Good morning,
These are the top stories:
The Democrats are launching an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. Here’s what to expect:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the U.S. President of a “betrayal of his oath of office” as she announced the House of Representatives would launch an impeachment inquiry.
Why now: It centres on revelations that Trump allegedly tried to use the power of his office in a bid to push Ukraine’s President to investigate Joe Biden, a leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Many establishment Democrats had previously been reluctant to endorse impeachment.
Trump’s reaction: The President says he will release his transcript of his call with Ukraine’s President, while taking to Twitter to proclaim “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!”
What this means: If the Democrat-majority House approves one or more articles of impeachment, the process would move to the Republican-led Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required to push him out of office.
Could it happen? Trump has survived numerous crises. But the Ukraine episode “is of a different magnitude altogether” and could be the turning point, David Shribman writes.
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Election 2019: MP denied Liberal nomination, battleground Atlantic Canada, campaign pledges
A Montreal-area MP says the Liberal Party rejected her as a candidate in this election in part because she didn’t laud Justin Trudeau as a feminist on social media earlier this year. Eva Nassif also said she has been the subject of “continuous bullying, harassment and intimidation” by three male MPs since shortly after the 2015 election.
The battle is on for seats in Atlantic Canada, with the Conservatives looking to small towns in a bid to turn back the Liberal sweep of 2015. The economy is a key focus, with some regions facing high rates of unemployment. And while the Tories are seen as best positioned to take seats, the Greens and NDP are also vying for left-leaning votes that went to the Liberals last time.
On climate, the Liberals have committed Canada to net-zero emissions by 2050 if they’re re-elected. Right now, federal figures show Canada is on track to miss a target of cutting emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and the Liberals haven’t provided specific policy measures to reach those goals.
The NDP is vowing to cut emissions by 38 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, while the Greens say they would aim to cut 2005 levels by 60 per cent. The Tories haven’t given specific targets.
(Go here for a breakdown of the four main parties’ climate plans.)
The Conservatives are vowing to reverse Liberal changes to small-business-tax rules, though experts say companies with more than $1-million in passive investments would be the big winners.
China is also detaining Christian Uyghurs and Han Chinese in Xinjiang internment camps
The Communist Party’s crackdown in the northwestern region extends beyond Muslims, The Globe has learned. Six accounts from those who recently lived in the region or have family there reveal Uyghurs who converted to Christianity and Han Chinese majority are being detained.
While China has claimed its strategy is focused on quelling Islamic radicalization, “all signs point to cultural assimilation” as the main goal, said Uyghur scholar Timothy Grose.
Hundreds of thousands of people, possibly more than a million, have been sent to the centres for political indoctrination and vocational training. Most are Muslims.
B.C.’s legal cannabis sales are lagging all other provinces on a per-capita basis
July sales figures, despite being the province’s strongest month to date, came in at $5.5-million – less than provinces like Nova Scotia and well behind Ontario’s $29.6-million.
Experts attribute the poor numbers in large part to B.C.’s well-established black market that has been built up over decades. A slow roll-out of retail stores and supply shortages have also played a role.
Just this week, cities in B.C. voiced concern that they have yet to receive any money from taxes the province has collected on cannabis sales.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Leafs star faces disorderly conduct charge: Auston Matthews is facing a charge over a May incident in his hometown of Scottsdale, Ariz. A complaint alleges the 22-year-old dropped his pants, bent over and grabbed his buttocks after he was confronted by a female security guard at a condominium complex.
Kevin O’Leary’s wife charged in boat crash: Linda O’Leary has been charged with careless operation of a vessel in an Ontario cottage country boat crash over the summer that left two people dead. The other driver has been charged with failing to exhibit navigation lights.
Waterloo’s Kik shuts down messaging app: The Canadian startup is also laying off most of its staff as it defends itself in a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator sued Kik for allegedly conducting an illegal securities offering when it raised funds for a cryptocurrency venture.
MORNING MARKETS
World shares stumble over Trump impeachment threat, China jibes: World stocks fell to a two-week low and risk assets dipped lower on Wednesday after U.S. lawmakers called for an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, increasing the prospects of prolonged political uncertainty. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.3 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite 1 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.9 and 1.6 per cent by about 4:45 a.m. ET. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was below 75.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The many masks of Justin Trudeau
Omer Aziz: “Canada, like the United States, remains a divided country. Official statistics do not reveal this, but segregation exists first in the mind, especially of those who have been blind their whole lives. Whiteness is a shelter from the realities of the world, realities Trudeau and his kind never faced until now because the joke was always on somebody else.” Omer Aziz is the author of the forthcoming book, Brown Boy: A Story of Race, Religion, and Inheritance. He was a policy adviser to the minister of foreign affairs.
Skip work, save jobs: the climate strike is also about economic stability
Denise Balkissoon: “Those who still won’t change the subject should note that emissions-as-usual has financial impacts, too. Tourism, farming, fishing, insurance: Plenty of industries are already being shaken by rising seas, sweltering temperatures and unpredictable weather. Climate change is set to destabilize everything and that includes the world’s economies.”
Despite Boris Johnson’s worst efforts, Parliament is back in session
Globe editorial: “Citing precedents going back to 1362, the court ruled that, when Johnson in late August advised the Queen to prorogue Parliament, he gave her unlawful advice. In the plainest of Queen’s English, he lied to her. As a result, the state of suspended animation Johnson put Parliament into earlier this month is itself suspended. Legally speaking, it never happened.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
How travel blogger Nomadic Matt found the courage to quit his job and start a new life
In this book excerpt, Matthew Kepnes writes: “I put the disapproval of my parents and coworkers aside. I learned to accept all those negative voices, even if I didn’t agree with them. If I was going to go away, I was going to have to do it on my own, because I wanted it for myself. And I wanted it badly.”
MOMENT IN TIME
ER begins its season with a live episode
Sven Arnstein/NBC
Sept. 25, 1997: There wasn’t much live TV drama in 1997, apart from all-news coverage. The decision to open ER’s fourth season with a live broadcast was first considered a gimmick and, later, a triumph. At the time, NBC was one cocky network with a strong Thursday night lineup and gimmicks such as “super-sized” episodes and major guest stars during sweeps ratings periods. The decision to air live was risky, but reportedly done at the urging of stars George Clooney and Anthony Edwards. They believed the show’s fast pace and endless movement in a hospital ER was ideal for a propulsive, no-editing experiment. Adding to the risk was the inclusion of two new actors and their characters, Maria Bello as Dr. Anna Del Amico (she had appeared before but only as a temporary figure), and Alex Kingston in her first appearance as British trauma surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Corday. The cast performed the live show twice, for East and West Coast audiences. The result was breathtaking, but the work going into it was elaborate and exhausting for everyone involved. Live TV drama would remain rare, no matter how much praise that episode received. – John Doyle
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Arik Ligeti