Evening Update: Vigil to be held tonight for Muslim family killed in London attack

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

A Tuesday evening vigil will be held to honour the people killed in an attack in London, Ont., on Sunday. Four members of a Muslim family were killed when the driver of a pickup truck, police say, deliberately hit them. A fifth family member, a nine-year-old boy, survived the attack and is in hospital.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the killings as a terrorist attack.

The driver of the pickup truck, a 20-year-old man, is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday. He faces four charges of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder, and police said they’ve reached out to the RCMP about the possibility of federal terrorism charges.

Opinion: The London attack reaffirms why Muslims often feel unsafe in their own country - Sheema Khan

Explainer: Attack on Muslim family in London, Ont.: What we know so far about the killings and the suspect

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What does China’s future hold? A parting view from The Globe’s correspondent in Beijing

Nathan VanderKlippe moved to Beijing in 2013, an arrival that roughly coincided with Xi Jinping’s rise to power. Since then, The Globe’s Asia correspondent has watched China change.

If China’s current course stays the same, according to economists, it will eclipse the United States as the world’s pre-eminent economic power within the next decade or two. As VanderKlippe gets ready to leave the country, he examines what China’s future will hold.

Other pieces in the series include Will China be the next world leader? and Can China make its people happy?

Easing COVID-19 border restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers

Trudeau said on Tuesday that the eventual easing of border restrictions, such as hotel quarantines, will be focused on travellers who are fully vaccinated. Trudeau didn’t, however, provide a timeline for changing the restrictions that are currently in place.

As the push to get Canadians vaccinated continues, Canada’s biggest charity announced on Tuesday that it will spend US$1.3-billion on acquiring COVID-19 vaccines for 50 million Africans, as well as other steps to tackle the pandemic on the continent. Mastercard Foundation said there is a “moral imperative” to respond to the growing inequity of vaccine distribution, with poorer parts of the world falling behind richer regions.

Also, Pfizer announced it will start testing its COVID-19 vaccine in larger groups of children under 12. The study will take place in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain, and will include up to 4,500 children, according to the company. Pfizer said it plans to test a dose of 10 micrograms in five to 11-year-olds, and 3 micrograms for those 6 months to five years. Those over 12 receive a dose of 30 micrograms.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Trudeau mum on calls to abandon appeals to compensation for First Nations children: The Prime Minister won’t directly answer if the government will drop its legal battles against rulings involving First Nations children. On Monday, a non-legally-binding motion passed in the House of Commons that called on the government to do so. Trudeau, along with his cabinet minister and some Liberal backbenchers, abstained from the vote.

Probe into Indigenous deaths in Thunder Bay: Lawyers and family members said that they remain in the dark about what steps have been taken since 2019 when the police chief announced the reinvestigations of the deaths.

The politics of trees in Fairy Creek, B.C.: The old-growth forest in and around this pristine valley is ground zero for issues like the effects of climate change, Indigenous lands sovereignty, divisions within the provincial NDP and high lumber prices. Justine Hunter, The Globe’s B.C. legislative reporter, talks about these tensions on the latest episode of The Decibel.

MARKET WATCH

The Canadian dollar fell against its broadly stronger U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, but stayed within its recent trading range as data showed a surprise Canadian trade surplus and investors awaited a Bank of Canada interest rate decision.

Canada’s main stock index rose as data showing a surprise domestic trade surplus in April. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was unofficially up 30.62 points at 20,065.92.

Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31.67 points to 34,598.57, the S&P 500 gained 0.71 points to 4,227.23 and the Nasdaq Composite added 43.19 points to 13,924.91.

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TALKING POINTS

The theological reason why the Catholic Church is reticent to apologize for residential schools

“Churches often dwell on distinctions that are only meaningful to insiders. Technical distinctions about jurisdiction involving residential schools, which the church has made in the past, are not irrelevant, but also come across as attempting to control the narrative and deflect responsibility.” – Jeremy M. Bergen, contributor to The Globe and Mail

Canada must listen to the stories of the buried, or their deaths will haunt us forever

“How we bury our dead is a measure of our humanity. Everywhere are rituals and memorials of stone, shell, wood and words. When we honour the dead, we knit ourselves into our past and our future. I can only know my dead from their stories.” - Kim Echlin, contributor to The Globe and Mail

We shouldn’t abandon masks after the pandemic recedes

“We are not advocating for mask mandates or restrictive rules as they currently exist – but rather the maintenance of a new norm, based on collective goodwill and the realization of how many lives we could save by continuing this practice.” - Eddy Lang and Merril Pauls, contributing to The Globe and Mail

LIVING BETTER

New website founded by McGill University student aims to fill knowledge gaps about sexual health in medicine

Jillian Schneidman, a McGill medical student, found a lack of nuanced discussion about sexual health in her program. Though her education covered anatomy, pharmacology, reproductive health and sexually transmitted infections, she felt that conversations about more complex issues were largely missing.

“There’s a lack of understanding that sexual health is an integral part of someone’s wellbeing,” Schneidman said.

To address this, Schneidman created a new sexual health education platform intended for health care practitioners, called Sex[M]ed. It’s aimed at promoting subjects misrepresented or absent from health care curriculums.

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TODAY’S LONG READ

Who sabotaged the Sea to Sky Gondola? An unsolved mystery hangs over Squamish as tourist attraction is set to reopen

The B.C. gondola is set for its third grand opening on June 11, after being repaired when its steal cable was cut in September. That was the second time the gondola’s cable was deliberately severed. The culprit is still unknown.

Owners of the tourist attraction have never received a letter or manifesto to accompany the acts of sabotage, according to general manager Kirby Brown. “The message is in the act itself,” he says. “This has never happened in the industry before. Now it’s happened twice.”

The gondola was met by some locals with a mix of resentment and spite. Opponents, many of whom are outdoor enthusiasts and climbers, were enraged that the Land Conservancy of B.C. sold a parcel of land to the corporation behind the gondola for $2-million.

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Evening Update is written by Menaka Raman-Wilms. 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.