Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Federal election: Our Justin Trudeau profile, third-party ads, battle for Quebec, voter turnout
The man in the middle: Adam Radwanski examines the trajectory of a leader who came to power in 2015 on promises of change only to be caught by forces largely beyond his control, from the rise of U.S. President Donald Trump to a growing gap in the views of baby boomers and millennials.
Radwanski writes: “Now, fighting for his political life, Trudeau has mostly traded in his soaring rhetoric for a very well-worn Liberal message, about the perils of returning the Conservatives to power and the need for voters to rally behind his party to stop them. It’s a crashing to Earth that was well under way before this strange fall election campaign.”
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The Manning Centre won’t disclose the source of its donations to third-party advertisers that have been running attack ads against the Liberals. The Calgary-based conservative think tank, which isn’t registered as a third party, put out a fundraising call for elections advertising and has since given $312,450 to five groups, including $240,500 to Canada Strong and Proud. Elections Canada says there is nothing in the law that prevents this practice.
The battle for Quebec is heating up as the Liberal, Tory and NDP leaders all campaign there in the final week of the election campaign. They’re contending with a resurgent Bloc Québécois, which is vying with the Conservatives for the votes of those disappointed by Trudeau. Campbell Clark says the Bloc surge “opens up a realistic opportunity for Andrew Scheer to govern in what is likely to be a minority Parliament.”
Advance voter turnout is up 29 per cent compared with the 2015 election. About 4.7 million Canadians cast ballots early in this campaign, up from the 3.7 million who voted in advance polls in 2015. But the increase doesn’t necessarily mean overall turnout will be higher.
The former CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada is alleging systemic discrimination
Shanaaz Gokool has filed a wrongful dismissal suit against the right-to-die organization, alleging discrimination before she was fired this past summer after leading the charity for three years.
Her statement of claim says ill treatment included a starting compensation package worth only two-thirds as much as her white predecessor and that the organization later hired two white executives and initially paid them more than Gokool – their boss.
Gokool says DWDC “subjected her to a pattern of disrespectful and often humiliating behaviour,” and that it “became clear that DWDC’s Board was simply incapable of providing a woman of colour the respect or compensation that she objectively deserved.”
DWDC’s board called the allegations “factually incorrect and misleading.”
Canada suspended new weapons sales to Turkey as fighting continues in Syria
Global Affairs Canada said it was temporarily suspending new export permits in response to Turkey’s aggression in northern Syria. That followed a move by European Union countries to ban the sale of weapons and ammunition to Turkey.
The U.S. has announced a set of economic sanctions on Turkey as it presses for a ceasefire. The Turkish offensive was launched as the Trump administration withdrew its troops from the region.
Syria’s Russian-backed army has now moved in on a key city that was abandoned by U.S. forces, with both Russian and Syrian flags seen flying on a building in the area.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Hong Kong leader offers big spending amid continued protests: Carrie Lam released a pre-recorded video after chanting lawmakers with placards disrupted her attempt to speak in the city’s legislature. In the speech, she promised more housing, new ferries, toll-free tunnel routes, expanded subway service and even construction of an artificial island to expand available land.
British family in U.S. detention after crossing border in B.C.: The Connors family said they accidentally drove off a road in B.C. while on vacation, crossing a median into the U.S. They were subsequently sent to a detention centre in Pennsylvania, where they are set to be deported.
Alberta joins opioid class-action: The provincial government is adding its name to a suit first initiated by the B.C. government last year which alleges pharmaceutical companies falsely marketed opioids as less addictive than other pain medications. Ontario and Newfoundland are also joining the suit.
Home sales rebound: Sales jumped 15.5 per cent in Canada in September compared with the same month last year. The benchmark price in the Toronto region, meanwhile, hit a record high of $806,700 while Vancouver-area prices were down 7 per cent to $986,500.
MORNING MARKETS
Markets falter as Brexit approaches its endgame: European equities opened lower and sterling came off five-month highs on Wednesday as the European Union and Britain resumed talks in Brussels to avert a disorderly Brexit before an EU summit on Thursday and Friday. In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1.2 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.6 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.4 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent by about 4:45 a.m. ET. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was above 75.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
We must recognize and honour the teachers who shape a new generation of thoughtful young people
Siva Kumari: “[Teachers] must convey to their students that their actions and decisions, as tomorrow’s leaders, will not only affect the people around them – who look and think like them. Because of our interconnectedness, how students choose to invest their money, their time, their attention, how they consume, what they opt to say or not say will have a much wider impact.” Siva Kumari is a Global Pluralism Award Jury member and Director General of the International Baccalaureate.
Tim Hortons parent company CEO earns $250-million over nine years despite a Timbit of relative returns
David Milstead: “For years after the corporate roll-up that created Restaurant Brands International Inc., the company fought accusations that it was nickel-and-diming the franchisees at Tim Hortons, its major moneymaker. As it turns out, an awful lot of those nickels and dimes – a few hundred million – ended up in the pocket of CEO Daniel Schwartz.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
The boom of e-scooters has arrived – and they’re getting burned in Edmonton
Supplied
E-scooters arrived in Edmonton in August amid a wave of excitement while also sparking a debate about whether they are fun or annoying. And, of late, police in the city are investigating “multiple mischief reports” around scooter-burnings. While e-scooter companies have dealt with vandalism in Calgary and Montreal, there has been “nothing to the level of Edmonton.”
Over in the B.C. capital of Victoria, meanwhile, the popularity of the largely unregulated transportation option has prompted conflict and confusion.
MOMENT IN TIME
First use of modern anaesthesia, by Boston dentist William Morton
(CCI/Bridgeman Images)CCI / Bridgeman Images
Oct. 16, 1846: For time immemorial, humans suffered excruciating dental pain – for which the only treatment was tooth extraction. The only pain-numbing relief was provided by alcohol or opium, and the same was true of all surgery, which was done while patients were awake. In the summer of 1846, dentist William T.G. Morton began using a product he called Letheon to first render his patients unconscious, making extractions painless. Dr. Morton soon realized that his “invention” – sulphuric ether he purchased from a local chemist – could also be used in surgery. On Oct. 16, 1846, the dentist administered the drug to Glenn Abbott, and the unconscious young man had a tumour removed from his neck by surgeon John Warren. That first successful use of anesthetic revolutionized surgery. Others had tried various forms of anesthetic, but Dr. Morton’s genius was regulating the intake of ether, using a crude instrument consisting of a glass flask and wooden mouthpiece. Dr. Morton hoped to turn fame into fortune by patenting Letheon. That move was seen as unseemly and he was vilified, dying broke and bitter in 1868. It would take decades before he was recognized as one of the greatest medical pioneers of all time. – André Picard
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