Good morning. Ottawa’s push for major projects just delivered a new deal. More on that below, along with a big day in soccer politics and a strike notice at WestJet.
Programming note
There will be no newsletter on Monday, Aug. 3 as the team takes a break for the Civic Holiday (also known as Terry Fox Day, Heritage Day, or other names depending on where you live in the country). However, our website will be staffed throughout the long weekend so please visit us online. We’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday. Enjoy your long weekend. Open this photo in gallery:
Near Timmins, Ont., Canada Nickel is developing the Crawford project.Canada Nickel
TOP STORIES
Ottawa to approve nickel mine construction in Crawford
Two sources told The Globe and Mail that the federal government has given Canada Nickel Co. Inc. the go-ahead to build a new nickel mine in Northern Ontario. Crawford, located about 40 kilometres north of Timmins, contains the world’s second-largest nickel reserve, and is expected to be the biggest nickel mine in the Western world.
The context: The mine is part of the efforts to build major resource projects and counter the economic pain from Donald Trump’s trade war. Ottawa last November referred the mine to its Major Projects Office for regulatory fast-tracking.
The timeline: The approval will be formally announced today, the sources said. First production from the Crawford mine is expected in 2029.
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The NATO Defence Industry Forum at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7.Hussein Malla/The Canadian Press
Arrested NATO intern worked at federal agencies
A Canadian NATO intern arrested in Belgium is accused by prosecutors in that country of spying for China, a national-security source told The Globe and Mail.
The details: Since announcing the arrest of the intern on Saturday, Belgian authorities have not released the name of the woman, but the source identified her to The Globe as Biwei Zhang, who also goes by the name Claire Zhang. Public records and Zhang’s social-media profiles indicate that she has a history of working at federal agencies in Ottawa, including at the national space agency and Statistics Canada.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in New York on July 17.MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Soccer associations around the world reject FIFA stakes plan
European countries agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions to protest Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in soccer’s biggest tournament to private equity investors. The North American soccer body and Asia’s Football Confederation president rejected his plan as well.
The plan: Infantino’s secret project, revealed yesterday, would spin off FIFA’s commercial operations in a new subsidiary that would be 20 per cent owned by private investors. The core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Customers turning to frozen produce to avoid high prices
Canadians are increasingly turning to the freezer sections in an attempt to stretch their budgets, Loblaw Cos. chief executive officer Per Bank said during a conference call to discuss the company’s second-quarter results. The country’s largest grocer is benefiting from the trend, and plans to continue expanding its discount store footprint to win more customers away from its competitors.
For you: Barry Choi has been covering credit cards and loyalty programs for more than a decade. For The Globe, he ranked Canada’s grocery loyalty programs – and the top pick offers incredible flexibility.
WestJet flight attendants’ union issues strike notice
Major travel disruption could ensue this weekend if negotiations between WestJet and the union representing more than 4,000 flight attendants fail to make progress toward a new collective agreement. A work stoppage could begin as soon as Sunday at 12:01 a.m. MT.
The issues: CUPE and WestJet are at odds primarily over what flight attendants get paid before a plane departs the gate and after it has landed. That period of compensation during active-duty time is known as ground pay.
The Take
The hardball Canada has been bringing to negotiations is more of a fluffy pom-pom, tickling trade adviser Peter Navarro’s nose.
— Robyn Urback, current affairs columnist
Carney would rather concede to Trump than risk short-term economic pain, Robyn Urback writes.
The Shot
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The Big Red Bus from Cape Breton is one of 130 illustrations of Canadian roadside chip stands.Illustration by Chantal Bennett/Supplied
Illustrators (and married couple) Chantal Bennett and Joel Kimmel pay homage to a Canadian summer staple: the humble chip stand.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Ottawa announces nearly $3.35-million in new funding for groups supporting human-trafficking survivors as cases continue to rise steadily across Canada.
Abroad: Tehran strikes Kuwait and Jordan, which both host American troops, hours after the U.S. military said it completed “a heavy wave of strikes against Iran.”
Search efforts: Autism advocates say emergency alert systems for missing vulnerable people are needed after the death of a Calgary boy.
In court: Shen Yun organizers have filed for judicial review after the National Arts Centre called an indefinite halt to its shows, which had been featured there for almost two decades.
On the screen: A star-studded fight, a modern-day Odyssey and a crime drama from rapper 50 Cent. Amber Dowling has suggestions of what to watch this weekend.
In your glass: Canadians can now order alcohol from outside their home province, so our wine and spirits writer, Christopher Waters, has some suggestions.