Morning Update: Ottawa signed off on deal to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia amid war in Yemen

Good morning,

The federal government last year signed off on a deal with Canadian business connections for the sale of nearly $74-million of weapons to Saudi Arabia – even in the face of calls for Canada to halt such transactions while a war rages in Yemen, where the Saudis are one of the main combatants.

Global Affairs Canada said that, in 2020, Ottawa issued a brokering permit to a Canadian, or Canadian company, which sold $73.9-million worth of explosives to Saudi Arabia. The arms originated in France, according to the recently released 2020 Report on Exports of Military Goods from Canada. Any foreign weapons deals brokered or arranged by Canadians or Canadian companies located outside of the country require a brokering permit from Ottawa.

Kelsey Gallagher, a researcher with Project Ploughshares, a disarmament group that tracks arms exports, said she’s puzzled by the government’s approval, citing the airstrikes that Saudi Arabia has been carrying out in Yemen for six years. “The concern here is that Canada could be facilitating the transfer of military explosives to a country that frequently breaches international humanitarian law,” Gallagher said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau’s department declined to answer questions about why it approved the deal, and instead, provided a summary of published rules governing permits.

Open this photo in gallery:

This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.

Beijing urges U.S. to abandon extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou as officials meet in China

China’s vice foreign minister Xie Feng made an appeal to Wendy Sherman, U.S. deputy secretary of state, for the United States to drop its extradition case against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. The two met face to face in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin on Monday, during which Xie accused the U.S. of creating an “imaginary enemy” in China and made several demands, including pressing for Meng’s return.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, has been fighting her extradition from Canada, where she been held since 2018. She is accused of committing bank fraud, allegations that she has denied. Not long after her arrest, two Canadians – Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor – were both detained in China.

Canada has been reduced to something of a bit player in negotiations for the release of the two Canadians, with many feeling that only the U.S. can move talks forward.

ICYMI: Judge issues reasons for rejecting new evidence in Meng Wanzhou’s extradition case

Mary Simon installed as Canada’s first Inuk Governor-General

Canada welcomed its first Inuk Governor-General, Mary Simon, who was sworn in yesterday afternoon in the Senate before a limited number of participants. In a speech that included Inuktitut, English and French, Simon said she was honoured and humbled to assume the position. She also spoke of reconciliation, saying it is “a way of life” and requires work every day.

“I have heard from Canadians who describe a renewed sense of possibility for our country and hope that I can bring people together,” Ms. Simon said. “I have heard from Canadians who have challenged me to bring a new and renewed purpose to the office of the governor-general to help Canadians deal with the issues we are facing.”

Simon cited the country’s reckoning with the consequences of climate change, pointing to the wildfires, prolonged droughts and record heat waves in recent weeks as evidence.

Read more:

• John Ibbitson: Mary Simon may be the Governor-General that makes a difference for Canada
• ‘A very gentle soul’: Inuit react to Canada’s first Inuk Governor-General
• In photos: Mary Simon installed as Canada’s 30th Governor-General

Canada’s Kylie Masse captures silver in 100-metre backstroke

Canadian Kylie Masse took home silver with a time of 57.72, just a hair’s breadth behind Australia’s Kaylee McKeown’s 57.47 in the 100-metre backstroke, giving Canada another silver medal. America’s Regan Smith placed third.

Masse and McKeown have both held the world record at one time or another over the past few years, but McKeown’s has a hold, for the moment, on bragging rights. Still, Masse didn’t disappoint.

“While great things were expected from swimming in a general way, they were expected of her in a very specific way. She was the only Canadian in Japan considered an absolute lock for a medal,” writes Globe columnist Cathal Kelly.

More coverage of Tokyo 2020:

• Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard wins Canada’s second judo bronze medal
• With Tokyo Olympics under way, China is on guard for potential insults
• Olympic vets go the extra mile to keep horses healthy and happy
• At Tokyo Olympics, Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Conners never in doubt for men’s golf competition
• Female street skateboarders like Annie Guglia demonstrate the possibility of broader change
• Two Dutch tennis players, 12 Olympic staff reportedly test positive for COVID-19
• Today’s Daily Guide: Canada wins two more bronze and a silver

Subscribe to our Olympics newsletter: Tokyo Olympics Update features original stories from Globe reporters in Canada and Tokyo, will track Team Canada’s medal wins, and looks at past Olympic moments from iconic performances.

Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Britain sees drop in COVID-19 cases as restrictions lifted: Britain’s move last week to ease COVID-19 restrictions despite a surge in infections had several health experts alarmed and worried the country would see new cases double to 100,000 as a result. Instead, the infection rate has been falling, and scientists aren’t exactly sure what could be driving that decline and how long it may hold.

Listen to latest Decibel: The Globe’s Africa bureau chief, Geoffrey York, joins the podcast to talk about the growing vaccine gap between African nations and wealthy countries, which are hoarding doses, despite signing onto the global vaccine-sharing initiative, or COVAX, and why Canadians should be concerned.

Coffee prices surge as unusual cold weather threatens Brazilian crops: Coffee prices rose by another 10 per cent, after a nearly 20-per-cent jump last week, when severe frosts damaged a large portion of fields in the main Brazilian coffee belt. Another blast of polar air mass is headed the same way later this week, threatening coffee crops, which are extremely sensitive to frost.

Energy regulator approves route change for TMX pipeline expansion: The Canada Energy Regulator has given the green light to change the route of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, a move that ends a dispute with the Coldwater Indian Band. The First Nation in B.C. was protesting the route over fears that it would pose a threat to the community’s main source of drinking water.

Britney Spears’s lawyer petitions court to name new conservator: An attorney for the pop star asked a Los Angeles court to name a new conservator to replace Britney Spears’s father, who has been overseeing her estate for years. The hearing date for the matter is set for Sept. 29.

The Globe, two other news organizations sign Facebook partnership: Facebook Inc. has signed a multi-year partnership with The Globe and Mail, Glacier Media Inc. and Black Press Group Ltd. to expand a platform through which the social network pays for news content. The financial terms of the content-sharing partnership were not disclosed, with all parties citing confidentiality agreements.

MORNING MARKETS

Hang Seng falls: Asian stocks hit their lowest this year on Tuesday on a third straight session of selling in Chinese internet giants, and real bond yields hit record lows ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 4.22 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index ended off 2.49 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.49 per cent. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.74 per cent just before 6 a.m. ET. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.76 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively. New York futures were weaker. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.51 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

The time for debating COVID-19 vaccine passports is over

“In general, the preference is patient persuasion. But sometimes, when the carrots don’t work, you need to bring out the sticks, or at least the roadblocks.” - André Picard

Pakistan’s proxy war in Afghanistan can be stopped with concerted international action

“The only way to stop the assassination squads – all operatives of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) – now terrorizing Afghan civilians, or to save villages from further brutal violence, is concerted international diplomatic and political action to shut down Pakistan’s proxy war. We need to take the same firm action now that leading democracies took after Ukraine was invaded seven years ago.” - Chris Alexander, Canada’s former ambassador to Afghanistan

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

Open this photo in gallery:

LIVING BETTER

On the Tsuut’ina Nation, fashion designers are connecting with roots and reclaiming Indigenous identity

Indigenous designer Livia Manywounds, of the Tsuut’ina Nation in Treaty 7, is carrying on her grandparents’ legacy with her one-of-a-kind formal wear. It took her mother’s cancer diagnosis for Manywounds to reclaim her roots – and to reignite her creativity.

During that period when she served as a caregiver to her mother, Manywounds learned more about her ancestry, including the traditions that she inherited. “I like to incorporate where I come from,” she said, pointing to the legacy of her grandmother’s beading and sewing and her grandfather’s designs.

MOMENT IN TIME: July 27, 1996

Terrorist bombing at Summer Olympics in Atlanta

Open this photo in gallery:

Shortly before 1 a.m. on this day in 1996, security guard Richard Jewell discovered a bag with a bomb while he was patrolling the town square of the Atlanta Olympics. He called authorities and started clearing the area before the bomb exploded, injuring 111 and causing two fatalities: a woman killed by shrapnel and a news cameraman who died of a heart attack. The carnage surely would have been worse if it weren’t for Jewell, who was initially hailed a hero. But when a former employer suggested to the FBI that Jewell might have planted the bomb to get a job in law enforcement, the story quickly changed. Jewell went from hero to suspect. In the following weeks, evidence exonerated him, including a polygraph test. Eric Rudolph, a former U.S. Army explosives expert, was eventually convicted of the bombing. Rudolph said he planted the bomb to protest abortion. But Jewell’s reputation never fully recovered. He brought libel suits against news outlets and his former employer, not for money but to clear his name, he said. Jewell died of heart failure at the age of 44 in 2007. Dave McGinn

Read today's horoscopes. Enjoy today's puzzles.

If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.