Morning Update: Mugabe’s reign ends; Alberta passes GSA bill

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These are the top stories:

The 37-year reign of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe has come to an end

"Robert Mugabe's decline and fall, when it finally came, was stunning in its swiftness," Globe and Mail correspondent Geoffrey York reports from Zimbabwe. The 93-year-old ruler has been confined to his home under guard after a sudden military takeover. While he's still officially the President, Mugabe's authority is gone.

There was almost no bloodshed in the coup. That's because there was no flood of Mugabe supporters to suppress. In the streets, many citizens expressed hope that the change of guard will bring about new freedoms and turn around a reeling economy. "You're our heroes," one motorist shouted as soldiers walked past him. "You're the best. You brought us freedom. You deserve our applause."

Here's our editorial board's take: "[Mugabe] has been a cruel and fickle leader who has relied on violence, corruption and fraudulent elections to stay in power. He has bankrupted and isolated his country, and ruined the economy – to the degree that the country still has an economy to speak of. … With luck, this week's events could see Zimbabwe's government focus on the economy instead of on the greed and ambition of one man and his family. It's telling that a military coup, something the international community frowns upon, is in this case seen as the lesser of two evils."

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Quebec wants Ottawa to push marijuana legalization to 2019

The Trudeau government has vowed to legalize cannabis by July 1, 2018. But Quebec says an extra year would ensure concerns around law enforcement and taxation are properly addressed. Some critics have questioned whether new federal impaired driving laws will unfairly target medical cannabis users. Provinces have also said Ottawa's plan for a 50-50 split of a proposed $1-per-gram tax isn't fair.

Despite its concerns, Quebec will lay out its own cannabis legislation today which will see it open government-run cannabis retail outlets in addition to online sales – a model similar to Ontario's. Quebec is expected to institute a minimum purchase age of 18, the same as in Alberta. B.C. is exploring a mixed retail system that could allow both private and government-run stores to operate.

Ottawa probably won't send Quebec's face-covering law to the Supreme Court

If the Trudeau government pursues action on Bill 62, it's more likely to come by intervening in a looming court challenge, federal officials say. That's because the government would have a hard time providing evidence of the law's impact on individual Muslim women, against whom critics say Bill 62 unfairly discriminates. Referring the case to the Supreme Court would be the quickest way to get a ruling on the law's constitutionality. But that would result in a more theoretical debate, while a court challenge would allow for Muslim women to appear as witnesses.

Alberta passed a bill that strengthens rules on gay-straight alliances

The bill, which passed 42-23, prevents school officials from telling parents if their children joined a gay-straight alliance, or GSA. It also requires schools to allow for the creation of the support groups; Premier Rachel Notley said some schools were using a loophole to delay or prevent students from launching GSAs. United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney opposed the legislation, arguing that parents had a right to be informed when teachers deemed it necessary. But critics said this would effectively out gay children to their parents before they might be ready.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Astronomers discovered an Earth-size planet

The planet could have conditions favourable for life. There are closer planets similar in size but those have violent radiation eruptions that could wipe out any beginnings of life. This star, Ross 128, doesn't appear to be susceptible to those outbursts.

Investors make tentative move back into world stocks

Investors tentatively returned to world stock markets on Thursday, looking for bargains after Europe's longest losing streak of the year and the worst run since March for the top global indices. After five consecutive daily losses on the MSCI index of world stocks and seven straight falls in Europe, there was a bounce of sorts. Just after 5:30 a.m. (ET), Britain's FTSE was up 0.18 per cent while Germany's DAX advanced 0.72 per cent. France's CAC 40 rose 0.78 per cent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.47 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.58 per cent. The Shanghai composite index was just south of break even, falling 0.08 per cent. The Canadian dollar was trading at 78.32 cents (U.S.). Crude prices were lower.

Heads up: The Globe now provides all users access to real-time stock quotes for both Canadian and U.S. markets. Go here to find out about the major changes to our Globe Investor site.

WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

Sexual harassment in the workplace: When the customer is not always right

"We're finally having widespread social discussions of sexual assault, harassment and abuse. This is good news, but I must admit that I'm disappointed the conversations seem to be excluding a line of work that forces many women to endure this type of behaviour with a smile: customer service. Unfortunately, there are far too many people who use the "customer's always right" mentality to put women in the customer service industry in difficult and uncomfortable situations. Having been a shift supervisor at a coffee chain for many years, I can guarantee that it happens with disturbing regularity – and that, often, despite policies that are supposed to shield employees from this abuse, managers and district managers do nothing to stop it." – Alicia Elliott

The Liberals fudge their peacekeeping promise – and with good reason

"We come not to bury Justin Trudeau's policy of peacekeeping prevarication, but to praise it. This is not a case of moving from the idealism of opposition to the cynicism of power. On the contrary, it looks more like an evolution from a cynical campaign fantasy to a more honest assessment of objective reality. On Wednesday, Trudeau announced that his government will commit a mere 200 Canadian troops to future, unnamed UN missions – continuing two years of declining to specify a destination. … On its self-scorecard, the government will surely call this promise "fully met." It should more accurately be graded somewhere between "modified" and "not being pursued." Again, that's wise and prudent." – Globe editorial

Canadian Joey Votto should win the National League MVP, but he probably won't

"Were he on a better team or made more of an impression or was just a little louder, Votto would be spoken of in generational terms. Instead, he's largely perceived as a tragic waste of talent. That's inevitable in the United States, but the general apathy shouldn't extend to Votto's native country. If we take hockey out of it, he may be the finest professional team athlete Canada has ever produced. He doesn't have Steve Nash's profile or Ferguson Jenkins's struggles or Larry Walker's homer bonafides, but that shouldn't count against him. Votto is just a guy who does one thing incredibly well and doesn't like to talk about it very much. So he may also be the most Canadian great Canadian athlete in history." – Cathal Kelly

HEALTH PRIMER

Canadians are less happy balancing work and life in the digital age

A new Statistics Canada report shows 68 per cent of people are satisfied with their work-life balance compared with 58 per cent eight years ago. The finding comes at a time where smartphones have become ubiquitous; 76 per cent of Canadians owned a smartphone last year. Fourteen per cent of Canadians felt technology "often interfered with other things in life," a number that rose to 20 per cent among 15- to 24-year-olds.

MOMENT IN TIME

Death of Northern Dancer

Nov. 16, 1990: For all his exploits on the track – finishing a Belmont Stakes win shy of the Triple Crown in 1964 – the greatest legacy of Northern Dancer, the first Canadian-bred and owned winner of the Kentucky Derby, may have been established after retiring from the track. After 14 wins in just 18 races, he was equally prosperous around the paddock and stables, becoming the leading sire of thoroughbreds worldwide with a stud fee that climbed as high as $1-million. When the Kentucky Derby ran in 2014 – 50 years after Dancer's victory at the Churchill Downs racetrack – all 20 horses had his genes in their pedigree. Following a sudden bout of colic at the age of 29, Dancer was euthanized and buried at his birthplace on the Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ont. While the farm is being redeveloped into a shopping mall, the project will not disturb Dancer's gravesite. – Paul Attfield

Morning Update is written by Arik Ligeti.

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