Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, in Beijing to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Xi Jinping, says the two countries have reopened a communication channel that will enable them to stabilize ruptured relations and, hopefully, resolve a punishing trade dispute.
Steven Chase reports from Beijing that Anand spent two hours talking to her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during her first trip to China since being appointed Canada’s top diplomat in May.
She is only the second Canadian foreign affairs minister to visit China in eight years: a period that saw relations hit their lowest point in more than a quarter century.
The pair met at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in western Beijing, where China entertains foreign dignitaries.
After the meeting, Wang issued a positive statement saying the Canadian minister’s visit offered an opportunity to propel China-Canada relations toward a “new starting point.”
He said although the two countries have “different systems and paths,” they have “always shared broad common interests and vast space for co-operation.”
In other news today, Carney announced plans to hire 1,000 new border officers, with a boost to their benefits package in the forthcoming budget to aid recruitment.
Marie Woolf reports that Carney said the stipend for recruits in training as Canada Border Services Agency officers will increase more than fourfold, to $525 a week from $125.
He also unveiled plans in the Nov. 4 budget to improve pension benefits for border officers and other front-line first responders, including search-and-rescue personnel.
“The world is increasingly dangerous and divided, and as Canadians, we must look out for ourselves,” Carney said in a press statement.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the State Guesthouse in Beijing.Gilles Sabrié/The Globe and Mail
What else is going on
PEI Premier seeks RCMP probe into land transactions: Rob Lantz is seeking a probe into long-standing allegations concerning a Buddhist organization with significant land holdings in the eastern part of the province.
In historic first, Canadian jets land on Estonian highway: The mission was part of an international military exercise marking a key milestone in NATO’s efforts to boost allied air forces’ ability to operate under hostile conditions and make them harder to strike in the tense Baltic region.
Pierre Poilievre accuses RCMP of covering up Trudeau-era scandals: However, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, in response, invited the federal Conservative Leader to meet with the RCMP to discuss his comments about the organization’s management.
Ottawa launches $770-million loan package for softwood industry: The Business Development Bank of Canada is now welcoming applications from companies seeking help to weather the economic storm triggered by U.S. import taxes on lumber.
Carney says jailed Hong Kong publisher should be freed: Prime Minister Mark Carney broke his silence on Jimmy Lai this week, saying he supports Lai’s release on humanitarian grounds and also because he believes in freedom of the press.
Airport hacks should be wake-up call, federal official says: Larisa Galadza of Global Affairs Canada, told a security conference the hacking of screens and public-address systems at three airports in British Columbia and Ontario should spur governments to ensure public readiness for disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks.
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: In the Niagara region, Mark Carney and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree toured a border-crossing facility. Later, in Kitchener, Carney participated in Oktoberfest. In the evening, he delivered remarks at an event in Brampton in celebration of Diwali.
Carney to Indo-Pacific Region: Mark Carney will be travelling to Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea from next Friday through to Nov. 1 in his first official trip to the Indo-Pacific region. The Prime Minister’s Office released details of the trip today. It includes attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur and the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Economic Leaders’ meeting in the South Korean coastal city of Gyeongju.
Party Leaders: In Vancouver, Interim NDP Leader Don Davies met with representatives of the group Canadians for Tax Fairness. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, in the B.C. town of Sidney, held a forum on shared concerns about marine life in the Salish Sea. No schedules released for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Ministers on the Road: In Paris, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, also Government House Leader, is meeting with the Cadence Consortium, which was selected to develop the Alto high-speed train project between Toronto and Quebec City. He is also touring the Gare de Lyon, one of seven mainline train stations in Paris. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, in Quebec City, spoke today to the Québec Chamber of Commerce and Industry on an industrial vision for Canada.
New diplomat: Robert Sinclair has been named Canada’s new ambassador to Sweden, says Global Affairs Canada.
Question period
Canada and China are working on improving relations. Who was the last president of China to visit Canada?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
I’ve spent 50 years navigating Canada-China relations. Here’s what I’ve learned
It is plausible that a demise of American world dominance would give way to the creation of a renewed global order where China plays a productive role in enabling sovereign states to engage in free and fair trade, but where the United Nations and other organizations that protect sovereign nations would be reinvigorated.
— Charles Burton is a scholar on China, a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing, and a senior fellow at Sinopsis.cz, a China-focused think tank based in Prague. He is the author of The Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada’s Diplomacy, Security and Sovereignty, from which the following essay has been adapted.
The return of the B.C. Conservative self-sabotage show
Now Mr. Rustad has reintroduced those divisive social policies into B.C. politics, and the big winners are the current New Democrats. Not the taxpayers who are worried about the province’s burgeoning debt. Not patients who are facing regular emergency-room closings. Not communities struggling with street disorder owing to the toxic drug crisis. And not trans youth, who already face higher rates of suicide than their peers because of discrimination and insufficient supports.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
The Indigenous over-incarceration crisis can only be addressed if Canadians act
About 30 per cent of federal inmates are First Nations, Métis and Inuit, according to the most recent data available. A staggering half of all female federal inmates are Indigenous.
— Tanya Talaga, Columnist
Go deeper
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The answer to today’s question: Hu Jintao, who visited Canada in 2010 for the G20 summit held in Toronto. Jintao was president of China from 2003 to 2013.