Good evening, let’s start with today’s top story:
As wildfires ravage the Northwest Territories and inch closer to the capital Yellowknife, residents are evacuating the city and hundreds are lining up for flights to get to safety.
Flames are 16 kilometres from Yellowknife, officials said, and the fire will reach the outskirts of the city by Saturday unless it rains.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to convene an urgent meeting with ministers and senior officials to discuss the situation.
Follow The Globe and Mail’s live blog for all the developments from Yellowknife.
- Thousands of residents around West Kelowna, B.C., on evacuation alert as wildfire flares
- What you should know about wildfire evacuation orders, alerts, and how to prepare
- Marsha Lederman: Maui’s devastation is a loss for Hawaiians – and people around the world, too
Yellowknife residents leave the city on Highway 3, the only highway in or out of the community, after an evacuation order was given due to the proximity of a wildfire in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Aug. 16, 2023.PAT KANE/Reuters
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ford, others to build battery materials plant in Quebec: A consortium of Ford Motor Co. and South Korean companies announced plans today to build a $1.2-billion plant to produce electric vehicle battery materials in Becancour, Que., a town seeking to become an EV-supply-chain hub, Canada’s Industry Ministry said.
Canada mulling ‘game plan’ if U.S. takes far-right shift, Joly says: Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Ottawa is “working on scenarios” if the United States takes a far-right, authoritarian shift after next year’s presidential elections. Joly added that close political and economic ties with the U.S. means that city mayors, provincial premiers, the business community and unions must work together to “manage what could be a rather difficult situation.”
Supreme Court to hear appeal from airlines: Airlines are going to get their day in court. The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an appeal from several airlines, including Air Canada and Porter Airlines, looking to overturn rules that boost compensation to passengers for delayed flights or damaged luggage. The airlines argue Canada’s passenger rights charter violates global standards and should be invalid for international flights.
Canopy Growth to sell building back to Hershey Canada: Cannabis company Canopy Growth has sold its Smith Falls, Ont., facility back to the company that made it famous – Hershey. Canopy announced today that it signed a deal to sell the building back to the chocolate maker for $53-million.
Union refuses Metro’s request for mediator: The union representing around 3,700 employees has refused a request from grocery chain Metro to use a mediator in order to resolve a strike that has shuttered 27 stores in and around Toronto. Unifor says it will not return to the bargaining table until workers receive a better wage offer from the company.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index fell today to a six-week low, including declines for financial and technology shares, as the recent move higher in bond yields made stocks less attractive to investors. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 0.4 per cent at 19,812.23. The Canadian dollar weakened to its lowest level in more than two months against its U.S. counterpart. The loonie was trading at 73.83 U.S. cents.
On Wall Street, the main indexes closed lower as losses in healthcare stocks took over gains in energy stocks and strong economic data fed fears of interest rates remaining higher for longer. The S&P 500 lost 0.79 per cent to end at 4,369.74 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.18 per cent to 13,315.97, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.85 per cent to 34,469.88.
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TALKING POINTS
“Everyone needs a reality check. Homes aren’t guaranteed revenue generators, the middle-class expectation of owning a suburban house belongs increasingly to a bygone era and even so-called affordable places to live are priced beyond the reach of many. Most of all, politicians need to acknowledge these hard truths.” – Editorial
“Ms. Anand seems to have made the same mistake as Ms. Wilson-Raybould in taking her remit seriously, rather than just taking marching orders from the PMO. It takes a unique set of skills to survive in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, and independent thinking is not one of them.” – Konrad Yakabuski
LIVING BETTER
Your electric vehicle is a great way to power your home during a blackout
Many people are buying expensive generators or home solar and battery systems to power their homes as heat waves, intense storms and devastating floods put increasing strain on electricity grids. But those who own electric vehicles can light up their homes during a blackout by using the energy from their cars.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Service at Alchemist, a restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. The team at Alchemist plating the impression Tongue Kiss.Søren Gammelmark/Supplied
I ate a butterfly at a high-end Danish restaurant – and discovered what we’re all hungry for
I had butterflies in my stomach. Actually, just one butterfly. It tasted like kale.
Foodie culture is peculiar. This fascination with the tongue-firing messages at its brain, while beslobbered gobbets slip down your gullet on a conveyer belt acting of its own accord, consummating experience by confiscating it, such that you’re left thinking, “What was in that?” And, if you paid enough, “What did it mean?”
Copenhagen contains plenty of starry restaurants. But local gourmands kept mentioning one place: Alchemist. “It is the Star Trek of restaurants, going where no one has gone before,” a local foodie told me.
Reservation or not, I had to get in.
Read Tom Rachman’s full story.
Evening Update is written by Omair Quadri. 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.