Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Ontario is set to join B.C.’s lawsuit against opioid makers
Health Minister Christine Elliott says Ontario “will be pursuing damages” in an effort to recover costs linked to the deadly crisis. The province is introducing legislation today that will open the door to joining B.C.’s lawsuit, which alleges 20 years of misinformation and deception by pharmaceutical firms and distributors that knew or should have known the drugs were addictive and seeping into the illicit market. (for subscribers)
Among those listed in the suit is OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, which has said it has acted in compliance with Canada’s laws despite admitting its U.S. marketing was misleading.
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A Toronto physician allegedly sexually abused patients despite restrictions on his medical practice
Allan Gordon has been accused of abusing three patients after Mount Sinai Hospital barred him from intimate examinations without a female staff member present. The hospital put in place the measures in the spring of 2016 after a patient complaint, but civil lawsuits and a confidential report detail alleged abuse between October, 2016, and January, 2017, raising questions about Mount Sinai’s monitoring and enforcement. Gordon was the director of the hospital’s Wasser Pain Management Centre at the time.
A Globe investigation has identified 10 former patients who allege Gordon sexually abused them at the Wasser clinic as far back as 2005. Four women said Gordon touched them inappropriately when they sought his help – and when they complained to the medical college, it dismissed their cases. For his part, Gordon has denied the abuse allegations.
EU elections: Populists made gains but fell short of overturning the political order
In Italy, the anti-migrant League party was one of the biggest winners in the European elections, . In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally narrowly beat President Emmanuel Macron’s party. And in Britain, Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is on course for a sweeping victory. But those successes in the European Union parliamentary elections won’t be enough to give populists the numbers to block legislation, correspondent Eric Reguly reports.
While the traditional centre-right and centre-left parties lost their combined majority for the first time, voters still embraced pro-EU parties. The Greens, meanwhile, became the second-largest party in Germany.
At least eight people died climbing Mount Everest
Crowds of climbers became stuck in a queue to the summit. (Elia Saikaly)Elia Saikaly/Supplied
Hundreds of people tried to take advantage of favourable conditions late last week, creating a traffic jam on the oxygen-starved leg of the ascent called the death zone.
Documentary filmmaker Elia Saikaly, who lives in Ottawa, described a “surreal” and “disturbing” experience of having to step over a dead body while climbing as well as witnessing Sherpa guides lowering a man down on a stretcher.
“It’s not sustainable,” he said. “And what’s happening, whether it’s through the media or social media, people are seeing images of Everest, they’re seeing people standing on top of the world. I don’t think they realize how serious it is.”
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott are set to share their political plans today. The two former Liberal cabinet members, who resigned their positions over Justin Trudeau’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair, have scheduled separate news conferences in their respective ridings. They are currently sitting as independents with the federal election set for October.
A young boy is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after being struck by a motorcycle in Toronto. Police are searching for two riders of a Harley-Davidson-style motorcycle who fled the scene after the impact. Initially, police said the boy had died, and subsequently apologized for circulating “misinformation.”
Two new cases of the measles have been identified in New Brunswick, bringing the total number of cases in the province to five. All of the cases have been linked to a Saint John-area high school. Officials are setting up a special immunization clinic in order to prevent a widespread outbreak.
Canada is revamping its tourism brand, with the letters of the “Canada” logo shaped like a heart alongside a slogan of “for glowing hearts” – a nod to the national anthem. The font is meant to communicate “fun,” according to the head of Destination Canada, while the branding projects a welcoming and inclusive place. The old tag line, in use for more than a decade, was “keep exploring.” (for subscribers)
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks rise
European shares rose on Monday as investors snapped up automaker stocks following confirmation of merger talks between Fiat Chrysler and Renault, and after European parliamentary elections saw pro-Europe parties cling to a majority. U.S. and British markets are closed for a holiday. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.3 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.4 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2 per cent. In Europe, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.2 and 0.5 per cent by about 6:45 a.m. ET. The Canadian dollar was below 74.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
(Chris Young/The Canadian Press)Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Raptors’ Eastern Conference win unites a city, at least for one moment
Cathal Kelly: “It was that rarest of Canadian nights, and possibly the best – a spontaneous sports eruption. In normal cities, these are reserved for the winning of championships. Toronto is not normal in this regard and therefore can’t be picky. The Toronto Raptors are going to the NBA final. What an unusual sentence. It’s good enough for this town. They got there in the Secretariat fashion – allowing their opponent a sizable lead, then winking as they lapped them.” The Raptors kick off the final at home against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. (for subscribers)
The world has changed since the Liberals came to power – voters will decide if they’ve done enough to keep up
John Ibbitson: “Justin Trudeau is no longer the Prime Minister who rocked the planet with his youth, charisma and sunny ways. Foreign policy under his leadership has had its share of failures or only partial successes. And in the case of China, this government has managed to convert a relationship that was guarded but functional into a cold war. But on some of the biggest files – trade, human rights, international rule of law – the Liberals have delivered.” (for subscribers)
Can you enjoy summer without a burger? It’s worth a try
Elizabeth Renzetti: “We need to eat less meat to save the planet. As the World Resources Institute puts it, ‘Producing beef uses 20 times the land and emits 20 times the emissions as producing beans, per gram of protein.’ … Social conventions change all the time, influenced by factors that may be unclear to us we go about our day, circling the drive-thru and hustling through dinner. Today’s Ribfest is tomorrow’s Portabellopallooza, and it won’t seem weird at all to the young people there.” (for subscribers)
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Springtime essays from Globe readers
Steve Watson writes about the allure of the garage sale temptress: “I’m helpless to resist her siren call after a long winter with no garage sales. Thousands of people have been decluttering and are ready to unleash a tidal wave of bargains that are mine for the taking. And when you’re older, you’re up at the crack of dawn anyway.”
Carolyn Wong-Ranasinghe, recalling the life of her grandparents, writes on how gardening teaches you about starting anew: “I often think back to Ya Ya’s garden, and wonder how it must have evolved over the decades before I got to enjoy scampering through it. And I think about how Yang Yang started over again, tending to new greenery in a new city, far from her first home in Canada, even further from her village in China. We all must start somewhere, and sometimes we must start over again.”
MOMENT IN TIME
Celebrating Empire Day, 1929
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. In May, we’re celebrating the bicentennial of Queen Victoria’s birth.
(John Boyd/The Globe and Mail)John Boyd/The Globe and Mail
Empire Day used to be an important patriotic rite for Commonwealth children, and Globe and Mail photographer John Boyd captured the scene outside the Ontario legislature building on May 23, 1929, as Toronto students decorated Queen Victoria’s statue. “For they were celebrating Empire Day, with all its attendant ceremony, parades, inspections, and displays of military precision and gymnastic rhythm,” the photo caption read. Empire Day celebrations were intended to remind children that they were loyal citizens of the British Empire. When British Imperialism began to wane in the 1950s, Empire Day was rebranded British Commonwealth Day. Then in 1966, it became just Commonwealth Day, which is now celebrated on the second Monday in March. Queen Elizabeth II still broadcasts a message to the youth of the Empire on that day, but the parades and “displays of gymnastic rhythm” are long gone. – Dianne Nice
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