and the poor, has won a narrow victory in a Kenyan presidential election whose results were clouded by a dramatic split in the country’s election commission.
Fan attendance at world juniors plummets: Just over halfway through the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton, a total of 20,540 fans have attended games – far off the pace from the hundreds of thousands of spectators who attended the entire tournament in Canada in the years before the sport’s troubling culture came under a microscope.
Morning markets
World markets seek direction: Stock markets struggled for direction on Tuesday as they grappled with worries over global growth, following weak Chinese and U.S. economic data that knocked oil prices and commodity-linked currencies. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.40 per cent. Germany’s DAX gained 0.56 per cent. France’s CAC 40 was up 0.34 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.05 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was trading at 77.52 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Editorial: “Mr. Ford has the power to get more housing built in Ontario; to do that, he doesn’t need to make mayors an extension of Queen’s Park. The bill on the table is the worst of all worlds: no real action on housing, and a further erosion of local democracy.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
David ParkinsThe Globe and Mail
Living better
Outdoor activities became all the rage during the pandemic. Here are some that won’t break the bank
Canadians have to deal with rising inflation and the looming possibility of a recession to think about before they decide whether they want to invest in a new outdoor hobby. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of a few relatively low- and medium-cost outdoor activities to pursue, whether you prefer exerting yourself or relaxing when in nature.
Moment in time: Aug. 16, 1940
Belgian rider Sylvere Maes, left, repairs his bike after a puncture in the Col du Galibier as Henri Desgrange watches him on July, 27, 1939 during the first leg of the 16th stage of the Tour de France.AFP/Getty Images
Death of Henri Desgrange, creator of Tour de France
On this day, 75-year old cyclist and journalist Henri Desgrange died at his home in Grimaud, a village in Southeastern France. Desgrange helped create the Tour de France in 1903, the world’s most prestigious bicycle tournament. In 1893, he had set a world record, the first in the sport, travelling 35.325 kilometres an hour; the next year, he rode for 100 kilometres in a world record time of 2:39:18. Desgrange was described as ruthless, brutal and a hard nut who wanted a competitive race that would test the resilience and endurance of riders. The 1926 Tour de France has been adjudged as the longest, toughest and most gruelling cycling race in history, with riders covering a distance of 5,745 kilometres during a period of 17 days. This was in accordance with Desgrange’s iron-cast rulebook: no sympathy even for the slightest of marginal errors. The Frenchman was also a patriot who wanted to inspire others, and at 52, he enlisted to fight in the First World War. After the ruins and carnage of the Second World War, the Tour de France returned in 1947. The Souvenir Henri Desgrange, the race’s annual prize in his honour, has been awarded since that year to a cyclist who crosses the highest peak of the competition. Patrick Egwu
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