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These are the top stories:
What you need to know about Alberta’s carbon tax on large emitters
Jason Kenney’s government is imposing a $30-per-tonne tax on industrial facilities including a major chunk of the oil sands as well as gas and coal-fired electricity plants. That’s up from the $20 figure Kenney had promised during the provincial election as Alberta aligns with the federal climate law.
What about the federal tax? Ottawa is still set to impose a wider carbon tax on Alberta consumers starting Jan. 1, the same day the province’s industrial tax takes effect. And Kenney will still push forward with a lawsuit arguing the consumer tax is unconstitutional.
What will Alberta do with the proceeds? Part of the money will go toward green technology research on things like carbon capture. Funds will also be directed to Kenney’s $30-million “war room” to confront oil-sands opponents, as well as reducing the provincial debt.
Trudeau’s first hire to address western alienation: Anne McLellan, an Edmonton-based former federal cabinet minister, has been brought on as an adviser to the Prime Minister.
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Britain is headed for an election on Dec. 12
Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally got his wish. The Brexit deadlock that has upended British Parliament will now be punted to the public more than three years after a referendum divided the country.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Johnson, correspondent Paul Waldie reports. If his Conservatives can’t muster the majority they need to pass their Brexit deal, experts say they’ll have a hard time forming government without any allies.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn also faces obstacles. His party wants to strike a new deal with the European Union, put it to a referendum and then campaign to stay in the bloc.
Right now, polls have Johnson’s Tories ahead and Labour slumping. But anything can change in what one MP predicts will be “one of the nastiest, most brutal elections we’ve seen in our lifetime.”
A new report shows how trucks and SUVs are affecting air quality in Canada
Diesel-fuelled trucks are disproportionately high contributors of vehicle-related air pollutants, according to a report from a study of Toronto and Vancouver roadways. And it’s a problem that gets worse over the cold winter months, when measures meant to capture pollutants are less efficient.
While tailpipe exhaust pollution has decreased, emissions are being replaced by particles released from wear on brakes and tires. The study says that matches increased use of heavier vehicles such as SUVs.
The report is calling for federal efforts to promote pollution-cutting technologies as well as provincial rules to get the highest-emitting vehicles off the road.
WestJet seeks compensation on 737 Max as Boeing’s CEO is grilled by U.S. senators
The head of WestJet says that customers will be reluctant to fly on the company’s 13 737 jets once regulators give them the all-clear. Ed Sims said it will be hard “to convince nervous travellers of the safety of this aircraft” and added that he wants Boeing to cover costs on lost ticket sales and schedule disruptions.
Those comments came on the same day Boeing’s CEO Dennis Muilenburg was greeted by family members of 737 Max crash victims when he showed up for a U.S. senate committee hearing. “You have told me half-truths over and over again,” Senator Tammy Duckworth said as she questioned why Boeing didn’t disclose more details about its troubled software.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Refugees fear return to Syria: The death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi isn’t doing much to allay the concerns of millions of refugees. “We are only safe in Turkey,” said Rym Hadaf, whose husband was killed by Bashar al-Assad’s forces. Many told The Globe that al-Assad’s rule is keeping them away.
Rym Hadaf, centre, surrounded by her children in a house in Akcakale, Turkey. (Andrea DiCenzo/The Globe and Mail)Andrea DiCenzo/The Globe and Mail
Lebanon’s PM resigns: Saad Hariri said he “hit a dead end” on resolving a financial crisis and was resigning, ceding to a key demand from protesters. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to urge action on corruption and crippling national debt.
Protests at Toronto library: Hundreds turned out to oppose a talk by writer Meghan Murphy, who has been called a “transexclusionary radical feminist.” LGBTQ advocates have been critical of the library’s decision to let Murphy speak on free-speech grounds.
A $2-million donation for Indigenous health: Most of the funds will go to B.C.’s First Nations Health Authority, with a focus on cardiac health. Heart-disease rates for Indigenous people in Canada are as much as 50 per cent higher than the general population. Bank of Montreal made the donation.
MORNING MARKETS
World shares mostly lower following Wall Street losses: Shares fell in early European trading on Wednesday after Asian benchmarks ended mixed. Investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later in the day. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.4 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite 0.5 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX were down by between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent by about 5 a.m. ET, with the Paris CAC 40 down marginally. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was just shy of 75.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The root of the Conservative Party’s failure to launch
Globe editorial: “As a glance at a map of the election results shows, the more urban, compact and dense a riding, the less likely it is to vote Conservative. There’s an inverse correlation between living close to your neighbours and voting Conservative. It’s hard to overstate how big of an issue this is for the party. Canada’s cities and suburbs are growing. Rural Canada is shrinking.”
Saturday Night Live is sliding into Trump-fatigue and misfiring irrelevancy
John Doyle: “Saturday Night Live has a formidable status in American popular culture. Right now, it isn’t deserving of it. It’s adrift, uncertain in tone and self-indulgent. Maybe it is as frustrating to create and perform these days as it is to watch. But, there’s always next week.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Finding vegan-friendly wines isn’t as easy as you’d think. Fortunately, that is changing
The binding agents or clarifiers used to give wine a clear, bright look can sometimes be derived from milk protein, egg whites or animal proteins. That’s why a “may contain” warning appears on the back of some bottles.
But a growing number of wineries are emphasizing vegan options, including those in Canada. You can go here for some suggestions from wine critic Christopher Waters.
MOMENT IN TIME
Henry Tudor crowned king of England
(Angelo Hornak/Corbis via Getty Images)Angelo Hornak/Corbis via Getty Images
Oct. 30, 1485: Before his son beheaded two wives and severed England from the Roman-Catholic Church, Henry Tudor enjoyed a relatively peaceable 24-year reign. The man perhaps better known as King Henry VII was the first of the House of Tudor to be crowned monarch – a dynasty that includes Elizabeth I, Edward VI and, of course, Henry VII’s notorious son Henry VIII. But that house’s ascent to the throne was one forged in the fires of war. Henry Tudor became king after his army slayed his predecessor, Richard III, in the culminating battle of the decades-long Wars of the Roses. Two months later, on this day in 1485, the crown jewels of England were handed to Henry, marking the end of years of civil conflict that displaced the ruling house. In an attempt to both solidify his status as the rightful ruler of England and unite the divided nation, Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, one of Richard III’s nieces whom Henry’s forces had detained after the battle that ended Richard’s life. Henry and Elizabeth ruled England from 1485 to 1509, during which time Henry stabilized England’s shaky finances by instituting major tax reforms and other economic initiatives. – KC Hoard
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