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These are the top stories:
Brexit: British Parliament is prorogued after Boris Johnson’s second snap-election vote failure
MPs rejected the Prime Minister’s second attempt in less than a week to call an early election, prompting the Queen to prorogue Parliament until Oct. 14 at Johnson’s request.
What comes next: Time is running out as Johnson seeks to secure an exit deal while fulfilling his promise to leave the European Union on Oct. 31. So far, no negotiations with the EU have been scheduled.
The Irish border factor: Johnson opposes the backstop plan put forward by former prime minister Theresa May, which would have kept the border open and left Britain closely tied to the EU. But Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said “no backstop is no deal for us” unless a concrete alternative is offered, and he’s yet to receive a proposal despite meeting yesterday with Johnson.
Go here for all the latest Brexit updates.
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It’s election day in Manitoba
Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister is seeking a second term in a vote he called more than a year ahead of schedule. His main competitor is the provincial NDP, led by Wab Kinew, which is positioning itself as an alternative to Tory cost-cutting. Pallister, meanwhile, is vowing to work toward a balanced budget and cut taxes.
The PCs won 40 of the legislature’s 57 seats in 2016. That majority ended 17 years of NDP rule.
Voters can cast ballots until 8 p.m. CT, with results rolling in shortly thereafter.
An Ontario tribunal dismissed the case of an expelled student with complex needs
Grayson Kahn’s school board took reasonable steps to accommodate the eight-year-old boy with autism, the Ontario human-rights tribunal has concluded. Grayson’s mother, Lisa Kahn, had filed an application to the tribunal after her son was expelled after a series of incidents that culminated with him striking an educational assistant and leaving her with a concussion.
Lisa Kahn alleged her son was denied “meaningful access” to an education and that the school board discriminated against Grayson because of his disability.
The case sparked debate on the lengths schools should go to in order to integrate students with complex needs. Over the weekend, The Globe published a story on educators who say they are the targets of increasing violence.
A libertarian student group is seeking to shake up Canada’s legal culture
In the span of a few years, the Runnymede Society has grown from a tiny group to having a presence on nearly all of the country’s 18 law campuses. Runnymede’s core view is that judges are too often guided by their own political preferences, rather than applying the law.
Runnymede bears similarities to the Federalist Society south of the border; all five conservative judges on the U.S. Supreme Court were members of that group. Runnymede has partnered with the Federalist Society for events, sparking pushback at McGill when a judge shortlisted by U.S. President Donald Trump for the Supreme Court was scheduled to speak.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Shopify’s biggest acquisition yet: The Ottawa-based tech giant bought warehouse robotics startup 6 River Systems for US$450-million. The deal is designed in part to help Shopify speed up its order fulfilments for its retail customers as it carves out an alternative to Amazon’s e-commerce platform.
B.C. GHG emissions near 2007 levels: Despite implementing a carbon tax in 2008, B.C.'s 2017 carbon emissions were only slightly below 2007 levels. The province said emissions fell in sectors including petroleum and oil and gas extraction, while rising in manufacturing, construction and agriculture.
Working to restore power in the Maritimes: More than 100,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Nova Scotia in the aftermath of Dorian’s weekend surge through the region. Thousands are also in the dark in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Canada backs Taiwan for aviation invitation: The federal government’s support for Taiwan’s effort to be included at a major civil-aviation gathering in Montreal later this month is at odds with China. Taiwan, a self-governing island, has been shut out of the aviation body since the early 1970s.
MORNING MARKETS
Waning ECB stimulus bets push bond yields higher: Global bond yields rose, amid growing caution over the extent to which the European Central Bank will add stimulus to boost an ailing economy this week and rising hopes that Berlin could loosen its purse strings. Germany’s 30-year benchmark bond yield briefly broke into positive territory for the first time in more than a month, while U.S. Treasury yields climbed to 18-day highs. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.4 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up marginally, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.1 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.1 and 0.4 per cent by about 5:15 a.m. ET. New York futures were subdued. The Canadian dollar was below 76 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Why the Liberals want a shorter election and fewer debates
Globe editorial: “It’s fair to conclude that the Trudeau Liberals want to limit their leader’s exposure to political peril by curtailing the length of the campaign and depriving the other party leaders of too many occasions to share the stage. That’s a decision made by a one-term incumbent government that sits astride a strong economy and sees itself as a front-runner, but whose leader is vulnerable to attacks related to ethical lapses.”
Banning vaping is not the way to address the worrying outbreak of related lung disease
André Picard: “More than anything else, the outbreak [of vaping-related illnesses in the U.S.] demonstrates the need for effective regulation. If people are going to vape, they should know the ingredients in the products they purchase. They shouldn’t be able to unwittingly buy poison. But right now, people buying THC and nicotine liquids online are guinea pigs – and some of them are paying the price with their health and their lives.”
Large field of candidates is a blessing – and a curse – for the Democrats
David Shribman: “Frustrated by the ascendancy of Donald Trump, bewildered by the defection of blue-collar voters, befuddled by the collapse of the New Deal coalition and confused by its new identity as the party of the elite, the Democrats are struggling to choose a presidential nominee from a field of White House aspirants who largely blur together in the public’s eye.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
More fibre, especially from fruit, is being tied to lower diverticulitis risk
A growing body of research suggests eating lots of fibre can help prevent the painful digestive disease that can cause pain, fever, nausea and other symptoms. Diverticulitis is more common in men under 50, while women over 50 experience it more often than men.
A new study showed that eating more fruits every day can reduce the risk. Apples, pears, prunes and blackberries are some of the best bets to boost your fibre intake. Higher-fibre grains like farro, bulgur and bran cereals are also good options.
MOMENT IN TIME
Italian Grand Prix tragedy
(Associated Press)The Associated Press
Sept. 10, 1961: Automotive racing is a sport of margins – high speeds, tight corners and close calls. That’s what the drivers – and crowd – who gathered for the 1961 Italian Grand Prix expected. What they didn’t expect was one of the deadliest crashes in racing history. At the end of the second lap, after his car collided with another racer, Wolfgang von Trips lost control and sped toward the inclined bank of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Von Trips and his Ferrari hurtled through the short fence and into the crowd, killing the German driver and 15 spectators. The race went on, and Phil Hill won the championship, but the tragedy ignited debate over whether the sport should be banned. In one of the world’s most dangerous sports, death is always a possibility, but some things do change. In Belgium last month, a Formula Two car spun out and crashed into the concrete wall – but Anthoine Hubert’s disintegrating car was deflected back onto the roadway. Hubert died of his injuries, but no spectators were harmed. Today, the stretch of track where the Italian Grand Prix tragedy took place is bordered by a double-height debris fence. – Jack Denton
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