Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Cowessess First Nation discovers hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school in Saskatchewan
The Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan says there could be 751 unmarked graves at the site of the nearby former Marieval residential school, the latest such announcement from Indigenous communities trying to come to terms with the legacy of the schools and the missing children who attended them.
Indigenous leaders and archeologists predict there will be more such finds as the federal and provincial governments, as well as private corporations, provide First Nations with ground-penetrating radar technology to search for gravesites.
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said last month a preliminary search using radar technology had discovered the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
Separately, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett is apologizing to Independent MP Jody Wilson-Raybould for a message the former justice minister described as “racist and misogynist.”
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Younger demographic makes up the largest group of COVID-19 cases
Children and teenagers account for the largest group of COVID-19 cases in the country, raising questions about their risk of exposure as restrictions ease. Vaccination rates among eligible age groups are steadily climbing, leaving children to become the least protected from infection.
In other COVID-19 developments: The Ontario government confirmed it is moving into the second step of its reopening plan on June 30, two days ahead of schedule, which allows shopping malls, hair salons and amusement parks to reopen with capacity limits. In Atlantic Canada, traffic has resumed on the TransCanada Highway at the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border after RCMP made arrests at a blockade protesting travel restrictions.
Opinion: Canada needs a national inquiry into its handling of COVID-19 - Richard Fadden
Read more: The global COVID-19 vaccine gap: Eight charts on the race to inoculate the world
How China is trying to limit births among Muslim populations in the Xinjiang region
People in the Xinjiang city of Tiemenguan applying for auxiliary police jobs have to meet a set of criteria, according to recruitment documents posted online, The Globe’s Nathan VanderKlippe reports. That includes bringing with them at least two relatives. And they must be Han Chinese, members of the country’s dominant ethnicity.
If they meet the criteria, new recruits can enjoy a series of benefits, including a fertility policy. It’s part of a national push to encourage more births, which has included China proclaiming a countrywide three-child policy in May.
But it’s also part of a specific effort in Xinjiang to encourage births in places with large Han populations, while officials seek to limit babies in areas with more prominent Muslim populations.
Iran’s ‘recklessness, incompetence’ caused Ukrainian flight 752 disaster, Canadian report says
A Canadian government forensic report into the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 blames the disaster on Iranian authorities’ “recklessness, incompetence, and wanton disregard for human life.”
All 176 people on board – including 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents, and 53 others who had been travelling to Canada via Ukraine – were killed when a pair of Iranian anti-aircraft missiles struck the plane shortly after it took off from Tehran’s main airport.
Although Iran has prevented Canadian and Ukrainian authorities from carrying out a full on-the-ground investigation, the report accepts the Iranian government’s official contention that the disaster was a result of human error – a surface-to-air missile operator who likely acted on their own in deciding to launch the missiles that struck flight 752.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Canadian media, including The Globe and Mail, sign licensing deal with Google: eight publishers, including The Globe and Mail, are partnering with Google Canada in a licensing agreement that will see the company pay for news content as part of parent Alphabet Inc.’s US$1-billion global commitment to media companies.
TD shuffles senior ranks, taps Riaz Ahmed as next TD Securities chief executive: Bob Dorrance will step down as chief executive officer of TD Securities on Sept. 1, but stay on as its chairman. He will also continue to advise Bharat Masrani, TD’s CEO.
Founding member of Mumford & Sons quits to ‘speak freely’ on politics: Winston Marshall, who plays guitar and banjo with the group, said his bandmates had “invited me to continue with them,” but he had decided to leave so that he could “speak freely without them suffering the consequences.”
Japan’s Emperor is ‘extremely worried’ that Tokyo Olympics could accelerate spread of COVID-19: The games will bring thousands of foreign athletes, officials, sponsors and journalists to Japan during a pandemic, despite caution raised by the head of the Imperial Palace and experts about the risk of infections along with the public’s persistent calls for cancellation or further postponement.
Habs back in action: The Montreal Canadiens are one victory away from advancing to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 28 years as they host the Las Vegas Golden Knights in front of about 3,500 fans tonight at 8 p.m. EDT, on St.-Jean-Baptiste Day no less. Check back later tonight at GlobeSports.com for the score and highlights.
Today’s episode of The Decibel podcast: Meet Dr. Vett Lloyd, who has made it her life’s work to understand ticks after a brush with Lyme disease herself. She joins host Tamara Khandaker to share tips on how to avoid getting bitten, what to do if you discover the parasite on you, a loved one or your pet and why there isn’t a vaccine against the disease on the market.
MARKET WATCH
The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 indexes closed at record highs today, with the Dow also jumping after U.S. President Joe Biden embraced a bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 322.58 points or 0.95 per cent to 34,196.82, the S&P 500 climbed 24.65 points or 0.58 per cent to 4,266.49, and the Nasdaq Composite added 97.98 points or 0.69 per cent to close at 14,369.71.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 50.73 points or 0.25 per cent to 20,215.12.
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TALKING POINTS
Canada needs new rules now for fully vaccinated people
“So, what would individual-level guidance look like for the fully vaccinated? First, we need to clearly tell fully, partially and unvaccinated Canadians which settings and activities they can safely participate in, and with what precautions.” - Nathan Stall, Fahad Razak and Andrew Morris
We’ve had too many underqualified presidents and prime ministers
“Joe Biden, the oldest and most experienced president in the history of his country, marks a sharp break with recent history. He is in a position to re-establish the importance of pedigree, the idea that if you’re set on occupying the most important position in the land, maybe you should have suitable credentials.” - Lawrence Martin
LIVING BETTER
Going back to the office? Clean up your sleep schedule now for a smooth transition
If you’re like many Canadians whose sleep schedule shifted during the pandemic, your nighttime routine may get another shakeup when you return to the office. Here are some sleep tips to help you get ready:
- Set your alarm progressively earlier by 15- to 30-minute increments every few days.
- Try to be less active before bedtime.
- Limit your exposure to blue light via “night mode” on your devices.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Human skulls reveal diverse roots of Anglo-Saxon ancestry
The assessment relies on a set of measurements taken near the base of each skull that tends to differ depending on ancestry.Kimberly Plomp/Courtesy of Simon Fraser University
For two years, Kimberly Plomp criss-crossed Britain and northern Europe, visiting museums, medieval churches and university collections looking for the skulls of individuals who lived in that part of the world about 15 centuries ago. Equipped with a camera and a turntable, she photographed 224 skulls from every possible angle, then used the thousands of images to digitally reconstruct and compare their three-dimensional shapes.
Now, after two additional years of analysis, the results have shed light on a question that is steeped in legend: Exactly how did the people who would eventually be called Anglo-Saxons arise? Read Ivan Semeniuk’s full story here.
Evening Update is written by S.R. Slobodian and Demar Grant. 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.