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As the rift in Indo-Canadian relations widens, the Biden administration has thrown a political lifeline to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by pressing India to co-operate with the Canadian investigation into the mid-June killing of a British Columbia Sikh leader.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. has not abandoned Canada even though none of Ottawa’s allies has followed in publicly condemning India. Intelligence from a Five Eyes ally comprises part of the evidence gathered in the investigation of the Nijjar slaying, CBC reported.
Tensions mounted further yesterday as New Delhi suspended the acceptance and processing of visa applications for Canadians and Canada downsized its diplomatic missions in the South Asian country over fears for the safety of staff.
- Explainer: What does India’s suspension of visa applications for Canadians mean for travel?
- Andrew Coyne: Has the Trudeau government been as derelict on India’s interference as it has been on China’s?
- Lawrence Martin: How far should Canada go in pressing India over Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing?
- Opinion: With authoritarianism on the rise, Canada should expect more foreign interference
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces that he will be reversing his government’s decision to open the Greenbelt to developers during a press conference in Niagara Falls, Ont., Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.Tara Walton/The Canadian Press
Premier Ford reverses plans to develop on Greenbelt
“I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise. And for that, I’m very, very sorry,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at a press conference where he was meeting with his Progressive Conservative caucus.
After the PC government was on the defensive all summer, Ford is now backing down on his plans to develop parts of Ontario’s protected Greenbelt, in a reversal that follows months of backlash and has resulted in the resignation of two cabinet ministers, two top aides, and his housing policy director.
“We moved too quickly, and we made the wrong decision,” he said.
Premier Danielle Smith to move ahead, set up Alberta pension plan
The Canada Pension Plan’s investment arm said Alberta’s claim that it could withdraw more than half of the national pension fund’s assets is based on “an invented formula” that is divorced from reality, sharply criticizing the math behind Premier Danielle Smith’s push to set up an alternative provincial pension system.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which invests assets from the CPP on behalf of working Canadians, questioned the credibility of a report released yesterday that estimates Alberta would be entitled to withdraw $334-billion from the CPP – about 53 per cent of its projected assets in 2027, which currently stand at $575-billion.
Canada’s other premiers will almost certainly dispute Alberta’s math given that the national system would crumble if CPP transferred over half its assets to the third-most populous province participating in its program.
A message from The Globe’s audience team
This Thanksgiving, The Globe wants to ask readers about their first time celebrating the holiday in a new way, whether it’s the first Thanksgiving dinner away from home, the first with a new partner or after a breakup, the first cooking everything yourself, or something else entirely. Tell us your story in this survey.
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Also on our radar
The Globe in Ukraine: Russia launched its biggest attack on Ukrainian cities in more than a month, firing two massive barrages of cruise missiles while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continued a visit to North America to bolster support for his besieged country.
- Happening today: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Ottawa for first visit
Unmarked graves: An investigation into unmarked graves and missing children by British Columbia’s Sto:lo Nation has revealed at least 158 deaths, most of them at a hospital.
Trans Mountain pipeline: Representatives from 120 Indigenous communities in Western Canada are set to begin meetings with the federal government next week aimed at acquiring a minority interest in the Trans Mountain oil pipeline.
UAW strike: A Magna International Inc. joint venture in Michigan has laid off 650 employees as the automotive industry braces for widening strikes by the United Auto Workers union in the United States.
Take The Globe’s business and investing news quiz: Do you remember our stories? Test your recall for the week ending Sept. 21.
ROB’s decoder: After lagging behind inflation, union wage settlements are spiking.
Arts: Often overshadowed by their fictional-narrative counterparts, Canadian documentaries enjoyed a sizable spotlight at TIFF, but a new report warns of huge financing challenges.
Booker: Novels from Ireland, the United States, Canada and Britain that explore families, communities and a world in crisis make up the six finalists for the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction.
Morning markets
World stocks struggle: Global shares wilted and U.S. yields climbed multi-year highs on Friday after a week packed with central bank meetings signalled that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rates would stay higher for longer. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 up 0.42 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.30 per cent and 0.66 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished down 0.52 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.28 per cent. New York futures were modestly positive. The Canadian dollar was higher at 74.31 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
To lift up Indigenous people, protect the children
“It used to be that extended families – aunties, uncles, grandparents – would take care of their kin. Everyone kept an eye on each other’s children. The way forward for our children is rebuilding that spirit that has been lost.” - Tanya Talaga
Support for trans kids and parent-child relationships are not mutually exclusive
“Polarization has produced a looming crisis for trans young people at school that is rapidly moving away from evidence, compassion and common sense.” - Lee Airton, Scout Gray, Jake Pyne
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
Introducing In Her Defence, a new true crime podcast from The Globe
You might remember the original story: Helen Naslund was charged with murder in the death of her husband, Miles, who had been abusing her for 30 years. This eight-part series, starting Tuesday, Oct. 10, will take us deep into life on the Naslund farm, exploring the events that led up to Miles Naslund’s death, the six years during which he was considered missing, and Helen’s arrest and conviction.
Podcast producer Kasia Mychajlowycz and Jana G. Pruden have spent the past few months hard at work on Helen’s story, which they believe is an important look at the obstacles survivors of domestic abuse face in the justice system. You can read more about the podcast, get a behind-the-scenes look at the reporting, and sign up for other updates in Pruden’s newsletter.
Moment in time: Sept. 22, 1888
The first issue of National Geographic magazine was sent out to 200 charter members in October 1888.Supplied
A modern National Geographic subscriber may not recognize what they were holding if someone handed them the first issue of the now celebrated magazine. Bound in a plain brown cover, devoid of photographs and 98 pages long, the issue, which was published on this day in 1888 and sold for 50 cents, was really only intended for the enjoyment of a small group of academics. The articles discussed geographic methods, classified geographic forms by their genesis – lava fields come from volcanism, while dunes come from wind action – and recounted an immense blizzard from earlier that year in impressively dry detail. The first photograph in the magazine didn’t appear until 1905 and the signature yellow border, often displayed on bookshelves today, wasn’t introduced until 1910. It was around that time the National Geographic Society began funding the kinds of explorations it is known for today, such as Robert Peary’s trip to the North Pole and Jane Goodall’s work with chimpanzees. Back in 1888, the society’s founders wrote their purpose at the top of their first issue: “To increase and diffuse geographic knowledge.” It is fair to say they accomplished that and more. Jane Skrypnek
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