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The Canadian government’s forthcoming Indo-Pacific strategy must explicitly recognize and respond to the security threat China poses to the region, experts say, otherwise Canada risks being regarded as irrelevant in a part of the world that is expected to be a centre of economic growth for decades.
The Indo-Pacific region, which stretches from North America to India’s west coast, is home to 60 per cent of the world’s population, and it accounts for 60 per cent of global gross domestic product. About 60 per cent of world maritime trade passes through its oceans, a third of that through the South China Sea, where Beijing has made sweeping territorial claims.
“China should be front and centre,” Vincent Rigby, who retired as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser in 2021, said of the strategy. “If it doesn’t deal with China, it’s just going to undermine our credibility.”
Two sources with knowledge of the strategy said the first draft, which was compiled by a Global Affairs team, made no mention of China, report The Globe’s Robert Fife and Steven Chase. One of the sources added that an outside advisory panel of experts, assembled by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly in June to provide input on the strategy, is involved in a heated debate over whether China should be addressed in the panel’s recommendations.
Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly in Los Angeles on June 8, 2022. Joly has assembled an outside advisory panel of experts to provide input on Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy.MIKE BLAKE/The Associated Press
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B.C. housing CEO resigns over lack of confidence in ability to solve ‘complex problems’ facing agency
The man who has led B.C.’s housing agency for 22 years announced his resignation, saying several recent incidents of violence against homeless people, along with the increasingly threatening environment for policy makers, has left him questioning whether he can continue to offer solutions.
In a lengthy statement, Shayne Ramsay said the work of providing housing for those who need it most is being threatened, because “small but vocal groups of people are increasingly angry and increasingly volatile.”
The career bureaucrat was appointed to the role in 2000 under the then-NDP government. Ramsay said he had become discouraged after seeing multiple incidents where homeless people were attacked or they were vilified by people who didn’t want them living nearby.
“While one community faces the almost certain prospect of poverty, poor health, violence, and premature death, others are now unwilling to provide a welcoming space, a space that could save lives,” said Ramsay, who has lived in the Downtown Eastside himself for 12 years.
Ontario Health Minister offers no quick fixes to hospital staffing crunch across province
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones will not commit to any new measures that might immediately relieve pressure on the province’s overburdened health care system, which has been plagued by acute staffing shortages in recent weeks.
Asked in an interview on Tuesday if the provincial government was considering any short-term actions to address the crisis, or if it would introduce any related legislation or regulations when the legislature returns next week, the Health Minister did not answer directly.
Jones, who was appointed to her post at the end of June, said there has been a “lot of work already done” to address staffing challenges. She said Ontario’s health care system has added 10,500 new workers since the start of the pandemic.
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Also on our radar
Why Pelosi went to Taiwan: When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday, she became the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island. She portrays her high-profile trip as part of a U.S. obligation to stand with democracies against autocratic countries, and with democratic Taiwan against China.
- Pelosi departs Taiwan after visit that fueled U.S.-China rift
Soaring inflation in Ukraine deepens economic toll of Russia’s war: The economic devastation caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion was laid bare by Ukraine’s central bank when it revealed last week it expects inflation to reach 31 per cent by the end of the year. Rising costs have left shopkeepers like Lyubov Fedirivna, who sells fruit at a market in central Kyiv, in a bind: “If we raise the price, then no one will come,” she said.
- Andrew Coyne: Canada is ‘there for’ Ukraine – except in all the ways that count
Pierre Poilievre wins fundraising race: The Ottawa-area MP raised more money in the second quarter than his Conservative leadership rivals combined, bringing in more than $4-million, according to results from Elections Canada.
Is a COVID-19 end game still in sight with BA.5 spreading fast?: The seventh COVID-19 wave, driven by the BA.5 variant, requires a reimagination of what the pandemic’s end game will be, as it has become clear that vaccination alone will not be the ticket out. Getting past COVID-19, medical professionals say, will likely require a host of measures.
New evidence emerges of atrocities in Tigray: As UN investigators struggle to gain access to sites of atrocities in northern Ethiopia, new accounts are emerging of previously undocumented cases of sexual violence against young men in the region where human-rights groups have already documented a systematic pattern of ethnic cleansing targeting Tigrayan residents.
Morning markets
World stocks eased slightly today as markets weighed risks from U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and comments from Federal Reserve officials talking up the chance of aggressive interest rate hikes.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.5 per cent, rebounding from Tuesday’s two-week closing low, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.1 per cent and Taiwan’s TAIEX index rebounded from earlier losses to gain 0.2 per cent at the close.
MSCI’s benchmark for global stocks dipped by 0.1 per cent by 0823 GMT, steadying after Tuesday’s drop that took the index off the multiweek highs hit after a rally in July. Britain’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.4 per cent in early trading, while Germany’s DAX edged lower and France’s CAC 40 inched higher.
What everyone’s talking about
The Chinese government’s continued assault on Canadian freedoms requires action
“Canada, like so many other democracies, has regrettably become a destination for both the goods produced by the slave labour of targeted groups, and for the ill-gotten gains of those who oppress them. New legislation and regulation can challenge both.” - Irwin Cotler
The pandemic isn’t over, but now we’re navigating it in the dark
”There is still so much we don’t know about the evolution of COVID-19, and where it is headed. Many in public health fear there could be another major wave in the fall. And yet all along the watchtower, provincial governments are disarming themselves, and public watchdogs such as the NIA, by cutting back on data sharing, and collecting less data to begin with.” - Editorial board
Today’s editorial cartoon
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
Living better
Why women should focus on carotenoid-rich foods
Researchers contend that higher rates of neurodegenerative illnesses among females could be reduced by eating a diet high in carotenoids, phytochemicals that have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, writes dietitian Leslie Beck.
Carotenoids in our diet include beta-carotene (e.g., carrots, sweet potato, mango, spinach), lutein and zeaxanthin (e.g., spinach, kale, Swiss chard), lycopene (e.g., tomato sauce, tomato juice, watermelon) and beta-cryptoxanthin (e.g., pumpkin, papaya, red bell pepper).
Many studies have linked higher intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin to a lower risk of macular degeneration and cataract. Studies conducted in children, young adults, older adults and adults with cognitive impairment all suggest that an increased intake of lutein and zeaxanthin improves brain function.
Moment in time: Aug. 3, 2004
Henri Cartier-Bresson dies
September, 1989, file picture of French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.CHARLES PLATIAU/Reuters
On a Thursday in Céreste, France, the legendary godfather of street photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson, died 19 days short of his 96th birthday. Cartier-Bresson, whose instantly recognizable humanist style swept the world during the 20th century and redefined conventional notions of photojournalism, lived an eclectic and rich life.
Born in 1908 as the oldest of five children in the small commune of Chanteloup-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, France, Cartier-Bresson pursued artistic endeavours from an early age while living in a bourgeois portion of Paris. Having access to the latest cameras and expensive stationery thanks to the support of his wealthy parents, both of whom worked in the textile industry, Cartier-Bresson was able to pursue his passions vigorously while going through his education at a series of private schools.
From the late 1920s to 1970, Cartier-Bresson took photos of everything from the coronation of King George VI to his perspective during and after the Second World War, in which he fought both as a member of the French military and later as a member of the resistance. Most renowned of all, however, were Cartier-Bresson’s portraits of everyday life, his style becoming the basis for modern street photography. Jake Kivanc
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