Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
What life is like for two Canadians detained in China for the past year
Tomorrow marks one full year since two Canadians – former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor – were detained in China in apparent retaliation for the arrest in Vancouver of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of U.S. officials.
In interviews with people in Asia, North America and Europe, The Globe and Mail has learned new details about their situation.
Spavor has been held inside the Dandong Detention Centre since May 6, in Cell 315 with about 20 others. In a detention facility on the outskirts of Beijing about 670 kilometres away, Kovrig is in a cell with just one other inmate.
The Chinese facilities are far different than the $13-million mansion where Meng resides, paints and regularly receives visitors while under house arrest.
The Dandong Detention Centre in China, where Canadian Michael Spavor has been held since May 6. (Photo by Nathan VanderKlippe/The Globe and Mail)Nathan VanderKlippe/The Globe and Mail/The Globe and Mail
Meanwhile, Ottawa faces increasing pressure to enact sanctions against officials in Hong Kong and mainland China who are responsible for human rights violations, despite threats of retaliation from China’s envoy to Canada.
Opinion: “The frustration that justice is elusive is no reason to stop pursuing it. Nor should we succumb to thinking that diplomacy and negotiation can play no part in enforcing it in our efforts to deal with the injustice of what is being done to Canadians in China.” - Bob Rae, special envoy to Myanmar and former Ontario premier
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Democrats and the White House are on the verge of a deal to ratify USMCA
The Trump administration is on the cusp of a deal with congressional Democrats to ratify its new North American trade pact, after Mexico and Canada agreed to changes to the agreement, sources in U.S. industry and the Canadian government have told The Globe and Mail.
The development could allow the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives to vote on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) before Christmas.
The U.S. and Mexico spent last week and part of the weekend finalizing changes that the Trump administration has now taken to the Democrats. Canada has also been involved in the talks.
“We’re doing very well on USMCA,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House this afternoon. “A lot of strides have been made over the last 24 hours.”
Liberal government moves to start phasing in promised tax cuts in January, 2020
The Liberal government is moving ahead with a promised personal income tax cut that it says will allow an additional 1.1 million low-income Canadians to not pay any federal income tax.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau introduced a motion that is the first step toward adopting the change. The details of the tax cut – including a four-year period to phase it in – are in line with a promise in the Liberal Party’s election platform.
Morneau also said he intends to release an economic update before the holidays that will provide the latest forecast for federal revenues and expenses ahead of the 2020 budget.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Up to 13 feared dead after New Zealand volcano eruption: A volcano off the New Zealand coast on White Island erupted with a towering blast of ash and scalding steam as dozens of tourists were exploring, killing five people and leaving eight others missing and feared dead, authorities said.
Russia handed four-year sports ban: The World Anti-Doping Agency has banned Russia from the world’s top sporting events for four years, including the next summer and winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup, for tampering with doping tests.
Volkswagen charged in Canada: German automaker Volkswagen has been charged with importing nearly 128,000 vehicles into Canada that did not conform to emission standards, a federal government agency says.
Man who inspired Ice Bucket Challenge dies: Pete Frates, whose battle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) inspired the Ice Bucket Challenge that raised millions for research, died today at age 34 after a seven-year battle with the disease, Boston College said.
Canadians up for Golden Globes: The Golden Globes nominations were released today, with Netflix’s Marriage Story leading with six nods. Canadian connections include Quebec writer and director Dean DeBlois, whose How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is nominated for best picture, animated, and Montreal filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee’s Crazyrose Productions, whose Big Little Lies is named in the best television series, drama category.
Opinion: Golden Globe TV nominations validate star power, not excellence
Andreescu named Canada’s top athlete: Having beaten tennis superstar Serena Williams at the U.S. Open to become the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title, Bianca Andreescu has been awarded the 2019 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year.
(Photo by Charles Krupa/The Canadian Press/AP)The Associated Press
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index dipped today on weak data from China, though a jump in healthcare stocks led by cannabis producer Canopy Growth limited losses. Canopy rose 14 per cent after the company named Constellation Brands’ executive David Klein as its CEO. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 46.12 points at 16,950.85.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105.46 points to 27,909.60, the S&P 500 lost 9.95 points to end at 3,135.96 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 34.70 points to 8,621.83.
Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes three top stock picks, the 2020 TFSA limit and an easy dividend strategy.
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.
TALKING POINTS
Is a national pharmacare program any closer to reality?
“There is a theory out there that the NDP can use its leverage in a minority government to force the Liberals to implement a national pharmacare program, but it’s delusional to think the Liberals will act anything other than slowly.” - André Picard
Canada is rich - and cheap
“ ‘It’s Canada, they have money,’ Donald Trump said at this [past] week’s NATO summit. Most of what the U.S. President says is either exaggerated or false, but occasionally he sums up in a sentence what everyone knows to be true." - Eugene Lang, adjunct professor at the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University
LIVING BETTER
It’s pretty easy to spot narcissists at work: They exaggerate their achievement, take credit for others’ work, need constant adoration, are self-entitled and use other people to further themselves. More challenging is how to deal with them. Here are some coping strategies, including:
- Don’t try to change them: Their inflated sense of importance means that they simply aren’t open to others’ perspectives.
- Call them on their sniping: Narcissists are known to give backhanded compliments, such as. “I didn’t expect you to pull off that presentation, congratulations.” Try responding with: “That sounded sarcastic, did you mean it that way?” It puts them on notice that you’re not an easy victim.
- Use their insecurities to your advantage. If you’ve got an initiative that you’re seeking support for, present the idea in a way that suggests that they inspired you.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Indigenous trusts provide much needed capital to expand small businesses
When Santana Wooden opened T’Sala Salon Spa, a storefront on the Squamish Nation’s reserve in North Vancouver, it offered just manicures and pedicures. After hearing about the Squamish Nation Trust, a fund to help entrepreneurs who are members of the First Nation, Wooden applied and got a grant of around $6,000. The money helped her buy equipment to allow her to expand her offerings to include waxing, massages and facial services. Now, her growing business has moved off reserve to Lower Lonsdale, a vibrant North Vancouver waterfront neighbourhood with more foot traffic and tourism.
“Being at that time a young mom and trying to provide for my kids, that was a really difficult time for me,” Wooden said. She says the grant may not seem like a lot of money, but it was the little bit she needed to expand her shop, which she wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.
The practice of creating trust funds has become popular among First Nation communities that receive money in agreements with government or corporations. This money is usually put toward community initiatives such as health benefits and investments for future generations. But a few First Nations have set aside a portion of money to finance the growth of small businesses run by local entrepreneurs. This money, coupled with mentorship for entrepreneurs, is helping new Indigenous businesses get off the ground. Read Sierra Bein’s full story here.
Santana Wooden, right, owner and spa director of T'Sala Salon Spa. (Photo by Rafal Gerszak for The Globe and Mail)Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
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