Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Lytton wildfire: Coroners head to region to probe deaths of two people
Coroners are travelling to a safe zone near Lytton, B.C., today to investigate the deaths of two people during a fire that engulfed the town on Wednesday evening amid a record heat wave in the region.
Other residents remain unaccounted for, as friends and family continue to search for loved ones by social media and other means.
Yesterday, provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth couldn’t say how many people remained missing do to the chaotic nature of the evacuation.
The fast-moving flames forced roughly 1,000 residents to flee the village with no time to pack. Video footage of the fire shows homes, businesses and vehicles aflame. Pictures of the aftermath depict a town in ruins.
Read more: Western Canada’s deadly heat wave is driven by climate change. Will it be a wake-up call?
Opinion: Lytton, B.C., has burned to the ground. And the rest of us need to understand that anyone’s home could be next - John Vaillant
Watch: Fire destroys B.C. town after days of record heat
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In COVID-19-related developments: Masks, border crossings and more
On Canada Day, most people in British Columbia and Alberta were allowed to leave their homes without a mask for the first time in months, as orders mandating face coverings inside public spaces were lifted. The same thing will happen in Saskatchewan on July 11.
But some infectious disease experts say Western Canada is relaxing mask rules too soon because the more-contagious Delta variant is spreading across the country before many have received their second dose of vaccine.
The Canada Border Services Agency is putting would-be travellers on notice: If you’re not eligible to enter the country now, you won’t be on Monday, as preliminary easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions take effect.
Starting Monday, eligible Canadian travellers who are fully vaccinated and have negative COVID-19 test results and symptoms will be able to enter Canada without having to go through mandatory hotel stays and home quarantines. While non-essential business travel may soon be in the cards, Canadian companies are rethinking business travel - and for some, much of it is no longer necessary.
Read more:
Health Canada updates product labels for mRNA vaccines to include heart inflammation as potential side effect West Edmonton Mall back to business as Alberta lifts all COVID-19 restrictions As a return to “normal” seems achievable, adjustment disorders are the elephant in the room ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY
Death toll rises at Miami condo: Remains of two more people have been found at the site of a partly collapsed oceanfront condo building in Florida, raising the death toll to 20 people - including the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter - with 128 still missing. State officials are working on plans to tear down what’s left of the building after concerns about the structure’s instability prompted a 15-hour halt to the search for survivors.
Toronto office killed, another injured: Constable Jeffrey Northrup, a veteran Toronto police officer, has died after he was struck by a vehicle in “an intentional and deliberate act” that left another officer injured. Interim police Chief James Ramer said he was killed early this morning in the parking garage at Toronto City Hall after responding to a 911 call for a robbery in progress.
Queens’ statues pulled down: Protesters toppled statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth in Winnipeg on Canada Day yesterday, as anger grows over the discovery of the remains of hundreds of children in unmarked graves at former Indigenous schools.
Stanley Cup finals tonight: The puck drops at 8 p.m. EDT in Montreal for Game 3 in the series that sees the Canadiens down 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Habs should get a boost from playing at home. But what they really need now a little more sports magic, columnist Cathal Kelly writes. Still, their playoff run has been a boon for Montreal bars and eaters emerging from pandemic restrictions. Check back later tonight at GlobeSports.com for the score and highlights.
U.S. sprinter suspended for cannabis: Sha’Carri Richardson, expected to be one of the biggest draws at the Tokyo Olympics, will miss the 100 metres at the Games after accepting a one-month ban for testing positive for cannabis during her U.S. trials victory in June. Subscribe to our Olympics newsletter: Tokyo Olympics Update features original stories from Globe reporters in Canada and Tokyo, will track Team Canada’s medal wins, and looks at past Olympic moments from iconic performances.
MARKET WATCH
Global stock markets rose today on a better-than-expected U.S. monthly jobs report that signaled the world’s largest economy ended the second quarter with strong growth momentum, while U.S. bond prices fell on investor worries over the Federal Reserve’s response.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 152.82 points or 0.44 per cent to 34,786.35, the S&P 500 gained 32.40 points or 0.75 per cent to 4,352.34 and the Nasdaq Composite added 116.95 points or 0.81 per cent to end at 14,639.33.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 60.53 points or 0.3 per cent to 20,226.11.
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TALKING POINTS
The Liberals are riding high in the polls. That could be a double-edged sword
“Fresh mandate? That was supposed to be what last summer’s prorogation of Parliament was all about. Remember? The Throne Speech? That ‘generational’ budget?” - Andrew Coyne
Liberals can now count two big successes that will politically outweigh many pandemic mistakes
“They rushed out cheques when incomes and the economy were crashing in the first wave. And in the end, they are getting vaccines to the bulk of the population faster than most countries.” - Campbell Clark
Disappeared children leave a hole in the soul of a family
“My cousins’ disappearances and deaths happened at the same time as many of the ones that have just been discovered, but they didn’t die in Canadian residential schools that targeted Indigenous families. All three died in Europe in 1944, during a different cultural and physical genocide.” - Peter W. Klein, executive director, Global Reporting Centre
TODAY’S LONG READ
After 16 seasons, CBC Music moves on from Randy Bachman – but there may be life in Vinyl Tap yet
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Soon after industry veteran Steve Jordan took over as senior director of CBC Music, he made a phone call to Randy Bachman. “I thought he was going to offer me a multiyear contract,” said the musician and long-time Vinyl Tap host on the network. Instead, he was told his show would be cancelled following the 2021 season, after 16 years on the air.
Bachman told The Globe and Mail this week he was “stunned” at the news. He should not have been. Bachman’s preference for nostalgic rock and mainstream pop would seem to be out of step with other CBC Music and Radio One programming.
“The main reason we cancelled Vinyl Tap is to get some new voices on the air and also to cover some musical ground,” Jordan, formerly the executive director of the Polaris Music Prize, told The Globe. Since its inception in 2005, Vinyl Tap has tended to feature classic radio sounds, supplemented by backstage stories and upbeat musicology told by the chatty veteran musician of Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive fame. Read Brad Wheeler’s full story here.
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