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The two-day event follows a weekend of military chaos in Russia and comes just ahead of the annual NATO leaders’ summit scheduled for mid-July in Lithuania.
The Nordic nations have all backed Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion.
Toronto votes on next mayor
Polls are set to open today as Toronto voters elect the next mayor of Canada’s most populous city, capping a hotly contested byelection campaign to replace scandal-departed John Tory.
It’s the second mayoral election for the city since October after Tory admitted to having an affair with a staffer and resigned just a few months into his third term.
A record 102 candidates lined up to replace him, with roughly a half-dozen names rising to the top of the field over the course of the 12-week campaign.
The next mayor will also inherit largely untested “strong mayor” powers, allowing them to pass budgets with just one-third of council support, veto bylaws and unilaterally shape the city’s top-level administration.
Race-based data could save lives
The authors of a commentary published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal are calling on provinces and territories to collect data on race and Indigenous identity when people apply for health cards or renew them as a way to address inequities in health care.
Kulpreet Singh of the South Asian Mental Health Association in British Columbia agrees and says generations of evidence show that systemic racism exists.
He notes that race-based data during the overdose crisis could have helped save lives through targeted interventions.
Nova Scotia collects race-based data through health cards, but Manitoba says patients are asked that information when they go to hospital.
Toronto celebrates Pride parade
Pride attendees danced and celebrated in the streets of Toronto, as Canada’s largest city enjoyed its largest Pride parade ever.
But, Pride Toronto says it spent twice as much money on policing for this year’s event than it did in 2022.
Attendees said the environment that makes extra security necessary also makes it all the more important to celebrate Pride and show solidarity with the L-G-B-T-Q-Plus community.
Here’s what we are also watching …
Disrespectful tourists could sour tragic anniversary
The town of Lac-Mégantic, Que. is urging tourists to be respectful after noting inappropriate behaviours in the run-up to the 10-year anniversary of the rail disaster that claimed 47 lives.
The municipality has asked a team of social workers to help business owners handle tourists who sometimes ask insensitive questions, and who have even occasionally tried to capture selfies with passing trains.
Almost two-thirds of the victims of the 2013 train derailment and explosion were inside the popular Musi-Café restaurant, which has seen an increase in visitors since a pair of TV series about the disaster aired earlier this year.
Wildfires could cancel Canada Day fireworks
The number of wildfires across Canada increased over the week, adding more smoke to the already cloudy and hazy skies above Ontario and Quebec.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre says there are 462 active fires burning across the country, and 237 of them are out of control.
Almost one-quarter of those fires are in Quebec, and Environment Canada warned wind patterns were causing smoke from some of those blazes to settle over the western part of the province as well as eastern Ontario.
The record-breaking fire season and a forecast for more hot, dry weather has some cities cancelling or reconsidering fireworks planned for Canada Day next weekend.
The Canadian Press
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