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These are the top stories:
Chrystia Freeland will be named deputy PM today
Sources say Freeland is also set to be appointed minister of intergovernmental affairs in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet as he seeks to address regional divisions and push forward with his climate agenda. A key focus for the Alberta-born, Toronto MP will be to oversee dealings with Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.
Replacing Freeland at Global Affairs will be François-Philippe Champagne, a Quebec MP who had been the infrastructure minister.
Catherine McKenna will take over the Infrastructure file, with B.C.’s Jonathan Wilkinson set to take on the Environment post.
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The latest from the Trump impeachment hearings
All eyes will be on the U.S. ambassador to the European Union in today’s impeachment hearings. Gordon Sondland faces questions over his role in what an increasing number of officials have described as a Ukraine pressure campaign to investigate President Donald Trump’s political rival.
Sondland background: Two U.S. embassy staffers in Kyiv have said they were with Sondland at a restaurant when they overheard the ambassador and Trump discussing a need for “investigations” in a phone call.
Kurt Volker: The former special envoy to Ukraine revised his testimony yesterday to say he should have realized that a decision to withhold military aid to Ukraine was tied to a push to investigate ex-vice president and 2020 presidential contender Joe Biden. “In retrospect, I should have seen that connection differently,” Volker said.
In a column, Sarah Kendzior writes that the impeachment inquiry is not just about Ukraine, but “Trump’s ceaseless and brutal effort to eliminate the inconvenient.” And Lawrence Martin argues that “because of the descent of American media into two competing camps ... the public verdict on the impeachment issue is divided sharply along partisan lines.”
The bail system in Northern Manitoba has ‘collapsed,’ a judge says
Thousands of people, most of whom are Indigenous, are forced to remain in Manitoba jails for days or weeks as they await a hearing. Many sit in crowded courtrooms all day, but are often sent on a 400-kilometre ride to the nearest detention centre when crowded courts close at 5 p.m.
The judge’s comments came as part of a ruling in a case where a woman spent 51 days waiting for a bail hearing. The breakdown of the system “should shock the conscience of any reasonable person,” Justice Chris Martin said.
Hong Kong: China’s latest rebuke, plus a look at Ottawa-Beijing relations
China has warned Hong Kong that its courts must defer to Beijing on constitutional matters. The rebuke of the city’s judiciary, which has a reputation for independence, followed a decision by a Hong Kong court that declared unconstitutional a law banning the use of masks worn by protesters in clashes with police.
Separately, a student group at Carleton University warned members to avoid upsetting Chinese officials during a visit to the country’s Ottawa embassy. The Carleton International Relations Society told guests to “be aware of the sensitivity of key issues such as Hong Kong, Uyghurs, South China Sea and Taiwan.”
In a column, Robyn Urback argues that Ottawa has lost its voice on human rights in China: “Canada’s moralizing has all but dried up – right at the time, coincidentally, when it is desperately warranted.”
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
BoC issues warning on global debts: Heightened levels of worldwide debt could create a “perfect storm” of financial risk if trade wars trigger an economic slump, Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins said. That would make a downturn “deeper than usual and fraught with financial stresses.”
New Brunswick Premier defends abortion access: Blaine Higgs said he doesn’t believe his province has breached the Canada Health Act by declining to fund out-of-hospital abortions. The federal government is facing calls to act as a Fredericton clinic warns it’s facing “impending closure” because of a lack of funding.
MORNING MARKETS
Investors rush to safe assets as Sino-U.S. tensions flare
World stocks were knocked off 22-month highs today as a renewed flare-up in U.S.-China tensions and the creeping return of U.S. recession fears fuelled a bid for bonds and other “safe” assets such as gold.
European equities tumbled half a per cent at the open, edging further off recent four-year highs hit when it had appeared Washington and Beijing were about to agree on the first phase of a trade deal. Wall Street futures were marked lower while oil prices suffered their biggest daily loss in seven weeks.
The mood in markets soured after the U.S. Senate angered China by passing a bill requiring annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy and warning Beijing against violently suppressing protesters. China demanded the United States stop interfering in its internal affairs and said it would retaliate.
U.S. President Donald Trump also threatened to up tariffs on Chinese goods if a trade deal is not reached soon.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Firing of Alberta elections watchdog borders on an abuse of power
Globe editorial: “The firing of Alberta’s election commissioner by the United Conservative Party government of Jason Kenney is such an obviously poor decision that, in normal times, it would be reversed by the end of the week. But these are not normal times.”
Climate-proofing Canada’s economy
Jim Leech and Sean Cleary: “Canada cannot wait to establish the expertise required to navigate successfully to a low-carbon economy. If we delay, others will shape Canada’s economic future for us.” Leech is on the advisory board at the Institute for Sustainable Finance, while Cleary is its executive director.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
What it’s like to meet CanLit icons
The Globe caught up with Ian Williams the morning after his Giller Prize win for his debut novel, Reproduction. The University of British Columbia professor was still giddy about his interactions at the gala ceremony. “I was a total fanboy: I got a photo with [Margaret] Atwood and told her things I’ve wanted to tell her forever, if I ever met her.”
How would he describe the Gillers? “Remember when Sarah McLachlan did Lilith Fair in the nineties? It’s like the Lilith Fair of writers across the country.”
MOMENT IN TIME
Vanier Cup awarded for the first time
Toronto's Mike Eben scored the winning touchdown in the first Vanier Cup. (Courtesy of University of Toronto Varsity Blues Athletics)Courtesy of University of Toronto Varsity Blues Athletics
Nov. 20, 1965: The first game was held at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium and pitted the Alberta Golden Bears against the Toronto Varsity Blues. It was a cold day, with a biting wind, but a decent crowd of 3,488 still showed up to watch the hometown Blues beat the visiting Bears 14 to 7 to become the recipients of the inaugural Vanier Cup, named after George Vanier, this country’s first French-Canadian governor-general. For more than two decades, the game was played at the Toronto stadium before hitting the road in 1988. Since then, the cup has travelled from one end of the country to the other. It has been hoisted in a bone-chilling -36 C in Saskatoon (2006) and a blizzard in Hamilton two years later. Nasty weather aside, it’s a high point for university athletes who this year – for the 55th Vanier Cup – will go head on Saturday at Telus-Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City, where the Montreal Carabins will face the Calgary Dinos. The Dinos will be seeking their first Vanier Cup title since 1995. Montreal last won the cup in 2014. (The forecast? A relatively balmy -3 C). – Gayle MacDonald
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