Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
RCMP investigating former Kamloops residential school site, Sinclair tells MPs
Former Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair Murray Sinclair told a House of Commons committee today that he was informed the RCMP has declared an investigation into the remains of children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C.
Sinclair, who is a former senator and judge, did not give details, but criticized what he called the “typical heavy-handed” way that police are “simply intimidating people rather than helping them.”
A spokesperson for the RCMP detachment in Kamloops declined The Globe and Mail’s request for an interview this morning about Sinclair’s allegations, but said a statement would be released later today.
Separately, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is making a renewed push for the federal government to take concrete steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, calling on Ottawa to drop a pair of Federal Court appeals he says represent a “belligerent” approach to justice for First Nations children.
Opinion: Kamloops residential school’s unmarked graves a painful reminder of why we need leadership - Jody Wilson-Raybould, independent MP
Explainer: What we know about the Kamloops residential school’s unmarked graves, the children’s remains and reaction so far.
Read more: How the ground-penetrating technology used to locate unmarked graves is both amazing and complex
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U.S. shares COVID-19 vaccines, including with Canada, as Ottawa pushed to give doses to COVAX
The United States unveiled details of its first global donations of COVID-19 vaccines, with plans to ship 19 million doses through the COVAX vaccine-sharing alliance, and another six million doses directly to neighbours, including Canada, and countries experiencing pandemic surges.
The offer comes as Canada’s vaccine rollout is nearing the best in the world, and at the same time as pressure is mounting on the Canadian government to start sharing some of its COVID-19 vaccines as well.
Variants: The Globe is adopting the World Health Organization’s naming convention for COVID-19. Here’s a guide:
- Alpha: B.1.1.7, first associated with Britain
- Beta: B.1.351, first associated with South Africa
- Gamma: P.1, first associated with Brazil
- Delta: B.1.617.2, first associated with India
WHO is ruling out that a variant found in Vietnam is a new hybrid, saying instead it is part of the existing Delta strain.
Opinion: Doug Ford’s pandemic response has been the worst of Canada’s premiers – Robyn Urback
The latest: Catch up on COVID-19 news today from across Canada here.
Read more: How an American teen’s pandemic lockdown launched B.C.’s biggest logging protest in decades
Israel’s Netanyahu not admitting defeat as a new government coalition takes shape
The era of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not ended quite yet, European bureau chief Eric Reguly writes.
Today, only hours after a rebel coalition of eight parties agreed to form a new government, a pro-Netanyahu bloc was putting enormous pressure on several lawmakers to defect from the new coalition and deprive it of its slim majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
The coalition needs 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset to form a government. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the new government in about 10 days, giving Netanyahu and his Likud party loyalists ample time to try to break the alliance.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Trudeau blast Air Canada over bonuses: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said bonuses Air Canada paid to executives while the company was negotiating a government bailout are “completely unacceptable” and the airline owes Canadians an explanation.
Site of George Floyd’s death cleared: Crews have removed concrete barriers, artwork, flowers and other items from a Minneapolis intersection that became a sprawling memorial to George Floyd. Former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted on murder and manslaughter counts in Floyd’s death, is scheduled to be sentenced June 25. Prosecutors are seeking 30 years; the defence is asking for probation and time already served,
Elephants: Fifteen elephants in a wandering herd in southwest China walked down paved roads and poked their trunks through windows as they neared a large city and authorities rushed to protect both the animals and people.
In this aerial photo file photo taken on May 28, 2021, and released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a herd of wild Asian elephants stands in E'shan county in southwestern China's Yunnan Province. A herd of 15 wild elephants that walked 500 kilometers (300 miles) from a nature reserve in China's mountain southwest were approaching the major city of Kunming as authorities rushed to try to keep them out of populated areas.Hu Chao/The Associated Press
Listen and learn: In today’s The Decibel podcast, host Tamara Khandaker talks to Konia Trouton, a doctor in Victoria who provides medical assistance in dying (MAID). She describes the process, discusses recent changes to the laws regarding MAID and how that may alter her practice, and why we need to become more comfortable with talking about dying.
MARKET WATCH
Global equities markets were little changed today after stepping back from near-record levels earlier in the week, as investors studied strong U.S. data reports for economic recovery and inflation signals. Canada’s main stock index finished lower, as material stocks tracked weakness in gold prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.34 points or 0.07 per cent to 34,577.04, the S&P 500 lost 15.27 points or 0.36 per cent to end at 4,192.85 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 141.82 points or 1.03 per cent to 13,614.51.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 29.76 points or 0.15 per cent at 19,941.39.
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TALKING POINTS
Winnipeg Jets’ Scheifele restarts NHL’s outrage merry-go-round with hit on Montreal Canadiens’ Evans
“Shocked quickly becomes appalled, followed by enraged. The furious send thoughts and prayers to the guy who was hit. They thirst for justice for the hittee. Eventually, they rail about the lack thereof from the NHL’s chicken-headed disciplinary apparatus. Then everyone resumes watching hockey, in the panting expectation of the next skull crusher.” - Cathal Kelly
Related: Jets forward Mark Scheifele faces hearing for Game 1 hit on Canadiens’ Jake Evans
My message to Maple Leafs fans: learn to chill a little
“As a lifelong Bruins fan, it has been easy to hate the Leafs and their followers. Every team has their quotient of obnoxious supporters; Toronto just seems to boast an unusually large percentage of them.” - Gary Mason
LIVING BETTER
You’re right to be nervous about your investments after the huge, widespread gains since the March, 2020, market crash, personal finance columnist Rob Carrick writes. If you’re an investor concerned about the stock market bursting, he suggests these four things to do. They include being ruthless in trimming your speculative holdings and, what some may see as counterintuitive, keep buying.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Katherine Takpannie and her son near their home by the Ottawa River, Saturday May 1, 2021.Ashley Fraser/The Globe and Mail
The pandemic has been hard on many Canadians, but mounting evidence indicates that mothers, in particular, whom many families have been relying on through the past year, are buckling under the strain. And some experts worry these women will be vulnerable to what they predict will be the next wave of the pandemic, one of poor mental health.
It’s not just mothers themselves who suffer when their mental health declines. Their distress can have a spillover effect on the rest of the family. Children are reliant on their parents, not just for their basic needs, but also for relational needs – that is, needs that are met through interactions like play time and reading stories, says Sheri Madigan, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Calgary. And when parents are struggling with mental illness, they tend to be less able or motivated to engage in some of the caregiving tasks that are critical to children’s ability to thrive, she said.
In Ottawa, Katherine Takpannie has been worrying about how her own mental health issues are affecting her two-year-old son. She has struggled to laugh and play with him, while she’s been drowning in depression and grief over the death of her brother in September. Her child’s concerned hugs, in attempt to soothe her sorrow, amplify her heartache. “It made me feel like a bad mother because here I am getting comforted by my son when I’m supposed to be the strong one,” she said. Read Wency Leung’s full story here.
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