Good morning,
Ottawa paid out $400-million to federal public servants last year as part of ongoing compensation for damages related to the Phoenix pay system, which caused major payroll disruptions across the government.
That’s in addition to the $160-million in compensation Ottawa paid the year before. The government estimates an additional $165-million could be paid during this fiscal year, which would bring the total to more than $700-million.
The government-wide Phoenix payroll system launched in 2016. Initially, Ottawa said the new platform would save it millions of dollars a year by replacing outdated systems. And yet Phoenix, which continues to be used while Ottawa makes improvements and explores options for a replacement, has been a disaster from the start.
The Public Service Pay Centre in Miramichi, N.B.The Canadian Press
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Opinion: Omicron is discouraging but a strong response now may bring the end in sight
With the arrival of the fast-moving Omicron variant, there’s much to be dejected about on the pandemic front, writes The Globe’s health columnist André Picard.
We’re seeing record COVID-19 case numbers in almost every province, and those disturbing daily case counts will likely continue for days or weeks. There is an alarming number of breakthrough cases, too – infections in the vaccinated.
Yet, despite the grim headlines and the even grimmer prospect of another locked-down Christmas, we can’t allow ourselves to give in to apocalyptic despair. There’s actually a lot to be hopeful about.
Catch up with our COVID-19 coverage:
- What we’ve learned about Omicron so far, including how severe illness from the variant appears to be
- NHL postpones cross-border games through holiday break amid COVID-19 case crush
- Editorial: The emergence of the Omicron variant shows we must vaccinate the world, or else
- Listen to The Decibel: Why Omicron is different than the COVID-19 variants we’ve seen
Hong Kong’s ‘patriots-only’ election sees record low turnout
Hong Kong’s shopping streets, country parks and tourist attractions were packed Sunday as people took advantage of balmy weather and free public transit for election day. Few, however, cast their votes, with turnout in the city’s first legislative election under a new “patriots-only” system at a historic low.
In a statement after polls closed Sunday night, Hong Kong’s Beijing-appointed leader, Carrie Lam, thanked those who voted, saying their ballots were not only for individual candidates but “also a show of support for the improved electoral system.”
If that is the case, the message was not a strong one. Sunday’s turnout was 30.2 per cent – 13 percentage points lower than the previous low, in 2000. Some 1.3 million people cast ballots this year, almost a million fewer than in the past election in 2016, when turnout was 58.2 per cent.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Retired generals warn U.S. military deeply divided and future coup attempt possible: The United States could be subject to a military coup after the next presidential election unless it acts now to tamp down signs of insurrection within the ranks, three retired generals are warning. If former president Donald Trump, or a similar candidate, loses again in 2024, renegade military units might overthrow the election winner and install Trump in the White House, retired brigadier-general Steven Anderson and retired major-generals Paul Eaton and Antonio Taguba write in a Washington Post op-ed.
Conservative Party will not lead effort to revive Commons China committee: Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives say they won’t lead an effort to resurrect a parliamentary committee that probed Canada-China relations in the past Parliament. O’Toole spearheaded the effort in December, 2019, back when he was still the party’s foreign-affairs critic. But now, the Conservatives say that there are other pressing priorities, such as a special committee to examine the federal government’s response to the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin slams door on Biden’s social-spending bill: Citing concerns about inflation, the moderate Democrat, whose vote is key to passing Joe Biden’s US$1.75-trillion domestic investment bill, said on Sunday he would not support the package. The White House called Manchin’s remarks a breach of commitments he made to find common ground, and said it would find a way to move forward with the legislation in 2022.
This wild river in Quebec is now considered a person. How will it help with conservation?: For thousands of years, the Innu First Nations have cherished the Magpie, also known as Mutuhekau Shipu, as a highway, pharmacy and place of healing. Its powers has also attracted speculation for future hydroelectric dams. But Innu, environmental activists and regional politicians are fighting back with a new strategy that’s inspiring protection efforts across the world: the Magpie is now legally considered a person.
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai denies she made sexual-assault accusation: In a video posted by a media outlet in Singapore, Peng Shuai said she had never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her, and that a social-media post she had made early last month had been misunderstood. Peng’s well-being became a matter of concern among the global tennis community and rights groups when she appeared to allege that a former Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past.
Canadian regulators grapple with fast-moving crypto-lending industry: In a span of just two years, Ledn, a Toronto-based cryptocurrency lending company, has seen its digital assets under management grow from a couple of million dollars to almost $2-billion, according to its co-founder. But despite its growing portfolio, Ledn is still awaiting full provincial regulatory approval. Its registration status perhaps best illustrates a conundrum regulators face when it comes to the crypto industry: As soon as they deliver guidance on one kind of crypto business, various other new and often more complicated business models emerge.
MORNING MARKETS
Omicron worries hit global stocks: World stocks fell and oil prices slid more than 3% on Monday as surging Omicron COVID-19 cases triggered tighter curbs in Europe and U.S. growth prospects dimmed after a US$1.75-trillion domestic investment bill suffered a blow. Around 5 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 1.93 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 2.72 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei lost 2.13 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished down 1.93 per cent. New York futures were lower. The Canadian dollar was trading at 77.35 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The emergency you aren’t hearing about: Toronto’s unhoused are dying in record numbers
“Evictions, temporarily on hold in Ontario in 2020, were allowed to resume. People who might have had a precarious housing arrangement like couchsurfing at a friend’s suddenly found themselves out on the street. Toronto’s ridiculously unaffordable housing and rental market is obviously a factor. What is a hot dinner-party topic for people with roofs over their heads and food on the table is literally a matter of life and death when that roof is non-existent.” - Elizabeth Renzetti
Press credentials didn’t help me against the RCMP in Wet’suwet’en territory. Who do they help, and who do they hinder?
“My right to report is not dependent on whatever publication I might be associated with. Pretending otherwise – to validate an outlet-dependent credential as a prerequisite for journalism – allows police and other authorities to chip away at press freedoms.” - Amber Bracken
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Catch up on the best streaming TV of 2021 with our holiday guide
From offbeat comedy to smart drama to uncomplicated thrills, Globe’s TV critic John Doyle has a rundown of shows you shouldn’t miss from 2021.
MOMENT IN TIME: Controversial toys, 1984
As Christmas shoppers headed into one of the main entrances of Toronto Eaton's Centre on Dec. 1, 1984, they were confronted with a not-so-subtle message: 'War is no game. Don't buy war toys.'EDWARD REGAN/The Globe and Mail
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo editors working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe will feature one of these images. This month, it’s the joy of toys.
Before Mattel made its billions with Barbie, it used to advertise its toy machine gun on The Mickey Mouse Club TV show. Hasbro introduced its plastic G.I. Joe action figure – complete with grenade launcher, flame thrower and bazooka – in 1964. And there have always been tiny toy weapons with which good children could smite bad children. No doubt, toys can have a dark side, promoting aggressiveness and mayhem. In Edward Regan’s Globe photo above, from December, 1984, peace activists outside the Toronto Eaton Centre urged that toys glorifying violence be banned because they said they desensitized children to the horrors of war. These days, the villains in the US$92-billion worldwide toy and game market are more likely to be video versions of non-humans or at least really bad guys who deserved to get zapped. Violent, but more based in fantasy than reality. Philip King
Subscribers and registered users of globeandmail.com can dig deeper into our News Photo Archive at tgam.ca/newsphotoarchive
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