Good morning,
For many U.S. government workers, it looks like this will be another week without a paycheque.
The government shutdown is stretching into its 34th day and is now the longest in history. Shutdowns are caused when the legislative arm of the government – the two chambers and the White House – can’t agree on passing an appropriations bill that authorizes the spending of federal money.
It’s looking unlikely that U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver a State of the Union address next week, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will not condone the speech in the House chamber until the shutdown is over.
The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives and Republican-controlled Senate are each working on their own spending plans to end the shutdown, but it is not clear what Mr. Trump, who insists any plan must include a new wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, will sign.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Canada’s ambassador to China, John McCallum, raised some eyebrows this week when he told Chinese-language media in Markham, Ont., that Chinese businesswoman Meng Wanzhou might have a strong case to make in Canadian courts to fight her extradition to the United States. Mr. McCallum’s comments suggested Ms. Meng’s arrest could end up having a political solution, which would be at odds to the Canadian government’s line that the arrest and extradition are subject only to legal processes. China has argued from the beginning that Ms. Meng’s arrest was politically motivated.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says he would have fired the ambassador for those comments.
Yang Hengjun, a writer with Australian citizenship who has been critical of the Chinese government, has been detained for days on allegations, by China, of espionage.
Ontario prosecutors are considering filing a production order against The Globe and Mail to turn over interviews with confidential sources that were conducted as part of an investigation into a fraud case that stretches into both Canada and China.
Hydro One has to pay a US$103-million kill fee to Avista, an American utility, after a takeover attempt was cancelled by state regulators who were concerned with the Ontario government’s interventions in the power company.
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has declared himself interim leader and is being recognized as such by many governments, including Canada’s. Russia is standing by the former leader, Nicolas Maduro, and accusing the United States of usurping a legitimate government.
And Library and Archives Canada has purchased a book once owned by Adolf Hitler, which is a sort of census of Jewish populations in North America. Librarians say it shows the horrors of what could have happened had the Nazis won the Second World War and extended their reach into further continents. “What this document is, more than anything else, is a tool to fight Holocaust denial,” said Martin Sampson of the Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs.
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on the Canadian ambassador to China’s musings: “It’s never wise for a senior government official to comment in detail on the strengths of a case going before a court. It’s foolish to talk about a preference for a judge’s ruling. But it’s worse when that undercuts weeks of painstaking explanation to Beijing that the government cannot interfere in the course of justice.”
Leslie Beck (The Globe and Mail) on the new Canada’s Food Guide: “The guide’s dietary recommendations aren’t complicated. Eat a variety of healthy foods each day. Have plenty of fruits and vegetables. Eat protein foods. Choose whole-grain foods. Make water your drink of choice.”
Marni Soupcoff (National Post) on the new Canada’s Food Guide: “Health Canada knew that the previous food guide was confusing and difficult to follow (not to mention nutritionally questionable), so presumably the latest guide is its attempt to devise recommendations for simple changes people can truly implement. But what it has arrived at isn’t just simple, it’s simplistic and so obvious and condescending as to border on obnoxious.”
Naomi Azrieli (The Globe and Mail) on remembering the Holocaust: “Too many Canadians are also worryingly unaware of our country’s own Holocaust legacy. Indeed, only 19 per cent of those surveyed knew that Canada employed a ‘none is too many’ stance toward Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis. Almost one-third of those surveyed (32 per cent) believed that Canada had an open-border policy at that time. If we want our next generation to successfully uphold a tolerant, thoughtful and democratic society, it is our duty to ensure that they know our history, even when it is problematic and seemingly unaligned with what we as a country stand for today.”
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Chris Hannay