Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Trudeau says he regrets blackface, not sure how many times he wore it
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said today he can’t be “definitive” about how many times he dressed in blackface, pointing to the “layers of privilege” he has as a wealthy white man and the blind spot that created.
“It was blackface and that is just not right," he said at a press conference, for the first time using the term.
Trudeau has been in damage control since Time magazine first published a picture of him in 2001 at age 29 in brownface for an event. He apologized aboard his campaign plane and also acknowledged performing Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat Song in blackface during a high-school talent show.
Today, a third incident emerged as Global News released a video showing Trudeau in blackface in the early 1990s.
Other party leaders react:
- NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh spoke of the pain for many people to see those images (watch the video here).
- Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said that Canadians might have been able to accept his apology if he had been more truthful.
- Green Leader Elizabeth May said Trudeau “must apologize for the harm done."
Opinion: “It takes a certain arrogance, a certain cockiness and a certain sense of entitlement to think you can behave in such a manner and get away with it.” - Konrad Yakabuski
“Trudeau’s latest problems reinforce a growing perception that he is a bit of a flake, a dilettante, whose carefully crafted image as an enlightened champion of liberalism increasingly lies in tatters.” - Gary Mason
Behind the scenes: Inside the Liberal campaign media bus as news broke: ‘Oh my God, there’s a photo’
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
Canadian health coalition calls for an urgent crackdown on vaping products
Vaping poses serious health risks and the federal political parties must commit to cracking down on the products, a coalition of Canadian health organizations warned today.
Health officials in Canada are investigating confirmed and possible cases of severe lung disease tied to vaping products – believed to be part of a larger outbreak in the United States that has been linked to at least seven deaths and hundreds of illnesses.
The warning comes a day after health officials in London, Ont., confirmed this country’s first case of vaping-related lung illness.
Britain’s Supreme Court to rule on the legality of the Parliament shutdown next week after an unprecedented hearing
Britain’s Brexit drama will take a new twist next week when the country’s Supreme Court rules on the legality of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks.
The high court ended an unprecedented three-day hearing today during which Johnson was described as “the father of lies” and came under attack from former Conservative prime minister John Major.
The court’s decision could open the door to Parliament returning as early as next week, setting up another showdown over Brexit between Johnson and a rebel alliance of opposition and Conservative MPs.
Ontario Court of Appeal sides with Premier Doug Ford on cuts to Toronto city council
The province’s highest court has ruled in a split decision that Ontario Premier Doug Ford did not violate the Constitution when he moved to cut the number of Toronto city councillors from 47 to 25 with an election campaign already under way.
Its decision overturns an initial lower court ruling that the move to reduce the size of Toronto’s city council violated the free-expression provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In a 3-2 ruling issued today, the appeal court panel acknowledged the cut to council “disrupted” the campaign, but dismissed the idea that it violated the Charter. It sided with arguments that the Constitution gives the province complete power over cities.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Trump sues over subpoenas: U.S. President Donald Trump has sued Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., questioning the constitutionality of subpoenas issued by the state prosecutor, which a source said sought Trump’s tax returns.
Neurotoxin may be behind diplomats’ ailments in Cuba: Fumigation against mosquitoes in Cuba and not “sonic attacks” may have caused about 40 U.S. and Canadian diplomats and family members in Havana to fall ill, according to a new study commissioned by Ottawa.
Airbnb plans public listing: Home rental giant Airbnb said it plans to list its shares in 2020. The company didn’t give details but is widely expected to take a direct-listing route, in which no new shares are created.
North American bird numbers drop dramatically: An extensive study finds the total number of North American birds has dropped by three billion since 1970 – about 30 per cent – and some of the most familiar species have been the hardest hit.
The wrong stuff? Chuck Yeager sues Airbus: Chuck Yeager, the retired U.S. Air Force pilot who broke the sound barrier, has sued Airbus, accusing the aerospace company of using his name and likeness without permission to promote a high-speed helicopter.
Riled at Roughriders over A&W Beyond Meat ad: Some people have a beef about an A&W ad featuring Saskatchewan Roughriders fans that promotes the Beyond Meat burger, saying the CFL team is helping to promote a product that could hurt the beef industry.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index hit another record high today, powered by gains in the materials sectors. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index rose to an all-time high of 16,901.76 points before at 16,858.35, up 50.06 points on the day.
Stocks sputtered at the close on Wall Street Thursday after an early rally fizzled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 52.29 points to 27,094.79, the S&P 500 gained 0.06 points to 3,006.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 5.49 points to 8,182.88.
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.
TALKING POINTS
The Trump administration is seeking a ‘coalition’ to counter Iran. But few are interested
“In international relations, he has questioned the value of long-term American alliances, including NATO; criticized long-time American allies, including Canada; questioned the value of international institutions, including the United Nations; and derided the work of his own intelligence agencies, including the CIA.” - David Shribman
Israeli democracy will defeat Netanyahu
“The same tenacity with which Netanyahu has protected Israel is now absorbed in his war for political survival. It is no longer possible to separate what Netanyahu does to keep us safe with what he does to keep himself out of prison.” - Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute
LIVING BETTER
If your weekend plans include a trip to the movies, you might want to put Ad Astra on your list - our film editor gave it four stars and calls it one of the best of the year. Or check out our handy guide to the movies opening this weekend to help you choose.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
‘It’s up to us’: A Mi’kmaq mother’s killing drives Cape Breton community to action
The familiar voice fills the living room overlooking Bras d’Or Lake as if from another dimension. It’s a low chant sung in Mi’kmaq, crisp with consonants, rising and falling to the tempo of Itsy Bitsy Spider, then tapering to a near whisper.
The recording plays while 16-month-old twins Paisley and Mya toddle into the arms of a circle of aunts and cousins, digging into their purses and flashing toothy grins. They are everyone’s babies now.
“It’s the way we were raised,” says grandmother Mona Bernard. “In my culture, there’s no such thing as an orphan. There’s no such word in our language, only the Mi’kmaq word sitnaqn. It means that the child is growing up without the mom but with love.”
The twins are still unaware of the tragedy that will burden the rest of their lives: Their mother, 22-year-old Cassidy Bernard, was killed, and they are victims of a crisis centuries in the making. Some day they will learn what happened – and the root causes behind their mother’s death, too. Read Lindsay Jones’s full story here.
Twins Paisley, left, and Mya, right, play under a blanket with their three-year-old cousin Macy at their grandmother's home. (Photo by Darren Calabrese for The Globe and Mail)Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
Evening Update is presented by S.R. Slobodian. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.