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politics briefing newsletter

Good morning,

France won its second World Cup after defeating Croatia 4-2 in Moscow yesterday. Beyond the pitch, however, the tournament was filled with a myriad of storylines of a decidedly political nature. The breakout star of the tournament, Kylian Mbappé, is the son of African immigrants. More than half of his teammates are either immigrants or come from families that recently immigrated to the country, and several are Muslims at a time when anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments are rising across Europe. Luka Modrić, the Croatian midfielder who was named the best player of the tournament, was a refugee as a child after the Croatian War of Independence. His teammate Domagoj Vida apologized after saying “Glory to Ukraine!” after defeating Russia in the quarter-finals; Russia invaded Crimea four years ago. The final itself was interrupted when anti-Kremlin protesters Pussy Riot invaded the pitch. Indeed, politics and soccer are inextricably intertwined. Don’t expect the storylines to fade any time soon. The 2022 World Cup is set to be held in Qatar amid swirling allegations of corruption. The 2026 World Cup? Canada, Mexico and the United States are hosting it together. All three NAFTA partners are engaged in a trade dispute.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Mayaz Alam and James Keller in Vancouver. If you’re reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Politics Briefing and all Globe newsletters here. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

TODAY’S HEADLINES

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are currently meeting in Helsinki, the latest stage in the former’s European tour. Mr. Trump’s trip has been filled with controversy thus far, as he has shaken long-time U.S. allies in NATO and the U.K. in his previous two stops. The leaders are expected to talk about Ukraine and the Middle East against the backdrop of an investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election to aid Mr. Trump.

A national pharmacare program will require a tax hike to fund it, according to former federal parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page. The federal government has tasked former Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins to assess the feasibility of a program, which the PBO estimates would result in savings of upwards of $4-billion a year.

Immigration critics from the Conservatives and NDP are calling on the Liberals to examine the issue of asylum seekers. The House of Commons immigration committee is set to have an emergency meeting today, during which Conservative critic Michelle Rempel will introduce a motion that asks the committee to “undertake a study to review the adequacy of the federal government’s response to the impact of increased asylum seekers crossing into Canada from the United States.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has fired Monique Smith, the province’s trade representative in Washington, according to an e-mail obtained by The Globe and Mail. The decision comes amid a time of great uncertainty on the trade front. Mr. Ford has also fired Ontario’s chief scientist and the premier’s business adviser.

The company behind the liquefied natural gas proposal on B.C.’s coast says it plans to hire a primarily Canadian work force, as it prepares to make a final decision about whether to proceed. The commitment from LNG Canada was outlined in briefing notes prepared for the current NDP government, which has made the LNG industry a priority.

A member of Alberta’s United Conservative Party, Prab Gill, has resigned following an investigation into allegations of voter irregularities at a constituency meeting.

A federal government study of the health of Alberta’s Wood Buffalo National Park – Canada’s largest national park – has found that nearly aspect of the environment is deteriorating. The report blames a mix of industry, climate change and natural cycles.

B.C.’s dental college has settled a complaint filed by a dentist who alleged the organization’s registrar made sexually inappropriate comments. The Globe has previously reported that an external review was highly critical of how the College of Dental Surgeons of B.C. handled the complaint against Jerome Marburg and recommended an apology to Rachel Staples. Mr. Marburg, who denies the allegations, has since resigned.

American farmers are worrying about their bottom lines as the brewing trade war between the U.S. and several countries threatens to close off their export markets.

The GRU, a Russian military intelligence service accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. election, may also have been responsible for the nerve agent attack against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain, according to British investigators.

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on Trudeau and Ford: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a provincial government in such open conflict with the federal government so quickly after taking power.”

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on the opioid crisis: “Given this literal death spiral, two decades in the making, of easy opioid prescriptions leading to a spike in addiction leading to a spike in fatal poisoning by tainted street drugs, a move to further monitor pharmaceutical marketing practices that have already been tamped down is the definition of too little, too late.”

Julia Rampen (The Globe and Mail) on Britain and the U.S.: “More sober members of the government note the Canada-EU trade deal has taken years to complete, a similar U.S.-EU deal seems all but dead and Mr. Trump is more interested in raising tariffs than reducing them. Yet, Brexiters still hold out hope for a Britain-U.S. trade deal.”

Adrienne Tanner (The Globe and Mail) on transit in Greater Vancouver: “Gas prices were astronomical before this 1.5-per-cent jump was proposed, a phenomenon that can only be partly explained by taxes. If this transit plan does not go ahead, all of us, including the extra million people projected to move to the region by 2030, will be mired in gridlock. No one enjoys watching the price dial spin as they fill up their gas tank. The only thing worse is being stuck on clogged roads with no sound transit alternatives.”

Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the B.C. Liberals: “Yes, governments taking over from a party that was in power as long as the Liberals always uncover a skeleton or two. But the mess the former administration left behind for its NDP successor to clean up is, on many levels, shocking in its scope and magnitude. And we’re discovering new things by the day.”

Annie Lowrey (The Globe and Mail) on a universal basic income: “It would give everyone the freedom to live their life, while also conveying a sense of communal investment in each and every person, through every stage of life, as well as in the public goods to help society more broadly thrive. In Ontario, it is a pilot helping up to 4,000 people. But globally, it is a movement about what society should do, for whom, and why, together”

Tom Rachman (The Globe and Mail) on Brexit: “Brexit is due in mere months, yet nobody knows what it’ll amount to – not the hapless crew that set it in motion, not the fretful citizenry, not the government itself, which appears more capable of collapse than of leadership.”

Tony Coulson (The Globe and Mail) on cannabis regulation: “The government should be careful that the particulars of its regulatory approach don’t undermine the policy objectives that caused it to propose legalization in the first place.”

Erica Lenti (The Globe and Mail) on sex-ed: “In a country lauded for its progress on queer issues, erasing LGBTQ communities from Ontario’s sex education is simply backward. Forget the political interests of social conservatives; we need to keep some of our province’s most marginalized children alive.”

Barrie McKenna (The Globe and Mail) on tariffs and tax cuts: “New research by economists at New York University’s Stern School of Business suggests that the Trump administration’s mix of import tariffs and tax breaks skewed to wealthier Americans will produce the worst of all outcomes for U.S. workers.” (for subscribers)

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