Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Trump asked Ukrainian President to investigate Joe Biden’s activities, transcript shows
U.S. President Donald Trump explicitly asked the Ukrainian government to launch investigations into one of his chief presidential rivals and suggested his own attorney-general would be involved in the probe, The Globe and Mail’s Adrian Morrow reports.
A rough transcript was released Wednesday of a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday launched an impeachment inquiry into allegations that Trump tried to press the foreign government into discrediting a political rival, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
The call, held shortly after the U.S. President froze nearly US$400-million in military aid destined for Ukraine, shows Trump had tried to enlist the Ukranian government – and his own justice department – to target Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
- Trade deal: Trump says impeachment inquiry could derail congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
- Opinion: The impeachment inquiry is on – but Trump can still cast Biden as ‘Crooked Joe,’ Lawrence Martin writes
- Explainer: The impeachment process: How moving to remove a U.S. president from office works
- Profile: Long before she was Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi served as the top Democrat on its Intelligence Committee
- Opinion: Impeaching Donald Trump would only make matters worse, says Clifford Orwin
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Trudeau says he did not reject Eva Nassif’s candidacy because she failed to support his feminist credentials
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is not saying why a Montreal-area MP was denied a Liberal nomination to run in the current election campaign, but he insists it is not because Eva Nassif failed to publicly endorse his feminist credentials earlier this year.
Nassif has told The Globe and Mail that she believes she was punished for “failing to hail Justin Trudeau as a great feminist” after two female ministers – Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott – resigned from cabinet because of the way charges against engineering company SNC-Lavalin were handled. In March, a number of Liberal MPs, particularly women, were encouraged to defend Mr. Trudeau on Twitter and Facebook, with some of them using similar language to express confidence in him as a leader who “always listened to the voices of women.”
However, Trudeau said on Wednesday that Nassif was wrong to make that link. He did not divulge the committee’s rationale for rejecting her candidacy.
Unrepentant Boris Johnson faces raucous Parliament one day after Supreme Court ruling
A day after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to prorogue Parliament until Oct. 14 was unlawful, MPs returned to the House of Commons Wednesday for a raucous debate, with many calling on the Prime Minister to resign, Paul Waldie reports from London.
“Will the Prime Minister end this dictatorship? Will you now resign?” asked Ian Blackford, a Scottish National Party MP. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said that in the wake of the court’s unanimous decision Mr. Johnson “should have done the reasonable thing and resigned.”
Mr. Johnson showed no remorse for his actions and instead went on the offensive, challenging the opposition to trigger an election. “This Parliament must either stand aside and get Brexit done or bring a vote of no confidence and finally face the voters,” he told MPs. "I think the people of this country have had enough.”
- Opinion: Propped up by foes who have no other choice, Boris Johnson carries on, Simon Usherwood writes
Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews in Toronto earlier this month. “We have a full belief in him and what he brings to our locker room,” teammate John Tavares said Wednesday.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews speaks to media after disorderly conduct charges made public
Even for the centre of the hockey universe, this was unusual, writes Marty Klinkenberg. The typical crowd of reporters that follow the Maple Leafs swelled to a mob on Wednesday. The parking lot at the team’s practice facility in suburban Etobicoke overflowed.
It is what happens when the face of an NHL franchise, and one of the game’s brightest young stars, is charged with disorderly conduct. That it happened months ago in Auston Matthews’ home town in Arizona and became public knowledge only a week before the season begins makes it more embarrassing.
With nowhere to hide, the 22-year-old forward was one of the first Toronto players to take the ice during a pregame skate at the Ford Performance Centre. Afterward, he was the first to address the media. For about a minute, Matthews stood at the back of the arena, beneath 13 Stanley Cup banners that stretch from one side of the rink to the other, and apologized if his actions did anything to distract the team.
It was only on Tuesday that the team’s management confirmed that it knew about the complaint. John Tavares and Morgan Rielly, leading candidates to be appointed the Maple Leafs captain, said they only became aware on Tuesday night.
- Opinion: Auston Matthews’s alleged behaviour shows he is not deserving of the Leafs’ captaincy, Cathal Kelly argues
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Conservatives, Liberals both propose energy-efficient home renovation tax measures: The two parties each made pitches to homeowners Wednesday, with both parties proposing measures that aim to reduce the cost of making a home more energy efficient.
Go behind the scenes of the federal election campaign: Meet the campaign managers and other influential staff from each party’s team. These are the people who devise and carry out campaign strategy leading up to Oct. 21.
Juul replaces CEO; Philip Morris and Altria scrap merger talks The chief executive of e-cigarette maker Juul stepped down on Wednesday as merger talks between its biggest investor Altria and Philip Morris collapsed in the face of a regulatory backlash against vaping that could reshape the industry. PLUS: Juul’s decision to stop advertising in the U.S. does not extend to Canada
United Nations report links warming of oceans and polar regions to health effects: Whether from rising sea levels, warming waters or melting glaciers and permafrost, the impact of climate change on the oceans and the coldest regions of the Earth is set to have a profound effect on people no matter where they live, a new UN report suggests. Science reporter Ivan Semeniuk explains the findings
Researchers, advocates argue OPP gender rule change will blur understanding of crimes against women: A new policy by the Ontario Provincial Police to not disclose the gender of victims or alleged perpetrators of crimes has been criticized as a move away from public transparency, Molly Hayes reports.
Fall TV preview: Get ready for a harum-scarum lineup of new series: If there are dominant themes and flavours to the new fall TV season, the main theme is anti-acrimony delivered by the vehicle of dark comedy, writes television critic John Doyle. And the flavour is whatever makes you nostalgic and feeling nice about the world.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, pulled down by losses in energy and materials stocks. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index was down 0.08 per cent to 16,784.29.
On Wall Street, investors overlooked Democrats’ efforts to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump as the S&P 500 made its biggest gain in two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.61 per cent to 26,970.71, the S&P 500 gained 0.61 per cent to 2,984.84 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.05 per cent to 8,077.38.
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TALKING POINTS
LIVING BETTER
Scenes from six short films adapted from First Person essays published in The Globe and Mail.Carousel Pictures
First Person in motion: See film adaptations of six stories from Globe readers
A mother’s unnerving experience when her children’s school goes on lockdown. A comedic take on a couple that feels scorned by Toronto’s real estate market. A couple’s journey back to happiness after adultery. Those are just some of the reader essays that have been turned into short films by three directors. “I kind of pitched it as ‘the new Canadian Heritage Minute,’” says filmmaker Renuka Jeyapalan. You can go here to read about the project and watch the films.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Inside Stelco: The steel maker survived near death. What’s next in its comeback plan?
For a long time, the outlook for Stelco was bleak. The Hamilton-based company was burdened with debt and ultimately languished in creditor protection. Meanwhile, its workforce warred with management.
But now, an unlikely alliance of two Florida financiers and a local union leader say they’ve found a way forward. “Everybody wants to work at Stelco,” says executive chair Alan Kestenbaum.
In this Report on Business Magazine piece, Joe Castaldo delves into how the company reversed its fortunes and weathered the era of punitive U.S. tariffs without lasting damage.
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