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Efforts to evacuate expats and former Afghan support staff are being hampered by a network of checkpoints the Taliban have set up throughout Kabul, as those seeking airlifts to Canada also grapple with what are being described as unreasonable requests for exit documents.
About 800 former Afghan translators, fixers and staff who worked for Canada’s military or diplomats are hiding in Kabul, as are an unknown number of Canadians. They are afraid for their lives and uncertain how they can get safely to the city’s airport for flights to Canada, as the Taliban consolidates its control over Afghanistan.
“The Taliban have taken control of approaches to the airport, which is making it extremely difficult for people to get to the airport in order to get out. That is something we continue to work on,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday.
Adding to the fear is frustration with Canadian government red tape. Federal bureaucrats are inundated with requests to rescue hundreds of people after the swift collapse of Afghan security forces amid the Taliban’s advance.’
First Person: I am a teen stuck in Afghanistan. And I am begging Canada for help
Read more: Afghan activists frantic to get families out after years of waiting
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People wait outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 17, 2021.
STRINGER/Reuters
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Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin expected to be charged with one count of sexual assault, according to his lawyer
Major-General Dany Fortin, who previously headed the country’s vaccination drive, is expected to be criminally charged with one count of sexual assault in Quebec.
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A member of Maj.-Gen. Fortin’s legal team said a warrant has been issued for his arrest and he will be going to the Gatineau police on Wednesday. He is expected to make public remarks after presenting himself to police.
Three months ago, military police referred its investigation to Quebec’s public prosecution service to determine whether criminal charges should be laid against Maj.-Gen. Fortin.
Parties spar over mandatory vaccine policies on campaign’s third day
Canada’s political parties are at odds over mandatory vaccination policies, with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau vowing “consequences” if people don’t comply with requirements, while the Conservatives accused the Liberals of a cover-up after a memo about mandatory vaccines was removed from the government’s website.
The issue of mandatory vaccinations has been front and centre during the first days of the election campaign, after Mr. Trudeau’s Liberals promised to bring in a mandate for public servants and domestic travellers, with few details of how it would be enforced.
On Tuesday, the Conservatives asked the interim clerk of the Privy Council for an “immediate investigation” into the removal of an online government memo that seemed to contradict the Liberals’ policy on mandatory vaccinations.
Read more: Union criticizes party leaders’ promises to discipline unvaccinated government workers
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR Listen to the Decibel: Why the fourth COVID-19 wave is different.
Alberta’s three major universities announce COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirements for fall: The University of Calgary, University of Alberta, and University of Lethbridge jointly announced that they will require everyone stepping onto their campuses in September to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have to receive a negative rapid test results.
Sun Life to require COVID-19 vaccination for employees volunteering to return to office: Sun Life Financial Inc. has told its 12,000 Canadian employees they must receive COVID-19 vaccinations in order to return to offices in three major Canadian cities, making it one of the first federally regulated financial institutions to mandate immunizations for its staff.
Former Canadian trainers in Afghanistan disappointed as Taliban take control: The dire calls from Afghanistan keep buzzing retired major-general Dean Milner’s phone. Mostly, they come from an Afghan military official who’s in hiding as the Taliban sweep across the country.
Bridging Finance failed to account for bad loans: Numerous loans made by Bridging Finance Inc. over the past four years struggled to perform, yet the problems were not always reflected in the lender’s books, court documents allege, which allowed Bridging to collect substantial fees.
Ontario to offer third COVID-19 dose to high-risk populations: Ontario will become the first province to offer third doses of COVID-19 vaccines to immunocompromised people as it deals with a rise in cases despite high levels of vaccination.
MORNING MARKETS World shares steady: Global stocks and crude prices steadied on Wednesday as investors weighed the gradual opening of economies worldwide against rising cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was off 0.29 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.17 per cent and 0.34 per cent, respectively. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.59 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.47 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.23 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT What will the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan mean for global terrorism?
“The speed and decisiveness of the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan is a humanitarian, human rights and international counterterrorism disaster.” - Jessica Davis
The Taliban control Afghanistan once again. To understand the country’s future, we shouldn’t forget their past
“In the fifth year of Taliban rule over Afghanistan’s capital city, I persuaded their Culture Ministry to unlock the doors of the National Museum for me. Inside its dimly lit rooms, I found a horrifying sight.” - Geoffrey York
Erin O’Toole isn’t just fighting an election, but also members of his own party
“There may be no better example of the unique and difficult challenge Erin O’Toole faces as leader of the federal Conservative Party than his recently announced policy on mandatory vaccinations.” - Gary Mason
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON Open this photo in gallery
cartoon
Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER Lawn bowling: Good for you and ‘more fun than Sudoku’
“Mike O’Reilly first came across lawn bowling when the Calgary Lawn Bowling Club moved into his neighbourhood six years ago. He and many of his friends were in search of a new activity,” Kathy Kerr writes. “About to retire from his oil and gas industry job, Mr. O’Reilly quickly embraced the game and has been president of Calgary Lawn for the past four years.”
MOMENT IN TIME: Aug. 18, 2019 Open this photo in gallery
TOPSHOT - People look at the snow at the old glacier after a monument was unveiled at site of Okjokull, Iceland's first glacier lost to climate change in the west of Iceland on August 18, 2019.
JEREMIE RICHARD/AFP/Getty Images
The glacier melted, and hearts broke. Okjokull in western Iceland – once a majestic landmark covering up to 38 square kilometres – became the country’s first glacier lost to climate change. So, naturally, the nation held a funeral. On this day in 2019, about 100 mourners, including scientists and Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, gathered on a mountain overlooking the site to say goodbye. For many, it was a grim, visual reminder of global warming’s undeniable effects in a land famed (and named) for its icy landscape. Okjokull disappeared gradually through the 20th century, and officially lost its status as a glacier, declared dead, in 2014. Though the glacier is gone, left in its place is a bronze plaque inscribed with an ominous message: “In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path,” it states. “This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.” Cara McKenna
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