Fewer troops in Middle East and a childhood dream comes true; In The News for July 29

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of July 29 …

What we are watching in Canada … 

The announcement Tuesday of a public inquiry into the April mass shooting in Nova Scotia has transformed a protest march planned for today into an event to thank the public for its support.

Victims’ families originally planned a march to the legislature to condemn last week’s decision by Ottawa and the province to hold a joint review of the circumstances surrounding the rampage that killed 22 people.

The review originally announced would have been held behind closed doors, and its terms of reference said only the findings and recommendations would be made public.

The decision drew widespread condemnation from women’s groups, opposition parties, federal senators and legal scholars, and some Liberal MPs in the province broke ranks with the government to call for a full inquiry.

On Tuesday, provincial Justice Minister Mark Furey said his government would support a full public inquiry if Ottawa agreed, and within hours federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced a public inquiry with the power to compel witnesses to testify.

Nick Beaton, whose pregnant wife Kristen Beaton was murdered during the April 18-19 shootings, said today’s march to the legislature in Halifax will go forward, but the goal of the event has shifted.

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Also this …

Canada’s war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has quietly entered a new phase, resulting in plans to keep fewer troops in the Middle East even after the COVID-19 pandemic passes.

The Canadian Armed Forces has had up to 850 troops in the region in recent years, including hundreds of military trainers who have been teaching the basics of soldiering to Iraqi forces as part of the global fight against ISIL.

The military recalled about half the contingent to Canada in March as COVID-19 spread around the globe, forcing a halt to many military activities. The expectation at the time was that most would return once the threat receded.

But Brig.-Gen. Michael Wright, who as commander of Joint Task Force Impact oversees most of the Canadian military’s anti-ISIL efforts, says that won’t be the case after allied commanders determined the Iraqi military is now largely able to fight the militant group on its own.

“For Canada and a number of the other nations, some of the soldiers that were retrograded in March will not be coming back because there is no longer a requirement for them to do the more hands-on, tactical-level tasks that they were performing,” Wright said in an interview this week. 

The decision means the first permanent reduction in the Canadian military’s footprint since special forces soldiers arrived in October 2014 to help stop ISIL from taking control of Iraq and Syria.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

The Trump administration has started talks with the Oregon governor’s office and indicated that it would begin to draw down the presence of federal agents sent to quell two months of chaotic protests in Portland if the state stepped up its own enforcement, a senior White House official said Tuesday.

The senior administration official stressed to The Associated Press that the talks with the office of Democratic Gov. Kate Brown are in the early stages and there is no agreement. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Brown didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Just a day earlier, the U.S. Marshals Service and Department of Homeland Security were weighing whether to send in more agents. The marshals were taking steps to identify up to 100 additional personnel who could go in case they were needed to relieve or supplement the deputy marshals who work in Oregon, spokesman Drew Wade said.

Homeland Security was considering a similar measure with Customs and Border Protection agents, according to an administration official with direct knowledge of the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

President Donald Trump did not let up on criticizing local authorities in their handling of the protests over racial injustice that began after George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police and have grown to include the presence of federal agents in Portland and other Democratic cities.

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What we are watching elsewhere in the world …

Hundreds of people protested outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, pressing forward with a more than month-long campaign calling on the longtime leader to step down.

Public discontent with the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and resulting economic crisis has drawn thousands, including many young Israelis, to twice-weekly protests demanding Netanyahu resign from office while on trial for corruption.

Demonstrators chanted the slogan that has become the rallying cry of the protests against Netanyahu while he stands trial on corruption charges: “Capital! Regime! Underworld!”

Netanyahu is on trial for a series of cases in which he allegedly received lavish gifts from billionaire friends and traded regulatory favours with media moguls for more favourable coverage of himself and his family. The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing, accusing the media and law enforcement of a witch hunt to oust him from office, and has refused to leave office.

The protests against Netanyahu are the largest the country has seen since 2011’s rallies demanding for economic reform. While they have largely been peaceful, police have arrested dozens for public disturbance and have drawn charges of using excessive force against protesters.

In Tel Aviv, several hundred people waved Israeli flags and black flags — the symbol of the protest movement — at a demonstration outside Public Security Minister Amir Ohana’s apartment building.

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Today in 1938 …

ABC anchor Peter Jennings was born in Toronto. He was the sole anchor of ABC’s “World News Tonight” from 1983 until 2005. He died on Aug. 7, 2005, from complications of lung cancer.

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Canadian arts and culture …

OTTAWA — Jesse Wente, a prominent advocate for an increased presence of Indigenous voices in Canada’s cultural landscape, has been appointed chairperson of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Wente, an Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster and speaker, takes the role after years of involvement with the council, and at a tumultuous time for artists grappling with the fallout from efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In an interview Tuesday, Wente said he was thrilled and honoured by the appointment.

“It’s a very big obligation both for Canada, the broad Canadian public, but also I’m a First Nations guy and whenever we take on these leadership positions, there is an obligation back to the community,” he said.

In announcing the appointment, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said Wente is the first Indigenous chairperson of an organization within his federal portfolio.

Wente is a member of the Serpent River First Nation, and his years in the arts sector have included extensive work promoting and developing Indigenous culture, including being hired two years ago as the first executive director of the industry-led Indigenous Screen Office.

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ICYMI (In case you missed it) …

EDMONTON — A Canadian scientist says helping NASA with a mission to Mars to look for signs of life is the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

Chris Herd of the University of Alberta is one of the advisers on a Mars probe that is to pick up rocks on the red planet, study them, then seal them away to be picked up on a later mission.

Herd says Perseverance, the latest Mars rover, is being sent to an ancient lake bed on a theory that such spots are most likely to contain signs of life.

The Perseverance is to be launched Thursday.

Herd says he first began dreaming about working with rocks from Mars when he was 13 years old.

NASA plans to return to Mars to retrieve samples left by Perseverance in about a decade.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2020

The Canadian Press