Morning Update: China sought extradition treaty with Canada for years

Good morning,

Only a few years before Beijing began demanding the release of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, Chinese officials sought an extradition treaty with Canada that, they believed, would allow them to pull people out of this country with few questions asked.

This is contrary to the criticism Beijing has thrown toward Ottawa, for acting as an “accomplice” to the U.S. for arresting Wanzhou, made in accordance with the Canada-U.S. extradition treaty.

An internal briefing on the extradition issue was included in documents provided to The Globe and Mail under access-to-information law. It took more than four years for the Canada Border Services Agency to respond with 120 pages of documents to a request made in 2016.

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The White house and COVID-19

U.S. President Donald Trump is continuing to battle COVID-19 in hospital amid conflicting messages and false information from the White House over his health status.

Mr. Trump has suffered low oxygen saturation in his blood and is being treated with a steroid typically reserved for severe cases of the disease. But the White House physician insisted that the President has “continued to improve” and could be discharged as early as today.

The President’s diagnosis has sent both presidential campaigns scrambling to readjust their strategies with less than a month to go before the vote.

• Analysis: Trump’s COVID-19 crisis creates an even greater crisis for the U.S.

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Private clinics allow people to bypass COVID-19 testing line for a fee

The for-profit clinics serve individual patients as well as companies that require employees to test negative for the coronavirus before returning to work. Individuals pay anywhere from $50 to $250 for a test.

Critics say the clinics open the door to two-tier health care that prioritizes treatment based on a person’s ability to pay over need, upending the very foundation of Canada’s publicly funded system.

• Toronto’s medical officer says COVID-19 rates won’t slow without interventions, but the city suspended contact tracing outside of outbreaks in congregate settings.
• Quebec reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for third straight day
• Theresa Tam urges Thanksgiving caution amid recent rise in cases of COVID-19

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Green Party Leader Annamie Paul has lived a life unlike other politicians

For instance, the first Black woman elected to lead a Canadian political party, remembers, precisely, the three times in her life when she was called the N-word. She has mixed feelings about her milestone – in particular, why did it take so long?

• Related opinion: With Annamie Paul, the Greens decide to compete for votes, and seats

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Canadian virologist Michael Houghton jointly wins Nobel Prize for Medicine: Michael Houghton, director of the University of Alberta’s Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute in Edmonton, was named a co-recipient of the prize together with two U.S. scientists, Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice for identifying the virus that causes Hepatitis C.

Missing and murdered Indigenous women remembered in ceremonies: Indigenous women paid tribute to missing and murdered sisters, daughters, cousins and other loved ones in an emotional vigil Sunday, saying the need to address systemic racism is more urgent than ever.

Quebec coroner’s office to launch public inquest into Joyce Echaquan’s death: Hospital staff can be heard in the video making disparaging comments about Echaquan, including calling her stupid and saying she’d be better off dead.

Opposition plans to resume investigations of WE Charity contract as committees restart: Studies on the matter were silenced by the PM’s decision to prorogue Parliament in August and, since the return to the House of Commons last week, the Liberals haven’t shown an interest in resuming the probes.

MORNING MARKETS

World stocks gain: Stocks and other risk assets rose on Monday as signs that Donald Trump’s health was improving brought relief to markets after the uncertainty of his COVID-19 infection sent investors rushing for safety last week. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.65 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.66 per cent and 0.84 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished up 1.32 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei added 1.23 per cent. New York futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 75.37 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 high-yield gainers, a top dividend pick and dialing back the Cancon in your portfolio.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

With voting under attack in the U.S., Canada must recommit to democracy

Peter Donolo and Jason MacDonald: “Indeed, the evidence shows that grafting a system of compulsory voting onto a culture without strong democratic traditions dooms it to failure.”

WTO crisis exacerbated by pandemic politics

Claire Citeau: “As Canada plots its path to a steep economic recovery, it’s vital to ensure that the WTO gets reformed in the spirit of multilateralism and rules-based trade.”

Kids' runny noses and sore throats are now a nightmare for parents like me

Brianna Bell: “Keeping kids home for every cold or flu symptom will not be sustainable for parents long-term. We need a different plan, because this one isn’t working for us.”

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

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LIVING BETTER

Five new thrillers to warm up your autumn weekends

Margaret Cannon writes about the books you should read this season

• The Unlocking Season, Gail Bowen: In one of Bowen’s smartest novels yet, Joanne finds herself digging back into her own complicated history for answers about the death of a beloved friend.
• All The Devils Are Here, Louise Penny: Read in a time of pandemic isolation, this is a wonderful escape.
• Squeeze Me, Carl Hiaasen: The author is that rare bird, the native Floridian. I laughed uproariously through this book. This is one not to be missed.
• Murder in the Family, Jeff Blackstock: “I think that my father murdered my mother,” is the first line. The confrontation with his father when it comes, is solid. This is a fine true crime book.
• Fifty Fifty, Steve Cavanagh: Two calls within two minutes to 911. From two sisters. One is lying but who? That’s the premise of this brilliant new legal thriller.

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MOMENT IN TIME:

Intensive care unit, 1962

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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 celebrating nursing.

It’s hard to imagine what we would do today, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic, without hospital intensive care units. But it wasn’t so long ago when these specialized units were a novelty. Globe and Mail photographer Harry McLorinan visited the new ICU at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto in 1962, at a time when these units, designed to provide medical attention and round-the-clock nursing care for critically ill patients, were starting to take off at hospitals across the country. The concept, first introduced by Danish anesthetist Bjorn Ibsen, arose from his treatment of patients requiring ventilation as the result of another infectious viral disease: poliomyelitis. McLorinan captured this photo of Kathryn Scott, the unit’s supervisor, as she helped patient Merrly Caird with a ventilator, a device that replaced the iron lung. Caird was seriously injured in an industrial accident, and narrowly escaped death. Wency Leung

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