Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Canada will allow assisted dying for mental illness starting in March. Has there been enough time to get it right?
Assisted dying will soon become legal for Canadians who have a mental disorder as their sole condition. When that option arrives in March, Canada will have one of the most liberal euthanasia laws in the world.
But with doctors divided and federal guidelines still in development, Canadians have questions about who will qualify for MAID (medical assistance in dying) – and whether it’s a good idea to give the most vulnerable an easier way to die. Erin Anderssen reports.
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Ukrainian flag raised in Kherson after Russians withdraw
More than 260 days of Russian occupation came to an end in Kherson today as crowds cheered Ukrainian troops as they entered the city. The scenes of jubilation took place just hours after the last Russian troops left the city centre, most of them retreating to the far bank of the Dnipro River in a strategic withdrawal. Ukrainian troops advanced cautiously, however, as it is feared Russian troops may have mined much of Kherson and plan to attack from positions across the river.
- Rita Trichur: Kremlin critic Bill Browder is urging Canada to find and freeze dirty money. Will Ottawa heed his call?
- Read also: Ukraine endgame could electrify world markets
Return of seasonal flu, RSV and other viruses could spell disaster for older Canadians, experts say
The return of seasonal respiratory viruses, which were kept in check the last couple of years by COVID-19 control measures, has sent high numbers of young children to hospital and experts are bracing for a similar spike in older adults. With fewer health care workers to look after the sick and the persistent risk of COVID-19, some anticipate this cold and flu season will be especially precarious for older Canadians.
Canadians honour country’s war dead at sombre Remembrance Day ceremonies
Canadians paid respects to the country’s war dead at sombre Remembrance Day ceremonies across the country today.
- In photos: Remembrance Day ceremonies across Canada
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
U.S. election workers toil to count thousands of votes in Senate races
Arizona and Nevada election workers were still tallying hundreds of thousands of ballots that could determine control of the U.S. Senate and the shape of President Joe Biden’s next two years in office, in a vote count that officials in the two battleground states warn could drag on for days.
Winning both contests would give either Democrats or Republicans a Senate majority, while a split would transform a Dec. 6 runoff Senate election in Georgia into a proxy battle for the chamber.
The underlying assumptions of the financial market have crumbled
Three ideas that investors once considered indisputable are now in question. First is the notion that China is the long-term driver of global economic growth. Second is the belief that interest rates are destined to stay “lower for longer.” Third is the conviction that big U.S. technology companies are a good investment at just about any price.
Ian McGugan reports on this not-so-holy trinity of ideas which dominated financial markets during the decade leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crypto exchange FTX to start U.S. bankruptcy proceedings, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigns
The distressed crypto trading platform had been struggling to raise the billions in funds needed to stave off collapse after a wave of withdrawals. A liquidity crisis at the cryptocurrency group has prompted intervention from regulators around the world.
The company said today that FTX and its affiliated crypto trading fund Alameda Research and approximately 130 other companies have commenced voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
As World Cup 2022 nears, questions remain about whether Qatar has improved migrant worker conditions
Qatar has enacted many reforms amid scrutiny of conditions in the Persian Gulf country ahead of this year’s World Cup, which kicks off later this month. Officials cite improvements in worker safety and treatment, including the abolition of the kafala (sponsorship) system, which essentially indentured workers to their employer. That puts Qatar ahead of many of its neighbours when it comes to protecting its two-million-strong foreign work force. At the same time, however, the International Labour Organization, a UN body, warned that more needs to be done and workers have complained that changes are often not felt on the ground, particularly on projects unrelated to the World Cup.
MARKET WATCH
Stocks ended higher today, extending a rally started yesterday after a soft U.S. inflation reading raised hopes the Federal Reserve would get less aggressive with interest rate hikes.
The S&P/TSX Composite index closed up 121.15 points, or 0.61%, at 20,111.51, bringing its gain for the week to 3.4%. Both energy and tech sectors gained more than 2%.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.93% to end the session at 3,993.05 points. The Nasdaq gained 1.88% to 11,323.33 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10% to 33,749.18 points.
The loonie was trading at 75.43 cents (U.S.), up half a cent.
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TALKING POINTS
Industrial strategy is no longer taboo? When was it ever?
Andrew Coyne: “What we need is not to replace the preferences of individual members of the public with those of state planners, but rather to bring those individual preferences into harmony with each other: to match buyers with sellers, demand with supply, in such a way that each must ration his use of scarce resources to take account of others’ claims.”
Since the start of the pandemic, Canada has not stopped short-changing our children
Robyn Urback: “If they belonged to any other demographic, these marginalized Canadians would be pounding on doors in Ottawa and in provincial capitals to demand action on medication shortages, on overwhelmed hospitals and on the threat of a return to online learning.”
The British government cannot win with next week’s budget – the economy is too far gone
Eric Reguly: “Britain has no wiggle room – the government has effectively run out of money as the deficit deepens and most economic indicators point in the wrong direction.”
Xi Jinping’s ambitions extend well beyond his latest five-year term
Frank Ching: “The centralized autocracy created by Mr. Xi certainly expedites executive decision making. But political analysts suggest that such a system also lays the groundwork for uncertainty, with no designated heir and no institutional procedure as to when and under what circumstances the incumbent is to step down.” – Frank Ching is a Hong Kong-based journalist.
LIVING BETTER
The Northwest Passage, revisited
“For those of us who had served on such ships many times before – adventurers, historians, biologists, geologists, musicians, photographers or mere creatures of curiosity – returning to the Arctic (aboard L’Austral, one of the newer, sleeker and more luxurious to ply these waters), we all wondered: What differences would we notice in this broad and pristine land?”
Russell Potter chronicles his voyage deep into the inland waters of Canada – the Northwest Passage. Made famous by explorers such as Sir John Franklin, this fabled passage is impossible to merely visit. It can, though, be passed through – ice allowing – which gives it a high place on people’s bucket lists.
TODAY’S LONG READ
This RCAF photographer painted wartime Europe’s hardships and humanity. Now, a documentary is bringing his portraits to life
The nearly finished animated short documentary, The Reconnaissance Painter, tells the story of John Fleetwood-Morrow, who served as a photographer in No. 39 Wing RCAF. Composed of airmen from three Canadian squadrons, this wing became known as the Eyes of the Army and would play a critical role in the Battle of Normandy.
Fleetwood-Morrow’s photos helped the Allies see what was ahead, and his paintings captured poignant moments beyond the battlefields. Roy MacGregor reports.
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