FILE - In this April 21, 2008 file photo, national flags representing the United States, Canada, and Mexico fly in the breeze in New Orleans where leaders of the North American Free Trade Agreement met. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni, File)The Associated Press
TOP STORIES
U.S. says it will lay all demands on table in next round of NAFTA talks
U.S. negotiators have told Canada and Mexico they expect to table full details of the Trump administration's demanded changes to the North American free-trade agreement during talks starting this weekend – in a bid to cut a deal by year end, The Globe and Mail has learned. Canada is preparing for the third round as the talks move to Ottawa. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will spend Friday in an intensive series of consultations in Toronto ahead of the negotiations. (for subscribers)
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Kim Jong-un calls Trump 'deranged,' vows to make him pay dearly for UN speech
Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered fresh sanctions over Pyongyang's weapons programs, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is hitting back. Kim said Trump would face "results beyond his expectation," without specifying what action North Korea would take next. "I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire," Kim said in the rare direct statement carried by the KCNA state news agency.
Canadians seek refuge as Hurricane Maria ravages Dominica
Two weeks after Hurricane Irma left Canadians in dire conditions on the island of Saint Martin, another hurricane, Maria, has put Canadians in peril in Dominica. Global Affairs Canada said late on Thursday that the severe damage caused by Hurricane Maria has made communication difficult, but that 201 Canadians – including 188 in Dominica – have asked for help to leave the region.
On Friday, Hurricane Maria barreled toward the Turks and Caicos on Friday after lashing Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands with winds and rain that destroyed homes, flooded streets, devastated economies and left at least 32 people dead.
Tim Hortons' parent taking legal action against group of franchisees
The clash between the parent company of Tim Hortons and some of its restaurant owners is intensifying, with both sides vowing to take action amid a dispute about franchisee profitability. The CEO of Restaurant Brands International Inc. told an internal Tim Hortons all-franchisee conference call this week it has taken legal action against a group of restaurant owners over confidential information it says was leaked, and "negative" comments about Tim Hortons. (for subscribers)
Liberal government fights to keep WADA in Canada
The Liberal government is dispatching Transport Minister Marc Garneau to Paris this weekend in a bid to keep the World Anti-Doping Agency headquartered in Montreal, as some members of the agency's executive committee are considering moving it to Europe. The move is seen as a strong signal about Canada's desire to remain a major force in the anti-doping movement. The government is hoping to convince the international community that the agency, known as WADA, should stay in Canada, a country that has the reputation of being free from corruption in sport.
Canada's privacy watchdog planning to pro-actively investigate companies
For the past 15 years, Canada's privacy watchdog has only probed privacy concerns when it received complaints from Canadians. But that's about to change. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is now going to start pro-actively investigating companies and organizations. OPC's head is also renewing his call to give his office the authority to impose fines, a model that he says is being used in many countries. The current enforcement system "has no teeth," Commissioner Daniel Therrien said.
MORNING MARKETS
Global markets are mixed, and New York appears poised to open lower as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea escalate. Tokyo's Nikkei lost 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.8 per cent, and the Shanghai composite 0.2 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was little changed by about 5:40 a.m. ET, with Germany's DAX and the Paris CAC 40 up by between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent. New York futures were down, and the Canadian dollar was at about 81.5 cents (U.S.). Oil prices were narrowly higher as the market waited to see whether major oil producers would back an extension to output cuts beyond March at a meeting in Vienna.
WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT
Trudeau gets something right by admitting Canada's wrongs in UN speech
"Few platforms on the international stage are as much like church pulpits as the United Nations General Assembly. Leaders go to preach to the world and Canadian leaders can be as preachy as any. Give Justin Trudeau credit for giving that a twist. He went to the UN and spoke of Canada's historic and continuing failure in dealing with Indigenous peoples, about breached treaties and boil-water advisories, displaying past and present shames." – Campbell Clark (for subscribers)
Why won't Trudeau stop real estate scammers?
"It's ironic that the proposed tax changes that are causing Mr. Trudeau so much grief are supposed to benefit the middle class, that fuzzy demographic the Prime Minister loves to defend. Yet, that same middle class in parts of this country are getting absolutely hosed by some who are helping to drive up housing prices, reaping the financial rewards from it, but not paying the same costs as everyone else." – Gary Mason
Will sexist attacks against female politicians ever end?
"Conservative MP Gerry Ritz was not using Barbie as a complimentary term when he referred to Environment Minister Catherine McKenna as "climate Barbie" on Twitter. The Barbie he had in mind was the one who thought math was hard; a blonde doll who couldn't add two and two, let alone work towards effective climate-change policy." – Elizabeth Renzetti (for subscribers)
LGBT tolerance, worlds of difference
"The third world met the first world in the back seat of a car somewhere in Toronto a few weeks ago, which should alarm us all. In that car, two men berated and threatened a gay refugee who had fled from Chechnya to Canada via a secret underground railroad operated by the Liberal government. The Globe learned about the incident and reported it." – John Ibbitson
HEALTH PRIMER
The tricky business of taming an endurance athlete's upset stomach
Researchers estimate that more than 65 per cent of marathoners and other endurance athletes "sometimes or often" experience gastrointestinal symptoms during exercise – and races are the worst of all, with a toxic combination of emotional stress and maximal effort. But a recent study suggests that a class of poorly digested carbohydrates collectively known as "FODMAPs" may be the underlying trigger for many athletes.
MOMENT IN TIME
Friends makes its debut Sept. 22, 1994: Friends was a cornerstone of NBC's must-see TV lineup in the mid-1990s, but it didn't start out that way. The sitcom about twenty– somethings living in New York premiered at an uninspiring 15th in the ratings; for a while, it looked as if Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross would disappear. Yet, midway through the season, word spread – you have to watch this show. Ratings shot up and it became a Top 10 hit for the rest of its 10-season run. Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer became household names and the source of many pop-culture references. Friends is still in syndication and drawing new fans who now binge-watch on Netflix. Thanks to a lucrative contract, each actor still makes roughly $20-million (U.S.) a year from a show that's been off the air for 13 years. – Ken Carriere
Morning Update is written by Kiran Rana.
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