The ‘Summer of Summer’ and other big stories this week

The federal government’s consultation process on tariffs for Chinese-made electric vehicles ended this week, tensions rose in the Middle-East, and Canada’s Summer McIntosh continued her dominance at Paris 2024.
Here are the top stories this week.
The ‘Summer of Summer’
Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh is entering the Olympic record books after winning gold on Thursday in the women’s 200-metre butterfly with a time of 2:03:03.
The 17-year-old started off the race among the top-three swimmers, trailing behind China’s Zhang Yufei, but as the event wore on, McIntosh took the lead. In the end, McIntosh came in first with Regan Smith of the U.S. taking silver and China taking bronze.
It’s not just a record in the event that McIntosh is taking home either; she joins Canadians George Hodgson in 1912 and Alex Baumann in 1984 as the only three Canadian swimmers to achieve double gold at an Olympic Games and the only female swimmer from Canada to do so.
 
This is the peak age of an Olympian track and field athlete, research shows
In the quest to understand the pinnacle of human athletic performance, researchers at the University of Waterloo have delved into decades of Olympic data, uncovering a surprising trend among the world’s top track and field athletes.
The study, published in the July 2024 issue of the Royal Statistical Society’s Significance Journal, found the median peak age for Olympic track and field athletes.
 
Canada women’s soccer coach said spying for ‘scouting’ was normal in email
The now-suspended head coach of the Canadian women’s soccer team said in an email last year that “spying” on opponents “can be the difference between winning and losing” and suggested other teams practise it — including the Canadian men’s team.
The email from Bev Priestman was part of an exchange submitted to FIFA by Canada Soccer during disciplinary proceedings after an analyst from the women’s team used a drone to spy on New Zealand’s practice session ahead of a matchup at the Paris Olympics last week.
The incident plunged Canada Soccer into a growing ethics scandal in the middle of the Summer Games. What now?
Questions on Freeland’s future are ‘whispers in the shadows’: Liberal MP
A Liberal MP dismissed recent media reports that Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland could be on her way out politically, calling speculation her job may be in jeopardy “whispers in the shadows.”
James Maloney, who represents a riding in west Toronto, defended Freeland at a news conference Monday where she was asked by reporters about her political future.
“These whispers in the shadows — and that’s what they are — take them for what they’re worth. It’s like listening to talk radio, sports radio,” Maloney said.
 
Obama 2.0? How Kamala Harris’s social media strategy is shaping her campaign
Will the #KHive pave the road to the White House for Kamala Harris? Or will the coconut tree come tumbling down?
Immediately after U.S. President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid and endorsed his vice-president to replace him as the Democratic nominee, social media users — particularly young people and people of colour — sprang into action.
From “Kamala IS brat” to coconut emojis, memes and everything in between, the past week has shown the power of organic social media movements in politics.
Here’s how the Harris campaign has leaned right into it.
 
Canadian seniors getting a top-up to old age benefits
Benefit payments for Canadian seniors have gone up slightly in a scheduled increase as retirement is “becoming unaffordable” for many in the country.
July amounts of the Old Age Security (OAS) benefits increased by 2.8 per cent compared with the previous year after adjusting for inflation.
For the July to September period, OAS benefits are rising by 0.7 per cent, according to the government.
The OAS pension amount is based on a person’s age, how long they’ve lived in Canada as an adult, and their income. Here’s how much that translates to.
 
Liberal plan for 30-year mortgage amortizations kicks in. Here’s who qualifies
Some Canadians looking to break into the housing market are now able to get 30-year mortgages, a bid from the Liberal government to make owning a home feel more affordable.
Experts who spoke to Global News say that while some homebuyers are likely to see their borrowing power increase because of the new regime, the overall impact on housing affordability is likely to be limited.
Poll shows a third of Canadians use AI to manage finances. Should they?
Younger Canadians in particular are turning to artificial intelligence to shape their finances, a survey released this week shows.
Experts tell Global News there are many tasks that AI is well-equipped to handle when it comes to making money decisions, but there are limits to how Canadians ought to rely on the evolving tech.
Ottawa’s consultation for tariffs on Chinese EVs ends. What comes next?
In June, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters that the federal government was concerned by “unfair” Chinese trade practices in the electric vehicle manufacturing sector. Freeland announced the start of a consultation process, which ends on Thursday.
While it is unclear when the results of the consultation will be made public, some experts say one outcome is most likely: increased tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
 
The loonie is faltering. Here’s why the U.S. Fed might provide a lift
Canadians may have noticed the value of their dollar dwindling ever since the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate cut last week.
But it’s a decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve coming up this week that could have more of a say in whether the loonie holds pat for the rest of the summer.
 
Capital gains changes will bring in billions — but less than Ottawa expects: PBO
Contentious changes to how capital gains are taxed in Canada will bring in billions less in revenue for the government than Ottawa was expecting when it tabled the 2024 federal budget, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
The PBO on Thursday tabled a probe of Liberal measures to hike the inclusion rate on capital gains taxes.
The fiscal watchdog expects that, over the five-year planning horizon in the budget, the government will yield an extra $17.4 billion in tax revenues thanks to the changes.
That’s below the $19.4 billion in revenues the Liberals had forecast in the budget in April.
 
CRA says 2M Canadians invited for automatic tax filing pilot this year
Automatic tax filing services have opened up to thousands of more Canadians as part of a national pilot project.
The Canada Revenue Agency said in a news release on Tuesday that more than 500,000 eligible Canadians were invited in July to file their 2023 tax returns by phone, online or by mail using the agency’s SimpleFile services.
The national pilot program, which was included in the 2024 federal budget, is to help low-income Canadians who have never filed a tax return or who have a gap in their filing history.
 
Canada has more than 100K short-term rentals that could be housing: report
The number of short-term rentals in Canada has grown sharply since 2017, with units that could be considered usable for long-term housing growing even faster, a new Statistics Canada report said on Tuesday.
According to the report, the total number of short-term rental units in Canada grew by 60 per cent between 2017 and 2023. The number of units considered “potential long-term dwellings” (PLTDs) — or units that could be long-term housing — rose by 80 per cent.
More airlines are cancelling flights to Israel amid rising tensions
Amid ongoing tensions in Israel, more airlines are cancelling flights, with some offering travel credits or refunds as a result.
Some of the cancellations come amid concerns by diplomats that an escalation into all-out regional war could occur after recent Israeli strikes that military officials say killed senior Hamas leaders, and fears of violent retaliation.
 
Russia frees Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich in major prisoner swap with West
Canadian-born ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich were among 16 prisoners freed by Russia on Thursday after the U.S. and Moscow secured their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history.
Eight prisoners were returned to Russia, including people convicted of serious crimes in the West, in exchange for other journalists and dissidents the West said were unjustly held by Moscow on false charges.
 
Canada and other Western nations urge citizens to leave Lebanon now
Canada is on a growing list of Western governments urging their citizens to leave Lebanon or avoid travelling there, as fears rise that escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah could spiral into war.
“There is no evacuation operation underway for Canadians currently in Lebanon and you should not rely on the Government of Canada for any future assisted departures or evacuation,” said Global Affairs Canada in an email sent to Canadians registered in Lebanon.
The vanishing flu strain: Why Canada’s seasonal vaccine is changing
A strain of seasonal influenza has completely vanished globally since March 2020, and due to its disappearance, health officials in Canada are changing up the annual flu vaccine.
The B/Yamagata influenza strain, once a dominant force among influenza B viruses, may have vanished entirely due to the stringent measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). No cases have been confirmed across the globe since March 2020.
Due to the strain’s disappearance, NACI announced on July 26 that expert groups have endorsed removing the B/Yamagata component from influenza vaccine formulations. As a result, Canada’s flu vaccine will shift from a quadrivalent to a trivalent formula.
 
 Ozempic maker says unapproved compounded drugs being sold in Canada
Unapproved, compounded versions of a popular diabetes and weight-loss drug are being sold in Canada, the Ozempic maker said, amid a warning about dosing errors that have resulted in some people being hospitalized in the United States.
Novo Nordisk told Global News on Monday that it has filed a complaint with Health Canada regarding the promotion and sale of compounded semaglutide, which is a key ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy, in Canada.