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These are the top stories:
A new law to speed up the justice system has created chaos over a lack of clarity
The confusion has prompted 25 court hearings across Canada and could result in jury verdicts of guilt being thrown out, with new trials ordered.
The question at the heart of the matter is whether jury-selection rules that took effect on Sept. 19 apply only to charges laid after that date, or to all cases already in the system in which a jury has not yet been chosen.
The federal government insists that the law is clear, with a spokesperson saying it applies to new cases only. However, “because it wasn’t clear to a series of Superior Court judges” in Ontario, says Toronto lawyer Dirk Derstine, “a whole mountain of jury trials could fall.”
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The resignation of Malta’s PM and one family’s fight for justice
Rose and Michael Vella, parents of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, attend a protest in Valletta on Sunday. (Associated Press)The Associated Press
Two years after Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated, her family’s fight for justice is being realized. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced his plan to resign during a TV address last night as thousands took to the streets to protest the handling of an investigation into the death of Caruana Galizia, who was murdered in October of 2017 after exposing rampant government corruption.
Muscat’s resignation came one day after a wealthy Maltese businessman was charged with complicity in the murder. Two cabinet ministers also resigned last week, both denying links to the killing.
The political fallout was sparked by the relentless activism of Caruana Galizia’s three sons and three sisters. “The last two years have felt like one long day,” said one sister, Corinne Vella, adding that her “family pushed the political agenda.”
Meng Wanzhou has taken to WeChat to detail her past year fighting extradition
The Huawei executive wrote on the Chinese social platform that she he has experienced “moments of fear, pain, disappointment, helplessness, torment and struggle” in Canada. Meng also said that “Over the past year, I have also learned to face up to and accept my situation.”
Meng has been living in a $13-million Vancouver home, with bail restrictions limiting her movements and requiring her to wear an ankle bracelet. Her situation is starkly different from the two Canadians who have been detained by China and interrogated in what critics call a case of “hostage diplomacy.”
Over the weekend, The Globe detailed the final hours that led to the arrest of Meng at Vancouver’s airport one year ago.
Meanwhile, Australia criticized China over its treatment of a writer who has been detained there for nearly a year, calling on Beijing to release more details about the case.
The Globe’s editorial board writes: “The last thing China wants is a co-ordinated, global effort calling out its abuses. Which means there ought to be just such an effort.”
Alberta municipalities are facing revenue losses over a tax break for gas producers
A plan to reduce property taxes for shallow-gas producers has municipalities scrambling to address a revenue crunch in 2020, when a provincial rebate disappears.
The town of Stettler County, 180 kilometres south of Edmonton, is anticipating a hit of close to $1-million and is examining service fees, reduced services, and increased taxes to make up for the loss.
Associate Minister of Natural Gas Dale Nally defended the break for shallow-gas producers, saying the province doesn’t want to “tax companies into bankruptcy.”
Funding for a new Calgary NHL arena continues to face push-back at city council, this time during budget deliberations. While the fiscal plan was approved, some voiced concerns that the money put toward the arena deal would be better spent on services like transit.
Alberta’s public-sector unions are being urged by Premier Jason Kenney to reduce wages or other benefits if they want to limit potential layoffs sparked by provincial budget cuts.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
TDSB cancels kindergarten program: The Toronto school board is shuttering a program for children with special needs after determining it wasn’t successful in its goal to integrate students into a regular Grade 1 classroom. The move comes amid a debate on how to balance the right to an education with behavioural issues.
Crackdown in Iran: At least 180 people have been killed in the deadliest unrest to hit the country since the Iranian revolution, the New York Times reports. Protesters first took to the street about two weeks ago, after an abrupt increase in gasoline prices.
UN taps former BoC governor: Mark Carney has been named special envoy for climate action and finance as part of a bid to mobilize the financial sector in reaching Paris targets. Carney, who served as Bank of Canada governor from 2008 to 2013, is about to end his term as head of the Bank of England.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks rally on Chinese data boost, cautious trade optimism: Stock markets rebounded on Monday as decent manufacturing data in China and renewed optimism over a trade deal eroded some of the jitters which emerged among investors last week. In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite added 0.1 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.4 and 0.6 per cent by about 4:45 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 unanimous TSX stock ‘buys,’ high-flying utilities and which banks are expected to hike dividends.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
For John Horgan’s NDP, the road to majority government runs through rural B.C.
Justine Hunter: “To win a majority government in the 2021 [provincial] election, they need to appeal to rural voters as well. That job has become far harder since ... the forest sector that is the lifeblood of hundreds of rural communities appears to be in free fall.”
The sole premier to stand up against Quebec’s Bill 21
David McLaughlin: “Only one premier, Brian Pallister of Manitoba, has spoken out strongly and consistently against Bill 21. ... [His opposition] springs from a unique Prairie conservatism that combines libertarian individualism with progressive societal values of community.” McLaughlin was campaign manager for the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party in 2016 and 2019.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Rebuilding a suburb for transit and walking over driving
An artistic rendering of Innisfil's plan. (Partisans/Norm Li)Courtesy of manufacturer
Suburbs are known for being car-dependent. But the Ontario town of Innisfil has a radical plan to change that. Located north of Toronto near Barrie, the community of 36,000 has laid out a plan dubbed Orbit that could add up to 150,000 people. Beyond a new commuter rail station, the plan would see blocks designed in a circular pattern, boosting walkability.
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 look at the thrill of comedy.
Wayne and Shuster, 1943
Clockwise from left: Bill Morrow, Frank Shuster, Ed Beloin and Johnny Wayne. (The Globe and Mail)The Globe and Mail
Some Canadians spent the Second World War on the front lines, while others did duty on funny lines. Comedians Frank Shuster, top, and Johnny Wayne, at typewriter, were of the latter, working on the Canadian Army Radio Show, carried by the CBC in 1942 and 1943. The “yak merchants,” in the parlance of the day, were gag-happy sergeants. “Army life is terribly strict – lights out at 9 o’clock, women out at 10,” was a typical cornball quip. In 1943, a stage revue, The Army Show, toured Canada. Later, Wayne and Shuster performed in Europe. The New York Times, perhaps derisively, called the show the Canadian Forces’ greatest showing since Dieppe. Decades later, a Canadian comedy invasion of the United States would commence. – Brad Wheeler
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