Politics Briefing: U.S. takes a NAFTA hard line

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Good morning,

It's the final day of the second round of renegotiations of the North American free trade agreement, and the Americans -- who kicked off these trade talks -- are taking the negotiating stance that they don't need to concede a thing. Canada, meanwhile, is pushing for the U.S. and Mexican governments to strengthen labour standards in their countries. With a hardline administration in Washington and a progressive government in Ottawa, negotiators may be playing for their audiences at home.

And after months of barbs about how the Liberal government could be jeopardizing the NAFTA negotiations, the Conservative Party is taking a step back. Erin O'Toole, a former Conservative leadership candidate and the party's new foreign affairs critic, says his party will not be in "attack mode" when dealing with the government's approach to the NAFTA renegotiations. Mr. O'Toole says his party is willing to offer the Liberals nonpartisan support.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa and Mayaz Alam and Eleanor Davidson in Toronto. If you're reading this on the web or someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, you can sign up for Politics Briefing and all Globe newsletters here. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

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CANADIAN HEADLINES

Commissioners of the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women say the government needs to give them more time to do their work. The inquiry, which has had a rocky start, is set to ask for an extra year or two to complete its study, beyond the original Nov. 1., 2018, deadline.

The summer surge in people crossing the border illegally in Quebec to seek asylum in Canada is dying down. The decline could be due to Canadians' attempts to dissuade refugee claimants from coming, or it could be the start of the new school year.

Despite the federal government's efforts to get Boeing to drop its trade complaint against Bombardier, the U.S.-based aerospace giant will press forward in its dispute. 

The B.C. government has eliminated bridge tolls on two main crossings in the Vancouver region, but the real debate about whether drivers should pay is still to come. Scrapping tolls was a key election promise for the New Democrats, and one that was seen as key to the party's performance in suburban ridings on either side of the Fraser River. But at the same time, the region's mayors have struck a commission to look at mobility pricing, in which drivers are forced to pay for how much they travel. Some examples look an awful lot like tolls. The New Democrats insist they are open to listening to the mayors, and have brushed off the suggestion that allowing mobility pricing would just be tolls by another name.

And in case you missed it, The Globe's John Ibbitson reported on the weekend that Canada has been secretly giving asylum to gay people from Chechnya fleeing persecution. The clandestine program, which was spearheaded by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, has the potential to further impair Canada-Russia relations. The refugees that have made it to Canada, some of whom were tortured back home, are facing a fresh set of challenges, according to the organizations that are helping during the resettlement process.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau (The Globe and Mail) on his tax reforms: "While we know most businesses are investing and creating jobs, we also know that corporate structures are being used to reduce personal taxes. That leaves us with a challenge that is unsustainable. As more and more people set up corporations, there is a growing number of individuals who have access to tax advantages not available to other hard-working Canadians. This means that some of the highest-income earners are effectively being taxed at a much lower rate than everyone else. It is legal, but as a former business owner and high-income earner myself, I do not think it is right."

Margaret Wente (The Globe and Mail) on those tax reforms: "[Bill Morneau's] new proposals for small-business tax reform – which will hit a wide range of professionals – are couched in the rhetoric of class warfare. He refers to law-abiding, tax-compliant people (not all of whom drive Lexuses) as 'the richest Canadians,' who exploit 'unfair tax advantages' and 'fancy accounting schemes.' In contrast with the middle class families that the Trudeau government is working day and night for, they don't pay their fair share.' "

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on the NDP leadership race: "The Globe and Mail has learned that Brian Topp, the ultimate NDP insider, is endorsing Guy Caron for leader. Will New Democrats care? The answer may depend on which kind of New Democrat you are talking about."

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on the Liberals' big problem with small issues: "In July, it was the $10-million settlement with Mr. Khadr, when angry constituents gave Liberal MPs an earful. Then it was the stream of asylum seekers crossing the border illegally into Quebec. And now there's a small-business uprising. So far, Mr. Trudeau's maxim about the big things seems to have the politics right. The Liberals are far ahead in opinion polls. The MPs are confident. But as they approach the halfway mark, it's a string of little things that's causing them grief."

Katrina Pacey (The Globe and Mail) on harm reduction:  "Harm reduction is not one size fits all. As with any population, people who use drugs are diverse, with varied needs and abilities. It is unreasonable to assume that one facility can provide adequate service to an entire demographic of people, especially when taking into account geographical restrictions, interpersonal relationships and conflicts, and types of services offered."

Shannon Gormley (Ottawa Citizen) on Chris Alexander: "As few people could reach his heights, few could ever fall so far as the preternaturally intelligent, accomplished, and worldly Alexander could. In this, at least, he fulfilled his unique potential.

Alexander's abilities are clear. Sadly, they are not quite so clear as his record. The man who once advocated for the freedoms, rights and dignity of all Afghans became the man who wanted Canadians to phone in 'barbaric cultural practices.' "

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

"It's already capable of striking nuclear warheads towards enemies. It's just the reality that everyone has to face," one analyst said of North Korea after it successfully conducted its sixth nuclear test, its most powerful to date. In response, South Korea strengthened its missile defence system and U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said that America would order a "massive military response" if North Korea threatens the U.S. or its allies. The weapon was reportedly a hydrogen bomb and triggered a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that was around seven times as strong as the bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima during the Second World War.

A former Canadian ambassador to South Sudan is questioning a Canadian company's sale of more than 100 armoured vehicles to the country's military. In his newly published memoir, Nicholas Coghlan says he raised his concerns with the government in early 2015. The armoured vehicles made by Streit Group were used by the South Sudanese military in the horrific civil war that has killed thousands.

The White House will announce today that it is ending DACA, the program to protect children who came to the U.S. illegally. The announcement is a reversal of a signature Obama-era policy and is being met with scorn by Democrats, business leaders and even some Republicans. The decision has already sparked protests across the U.S. and more are expected today. Vox has written an explainer on the subject if you're interested in learning more.

And Kenya has set a new date for its presidential election. Voters will head to the polls on Oct. 17 after the country's Supreme Court nullified the result of August's vote last week because of what it says were irregularities in the vote tallying process. The original vote re-elected President Uhuru Kenyatta over opposition leader Raila Odinga. The two men will once again face off next month. 

Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on American DREAMers: "The right way to provide a path to citizenship for young people brought to the country illegally by their parents is through the legislative process, not through an arguably unconstitutional presidential diktat. U.S. courts have already struck down a similar Obama executive action that sought to protect the illegal immigrant parents of children born in the United States."

Andrew Hammond (The Globe and Mail) on Pyongyang's provocations : "A few weeks ago, Mr. Trump asserted that the North Korean regime 'is behaving in a very dangerous manner, and something will have to be done about it…and probably dealt with rapidly.' While Washington's next steps are not crystal clear, the two-decades-long U.S policy of "strategic patience" towards Pyongyang is now over with all options on the table. Aside from military force, which Mr. Trump has threatened with his 'fire and fury' and 'locked and loaded' rhetoric, scenarios range from a new round of peace talks at the dovish end of the spectrum, to more hawkish actions like interdicting ships suspected of selling North Korea weapons abroad, one of the regime's key sources of income."

Robert Worth (The Globe and Mail) on Syria's youth: "One of the lesser-known themes of the 2011 Arab protests is their profound link to the culture of rebellion in the West – not political but social and cultural rebellion. In Egypt as in Syria, some of the young people who kicked off the first street demonstrations had spent years marinating in the underground music scene, dabbling in the arts and networking on the Internet. The idea that youth is entitled to rebellion and innovation has become a foundation of American pop culture, woven into our advertisements, our songs, our language. Many Arab young people who joined the protests in 2011 had grown up with this tempting product dancing on their screens, and they wanted a piece of it. By the time they recognized that they were running into a buzz saw, it was too late."

New York Times Editorial Board on the Kenyan elections: "The Kenyan Supreme Court's courageous decision to nullify the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta is a critical first for Kenya and Africa, demonstrating that democratic institutions are capable of acting independently and resolving disputes that in the past have often spilled over into violence. The ruling was also a rebuke to international monitors and diplomats — and to this page — who were too quick to dismiss charges of irregularities, largely out of relief that the Aug. 8 voting had been mainly peaceful and in the hope that disappointment with the results would not lead to the sort of violence that erupted after the disputed 2007 election, in which hundreds of people were killed."