Morning Update: David Johnston says China interference findings may have been based on incomplete intelligence

Good morning,

Special rapporteur David Johnston’s appearance before a Commons committee yesterday called into question his report’s conclusion that a public inquiry into Beijing’s interference in Canadian democracy is not warranted.

Johnston conceded yesterday that his findings that China did not orchestrate a campaign against the Conservative Party may have been based on incomplete intelligence.

Pressed by members of the opposition on the contradiction between his report and what former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole told Parliament last week about his briefing with CSIS, Johnston said his report was based on what he knew at the time.

• Campbell Clark: David Johnston’s testimony raises more questions about his report on foreign interference

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Ukrainian dam destroyed, thousands evacuated due to flooding

An explosion that blew a large hole in a dam and hydroelectric plant on the Dnipro River led to Ukrainian accusations of a “terrorist attack” by Russia. The damaged dam resulted in flooding in several nearby towns and sparked a mass evacuation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Nova Kakhovka dam had been destroyed by an “internal detonation,” but Russia claimed the dam collapsed after being hit by Ukrainian shelling. Some local officials suggested the 67-year-old structure had burst due to poor maintenance and record-high water levels.

Floodwaters kept rising in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in a major emergency operation.

• Head of Wagner calls Russian claims of victories in Ukraine ‘absurd science fiction’
• Editorial: The eyes of the world are upon Ukraine

Prince Harry testifies against British tabloids, asked to back up claims of wrongdoing by press

Prince Harry was in a London courtroom yesterday as he testified about the damage the British media has inflicted on him and his family, and urged government regulation of the press.

The Prince has filed civil claims against Mirror Group Newspapers and two other newspaper chains alleging they illegally obtained personal information for hundreds of stories. In the case involving MGN, he has alleged reporters hacked phones and used other illicit tactics in nearly 150 articles published between 1996 and 2010.

But under cross-examination, Harry frequently acknowledged that he was speculating and that he had not read some of the stories he was suing over.

Harry will be back in the witness box today and he could testify again in the other lawsuits as they head to trial.

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Also on our radar

PGA Tour, LIV Golf announce merger: The world of golf was thrown into chaos yesterday after the stunning news that the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf will merge. The news caught golf players, executives, sponsors and fans by surprise, after more than a year of heated rhetoric, antitrust allegations, and escalating lawsuits that were threatening the PGA Tour’s operations.

Smoke from Quebec wildfires spreading: Special air-quality advisories warning about the dangers of smoke inhalation were in effect yesterday as thick smoke from wildfires raging in Quebec moved down from Ottawa to Southern Ontario and into the heavily populated northeastern United States.

Progress made on new Stellantis deal, Ottawa says: The federal government said it is making “significant progress” as it negotiates a potential deal with Stellantis to keep its electric-vehicle battery plant in Ontario. The automaker earlier threatened to move construction of the plant to the U.S., saying Ottawa has not delivered on its commitments.

Tighter laws to track sex offenders tabled: A new bill introduced by Conservatives meant to improve monitoring of high-risk sex offenders would require them to notify the police if they change addresses and would place criminal charges on them if they did not report to a registration centre.

Car thefts rise in Ontario, Quebec: A new report estimates that the Canadian insurance industry lost more than $1-billion in car-theft claims in 2022 as organized crime rings helped push up thefts by nearly 50 per cent in Ontario and Quebec.

Morning markets

European markets slip: European stock markets dipped on Wednesday and the U.S. dollar nudged higher as weak Chinese trade data had investors fretting about softening global demand, with attention turning towards next week’s pivotal inflation data and Federal Reserve meeting. Just before 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.07 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.49 per cent and 0.50 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished off 1.82 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.80 per cent. New York futures were modestly lower. The Canadian dollar was up at 74.71 US cents.

What everyone’s talking about

Gary Mason: “The reality is, when it comes to dealing with the widespread scourge of drug addiction, we need to balance the needs of the individual with the broader needs of society. In many instances today, however, one side’s interests and needs are prevailing over the other’s. And in B.C. right now, drug users are taking advantage of a provincial strategy that is designed to help them, but is hurting innocent others in the process.”

Today’s editorial cartoon

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Living better

How much money do I need to take a career break?

Burnout, boredom or simply looking to take a break, many people are considering taking an extended period of unpaid time off in their careers. But what’s the best way to budget for one? And how much do you need? Here’s some advice from those who have taken the plunge.

Moment in time: June 7, 1993

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Prince changes name to a symbol

He was born Prince Rogers Nelson in 1958, but for most of his career was known mononymously by just the royal moniker. The Minneapolis native wrote his first song on his father’s piano at the age of 7. His debut album, For You, came and went with little notice. But his second – 1979′s Prince – featured I Wanna Be Your Lover, which made it to No. 11 on the pop charts. Over four decades, the prolific songwriter released 40 studio albums, in which he famously melded genres – rock, funk, jazz, disco, pop – and often played every instrument himself. But stardom came with strings, and not just the kind on his guitar. On this day, as an act of protest against his label, Warner Bros., Prince changed his name to the “Love Symbol” – a mashup of the male and female symbols. The label, he said at the time, used his name “as the main marketing tool to promote all of the music I wrote. … I became merely a pawn used to produce more money for Warner Bros.” Once his contract expired in 2000, however, the seven-time Grammy winner reclaimed Prince, as he was known until his death in 2016 at 57. Rasha Mourtada

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