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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Canadian crude prices, oil company shares jump on Alberta production cuts
Canadian heavy-oil prices and shares in Canadian crude producers jumped in early trading, one day after the Alberta government announced it would impose a production cut of 325,000 barrels a day to reduce a supply glut that has driven prices down. (for subscribers) The plan to decrease production by 8.7 per cent next year has Premier Rachel Notley at odds with some big industry players on how to fix the crisis.
“It’s clear the Premier did not go into production quotas lightly,” Jeffrey Jones writes (for subscribers), “and, by all accounts, her consultations with senior finance and industry professionals in the lead-up showed her solid grasp of the gravity of the situation. ... Any disagreement in the producer ranks has to be treated as a necessary evil.”
‘David is an astronaut now’: Canadian arrives at International Space Station
In less time than a commercial jet would take to fly from Vancouver to St. John’s, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques reached the International Space Station today. Mission controllers report that the Soyuz capsule that carried him, together with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and U.S. astronaut Anne McClain, into orbit today began docking with the facility at 12:33 p.m. (ET), about six hours after blastoff from Kazakhstan.
Dr. Saint-Jacques was just 14 when Marc Garneau became the first Canadian to fly in space, and he was still an undergraduate when Chris Hadfield and Julie Payette were among those picked in Canada’s second astronaut call. Sixteen years later, he was working as a Northern doctor when the next call came up. It was then that he heard a five-year-old’s voice inside saying, “Please try. At least try. You’ve got to give it a shot.” Read more about Canada’s latest astronaut here.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques waves upon uniting with the rest of the crew members on the International Space Station after its capsule hatch opened upon docking in this image captured from NASA video in space, December 3, 2018. Courtesy NASA TV/Handout via REUTERSNASA/Reuters
Statistics Canada suspends credit searches, delays plan to obtain banking records
Statistics Canada is suspending its practice of getting Canadians' credit records from TransUnion, and has written to Canada’s banks to delay obtaining financial details of 500,000 households. The moves come as Statscan is being investigated by the federal Privacy Commissioner after concerns were raised over its plans to obtain an unprecedented level of access to the personal financial information of Canadians.
A poll last month showed Canadians strongly oppose Statscan’s plan to access their banking records, which the agency said was necessary as traditional information-gathering methods, such as the census, no longer provided an accurate measure of the economy and society.
Celebrated journalist vows to fight tax charges seen as harassment of a critical voice in the Philippines
Maria Ressa, one of the most celebrated journalists in the Philippines, surrendered to a Manila court and posted bail today, as she attempts to fight tax charges she called an attempt to silence a critical media voice, Nathan VanderKlippe writes. In a statement, she called five tax-related charges against the company she founded, Rappler Holdings, “politically motivated.”
Founded in 2012, Rappler has become a standard-bearer for the independent press in the Philippines, and Ms. Ressa is its award-winning executive editor. But international accolades have done little to ease pressure on her at home, where she is fighting to maintain a news organization that has challenged the often deadly exercise of power under President Rodrigo Duterte.
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MARKET WATCH
A truce in the U.S.-China trade war boosted global stocks to their highest in roughly three weeks today. The rally in equities follows an agreement between Washington and Beijing at the G20 summit in Argentina on Saturday that calls for a 90-day trade tariff truce. Oil prices jumped more than 3 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 287.97 points to 25,826.43, the S&P 500 gained 30.20 points to 2,790.37 and the Nasdaq Composite added 110.97 points to end at 7,441.51.
Canada’s main stock index rose on Monday, led a rally in energy shares. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was unofficially up 77.16 points at 15,274.98, with the energy sector up 4 per cent. Cenovus Energy shares rose 11.9 per cent, while Canadian Natural Resources increased 9.5 per cent.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Cycling commentator and former racer Paul Sherwen died yesterday at age 62. Long-time voice of the Tour de France with broadcasting partner Phil Liggett, Mr. Sherwen also competed seven-times in the French grand tour and was twice British National Champion. Disbelief, sadness and tributes rippled through social media, where he is being remembered as “gracious,” “superb at his craft” and “a true gentleman.” Mr. Liggett later tweeted that the “have now told me that the result of the post mortem was heart failure.”
TALKING POINTS
Failed B.C. money-laundering case shows ‘snow-washing’ is thriving in Canada
“Knowing who owns a property or a company is the missing link between the crime of laundering money and the illegal activities where that cash is generated, ranging from tax evasion to terrorism and drug smuggling. The ability of people to hide behind proxies and numbered companies – as they can now do in Canada – is the main obstacle to rooting out money laundering.” - Barrie McKenna
The scary knockout of Adonis Stevenson is a reminder of the sweet science’s real risk
“The tension in boxing exists somewhere in the middle. However much we talk about the science and its sweetness – and there is plenty of that – it is the brutality of fist-fighting that fascinates viewers. It’s the idea that people are putting not just their pride or livelihoods at real risk, but also their existence. On some occasions, that will result in glory. In others, inevitably, tragedy.” - Cathal Kelly
The hard sell on pharmacare
“Too often, one is left with the impression that proponents of pharmacare think we should provide access to drugs for the sake of providing access. Of course, access matters – but the ultimate policy objective should be better health outcomes, both individually and collectively. We should strive for a pharmacare program that ensures timely, equitable and consistent access to prescription drugs, appropriateness of therapy, and affordability – for patients, providers and taxpayers.” - André Picard
LIVING BETTER
Looking for gift ideas for the book lover on your list? Check out The Globe’s guide to our favourite 100 books of 2018 (for subscribers). From award-winning novels to a children’s title about self-acceptance, there’s something for everyone. In fiction, David Adams Richards takes on the mystery genre with Mary Cyr. Memoirs on the list include Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod, which picked up this year’s Governor-General’s Literary Award for non-fiction, and The Woo Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids, Demons, and My Crazy Chinese Family by Lindsay Wong. In graphic novels, one of comics' most iconic series from the 1990s is finally collected in one extra-large volume with Dirty Plotte: The Complete Julie Doucet.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Studying the potential link between dementia and domestic violence
In private conversations, Donald Weaver’s dementia patients and their family members often open up about the violence they face at home, Wency Leung writes.
The stories are numerous, yet similar – patients wonder whether their dementia is the result of head injuries inflicted years earlier by an abusive spouse, caregivers worry that agitated patients may act out and harm others and family members voice concerns that overburdened primary caregivers might unleash their frustrations on patients.
As a researcher, University of Toronto professor and practising neurologist, Weaver works in his clinic only one day a week. But even in his limited practice, he encounters these kinds of stories multiple times a month. “If I didn’t ask the questions, I wouldn’t be told,” he says, explaining these cases are likely just the tip of the iceberg.
'Boring and normal’: The new frontier of polyamorous parenting
Sometimes Stephanie Weisner doesn’t know how two-parent families do it all, without a Mike in tow, Zosia Bielski writes. Ms. Weisner, 38, has been in a polyamorous relationship with her husband, Ian Hubbard, and her work colleague, Mike Wissink, for eight years. The three adults all live together in one home in Moncton, alongside Ms. Weisner and Mr. Hubbard’s two children, who are seven and nine years old.
The family keeps a joint e-mail account to sort out their household logistics. While Ms. Weisner and Mr. Wissink, 49, work shifts at their airline industry jobs, Mr. Hubbard, 47, home-schools the children. Mr. Wissink often cooks and cleans while Ms. Weisner does the groceries. All three pitch in with bedtimes and shuttling the kids to their various activities. This winter, the whole family’s going to Disney World.
More Canadians than ever before are pursuing non-monogamy, according to a new book, Polyamorous: Living and Loving More, by Toronto journalist Jenny Yuen. Interviewing scores of poly Canadians, Yuen examines how those stepping away from the monogamous nuclear family hope to dispel misconceptions and be normalized in their communities. As more polyamorous parents come out, they are challenging society to redefine what makes a family – just as LGBTQ parents did before them, and divorced and single parents did years earlier. Many are calling for stronger legal rights, from guardianship to child support to family health insurance.
Stephanie Weisner, left, her husband Ian Hubbard, right, and her boyfriend Mike Wissink, second left, spend time with Weisner's and Hubbard's children Issac, 7, and Alice, 9, in their home in Moncton, N.B.Darren Calabrese/Globe and Mail
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