Premier John Horgan gives a thumbs up after giving an oath with Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon as he's sworn-in as Premier during a ceremony with his provincial cabinet at Government House in Victoria, B.C., on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad HipolitoThe Canadian Press
TOP STORIES
John Horgan officially takes the reins in B.C.
John Horgan is officially the Premier of British Columbia. And things aren't off to an easy start: The wildfire crisis that has displaced nearly 46,000 people will be priority No. 1 for him and the rest of the BC NDP.
Horgan has unveiled a 20-person cabinet, 10 of whom are women. Doug Donaldson has been appointed Minister of Forests and will be play a major role overseeing the wildfire response. He'll also be the point person for softwood lumber issues, though Horgan plans to be active on this file, too. Other notable appointments: former party leader Carole James is the new Finance Minister; Judy Darcy has been named to the new position of Mental Health and Addictions Minister amid the province's opioid crisis; and Melanie Mark, as Advanced Education Minister, is the first Indigenous woman to serve in B.C.'s cabinet.
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Trudeau is facing pressure to lay out Canada's NAFTA goals
With the Trump administration's North American free-trade agreement demands announced, Justin Trudeau is facing pressure to lay out Canada's goals (for subscribers). Both the Conservatives and NDP want the Prime Minister to appear before a committee to explain Canada's objectives for the renegotiations, which could start as soon as next month. Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. during the original NAFTA talks, says Ottawa needs to justify to Canadians how changes to the deal will be beneficial.
The 100-plus demands put forward by the U.S. include scrapping dispute resolution panels which have been favourable to Canada on softwood lumber and other issues. Canada's ambassador to the U.S., David McNaughton, has responded by stressing the need to keep arbitration panels in place.
The Globe and Mail's editorial board argues that after all of Donald Trump's bluster, the U.S. demands are mild: "There's a lot here that Canada can and will object to – but the list of demands doesn't match the fire-breathing rhetoric of a few months ago. That may be a disappointment to Trump voters. It should be the opposite for Canadians. … The dispute settlement demand is a non-starter. The rest, Canada can at least work with, and aim to modify, diminish and trade away for other things."
There was a second Trump-Putin meeting at the G20 summit
It turns out that the much publicized meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit earlier this month wasn't the only in-person chat between the two leaders. Trump and Putin reportedly spoke for nearly an hour at a dinner for world leaders and their spouses. Trump used Russia's translator, since the American translator didn't speak Russian. After the news broke yesterday, Trump tweeted: "The Fake News is becoming more and more dishonest! Even a dinner arranged for top 20 leaders in Germany is made to look sinister!"
A settlement with opioid firm Purdue Pharma has been put on hold
An Ontario judge has put his decision on whether to approve a settlement with Purdue Pharma on hold. The OxyContin maker has agreed to pay $20-million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by lawyers representing as many as 1,500 Canadians who got hooked on the drug after their doctors prescribed it. After hearing testimony from half a dozen people, including mothers whose sons died of overdoses, the judge said he needs more time to decide whether the settlement is reasonable.
The class-action accuses Purdue of knowing people who took OxyContin were at risk of becoming addicted to it and vulnerable to withdrawal symptoms if they stopped. Those risks weren't disclosed. But the settlement isn't an admission of liability by Purdue. Besides Ontario, the settlement also needs to be approved by courts in Saskatchewan, Quebec and Nova Scotia before it becomes final.
World stocks move higher
A weak U.S. dollar combined with upbeat Chinese data to lift emerging market and Asian shares to levels not seen in more than two years and global stocks to an all-time high on Wednesday. With the world's most widely-used currency near 10-month lows, there has been an indirect loosening of financial conditions for emerging markets which also serves to support riskier assets such as equities. In Europe, markets were higher. London's FTSE 100 advanced 0.18 per cent just after 6 a.m. (ET). Germany's DAX was up 0.08 per cent and France's CAC 40 rose 0.16 per cent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei finished 20.95 points at 20,020.86. The Shanghai composite index jumped 1.42 per cent to 3,232.87 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.56 per cent to 26,672.16. West Texas Intermediate was higher at $46.58 (U.S.). The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.15 cents (U.S.). Wall Street futures were mixed.
WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT
Rejected Muslim cemetery: Even in death, we find no peace
"If I were a bigot, the only Muslim I'd love is a dead one. So supporting a Muslim cemetery should have been a no-brainer. But like all things associated with Islam these days, dead Muslims are as controversial as live ones. Residents of the tiny Quebec town of Saint-Apollinaire, population 6,000 (no Muslims), voted this week against allowing a new cemetery in a wooded area on the edge of town. … Some say this is a racist decision. Ironically, this started when six Muslim men were shot in Quebec City's Islamic Cultural Centre in January, which forced the community to look for a cemetery close to home. And as usual, these days for Muslims, what is normally a non-issue became a lightning rod for controversy." – Zarqa Nawaz, creator of Little Mosque on the Prairie and author of Laughing All the Way to the Mosque
With Khadr saga, Conservatives have stopped trying to help Trudeau with Trump
"[On Monday] the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Conservative MP Peter Kent under the headline "A terrorist's big payday, courtesy of Trudeau," calling the [Omar Khadr] settlement "an affront … to our U.S. allies." Quickly it became the day's hottest story on Fox News, which the Tories encouraged by having another caucus member, Michelle Rempel, go on Tucker Carlson's evening show. … Domestically, they could be overplaying their hand. The Tories clearly believe that, as polls have suggested, a majority of Canadians (including some Liberals) agree with their opposition to the Khadr settlement. If so, there may be more risk than reward in aligning on the issue with U.S. media outlets that can be off-putting to all but hard-core conservatives. It could cause some of those same Canadians to reconsider which side of this debate they want to be on, and create or reinforce negative associations in how they view Andrew Scheer's party." – Adam Radwanski
HEALTH PRIMER
Inside the big revamp of Canada's Food Guide
Health Canada is in the midst of updating the national food guide for the first time since 2007. There's a lot riding on the big revamp, which is expected to be made public early next year: Canada's Food Guide is used by teachers, doctors and dieticians as the go-to authority on healthy eating.
Doctors and nutritionists say that Health Canada has done a poor job in keeping up with changing concerns over the course of the guide's 75-year history. Things appear to be headed in the right direction: A mission statement released by the department last month places an emphasis on "vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein-rich foods – especially plant-based sources of protein." It also warns against processed foods high in sodium, sugar and saturated fat.
MOMENT IN TIME
The first Wimbledon champion
July 19, 1877: With croquet diminishing in popularity, the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club decided to hold an amateur tennis tournament on its rented Worple Road meadowland. Open only to men, players had to come equipped with their own racquets and "shoes without heels," while the club gardener would provide hand-sewn balls. After drawing up formal rules, many of which still apply today, 21 men showed up on opening day. However, having been whittled down to two, the tournament was suspended to avoid clashing with the Eton versus Harrow cricket match, with the first Wimbledon final scheduled for July 16. Not for the last time, the match was rained out, but three days later, 200 spectators paid a shilling apiece to see Spencer Gore's strong volleying game overwhelm William Marshall in straight sets, in a contest lasting just 48 minutes. – Paul Attfield
Morning Update is written by Arik Ligeti.
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