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In a wide-ranging interview with The Globe and Mail, senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official Lu Kang said that the United States had asked “dozens” of countries to detain Meng Wanzhou but only Canada accepted the request. Lu offered no evidence for his assertion.
Meng was detained in Vancouver on Dec. 1, 2018, after the United States issued a warrant for her arrest. In the weeks prior, Meng travelled to France, Britain, Ireland, Poland, Singapore, Japan and Belgium. Lu said that many of the countries that the U.S. spoke to were “American allies” who have extradition treaties with Washington.
When asked by The Globe, Huawei spokesman Joe Kelly said the company had no knowledge of extradition requests sent elsewhere. Britain does not comment on the existence of such demands. The U.S. and other countries where Meng travelled did not respond to requests for comment.
In this image from video, Chinese Foreign Ministry official Lu Kang speaks during a media briefing. Mr. Lu says that Canada was the only country willing to detain Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.The Associated Press
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Conservative government would aim to erase deficit in a decade, Erin O’Toole says
In his first newspaper interview since winning his party’s leadership race late last month, O’Toole criticized the Liberals’ economic recovery plan as being too narrowly focused on the green economy, to the detriment of major sectors such as energy, manufacturing and small business.
Speaking to The Globe and Mail, O’Toole said he wants to erase Canada’s deficit in about a decade and also called for increased immigration through family reunification to make up for the temporary decrease in economic immigration. The new leader also defended his commitment to addressing climate change, though he still opposes a carbon tax.
Read more on O’Toole:
Ottawa consents to certification of class-action suit on funding for First Nations children
In a major legal step forward, the federal government has agreed to the certification and mediation of a class-action lawsuit on funding levels for First Nations child-welfare services. The $10-billion federal class-action suit was filed in February by the Assembly of First Nations to seek damages for thousands of First Nations children and families.
The suit alleges that Canada’s funding was discriminatory as it created an incentive to remove First Nations children from their families and communities. Indigenous children are overwhelmingly overrepresented in the the child-welfare system. The move by the federal government means that the suit is one step closer to the negotiation of a settlement.
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DISPATCH FROM GLOBE CLIMATE
This week’s Globe Climate newsletter spotlights David Moscrop’s review of Donald Savoie’s Thanks for the Business: K.C. Irving, Arthur Irving, and the Story of Irving Oil, a look into how the Irvings built New Brunswick.
“Donald Savoie’s latest book, Thanks for the Business: K.C. Irving, Arthur Irving, and the Story of Irving Oil, devotes seven of its 317 pages to climate change – a thin assessment of the impact of oil and gas products and the companies that produce and sell them accompanied. Indeed, Savoie (who writes that he is a friend of Arthur Irving) spends about as much time on how the Irving family business will navigate and survive the decline of oil and gas (and the rise of electric cars) as he does on the existential threat of climate change itself.” — David Moscrop
Do you know an engaged young person pursuing change in the country? E-mail us at GlobeClimate@globeandmail.com to tell us about them and sign up for our Globe Climate newsletter to see more profiles of youths making waves.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Nova Scotia government added to list of defendants in class-action suit over mass shooting: Families of the victims of Canada’s deadliest mass shooting formally added the Nova Scotia government as a defendant in their proposed class-action lawsuit this week. A lawyer for the families says that is because the government contracts the RCMP, which is another defendant.
Canadian satellite embarks on mission to monitor methane emissions from space: After months of delay due to COVID-19 and bad weather, a Canadian satellite from Montreal-based company GHGSat Inc. finally launched Wednesday evening. The satellite, named Iris, will be searching for excess methane emissions, a contributor to climate change.
Hong Kong businessman and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, middle, leaves a court after he was found not guilty in a case accusing him of criminal intimidation in Hong Kong, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. The case dates back to an incident in 2017, when a reporter from the Oriental Daily newspaper said Jimmy Lai used intimidating language toward him in public.Kin Cheung/The Associated Press
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai found not guilty of criminal intimidation in 2017 case: A Hong Kong court has found pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai not guilty after he used foul language when confronting a competitor news outlet. Lai was arrested last month in an unrelated case under Hong Kong’s new national-security law.
Seven Rochester police officers suspended in suffocation death of Daniel Prude: After video was released of police officers putting a mesh hood over Daniel Prude, a Black man, before he lost consciousness, Rochester, N.Y. Mayor Lovely Warren suspended the seven officers involved in the confrontation. Prude, who suffered a mental illness, was handcuffed by officers on March 23 after he ran into the street naked in the middle of the cold night. Prude began spitting, and the officers responded by pulling a hood over his head. He died a week later in hospital.
Read more on Daniel Prude:
MORNING MARKETS
Markets await U.S. jobs numbers: World shares edged lower on Friday, and were on course for their worst week in more than two months, though gains in safer assets like bonds and the U.S. dollar were muted as investors awaited U.S. jobs data. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.45 per cent just before 6 a.m. ET. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.17 per cent and 0.77 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.11 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.25 per cent. In New York, Dow and S&P futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 76.34 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Saliva tests could be the key to crushing this pandemic
Eric Brown: “No question, new testing technology is also a wise investment for the future. COVID-19 may be a dress rehearsal for another even more deadly pandemic, and we will be better prepared to respond quickly, averting the madness of 2020.”
Our public-health heroes are suddenly under attack. And it’s wrong
Gary Mason: “I understand that our provincial health officers aren’t immune from criticism. Nor are they perfect. They are trying to figure this thing out as they go along. There is no mistake-free playbook they can follow. But at the end of the day, it’s up to all of us to follow protocols that allow us to be safe.”
Distributing a COVID-19 vaccine could become a big problem
Hooman Katirai, Rida Bukhari and Sahanna Alphonsus: “How fast we recover from the pandemic depends in part on how quickly we can administer the vaccine. Governments and regulatory bodies need to act now to increase the number of skilled health care professionals who can administer the injections or we will all pay the price.”
Justin Trudeau wants you to forget about the WE Charity fiasco. Don’t do it
The Editorial Board: “The Prime Minister may hope that he has put the serious issues they raise behind him, and that Canadians will have moved on from the WE Charity scandal by the time fall officially arrives. But it is imperative that the committees he shuttered get back to work, and that these troubling allegations are properly examined.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Disney’s Mulan remake is gorgeous and epic, no matter the size of your screen
Sticking close to the original film’s story, but abandoning its songs and cutesy Disney Renaissance touches – apologies in advance to anyone hoping that Eddie Murphy’s talking dragon Mushu would resurface here – Caro’s Mulan proves itself early and often. It may not be essential, but it is more thoroughly original in design and entertaining in execution than anything plopping out of the Mouse House’s remake factory floor.
MOMENT IN TIME: September 4, 1993
New York Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott celebrates after the last out of New York's first no-hitter in 10 years 04 September 1993. Abbott, who was born without a right hand, walked five and struck out three as the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-0.MARK D. PHILLIPS/AFP/Getty Images
Baseball pitcher Jim Abbott throws no-hitter
There have been 304 no-hitters in Major League Baseball history, including 11 thrown by New York Yankees pitchers. But Jim Abbott’s, on this day in 1993, stands apart. (Abbott, at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, was a Yankee left-hander with a unique playing style. After he threw the ball, he would slip his left hand into the catching glove sitting on his right forearm, enabling him to field the ball.) On that overcast early September afternoon, Abbott, with a mediocre 9-11 record, faced the Cleveland Indians. He struggled a bit, but was helped out by some great defensive plays by teammates. By the top of the ninth inning, he was still pitching and Cleveland was still hitless. First up, Kenny Lofton: a groundout. Next, Felix Fermin: a fly to left centre. The 27,225 spectators at Yankee Stadium were on their feet. Finally, Carlos Baerga, Cleveland’s mightiest hitter. A ground-out to short! Over 2 hours 33 minutes, Abbott had given up five walks, with three strikeouts, on 119 pitches, of which 66 were strikes. But no batter reached base on a hit. The Yankees won 4-0. Abbott – who had been born without a right hand – had a no-hitter. Philip King
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