Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Fiscal update warns of potential 2023 recession
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has delivered a fall economic update that warns of a potential recession next year, presenting two fiscal forecasts based on whether or not that downturn occurs.
The update also announces plans for a new tax on share buybacks and significant incentives for green energy investment aimed at responding to a major package of tax and climate policy reforms approved this year through the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
New spending measures announced include making all Canada student and apprentice loans permanently interest-free, at a cost of $2.7-billion over five years, and $4-billion over six years to automatically issue advance payments of the Canada Workers Benefit to people who had qualified the previous year.
But the overall message Freeland sought to deliver is that the federal government is preparing for harder times ahead.
Related: Five highlights from the government’s fall economic statement
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Talks break off between Ontario, CUPE education workers
Developing story: Contract talks between the Ontario government and the union representing 55,000 education support workers have broken off, as MPPs were set to pass a fast-tracked bill that would use the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to pre-empt a legal strike.
The union, an affiliate of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), vowed to walk out tomorrow anyway.
Speaking to reporters, Education Minister Stephen Lecce warned that any strike, if the government passes its bill, would be illegal. “We will use every tool we have to end their disruption,” he warned.
He said the mediator called off the talks because the parties were still so far apart.
Emergencies Act inquiry hears about divisions within convoy protest leadership
One of the main spokesmen for the convoy protesters says he did not agree with a proposed deal, struck between organizers and the city of Ottawa, that would have seen truckers move their vehicles out of residential areas.
Benjamin Dichter testified at the Public Order Emergency Commission, the public inquiry that is tasked with investigating the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
He said he was invited by Tamara Lich, one of the organizers, to be a spokesman for the protesters. But he was not on the same page as Lich about striking a deal with the city.
Lich and another organizer, James Bauder, are also scheduled to appear before the commission today.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Pakistan’s ex-PM attacked: A gunman in eastern Pakistan opened fire today at a campaign truck carrying former Prime Minister Imran Khan, slightly wounding him in the leg and killing one of his supporters, his party and police said. Nine other people also were hurt.
Russia signals retreat; Ukraine wary: A Russian-installed occupation official in southern Ukraine says Moscow was likely to pull its troops from the west bank of the Dnipro River, signalling a huge retreat that, if confirmed, would be a major turning point in the war. Kyiv said it was still fighting in the area and was wary that Moscow could be setting a trap by feigning a pullout.
Netanyahu returns to power: Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office says he has conceded defeat to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this week’s election. Opinion: What Netanyahu’s comeback means for Israel - Yossi Klein Halevi
Auger-Aliassime advances: Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is moving on to the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters tennis tournament with a 6-1, 6-3 win over France’s Gilles Simon. The Montreal tennis phenom is seeking his fourth consecutive tournament win after taking three straight ATP titles last month.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. stocks closed lower for a fourth consecutive session as economic data did little to alter expectations the Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates for longer than previously thought. Canada’s main stock market also crept lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 146.51 points or 0.46 per cent to 32,001.25, the S&P 500 lost 39.80 points or 1.06 per cent to end at 3,719.89, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 181.86 points or 1.73 per cent to 10,342.94.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 35.79 points or 0.19 per cent to 19,241.22. The loonie traded at 72.74 U.S. cents.
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TALKING POINTS
Powell pours cold water on idea Federal Reserve may slow interest rate increases
“If you held out hope that the [U.S. Federal Reserve] was ready to start winding down its hawkish rhetoric, let alone its rate hikes, it most definitely is not.” - David Parkinson
A new pay model for family doctors might make B.C. the GP place to be
“B.C. doctors are among the lowest-paid in the country. Soon, they will be among the highest, drawing significantly closer to the pay rates in Alberta, which on average are the highest in Canada.” - Gary Mason
LIVING BETTER
Canada’s busiest airport says it will offer passengers a way to bypass long security lineups as it looks ahead to a winter travel surge and tries to avoid a repeat of the travel chaos seen earlier this year. Toronto Pearson International Airport has announced the launch of YYZ Express, which will allow customers on select flights to reserve their security screening spot in advance.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Canada was poised to be a leader in clinical cannabis trials. Four years in, red tape continues to stymy progress
The month Canadians first flocked to buy legal cannabis, Jason Busse and a team at McMaster University sent in their application for a coveted federal research grant and soon became one of just a handful of groups given this funding to conduct clinical trials on the drug. That was in October, 2018.
Four years on, he let out an exasperated chuckle when asked what his team has learned about how cannabidiol (CBD) pills help knee-replacement patients with their pre- and post-op pain. He said he hopes to begin recruiting for the 50-person trial this month.
His team’s protracted struggles parallel the plight of many medical researchers who told The Globe and Mail they are only now overcoming bureaucratic hurdles to begin testing how cannabis may help or harm humans. Read Mike Hager’s full story.
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