Evening Update: Halifax’s Audrey Parker dies ‘peacefully’ after plea for assisted-death law change; Google workers worldwide stage walk out to protest harassment, inequality

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Halifax’s Audrey Parker dies ‘peacefully’ after plea for changes to Canada’s assisted-death law

A terminally ill Halifax woman ended her life today with medical assistance, after issuing an impassioned deathbed plea that the federal assisted dying law must be changed. Audrey Parker was given a lethal injection and “died peacefully” in her Halifax apartment, surrounded by close friends and family, friends said in a news release.

Diagnosed in early 2016 with Stage 4 breast cancer, Parker said she wanted to live longer but the law was forcing her hand. The law requires patients to be lucid enough to give consent immediately before the injection – something her illness or medication could have jeopardized. “I would have liked to have really lived until Christmas. But I can’t take the chance of losing my window,” she said.

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Google workers worldwide stage walk out to protest office harassment, inequality

More than 1,000 Google employees and contractors in Canada, Asia, Europe and the United States staged brief midday walk-outs today, with more expected to follow at the California headquarters, amid complaints of sexism, racism and unchecked executive power in their workplace. (for subscribers)

In Toronto, more than 100 employees walked out. They marched to the lawn of Osgoode Hall Law School, where a staff member who did not want to be identified read a statement as well as anonymous stories from Google staff members worldwide. The statement asked management for better harassment reporting processes; support and representation in conversations with human resources staff; and commitments to end inequity in pay and opportunity.

Google Canada confirmed additional walk-outs at its Montreal and Kitchener-Waterloo offices, but declined to comment further.

Dominic Barton defends McKinsey’s work in Saudi Arabia after allegations report may have been misused

The Canadian who until recently headed the global consulting giant McKinsey & Company says he is angered by suggestions that a report from his firm could have been used by the Saudi government to target dissidents, Colin Freeze writes.

Speaking event in Toronto today, Dominic Barton argued McKinsey is in Saudi Arabia to consult on issues related to finance, health care and education – and not to help any state track down opponents on social media.

Last month, in the aftermath of the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey by Saudi government agents, The New York Times published an exposé about the Saudi government’s use of technology to stifle dissent. It reported that the Saudis could have had access to a nine-page McKinsey document from 2015 that mentioned three prominent Twitter critics of the Saudi kingdom’s economic policies.

No longer forgotten: Silver Cross Mother recognizes death by suicide for first time

The country’s Silver Cross Mother this year will be, for the first time, a parent whose child died by suicide that was ruled connected to military service, Renata D’Aliesio writes. Anita Cenerini was chosen by the Royal Canadian Legion to fill the year-long national role, which dates back to 1936. Her son Thomas Welch was a 22-year-old private when he ended his life on May 8, 2004, only months after coming home from his Afghanistan tour.

Nicknamed L’il Trooper, Private Welch was the first Canadian soldier to return from the Afghanistan war and take his own life, a Globe and Mail investigation uncovered. But it took 13 years for the military and federal government to recognize that his suicide was attributable, in part, to his experiences on deployment and to present his mother with the Silver Cross.

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MARKET WATCH

World equity markets began November with a broad rally today, boosted by strong corporate earnings and signs that a trade war between economic giants China and the United States could be contained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 264.98 points to 25,380.74, the S&P 500 gained 28.63 points to 2,740.37 and the Nasdaq Composite added 128.16 points to close at 7,434.06.

Canada’s main stock index rose, carried higher by gains in metal miners fueled by a rally in gold prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 122.87 points at 15,150.15.

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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL

Residents of Churchill crowded around a bonfire during a street party to celebrate the return of rail service and a visit by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the northern Manitoba town. The first train in more than a year rolled into Churchill Wednesday evening. Flooding in the spring of 2017 damaged the tracks and severed the only land link to the subarctic town of 900 people on the shore of Hudson Bay. Former owner Omnitrax showed no interest in repairing the line, Mr. Trudeau said. Ottawa provided $74-million to help buy and fix the railroad, along with the town’s port, and has promised another $43-million over 10 years to subsidize operations.

TALKING POINTS

‘Both sides’ rhetoric is a dangerous lie to evade responsibility

“When there is harm to the body politic, it is not always, maybe ever, a matter of equal responsibility. Mr. Trump and his perpetually aggrieved press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, may continue their manufactured outrage as long as they want, but it is clear to any sane person that presidential craziness fuelled the bomb attacks, and likewise the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. The anti-immigrant, anti-press, anti-birthright, pro-body-slam, pro-border-police President cannot wave that away. He is causal in all these attacks; he aids and abets. Nobody on ‘the other side’ bears anything like the same responsibility.” – Mark Kingwell, philosophy professor at the University of Toronto

Can Macron succeed where Merkel failed?

“If Ms. Merkel’s decision to throw open Germany’s borders to hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants in 2015 should be remembered as a courageous act, it was also the result of her failure to stop other EU countries from sealing their own borders in defiance of the rules. Mr. Macron grew increasingly frustrated at Ms. Merkel’s go-slow approach in countering rising nationalism in several in EU countries. And while Ms. Merkel always defended Europe’s four freedoms – the free movement of goods, services, people and capital across the continent – she has seemed less devoted to them of late as she grapples with her domestic fall from grace.” – Konrad Yakabuski (for subscribers)

China’s ‘new era’ diplomats are acting distinctly undiplomatic

“China has repeatedly voiced its opposition to what it calls ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ by other countries against Chinese entities or individuals. Now, it appears, China is flexing its muscles and putting pressure on foreign governments regarding events occurring on foreign soil. China is trying to deepen the international isolation of Taiwan wherever possible. But increasingly, it is not only telling governments but also private businesses and the media what to do and what not to do.” – Frank Ching, a Hong Kong-based journalist

LIVING BETTER

If the centrepiece of your family celebration or special occasion is a roast, Lucy Waverman offers these tips on how to do it right. (She is focusing on beef, but the methods work for any large piece of meat.) Buy the best quality meat you can afford. For best results, use a mixture of high and medium-heat for most good cuts. Cook your meat on a rack in a roasting pan. This allows the heat to circulate, browning the underside as well as the top. When done, place the roast on a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes to allow the juices to retract before carving.

LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE

The Happy Place exhibit in Toronto cuts to the social media chase

Once upon a time, it was considered rather clever for a cultural critic to remark on how photography and video now matched lived experience as barometers of personal reality: The home movie was as important as the wedding itself; the treasured snapshot was proof the tourist had touched Paris, Kate Taylor writes. Today, social media have so thoroughly embedded still and moving imagery into every experience that it’s almost banal to point out that people are too busy taking selfies to savour the moment.

Intended as entertainment that will engage visitors as directly as a playground or a midway, Happy Place is also calculated to engage their phones. This pop-up interactive exhibition, which hails from Los Angeles and is visiting Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre through January, invites you to stand in a confetti dome where colourful scraps of tissue paper will swirl around your head or dive feet first into a big pot filled with yellow plastic balls. But mainly, it offers you the opportunity to get pictures of yourself in this Romper Room for grownups, and post them on social media.

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The superluxury SUVs that Canadians are snapping up

Buyers of exotic cars have historically faced one big problem: These vehicles are not a practical means of transportation. While owners love their Lamborghinis, they don’t take them to the cottage, and once the snow hits, they have to garage these wedge-shaped wonders, Matt Bubbers writes.

Or, they did, until now. Enter the Urus, Lamborghini’s new 650-horsepower SUV. With all-wheel drive and high ground clearance, it pummels along dirt tracks with ease. Any other Lamborghini would be ruined by driving fast over such terrain, but here, finally, is an exotic car you can enjoy regardless of terrain or season.

Five years ago, these vehicles didn’t exist. Today, superluxury SUVs are driving growth at the very top of the car market. Lamborghini, Bentley and Rolls-Royce have all expanded their lineups with SUVs. Aston Martin and Ferrari are both developing their first SUVs.

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Evening Update is written by S.R. Slobodian. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.