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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Fans pack downtown Toronto for first-ever Raptors victory parade
Thousands of fans lined the streets of Toronto for the city’s first NBA victory parade.
But the festivities were marred by shots fired in Nathan Phillips Square just before 4 p.m. Toronto Police confirmed through Twitter they have located two victims, both with serious but not life-threatening injuries. They have two people in custody and have recovered two firearms.
The procession had been delayed by hours, with the team arriving at the square outside Toronto’s city hall at 3:15 p.m. – more than two hours past their planned arrival time.
Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard. Photo by: Frank Gunn/The Canadian PressFrank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Players and their families rode atop five open-air double-decker buses, waving to cheering crowds. Head coach Nick Nurse rode in a red convertible with his family, while other coaches and executives were on floats and other vehicles. The parade ended at a square outside of Toronto’s city hall, where a rally was held.
The parade marked a conclusion of a “wild and joyous ride,” says The Globe’s John Doyle. He writes: “It lasted for weeks and its effect is not just the team being champions – at last – it’s the communal spirit the event created.”
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry. Photo by: Frank Gunn/The Canadian PressFrank Gunn/The Canadian Press
See more photos of the Raptors’ historic parade of downtown Toronto here.
The Raptors won the NBA title last Thursday, defeating the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif., in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series.
The Warriors congratulated the team on their first NBA win with a full-page newspaper ad in the Toronto Star on Monday. The ad featured a photo of Warriors point guard Steph Curry hugging Raptors counterpart Kyle Lowry after Game 6.
A full-page ad from the Warriors congratulating the Raptors. Photo by: Graeme Roy/The Canadian PressGraeme Roy/The Canadian Press
First responders were kept busy with dehydrated fans and lost children in downtown Toronto. Firefighters received about a dozen calls for dehydration and several reports of parents losing children in the packed square outside city hall. (For subscribers)
Meanwhile, Nurse plans to lead Team Canada to the FIBA World Cup. Nurse said on Sunday a deal was “just about done” to make him the coach of the Canadian national team.
Federal government to launch new first-time home buyers plan before election
The federal government’s plan to help first-time home buyers will launch Sept. 2 – more than a month before the election.
The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive was first announced in the March 2019 budget, with few details disclosed at the time.
The government seeks to help 100,000 Canadians over three years through the plan. The incentive will be available to first-time home buyers with household incomes below $120,000. It is worth up to 5 per cent for the purchase of an existing home and up to 10 per cent for a new build.
Industry insiders have expressed concerns about who the ideal user of the program would be as it allows a lower maximum mortgage level than if a borrower were to simply apply for a standard mortgage.
Liberals announce first-ever national food policy with $134-million pledge
The federal government has announced details of a long-awaited national food policy, including a $134-million pledge to improve access to local and healthy food.
The government first announced its plan to create a food policy shortly after the 2015 election, though details since then have been sparse.
A key part of the policy is the creation of an advisory council to implement the plan. This includes a $50-million local food infrastructure fund that will further support community-led projects to improve access to safe and culturally diverse food.
This follows recent studies that have shown that more than 46 per cent of people in some parts of Canada, such as Nunavut, experience food insecurity.
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WHAT ELSE IS ON OUR RADAR
The federal government released a $50-million dementia strategy. The plan focuses on preventing the affliction, supporting caregivers and finding cures for more than 419,000 Canadian seniors who have been diagnosed with the condition.
Quebec is the happiest province in Canada, according to a Globe and Mail survey by the Gandalf group. Residents attribute this to a lifestyle that focuses on culture, food and loved ones, among other factors.
A mandatory evacuation order has been placed in a northern Alberta community due to a wildfire. Officials said the humidity was dropping rapidly and they expected more aggressive fire behaviour in the area of Indian Cabins, about 150 kilometres north of High Level.
The Trudeau government is engaged in talks with Malaysia about taking back plastic waste from Canada. In late May, the Malaysian government said it would send 3,000 tons of plastic waste back to 14 countries of origin, including Canada.
Fashion icon and socialite Gloria Vanderbilt has died at 95. The intrepid heiress, who is the mother of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, died Monday after suffering from advanced stomach cancer.
Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins will release a prequel in 2020. The book will go back 64 years before the start of the trilogy – well before the lifetime of heroine Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence in the billion-dollar movie franchise.
GMP Capital is selling capital markets business to U.S. firm Stifel Financial. The Canadian investment bank signed a deal worth roughly $70-million, and plans to focus almost entirely on wealth management. (For subscribers)
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index rose today, as the energy sector jumped despite a decline in oil prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 51.54 points at 16,353.45.
Wall Street stocks were up slightly ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy announcement on Wednesday, with expectations running high the central bank is poised to cut interest rates this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.92 points to 26,112.53, the S&P 500 gained 2.69 points to 2,889.67, and the Nasdaq Composite added 48.36 points to 7,845.02.
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TALKING POINTS
As 2020 looms, everyone is taking Trump’s bid for a second presidential term seriously
“Once again Mr. Trump lags in public-opinion polls and in the very public opinions of the American political establishment. But this time he begins his presidential campaign with the symbolic and real advantages of the incumbent.” - David Shribman, executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wanted: A new leader for Hong Kong
“Before assuming office in 2017, Ms. Lam was criticized for being so removed from Hong Kong’s reality that she didn’t even know where to buy toilet paper. Now, it turns out, she doesn’t understand the most basic sentiments of the people she is supposed to represent.” - Frank Ching, Hong-Kong based journalist
LIVING BETTER
Could an ice-cold swim help your mental health?
On an overcast afternoon, Susan Simmons leads six athletes into the frigid water of the Pacific, at least 10 degrees colder than the average pool.
When she needs a quick fix for her mind or body, she takes a freezing plunge. She’s part of a group of swimmers called the Spirit Orcas that see ice-swimming as a type of therapy that, they say, eases their depression and anxiety.
A case report published in The British Medical Journal last August may support Simmons’s experience. The report cast cold-water therapy as an effective treatment for a 24-year-old new mother living with major depressive disorder. While the report’s authors do not suggest cold water is a cure for any mental-health condition, there are several theories surrounding why it may alleviate certain symptoms.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
After decades of development on the floodplain, Fort McMurray moves to protect itself from unpredictable rivers
In a few years, Fort McMurray is expected to become a walled city. The anticipated cost: nearly $300-million.
To put that figure into perspective, consider that a 2006 provincial committee recommended a suite of flood-mitigation measures across the entire province of Alberta – safeguarding 54 municipalities – whose total cost was just more than $300-million.
A network of flood defences are currently under construction or being designed in Fort Mac. Retreat is no longer a viable option for the city. Having allowed development in its floodplain for decades, half of its downtown, often referred to as the Lower Townsite, now lies there.
Fort Mac’s dikes might be the largest Canadian flood-prevention project you’ve never heard of.
Evening Update is written by Katrya Bolger. 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.