Good evening, it’s been a busy week but it’s finally Friday. We start with China, Huawei and the detained Canadians
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Canada’s Ambassador to China, John McCallum, met with Michael Kovrig today. Mr. Kovrig is the former Canadian diplomat Chinese authorities arrested earlier this week on suspicion of “engaging in activities that endanger the national security” of China. Mr. McCallum did not provide any details of the visit, including any information on Mr. Kovrig’s condition. Global Affairs Canada also had no new information on a second detained Canadian, entrepreneur Michael Spavor. The arrests appear to be reprisals for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in early December.
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, center, and Canadian Minister of Defense Harjit Sajjan, second from right, attend a U.S.-Canada 2+2 Ministerial at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018.Manuel Balce Ceneta/The Associated Press
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan held talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis in Washington today that will focus on China’s detention of the two Canadians. Initially, the talks were going to focus on more than just China, including the war in Yemen and Russian aggression in Ukraine, but The Globe and Mail has reported that the focus has now shifted. One thing that wasn’t certain is if Ms. Freeland intended to raise concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he might use Ms. Meng as a bargaining chip in the U.S.-China trade war. Ms. Freeland told reporters on Wednesday that it was “quite obvious” any foreign country requesting extradition should ensure that “the process is not politicized.” During the meeting, Mr. Pompeo condemned the arrest of the two Canadians.
In China, Canadian expats are keeping their heads down. Nathan VanderKlippe, The Globe’s Asia correspondent who’s based in Beijing, has interviewed several Canadians who say they’ve changed routines in order to avoid attention. While the federal government has said relations are still relatively normal, this morning Tourism Minister Mélanie Joly cancelled her trip to Beijing next week, some Canadians fearing retribution have taken early vacations or established emergency contacts.
I’m seeing a lot of nationalism. I’m seeing a lot of China versus the world. I don’t like the fact that they will target certain nations and kind of bully those people.
— Michael Yen, a business consultant who has lived in China for three years
One company feeling frost is parka maker Canada Goose, which is delaying the opening of its first store in China, originally planned for tomorrow. According to a statement from the company, the opening of the Beijing flagship store has been postponed due to construction work.
Along with the news this week, we have run several opinion pieces on everything from the suspicion around Huawei, how Canada needs to stand pat against China’s supposed bullying and how the real threat is not China but the United States. China’s ambassador to Canada, Lu Shaye, called the case against Ms. Meng a premeditated “witch-hunt” by the United States in an opinion piece published yesterday. If you’re hungry for more perspectives, scroll through the Opinion section.
And as always, a one-stop catch-up is our ever-changing Canada-China-Huawei explainer: What we know about the company, Ms. Meng’s arrest and China’s reaction.
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Supreme Court strikes down mandatory victim surcharges
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled an existing “victim surcharge” mandatory for all convicted offenders is a form of cruel and unusual punishment, and therefore unconstitutional. The financial penalty is levelled on convicted offenders, something the previous Conservative government made mandatory. Before then, judges could waive the fee for offenders they deemed unable to pay. “The impact and effects of the surcharge, taken together, create circumstances that are grossly disproportionate, outrage the standards of decency, and are both abhorrent and intolerable,” Justice Sheila Martin wrote for the majority in the 7-2 ruling, with Justice Malcolm Rowe and Justice Suzanne Côté in the minority.
Thunder Bay police board disbanded after report finds systemic racism
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission has ordered the police services board in Thunder Bay, Ont., to disband and has appointed an administrator in its place. The decision comes after a scathing report into the board found it had repeatedly failed to address the concerns of the Indigenous community. Ontario’s Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) has found evidence of widespread racism in Thunder Bay’s police force and has recommended at least nine of the force’s sudden-death cases be reopened. The two-year investigation, lead by Gerry McNeilly, the province’s Independent Police Review Director, found “significant deficiencies in sudden death investigations involving Indigenous people that are due, in part, to racial stereotyping.” The report, Broken Trust: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Police Service (PDF), includes 44 recommendations.
Canadians' debt burden edges higher
Household credit market debt to disposable income ratio
The amount Canadians owe relative to their income rose in the third quarter. Canadians owed nearly $1.78 in credit market debt, which includes consumer credit and mortgage and non-mortgage loans, for every dollar of household disposable income in the third quarter. Household debt has been a key concern for the Canadian economy. The Bank of Canada has been watching to see how well households have been adapting to higher borrowing costs as it has been raising its key interest rate target, the Canadian Press reports.
Ottawa to let cities, local groups apply directly to Health Canada for supervised drug consumption sites
With the overdose crisis showing no signs of letting up, the federal government is circumventing Ontario’s new restrictions on supervised drug-consumption sites (for subscribers). Only two of the 10 areas in Ontario with the highest number of opioid-related deaths have sites, and the Ford government announced in October that it would place a cap on the number of sites province-wide at 21.
BRIEFLY
Moody’s, one of the world’s biggest bond raters, has downgraded Ontario’s credit rating to Aa3 from Aa2. The decision follows the province’s release of its fall economic statement last month, in which the government of Premier Doug Ford estimated that it will run a deficit of $14.5-billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019.
EU leaders showed little sign of budging on Brexit despite a visit by British Prime Minister Theresa May. EU leaders say it is up to May to sort out her problem getting a deal through parliament in the new year, or face the consequences of failure. Meanwhile, former prime minister Tony Blair says the EU should prepare for another Brexit referendum and should consider reforms themselves.
A 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died last week after being taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol. She and her father were with more than 150 migrants who turned themselves over to authorities after crossing into New Mexico. The girl died of dehydration and shock more than eight hours after she and the others were arrested.
Toronto police are investigating two new alleged incidents connected to St. Michael’s College School, bringing the tally of incidents to eight. The elite Catholic private school has cancelled its junior and varsity football seasons as well as its Varsity basketball season.
MARKET WATCH
Dow drops almost 500 points, TSX over 150
Global stocks tumbled on Friday after weak economic data from China and Europe intensified global growth worries. Euro zone business ended the year on a weak note, expanding at the slowest pace in over four years. The European data came on the heels of weak readings from China, where November retail sales grew at the weakest pace since 2003. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 496.87 points, or 2.02 per cent, to 24,100.51, the S&P 500 lost 50.59 points, or 1.91 per cent, to 2,599.95 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 159.67 points, or 2.26 per cent, to 6,910.67. The Dow is now down more than 10 per cent from its Oct. 3 high. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed down 155.28 points, or 1.05 per cent, at 14,595.07. Ten of the index’s 11 major sectors were trading lower.
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WHAT’S POPULAR WITH READERS
Can an employee be terminated while on disability?
Our careers department has a regular feature called Leadership Lab where experts answer questions about the workplace. Today’s column has hit it big with readers: can someone on disability be terminated? We turned to Matt Lalande, the founder of Lalande & Company Injury and Disability Lawyers in Hamilton. Unfortunately, he writes, the answer can be complicated and sometimes difficult to understand for both disability claimants and employers.
TALKING POINTS
Saturday’s editorial cartoon by Brian Gable
By Brian GableBrian Gable
Scroll through December’s editorial cartoons.
Margaret Wente on Canada, climate hypocrite: “Embarrassingly – for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at any rate – Canada’s performance is rated as “highly insufficient” by Climate Action Tracker, an outfit that monitors these things. He plans to fix this through carbon taxes, which are set to start next year.But according to a United Nations scientific panel, our carbon taxes will be too low to have any impact on behaviour. The UN report estimates that governments would need to impose carbon prices of US$135 to US$5,500 per tonne of emissions to keep global warming in check – levels that are politically impossible. By contrast, Canada’s carbon tax will start at $10 per tonne and rise to $50 by 2022.At best it will be an ineffective nuisance.”
Michael Dougherty, secretary of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition and sometimes Santa Claus on suiting up as St. Nick: “Back in 1966, as a first-year university student and newest resident counsellor at St. Joseph’s Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, Mo., I drew the short stick. Tall, lanky, beardless and with some trepidation, I donned a Santa suit for the first time as an 18-year-old. Fake, from the scratchy synthetic beard and two pillows stuffed under a well-used red jacket down to the black boot-shaped, strap-on shoe covers, how could I carry this off? I soon found out that it simply didn’t make any difference. When I walked in, with a bag slung over my shoulder, the hall full of kids gleefully erupted. Fifty-two years later, let’s just say I have grown into the role.”
Globe editorial on how Ontario must investigate how the Ford government hired Ron Taverner: “If Ontario Premier Doug Ford has any respect for the integrity of the justice system, he will put this appointment on hold and give an investigation time to clear the air. As for Toronto Police Superintendent Taverner, if he wants to preserve his reputation as a police officer of more than 50 years, he will decline to be sworn in. To do otherwise would destroy public trust in the independence of the OPP.”
THIS WEEKEND
What to watch
Hera Hilmar as Hester Shaw in "Mortal Engines." The film is directed by Christian Rivers, and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson based on the novel by Philip Reeve.Universal Pictures
Mortal Engines is preposterous nonsense, and that’s before the zombie robot
Based on the 2001 book series by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines mistakenly swaps out slow-burning revelations for explanations that come fast and furious and with no time to digest them. Which is actually understandable: Within the first 10 minutes alone, we meet nearly a dozen characters who seem to have relevance, but then fail to appear on-screen long enough for us to develop our own feelings for them. ― Opens today. Review by Anne T. Donahue
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse may be the best web-slinger tale ever told
Over the past 16 years, audiences have faced three different cinematic versions of Spider-Man, a turnaround of one new Spidey every 5.333 years. So when faced with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse we can either greet the prospect with a shrug or pure exhaustion. All right, fine, we’ve proven we’ll pay for most anything familiar. How bad could it be? To my extreme surprise and delight: not bad at all. Actually: better than could be imagined. Going one step further and stretching this review’s use of colons: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse might be the best Spider-Man film ever made. ― Opens today. Review by Barry Hertz
Springsteen on Broadway’s live soundtrack explains The Boss’s career with a yarn-spinning nostalgia
Springsteen on Broadway - Song list Rob DeMartin
Springsteen on Broadway is the man’s concert residency held at the 975-seat Walter Kerr Theatre in New York. A mix of memoir and solo-acoustic music on piano or guitar, the show which opened on Oct. 12, 2017, is due to close Dec. 15 – one day before a Netflix special begins streaming its taped performance and one day after Sony Music releases a 150-minute live soundtrack. Streams on Netflix starting Sunday. Review by Brad Wheeler
What to read
K.D. Miller: My book’s characters inspired by Alex Colville paintings influenced and shaped me as surely as I did them
"On the bulletin board above my desk I’ve tacked a yellowing bit of paper with this printed on it: “Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.” Given what I’ve read about Alex Colville, whose first priorities were home and family, and who took international fame with a grain of salt, I can’t help wondering if Gustave Flaubert’s advice rang true for him, too. His paintings, for which his children, his pets and his wife of 70 years often posed, are nothing if not “violent and original.” " K.D. Miller’s latest collection of stories is called Late Breaking (Biblioasis, 288 pages, $19.95).
What to drink
Pick of the Week: Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Carte Blanche Blanc de Blanc 2013, Ontario: Wine and spirits columnist Beppi Crosariol calls it “a gem” and “scrumptiously edible.” Read Beppi’s review and many others on his author page.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Erin Little and her daughter Olivia, 9, are photographed in their Port Elgin home on Nov 21 2018.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
How a little-known agency reveals the web of influence between patient advocates and Big Pharma
Drug makers are paying for the conferences, travel, PR work and even operating costs of many of the groups fighting for Canadians' health – raising questions about their freedom to speak out about high prices and side effects. Health reporter Kelly Grant found that in 78 per cent of cases, the patient-advocacy groups making written submissions to CADTH have a financial conflict of interest with the manufacturer of the drug under review.
Social Studies columnist Michael Kesterton inspired deep loyalty in readers
Mar. 10/2010 - Globe and Mail empoyee Michael Kesterton is photographed for logo shoot in studio at 444 Front Street West in Toronto, Ont. March 10/2010. Mar.10/ 2010 Photo by Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and MailKevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
And finally, and perhaps appropriately here at the back of the newsletter, we say goodbye to Michael Kesterton, who used to put together “a daily miscellany of information” called Social Studies every day from 1990 until 2013 on the back page of the A section of The Globe. Mr. Kesterton died on Dec. 5 at the age of 72 and was behind one of The Globe and Mail’s most popular features. “Essentially, it was a social media feed before social media, reflecting the vast knowledge and various interests of the man who would compile it for the next 23 years,” writes Elizabeth Renzetti in a moving tribute to Mr. Kesterton that his fans will appreciate.
Evening Update was written by Michael Snider. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.