Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Canada will not recognize Taliban government as group communicates softer line at news conference
Canada has no plans to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government following the group’s takeover of Kabul, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. “They have taken over and replaced a duly elected democratic government by force,” he said. On the other hand, China appears poised, alongside Russia, to be among the first major powers to recognize a Taliban-led government.
As of Tuesday, order had been restored at Kabul’s international airport following Monday’s deadly chaos as people tried to flee. With evacuation flights resuming, Trudeau confirmed that all Canadian diplomats have left Afghanistan – though questions remain about the government’s promise to help hundreds of former interpreters and their families still stuck in the country.
Meanwhile, the Taliban held a news conference to communicate a softer line compared with their rule 20 years ago. Their spokesperson said that they wanted peaceful relations with other countries, that they would respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law, and that private media could continue to operate freely and independently. The Taliban have also offered amnesty for former soldiers and members of the Western-backed government.
First person: I am a teen stuck in Afghanistan. And I am begging Canada for help
Opinion: What will the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan mean for global terrorism?
Editorial: Canada has one last Afghan mission
Explainer: The Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan again. How did we get here?
Today’s Decibel podcast: The Canadian effort to relocate Afghans
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Election 2021: Federal vaccine mandate enforcement
In an exclusive comment to the Globe, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said federal civil servants who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 should face the possibility of discipline or even be fired.
Meanwhile, the Liberals declined to explain how their vaccine mandate would be enforced and a memo that suggested people wouldn’t be forced to get their shots was removed from the government’s website.
The memo’s removal prompted the Conservatives to ask the interim clerk of the Privy Council for an “immediate investigation.” Conservatives would not implement a mandate and would instead require unvaccinated civil servants to take a daily COVID-19 rapid test.
Read more: Mail-in voting set to soar ahead amid COVID-19 concerns
Opinion: Erin O’Toole isn’t just fighting an election, but also members of his own party
Latest in COVID-19 developments
Quebec Premier Francois Legault says his government intends to make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for health-care workers. Legault says 90 per cent of health care workers in the province are already vaccinated but the remaining 10 per cent pose a risk to patients. Ontario will pause all further reopening, start offering third COVID-19 shots to vulnerable populations, and require health and education workers to get vaccinated against the virus or take regular tests. The measures are in response to the highly contagious Delta variant that has been driving a recent rise in infections. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) says those looking to access its sports facilities or restaurants will be required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result. MLSE owns the NHL’s Maple Leafs, NBA’s Raptors, CFL’s Argonauts and Toronto FC of MLS, among other teams, along with the facilities that are home to them. Nunavut has closed its travel bubble with the Northwest Territories after an increase in cases of COVID-19 to 34 over the last few days. That means unvaccinated travellers must isolate for 14 days in a Yellowknife isolation hotel before coming to Nunavut. New Zealand’s government took drastic action Tuesday by putting the entire nation in strict lockdown for at least three days after finding a single case of coronavirus infection in the community. ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Nova Scotia election: Nova Scotians began heading to the polls today following a midsummer election campaign, as voting hours were slightly extended in some polling stations. Liberal Leader Iain Rankin called the election on July 17, less than five months after he was sworn in as premier to replace Stephen McNeil.
Latest on the Winnipeg virus lab case: The Speaker of the House of Commons points to a decade-old dispute over records about Afghan detainees in arguing a current federal attempt to shield documents about two fired scientists should be tossed out of court. In a new submission to the Federal Court, Anthony Rota cites the 2010 controversy as a precedent to bolster his argument that the recent federal move is a violation of parliamentary privilege.
Green light for Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan: Australian mining giant BHP Group says it has approved $7.5-billion in capital spending to build its long-delayed Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan.
Ontario retroactively pays optometrists threatening to withdraw services: Ontario says it will immediately pay $39-million to the province’s optometrists to retroactively account for the increased costs of services funded by the government. The one-time payment comes after optometrists threatened to stop conducting eye exams covered by provincial heath insurance in September.
Tim Tebow’s NFL comeback is over: The Jacksonville Jaguars have waived Tim Tebow, parting with the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner who switched from quarterback to tight end in hopes of rejuvenating his pro football career.
MARKET WATCH
Major stock indexes slid and defensive investments posted gains amid fears about an uneven economic recovery in the United States and the continuing spread of the Delta coronavirus variant.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was unofficially down 119.83 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 20,363.59. Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 279.68 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 35,345.72, the S&P 500 lost 31.37 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 4,448.34 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 137.58 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 14,656.18.
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TALKING POINTS
Canada needs a new engagement strategy that opposes China’s thuggery
“Ottawa needs to adopt a more robust strategy to counter China’s attack on international law and norms, as well as its interference and spying activities in Canada. The electoral campaign offers an opportunity to ask political parties how they envisage future relations with China.” -Guy Saint-Jacques
The troubling Nazi-fication of COVID-19 discourse
“Next time you hear the claims of Nazi-like tyranny and oppression, think about what is really being said. Those who don’t want masks under any circumstances – those who not only want to refuse vaccines but prevent others from getting them – are actually the tyrants. Their use of Hitler images and analogies are not a caution, but an embrace, one we should call out, not dismiss casually.” -André Picard
LIVING BETTER
My greatest pandemic discovery has been finding the wild in the city
“And yet, I’m starting to realize that, like so many of us, I’ve changed. Deep in the ravines, beside storm sewers and up hardscrabble dirt tracks, in the shadow of towers and bridges and over rotten logs, I’ve seen the intimate architecture of the city. It’s like one of those cadavers with the skin peeled back that went on exhibition all over the world some years ago. Possibly gruesome but also fascinating and weirdly beautiful.” -Andrea Curtis
TODAY’S LONG READ
The Taliban control Afghanistan once again. To understand the country’s future, we shouldn’t forget its past
Open this photo in gallery
Taliban fighters posing on a hilltop near Jalalabad in October 2001.
TARIQ MAHMOOD/AFP/Getty Images
It was the spring of 2001: a few months before the attack on the World Trade Center, before the beginning of the “war on terror” and the two-decade-long U.S. military entanglement in Afghanistan, an entanglement that eventually drew Canada in too. The Taliban – the “students,” as they styled themselves – were remorselessly imposing their vision of a theocratic utopia. Buddhist and Persian “idols” were on the long list of banned items and so the cultural treasures were decreed for destruction.
Back then, the world knew little about the Taliban. Two decades later, ignorance cannot be an excuse for global indifference. The militant Islamist movement, with its harsh interpretation of sharia codes, has swept across the country as the U.S. military withdraws. On Sunday, it captured Kabul and won effective control of the country again.
These days, the Taliban claim to have changed. Some of their leaders offer a milder and more moderate image of themselves on women’s rights and other issues. But to understand the future of Afghanistan’s newly captured cities, there are lessons to be drawn from the strongest evidence we have from history: how the Taliban exercised power in Kabul during those years when they last governed the country. Read Geoffrey York’s full story here.
Evening Update is written by Ibnul Chowdhury. 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.