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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Ontario Premier Doug Ford shuffles cabinet in wake of veteran minister’s resignation
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has shuffled his cabinet, following the sudden resignation of veteran cabinet minister Jim Wilson. He quit his post last Friday as economic development and trade minister, as well as the Progressive Conservative caucus, to seek treatment for addiction issues.
Today’s moves included a demotion for corrections minister Michael Tibollo, less than a week after The Globe and Mail reported that he, or the law firm he heads, faces five continuing lawsuits. Mr. Tibollo becomes minister of tourism, culture and sport. Sylvia Jones leaves that post to become minister of community safety and correctional services.
House Leader Todd Smith takes over Mr. Wilson’s post. Mr. Smith was also minister of government and consumer services, a job that will now go to government whip Bill Walker. John Yakabuski and Jeff Yurek are switching roles, with Mr. Yakabuski becoming minister of natural resources and forestry, and Mr. Yurek taking over the role of transportation minister.
Lowe’s to close 31 locations in Canada amid restructuring
Home improvement company Lowe’s Cos. is reducing its Canadian footprint by closing 31 properties across the country. (for subscribers) The closings include 27 stores, two regional support centres and two plants as part of a plan to focus on the most profitable parts of its business.
The company currently has 68 Lowe’s and 430 Rona stores in Canada. Among the 27 stores set to close by the end of January are nine in Ontario, nine in Quebec, six in Newfoundland and Labrador, two in Alberta and one in British Columbia. It is also axing 20 stores in the United States.
Sylvain Prud’homme, chief executive of Lowe’s Canada, did not say how many employees would be affected, but is quoted in a statement that: "Lowe’s Canada will support impacted employees, including by transferring eligible employees to other locations within our network whenever possible.”
The 2018 U.S. midterm elections are tomorrow: What could happen, what’s at stake and why do they matter?
Donald Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot, but the U.S. midterm elections tomorrow will certainly be a referendum on the President’s unconventional first two years in office, Tamsin McMahon writes in The Globe’s election guide.
Some are predicting the results could split Congress, with the Democrats retaking the House of Representatives and the Republicans keeping control of the Senate.
“There may never have been a set of midterm contests with so many vital themes, so many contradictory impulses, so many contrasting campaign memes and so many reasons to doubt any predictions – some for blue wave for the Democrats, others for a red-wave backlash for the Republicans – about how Tuesday’s 470 congressional races and 36 races for governors’ chairs will turn out,” David Shribman writes.
What John Ibbitson sees is “signs that the coalition of Republican whites that elected Trump is crumbling. ... And while white voters in the past tended to swing as a block toward Republicans or Democrats, the increasingly overt nativism of the Republican Party is stoking divisions based on education and gender.”
But a blue wave in midterms might not spell disaster for Mr. Trump, Niall Ferguson writes (for subscribers): “So you think President Trump is exceptionally unpopular? Stop watching CNN.”
CBC boss Heather Conway to leave public broadcaster to ‘pursue other opportunities’
Heather Conway, the woman in charge of CBC’s English-language TV, radio, and online services is leaving the public broadcaster. (for subscribers) She says she will “pursue other opportunities” after five years overseeing all platforms, including CBC-TV, CBC News Network, CBC Radio One and Two and CBC.ca.
Ms. Conway was appointed executive vice-president of CBC’s English Services in 2013, and went on to oversee its shift to a “digital-first” strategy. Cuts to staff and budget followed, including in 2014 when the broadcaster cut 657 jobs and slashed $130-million from its 2014-15 budget while gutting CBC Sports and reducing local news coverage. Her tenure included the dramatic fall of CBC Radio star Jian Ghomeshi.
Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur to go to trial as early as next fall
Bruce McArthur, a Toronto landscaper who has been charged with the first-degree murder of eight men with links to Toronto’s Gay Village, was told in court today that his trial will take place either in September, 2019, or January, 2020. Superior Court Justice John McMahon said he wanted to make sure the accused would get a trial at a speedy time.
Mr. McArthur will be back before the judge on Nov. 30, when a trial date will be clearer following a judicial pretrial meeting between his lawyers and the Crown.
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MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index rose strongly today, helped by a rebound in marijuana energy stocks, even though oil prices were mixed as new sanctions against Iran were imposed. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 98.42 points at 15,217.70.
Wall Street stock indexes mostly rose on the eve of U.S. midterm elections to determine whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party retains control of congress and also ahead of a meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 190.87 points to 25,461.70, and the S&P 500 gained 15.26 points to 2,738.32, but the Nasdaq Composite dropped 28.14 points to 7,328.85.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
NBC and Fox News Channel both said today that it will stop airing U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign ad that featured an immigrant convicted of murder. CNN had rejected the same ad, declaring it racist. Facebook joined the fray, issuing this statement: “This ad violates Facebook’s advertising policy against sensational content so we are rejecting it. While the video is allowed to be posted on Facebook, it cannot receive paid distribution.” The ad includes footage of Luis Bracamontes, a twice-deported immigrant from Mexico sentenced to death in California for killing two police officers. Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, tweeted that NBC News, CNN and Facebook had chosen “to stand with those ILLEGALLY IN THIS COUNTRY” and that the media “are trying to control what you see and how you think.” He did not mention Fox’s decision.
TALKING POINTS
Bureaucracy should not stand in the way of a dignified death
“Having checks and balances is good, but at a certain point, we have to respect a person’s choice without making them jump through another fiery hoop. Of course, anyone who requests [medical assistance in dying] should have the right to opt-out at any point, and about 5 per cent do. But progression of the illness itself should not strip people of their express wishes. When you have terminal cancer and make a reasoned decision to have hastened death, the cancer eating away at your brain should not be able to negate that decision.” - André Picard
The problem with #MeToo? The backlash
“The paradigm of skepticism must be flipped as a matter of fundamental human rights. This is what lies behind the hashtag #BelieveWomen: not throwing away due process, but defending it by challenging the deeply rooted bias that blames survivors, automatically disbelieves them and puts them on trial. If we want a legal system that seeks truth and justice, we must ensure that the rights of the accused – though indispensable – do not eclipse the rights of complainants. Sexual assault survivors need to know that their rights also matter in the justice system – that they matter.” - Alana Prochuk and Kasari Govender of West Coast LEAF, a women’s legal education and action fund
LIVING BETTER
Chris Bailey gets distracted a lot, and recently embarked on a project to get to the bottom of why this is – and what we can do about it. Here’s what he discovered along the way. Deliberately letting our mind wander is one of the best ways to become more creative. When our attention is at rest, we think about our goals 14 times as much as when we’re focused. We accomplish our intentions more often by taming distractions ahead of time: Use your phone’s greyscale mode, which turns your screen black-and-white and makes apps far less engaging; enable e-mail notifications for VIP contacts only; and have no-phone dinners with your family. Finally, the state of our attention determines the state of our lives. The moments in which we’re distracted accumulate to create a life that feels distracted and overwhelming.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Bobby Orr looks back on a great Canadian life, and the pictures prove it
Bobby Orr is 70, but he doesn’t look all that different than he did back when he was changing the game, Cathal Kelly writes. Same tidy mop of hair, same Shar Pei grin, same twinkle. It’s only when he moves that you get some sense of the effect a quarter-century of hockey has on a body.
As it does to all of us, age has made Orr a nostalgist, but he’s not nostalgic. He never did collect things, or care much about them once he had. The only thing he’s kept are the trophies because who gets rid of a trophy? That’d be rude.
Posed the old “What would you save from a burning house?” question, Orr has to think for a while and then pops out with, “My wife.” That one gets him laughing so hard that the cup of coffee he’s holding tips and a drop spills on his pant leg.
Bobby Orr: "I had grown up being a Leafs fan, so any time we played against them, especially at Maple Leaf Gardens, it was special for me." Excerpt from "Bobby: My Life in Pictures". Courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada
Steak house franchisee Lana Duke on making six figures and going back for her GED
Lana Duke, 73, owns six Ruth’s Chris Steak House franchises, three in Ontario, including the most recent in Markham. Ms. Duke – creator of the slogan, “Come hungry, darlin,”– was the long-time adviser to the restaurant’s founder, the late Ruth Fertel. Globe subscribers, here’s how her story began:
I was born in St. Catharines, Ont., went to a lot of foster homes; the first one’s foundation got me through adversity: talk about it, talk with someone you care about until you finally don’t want to talk about it any more.
At 18, I worked at a bank in Toronto, living with three girls. We wanted to travel, one wanted to be a stewardess. I said, “Where she gets based, we’ll start.” She got based in New Orleans. “Where is that?” The United States turned me down for a visa because of all the addresses I had, no parents or relatives. I asked for a meeting – essentially my first sale – pitching my lungs out that I wouldn’t be a problem. Two weeks later, I got a letter saying they’d let me in; went on March 9, 1963.
People asked why I was there, they thought Canada was north of Alaska. I couldn’t get a job, sold pots and pans door-to-door, was a bowling alley cook, sold ads for a Catholic newspaper. I’m Protestant; the priest said I was making too much money.
Lana Duke (Stephen Uhraney for The Globe and Mail)Stephen Uhraney
Evening Update is written by S.R. Slobodian. 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.