Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Federal review of Export Development Canada finds inadequate disclosure practices
A federal review of Export Development Canada has exposed serious shortcomings at the Crown corporation, noting its disclosure practices fall far short of other financial institutions, and that the agency is not legally obligated to consider the environmental or human-rights impact of the financial support it provides to exporters.
The agency, which gives loans, credit insurance and other financial services to Canadian exporters, is a crucial part of the federal government’s efforts to promote international trade. The Globe reported that the EDC’s client roster includes companies that have faced allegations concerning corruption, human-rights violations and environmental abuses; the federal agency has demonstrated a tendency to continue supporting such companies after other financial institutions have sanctioned them or cut them loose. Critics have also raised concerns about transparency and federal oversight of the Crown corporation.
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.
China backs Hong Kong chief saying occupation, vandalizing of legislature are ‘illegal acts’
China’s government issued strong backing for Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s embattled administration on Tuesday, saying the occupation and vandalizing of the city’s legislature by pro-democracy protesters amounted to “serious illegal acts.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing condemned the acts that saw several hundred demonstrators break through glass and steel barriers to enter the building on Monday night. The protesters defaced portraits of lawmakers and spray-painted pro-democracy slogans in the chamber before vacating it as riot police cleared surrounding streets with tear gas and then moved inside.
Geng said China’s central government strongly supported Hong Kong’s government and its police force in dealing with the incident in accordance with law.
Amnesty International calls for probe of Canadian lobbyist firm’s contract with Sudan military regime
The human-rights group says it is “deeply disturbing” that a Canadian lobbying firm has signed a US$6-million contract to promote the interests of the military regime that has imprisoned and killed protesters after seizing power in Sudan.
In a letter to two cabinet ministers, Amnesty is calling on the federal government to “investigate this contract closely” to find out whether Dickens & Madson (Canada) Inc., violates Canadian arms-control regulations or contributes to human-rights abuses in Sudan.
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
White House refuses to say whether Trump, as he promised Trudeau, raised issue of detained Canadians with Xi: One White House official said the administration would not be commenting on Mr. Trump’s discussions with Mr. Xi, another White House source told The Globe and Mail to put its questions to the Canadian government.
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei denies involvement with Nortel collapse: Sometime in Nortel’s final chapter, Huawei offered to take it over, the Chinese company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, told The Globe and Mail in an interview.
Autism advocates calling for Ontario to adopt full program reset laid out in PC MPP’s review: The internal review, obtained last week by The Globe and Mail through an anonymous source, said the government’s tone on the autism file has been “less than ideal” and a reset is required that is “predicated on accurate and non-confrontational messaging.”
Co-ordinated Taliban attacks rock Afghan capital, leaving 40 dead and more than 100 wounded: The complex Taliban attack including a car-bombing and militant assault and was apparently aimed at a government facility, came as U.S. and Taliban negotiators met for a third day in Qatar amid hopes for a deal on a U.S. troop withdrawal.
Raptors co-owner Larry Tanenbaum scores big profit in ONroute sale: The private-equity investor and co-owner of the Toronto Raptors just made a significant sale of Ontario’s 23 ONroute service centres, and proved that public-private partnerships can work.
Nearly 100 households without apartments on annual moving day in Montreal: Of those, some 30 are considered high risk and are being offered emergency shelter services by the city, while the others are being asked to stay temporarily with family or friends.
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks mixed
Stocks eked out meagre gains on Tuesday amid worries the global economy was faltering after data showed manufacturing activity slowed last month, weakening appetite for risk. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.1 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite dipped marginally. In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up marginally by about 6:30 a.m. ET, with London’s FTSE 100 and the Paris CAC 40 up by between 0.1 and 0.6 per cent. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was at 76.23 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The cannabis-psychosis debate is being driven by fear-mongering, not facts
Kira London-Nadeau, Jenna Valleriani, Caroline MacCallum: “While these ailments are difficult and can be scary, using them to scare people away from consuming cannabis paints a dismal picture of people with these ailments, and completely overshadows their resiliency and individual experiences.” London-Nadeau is the chair of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Valleriani is the CEO of the National Institute for Cannabis Health and Education. MacCallum is an internal medicine specialist with expertise in complex pain.
An Irish-American invasion sparked Canada’s birth
Christopher Klein: “Mother Britain’s North American offspring share the world’s longest peaceful international border, but the two neighbours once sported a fierce – and sometimes violent – sibling rivalry.” Klein is the author of When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Coming off of the Canada Day long weekend, here are best four Canadian albums in the world right now.
Sizzling, by Daphni: In a new way of thinking music, he puts together tracks for his club gigs and releases them only when the response they get on the dance floor warrants it. The boogie people have spoken, the summer is about to begin and this soundtrack says it’s going to be a hot one.
Skye Wallace, by Skye Wallace: Toronto-based rocker Skye Wallace was able to ruminate on material during writing retreats in Dawson City, Yukon and Norris Point, Nfld. The result is a work of rugged guitar-based angst, inspired by ghost stories, family lore, folk tales and, more than once, small-town nursing history.
Stella Bella Strada, by Kevin Breit: For over a decade, Breit has been busy putting out under-the-radar mostly instrumental records. Stella Bella Strada is an uncommon trip of electric-slide-guitar symphonies, Felliniesque balloon rides, horn-section funk and lovely vocal-free serenades.
Passages, by Justin Rutledge: The tunes last all day; the production is snow-swept pristine; there is no tiring of this record. Some of his best music of the past has been the saddest. Indeed, even on Passages, he sings in his trembling tenor about pretty miseries left over by the storm.
MOMENT IN TIME
NEWFOUNDLAND'S FAMED BULLET TRAIN SOON TO BE REPLACED -- Twin diesel locomotives haul CN's Caribou, also known as the "Newfie Bullet", near Humbermouth Valley, c. 1968. The Canadian Transport Commission recently [1968] granted the railway permission to replace the narrow-gauge passenger service with buses. Credit: Canadian National Railways. Originally published July 13, 1968.Canadian National Railways
July 2, 1969
For 71 years, the “Bullet” carrier train transported passengers across the island of Newfoundland. It’s official name, the Caribou, was rarely used. Instead, it became known as the “Newfie Bullet,” a moniker apparently given to it by the hundreds of U.S. servicemen who stayed at a local base during the Second World War. The “bullet” part was ironic – the train travelled at a snail’s pace, taking more than a day to get its passengers from one side of the island to the other. The first one left St. John’s on the evening of June 28, 1898, with two baggage cars, two coaches, two sleepers and a single diner. But its fate was sealed with the opening of the Trans-Canada Highway in 1965, which allowed travellers to get from St. John’s to Port aux Basques in less than 12 hours. So, on July 2, 1969, the final train departed from Port aux Basques in the morning with a single baggage car, four coaches, two diners and eight sleepers. At 8 a.m. on the following day, it sighed to a halt at the St. John’s station and passengers disembarked for the last time. The final freight ran in June of 1988. Shelby Blackley
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.