Evening Update: Indigenous sisters were jailed for 30 years for a murder they say they didn’t commit

Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

Nerissa and Odelia Quewezance, Salteaux sisters have spent 30 years in custody for a murder they say they didn’t commit.

A Saskatchewan judge had ordered their release, and the conviction from 1994 is currently under review by the federal Minister of Justice for a possible miscarriage of justice.

Police charged Nerissa, then 18, and Odelia, then 21, with second-degree murder for the violent stabbing death of 70-year-old Joseph Dolff, in his farmhouse. Despite a guilty plea from their 15-year-old cousin, prosecutors continued to pursue a murder case against the sisters, and an all-white jury wasn’t convinced of their innocence either. They were sentenced to life in prison.

The sisters grew up in Keeseekoose First Nation in Saskatchewan and attended residential school, where they faced physical, emotional and sexual abuse. “This case, more than anything, highlights the way Indigenous women are treated in our justice system,” said James Lockyer, founding director of Innocence Canada and lawyer for the sisters.

Tomorrow is budget day

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will unveil the 2023 federal budget tomorrow.

What do we know so far? Freeland has said the budget will focus on green technology, health care and new spending aimed at easing cost-of-living concerns. She’s also said that the budget will show fiscal restraint, pointing to concerns about inflation and high interest rates. We have a preview on what you need to know before Tuesday’s announcement.

We already know Ottawa will take a more active role in electricity policy, and aim at clean measures. But there are more groups hoping their needs will be heard in the spending document. For example, Canada’s universities are calling on the government to increase research funding. Indigenous groups hope for infrastructure dollars and economic development in the budget.

• Opinion: Canada’s economy faces mounting challenges – here’s how we overcome them

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Israeli government delays disputed judiciary bill amid mass protests

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put off a decision on bitterly contested plans for a judicial overhaul amid fears that Israel’s worst national crisis in years could fracture his coalition or escalate into violence.

The government’s plan to enable parliament to override Supreme Court decisions and hold control over judicial appointments triggered some of the biggest protests in Israeli history, with opponents calling the move a threat to democracy. Netanyahu, on trial on corruption charges which he denies, has promised to ensure civil rights are protected but has not backed down from the central thrust of the reforms.

• Need to catch up? The Globe has the latest updates on protests and Netanyahu’s future in our primer

Ottawa can’t show how feminist assistance policy has helped improve gender equality globally: Auditor-General

A report from the Auditor-General says that Global Affairs Canada is not able to show how its implementation of the feminist international assistance policy has contributed to improving gender equality in low and middle income countries.

The report said “significant weaknesses” in the department’s information management practices resulted in incomplete or missing project files. The report also said that GAC did not meet two of its three spending commitments under the policy that is roughly $3.5-billion in bilateral development assistance.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Scottish National Party: Humza Yousaf wins race to be Scotland’s first Muslim leader and youngest first minister in the country’s history, inherits SNP facing growing challenges

School shooting: Woman armed with several guns shoots dead three children, three adults in Nashville private Christian school attack

Ontario’s Greenbelt: Plan to turn over some Greenbelt for housing will create new demand on region’s wastewater system, Newmarket mayor says

Family doctors: How Lethbridge, Alta., found a solution to its doctor shortage through the municipal government and Alberta Health Services

Pollution: Obsidian Energy disputes Alberta regulator’s conclusion that it caused earthquakes through the injection of waste water from its oil sands production

Bank collapse: Regional U.S. lender First Citizens BancShares bought failed Silicon Valley Bank’s assets, prompting a relief rally in bank shares and easing worries about the banking sector.

Crime: Indigenous leader in Saskatchewan says the province’s First Nations are struggling to confront a crime wave as they await legislation and government funding to bolster policing.

Toronto transit stabbing: Gabriel Magalhaes, 16-year-old Toronto boy who died after subway stabbing, remembered as kind, good friend

Labour and artificial intelligence: How AI is changing the jobs of call centre workers, and why labour advocates warn of the potential side effects

MARKET WATCH

TSX rallies as oil jumps, banking crisis fears ease

Canada’s main stock index gained more than a hundred points Monday, buoyed by strength in the energy and financial sectors, while U.S. markets were mixed. The Nasdaq underperformed compared with other major indexes, with shares in major tech firms like Meta, Apple and Alphabet dragging the index down.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 123.25 points at 19,624.74.

The Dow and S&P 500 also ended higher as a deal for Silicon Valley Bank’s assets helped investor confidence in banks. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 194.55 points at 32,432.08. The S&P 500 index was up 6.54 points at 3,977.53, while the Nasdaq composite was down 55.12 points at 11,768.84.

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TALKING POINTS

Canadian detainees in Syria should be brought home immediately

“Canada’s failure to repatriate perpetuates a pattern of Canadian governmental complicity with the overseas torture, arbitrary detention, and forced exile of Muslim Canadians, as recorded in the two official inquiries on the cases of Maher Arar, Ahmad Abou El-Maati, Abdullah Almalki, and Muayyed Nureddin, and other legal complaints.” - Sharry Aiken, Paul Champ, Kent Roach

AI could revitalize local journalism, but only if we demand better digital municipal records

“AI won’t replace the sort of journalism that holds power accountable, but it could certainly enhance it. After all, you can teach a machine to spot patterns, but you can’t force it to care about your community.” - Jean-Paul R. Soucy

LIVING BETTER

How companies can best support observers as Ramadan begins

Last week marked the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, a 30-day period when observers abstain from a range of prohibited activities – including eating and drinking – between sunrise and sunset.

Steven Zhou, a spokesperson for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said this period offers a rare opportunity for employers, managers and human-resources professionals to engage teams in constructive conversations about cultural belonging. His recommendation is to engage in private conversations with employees who observe Ramadan to discuss how to best support them during this time, but also invite them to open the dialogue to the rest of the team.

• Leslie Beck: Canadians are still eating too much sodium, WHO warns. Here’s how to cut back
• Listen to The Decibel: The dark side of collagen

TODAY’S LONG READ

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Q&A: Bill Nye on TikTok, climate change and his new show The End is Nye

The Science Guy wants to talk about disaster. In his latest TV series, The End is Nye, he aims to explain and entertain audiences to better appreciate of the planet we live on. Filmed in Montreal, the series marks the latest incarnation of the bow tie and lab-coat-wearing persona who first stormed into living rooms in the 1990s to make science essential viewing for the MTV generation.

This week he is also kicking off a series of Canadian tour dates. Nye spoke with The Globe and Mail about his work and about the most pressing planetary threat of all – climate change.

Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. 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.