Good morning,
These are the top stories:
The Wet’suwet’en’s fight against a B.C. pipeline has become an argument about archeology
Camp 9A is the staging area for the final 84-kilometre stretch of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. It’s also where two supporters of the Wet’suwet’en Nation say they found six Indigenous artifacts last February.
Now, the artifacts are at the centre of a highly charged court dispute: were the objects planted in an effort to halt construction on the pipeline, or did they always exist on the site? The Globe dug through hundreds of pages of court documents and spoke with more than 20 people to help make sense of the legal battle.
What’s next: A B.C. Supreme Court hearing set for this month has been pushed to 2020 in the hopes that a settlement can be reached. But divisions remain: Wet’suwet’en Nation leaders say Coastal GasLink’s mitigation plans to guard against ruining relics are inadequate.
This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
Afghanistan’s ambassador to Canada says the post-Taliban mission in the country was not a failure
Hassan Soroosh is disputing some of the revelations in a Washington Post report that found U.S. officials did not tell the truth about a war they came to believe was unwinnable.
The conclusions fail to consider the “undeniable progress” in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led mission began in 2001, Soroosh told The Globe.
Still, he acknowledged the “insufficient attention” paid by international allies to “some realities on the ground.”
The Canadian government has never done a complete review of its role in Afghanistan, a step one former deputy minister says is “overdue.”
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Wilson-Raybould on SNC-Lavalin’s plea: In an interview with The Globe, the former attorney-general said: “I appreciate that justice was served.” But she dismissed commentary that said the fraud charge against SNC validated her actions in the saga that plagued the Trudeau government, saying “this isn’t about winning or losing.”
Canadian journalist faces Christmas Day trial: Zsombor Peter was charged two years ago with incitement to commit a felony while covering an election campaign in Cambodia. “I’d like to know why the Canadian government has not denounced this case,” Peter said, calling the charge an attack on press freedom.
Investors seek suit against RBC’s mutual-fund division: A group of RBC investors are looking to launch a class-action lawsuit, arguing Royal Mutual Funds didn’t provide unbiased advice when it offered higher compensation to advisers to sell its own proprietary funds.
Ontario Legislature clings to Lord’s Prayer: Ontario is one of just three provinces, along with New Brunswick and PEI, that begins every legislature sitting with the Lord’s Prayer. Many Ontario politicians are reluctant to reexamine the issue after public backlash more than a decade ago stopped an attempt to drop the prayer.
MORNING MARKETS
World shares stall near record high as year draws to close: World stocks stalled near record highs and currency markets were little changed on Monday as trading dwindled before the Christmas holiday and investors took profit on gains made this month. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.40 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei closed little changed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.13 per cent. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.27 per cent around 5:30 a.m. ET. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.03 per cent. Germany’s DAX slid 0.18 per cent. New York futures were modestly higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 76.06 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
O come, all ye ache-full: the ER is open
André Picard: “Could we please, in the name of all that is good and holy, stop telling people to avoid the ER during the holidays? Better yet, let’s make it our New Year’s resolution to stop blaming patients for the structural flaws and managerial failures of the health system.”
Give yourself the greatest gift: Learn to do nothing
Elizabeth Renzetti: “Doing nothing is particularly hard at this time of year, when it feels like there are more demands on your time than Quality Streets in the tin. You’re not meant to be working, and yet find yourself working harder, and often more pointlessly, than ever.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
HOLIDAY READ
Margaret Atwood, The Globe’s 2019 artist of the year, dominated the literary world and global culture
The publication of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments was an international literary juggernaut, but it was also a time that marked the passing of her husband, Graeme Gibson, himself a literary legend. In an oral history, Marsha Lederman tells the story of a year of magic and loss.
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 looking at the thrill of comedy.
Rich Little in 1967
(Harold Robinson/The Globe and Mail)Harold Robinson/The Globe and Mail
Often called “the man of a thousand voices,“ Ottawa-born Rich Little made his mark as a master of impressions, and some of his most memorable are his takes on Johnny Carson and Richard Nixon. This photo was taken by Harold Robinson for The Globe and Mail in 1967, when Little brought the house down at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto with bits on prime ministers Lester Pearson and John Diefenbaker. He also performed the routine that got his Copacabana gig cancelled in New York – a song that poked fun at U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War. Little would go on to become the host of his own TV show, as well as appear in person and as a voice actor on many more films and TV series. You can still catch his live act: Little performs four nights a week at the Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas. – Catherine Dawson March
If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.