The Liberal government is misleading people when it says there's no advantage to crossing illegally into Canada to seek asylum, NDP MP Jenny Kwan says. Asylum seekers line up to receive boxed lunches after entering Canada from the United States at Roxham Road in Hemmingford, Que., Wednesday, August 9, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham HughesThe Canadian Press
TOP STORIES
Trudeau plays down concerns of 'uncontrolled immigration'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending his government's response to the surge of asylum seekers who have crossed the border this summer. He insisted on Wednesday that would-be refugees gain no advantage by walking over the border through irregular routes. "The rules on Canada's immigration system continue to be enforced," he said. Mr. Trudeau was in Montreal yesterday for a meeting of a new federal-provincial task force that is trying to address the influx of asylum seekers. Over 7,500 people have streamed across the Canada - U.S. border since June.
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CMA poll finds rising support for medically assisted death
Canadian doctors are becoming increasingly open to the liberalization of medically assisted death. A straw poll conducted yesterday at the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association found that 83 per cent of delegates supported "advance directives" such as allowing people with dementia to decide they want an assisted death at a later time. Of the 600 delegates, 67 per cent also supported the idea of "mature minors" (people under the age of 18 who are deemed to be mature enough to make their own choices about their medical treatment) to access assisted death. A similar poll conducted in 2013 found that only 34 per cent of CMA doctors supported assisted dying legislation.
As Congress prepares to return, Trump presidency faces most challenging stretch yet
After a fiery speech in Arizona this week, U.S. President Donald Trump left members of his own party baffled and dismayed. In a speech that could have been used to lay out his agenda for the coming months, the President attacked both the media and and lambasted John McCain and Jeff Flake – Republican senators who have been critical of Mr. Trump. Yesterday, the President tweeted that Mr. Flake, who is up for re-election next year, is "weak" on crime and immigration. Political strategists and former White House officials said it was unprecedented for a president to castigate members of his own party in personal terms in public.
Questions loom over Glen Abbey's future
Key stakeholders of the Glen Abbey Golf Club are unsure what the club's recent heritage designation will mean for its future. Gold Canada has said it doesn't know if it can hold the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey next year as scheduled if the site requires permits for any changes needed to hold the PGA Tour event. The designation also puts a proposed redevelopment plan for the course into uncharted territory.
MORNING MARKETS
Global stocks steadied on Thursday after two turbulent weeks as geopolitical worries eased in Asia and caution prevailed on the day the annual Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers gets under way. Markets were mixed in Asia as Tokyo's Nikkei was down 0.4 per cent but Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.4 per cent. The Shanghai composite was down 0.4 per cent at 5:15 a.m. ET. In Europe, the FTSE 100, Germany's Dax and the Paris CAC were all about 0.4 per cent higher. New York futures were up and the Canadian dollar was trading at 79.77 cents (U.S.). Oil prices steadied as a tropical storm headed towards oil producing facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT
Barcelona: Muslims have the most to lose
"Perhaps the most sobering realization to emerge from last week's carnage in Barcelona is that not even a country as welcoming to Muslim immigrants as Spain is immune to home-grown Islamist terrorism... Last week's attacks have changed everything and the political fallout could be even greater than in 2004, when terrorists struck Madrid three days before a national election. This time, Spanish voters could turn on the ruling People's Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy amid reports that the Spanish interior ministry failed to pass on CIA warnings of an impending Barcelona attack to Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra, the local police force that has had full jurisdiction over the region since 2008." – Konrad Yakabuski
Ottawa's response to asylum seekers undercuts the system
"What is happening at the border is we are diverting massive resources to catching thousands of people who have decided to let themselves in, whether Canadians want them or not. And a major part of the cost of this increase in rule-breakers is borne by those refugees whom Canada chooses to admit under the rules. The people tossing their roller bags across the border are queue-jumpers. Moreover, they are queue-jumpers who know that if they showed up at a legitimate border crossing and applied for refugee status, they would be immediately turned away because they don't qualify." – Brian Lee Crowley
I may be 13, but I'm wide awake to the racism in America
"While I am shocked and disgusted by this rise in white supremacy, I also am not afraid to use my voice to take a stand for what is right, because racial hatred is not the way forward. It is me and my friends, and all the youth of today, who must be the change-makers of the future." – Noa Roxborough
HEALTH PRIMER
Eat a big breakfast but a small dinner to prevent obesity, research suggests
Those who ate their largest meal early in the day were more likely to have a lower body mass index than those who ate a large lunch or dinner. Breakfast eaters tended to keep their weight down generally, compared with breakfast skippers. The lowest BMIs were recorded in the fraction of people – about 8 per cent of the total sample – who finished lunch by early afternoon and did not eat again until the next morning, fasting for 18 to 19 hours. – Roni Caryn Rabin
MOMENT IN TIME
Indians pitcher hit by lightning
August 24, 1919 – Ninth inning, one out to go, Ray Caldwell on the mound for the hometown Cleveland Indians in a 2-1 game against the Philadelphia Athletics. Joe Dugan at the plate. Caldwell looks, sets, and … wham. Lightning from a fierce thundercloud zapped the stadium, sending fans scurrying. And then, according to The Sporting News, "a blinding flash that seemed to set the diamond on fire and Caldwell was knocked flat from it." Another report said nearby teammates also felt the jolt of electricity, which knocked off the catcher's mask and the third-base coach's hat. Caldwell was unconscious for five minutes. He had slight burns on his chest and said later that it felt like someone whacked him on the head with a board. But he returned to action and with the next pitch, forced Dugan to ground out. A complete game, and the win. – Philip King
Morning Update is written by Eleanor Davidson.
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