Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Liberals table legislation that will set legally binding climate targets
The federal government introduced legislation today that would mandate five-year emissions reduction targets with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, but it includes no legal consequences if the government of the day misses those targets.
Bill C-12, the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, requires the government to start setting legally binding targets in 2030 and establishes a panel of experts that would advise the environment minister on how to reach its targets.
In 2019, the Liberals said they would legislate five-year targets, surpass Canada’s 2030 pledge to cut emissions and put the country on a track to hit net-zero emissions by 2050. The bill does not include a legally mandated target for 2025, meaning they will only apply to future governments.
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was sent to you as a forward, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters here. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends.
Independent report on harassment, assault calls for major changes to rid RCMP of ‘toxic’ culture
An independent report on harassment of women in the RCMP says fundamental change is needed to rid the national police force of a toxic culture that tolerates hateful and homophobic attitudes.
The report released today by former Supreme Court justice Michel Bastarache says it is well past time for the federal government to take meaningful and radical action to address these issues, which have caused incalculable damage.
The report, Broken Dreams Broken Lives, calls for an in-depth, external review of the institution and the future of the force as a federal policing organization.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki apologized to members of the force, and said harassment of any kind is unacceptable and against the code of conduct.
Trudeau defends arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, says countries must stand up to China
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou by Canadian authorities, saying Canada can’t pick and choose when it follows the rule of law.
And he says other countries must stand up to China to ensure it also follows international rules and stops trying to throw its weight around to get what it wants.
Trudeau was responding to questions at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, where he and China’s President Xi Jinping will join other leaders from the Pacific Rim tomorrow for virtual talks about trade.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
COVID-19 in Canada updates: Manitoba, which has the highest per capita infection rate in the country, has announced it will tighten the rules for social gatherings and shopping starting tomorrow. Ontario reported 1,210 new cases of COVID-19 today as the the province has hit the critical mark of 150 COVID-19 patients in its intensive care units. Quebec is reporting 1,207 new cases, and Premier François Legault has a press conference planned for late this afternoon.
West Fraser Timber to buy Norbord: West Fraser Timber is buying Norbord in a $4-billion all-stock deal that will make the lumber and plywood producer a major global manufacturer of panels used for construction sheathing and flooring.
Nasdaq to buy Canada’s Verafin: Nasdaq Inc. is buying Newfoundland and Labrador-based fraud detection company Verafin for US$2.75-billion in a deal that will see the company’s head office remain in St. John’s while expanding the reach of its software to banks around the world.
Buzzfeed to acquire HuffPost: Verizon says it is selling its news website HuffPost to BuzzFeed, in a deal that will make Verizon a minority shareholder in BuzzFeed and see the two companies partner on content and ads.
Booker Prize winner named: Scottish writer Douglas Stuart has won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction for Shuggie Bain, the story of a boy’s turbulent coming of age in hardscrabble 1980s Glasgow.
Not quite a partridge in a pear tree: A worker helping set up the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York found a holiday surprise – a tiny owl among the massive branches. The adult male Saw-whet owl, now named Rockefeller, was discovered dehydrated and hungry, but otherwise unharmed, said Ellen Kalish, founder of the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center, where the bird was taken.
Ravensbeard Wildlife Center Director and founder Ellen Kalish holds the Saw-whet owl rescued from the Rockefeller Christmas tree.Lindsay Possumato/The Associated Press
MARKET WATCH
U.S. and Canadian stocks ended in positive territory today as fresh stimulus hopes buoyed investor sentiment toward the end of a session fraught with worries over mounting shutdowns and layoffs linked to spiraling COVID-19 infection rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44.81 points or 0.15 per cent to 29,483.23, the S&P 500 gained 14.08 points or 0.39 per cent to 3,581.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 103.11 points or 0.87 per cent to 11,904.71.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index inched higher by 19.99 points or 0.12 per cent to 16,909.81.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
TALKING POINTS
Why the Canadian voting system is a winner, and Donald Trump is a loser
“Canada’s traditional system for marking a ballot, casting a ballot and counting a ballot works. It’s virtually tamper-proof. It’s transparent to those counting the votes, to the competing parties and to election officials.” - Globe editorial
Autism isn’t on trial in the Toronto van attack case. The accused is
“Those on the autism spectrum and their families are understandably worried about stigma or distorted perceptions in the wider community. Let’s not turn a single tragic event into a further tragedy of misperception.” Voula Marinos and Jessica Jones
Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit thrills chess purists with remarkable attention to detail
“Chess thrives on screen because it offers something no other sports film can: long, still close-ups. Character is revealed in the flicker of an eye. Even if you don’t understand the game, you feel the tension.” - Johanna Schneller
LIVING BETTER
A reader who had COVID-19 and recovered asks: Can I go back to a mask-free life? Sunnybrook Health Sciences’ Paul Taylor replies that immunity acquired through an infection isn’t a sure thing, so don’t discard the mask just yet. SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is so new that medical experts are still trying to determine how long immunity might last following an infection. In fact, troubling evidence suggests immunity might be very short-lived in some people.
TODAY’S LONG READ
In Ireland, home of Biden’s ancestors, locals look forward to a friendly face in Washington – and an ally on Brexit
Joe Blewitt, a third cousin of U.S. president-elect Joe Biden, sprays a bottle of champagne with his wife, Deirdre, and other relatives in Ballina, Ireland,Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
When U.S. television networks finally announced that Joe Biden had won the election, Brenda Blewitt popped open a bottle of champagne in her home in Kildare, Ireland, and joined an online celebration with dozens of relatives. “Oh my God there was such excitement, such excitement,” she said.
Biden has close ties to the Blewitts and deep roots in Ireland. Many of his ancestors fled the Irish famine in the 1850s and headed to the U.S. They included Patrick Blewitt, Biden’s great-great-grandfather, who left the town of Ballina on Ireland’s west coast with his family and eventually settled in Scranton, Pa., the president-elect’s hometown. Others hailed from County Louth on the east coast, including his great-grandfather James Finnegan, who also ended up in Scranton.
Those personal connections have taken on new meaning now that Biden is about to become the 46th president. Ballina and County Louth have been thrust into the global spotlight, and Biden relatives have been fielding media calls from around the world. Irish officials are also hoping Mr. Biden will become an ally on Brexit and a firm backer of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of sectarian violence and cleared the way for the removal of controls along the border with Northern Ireland. Read Paul Waldie’s full story here.
Evening Update is presented by S.R. Slobodian. 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.