Morning Update: Raptors drop Game 5; a call to sanction more Russians; Cirque’s quest to go public

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These are the top stories:

The NBA Finals are headed back to Oakland after the Raptors dropped a nail-biting Game 5

Fans sang O Canada to kick things off. Toronto’s Jurassic Park was bumping. Any chance at making history, though, will have to wait: The Raptors mounted a fourth-quarter push but couldn’t close things out on home court Monday, falling 106-105 to the Golden State Warriors.

With the win, the Warriors have narrowed the series gap to 3-2; Toronto has another chance to claim their first NBA title on the road on Thursday.

Warriors star Kevin Durant played for the first time in the series, scoring 11 points before leaving in the second quarter with an Achilles injury. He’s scheduled for an MRI today.

So what went wrong for the Raptors? Cathal Kelly says the bottom line was Golden State made shots – and Toronto didn’t. “This was a defeat, not a surrender. Those happen. Even when you’d prefer they didn’t.”

“The question now,” Kelly writes, “is not whether Toronto pooches it, but whether Golden State can keep up this sort of pace for eight more quarters. Because they probably have to win all of them. And when you are facing Leonard, that isn’t easy to do.”

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How a Canadian Crown corporation ended up financing a jet that became a symbol of South African corruption

In 2014, the Gupta family’s wealth and power were increasing, and they wanted to buy a luxury plane. So they turned to Bombardier, at a price tag of US$52-million. In early 2015, Export Development Canada, the federal government’s export credit agency, agreed to finance 80 per cent of the cost.

But there had already been scandals widely reported in the media involving the Guptas that revealed the family’s questionable ties to South Africa’s Zuma government. Still, EDC went ahead – and continued to provide loan backing on the jet until late 2017, long after all of South Africa’s major banks closed their Gupta accounts.

How did EDC’s vetting process break down? Subscribers can go here to read The Globe’s investigation.

Canada is being urged to sanction 16 Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin

Parliamentarians in Canada and international human-rights advocates say Ottawa should crack down on those who are complicit in a sixfold increase in the number of Russia’s political prisoners over the past four years.

A major new report says close to 300 people have been jailed by the Kremlin, and that Canada should hold the abusers accountable through its Magnitsky law.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says her government will study the report, saying Ottawa is “constantly reviewing our Magnitsky sanctions.”

A Nova Scotia Legion has been shuttered amid a homophobia complaint

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Jason McDonald says members at the Royal Canadian Legion in New Waterford called him “fruit,” “Tinker,” “queer” and worse because he is openly gay. They suggested if he were a “real man,” he would manage a higher darts score and told him that a “real woman would fix you.”

Those slurs prompted McDonald to file a discrimination complaint with the Legion, with the executive at his branch resigning in support of him.

McDonald’s case has prompted outrage from Legion members across the country who say they have had similar experiences but never came forward. “This is about the old guard and the new guard,” McDonald said. “It’s about what’s right and what’s wrong.”

The Legion “in no way condones any form of discrimination,” the president of its Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command said.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Andrew Scheer is rejecting the genocide finding from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The Conservative Leader said the ramifications of the term genocide “are very profound” and that the experiences of the women and girls are their “own tragedy. It does not fall into the category of genocide.”

A handful of Vancouver’s remaining illegal cannabis dispensaries are shutting down after losing a three-year court battle. But some of the owners still plan to offer cheaper and more varied products through unlicensed online avenues. (for subscribers)

Cirque du soleil could be going public, with the famed Montreal-based entertainment company making plans for a possible IPO as early as next year. While Cirque is based in Canada, a Texas-based private-equity fund holds a majority 55 per cent stake. Founder Guy Laliberté and Quebec’s pension fund manager each holds 10 per cent, while a Chinese fund manager owns the other 25 per cent. (for subscribers)

Hudson’s Bay could be going private, with its executive chairman leading a $1-billion proposal to help turn around the fortunes of the Toronto-based retailer. Richard Baker says he believes the company’s performance “requires significant time and patient long-term capital that is better suited in a private company context without the emphasis on short-term results and returns.”

European shares gained ground on Tuesday, with Germany’s car makers outperforming, as risk appetite held firm after the United States stepped back from imposing tariffs on Mexico. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.5 and 1.1 per cent by about 5 a.m. ET. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.8 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite 2.6 per cent. New York futures were up. The Canadian dollar was still enjoying its recent gains, holding at just below 75.5 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

This Pride month, we raise our flags for Indigenous peoples affected by colonial violence

Brian Eyolfson: “Through the residential school system and other colonial practices, the Canadian state forcibly altered Indigenous gender norms and imposed practices aimed at erasing and excluding accepted 2SLGBTQQIA identities, and cultural and spiritual roles. That distortion became internalized by many individuals, families and communities, and continues to have deep and damaging ramifications today.” Brian Eyolfson is a Commissioner, National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Without migration, there is no civilization

Aleksandar Hemon: “In the United States, where I still live, the current government cages migrant children; in the Mediterranean, boatloads of people drown daily; families march across Europe looking for a place where their children could be safe. Can what they call civilization be right if it doesn’t have the will and capacity to help strangers in need?” Aleksandar Hemon’s most recent book is My Parents: An Introduction/This Does Not Belong to You. (for subscribers)

If we’re going to save our oceans from plastics, we have to address where it all comes from

Dan Gardner: “By far the worst sources of plastic pollution are rivers whose basins are heavily populated with poor people who lack access to proper waste disposal. … I’ve never heard any Canadian politician talk about this, nor read a Canadian news story connect developing-world poverty with ocean plastics. Instead, we hear endless talk about stopping our kids from using plastic drinking straws and why we should feel guilty for drinking from plastic water bottles.” Dan Gardner is the author of Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear, and a principal at Tactix, an Ottawa consultancy.

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

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LIVING BETTER

Women are gleefully creating great films and TV shows about female relationships. Can it last?

From the friendship between two new friends (Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini) in Netflix series Dead to Me to the Olivia Wilde-directed high school coming-of-age flick Booksmart, women are finally talking to each other on large and small screens.

Still, statistics show that in 2018 fewer than 33 per cent of film protagonists were women. But columnist Johanna Schneller is hopeful: “While calling this a turning point is premature, I am feeling a shift in attitude. And that attitude is glee.”

MOMENT IN TIME

Royal York hotel opens

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June 11, 1929: The opening gala of the tallest hotel in the British Commonwealth drew the upper crust of Canadian society. It was the social event of the year. Guests lunched on filet mignon, Waldorf salad and a wildly popular sweet made of chestnut purée and custard cream, known as Nesselrode coupe. Toasts were made to the King, the Dominion of Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway – as the Royal York was its most grand railway hotel. In 1929, Toronto had never seen such a building: 28 floors, 1,048 rooms, 10 elevators, a 12-bed hospital, there were hand-painted ceilings, travertine marble columns, a bank and a radio station inside. Rooms had their own radios and private baths, and cost $2 a person. That night, Governor-General Viscount Willingdon was the first to sign the guest book, and many more bigwigs followed over the years, including world leaders and Hollywood A-listers. The hotel has become the residence of choice for the Royal Family during visits, and the 16th-floor royal suite can still be booked once its renovation is complete; the overhaul is part of the hotel’s recent multimillion dollar update for its 90th year. Now dwarfed by skyscrapers, rooms today start at $379 a night. – Catherine Dawson March

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