Feds to step in on Muskrat Falls Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. The CBC reported Tuesday that Justin Trudeau will today announce a multi-billion-dollar deal with Newfoundland and Labrador to restructure the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project. Source say Ottawa will buy an equity stake in the project and guarantee more of its debt to reduce borrowing costs and help keep electricity prices low. Negotiations were continuing with the aim of finalizing the agreement in the hours before Trudeau arrives in the province. The 824-megawatt hydro project in central Labrador has been plagued by delays, cost overruns and political controversy in the decade since it was first announced. The enormous debt of the out-of-control project threatened to worsen the provincial government's already weak financial position and force it to find hundreds of millions of dollars a year to subsidize electricity rates. Without this new arrangement, electricity rates would have jumped by 75 per cent to cover the project's costs. Sources say the financial relief in the agreement will allow the province to avoid those catastrophic rate increases—though it won't completely offset the need for rates to rise over time. Border strike looms: The union representing border services officers announced Tuesday it may strike as soon as Aug. 6, three days before the border to the U.S. is to open, CP reports. The union warns that the ongoing labour dispute could cause a significant disruption to the flow of goods, services and people entering Canada because traffic at borders may be slowed, while mail and the collection of duties and taxes will be impacted. CBSA spokesperson Judith Gadbois-St-Cyr said in an emailed statement that 90 per cent of border services officers have been identified as essential and will continue to work at their jobs. She added that the agency "will respond quickly to any job action/work disruption in order to maintain the safety and security of our border." Trudeau pushes N.B. on abortion: The PM said in Moncton Tuesday that his government will push New Brunswick to fund abortions at a Fredericton clinic, but exaggerated the financial penalty he's already imposed on the province, CBC reports . Trudeau said his government withheld "millions of dollars in health transfers" in this year's federal budget to punish New Brunswick, but within minutes his press secretary clarified the actual amount withheld this year was $140,216. Last week Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the federal government would have "more to say specifically in the coming days" about the issue. Blaine Higgs says by providing abortion services in three hospitals it is meeting the requirements for access under the Canada Health Act. Trudeau knocks Habs: At the same news conference in Moncton, Trudeau criticized the Montreal Canadiens’ selection of scandal-hit London Knights prospect Logan Mailloux on Tuesday, the London Free Press reports: “As a lifelong Habs fan, I have to say, I’m deeply disappointed by the decision. I think they have a lot of explaining to do to Montrealers and to fans right across the country.” Mailloux, 18, was fined this winter in Sweden for sharing with teammates the intimate image of a woman without her consent. Sponsors, like St. Hubert, are also criticizing the team for drafting him. Enough vaccines: Trudeau also said Tuesday that there are now enough vaccines to fully vaccinate all eligible Canadians, CP reports. To date, about 80 per cent of those eligible for vaccination—people over the age of 12—have received one dose, and about 64 per cent are fully vaccinated. In a swing to PEI, Trudeau announced that province is the third to sign on to a new child-care deal. Arming the Saudis: The Globe reported Tuesday that Ottawa last year approved a deal with Canadian business connections for the sale of nearly $74-million of weapons to Saudi Arabia. Ottawa issued a brokering permit for the deal. Human-rights groups and Western political leaders—including the European Parliament—have urged a freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of its role in the war in neighbouring Yemen. Kelsey Gallagher, a researcher with Project Ploughshares, worried “Canada could be facilitating the transfer of military explosives to a country that frequently breaches international humanitarian law.” Painful memories: Writing in Maclean's, Lindsay Jones has a sad and thoughtful feature on the search for graves at the Shubenacadie Residential School in Nova Scotia, which is stirring painful memories for former students. As the survey work began, other survivors and community members drove up the gravel route known as Indian School Road to pay tribute and make tobacco offerings. They passed a makeshift monument to the Kamloops graves—orange ribbons tied to trees and stuffed animals secured to the guard rail—up to the hill where the brick school once loomed over the landscape. Alan Knockwood was there to stand in solidarity and offer support. A former U.S. Navy medic and foster-father to 44 children over his life, Knockwood is a pipe carrier, a sacred role that involves calling in spirits for a ceremony, healing or teaching. His Aunt Isabelle’s poignant account corroborated stories he’d already heard. Sharing it, as she did with him, helps Knockwood let it go. “You can’t hang onto that kind of horrible thing if you want to heal,” he says. “You can drop it and let the creator take care of it.” — Stephen Maher | 
