Good morning, Mexico has elected a new president in a landslide, the left-wing Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who says he will fight corruption at home -- and make friends abroad. “We are never going to disrespect the U.S. government, because we want them to respect us,” Mr. Lopez Obrador told a Mexican television network. Though the incoming leader’s domestic policies are quite different than his predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto, Mexico’s new NAFTA point person says there will be continuity in how the country participates in the trade talks. “We are not coming up with new demands,” Jesus Seade Kuri told The Globe. Still, no resolution is expected in renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement any time soon. U.S. President Donald Trump says he doesn’t want to sign anything until after the November midterms.
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa and James Keller in Vancouver. If you’re reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Politics Briefing and all Globe newsletters here. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly acknowledged a groping allegation from 2000 that recently surfaced in the media, saying he doesn’t remember any “negative interactions” during an event at a brewery in southeastern British Columbia. The allegations were referenced — though not described in detail — in an editorial in the Creston Valley Advance.
The federal Conservatives’ status of women critic is challenging the government’s definition of feminism, saying the governing party has attempted to “control the narrative” on the issue. Conservative MP Rachael Harder says she’s a feminist — but that includes opposing abortion and questioning equity quotas for women.
A lawyer with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has resigned, citing a “serious loss of confidence.” Breen Ouellette, who was commission counsel at the inquiry’s Vancouver office, says he cannot remain part of a process that is “speeding toward failure.”
The regulator for Canada’s immigration consultants is facing fraud allegations in court.
As the federal government prepares for the legalization of recreational marijuana, activists are already looking ahead toward their next fight: psychedelics. They point to a growing number of people who use drugs such as magic mushrooms, LSD and MDMA recreationally and research into the drugs’ medical uses to argue it’s just a matter of time before they get the same treatment as cannabis.
The International Olympic Committee says it will contribute nearly US$1-billion to entice cities to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, for which Calgary is currently considering submitting a bid.
B.C.’s fall referendum on proportional representation is facing a legal challenge from opponents who say the process is rushed, confusing and violates the constitution.
And former prime minister Stephen Harper is a busy man: he met with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Monday, and attended an Iranian freedom rally in Paris on Saturday that is attracting criticism because it was sponsored by a group that has been known for holding extremist views.
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Trump’s trade war: “American presidents used to get what Mr. Trump misses. For more than a century, Americans tried to sell Canadians on the benefits – the mutual benefits – of an integrated North American market.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on Ottawa’s response to Trump: “Politically, Mr. Trudeau’s government has embraced endorsements of Team Canada from Conservatives, including Leader Andrew Scheer – and you can bet they will attack criticism of their handling of the trade war as disloyal to Canada.”
Blair Bigham (The Globe and Mail) on emergency health care: “While the Canada Health Act guarantees portability, universality and accessibility, it lacks language that forces provinces and territories to cover the costs associated with these principles, a gap that allows governments to charge Canadians directly for flights to critical services.”
Marni Soupcoff (National Post) on a legal case of end-of-life care: “It would certainly be satisfying if we could see our laws tweaked to allow for end-of-life considerations beyond the physical state of a brain stem, though I confess I don’t know how that could be accomplished.”
Rosemary Westwood (CBC) on #MeToo: “ It’s now summer, and growing evidence points in one direction: #MeToo, far from a fad, has roots in the real world, and it’s spreading. It’s already impacting employment, relationships and the culture at large. Perhaps we’ve become so used to hearing about it, we hardly notice. But #MeToo is making change, both on the lives of accused abusers and how we view women’s rights.”
Sally Armstrong (The Globe and Mail) on Yazidis in Iraq: “ Canada needs to address the fact that there are 5,000 women and girls who were held as sex slaves by the Islamic State. The atrocities committed against them are almost unspeakable.”
Ken Frankel (The Globe and Mail) on Mexico’s election: “This feels like a permanent sea change in the alignment of Mexican politics.”
Rick FitzZaland (The Globe and Mail) on B.C.’s child-welfare system: “For too long, our government has ignored and underfunded this vital social service system. They have been able to do so because most people don’t hold the government to account for how these children are cared for.“
Heather Mallick (Toronto Star) on the news industry: “All news organizations are trying to survive. Without journalism, every person becomes a nation of one, without the news they need to survive in the snake ball, the cage fight, the rat convention. We all need to pay for news.”
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Chris Hannay
James Keller