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Canada is being publicly named as one of the countries helping sustain the war in Yemen because of its arms deals with Saudi Arabia.

A panel of independent experts monitoring the war for the United Nations said in a report that Canada, along with the United States, Britain and France “continued their support of parties to the conflict including through arms transfers, thereby helping to perpetuate the conflict.”

Canadian shipments of military goods to Saudi Arabia hit a record high in 2019, almost entirely due to a $14-billion contract to sell light armoured vehicles to the kingdom.

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Workers search through debris at a warehouse, after it was reportedly hit in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition, in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on July, 2, 2020. - The Saudi-led military coalition confirmed it has launched a major operation against Yemen's Huthis and warned it would target the rebel leadership following missile and drone attacks on the kingdom. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images

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Trudeau promises ‘ambitious and responsible’ Throne Speech as some raise concerns over mounting federal debt

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this month’s Throne Speech will lay out an agenda that is both ambitious and responsible as he faces opposition pressure to scale down emergency COVID-19 spending.

The federal government’s decision to spend large amounts of money in the early days of the pandemic to help individuals and employers garnered broad support across the political spectrum. But that support is turning into criticism as the government prepares to unveil a second wave of stimulus spending in the Throne Speech.

The Prime Minister said he is “looking for the support of all parliamentarians” in rebuilding the economy and does not want to see a federal election, but added that is up to opposition parties when they have a chance to vote on the speech.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Lowry carries Raptors to a double overtime win: The Toronto Raptors staved off elimination Wednesday with a 125-122 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Kyle Lowry had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists while playing 53 minutes to help the Raps extend their stay in the NBA’s Orlando bubble while Norman Powell, in his most significant performance as a Raptor, had 23 points, most of them coming in overtime.

More coverage: Toronto Raptors did many things wrong, but still managed to force a Game 7

As a ‘Chernobyl child,’ Belarus’s opposition leader learned to speak for the vulnerable – and forged a friendship with a Nova Scotia professor: Long before Svetlana Tikhanovskaya became the face of the pro-democracy movement in Belarus, she emerged as the leader of a group of children suffering from the effects of the Chernobyl disaster who were brought by a charity to rural Ireland to give them a summer away from the radiation. Though just 10 years old, Sveta – as she was called in Ireland – became the group’s spokesperson, making friendships that last to this day including with a Nova Scotia professor who has been in contact with her during the uprising.

COVID-19 insurance issue has Canadian film and TV producers ‘running on fumes’: As the Toronto International Film Festival gets under way, the Canadian film industry is overshadowed by a crisis that industry leaders are calling “the most urgent issue on our plate” – COVID-19 production insurance. As insurance companies around the world write COVID-19 exclusions into their policies, effectively preventing productions from even starting, Canadian production companies are urging the federal government for help to make sure the country’s film sector doesn’t collapse.

Orca mother who mourned dead baby has given birth again: An endangered female orca that captured the world’s attention two years ago for steering her dead newborn around the Pacific Ocean for 17 days is back in the news for giving birth again. The whale, known as Tahlequah, was seen swimming alongside a new calf on Saturday, which researchers say is a hopeful sign for the endangered southern resident killer whale species.


MORNING MARKETS

World stocks struggle after tech reboot: The tech-led reboot of stock markets stalled in Europe on Thursday as traders pulled back to hear just how nervous the European Central Bank has become about the euro’s run-up in recent months. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.73 per cent just before 6 a.m. ET. Germany’s DAX was up 0.11 per cent while France’s CAC 40 slid 0.33 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.88 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.64 per cent. New York futures were lower. The Canadian dollar was trading at 76 US cents.


WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Konrad Yakabuski: “These duelling Conservative and Liberal economic plans could then set the stage for a fall federal election. If the Opposition does not vote down Mr. Trudeau’s government on the Throne Speech, the Prime Minister could choose to ask Julie Payette to dissolve Parliament – which helps explain why he has taken to heaping praise on the country’s otherwise besieged Governor-General. He will need her approval to call an election.”

David Shribman: “The danger to the President’s campaign is difficult to measure; he has survived such contretemps before, including the release of a videotape during the 2016 campaign in which he spoke of grabbing women’s genitals and, because of his celebrity, said he had the ability to “do anything” with women. The Democrats surely will exploit the President’s private description of the coronavirus as “deadly stuff” at the very time he was minimizing its threat in public and suggesting it would disappear swiftly and effortlessly. “I wanted to always play it down,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Woodward.

Rita Trichur: “That so many mothers contemplated dropping out of the work force just as the economy opened up is nothing short of a social failing. If a second wave of COVID-19 infections does materialize this fall, and women start leaving their jobs in droves because of a lack of affordable child care, it would derail Canada’s economic recovery.”

Bruce MacLellan and Ethan Teclu: “If employers want to safeguard the future of the Canadian work force, it is time to step up for our students for the long term. And as we reflect on several systemic issues that are fuelling current inequalities, let’s include unpaid student interns on that list. It’s an unfortunate reality that this practice happens all too often in many of our largest corporations and most respected organizations.”

The Editorial Board: “It’s not yet known exactly what will be in the Sept. 23 Throne Speech, but the Trudeau government has been hinting at ambitious new programs, powered by big new spending. So how can voters judge whether what the Liberals are proposing is unaffordable and unwise, or sustainable and sensible? Start with three simple questions.”


TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

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Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail


LIVING BETTER

TIFF 2020: What is the Toronto film festival without a boatload of Oscar hopefuls? We’re about to find out

If you want to know which films movie-goers and critics will be talking about leading into Oscars season, the Toronto International Film Festival is your first place to start. TIFF has long been the starting line of the Oscars race. But, like it has with everything else, the COVID-19 pandemic erased any sense of movie-industry normalcy, leaving festival organizers to wonder what it all means for TIFF.

More from The Globe’s TIFF 2020 coverage: No Ordinary Man presents an overdue look at the extraordinary life of jazz legend Billy Tipton


MOMENT IN TIME: SEPTEMBER 10, 1984

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Jeopardy! (syndicated) TV show (1984 - 2010). Shown: studio set with host Alex Trebek and contestants.King World Productions / Photofest

First episode of daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek as host

The popular trivia game show Jeopardy! didn’t always feature the beloved Alex Trebek as host. The show was invented by NBC television producer Merv Griffin in the 1960s, on the heels of several wildly popular game shows in the 1950s. Originally titled What’s the Question?, the show’s concept spun the traditional question-and-answer format on its head. The earliest incarnation of Jeopardy! debuted in 1964 with host Art Fleming.

That version ran for nearly a decade before it was cancelled in 1975. In 1978, producers attempted to revive it. The All-New Jeopardy! ran until 1979, with Fleming back as host.

But five years later, on Sept. 10, 1984, a new version of the show emerged with a brand new host – Alex Trebek. The native of Sudbury, Ont., had been a radio announcer and reporter for the CBC before moving to U.S. television in 1974.

The version starring Trebek took off, and has maintained popularity to this day with more than 8,000 episodes aired. Cherise Seucharan

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