Evening Update: Ontario judge Mahmud Jamal nominated to Supreme Court

Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

Ontario judge Mahmud Jamal nominated to Supreme Court

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today nominated Mahmud Jamal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Jamal will be the first person of colour to sit on Canada’s highest court.

A long-time litigator, Jamal became a judge on the Ontario Court of Appeal two years ago. He’s also taught constitutional law at McGill University and administrative law at Osgoode Law School.

Jamal was born in Kenya and raised in England. He completed high school in Edmonton and then a bachelor of arts at the University of Toronto, before going on to study law at McGill and Yale University. He’s fluent in both English and French.

Jamal will fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court created by Rosalie Abella, who will retire on July 1.

Opinion: Canada’s Supreme Court already requires diversity. Why not racial diversity, too? - Janani Shanmuganathan, Richa Sandill and Annie Tayyab, contributors to The Globe and Mail

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Bruinen Investments in active talks to buy assets of MindGeek, including PornHub

The private equity firm, headed by former cannabis entrepreneur Chuck Rifici, is in ongoing talks to acquire significant assets of the controversial tech company MindGeek.

Though discussions are active, a deal is not guaranteed, according to two sources familiar with the situation. One source said the talks have been continuing for months. The Globe and Mail is not identifying these sources because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations.

MindGeek’s prime asset is PornHub, one of the world’s largest pornography sites. Last month, The Globe reported on how the mysterious owner of MindGeek was found living in a mansion in London.

Despite Ford’s pledge, Ontario LTC homes not required to install air conditioning in residents’ bedrooms

Last year, Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised to make air conditioning mandatory in nursing homes, including in residents’ bedrooms. However, his government gave construction contracts for new buildings that do not include cooling systems throughout.

Without air conditioning in bedrooms, residents are more vulnerable to dehydration and heat-related illness on hot summer days.

Ford pledged to make changes last year after COVID-19 hit long-term care homes hard. Next door in Quebec today, a coroner’s inquest heard about how a long-term care facility consistently gave morphine to elderly residents believed to have COVID-19 instead of attempting to prolong their lives.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Conservatives to boycott security oversight body created by Liberals: Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole wrote the Prime Minister a letter today saying his party won’t participate in the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians as long as the government refuses to provide uncensored records about the firing of scientists from Canada’s top infectious-disease lab.

Green Party Leader Annamie Paul asks party executives for “space to unify”: Paul also told the Prime Minister to “back off” in remarks today, after her party has gone through a particularly turbulent week. Today’s episode of The Decibel features a conversation with parliamentary reporter Marieke Walsh, who explains how the Greens got to this point and what could happen next.

Secret ‘Project Cactus’ campaign targeting Maxime Bernier was billed to Conservatives: The costs of the secret political war room, which was focused on discrediting Bernier and his People’s Party of Canada, were invoiced to the Conservative Party of Canada’s headquarters. Part of its purpose was to keep Bernier out of the national leaders’ debates during the past election.

Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics: The tennis star said he’s decided to sit out two of the biggest sporting events in 2021 in order to rest and recover. Nadal made the announcement today on social media.

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MARKET WATCH

Conviction in the strength of the economic recovery pushed investors into technology stocks today, driving the Nasdaq higher and propelling a 7.1-per-cent jump in shares of Canada’s tech superstar Shopify. But the TSX ended lower amid heavy losses in both the energy and materials sectors, which fell in reaction to a sharp increase in the U.S. dollar and the resulting dampening effect on commodity demand.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 210.22 points or 0.62 per cent to 33,823.45, the S&P 500 slipped 1.84 points or 0.062 per cent to 4,221.86, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 121.67 points or 0.87 per cent at 14,161.35.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 86.92 points or 0.43 per cent to 20,144.04.

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TALKING POINTS

Canada’s Greens self-destruct over Israel

“That a party born out of a goal to eliminate fossil fuels and nuclear power is tearing itself apart over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict says something about the self-delusion of the activists seeking to oust leader Annamie Paul on the eve of a federal election.” - Konrad Yakabuski

The retreat of North Americanism: Canadians and Americans keep moving further apart

“Continental consolidation isn’t as big a priority as it was before the century turned. Since that time, it’s become increasingly clear how different Canadians are.” - Lawrence Martin

Want Canada to Vax to the Max? Think bigger, and smaller, than a vaccine lottery

“Polling and experience suggest that a big chunk of those who have yet to be vaccinated are not vaccine hostile. They’re just busy, or having trouble figuring out how, when and where to get a shot. They need things to be easier, more convenient and more accessible.” - The Globe and Mail Editorial Board

LIVING BETTER

‘This is the show that deserved better’: Simu Liu talks Kim’s Convenience demise

Kim’s Convenience star Simu Liu said there’s a lesson to be learned from the way the popular Korean-Canadian family comedy ended, as well as his experiences on set.

He’s one of several cast members to speak publicly about being unhappy with the way producers ended the now-defunct CBC series. The show finished after its fifth season, because co-creators Ins Choi and Kevin White were moving onto other projects.

Liu spoke about the situation recently in a virtual chat with musician and actor Sook-Yin Lee at the Banff World Media Festival.

TODAY’S LONG READ

‘I walked into a building on fire’: NDP MP Qaqqaq speaks out about her experience in the House of Commons

Open this photo in gallery:

Mumilaaq Qaqqaq would give herself pep talks in the elevators at work. After the doors to the parliamentary elevators closed and she could be away from her fellow MPs, she said she’d often repeat three words to herself: I belong here. I belong here.

There were times when others tried to tell her she didn’t belong. She would be stopped in the hallways by security. People asked if she was someone’s assistant. Qaqqaq acknowledges she’s never really felt comfortable in the House of Commons.

On Tuesday, Qaqqaq gave a farewell speech in Parliament where she spoke directly about how alienating her experience in the House has been. She spoke about how she didn’t feel safe there, and that she had to go into “survival mode” at work.

Despite working to convince herself that she belonged, she said it was clear that Parliament was not a place for her.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this newsletter incorrectly spelled MindGeek. It has since been corrected.

Evening Update is written by Menaka Raman-Wilms. 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.