Canada
The Quebec Secession Crisis Is Coming, and Canada Isn’t Ready
Gerald Butts: Poilievre has added a verb and changed the subject of Cameron’s “Broken Britain,” repeating ad nauseam that “Canada feels broken.” I don’t know what the “Oui” side’s slogan will be in the event of another referendum, but they could do a lot worse than “Le Canada est brisé.” What’s more, the Liberal government’s current shaky political standing has created the real possibility that the next leader of the opposition could be Yves-François Blanchet, the leader of the Bloc Québécois.
As Canada’s fertility rate tanks, is it time to reform parental leave?
More than half of potential Canadian parents say they have delayed having children longer than they would like. Many blame the cost of living, but the issues are complex.
The Provinces
Why haven’t prosecutors decided on whether to charge a BC activist over comments praising Hamas? -
It has been more than five months since an activist was arrested over incendiary comments praising Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel at a pro-Palestinian protest in Vancouver earlier this year. The province’s prosecution service is now facing questions about why it is taking so long to decide whether to approve hate speech charges against Charlotte Kates.
New Brunswick election: Progressive Conservatives release platform to voters
The platform includes pre-announced commitments to cut HST by two per cent, provide financial literacy education in schools and introduce legislation to force people with severe drug addiction into treatment. The Tory document says it will also uphold policies that “respect parents.”
Scott Moe releases Saskatchewan Party platform, would spend $1.2B on promises
Moe says his promises would cost $1.2 billion over four years, with deficits in the first three years followed by a small surplus in 2027. The platform contains pre-announced commitments, including broad tax relief to reduce personal income taxes, an expansion to the Graduation Retention Program and additional rebates for families with children in sports and arts.
Elsewhere
Why Trudeau flew to the other side of the world to spend less than 48 hours in Southeast Asia
If Trudeau didn't show up at this year's summit, the federal government could have been accused of snubbing Southeast Asia. And senior government officials feared nine years of work trying to burnish Canada's reputation as a reliable partner that wants to become a bigger player in the region could have gone out the window.
GOP Strategist: ‘Election Integrity’ Can’t Eclipse GOTV in Tight Contests
“On our side of the aisle, we don’t trust the post office either so people are going to start to say, ‘I can’t put that ballot in the mail because the post office won’t deliver it,” [A GOP consultant] said. “It’s been a problem for a couple cycles now.”
Saudi Arabia participates in G20 Women’s Empowerment Ministerial Meeting in Brazil
The Kingdom’s delegation, led by Dr. Maimoonah Al-Khalil, Secretary-General of the Family Affairs Council, took part in the Ministerial Meeting for the G20 Women Empowerment Working Group, hosted by Brazil in the capital, Brasilia, on October 8-9, 2024.
Media
The Atlantic is expanding its print magazine as it surpasses 1 million subscribers
The acclaimed 167-year-old magazine, once known as The Atlantic Monthly, is increasing its pace of publication from 10 issues to 12, returning to a monthly publication for the first time since 2002.
Google says it will stop linking to New Zealand news if a law passes forcing it to pay for content
The vow to sever Google traffic to New Zealand news sites — made in a blog post by the search giant on Friday — echoes strategies the firm deployed as Australia and Canada prepared to enact similar laws in recent years.
Reader Notes
This newsletter is curated by David Akin, chief political correspondent at Global News. The headlines, excerpts, and photos are generated by the publishers of the clipping. The publisher is at the bottom left of the clipping. If I've got a comment, you''ll see that in italics. But if I've generated the headline and the excerpt, you'll see me taking attribution by finishing with -DA in bold. The stuff about the stamps at the bottom — that’s all me.
You can help keep this newsletter going with a monthly pledge -- Just $5 would do it -- via Patreon or, if you want to make a one-time donation, send an e-transfer to jda@davidakin.com. Thanks for all your help!
Science and tech
Hackers take control of robot vacuums in multiple cities, yell racial slurs
Ecovacs robot vacuums in multiple US cities were hacked in the space of a few days, with the attacker physically controlling them and yelling obscenities through their onboard speakers.
Eleven things to know about in the Windows 11 2024 Update
... we've put together a small list of new and interesting changes that you're guaranteed to see when your version number rolls over from 22H2 or 23H2 to 24H2. And while Microsoft's announcement post spent most of its time on Copilot and features unique to Copilot+ PCs, here, we'll only cover things that will be available on any PC you install Windows 11
Issued this day ...
… in 2005: Sc #2123a se-tenant pair. Big Cats. Design: Keith Martin. This was a joint issue with the People’s Republic of China to mark the 35th anniversary of Canada’s decision to establish diplomatic relations with the Communist government in Beijing. Hard to think any such initiative would be bruited in today’s environment.