Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Canada’s gross domestic product flatlined, remaining essentially unchanged in July and appeared to rise only slightly in August, Statistics Canada said Friday. The July data was impacted by several temporary factors, including the port strikes in British Columbia and a bounce-back in sectors hit by forest fires in June.
While a sluggish economy is bad news for businesses and workers, it could be good news for the Bank of Canada, which is trying to curtail economic activity to bring inflation back under control. Still, the overall picture showed the Canadian economy lumbering under the weight of higher interest rates.
The Art Deco facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Jan. 23, 2019.Chris Helgren/Reuters
Republicans reject own funding bill, U.S. government shutdown imminent
The latest effort by House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to keep the United States from a federal shutdown seemingly collapsed on Friday, making it all but certain that federal agencies will partially shut down beginning on Sunday.
Hardline Republicans refused to support a bipartisan Senate proposal to keep the government open and also voiced opposition to their own party’s plan to give lawmakers more time to negotiate a full-year deal.
If Congress does not pass a spending package that can be signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden before 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday, the National Park Service will close, the Securities and Exchange Commission will suspend most of its regulatory activities, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be temporarily laid off.
Read more:
- U.S. shutdown not just a failure of Congress but a failure of the American system
- With a U.S. government shutdown looming, here’s what’s at stake and what happens next
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to the media about efforts to pass appropriations bills and avert a looming government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 29, 2023.Mariam Zuhaib/The Associated Press
Long-serving U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein dies at 90:
Dianne Feinstein, the United States’ longest-serving woman senator who spearheaded the first federal assault weapons ban and documented the CIA’s torture of foreign terrorism suspects, has died at the age of 90.
The long-serving Democratic U.S. senator from California was an avid gun control advocate and a Washington trailblazer who, among other accomplishments, became the first woman to head the influential Senate Intelligence Committee. Feinstein’s office said she died Thursday night at her Washington home.
Read more:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., smiles after announcing the introduction of a Senate bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 16, 2011.Cliff Owen/The Associated Press
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ranking Canada’s Top Growing Companies of 2023: Meet 425 businesses that will give you expansion envy.
For some Republicans, fealty to Trump is a losing strategy: The current Republican primary campaign marks the first time since Donald Trump won the White House in 2016 that he has had to compete for Republican support against a group of candidates dedicated to getting rid of him and his style of politics.
The notwithstanding clause being used by Saskatchewan, explained: On Thursday, Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Megaw temporarily blocked a provincial policy requiring parental consent for children up to 16 who wish to change their names or pronouns in schools. Sean Fine explains the ins and outs of the controversial, seldom-used clause.
U.S. Secretary of State urges Indian co-operation in Canada’s Sikh murder probe: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday he had urged his Indian counterpart to work with Canada to investigate the killing of a Sikh separatist advocate that the Canadian Prime Minister has linked to Indian government agents.
Sikh group protests outside Golden Temple in India over killing in Canada: Hundreds of Sikh activists on Friday staged a demonstration outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, in the northern Indian state of Punjab, demanding punishment for the killers of a Sikh separatist in Canada.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index closed down by almost 50 points, while U.S. stock markets were mixed on the final trading day of what has been a difficult month for investors.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 49.47 points at 19,541.27.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 158.84 points at 33,507.50. The S&P 500 index was down 11.65 points at 4,288.05, while the Nasdaq composite was up 18.05 points at 13,219.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.96 cents US compared with 74.11 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude contract was down 92 cents at US$90.79 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.93 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$12.50 at US$1,866.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up three cents at US$3.74 a pound.
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TALKING POINTS
Reconciliation begins with a commitment to truth-telling
“Unfortunately, even as more and more Canadians engage in sincere acts of commemoration and reconciliation, the voices of those who minimize, distort and deny this history are also getting louder.” – Stephanie Scott
No, India killing a Canadian is not ‘just like’ America killing bin Laden
“Yes, India and the United States have both carried out extrajudicial killings. Does that mean each is worthy of the same condemnation? Germany and the United States both invaded France in the Second World War. But I think we’d agree the two were rather different, morally.” – Andrew Coyne
The history of espionage shows how spying contributes to a free society
“Espionage can be an unsavoury business. Spies break laws that everyone else must follow. Of course, if James Bond dutifully obeyed the speed limit, then he wouldn’t be 007. But when spies illegally snoop on mail and destabilize legitimate governments, it fuels conspiracy theories and threatens civic order. Is there a defence for secret intel? By looking to the history of espionage, we get a good idea how the Great Game works, and what spycraft contributes to a free society.” – Jason Bell
LIVING BETTER
Chefs share their six fall recipes for your next potluck
Potlucks put the focus on getting together – while lowering your stress level and grocery bill. Here’s what home cooks are bringing to the next big harvest feast.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Ksenia Koldin, shown in Kyiv earlier this month, was separated from her brother Serhiy when their foster parents in a Russian-occupied town in the Kharkiv area sent him to a summer camp deep inside Russia.Anton Skyba
In the summer 2022, Russia began a program to bring children from occupied Ukraine to summer camps inside Russia. An unknown number of those children have since been adopted into Russian families – one of which was 11-year-old Serhiy Koldin. The Globe and Mail speaks to his sister, 18-year-old Ksenia Koldin, who ventured deep into Russia accompanied only by a relative stranger to bring him home.
Evening Update is written by Emerald Bensadoun. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.