Good morning and happy Thanksgiving.
Before we dive into the latest election news, let’s start with this timely view from our editorial board: “Keep calm, give thanks for the country we have and don’t let the cynics get to you. The election matters. Your vote matters. And the country we share won’t end if your side doesn’t win.”
These are today’s top stories:
Jagmeet Singh says he would back a coalition to keep the Tories out of power
The NDP Leader said he’d “absolutely” consider forming a coalition government with the Liberals, Greens or Bloc should Andrew Scheer’s Tories win the most seats but not a majority on Oct. 21.
“We’re ready to do whatever it takes – I don’t know what’s going to happen so that’s a hypothetical situation,” Singh said as Nanos Research surveys show the NDP edging up in the polls after two leaders’ debates last week.
That has prompted Justin Trudeau to increasingly turn his focus on Singh’s party, arguing that a vote for the NDP is a vote for the Conservatives. “If you want to stop Conservative cuts, you have to elect a progressive government, not a progressive opposition.”
Trudeau was campaigning with increased security after wearing a protective vest at a rally on Saturday at the recommendation of the RCMP. The Liberal Leader didn’t elaborate on what prompted the security measures.
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Regulators' decisions in assisted-dying cases need to be made public, advocates say
Doctors and legal experts are urging provincial medical colleges to share details of their assisted-death reviews with the public in an effort to raise awareness about the practice.
Colleges don’t set legal precedents but they do provide key guidance on what counts as acceptable in the still-developing area of assisted dying.
Over the weekend, The Globe reported on a 74-year-old B.C. woman who received an assisted death when her only condition was Alzheimer’s, which many thought wouldn’t be enough to meet federal criteria. But the provincial regulator concluded last year that she met the criteria – a decision that wouldn’t have been made public if not for an advocacy group that shared the decision with The Globe.
The latest on Syria as the U.S. withdraws troops and the Kurds look to Damascus for help
The Trump administration has directed its troops in northeastern Syria to pull out “as safely and quickly as possible” amid signs that the White House may move toward a complete exit from the war-torn country.
Kurdish fighters abandoned by the U.S. have now struck a deal with Syria’s government, which will send troops to the border area to combat the Turkish offensive.
Amid the fighting, hundreds of Islamic State supporters escaped a holding camp. That’s adding to growing fears that the terrorist group will benefit from the U.S. exit.
E-cigarette companies have joined forces to lobby against proposed regulations
Juul Labs Canada, Imperial Tobacco Canada and JTI Canada Tech have formed a trade association as pressure mounts on governments to address concerns about the health risks of vaping.
One of the association’s first lobbying efforts will be in Nova Scotia this week to lobby MLAs against adopting a ban on flavoured vaping products. Health experts say fruit- and candy-flavoured options appeal to young people. But the industry group is arguing that adults like similar flavours and that a ban on them would be a “nuclear option.”
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Greta Thunberg plans Alberta visit: The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist said she would be headed north after a few days of rest in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. A spokesperson for Premier Jason Kenney responded by trumpeting the province’s human-rights and environmental standards over the likes of Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Toronto toddler severely injured in alleged hit and run: A 20-month-old boy who was in a stroller on a sidewalk was critically injured in a hit-and-run incident, police say. Two occupants got out of an SUV to assess the situation, police say, before one fled on foot. The other got back in the vehicle, which drove off.
Startup expanding to Hong Kong amid turmoil: The fast-growing Toronto-based app Ritual, which allows customers to pay in advance for food orders, began setting up operations in the city before violence broke out. The head of the company said he believes the situation for business has stabilized.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
CBC’s lawsuit against the Conservatives reveals a broadcaster lost in the digital world
Michael Geist: “perhaps worse than poor legal judgment is what the CBC’s effort to use copyright to stifle political expression says about its strategic thinking. The public broadcaster talks about embracing the digital environment, but over the past two years, it has advocated for new taxes on internet and wireless services, supported website blocking without court oversight [and] likened foreign internet-streaming services to cultural imperialists.” Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, faculty of law.
The grand experiment that is the United States? It’s being overseen by a mad scientist
Lucy Ellmann: “Just as Brexit is the apotheosis of British self-hatred, the U.S. has embarked on its own ruinous act of self-immolation. The country blinked and scratched its head, Stan Laurel style, and decided to go for more corporate criminality, more exploitation, more terror, more indifference, more conformism, more inequity, more bread, more circus – and astonishing levels of sadness.” Lucy Ellmann’s new novel Ducks, Newburyport, is nominated for the Booker Prize.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Inside Ronald McDonald House school, where seriously ill students learn and heal together
It started out as a five-week pilot project. Fifteen years later, the Ronald McDonald House school in Toronto continues to forge ahead in its mission to make a difference for children facing severe health problems.
The school gives children and their siblings a chance not only to keep up with their studies, but also a place to connect with others going through similar illnesses, says principal Katie Doering, who helped establish the school.
“I know I can’t change the medical aspect of things. But I can make an impact in that child’s life. If their life is two years or two more weeks, it’s about making a difference in their day, that day.”
Katie Doering helps four-year-old Sophie with an exercise. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail
MOMENT IN TIME
Fudge, 1967
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. In the spirit of Halloween, we’re looking at candy this month.
(James Lewcun/The Globe and Mail)James Lewcun/The Globe and Mail
Do we really need to know that fudge has about 411 calories and 10 grams of fat in a 100-gram serving? No. Fudge is fun. It’s been around since the late 19th century. Fudge is a candy treat made by mixing sugar, butter and milk, heated, mixed until it develops a creamy consistency, then cooled. That’s the easy method most used by home cooks. In the photo above, an Eaton’s employee uses a paddle to make hand-moulded marble fudge (mixing several ingredients together) in March, 1967. Flavours are almost infinite, but Canadians prefer traditional chocolate, vanilla and maple. Specialty fudge shops – ubiquitous in tourist towns – use warm marble slabs to cool massive blocks of fresh-poured fudge before it is cut into smaller pieces. And that chocolate-fudge sundae? Please. That’s chocolate sauce poured over ice cream. Not fudge at all. – Philip King
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Arik Ligeti