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As thousands are still trying to flee Afghanistan in a chaotic exodus a week after the Taliban takeover, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says Canadian special forces have been given the “flexibility” to rescue Canadians, Afghan interpreters and support staff and bring them into the Kabul airport and onto evacuation flights.
The announcement comes as the United States, which has carried out some helicopter rescue operations to bring people to the airport, has received criticism for refusing to send U.S. troops outside the airport perimeter even though British and French special forces have carried out rescue missions in Kabul.
More on Afghanistan
Crush at Kabul airport kills seven as Afghans try to flee
Fearing reprisals, Afghans rush to scrub digital presence after Taliban takeover
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A Canadian Armed Forces Medic assists Afghan refugees who supported Canada’s mission in Afghanistan disembarking a CC-150 Polaris aircraft at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada August 13, 2021. Picture taken August 13, 2021. Cpl Rachael Allen/Canadian Forces Combat Camera/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
CPL RACHAEL ALLEN/DND/Reuters
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Yukon First Nations’ first-ever school board sets high hopes for a new kind of learning this year
It’s been just over a year since the Yukon First Nation Education Directorate set out to close the gap between Indigenous and settler students in the territory.
It was launched in response to two damning auditor-general reports, in 2009 and 2019, which found Yukon’s education department still has not addressed “long-standing gaps in student outcomes between First Nations and other Yukon students,” and has already supported more than 1,000 parents, teachers and students.
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Thanks to the directorate, First Nation advocates hold culture camps at Jack Hulland Elementary School in Whitehorse, where students learn to filet Arctic char, sit in a canvas-wall tent listening to elders explain the life cycle of salmon and munch on freshly fried bannock around a fire.
Nova Scotia Court of Appeal rules to consider history of racism, marginalization in cases
The sentencing of Black offenders in Canada is on the verge of a dramatic change after Nova Scotia’s top court ruled that, as with Indigenous offenders, trial judges need to consider the history of racism and marginalization that shaped them, and do their utmost not to put them behind bars where appropriate.
Chief Justice Anne Derrick wrote in the ruling that “the moral culpability of an African Nova Scotian offender has to be assessed in the context of historic factors and systemic racism.”
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR Tensions over short-term rentals on PEI: Affordable housing is in short supply on Prince Edward Island, and the return of tourists has increased pressure on the rental housing market. The Globe’s Greg Mercer spoke with Chris Boyles, who is living in a camping trailer at a campground in Cavendish with his wife and five children after being evicted from their home in July.
After Biden’s very, very bad week, the crises just keep on coming: From Afghanistan, to COVID-19 and the Delta variant, flooding in Tennessee, and Tropical Storm Henri causing wind and rain in New York and New England, Biden has had a tough week, writes David Shribman.
O’Toole promises more rehab spaces to combat opioid crisis: During a campaign stop at an addiction-treatment centre in New Westminster B.C., Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said that the current federal policy needs revisions “to make recovery its overarching goal.”
How Indigenous-led agriculture can have an impact on Canada’s climate crisis: Heirloom seeds act as a beacon of hope amid an uncertain future in B.C.’s Peace River region.
Irked by no-shows, Vancouver restaurants eye prepaid reservations to stay afloat amid pandemic: No-shows were a problem for restaurants before the pandemic. Now, faced with higher stakes for lost revenue, some restaurants are asking guests to put some money down in advance of their dining experience, and it’s working.
Maverick Party hopes to make election headway in Alberta: Part of a broader splintering of Conservative support in the West, the Maverick Party was granted registered-party status just last week and was “created with the belief that national parties that must win votes in central Canada will never, once in government, give more than lip service to economic and political issues important to people in many areas of the West,” writes Kelly Cryderman.
MORNING MARKETS Stocks gain: European stocks opened higher and risk appetite in global markets increased on Monday, but worries about the COVID-19 Delta variant hampering economic growth persisted as investors weighed the possible timeline for tapering monetary stimulus. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.39 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.06 per cent and 0.69 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended up 1.78 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.05 per cent. New York futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 78.50 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT The election campaign is shaping up to be shapeless – and that should scare Trudeau
“Mr. Trudeau still hasn’t framed the election. He hasn’t provided a focused answer to the basic question raised by calling an election: What is this all about?” - Campbell Clark
Can Elections Canada keep up with democracy?
“Active democratic citizenship should not be a quadrennial exercise. It should be a national imperative with dedicated daily attention, a robust budget, and an official mandate.” - Peter MacLeod, Richard Johnson
The Conservative climate plan isn’t half bad. But the Liberal plan is better
“The two parties’ approaches are similar in several areas, but the Liberal road map is more ambitious, and its emphasis on carbon pricing makes it the surer bet.” - The Globe Editorial Board
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON Open this photo in gallery
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER Foods to include in an asthma-friendly diet
Asthma affects 11 per cent of Canadians, and mounting evidence suggests that the food those with the chronic condition eat can affect how bad the symptoms are.
Leslie Beck writes that there is no specific “asthma diet,” but things like fruits and vegetables, vitamin-E rich foods, fish and vitamin-D can help.
MOMENT IN TIME: 1990 Tire fire
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Fire fighters battle the mountain of burning tires in Hagersville, about 40 kilometres south of Hamilton, Ontario, February 12, 1990.
EDWARD REGAN/The Globe and Mail
As industrial fires go, tire fires are among the most insidious (one in Wales burned for 15 years). They burn hot, are difficult to extinguish and emit thick, black plumes of smoke that can contain toxic chemicals such as cyanide, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide. In February, 1990, Globe and Mail photographer Edward Regan captured firefighters in action at a tire fire on a site about the size of 18 football fields near Hagersville, Ont., 45 kilometres southwest of Hamilton. The blaze, later confirmed to have been set by arsonists, started in a pile of about 14 million scrap tires that were owned by Tyre King’s Ed Straza, who had wanted to recycle them. The fire burned for 17 days and forced about 4,000 people to evacuate the surrounding communities. It took about 250 firefighters, a couple of water bombers and about $15-million to extinguish. - Philip King
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