Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Yukon is set to place limits on solitary that would be the strictest in Canada
The proposed legislation would set a 15-day limit on solitary placements – in line with the recommendations of the United Nations-backed Nelson Mandela Rules. The bill would set a cap of 60 days in a calendar year, ban the practice for vulnerable prisoners and include oversight from an independent arbitrator.
The federal government recently made legislative changes to solitary rules after courts found the previous law violated Charter rights. But critics say the new rules amount to “segregation light.”
The Yukon plan, by contrast, is drawing praise from the former federal correctional ombudsman. “It’s nice to see a jurisdiction that wants to be proactive,” said Howard Sapers, who is an adviser on the Yukon bill.
This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
The U.S. says the leader of the Islamic State is dead. This is how it happened
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi blew himself up, along with three of his children, after being cornered by U.S. forces in the tunnel of his compound in northwestern Syria, Donald Trump said.
The raid: Special forces landed by helicopter on Saturday night, blowing open holes in the wall and killing or capturing all occupants. As al-Baghdadi fled beneath the complex with three young children, U.S. soldiers pursued him with dogs. When he couldn’t escape, he set off an explosive. Trump said a DNA test confirmed his identity.
How they found the compound: Trump said the U.S. was aided by intelligence from Kurdish groups. One media report said the wife of an al-Baghdadi aide, as well as the leader’s brother-in-law, shared information after being captured by Iraqi forces.
The wider context: Trump and other leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said the move was a key step toward defeating the Islamic State. But it also comes amid concerns that the U.S. withdrawal from northeastern Syria could set loose IS fighters who had been in prisons.
Alberta is nearing a deal to offload crude-by-rail deals to the private sector
The province says it is “close” to replacing a $3.7-billion program that the previous NDP government inked with Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway to ship oil by train amid a lack of pipeline capacity.
While the NDP projected revenues of $6-billion from the arrangement, Jason Kenney said the financial risks were too high. The price tag for cancelling the deal came in at $1.5-billion, less than the $1.8-billion the province said it would have cost to keep.
Meanwhile, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and former Alberta premier Alison Redford are offering to assist the Trudeau government in addressing concerns about Western alienation. But Nenshi said speculation that he could be named to federal cabinet is “silly.”
The EU has approved a three-month Brexit extension
The move now sets the stage for an expected British election, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces obstacles on that front in order to fulfill his goal of a national vote in December.
The opposition Labour Party wants assurances from Johnson that Britain won’t crash out of the EU without a deal before agreeing to an election. But a move by the Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats could help give Johnson the parliamentary support he needs to call an election.
The Brexit mess has Canadian companies with U.K. offices rethinking their European strategies. Amid the prospect of a spike in tariffs to ship goods to the EU, some are looking at opening or expanding operations within the bloc. Fears of a Brexit-related recession are also resulting in British businesses preemptively slowing down investments in Canadian products.
A mail battle is brewing on a New Brunswick island over U.S. cannabis seizures
The tiny island of Campobello is forced to have its domestic mail routed through Maine, with deliveries coming in via the bridge that connects it with the U.S. state. But now, an apparent U.S. concern over legalized cannabis has led to American border agents searching and seizing more and more packages.
“There isn’t anybody here who hasn’t had their mail opened,” said Kathleen Case, a postal worker on the island, home to less than 900 people. And the mail interceptions extend far beyond cannabis packages, from inter-library book transfers to passports to medication.
The issue has prompted calls for the government of New Brunswick to launch a year-round ferry connecting the island with the rest of the province.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
California wildfires prompt blackouts: Three million people are facing rolling power outages as the U.S. state looks to stop the spread of devastating fires. California’s largest utility says the blackouts are necessary to ensure electrical lines don’t spark further blazes that have already led to evacuations.
Former Tory MP says Scheer must go: Terence Young, who was defeated in his Ontario riding this election, said the Conservative Leader “can’t connect with voters.” Young said he would like to see Peter MacKay lead the party. (Several other candidates say Scheer should stay on.) A leadership review is set for April of next year.
Uncertainty on Toronto child-care funding: Ontario is reducing planned cuts to child-care subsidies from $15-million to $2.8-million, but the about-face still leaves low-income families behind unless the city is able to fill the funding gap. The Ford government, meanwhile, is pledging to strike a more conciliatory tone as the legislature reopens.
MORNING MARKETS
World shares near two-month highs on hopes of trade deal, Fed cut: World shares steadied near two-month highs on Monday, boosted by hopes for a trade deal and strong U.S. corporate earnings, while the U.S. dollar traded near its highest in a week before a Federal Reserve rate decision. Tokyo’s Nikkei Gained 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.8 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite almost 0.9 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent, with Germany’s DAX up 0.2 per cent. New York futures were up. The Canadian dollar was at about 76.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
A planetary conscience in every phone? There should be an app for that
Margaret Munro: “what we need is a little green leaf, like the tip option on ride-hailing apps, that pops up on our phones to atone for our environmental sins. It would go ‘bing’ and suggest tips for the environment as we go about our busy, and often privileged, lives.” Margaret Munro is a Vancouver-based journalist who writes about science and the environment.
Like father, like son: Can Justin Trudeau remake himself, as his father did?
Andrew Cohen: “Like his father [in 1972], the Prime Minister lacks a majority, and faces eerily similar problems now as then: nationalism in Quebec, alienation in the West and a President of the United States under threat of impeachment. Pierre was 24 seats short; Justin is 13 seats short. But a minority is a minority.” Andrew Cohen is a journalist and professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Putting placebos to better use
Brain stimulation is one of the most promising new treatments for mental illness. That’s why results from a recent study, which showed a similar success rate for those using a real device as a sham one, may seem disappointing.
But Matthew Burke, the new director of Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital, takes a different view. He’s part of a group of placebo-effect researchers arguing these studies aren’t strictly failures at all, but missed opportunities for new ways to approach hard-to-solve problems, such as severe mental illness and chronic pain.
MOMENT IN TIME
Chocolate bars, 1977
(John McNeill/The Globe and Mail)John McNeill/The Globe and Mail
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. In the spirit of Halloween, we’re looking at candy this month.
As children fill their loot bags on Halloween later this week, it is worth remembering that long before microsize candy bars came to be, there were full-sized renditions. Chocolate bars, as Canadians call them. Above, Joseph Schwemlein, at his variety store near the corner of Queen Street East and Jones Avenue in Toronto in 1977, shows off his modest selection. Some of the brands shown are no longer available. Today, convenience stores offer racks and racks of chocolate bars, many of which are international in scope: Snickers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are sold around the world, but Canadians can still take pride in national treasures such as Crispy Crunch, Smarties and Coffee Crisp. The price has changed since 1977, too. Regular-size chocolate bars can now cost upward of $2 at some convenience stores, including tax. – Philip King
If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.