Good morning. Canada has long cast itself as a bystander in the illegal wildlife trade, but a new investigation shows the country has become a hub for the global black market. More on that, along with the latest in the Middle East and Ottawa\u2019s nuclear plans. Let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n
Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Dubois, a senior wildlife officer with Environment and Climate Change Canada, holds an elephant tusk confiscated from a drug dealer’s home.Shelby Lisk\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n TOP STORYHow the illegal wildlife trade is funding organized crime in Canada<\/p>\n The latest: Canada has become a significant player in the illegal wildlife trade<\/a>, an investigation by The Globe and Mail and the Pulitzer Center found. The story examines how Canada has become a hub for black-market activity that is flying under the radar, propped up by vast wilderness, patrol blind spots and weak penalties.<\/p>\n How we got here: Unlike drug trafficking, it\u2019s rare for someone involved in Canada\u2019s illicit wildlife trade to land in jail \u2013 even though the criminal networks are often exactly the same and profit margins can be much higher. Enforcement offices are understaffed, and many officials say penalties are too low.<\/p>\n How big is the market? While it\u2019s hard to measure precisely, the illegal wildlife trade is believed to be the world\u2019s fourth most lucrative criminal enterprise, only trailing drug trafficking, arms trafficking and human smuggling. <\/p>\n What\u2019s next: There are signs Canada is taking the issue more seriously. It\u2019s participated in international crackdowns on wildlife and forest crimes, and banned the trade of shark fins, elephant ivory and rhino horns. And this past week, G7 leaders pledged joint investigations to trace and seize the proceeds of environmental crime.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n U.S. Vice-President JD Vance makes an opening statement next to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatari Prime Minister\u00a0and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani in Switzerland on Sunday.Nathan Howard\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n WorldIran and U.S. hold nuclear talks<\/p>\n The latest: U.S.-Iran negotiations on an interim deal to end the war had a tense start in Switzerland<\/a> as Iranian officials took offence at comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to attack and told Iran\u2019s President to watch what he says. <\/p>\n The stakes: The comments complicated efforts by Vice-President JD Vance to discuss Tehran\u2019s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets. Iran first wants talks to focus on Lebanon, where Israel\u2019s military has been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next: After the interim agreement was signed last week, negotiators began a 60-day sprint to reach an agreement on the technical details. A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon brokered on Saturday appears to be holding, but neither Israel nor Hezbollah signed the U.S.-Iran deal.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Ocean Smid participates in dance class at Canada\u2019s National Ballet School in Toronto in May.Melissa Tait\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n How We LiveDreams of ballet<\/p>\n The latest: The 26 students graduating from Canada\u2019s National Ballet School this month will embark on their careers in a changing industry<\/a>, as a new ethos of inclusion and belonging transforms dance training. It\u2019s a pivotal moment \u2013 a time of big news and even bigger decisions.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next: Only two dancers in the class have been offered contracts at professional companies, while others will continue their training or hang up their shoes and pursue academics instead. Globe writer Martha Schabas got to know three students over the past year and checked in this spring to learn what they\u2019ve decided. <\/p>\n EnergyOttawa\u2019s nuclear plans<\/p>\n The latest: The Canadian government wants to dramatically scale up the use of nuclear power<\/a>, with a goal of up to 10 new large-scale reactors, according to a policy document set to be released today. It would be a massive increase: The country now has 17 operable reactors, and the last large reactor was completed in 1993. <\/p>\n The context: Large-scale nuclear reactors are expensive and difficult to build, and the strategy has no new money attached. Power generation and electrical grids are also the sole domain of provinces and territories, so Ottawa hopes to push premiers to action with incentives and its bully pulpit. <\/p>\n What\u2019s next: Federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson is set to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts in Yellowknife this week. The strategy promises to rely on existing funds and to release a nuclear-power financing policy by April of 2027.<\/p>\n CrimeHow short-term rentals fuel human trafficking<\/p>\n The latest: Traffickers are increasingly turning to rental platforms<\/a> such as Airbnb and Vrbo because the units are concierge-free, often face little regulation and offer more privacy. While staff who work at major hotels are trained to see warning signs of trafficking, it\u2019s not expected from short-term rental hosts. <\/p>\n What can be done? Municipalities have been slow to address the problem \u2013 except Winnipeg, which has created new regulations such as a rule that short-term rentals must display signs with information about human trafficking. Though measuring their effectiveness is difficult, advocates say those efforts should be adopted elsewhere.<\/p>\n BookmarkedAbroad: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he will resign<\/a> by September. World Cup: Facing the prospect of U.S. visa denials, many Ivory Coast fans are coming to Canada instead<\/a>. For your finances: Tim Shufelt warns there\u2019s a big, fat asterisk<\/a> hanging over the stock market frenzy.Conversation starter: A British art historian believes he has uncovered the identity<\/a> of the subject for Johannes Vermeer\u2019s Girl with a Pearl Earring.The Quote<\/p>\n \u201cWhy are so many people in China raising pets now? … I think it\u2019s largely because young people \u2212 whether due to consumption power, financial situation or work-life balance \u2212 find it hard to have enough time and energy to raise a child.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Li Jingyuan, founder of AI-driven animal translator PettiChat<\/p>\n China\u2019s most prominent protest in years was sparked not by a demand for greater democracy or allegations of corruption, but animal cruelty. It\u2019s emblematic of how central pets have become to Chinese life \u2013 and how much more so they may become as the country\u2019s birth rate plummets<\/a>.<\/p>\n