Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that Edward Rogers can replace five of the independent directors of Rogers Communications Inc. without holding a shareholder meeting, giving Mr. Rogers full control of Canada’s largest wireless carrier.
The decision comes after weeks of intense conflict that erupted after Mr. Rogers attempted to unseat CEO Joe Natale. Mr. Rogers, who is the chair of the family trust that controls the Toronto-based telecom, was subsequently ousted as the chair of the company’s board.
The legal drama, which is playing out in the middle of the telecom’s $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc., has drawn hundreds of pages of court documents that contain conflicting views on everything from Mr. Natale’s performance to how the wishes of the company’s late founder, Ted Rogers, should be interpreted.
The decision handed down by Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick on Friday means that Mr. Rogers’s move to replace five of the company’s independent directors with his own slate of candidates through what’s known as a shareholder resolution is valid.
Read more:
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Greta Thunberg brings thousands to Glasgow’s streets to press for climate action
Thousands of young people marched through the streets of Glasgow on Friday to press for more action from COP26 on climate change. Led by teenaged activist Greta Thunberg, the protesters made their way through the city centre en route to George Square where Thunberg, 18, and others were expected to speak at an afternoon rally.
There was a festive-like atmosphere and the crowd included many young children and couples pushing baby carriages. At one point on the route a group of about two dozen elementary school children held up handmade signs and chanted, “Stop climate change.”
The march was organized by Fridays for Future, a youth-led movement inspired by Thunberg’s silent protest outside the Swedish parliament in 2018. Her action caused a global sensation and motivated a new generation of climate activists.
Read more:
Eric Reguly: Greenwashing is real as companies and funds ride the ESG express. The goal is to make it rare
COVID-19 cases declining across Canada, but not as quickly as before
Canada’s top doctor says the country is bending the curve on the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but progress has recently slowed and the country could still see some “bumps” over the next few months.
“Now is not the time to let our guard down. We could still be in for a challenging winter,” Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said at a briefing Friday.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said that in the last week there were an average of 2,230 new cases being reported daily across Canada. That’s half as many as were reported during the peak of the fourth wave when there were more than 4,400 daily cases. But Tam warned that regional differences in vaccine coverage could still create surges in months to come.
Also:
- U.K. scientists find gene linked to doubling risk of COVID-19 death
- Pfizer says its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cuts risk of hospitalization, death by 89%
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Canadian economy added 31,000 jobs in October as hiring pace slows: The numbers followed a gain of 157,000 positions in September, Statistics Canada said Friday. The unemployment rate declined to 6.7 per cent from 6.9 per cent. It was the fifth consecutive month of job growth since the summer reopening.
Alberta Agriculture Minister resigns after allegations of heavy drinking at the legislature: Devin Dreeshen resigned Friday after a report of allegations that included heavy drinking in his office. Dreeshen’s drinking first came to public light last week after a lawsuit from a former staffer, with whom the Minister had a relationship, that described a “poisoned work environment.”
RCMP’s plan to use AI to learn passwords in investigations has privacy risks, experts warn: The force revealed a request-for-proposals this week that said that it is seeking potential partners to build an AI-powered system that would “ingest material seized during an investigation” to figure out passwords for encrypted data.
Canadiens goaltender Carey Price to rejoin team on Monday: Head coach Dominique Ducharme has confirmed that the superstar National Hockey League goalie will meet with athletic therapists and develop a plan moving forward. Price voluntarily entered the NHL’s player assistance program on Oct. 7.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index closed the week setting another new high, with strong jobs reports along with crude price gains and positive earnings reports lifting the heavyweight energy sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 113.69 points at 21,455.82. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 203.72 points at 36,327.95. The S&P 500 index was up 17.47 points at 4,697.53, while the Nasdaq composite was up 31.28 points at 15,971.59.
The Canadian dollar traded for 80.31 cents US compared with 80.33 cents US on Thursday.
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TALKING POINTS
Is carbon pricing Liberal policy? For the most part, it’s anything but
“One suspects Liberal support for carbon pricing was also mostly for show: they were for it, mostly because the Conservatives were against it. What really gets Liberal hearts pumping, after all, is not the abstract contemplation of market-based approaches to the environment – or market-based approaches to anything – but the more earthly pleasures of personally directing economic activity this way and that.” – Andrew Coyne
Mélanie Joly must aim for nothing short of an audacious foreign policy
“Over the past several years, a revolving door in the Global Affairs ministerial portfolio has meant that Canada has been missing in action on many key files. Ms. Joly can turn things around. But she will have to move quickly and maintain a laser-like focus on her key priorities.” – Fen Osler Hampson
Don’t bank on a fully cashless society
“But a cashless society is not a foregone conclusion. And while it may seem like a fuddy-duddy Luddite concern – the equivalent of clinging to one’s touch-tone phone, perhaps, or making a plea for beepers – a complete societal changeover to non-cash payment would not, in fact, be a good thing.” – Casey Plett
LIVING BETTER
Forget best-before dates - you’re never too old to hit your stride
In this week’s Amplify newsletter, Globe columnist and feature writer Elizabeth Renzetti tells the story of publishing her first book at 47 years of age. It was, as she says, “not something I ever thought I could do, and the hope grew fainter as the years passed.”
She says interviewing older authors she admired, such as Diana Athill and P.D. James, helped her to take the plunge herself.
“It’s never too late, I told myself and everyone else who would listen.”
TODAY’S LONG READ
How one Ontario nursing home achieved 100-per-cent COVID-19 vaccination among staff
Cecile Lasco, one of the first people to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, helps residents prepare for lunch at the Wellesley Central Place, a long-term care facility in Toronto, on Oct. 18.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
On a recent Monday morning, Wellesley Central Place was humming with activity. A recreational therapist was guiding a group of residents through stretching exercises as kitchen staff set up the dining room for lunch.
Life has returned to normal at the long-term care home in Toronto, even as the pandemic lingers on.
It turns out that every single employee at Wellesley Central Place got two shots of the vaccine by mid-September – well before policy makers across Canada began talking about rolling out mandatory immunization policies for health care workers. Systems are overstretched, and many provinces are struggling with the prospect of losing tens of thousands of workers who refuse to get the jab.
Read Karen Howlett’s full report on how Wellesley Central Place achieved full vaccination for its staff.
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Rob Gilroy