Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
India kicks out Canadian diplomat; Poilievre wants proof of Trudeau’s allegations
Just hours after Ottawa expelled a senior Indian diplomat amid allegations that New Delhi was involved in the killing of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil, India responded in kind with a yet-unnamed “senior Canadian diplomat.” It dismissed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims as “absurd” and “unsubstantiated.”
Trudeau told Parliament yesterday that Canada has credible intelligence that “agents of the government of India” carried out the fatal shooting in mid-June of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia.
Today, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on Trudeau to provide hard evidence of the allegations, which has led to a deep chill in Indo-Canadian relations.
Read more: What we know about the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Opinion:
- Did India assassinate a Canadian citizen? – Andrew Coyne
- Canada once more forced to reckon with era of foreign intimidation – Campbell Clark
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Inflation in August hotter than expected
Canada’s annual inflation rate accelerated for the second month in a row, increasing pressure on the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates again shortly after it announced its second pause to monetary policy tightening this year.
Canada’s annual inflation rate in August jumped to 4 per cent from 3.3 per cent in July on higher gasoline prices, Statistics Canada data show. Analysts had expected an increase, but to 3.8 per cent. Two of the three core inflation measures also rose.
The annual rate last month, the highest since the 4.4 per cent reported in April, is well above the central bank’s 2-per-cent target. Its next interest rate announcement is scheduled for Oct. 25.
Read more: “The likelihood of BoC pulling the trigger again has increased substantially”: How markets and economists are reacting to hot inflation data
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.CAITLIN OCHS/Reuters
Zelensky addresses UN, to visit Canada later this week
Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has committed genocide by deporting hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children and is “weaponizing” everything from grain shipments to nuclear power plants in its ongoing invasion of his country.
During his in-person speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York this afternoon, the Ukrainian President worked to shore up the coalition backing Kyiv by casting Moscow’s threat to the world as going far beyond Ukraine.
Zelensky will visit Canada and address the House of Commons later this week to rally support, sources told The Globe and Mail. First, he’ll travel to Washington where he’s expected to meet with U.S. President Biden and Congressional leaders.
Meanwhile, nine people have been killed in Russian attacks across Ukraine, including a drone strike that set fire to industrial warehouses and destroyed humanitarian aid supplies in the western city of Lviv, officials said.
Analysis: Azerbaijan’s military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh comes as Armenia’s ally Moscow focuses on Ukraine
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Auto talks updates: The Unifor union said it has extended a strike deadline by 24 hours after receiving a “substantive” offer from Ford minutes before midnight last night. Negotiations continue in Toronto.
Meanwhile, the leader of the United Auto Workers said that a limited strike targeting three U.S. plants owned by the Big Three automakers may be expanded if “serious progress” toward a new contract agreement isn’t made by Friday at noon.
Food manufacturers on notice: Ottawa intends to “go after” big manufacturers to stabilize food prices in Canada, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne says, adding a future meeting will be held with their representatives, similar to yesterday’s session with grocery store CEOs.
RIP Roger Whittaker: The British balladeer whose easy-listening songs included The Last Farewell has died at 87 of complications following a long illness, his publicist said.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index fell by the most since mid-August as the prospect of higher borrowing costs to tackle inflation made it less appealing to make big bets, particularly during a seasonally weak period for the market. Wall Street also lost ground, with risk-off sentiment weighing as the U.S. Federal Reserve convened for its much-anticipated two-day monetary policy meeting.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 273.94 points or 1.34 per cent at 20,218.89. The dollar traded at 74.39 U.S. cents.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.57 points or 0.31 per cent to 34,517.73, the S&P 500 lost 9.58 points or 0.22 per cent to end at 4,443.95, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 32.05 points or 0.23 per cent to 13,678.19.
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TALKING POINTS
The Trudeau government has two plans for lower grocery prices. One is for show. The other is real
“Ottawa can’t micromanage grocery prices. But it can macro-manage the rules of the game, to foster highly competitive marketplaces that leave business with no choice but to deliver greater benefits to consumers, workers and the Canadian economy.” – Tony Keller
”My body, my choice” – except when it isn’t
“Those who demand personal belief exemptions for vaccines argue that they are entitled to “medical freedom” and “medical choice.” But those same people often want to restrict the freedom of those seeking abortion or gender-affirming care.” – André Picard
The lessons of Walkerton were lost on Danielle Smith’s government
“Given the scale and scope of the situation, the lack of communication to the general public by politicians and public-health leaders has been nothing short of astonishing.” – Jen Gerson
LIVING BETTER
Statistics Canada posted eye-grabbing inflation figures for the country today, but do you know what your personal inflation rate is? Find out how you compare with the Canadian average by inputting your spending in this calculator.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Long-secret Canadian intelligence sealed Avro Arrow’s cancellation, new paper says
The CF-105 Avro Arrow, seen on a test flight over Toronto in 1958.CP
The Diefenbaker government’s 1959 decision to scrap the fabled Avro Arrow was significantly influenced by Canadian intelligence that pointed to a diminishing need for the costly aircraft in the evolving Cold War, says a new research paper based on previously secret information.
The intelligence highlighted the Soviet Union’s shift away from manned bombers to long-range ballistic missiles, suggesting interceptors like the Arrow would increasingly play a smaller role in the defence of North America.
The paper, published today in the academic journal Canadian Military History, makes the case that these strategic intelligence assessments – long the “missing dimension” in the debate over the Arrow’s demise – now allow for a fuller understanding of an important episode in Canadian history. Read the full story.
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