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morning update newsletter

Good morning,

In a calmer scene, U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden scrapped over how to tame the raging coronavirus in Thursday’s final 2020 debate. They also covered topics of race, economy, climate and foreign policy.

With less than two weeks until the election, Trump sought to portray himself as the same outsider. Biden, meanwhile, argued that Trump was an incompetent leader. Here are six highlights from the night.

Analysis: In their final chance to address the nation, neither U.S. presidential hopeful remotely measured up, writes David Shribman

Opinion: That was wishy-washy: The end of Trump-ism on display in TV debate

Also: Catch up on the final presidential debate and what Globe writers had to say

This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.


B.C. election: Voters go to the polls tomorrow for the provincial election

Key ridings to watch: Chilliwack-Kent, Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, and Cowichan Valley are places to follow, just to name a few. You can find the full list of ridings to watch here.

Make sure you check out The Globe’s explainer to learn about where the Greens, Liberals and NDP stand on the issues. From housing and the overdose crisis to budget balances and the post-pandemic recovery, here’s what’s at issue in the provincial vote.

Read profiles on each leader before going to the polls:

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Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson is silhouetted as he speaks during a campaign rally at a pumpkin patch in Richmond, B.C. on Thursday, October 22, 2020.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press


Indigenous Services minister disagrees with Lucki on RCMP handling of protests against Mi’kmaq fishery

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki’s response on the RCMP’s actions “speaks volumes,” Mr. Miller said in an interview on Thursday.

At a news conference the day before, the Commissioner defended officers in Nova Scotia after Indigenous leaders said officers stood by during recent violence and intimidation aimed at the Mi’kmaq fishery and community members. “I want to reassure … the people of Nova Scotia, the Mi’kmaq and all Canadians that we are managing this issue,” she said.

Commissioner Lucki’s remarks indicate the enormity of work required to reform the RCMP, he added.

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Mi'kmaq lobster fisher Marcus Dennis prepares rope for his traps on the wharf in Saulnierville, N.S. on Monday, October 19, 2020 where members of the Sipekne'katik First Nation are exercising their treaty right to earn a moderate livelihood fishing lobster.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

Canada urged to impose sanctions over Uyghurs' treatment in China

  • The Trump administration is lauding Canadian MPs for condemning China’s brutal persecution of largely Muslim minorities as “genocide,” and is encouraging Ottawa to join Washington in imposing sanctions
  • Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole told The Globe that Canada should work with allies to jointly impose Magnitsky-style sanctions on China for what he described as “ethnic cleansing” in Xinjiang.
  • Meanwhile, the Chinese government has accused Canadian parliamentarians of trading in lies and malicious rumours, with Beijing citing population statistics to deny committing genocide

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


STEPPING UP

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Dr. Jeff Harries photographed at his home in Penticton, B.C.Lucas Oleniuk/The Globe and Mail

When Dr. Jeff Harries read about a pill that could curb cravings and reduce drinking, he offered it to a patient who had struggled with alcohol-use disorder for nearly 30 years, and the results stunned him.

For too long, he says, doctors, including himself, have tried to get their patients to quit or reduce their drinking by shaming or berating them. It is now his mission to change how physicians view and treat alcohol-use disorder.

This is part of Stepping Up, a series introducing Canadians to their country’s new sources of inspiration and leadership.


ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Outdated routing systems blamed for long COVID-19-test turnaround times in Ontario: Some nursing homes with outbreaks are also experiencing long lag times between the date samples are collected and when they are received at a lab, according to statistics provided to The Globe and Mail.

Growing number of schools look to phase in pandemic-safe extracurriculars: School clubs, choirs and sports were put on hiatus in much of the country, prompting concerns about the mental health and well-being of high-school teenagers.

Female-led newsletter The Gist gives concise rundown of the world of sports: The founders were stirred by some startling stats: less than 14 per cent of sports journalists are female and under 4 per cent of sports-media coverage is on female athletes.

Behind Erin O’Toole’s old-school image lies a thoroughly modern Conservative strategy: He’s been a politician’s son, a soldier, a lawyer and a Harper cabinet minister. Today, he may seem like a man out of another time – but his flirtations with Trumpism and right-wing digital warfare suggest a very 21st-century conservatism.


MORNING MARKETS

Global stocks bide time ahead of U.S. election: Global stocks remained within a tight range on Friday, less than two weeks before the U.S. presidential election, with traders looking for a breakthrough in stimulus talks in Washington. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 1.35 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.83 per cent and 1.18 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed up 0.18 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.54 per cent. New York futures were modestly higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 76.24 US cents.


WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Canada doesn’t have the right to tell Indigenous people what ‘moderate livelihood’ means

Tanya Talaga: “How is it possible to manage a moderate livelihood in a regulated environment where exploiting the resource without a worry about moderation is what large profit-focused companies are doing?”

The Google antitrust suit could be the start of a full-out power struggle with Big Tech

Tim Wu: “The Google lawsuit may also just be the beginning. It may very well be that Facebook faces its own complaint for its own alleged misdeeds. Apple could be added as Google’s co-conspirator, and Amazon could face new regulatory legislation.”


TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

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Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail


LIVING BETTER

Ten books to pick up for your kids this fall

Some books recommended include What the Kids Did by Erin Silver, which shares stories of the way that children have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic; The Lady with the Books by Kathy Stinson is a poignant and powerful picture book that reimagines the work of Jella Lepman, who believed books and reading could be “bridges of understanding”; and The Paper Boat by Thao Lam, which tells her family story, about fleeing Vietnam in 1980 in the chaos after the end of the Vietnam War.

Read the full list of books here.


MOMENT IN TIME: Oct. 23, 2018

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An aerial view taken on October 22, 2018, shows a section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZM) in Hong Kong.ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images

China opens world’s longest sea-crossing bridge

Stretching across the Pearl River delta is a feat of engineering that symbolizes China’s economic ambitions, took almost a decade of construction and cost the lives of at least 18 workers. The 55-kilometre-long bridge and undersea tunnel system connects the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai to Macau and Hong Kong, making it the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge. The $26-billion project cut the travel time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong down to 30 minutes from several hours. The connection includes an underground tunnel that runs for 6.7 kilometres between two artificial islands in the middle to allow ships to continue to pass through the heart of China’s manufacturing sector. Designed to last 120 years and withstand earthquakes and typhoons, it was opened by President Xi Jinping to great fanfare on this day in 2018. While it was envisioned as a driver of economic growth and integrating China more closely with Hong Kong, the bridge’s impact has been diminished by limited access for private vehicles and other transportation projects in the area, including a competing bridge under construction between Shenzhen and Zhongshan. Iain Boekhoff

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