Morning Update: Ottawa plans cap-and-trade system to cut oil and gas emissions, but targets lower than expected

Good morning,

Ottawa’s long-awaited emissions cap on oil and gas will be imposed through a cap-and-trade system, but will require fewer reductions from Canada’s heaviest polluting sector than the industry feared, according to three sources.

The new policy will take effect in 2030, requiring a significant cut in emissions that year, the sources said. The cap will be less stringent at the beginning than many had expected. However, between 2030 and 2050, the cap will be incrementally lowered as the country moves to a net-zero economy by mid-century.

The policy has raised concerns from Alberta and sets up yet another jurisdictional battle between the federal government and the province over environmental policies.

• Editorial: The start of a climate success story

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Cyber threats from China and Russia to elections on the rise, report says

Disinformation campaigns carried out by China and Russia to disrupt elections in democratic countries are becoming increasingly difficult to combat, according to a report by Ottawa’s signals intelligence and computer security watchdog.

The Communications Security Establishment warned yesterday that cyberattacks are on the rise in national elections around the world, including in NATO countries. The report also mentioned that the proportion of elections targeted by cyber threat activity has increased from 10 per cent in 2015 to 26 per cent in 2022.

Most of these attacks are orchestrated by China and Russia and are forecast to increase in the next two years to target countries of strategic significance, the report said.

• Irwin Cotler under 24-hour police protection due to threat to his life
• Rights activists question safety of testifying at foreign interference inquiry

Ukrainian government shifts blame to foreign media as dissent grows

What began as an apparent disagreement between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the country’s top general over how to describe the situation at the front line has descended into full-scale political combat, with the government setting its sights on foreign journalists.

The Ukrainian government warned yesterday that unnamed English-language journalists were “preparing a disinformation campaign against the top military and political leadership of Ukraine,” pointing to Western media reports of the growing dissent.

The apparent attempt to discredit foreign media came two days after Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko warned that Ukraine was drifting toward authoritarianism. “At some point, we will no longer be any different from Russia, where everything depends on the whim of one man,” Klitschko told a Swiss television station.

• Ukraine aid bill blocked in U.S. Senate as Republican press point on border

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Also on our radar

Bank of Canada holds key interest rate steady: The Bank of Canada held interest rates steady for a third straight time yesterday, but warned that it is still prepared to hike again, as it continues to deal with stubborn inflation in the face of market speculation that rates have peaked and cuts are coming next year.

• David Parkinson: Bank of Canada’s warning-on-repeat effectively pushes back start date for rate cuts
• Opinion: Despite the Bank of Canada’s continued tough talk, rate cuts are coming
• Rob Carrick: Does the latest Bank of Canada announcement mean it’s go time again for variable-rate mortgages?

Three takeaways from the final Republican candidates debate: The fourth Republican presidential candidates’ debate on Wednesday was the loudest and most raucous yet, often spinning out of control as its moderators struggled to maintain order.

• David Shribman: The Republicans have been reshaped by Trump, but remaining candidates reflect broader shifts within the party

Thunder Bay police officer charged in OPP probe: A Thunder Bay Police Service staff sergeant has been charged with two counts of assault, breach of trust and obstruction of justice – the first criminal charges to stem from an investigation launched nearly two years ago into allegations of misconduct within the force.

UN official denounces destruction of agency’s sites in Gaza: The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said yesterday there is no safe haven in besieged Gaza for civilians – not even in UN shelters and so-called “safe zones” designated by Israel. Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency, said that since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, more than 80 of the agency’s facilities in the Gaza Strip have been hit.

• Palestinians seek slivers of safety as Israel battles Hamas in south Gaza
• Opinion: Israel faces the risk of a strategic defeat in Gaza

Ontario urged to declare gender-based violence an epidemic: In an open letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford published yesterday, more than 100 organizations in the gender-based violence sector are urging the province to declare intimate-partner violence an epidemic.

Food costs for families projected to rise, report says: The average family of four will pay $700 more for groceries over the next year as food prices will continue to rise in 2024, according to Canada’s Food Price Report. Prices will once again be pushed up by interest rates, energy costs and climate change. Increasing transportation expenses and geopolitical risk will also contribute to higher prices, the report says.

Nutcracker cast looks ahead at what brings them joy: Every year, the National Ballet puts on a production of The Nutcracker that features 194 young performers, ranging in age from 7 to 20. But bringing the Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy to life requires more than holiday magic and cheer – it takes practice. The Globe went to see it firsthand.

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Morning markets

Yen jumps: Japan’s long-suppressed yen surged and global bond and stock markets flinched on Thursday, as Tokyo’s monetary policymakers gave their clearest hints yet that the exit from ultra-low interest rates was approaching. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.18 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were down 0.12 per cent and 0.11 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.76 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.71 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was steady at 73.58 US cents.

What everyone’s talking about

Konrad Yakabuski: “In her own clumsy way, [CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine] Tait inadvertently made the case for splitting the two networks up once and for all by insisting on applying cuts symmetrically at Radio-Canada and CBC. There is nothing symmetrical about their operations, so why should the axe fall so squarely in the middle?”

Jonah Prousky: “It might well be in the company’s best financial interest then to continue to block Canadian news instead of cutting a deal with Ottawa. In other words, Canadian news providers might find they need Meta more than Meta needs them. And this gets to the heart of why many critics have said C-18 might simply be unworkable. Yet, history tells us the company might be more willing to negotiate than it lets on.”

Today’s editorial cartoon

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Living better

Which Christmas treat is the best?

In food, there are favourites – and then there are winners. Even when it comes to Christmas treats. It might be hard to imagine crowning a single cookie, cake, drink or other sweet concoction as No. 1 when there are so many to choose from, but that’s exactly what we’re here to do. In the process, we hope to help you narrow down your list of must-make holiday recipes.

Moment in time: Dec. 7, 1941

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Pearl Harbor bombing

More than eight decades after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it’s difficult to come up with a better summation than the one U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered in a speech to Congress about 24 hours after the fact: Dec. 7 was, he said, “a date which will live in infamy.” He couldn’t have known just how much living it would do, on both sides of the Pacific. Roosevelt was referring to the apparent perfidy of the attack, a surprise assault on a strategically important American naval base in Hawaii. The U.S. had been trying to use sanctions, diplomacy and veiled threats to curb Japanese aggression in China and Southeast Asia. Japanese war planners, worried about the possibility of military escalation, believed that a pre-emptive strike would batter American naval capacity and morale, and allow Japan’s military to achieve its aims in the region without interference. More than 2,000 American sailors and soldiers died from the attack, which destroyed hundreds of aircraft and sunk four battleships. But those losses drew the U.S. into the Second World War. Six months later, at Midway, the Americans sunk four of the same Japanese aircraft carriers that had been at Pearl Harbor, inflicting damage from which Japan’s war machine would never recover. Steve Kupferman

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