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In an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Canada for its pressure on Russia to return Ukraine’s land and respect its sovereignty. More recently, this includes pushing back against President Donald Trump’s call last month to re-invite Russia into the G7. In 2014, Russia was kicked out of the group – previously the G8 – after it annexed Crimea and supported separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
But Canada’s support for Ukraine has been longstanding. Since 2014, Canadian governments have given $785-million in aid to Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia. There are also around 200 Canadian troops stationed in western Ukraine on a training mission.
Despite this relationship, Zelensky declined twice in the interview to answer whether Ukraine supported Canada’s recently failed bid for a non-permanent Security Council seat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Skype in his office in Kyiv, Saturday, June 20, 2020.Handout
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Another migrant worker has died of COVID-19
Amidst heightened concerns around of migrant workers’ living and labour conditions in Canada during the pandemic, a third migrant farm worker in Ontario has died from COVID-19. In the same province, over 600 migrant farm workers have also tested positive for the coronavirus.
According to a recent Globe investigation, migrant farm workers are facing higher risks of infection due to cramped living and unsafe labour conditions. Last week, the federal government promised to overhaul the temporary foreign worker program and implement a national living standard for migrant workers to address this challenge.
Ottawa talking to Trump administration about U.S. sanctions threat to ICC staff
In response to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation of alleged war crimes by U.S. soldiers and security agents against Afghan detainees, President Donald Trump has threatened sanctions and travel bans against ICC staff. Canada has been in talks with the U.S. about this threat, since it could impact several dozen Canadians.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ontario watchdog investigating the fatal policing shooting of Mississauga man: A Peel Regional Police officer fatally shot Ejaz Choudry, a 62-year-old man with schizophrenia, on Saturday night after his family had contacted the non-emergency line for support. This killing follows the recent deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi, two Indigenous individuals who were both shot by police in mental health-related situations.
Hashim Choudhary addresses the media on Sunday in front of the apartment building where his uncle, Ejaz Choudry, a 62-year-old man who family members said was experiencing a schizophrenic episode, was shot by Peel Police and died at the scene the previous night.Galit Rodan/The Canadian Press
New survey reflects increased harassment against Chinese Canadians amid COVID-19: In a survey by Angus Reid Institute and the University of Alberta, 6 in 10 Chinese Canadians say they have changed routines to avoid racist harassment. Close to half say they have been threatened or insulted.
Amid pandemic, immigrants and refugees face higher risk of mental-health issues: While Canadians are already reporting mental-health troubles due to increased isolation and anxiety during the pandemic, immigrants and refugees are even more at risk because of crowded housing, over-representation in front-line jobs and the added stress of settling in a new country.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks weigh rising coronavirus infections: A recovery in world stocks faltered on Monday as the threat of rising coronavirus infections in parts of Europe and the United States curbed risk appetite, boosting demand for safe-haven gold. In Europe, major markets recovered from early losses with Britain’s FTSE 100 edging up 0.12 per cent and Germany’s DAX gaining 0.34 per cent just before 6 a.m. ET. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished down 0.18 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.54 per cent. The Canadian dollar was trading at 73.69 US cents. New York futures were higher.
Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes a portfolio mix for right now, under-the-radar tech stock and where to put money during the pandemic.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
When I was in cabinet I pushed for bold criminal justice reform. Nothing happened. Now Ottawa has another chance to do the right thing
Jody Wilson-Raybould: “Let me be clear: Kneeling and strategic silence are useful actions citizens can take to assert their view that change is needed. They are not sufficient responses for leaders who hold in their hands the tools for effecting needed legislative and policy changes.”
Trump’s vitriol against the Democrats comes with a warning
John Ibbitson: “‘You’re lucky I’m President,’ Mr. Trump repeatedly declared. In the hot, unsettled months to come, how many Americans will agree?”
Food and life are precious. My grandfather taught me that
Adrian Lee: “That’s what food was, for him: a vehicle for acts of service and provision. That’s what filled the banquet hall with his spirit after the funeral: the family and fellow mourners piling food onto others’ plates, their I love yous stashed and folded inside Have you eaten enough?”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
The supposed risks of too much exercise on the heart need to be evaluated
There’s been a lingering suspicion ever since that too much running – or too much exercise in general – is bad for you and, in particular, bad for your heart. But a new University of Toronto study suggests that the supposed cardiac risks of too much exercise needs to be re-evaluated.
“We just want to get the message out that the more we look, the more we find that exercise is a good thing.”
MOMENT IN TIME: June 22, 1964
"Near one of Peking's great gates, a carpenter trudges to work, carrying his equipment". In this picture, Globe correspondent Fred Nossal captured a typical winter street scene peopled by pedestrians and bicyclists. To Western eyes, the absence of private cars was remarkable, but this lack was not a hardship for the inhabitants of Peking since, as Nossal pointed out, "the working people of China's national capital have no transport problems. Most of them live very near their office or factory." Photo by Fred Nossal / The Globe and Mail Originally published March 19, 1960, page 9, Globe Magazine. NB: Australian-born Frederick Nossal arrived in Peking on October 1, 1959, as The Globe and Mail's first Peking bureau chief. His posting was the first time any Western newspaper had been allowed to establish a permanent office in Communist China. For a period of eight months, Nossal would file a steady stream of stories (many illustrated by his own photos). At the end of May, 1960, all this came to an end when he was required to leave China (government authorities refused to renew his visa). The Globe's China bureau remained closed until 1964 (though Nossal continued to cover the Far East for The Globe from his base in Hong Kong for another few years).Frederick Nossal/The Globe and Mail
Bicycling in Beijing, 1964
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography for The Globe and Mail. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re celebrating cycling.
The Globe and Mail was the first Western paper to set up a bureau in Communist China, and its correspondents opened a window into that country. Dispatches covered politics, education and culture, but they also studied ordinary life. In a 1964 story datelined Peking, Charles Taylor noted that there were “virtually no private cars” in the capital. Taxis, which he described as mainly dilapidated Russian models, were “far too expensive for most Chinese.” Instead people took the bus or pedicabs or rode a bike. In the 1970s, owning a bicycle was a marker of success that signalled a person was ready to marry. China eventually discouraged bicycling to help its auto industry and nudge people onto public transit. By the 1990s, middle-class people were more likely to aspire to own a car. But bicycles remain ubiquitous in China, with twice as many of them as cars in the country. Oliver Moore
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