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These are the top stories:
What to know about the report on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls
The head of the inquiry said hearing testimony from victims’ families led her to the “inescapable conclusion” that genocide is being perpetrated against Indigenous people. But while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed action, he did not endorse that key finding of the commission’s final report.
Instead, Trudeau said his government would review the 231 recommendations and work toward “real, meaningful, Indigenous-led action.” Here are a few calls to action from the report:
- Increase funding for Indigenous police services, while putting an end to policies such as the RCMP rotating officers with little experience in and out of Indigenous communities.
- For all governments to prevent the apprehension of children based on poverty or cultural bias.
- To create safe and affordable transit options to reduce dependence on hitchhiking
- Increase Indigenous representation on all courts, including the Supreme Court
Commissioner Qajaq Robinson said the federal government could, in the short term, end gender discrimination in the Indian Act, invest in victims’ services and begin to change its own policies and protocols.
In a column, Signa Daum Shanks writes that Canadians failed to treat Indigenous women as people. The report “is calling our bluff on the progress we say has happened with Indigenous reconciliation. When we think of deaths, when we think of only taking what we want from cultures at our pleasure and then not accepting the seriousness of hard times and tragedy, we are simply reinforcing long-standing themes about how Indigeneity is embraced only when it is convenient for Canada.”
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Tiananmen Square, 30 years later: How ideological lessons have reshaped history
On June 4, 1989, soldiers opened fire on unarmed pro-democracy student protesters in Beijing, killing hundreds, if not more than a thousand. But in China, a web search turns up a top result of a Volvo car that can accelerate to 100 kilometres an hour in 6.4 seconds. And the Communist Party’s effort to influence views on the massacre extends beyond censorship and into the halls of elite universities, Asia correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe reports.
Classes have been rewritten to instill government-sanctioned patriotism, with students repeatedly told of the stability and wealth brought about by the Communist Party’s actions. “There is no right or wrong,” said a fourth-year undergrad, one of more than a dozen Peking University students The Globe spoke with about Tiananmen.
Our editorial board writes: “just as the past in China can only be discussed with blinders on, so is any talk about China’s future circumscribed from on high. Democracy, human rights, the rule of the law and an end to the Communist Party’s monopoly on power – all are on the list of things that cannot be raised.”
Sudanese security forces killed at least 35 pro-democracy protesters
Leaders of the movement are vowing to continue the sit-in outside military headquarters following the worst violence Sudan has seen since the armed forces seized power in a coup in April. In some cases, security forces reportedly entered hospital compounds to pursue protesters.
The military council has now called for snap elections within nine months while cancelling all previous agreements it had with the main opposition coalition. Talks with pro-democracy leaders broke down when the military council insisted on retaining significant control in the planned new government.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
The big tech giants are facing antitrust scrutiny in the U.S, with the government preparing to investigate the massive market power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. The companies, all valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars, have faced criticism – and in Google’s case, multiple European Union fines – for using their influence to stifle competition.
Surrey, B.C.’s plans for a new police force will cost more for fewer officers than the current RCMP service, according to a city report. The new force will launch in August of 2021, a year later than Mayor Doug McCallum initially promised. And the change still requires provincial approval; Premier John Horgan has expressed concerns about the lack of public consultation.
World markets retreated Tuesday after news that the Trump administration is considering antitrust moves against tech giants triggered a sell-off, pushing the Nasdaq composite index into a correction. Several Asian markets had a tougher time of it today, but European stocks are heading higher and New York looks set for a stronger open. Tokyo’s Nikkei inched down marginally, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.5 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite shed 1 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.2 and 0.9 per cent by about 5:15 a.m. ET. New York futures were up. The Canadian dollar was at about 74.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The Raptors fairy tale turns grim, and that’s how it should be
Cathal Kelly: “There has never been a great sweep. Only sadists celebrate a beating. Everyone else celebrates a fight. The Raptors are in a fight now. It’s still looking pretty good for the underdog. They’ve played 96 minutes of basketball so far and the Raptors have been the better side for 90 of them. All of those were played in Toronto with a sizable rooting and noise advantage, but still.”
Is beer in corner stores bad for our health?
André Picard: “One thing that is clear from research is that the greatest impact on alcohol consumption comes from pricing policies. The cheaper alcohol is, the more people consume. Yet we don’t talk about the benefits of high taxes or floor prices. That’s why buck-a-beer policies and rhetoric should concern us much more than where products are sold.” (for subscribers)
Toxic tailings do not belong in the Athabasca River
David Schindler and Maude Barlow: “Indigenous people downstream of the oil sands have largely ceased eating fish or drinking water from the Athabasca River. With the proposed increased discharge of toxins, the area affected could expand farther down the system to the Slave and Mackenzie Rivers and adjacent communities. At best, the situation would be a violation of the terms of Treaty 8, which guarantees the livelihood of the area’s Indigenous peoples, a clear violation of human rights.” David Schindler is Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Alberta. Maude Barlow is honorary chairperson of the Council of Canadians.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
James Holzhauer’s Jeopardy! win streak has come to an end
The pro sports gambler from Las Vegas finished his run at 16 games and a total prize figure of US$2.46-million. That was just shy of the amount earned by Ken Jennings, though Holzhauer didn’t come close to his record 74-game run.
Holzhauer lost to Chicago librarian Emma Boettcher, who went into final jeopardy with a lead and bet it all to ensure she won. The final clue? “The line ‘a great reckoning in a little room’ in As You Like It is usually taken to refer to this author’s premature death.” Both answered correctly: “Who is Christopher Marlowe?”
MOMENT IN TIME
Athlete Tom Longboat is born
Tom Longboat is seen during a race in 1909. (Turofsky)Turofsky/Supplied
June 4, 1887: Tom Longboat is considered to be the greatest long-distance runner in Canadian history, a star when distance running was one of the world’s most popular spectator sports. Longboat was born on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Ont., on this day in 1887, and withstood racist barbs for much of his life. The runner would train hard for a few days then take it easier – an interval-training technique mocked at the time. He won the Boston Marathon in 1907 – the first Indigenous runner to do so – cutting five minutes off the record with a brilliant finishing sprint. Although Longboat was favoured in the 1908 Olympics marathon, he collapsed a few miles before the end. He turned pro afterward – he set a world record in the 15-mile race – and continued to win on the match-race circuit. Longboat enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1916 and relied on his athleticism as a dispatch runner, relaying messages between military units in France. He was wounded twice. After the war, he never raced professionally again. Although June 4 is marked in Ontario as Tom Longboat Day, his military-service record shows a birth date of July 4, 1886. — Philip King
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