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

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says Canada plans to temporarily ban the import of handguns into the country without the approval of Parliament, using a regulatory measure that comes into effect in two weeks.

The change will last until a permanent freeze is passed in Parliament and comes into force.

The government tabled gun control legislation in May that includes a national freeze on the importation, purchase, sale and transfer of handguns in Canada but it has not yet passed.

The temporary ban will prevent businesses from importing handguns into Canada with a few exceptions that mirror those in the legislation tabled in May.

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Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, speaks alongside Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, left, and MP Yvan Baker, during a press conference announcing new gun control laws, in Toronto, Aug. 5, 2022.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press

Toronto Pearson CEO says delays, staff shortages improving but declined to confirm when prepandemic capacity will resume

Deborah Flint, head of the company that runs Toronto Pearson airport, assured travellers the delays, cancellations and lost luggage that have plagued Canada’s biggest air hub are improving, but she declined to give targets or say when operations will return to normal.

Flint, chief executive officer of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said the labour shortages at the airport’s agencies, contractors and airlines are getting better, and that airport staff is working with all parties to better manage schedules, including cancelling some flights. On-time performance has improved to 44 per cent from as low as 25 and 35 per cent since the busy summer travel season began, she told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

But she would not offer a target nor a deadline, dashing the hopes of travellers hoping for a smooth trip through the airport. “There is still work to be done to get Pearson back on track,” Flint said.

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People line up before entering the security at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Aug. 5, 2022.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

Chaos is the Kremlin’s ally in its standoff with the West

The world’s week on the brink began Sunday, when air-raid sirens screamed over the city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo. Though no attack from above materialized, online videos captured the sounds of gunfire somewhere in the vicinity of the always-tense border between Serbia and Kosovo.

Over the next few days, talk of new or renewed fighting would escalate in not only the Balkans, but also in Taiwan, Korea, the Middle East, and the Caucasus. While much of the world held its collective breath – and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the planet was “one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation” – Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin appeared to relish it all, as if it welcomed the possibility of additional wars erupting beyond the one the Russian President has already launched in Ukraine.

Read more:

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Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the development of the country's metallurgical sector, via a video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Aug. 1, 2022.SPUTNIK/Reuters

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Large majority of Canadians angry over Hockey Canada’s use of registration fees to settle sexual-assault lawsuits, poll finds: An overwhelming majority of Canadians are upset to learn that Hockey Canada used millions of dollars in registration fees from players across the country to pay out sexual-assault settlements without disclosing it, according to a new national poll.

China halts climate, military ties with U.S. over Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit: China on Friday said it is cancelling or suspending dialogue with the United States on a range of issues from climate change to military relations and anti-drug efforts in retaliation for a visit this week to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Canada sheds jobs again, but unemployment rate holds at record low: Canadian employment fell for a second consecutive month in July, but the unemployment rate held steady at a historic low, a sign that labour market conditions remain tight.

Canopy Growth, once Canada’s cannabis star, reports $2.1-billion loss after major writedown: Canada’s Canopy Growth Corp. reported a $2.1-billion loss in the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, another major blow for the former cannabis star as it tries to restructure its business in order to win back investors.


MARKET WATCH

It was a mixed day for North American markets Friday as investors tried to understand what a surprisingly hot U.S. jobs report has to say about the health of the overall economy.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 43.09 points at 19,620.13.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 76.65 points at 32,803.47. The S&P 500 index was down 6.75 points at 4,145.19, while the Nasdaq composite was down 63.02 points at 12,657.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 77.32 cents US compared with 77.80 cents US on Thursday.

The September crude contract was up 47 cents at US$89.01 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was down 6 cents at US$8.06.

The December gold contract was down US$15.70 at US$1,791.20 an ounce and the September copper contract was up seven cents at US$3.55 a pound.

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TALKING POINTS

Russia’s looming defeat in Ukraine

“The Russian authorities are behaving as if things are going well for them. Their tone is arrogant, and they respond to entreaties with disdain... But all of this is just a bizarre delusion. In fact, Russia is losing the war badly in both military and economic terms.” – Simon Johnson

Subscription overload? Why our ‘right to own’ is important in a subscription-based world

“In the world of technology, this increasing subscriptionization is having a particular impact on the products underneath. As we increasingly rely on that world, it might be time to look deeper into what else changes when everything morphs into a subscription.” – Ethan Lou

In order to tell a ‘good Hong Kong story,’ Hong Kong itself must change

“If there is no progress on the ground in the next few years, it surely won’t be easy for Mr. Lee to tell nice-sounding stories on Hong Kong. To change Hong Kong’s image, the place to start is not the outside world. It is in Hong Kong itself.” – Frank Ching


LIVING BETTER

How to entertain outdoors this summer, according to the experts

It’s the height of outdoor entertaining season, and there’s no better time to elevate your next event. To help you get the most out of your al fresco dining and hosting, we’ve assembled four entertaining pros, and asked them their top tips on throwing a great outdoor get-together this season – plus some insider info on what each of them simply can’t live without when it comes to summertime hosting.


TODAY’S LONG READ

Acadians’ pilgrimage at Grand Pré offers a chance to commune with ancestors driven from their land

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An Acadian couple from New Brunswick visit the Memorial Church at the Grand-Pré National Historic Site in Grand-Pré, N.S. on July 26, 2022.DARREN CALABRESE/The Globe and Mail

In the 18th century, French-speaking settlers were forced to leave the Maritimes for refusing oaths to the British Crown. Now, Greg Mercer reports on how one of the deportation sites has become a place of celebration and reflection on challenges ahead.

Evening Update is written by Emerald Bensadoun. 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.

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