Morning Update: Death toll in B.C. expected to rise after record flooding devastates province

Good morning,

Premier John Horgan has declared a state of emergency in British Columbia, granting the province extraordinary powers to deal with the devastation of this week’s historic rainfall and flooding that has displaced thousands from their homes and crippled the province’s highway system.

Thousands of farm animals have died, grocery store shelves are bare, and Abbotsford, the city responsible for producing much of the province’s dairy and poultry products, is largely submerged in water. At least one person died in a mudslide, three others have been reported missing, and confirmation of additional fatalities is expected in coming days, the Premier said.

• ‘It’s incredible destruction’: The devastating flooding in the Fraser Valley will have long-lasting effects on food supply from the agricultural heartland of British Columbia, home of some of Canada’s most significant food production.
• Gary Mason: “British Columbia has never felt more isolated from the rest of Canada than it does now.... The effects of a warming planet are playing out in real time in B.C. And they have been felt particularly acutely this year.”
• Editorial: “B.C.’s terrible year needs to be a clarion call for all governments – Ottawa, the provinces, municipalities. Our planet’s atmosphere is changing. We caused it. The effects will be myriad, and unrelenting. And we’re not ready.”
• Grocery store shelves in B.C. picked clean as flooding cuts off major transport routes
• Surrey woman swept away by B.C. mudslide waited hours on car for rescuers

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Rogers CEO Joe Natale’s demands rejected by board, leading to his exit

Joe Natale presented the board of Rogers Communications Inc. with a list of demands aimed at protecting his authority as CEO, but a dispute over his requests resulted in his dismissal this week, sources say.

The board of the telecom and media giant voted on Tuesday night to remove Mr. Natale as chief executive officer and install Tony Staffieri, the company’s former chief financial officer, in the role on an interim basis. The move followed weeks of boardroom tension that broke out in late September, when chair Edward Rogers attempted to put Mr. Staffieri into the top job.

Canada’s annual inflation rate hits fastest pace in almost 19 years

Canadian inflation soared in October to its quickest pace in almost 19 years, part of a global upswing in prices that is piling pressure on central banks as households pay sharply more for gasoline, new vehicles and various food items.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.7 per cent in October from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said yesterday, up from 4.4 per cent in September. It was the seventh consecutive month that inflation has exceeded the Bank of Canada’s target range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent and it marked the highest annual rate since February, 2003.

• David Parkinson: The Liberals aren’t to blame for inflation, but they are piling wood on the fire
• Opinion: ‘Transitory’ inflation does lasting harm
• Rising food prices pushing Canadians to eat at home more often
• U.K. inflation surges to highest rate in nearly a decade

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Trudeau tells U.S. lawmakers of loosening of COVID-19 testing rules: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised U.S. lawmakers yesterday that Canada is planning a three-phased approach to loosening COVID-19 testing requirements at the Canadian border and stressed that U.S. prosperity will flow from continental trade and trusted neighbours in an increasingly competitive world.

• Campbell Clark: The happy trade-warrior PM is back and smiling through trade threats in Washington
• Lawrence Martin: If Trudeau plays tough on U.S. trade, he risks helping Trump

O’Toole defends ouster of senator from Conservative caucus: Erin O’Toole warned his critics that they could meet the same fate as Senator Denise Batters, who was ousted from the Conservative caucus this week after she challenged his leadership of the party.

• Konrad Yakabuski: Canada’s Conservatives self-destruct, again – and maybe that’s for the best
• John Doyle: It’s not the policies – Erin O’Toole lacks charisma and appeal as a political leader

Europe’s least-vaccinated countries are back in crisis: The World Health Organization says Europe is once again the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic. Romania and Bulgaria in particular are going through a fresh pandemic crisis, not because of a lack of vaccines, but because of extreme vaccine skepticism and resistance to isolating people who are unvaccinated.

WTA demands proof missing Chinese tennis star is safe: The chairman of the Women’s Tennis Association has said a letter to him from Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai published by state media “only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts.” Peng has not been seen in public and her current whereabouts are unknown after she publicly accused China’s former vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, of sexually assaulting her.

Alberta announces grant to help small businesses: The Alberta government has opened applications for a $2,000 grant for small- and medium-sized businesses to help them with the cost of implementing a vaccine passport system, and business groups are hoping other provinces will follow suit.

Men convicted of killing Malcolm X to be exonerated: Two men convicted of killing Black activist and civil-rights advocate Malcolm X in 1965 will be exonerated, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said yesterday, saying it will move to “vacate the wrongful convictions.”

MORNING MARKETS

Global stocks pause: World stock markets and the U.S. dollar rally stalled on Thursday, oil skidded on talk of a coordinated release of reserves. Shortly after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.13 per cent. Germany’s DAX slid 0.02 per cent while France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.03 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished down 0.30 per cent. New York futures were modestly positive. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.36 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

John Ibbitson: “The United States and other allies are wondering why Canada has no coherent response to the challenge of China. It’s time to show them we do, and that we mean it.”

Cathal Kelly: “So if you want to win the war, win the next fight. Win in Honduras. If Canada manages that, it is difficult to see it finishing up anywhere but in Qatar 13 months from now.”

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

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LIVING BETTER

Five holiday meals that help feed our sense of nostalgia

Though December is often referred to as holiday season in this country, Canadians celebrate significant cultural and religious occasions throughout the year. The meals associated with these holidays draw friends and families together around tables and feed our sense of nostalgia. The Globe asked a diverse group of Canadians to share one of the dishes their festivities would not be the same without.

MOMENT IN TIME: NOVEMBER 18, 2011

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Video game Minecraft is officially released

When Swedish programmer Markus Persson released his game Minecraft on this day in 2011, little in it was original; the blocky graphics were borrowed from the low-budget game Infiniminer, with a half-dozen other game concepts mixed in. Still, the appeal of being able to harvest everything in a hostile landscape and craft something new earned Minecraft huge critical acclaim and financial success, and Persson sold his game-development studio, Mojang, to Microsoft for US$2.5-billion three years later. These days, Persson is not welcome at Minecraft anniversary events after trafficking in extremist and conspiracy invective online. Microsoft has since supercharged the community of players to more than 140 million monthly users around the world, who logged more than a billion hours of online multiplayer gaming this year alone. It’s now the bestselling video game of all time and has spun off cartloads of merchandise and new products, such as an educational version of the game that more than 35 million students and teachers use to tackle subjects ranging from math to history. Earlier this year, Winnipeg’s Louis Riel School Division released Canada’s first Indigenous Minecraft teaching resource to explore Anishinaabe culture, and is planning to create versions for Cree, Dene, Oji-Cree, Ojibwe and Dakota First Nations. Shane Dingman

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