Good morning,
These are the top stories:
Election 2019: The Liberals’ election platform, Scheer’s insurance-industry credentials
Justin Trudeau’s Liberals unveiled their full platform, which includes increasing the federal deficit to $27.4-billion next year if they’re re-elected. These are the highlights:
Deficits: Billions in new spending promises would add about $94-billion to the federal debt over four years, though the Liberals say it would boost the economy while still reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio.
New pledges: Another $400-million would be directed at addressing gun violence, including a buyback program for assault rifles. That’s less than the $525-million on offer for a proposed learn-to-camp initiative. The party is also taking aim at foreign tech giants with a 3-per-cent tax on income from digital ads and services.
Analysis: Campbell Clark argues that “there are no deficit hawks” in this election. The Liberals and Tories, he writes, are “in a competition to promise more.”
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s claim that he was an insurance agent before entering politics is under scrutiny after The Globe found no evidence he obtained the licence required by law in Saskatchewan. The Liberal Party is calling on two oversight bodies in the province to investigate. For his part, Scheer said he received accreditation through a broker program but left the industry “before the licence process was finalized.”
This is the daily Morning Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Morning Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters on our newsletter signup page.
On China: 70 years of communism, Hong Kong protests, critical rare-earth minerals
China is set to mark 70 years of the People’s Republic tomorrow with a massive military parade highlighting the country’s technological prowess. But the nation is also looking backward, via propaganda, the entertainment industry, schooling and President Xi Jinping’s rhetoric. Nathan VanderKlippe explains the increasing emphasis on the word “struggle” as China grapples with declining economic fortunes.
In Hong Kong, protesters have begun hoisting signs that rearrange the yellow stars of the Chinese flag into the shape of a swastika. The term “Chinazi” is being embraced on posters and social media as demonstrations that once focused on a proposed extradition bill shift to broader condemnation of mainland China’s growing influence.
Canadian and U.S. officials are working on a “joint action plan” to reduce reliance on China for rare-earth minerals used to help build everything from smartphones to fighter jets. A briefing document obtained by The Globe says the plan should include defence funding for mineral projects and investments in processing facilities.
Boris Johnson faces fresh setbacks as Tories convene
Britain’s card-carrying Conservatives are gathering for their annual convention even as the party’s leader grapples with two significant threats.
A deepening scandal: The Prime Minister is denying any wrongdoing amid reports that U.S. businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri received $205,000 in government assistance between 2008 and 2016 when Johnson was mayor of London. It’s also alleged Arcuri was invited on trade missions led by Johnson even though her company didn’t qualify.
A no-confidence motion: The Scottish National Party is threatening to initiate a motion which could bring down Johnson’s minority government, though the Tories are leading in the polls. The SNP is decrying Johnson’s suggestion that he would avoid following legislation requiring him to request a Brexit extension if a withdrawal agreement isn’t reached by Oct. 19.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Democrats seek Trump’s calls with Putin: The chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee wants access to Donald Trump’s calls with foreign leaders, including Vladimir Putin, amid concerns that the President may have jeopardized national security. The whistleblower behind Trump’s Ukraine call, meanwhile, has reached a deal to testify before the intelligence panel.
Pattison urges action on B.C. forestry downturn: 90-year-old billionaire Jim Pattison, whose company owns a majority stake in a lumber producer, called on the province to do more to help the “small towns [that] depend on the forest industry.” B.C.’s NDP government recently announced a $69-million initiative to assist displaced forestry workers.
Kaillie Humphries leaves Bobsleigh Canada: The two-time Canadian Olympic champion is now free to compete for the U.S. and will drop her lawsuit that was filed, in part, as a way to bring Bobsleigh Canada to the negotiating table. Humphries lives in the U.S. and married an American this year.
MORNING MARKETS
World shares steady as investors shrug off U.S. delisting threat: World shares on Monday largely shrugged off reports that Washington is considering delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges, with market players downplaying the likelihood of such radical escalation of the U.S.-China trade war. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.6 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5 per cent and the Shanghai Composite shed 0.9 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was little changed by about 4:45 a.m. ET, with Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 both up, but by less than 0.1 per cent. New York futures were up. The Canadian dollar was at about 75.5 US cents.
Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what you need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes details on high-ranking value stocks and a look at a fund manager who is trouncing the S&P 500.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
It works! (Sort of). What Canada can learn from B.C.'s carbon tax
Globe editorial: “The progress B.C. has made, and still needs to make, is a lesson for Canadians. Any government serious about lowering greenhouse gas emissions has to put carbon taxes at the top of the menu. But it’s going to have to be something more than a modest serving, and it can’t be the only thing on the plate.”
Our children can’t be hungry to learn if they’re also hungry for food
Emily-anne King: “School meal programs have transformed the lives of many Canadian children living in poverty ... But these critical programs have not solved the problem facing vulnerable children and working families. It’s time for Canadians to start talking about – and taking action on – weekend hunger, experienced by children from working class or lower-income families when they are away from school lunch programs.” Emily-anne King is co-founder of Backpack Buddies, a Vancouver charity.
It’s only natural to rage against aging
David Sinclair and Matthew D. LaPlante: “Death does not scare us. The prospect of going gently into its good night does. It has always been this way. The quest to understand and potentially slow, stop or reverse aging is no different than the fights against smallpox and polio in the past and those against malaria, dementia and cancer today.” David Sinclair and Matthew D. LaPlante are authors of the new book Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have To.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
The long-needed modernization happening in our bathrooms
Toilet design has changed little since the Victorian era. But now, a number of innovators are promising updates that could improve the functionality and performance of toilets while saving money in the process. Bidets, meanwhile, are finally garnering more attention in North America.
MOMENT IN TIME
Sean Penn, the TIFF interview, 1995
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 September, we pay tribute to Hollywood North.
(Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Sean Penn has been called many things: a humanitarian, a scary dude with a short fuse, a brilliant actor and a terrible first-time author (his debut novel, Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff, was almost universally panned). But in Toronto, he’s perhaps best known as the city’s most notorious smoker. In 1995, Globe photographer Fred Lum captured Penn in a mellow moment, puffing away at Toronto’s Sutton Place Hotel while promoting his sophomore feature, The Crossing Guard, starring Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston. Eleven years later, his bad habit became worldwide news after Penn lit up during a press conference at the Sutton, flouting the city’s smoking bylaws. The Oscar winner (Mystic River, Milk) got a warning. The hotel, a $600 fine. Clearly it didn’t faze Penn, who most recently lit up on stage while discussing his novel on Late Night with Stephen Colbert. – Gayle MacDonald
If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday morning, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.
Arik Ligeti