Good morning,
From Uyghur detentions to Huawei, these China developments are making news:
Secret documents reveal how China’s mass detention camps work, including a series of surveillance measures to “prevent escapes” by Uyghurs and other minorities, most of whom are Muslim. The directives also outlined a strategy to rewire the thoughts of detainees and the language they speak. Experts say the new leaks “confirm that this is a form of cultural genocide.”
Canada’s new foreign minister raised the case of two detained Canadians during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart at a G20 summit. François-Philippe Champagne said he expressed “deep concern” about China’s detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been jailed in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou.
U.S. issues warning to Canada on Huawei: U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien said granting Huawei access to 5G networks would allow China to “know every health record, every banking record, every social media post; they’re going to know everything about every single Canadian.”
In Hong Kong’s local elections, pro-democracy candidates picked up a majority of seats in a rebuke of the pro-Beijing establishment following months of street protests. Democrats secured 390 of 452 seats, way up from around 100 seats four years ago.
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Charles Schwab to buy TD Ameritrade in $26-billion deal
Charles Schwab Corp said on Monday it would acquire TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at US$26-billion, combining the two largest U.S. discount brokerages. As part of the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2020, Ameritrade stockholders will get 1.0837 Schwab shares for every share held.
Toronto-Dominion Bank owns 43 per cent of TD Ameritrade and is expected to support the sale. Analysts project TD Bank will emerge from the transaction with a 10-per-cent to 15-per-cent stake in a merged company that dominates the do-it-yourself financial-services space.
A deal between the two companies could be seen as a response to recent disruption in the industry, where nimbler startups are rapidly gaining market share by eliminating commissions on stock trades.
Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade combined would have assets of around US$5-trillion, according to Reuters calculations.
More Canadian teens are overdosing on easy-to-access medications, data show
Youth overdoses linked to over-the-counter meds such as Tylenol and prescription drugs including antidepressants have doubled in Ontario and Alberta in less than a decade.
Data from the Canadian Institute Health Information echo the findings of a new Ontario study that found acetaminophen, known by its brand name Tylenol, was the most commonly used drug in intentional youth overdoses.
Some experts are calling for Health Canada to make higher doses of acetaminophen available only by prescription, and to limit the number of pills that can be sold at one time.
While nearly all teenagers who go to the emergency department for an intentional overdose survive, research suggests that they are at a higher risk for suicide and accidental death in the future.
The Federal Court will begin hearing a First Nations child welfare case today
Ottawa is in court requesting a stay of proceedings on a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision to order compensation for First Nations children who were unnecessarily taken into care because of a lack of on-reserve services.
The background: The Trudeau government faced criticism just before the election writ dropped over its decision to head to court rather than agree to compensation of up to $40,000 each – a figure a government official said could add up to a $7.9-billion payout. Ottawa wants a review of the tribunal ruling, but has said it agrees there should be some form of compensation.
Prairie farmers are feeling the impact as the CN strike continues
The strike, which comes amid peak season for grain prices, is adding another layer of frustration for farmers already hurt by China’s trade restrictions on Canadian canola. Importers could soon make alternative arrangements if Canadian producers are unable to get their products to foreign markets.
The federal government is facing growing calls to legislate striking employees back to work, with representatives in the mining and chemistry industries warning of impacts on business and Quebec’s Premier sounding the alarm about a fuel shortage. Ottawa has reiterated its support for CN and its workers to reach an agreement through collective bargaining.
In a column, Melanie Paradis of the McMillan Vantage Policy Group lays out the sweeping ramifications for Canadians – and the federal government – should the strike drag on: “Whether you work in a Mississauga engineering firm, the stockroom of an IKEA in Coquitlam, B.C. or a used car lot in Moncton, your job depends on the steady and reliable flow of products from coast to coast.”
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won their first Grey Cup title in 29 years
(Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)Nathan Denette/The Associated Press
The Bombers ended the longest active championship drought in the CFL with their 33-12 thumping of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 107th Grey Cup.
As Rachel Brady reports from Grey Cup host city Calgary, the win against the top-seeded Ticats capped a Cinderella run for the Bombers, who finished the regular season ranked third in the West.
Over the weekend, Ian Brown examined the nostalgia for the Canadian game that fewer and fewer people watch.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Tensions in Toronto over pedestrian deaths: Roughly 1,100 pedestrians have been struck and more than 30 killed so far this year as Toronto police revealed a dramatic reduction in traffic enforcement. Now, a public event to give seniors reflective armbands is being criticized for putting the onus of safety on the most vulnerable instead of motorists.
Kelowna RCMP understaffed: A new report has found that under-resourcing in B.C.’s Okanagan region is hurting the ability of police to investigate crime, and says the detachment should add more than 80 staff. The finding comes as data revealed Kelowna RCMP dismissed sexual assault complaints as “unfounded” at three times the national average.
Michael Bloomberg enters Democratic race: The billionaire businessman and former New York mayor has officially thrown his name in the hat for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
MORNING MARKETS
Trade optimism lifts world shares: World shares staged a cautious rally on Monday as investors held out for some progress in U.S.-China trade talks, while the U.S. dollar dipped after recent gains on the back of strong U.S. economic data. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.5 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite 0.7 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.5 and 0.7 per cent by about 5:15 a.m. ET. New York futures were up. The Canadian dollar was above 75 US cents.
Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes Blue-chip dividend hike, cannabis stocks’ sudden spike and BMO’s rosy TSX outlook.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Trump’s strategy: Investigate the investigators. Will it work?
Sarah Kendzior: “The President’s ability to pull off another election heist relies on silencing people such as Fiona Hill, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Vindman, and Marie Yovanovitch who have seen his machinations from the inside and can explain them to the American public.” Kendzior is the co-host of the podcast Gaslit Nation and the author of the upcoming book Hiding in Plain Sight.
Ottawa should watch and learn as B.C. is about to become a testing ground for Indigenous rights
Globe editorial: “the positive aspect of B.C.'s plan to implement UNDRIP [is that it] will apply only in one province, and it will give voters across the country, and the federal government, a chance to see how this works in practice, what it changes and if those changes are positive or negative.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
The end of the Victoria’s Secret annual TV special
TV critic John Doyle hails the cancellation of the fashion show he says “always peddled a fictional narrative.” Doyle writes that the “spectacle would have been comical had it not been both tacky and dangerous,” pointing to the ridiculous outfits and the models turning to a “no-solids” diet in an effort to stay thin ahead of the show.
MOMENT IN TIME
For more than 100 years, photographers have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography for The Globe and Mail. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
A piece of the Berlin Wall arrives in Canada, 1990
(John McNeill/The Globe and Mail)JOHN McNEILL/The Globe and Mail
The western side was gloriously decorated in graffiti, the eastern side remained blank grey. Even before official demolition, people were keen to grab a souvenir of the Berlin Wall. The dismantling started in the summer of 1990 and would yield tonnes of rubble and sections that were bought or donated to institutions around the world. Some even went on tour, such as the 2.5 tonne segment captured in this photo by John McNeill for The Globe as it was unloaded in Toronto for display at the Canadian National Exhibition. Today, pieces of the wall are still on sale, a small section still stands in Berlin and visitors can find segments in any number of places, from the War Museum in Ottawa to the Vatican City or even in a men’s bathroom in a Las Vegas casino. – Alison Gzowski
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