Evening Update: Russian hacking group accused of trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine research

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

Intelligence agencies in the Britain, the United States and Canada allege that a Russian hacking group is attacking academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in COVID-19 vaccine development.

Who are they? APT29 (also known as “the Dukes” or “Cozy Bear”) was suspected in the 2016 hacks of Democratic National Committee computer servers. Spy agencies say the group was almost certainly part of Russian intelligence services. Officials in Russia quickly rejected the allegations.

So, what has happened in Canada? Canada’s Medicago Inc. is believed to have been among the targets of the attack. The Quebec-based company is working on a COVID-19 vaccine using a novel process that involves plants related to tobacco and has received financial support for the project from the provincial and federal governments.

Should we be worried? The attacks “serve to hinder response efforts at a time when health care experts and medical researchers need every available resource to help fight the pandemic,” Canada’s Communication Security Establishment said in a statement.

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WE Charity news: the first day of hearings

WE Charity could have received up to $43.5-million for administering student volunteer program, a federal cabinet minister told MPs today during the first day of hearings into the since-terminated arrangement between Ottawa and the charity.

Until today, the government had said that WE Charity would have received at least $19.5-million and that the final amount would be based in part on the number of participating students.

• This morning, the federal Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner announced that Finance Minister Bill Morneau is now also facing an ethics investigation for not recusing himself from the government’s aborted deal with WE Charity.
• Mario Dion has already said he’ll investigate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s role in the decision to outsource administration of the program to the WE organization, with which he and his family have a long history.
• Read our explainer to catch up on the story of Prime Minister Trudeau and WE Charity

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Ottawa adding new census questions

The 2021 census will for the first time count transgender Canadians and include new questions designed to get better data on Indigenous communities, linguistic minorities and ethnic groups.

Why does this matter? These changes are answering long-standing requests from groups such as Indigenous and transgender people, in which the census did not count everyone in their communities or that the numbers were imprecise.

In particular, the changes will also affect the way Statistics Canada counts members of ethnic communities such as Jews and members of anglophone and francophone minorities.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Ottawa, provinces reach deal on $19-billion in funding for reopening economies: The money will target seven priority areas such as increasing testing and contact tracing, securing more personal protective equipment and providing more support for vulnerable people, such as seniors living in long-term care facilities and nursing homes.

Alberta ends funding agreement with supervised consumption site in Lethbridge: Deloitte did an audit that found financial irregularities at ARCHES, the non-profit agency overseeing the site.

Police suggest Quebec father may be alive and seeking shelter as search enters eighth day: He may be desperate and looking for materials to ensure his survival, after finding evidence he was in a trailer in the area where police have focused their search. His two daughters’ bodies were found over the weekend.

B.C. records its deadliest month for illicit drug overdoses in June: The BC Coroners Service says 175 fatalities in June surpassed the previous high of 171 deaths in May.

Manitoba judge points to systemic issues in Indigenous woman’s killing: The judge said the killing on the Berens River First Nation, about 300 kilometres north of Winnipeg, was a “calamity of almost 150 years of government policy, actions and inactions affecting the Indigenous community.”

MARKET WATCH

Stocks end lower on COVID-19 worries, Netflix tumbles in post-market

The S&P 500 was pulled lower by Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc, as elevated levels of unemployment claims heightened concerns about the economic toll from rising coronavirus cases. The TSX was also pulled lower by the technology sector, as shares of Canada’s e-commerce darling Shopify dropped 3.07%.

The tech sector continued to stumble after markets closed, with Netflix tumbling 10% after the streaming video service’s quarterly report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to end at 26,734.71 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.34% to 3,215.57. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.73%, to 10,473.83.

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TALKING POINTS

Health care workers helping Irish migrants made the ultimate sacrifice

Robert Kearns: “Reflecting on the same strength of character and human spirit that compelled health care providers to sacrifice themselves to enable thousands of Irish migrants to recover and become contributors to our country, reminds us that together, we too will survive this pandemic.” Kearns is chair and founder of the Ireland Park Foundation.

As a brand, Edmonton’s CFL team name is a losing proposition

Timothy Dewhirst: “Undoubtedly, the team is now accounting for their brand equity, which is commonly regarded as the assets and liabilities contributing to the brand’s value.” Dewhirst is a professor in the department of marketing and consumer studies

We could pay a heavy price for easing our vigilance against the coronavirus

Gary Mason: “But I worry we are jumping the gun here – like really jumping the gun. I worry that we’ve been given an inch by government and public-health authorities and are taking a mile.”

LIVING BETTER

Full Stream Ahead: experimental movies to stream this weekend

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets: An intense and imaginative ode to the dive bar. Sibling filmmakers Bill and Turner Ross’s production isn’t exactly a documentary. And I’m afraid I can’t say much more than that. (Hot Docs at Home)

Capone: Capone more closely approximates a horror movie, with director Josh Trank treating his aging godfather as the gangland equivalent of The Shining’s Jack Torrance – a man being slowly consumed by his demons, left to go stark, raving mad in a giant estate where enemies both real and imagined lurk. (Kanopy)

The Wasp Network: The French director’s latest production is a kind of messy but interesting mashup of the man’s sensibilities. There are some hypnotizing performances from the director’s regular collaborator Edgar Ramirez, as well as Penelope Cruz, Ana de Armas and Wagner Moura. (Netflix)

Also: last week’s edition of Full Stream Ahead, The Globe’s Barry Hertz decided to concentrate on deep-summer thrills that horror films provide.

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TODAY’S LONG READ

Inside the cultural reckoning of Canada’s film funding agency

Today, the federal film-funding agency Telefilm Canada released “Partner of Choice,” its corporate plan for 2020 through 2023.

The goals of the document are ambitious. It’s intended to be a road map to ensure that it “will build on Canada’s rich cultural history and reaffirm our relevance to our country’s cultural sector.”

The agency wants to grow its private-donation Talent Fund initiative, modernize its Success Index to determine which projects receive funding, and redefine its senior management team – and they arrive at a moment of tremendous cultural reckoning for Canada’s film industry.

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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.