Pope Francis stops short of an apology Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. The Pope expressed pain over the discovery of unmarked graves at a Kamloops residential school after leading prayers in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, but stopped short of the apology that Indigenous people and politicians have called for. The Globe reports: “I am following with pain the news that arrives from Canada about the upsetting discovery of the remains of 215 children,” he said. “I join with the Canadian bishops and the entire Catholic Church in Canada in expressing my closeness to the Canadian people traumatized by the shocking news.” The Pope’s remarks came the day after he met separately with two high-ranking Canadian Cardinals, Michael Czerny and Marc Ouellet. As Undersecretary for Migrants and Refugees, Cardinal Czerny reports directly to the Pope and meets with him fairly often. Cardinal Ouellet, prefect for the Congregation of Bishops, meets with the Pope regularly. The church has been criticized for being more reluctant than other churches to take responsibility for its role in the system, and for failing to give access to some records that might help shed light on abuses. The archbishop of Toronto complained Sunday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's criticisms of the church were “unhelpful” and “not based on real facts.” War crime investigation: CBC is reporting that Canadian soldiers who saw videos depicting possible war crimes by Iraqi security forces are now being interviewed by military police investigators. Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre said Sunday he has ordered an investigation into how the Canadian Forces reacted when confronted with evidence of war crimes. The videos include multiple gruesome examples of the torture and execution of ISIS prisoners. Canadian trainers are said to have informed a commander, who told them not to look at any further videos and promised to raise it with the chain of command. Food fight in Alberta: Two of Jason Kenney's cabinet ministers publicly complained about a dinner Premier Jason Kenney held with three ministers on the patio that appeared to violate COVID rules. Culture Minister Leela Aheer and Social Services Minister Rajan Sawhney have spoken out about the controversy. "I am confused and, like you, extremely hurt, and I'm so sorry for any pain, anger, or frustration this may have caused you," Aheer said on Facebook. "All of us make mistakes, but this one is a big one." Kenney has said the dinner did not violate COVID rules. Lost year: Education disruption is the "shadow pandemic" that could eclipse the health crisis in its impact, writes Sarmishta Subramanian in Maclean's. It is not a burden that is borne equally. The effects of Canada’s inaction will be hardest on the least privileged. The schools problem posed by COVID is an enormous equity challenge. Canada fares comparatively well on equity in PISA rankings, and the language of equity is baked into our institutional conversations. Yet we have not done well on delivering equity in a critical time. In fact, the inequities already in the system are deepening. It’s not just the much-gossiped-about learning pods. We want jabs: Unlike in the U.S, where vaccine eagerness shifts along party lines, a new poll shows Canadians of all stripes broadly support getting the shot, Philippe J. Fournier writes in Maclean's: Nationally, 80 per cent of Canadians say they have either already received a first dose or intend to get the vaccine as soon as possible. When we break down the results of this question according to federal voting intentions, we notice that Liberal, BQ and NDP voters show eagerness towards the vaccine in similar proportions. Indeed, among Liberal voters, 87 per cent say they have already been vaccinated or intend to do so. We observe comparable results for the voters of the Bloc Québécois (84 per cent) and the New Democratic Party (83 per cent). Among Conservative and Green Party voters, this proportion drops to 73 per cent, which is admittedly a slightly lower proportion than voters of other parties, but it remains a modest difference. Fair play: Ottawa has approved a travel exemption to allow NHL teams to cross the Canada-U.S. border with a modified quarantine. Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino issued a "national interest" exemption to the league. "In addition to NHL's COVID Protocol, NHL players and personnel will have to abide by all local public health rules," Mendicino said in a statement. — Stephen Maher | 