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Calgary voters have rejected the city’s pursuit of the 2026 Winter Olympics

Calgary’s bid for the 2026 Winter Games is over after voters decisively rejected the Olympic movement and promises that the event would be an economic boon for the struggling city.

About 56 per cent of Calgarians who cast ballots in a plebiscite on Tuesday voted against continuing with the bid, which had the support of a well-funded Yes campaign and Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who argued the proposed bid was a good deal that would see more than $2-billion in federal and provincial money flow into projects the city needs. Instead, Calgarians appeared swayed by concerns that the city’s battered economy could not afford the multibillion-dollar event.

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McGill is facing pressure to scrap the name of school sports teams

Men’s varsity teams at Montreal’s McGill University have long worn red uniforms and called themselves Redmen. But students are calling on the school to drop the name as a gesture of reconciliation with Indigenous people. A referendum organized by the student union saw 79 per cent of students who cast a ballot voting for change. And a letter signed by more than 100 faculty members says the name “is inextricably bound-up with anti-Indigenous slurs, stereotypes, and appropriative and demeaning iconography.”

The name goes back almost 100 years, originally referring to the school colour and the Celtic ancestry of the university’s founder, according to historian Stanley Frost. But Indigenous themes crept in, prompting the school to drop the logo of a person wearing a headdress in 1992.

A key court case on solitary confinement is under way

The federal government is appealing a January ruling that said solitary confinement is unconstitutional. A federal lawyer told a three-judge panel on the B.C. Court of Appeal that the provisions allowing for administrative segregation can be carried out in a restrained way while respecting the rights of inmates. In the first day of the hearing, Mitchell Taylor argued that it is sometimes necessary as a “last resort” when inmates need to be separated for their own safety or the safety of others.

The January ruling gave Ottawa one year to draft new legislation that would include time limits on segregation. The federal government says a bill introduced last month would end the use of solitary, but critics say it doesn’t go far enough and that inmates could still be placed in “structured intervention units” with no limits on the number of days spent in segregation.

Democrats continue to gain ground post-midterms

The party’s gains initially looked solid, though not a resounding blue wave. But as votes continue to get counted, Democrats have widened their lead to a gain of 32 seats in the House – a number that could reach as high as 40 once counting is complete. And the party is now likely to lose just one or two Senate seats, not three or four, with Kyrsten Sinema winning the Arizona seat once held by outgoing Republican Jeff Flake. Recounts are currently taking place in Florida, where incumbent Democrat Senator Bill Nelson is hoping the new tallies tip in his favour over Rick Scott, who currently holds a narrow edge.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

British PM Theresa May has reached a draft Brexit agreement with the EU

But the proposed deal is already facing stiff opposition over the fate of the Irish border (for subscribers). Right now, there is effectively no border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. But a full U.K. break from the EU’s single market would pose a problem, since that would require a border to prevent the free movement of goods, people and services.

May’s proposed deal is said to include a provision to stay in the customs union, allowing for the free movement of goods, while also keeping Northern Ireland tied closer to the single market. But she is facing pushback from factions of British Parliament that say remaining in the customs union defeats the purpose of Brexit.

MORNING MARKETS

Stocks down

Oil struggled to find a floor and stocks tumbled on Wednesday as disappointing German GDP figures heightened worries over slowing global growth, while the pound eased off peaks as Prime Minister Theresa May faced the hard task of selling her Brexit deal. Tokyo’s Nikkei was the lone winner, gaining 0.2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.5 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite 0.9 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was little changed by about 6:25 a.m. ET, with Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 down by between 0.4 and 0.5 per cent. New York futures were down by about 0.1 per cent. The Canadian dollar is stuck at about 75.5 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Who will challenge Trump for the GOP nomination?

“Who will save the Republican Party? Nikki Haley? John Kasich? Mitt Romney? Ben Sasse? Jeff Flake? Will one of them contest Donald Trump’s 2020 nomination, triggering a movement that could take down a sitting president from within – as Senator Eugene McCarthy did for the Democrats in 1968 against Lyndon Johnson? The conventional wisdom says no. The widespread belief is that as embarrassing as Trump is, he has a stranglehold on his party ... Is the outlook that depressing? For the time being it appears that way. But changes in the political dynamic are afoot. A growing number of factors conspire against the tabloid President’s durability. An unravelling that gives way to a successful dump Trump insurgency is well possible.” – Lawrence Martin

How to avoid an employee walkout like the one at Google

“It may be true that the tech world is especially prone to harassment. And it’s certainly true that Google employees hold special leverage over their employer. But this will not be an isolated event. As we saw with #MeToo, #TimesUp and Canadian examples such as #MoveTheDial, social media is a powerful change agent. It is reshaping the company-employee-customer relationship in surprising ways. Google employees used this to their advantage, and others will certainly take note. What does this mean for executives and board members? Quite simply, inclusion and belonging can no longer be treated as window dressing. They are a business imperative with real financial consequences. This means tracking, metrics and accountability in place of vague statements about culture and values. It also means confronting bias in the C-suite and having tough conversations about past wrongs.” – Laura McGee, founder and CEO of Diversio

Oman offers a lesson of stability to the Arab world

“Oman works. Despite its perilous location adjacent to desperately beleaguered Yemen and between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, it is among the few Arab majority nations that are stable and not riven by conflict. Its relations with its several mutually antagonistic neighbours and their troubled allies are harmonious, as are its relations with the world’s great powers. Oman offers two lessons for the Arab world – that even-handed rule produces peaceful internal relations, leading to the absence of strife and steady economic growth; that embracing modernity rather than fundamentalism produces a tolerant, cohesive, society.” – Robert Rotberg, founding director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Intrastate Conflict

LIVING BETTER

Juul is pulling popular e-cigarette flavours to curb teen use of its products

The U.S. market leader for electronic cigarettes made the decision to take mango, cucumber and other flavours off store shelves amid increased scrutiny from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company is also shutting down its social-media channels on Instagram and Facebook.

The move comes just months after Juul began selling products in Canada. E-cigarette use is on the rise in Canada, with an Angus Reid survey earlier this year finding 18 per cent of respondents had tried vaping. In 2013, Health Canada reported that 8.5 per cent of Canadians had tried e-cigarettes.

MOMENT IN TIME

Senator John F. Kennedy debates at Hart House

Open this photo in gallery:

(Harold Robinson/The Globe and Mail)Harold Robinson/The Globe and Mail

Nov. 14, 1957: “Has the United States failed its responsibilities as a world leader?” That was the question being debated inside the University of Toronto’s packed Hart House in November, 1957. Senator and rising political star John F. Kennedy went up against a team of undergraduates, while outside 20 female students protested their exclusion from Hart House’s all-male membership. Kennedy argued that regardless of some foreign-policy mistakes, the United States remained a force of good. Among his opponents was 19-year-old Stephen Lewis, pictured here on the left, who accused the United States of trying to be “policeman, babysitter and bank to the world.” The audience cheered and heckled both teams during the debate and although Kennedy’s performance was panned, his team eked out a win. As he left the building, the future U.S. president remarked to reporters, “I personally rather approve of keeping women out of these places. … It’s a pleasure to be in a country where women cannot mix in everywhere.” Lewis ran for provincial office six years later and credits a campaign photo of himself and Kennedy during the debate for his electoral win. He would go on to become leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, a diplomat and an Order of Canada recipient. Hart House belatedly began welcoming women as members in 1972. – Iain Boekhoff

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