Good morning,
Leaders of countries in the NATO military alliance are in Brussels today, where they began the morning listening to U.S. President Donald Trump say Germany was “totally controlled” to Russia because of an oil pipeline. Mr. Trump also continued to assail his allies for their defence spending. “The United States is paying far too much and other countries are not paying enough, especially some,” he said. Mr. Trump, who is also escalating his trade war with China, has bilateral meetings scheduled with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, but nothing with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Mr. Trudeau had an announcement of his own to make, however: Canada will soon assume command of a new NATO mission in Iraq. Two hundred and fifty Canadian soldiers will be deployed to Baghdad for a year, starting this fall.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Drug companies could face criminal charges if they illegally market opioids, as the federal government brings in tougher regulations in response to the overdose crisis. The government says it is creating a compliance and enforcement team to monitor opioid manufacturers and enforce the rules against improper drug promotion.
The U.K.’s privacy commissioner says Canadian data firm AggregateIQ will be banned from handling data belonging to British citizens in the wake of the investigation into the misuse of data in election campaigns. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham also says she plans to fine Facebook £500,000 ($871,000) for failing to properly handle personal data stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal and for failing to properly respond when it discovered it.
First Nations leaders say the loss of Greyhound bus service will only make the tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women worse, and they’re joining provincial governments in calling on Ottawa to step in. B.C. Assembly of First Nations regional Chief Terry Teegee says all levels of government need to work together to make sure small communities have proper transportation services.
‘Tis the season for members of Parliament to declare they are not running in next year’s election.
An internal report suggests the federal Finance Ministry is at a medium risk of a cyberattack that could affect its ability to carry out “critical government operations.”
And Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says his department did not warn him that a restaurant he recently spoke at in Toronto was frequented by members of a Nigerian-based criminal organization. The owner of the Suya Spot says the restaurant isn’t affiliated with the group.
Emily Riddle (The Globe and Mail) on Greyhound cuts: “We have long known that lack of access to transportation in rural and remote areas in this country is a factor in the murder and disappearance of thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the migrant crisis: “The question is whether the more sympathetic attitude Canadians have held about people seeking sanctuary here will persist in light of what is happening in Europe, and – to some extent – in the United States, too. Or will the anti-immigrant contagion spread?”
Derek Thompson (The Atlantic) on Canadian immigration: “What’s Canada’s secret? A blend of imperial history, bizarre and desolate geography, and provincial politics have forged something unique in the Great White North. Countries now buckling under the strain of xenophobic populism should take note.”
Celine Cooper (Montreal Gazette) on crossing the border: “It’s not clear yet what impact, if any, Ford’s approach might have on refugee claimants’ decisions to settle in Quebec or Ontario. What is clear is that Ontario’s political swing to the right has hardened debate in a way that might set the tone for the CAQ’s approach during Quebec’s election campaign, and possibly beyond.”
Rachel Giese (Chatelaine) on Trudeau and feminism: “ Trudeau’s initial retreat from an honest, searching, nuanced response to the allegations was maddening — a missed opportunity to show the world how a feminist man might seriously reckon with allegations about his own past conduct.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on Trump: “Questions mount as to whose team Mr. Trump is playing for. He hasn’t been described as traitorous yet, but if he doesn’t reassure allies at the NATO summit in Brussels this week, they should call him out in such terms.”
Colin Robertson (The Globe and Mail) on national security spending: “This means spending more, not because Mr. Trump says so, but because Canadian sovereignty requires it.”
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Theresa May and Brexit: “Her premiership has been anything but pretty, and a tidy Brexit remains out of reach. But her time in office has offered an object lesson in the political value of muddling through and seeking compromise.”
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Chris Hannay
James Keller