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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is discussing options to extend support for businesses beyond the Oct. 23 expiration date for some emergency wage and rent subsidies.
The comment has raised expectations that the Liberals may support more business sectors than the party promised in the recent election campaign.
The re-elected Liberal minority government is facing calls from many business and labour leaders for a broad extension of the expiring programs, which include wage and rent subsidies to business owners and programs that go directly to individuals who are unable to work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leave a news conference in Ottawa, Oct. 6. REUTERS/Patrick DoylePATRICK DOYLE/Reuters
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Why a triple murder-suicide in rural Ontario offers a case study on how rape myths can compromise a police probe
A triple murder-suicide in rural Ontario is a case study in the ways rape myths and tunnel vision can compromise a police investigation, and should be used to teach police how to handle sexual and domestic violence complaints, a provincial review has found.
On Feb. 23, 2018, six months after Ulla Theoret told police that her neighbour, Mark Jones, had sexually assaulted her, Mr. Jones shot and killed her in her Burk’s Falls, Ont., home. He also killed her son Paul, 28, and her mother, Raija Turunen, 88, before turning his gun on himself.
After a Globe and Mail investigation in 2019, which highlighted the warning signs missed by police and others in the tight-knit small town, Ontario’s Domestic Violence Death Review Committee (DVDRC) decided the case warranted a probe, even though it was not a clear-cut instance of domestic violence because Mr. Jones and Ms. Theoret were not officially a couple.
The Decibel podcast: What a triple murder-suicide tells us about the missed red flags in domestic-violence cases
‘You’re flying blind’: In Nunavut, a data crisis is brewing
Statistics Canada is struggling to get residents of Nunavut to respond to its flagship labour survey amid the pandemic, a situation that has worsened over time and raised concerns about the quality of employment data for the territory.
In Nunavut, the household response rate to Statscan’s Labour Force Survey has fallen to roughly 16 per cent from a prepandemic monthly average of 75 per cent. Nationally, the response rate has ebbed to historic lows of about 70 per cent in recent months.
The survey is among the most important economic reports in Canada and contains some key indicators, such as the unemployment rate. The monthly report not only informs government policy, it also determines who qualifies for jobless benefits through employment insurance – and for how long.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Travellers must be fully vaccinated, Ottawa says: Travellers who board flights in Canadian airports or take trips on Via Rail trains will be required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test starting on Oct. 30, the federal government announced yesterday. And, starting on Nov. 30, the testing option will be revoked and travellers will not be able to board flights or Via trains unless they are fully vaccinated – with rare exceptions.
Campbell Clark: Trudeau uses federal employees to set a vaccine-mandate example
Also: Calls to Alberta’s poison-control centre spike as anti-parasitic drug pushed for COVID-19 treatment
Freeland says military doesn’t understand harassment issue: Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says there is a toxic culture in the Canadian Armed Forces and the military leadership “just doesn’t get it” when it comes to handling cases of sexual misconduct.
Why Wealthsimple is now pushing stock trading and crypto: Wealthsimple’s robo-adviser still exists, but the company is now advertising a trading app for retail investors. And it’s not just stocks – it is heavily promoting its new cryptocurrency business, which allows users to trade a slew of crypto assets. The new strategy seems at odds with Wealthsimple’s founding principles.
Government regulators too slow to implement climate finance rules, report says: Ottawa and regulators have been too slow to implement rules for integrating climate objectives into the financial system, and now Canada is forced to play catch up with its European allies, says a report on the country’s progress in meeting sustainable finance goals.
In Beirut, blackouts and economic collapse test families’ endurance: Described as one of the world’s worst financial crises in modern history by the World Bank, Lebanon’s currency has lost 90 per cent of its value in less than two years. Electricity cuts across the country now last between 20 and 22 hours a day. The situation is so dire that Lebanon’s state power company, Électricité du Liban, warned of a total blackout as its fuel reserves dwindle.
MORNING MARKETS
Global shares gain: World stock markets got their foot back on the gas on Thursday as hopes grew that Washington could resolve its debt-ceiling squabbles and a global drop in energy prices tempered deepening fears of “stagflation.” Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.77 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were up 1.13 per cent and 1.26 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.54 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 3.07 per cent. New York futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.47 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
John Ibbitson: “One of the most lasting impacts of the pandemic will be the decline in births that occurred during it. Those missing babies will further suppress fertility rates that were already dangerously low in many countries. For Canada, this is a challenge. For China, it’s a crisis.”
Editorial: “But as long as he defines the debate, there is very little anyone can do to present a counterargument without risking the appearance of not demonstrating enough fealty to the need to protect the French language. Bill 96 is not a great law. But it’s good for Mr. Legault.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Ten memorable wines ideal for Thanksgiving gatherings
Many Canadians are preparing to host or attend their first holiday gathering with friends and family in 18 months, which has prompted the usual requests for suggestions of crowd-pleasing bottles to serve or bring along. Even in the case of small gatherings, it’s been such a long time in most instances that people are trying harder than usual to impress. This selection of 10 wines fits that bill.
MOMENT IN TIME: OCTOBER 7, 1996
Rupert Murdoch shakes hands with Roger Ailes after naming Ailes the head of Fox News, New York, New York, January 30, 1996.Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images
Fox News makes a low-key debut
Nobody was paying much attention when Fox News launched in the U.S. But owner Rupert Murdoch was determined to get it noticed and paid cable and satellite providers to carry it from the get-go. What viewers saw at first was little different from CNN. It just seemed low-budget. But what they got in prime-time hours was very different: Hard-edged, accusatory hosts telling viewers America was in decline, and that a cabal of left-wingers was responsible. Bill O’Reilly’s shouting dismissal of everything new and progressive was the channel’s signature style. It was created by Roger Ailes, a former consultant to the Republican Party and veteran TV producer. Ailes shrewdly concluded that a vast audience of older white men didn’t want to be informed; they wanted to feel validated. He was right. Fox News found its conservative footing early, feeding off the scandals of Bill Clinton’s second term and, after 9/11, when cable news surged in popularity, it became a profit-machine. O’Reilly and Ailes would leave under the shadow of sexual-harassment scandals, but Fox News survived and thrived, and eventually, cable providers were paying Fox for the right to carry it. John Doyle
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