Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The run-up to U.S. election day on Nov. 3 was cast into disarray early this morning when President Donald Trump tweeted that he and his wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19. The White House initially said Trump had “mild symptoms”, but later said he was “fatigued” and had been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail. Nevertheless, the fate of his remaining campaign schedule – not to mention two upcoming debates with rival Joe Biden – remains unknown. Biden said today he and his wife have tested negative.
Reaction to the news of Trump’s positive test came swiftly from world leaders and U.S. political allies and foes alike. Online, misinformation spiked as observers filled in the unknown or disputed details themselves. Stock markets dipped in the morning as investors retreated on speculation of who might occupy the Oval Office next year.
Trump’s diagnosis was one of several in Washington, including at least one senator, raising serious questions about how the business of government could proceed in the short term. Perhaps no matter in D.C. is more time-sensitive than the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court – but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the confirmation process would continue.
Related commentary:
- David Shribman on politics: The U.S. presidential campaign has taken an abrupt turn with Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis
- Ian McGugan on the markets: Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis adds another big twist for markets ahead of uncertain U.S. election
The latest coronavirus news: Ontario, Quebec face challenges of virus’s resurgent second wave
While Atlantic Canada continues to be a relative safe haven from COVID-19, thanks to strict adherence to government guidelines, cases have exploded in the country’s two largest provinces especially. Leaders in Quebec, where there were 1,052 new cases reported today, are hoping restrictions on gathering will halt the spread of the virus. But the incubation period typical to COVID-19 means that won’t be known for weeks. In Ontario, where daily cases reached a new high of 732 today, Premier Doug Ford announced restrictions on gatherings in some regions, but they fall short of calls from a nurses group for more severe closings.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
New funds for small businesses: The federal government is adding another $600-million in aid for small- and medium-sized businesses through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund, which already exhausted its initial $962-million. The fund, administered through the regional development agencies, is one of a suite of programs designed to help independent businesses that have struggled through the pandemic and the public-health measures meant to contain it. The program delivers partially forgivable loans and grants. As well, the Senate has approved the latest bill for emergency relief, which was passed unanimously by the House of Commons earlier this week.
Liberals tap new CEO for Canada Infrastructure Bank: The federal government will announce Ehren Cory as the new head of the CIB next week, sources tell The Globe and Mail. Mr. Cory has run Infrastructure Ontario since 2012, and worked for consulting firm McKinsey & Co. before that. The Liberal government is hoping to reboot the federal agency, which has the goal of matching private investors with public funds, but has delivered few projects since it was launched in 2017.
Duelling accounts of the death of Breonna Taylor: Grand jury recordings released today reveal police officers arguing that they had announced themselves before they broke into the home of the 26-year-old Black woman and killed her. Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, disputes that, saying that he opened fire on police officers when they broke down the door because he thought they were home invaders. No police officers were charged in Ms. Taylor’s killing, though one was charged with wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighbouring apartment.
Two years since Jamal Khashoggi’s death: The Saudi journalist was killed by a hit squad at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 after writing articles critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. His body has never been found. “The fact that Saudi Arabia has managed to avoid any real consequences for this abominable act exposes the hypocrisy of human rights discourse by governments that continue to roll out the red carpet for the Kingdom,” said International Press Institute executive director Barbara Trionfi.
MARKET WATCH
Despite the morning swoon, North American stocks recovered to claw back most of their losses by market close. The TSX even managed a slight gain. The news of Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis was certainly the driving factor for the day, but disappointing U.S. jobs numbers also played a role.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 133.56 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 27,683.34, the S&P 500 lost 32.3 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 3,348.5 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 251.49 points, or 2.22 per cent, to 11,075.02.
As the day wore on, an agreement in Washington on airline industry stimulus cheered some investors. Still, given the uncertainty around the U.S. presidential campaign, volatility-averse markets were slow to rally.
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TALKING POINTS
Say Breonna Taylor’s name, again
“The situation is tragically familiar, recurrently soul-crushing. It is another assault on the rule of law, the most fundamental of our democratic values. We all must be treated equally under the law. No one – neither the police, nor the president – is above the law. In some ways, the preservation of democracy requires that those with the enormous responsibility of safeguarding the citizenry be held to even higher standards than the rest of us.” – Debra Thompson, political science professor
Dear Americans: Move here if you want, but we’re racist too
“We are a country that does not, in fact, like to say the words ‘systemic racism’ in either of the two official languages. Just ask Quebec Premier François Legault, or RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, who have both denied institutionalized discrimination in their backyards, despite all evidence to the contrary.” – Elizabeth Renzetti, staff columnist
The disputed Mi’kmaw lobster fishery has the law on its side
“The Mi’kmaq do not have to wait for DFO to reach an agreement with them to exercise their established treaty right. Rather, the minister and DFO must justify any limitations on treaty rights before they can impose them. This was the very issue at hand in the Marshall decision.” – James A. Michael, Nova Scotia’s first Mi’kmaw lawyer
Past deadline: The night that student journalists ran up against the War Measures Act
“When we received the text from the Canadian University Press, the student-newspaper co-operative, we decided to publish it. Far from endorsing the kidnappings, we believed we were providing context for understanding the crisis. This was, after all, the Quebec of the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. People such as René Lévesque and Mr. Laporte himself had introduced many needed reforms into Quebec society. Did the people of Quebec need terrorists?” – David Frank, professor and former student journalist
LIVING BETTER
Five new thrillers to warm up your autumn weekends
With the weather cooling you might want to cozy up indoors with a good book this weekend. Margaret Cannon offers five mystery picks for October, including one true crime memoir. From Louise Penny comes All the Devils are Here, in which she temporarily relocates Chief Inspector Armand Gamache to Paris, turning the city into an essential part of the engaging plotline. Read the rest of her reviews here.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Baroness Von Sketch Show stars Jennifer Whalen, Aurora Browne, Carolyn Taylor and Meredith MacNeill.CBC
Goodbye Baroness von Sketch Show, and thanks for the laughs
By the time Baroness von Sketch Show began airing on television in June, 2016, hordes of women were already devoted fans after watching skits on social media. Marsha Lederman was one of them. She writes in her appreciation of the show, which begins its fifth and final season on Oct. 6 on CBC, that there are many reasons it feels as if we need them now more than ever.
"The hilarity they are able to wring out of not-hilarious situations: the difficulty in reporting a sex crime. Pay inequity. The indignities of undergoing a gynecological exam or giving birth, including the dry shave down there.
"They have made delight out of the quirks of female middle-age: chin hair, dating after divorce. Being asked for ID – not because you don’t look old enough to buy that bottle of wine, but because you might just qualify for the senior’s discount.
“They have reflected life back to us: weird office dynamics, the retail experience, the outdated clichés that still exist in marketing female-oriented products (obviously there are butterflies). And, of course, what passes for acceptable behaviour at the cottage.”
Read Marsha’s full story here.
Evening Update was compiled and written today by Mason Wright, Chris Hannay and Lori Fazari. 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.