Politics Briefing newsletter: Another round of NAFTA talks wrap up

Share

Good morning,

Ever have a meeting and feel like the men in the room are the ones doing most of the talking? A new study suggests that might just be the case. A pair of researchers analyzed all the questions that were asked at a biology conference and found that, although most of the attendees were women, 80 per cent of all questions asked were from men. "In many cases, current gender differences in behaviour are likely to be a long-term response to wider experiences of inequality that women may have faced. Therefore, our findings may reflect a lower level of self-confidence amongst female scientists, who are likely to have faced academic and professional barriers based on their gender that men have not," the study noted.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa. If you're reading this on the web or someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, you can sign up for Politics Briefing and all Globe newsletters here. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

NEW - We've launched a new Top Business: Evening Edition newsletter providing a summary of the biggest business headlines of the day. Sign up for it and more than a dozen other Globe newsletters here.

TODAY'S HEADLINES

Another round of North American free-trade agreement talks wraps up today in Washington. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is scheduled to make a statement with her U.S. and Mexican counterparts at 3 p.m. ET. Canadian and U.S. trade negotiators had a bit of a role reversal this week due to supply management, with Americans asking for an open dairy market and Canadians on the side of protectionism.

The Liberals seem to be pressing ahead with at least some of their proposed tax changes for private corporations, which drew the ire of the business community this summer, but say they will compensate for the trouble with a cut in the small-business tax rate.

The Conservatives plan to use their opposition day in the House of Commons today to press Finance Minister Bill Morneau on his financial holdings. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to Mr. Morneau's defence yesterday, saying he was fine with the Finance Minister not keeping his assets in a blind trust because he was just following the Ethics Commissioner's advice.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer ended a press conference abruptly after a Globe reporter asked him why his campaign manager worked out of The Rebel's offices during the leadership race.

A bill set to pass the Quebec legislature today would prohibit anyone from receiving public services while wearing a face covering, such as a niqab or burqa. The public services, in this case, even extend to riding a bus.

Former governor-general David Johnston isn't quite retiring – instead, he's working for Deloitte.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi narrowly won re-election.

In business news, Bombardier has sold a majority stake in its C series aircraft division to Airbus in a move the CEO says he hopes will resolve a trade dispute with Boeing.

And more than half of Canadians are worried about nuclear war, according to a new poll from the Angus Reid Institute. The concern is up sharply from last year, and particularly high among women.

Margaret Wente (The Globe and Mail) on Finance Minister Bill Morneau: "I feel terrible for Bill Morneau. He's a decent, stand-up guy. His devotion to public service is for real. He entered politics to serve his country and help make Canada a kinder, fairer place. No wonder he was Justin Trudeau's star recruit. He is exactly the kind of smart, hard-working and high-minded person who is all too rare in public life. Now Mr. Morneau has discovered what many people have learned the hard way. Business is easy. Politics is hard."

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on the Liberals' tax announcement: "Hey, did anybody notice that Monday's announcement about the revamp of small-business tax reforms didn't have much information about how they're being revamped?"

Andrew Coyne (National Post) on the Liberal tax announcement: "The one big thing we know they are doing, the cut in the small business rate, is terrible policy, in as much as it will make worse the very problem the July proposals were supposed to address: the enormous gap between the small business rate and the top personal and corporate rates, and the incentives for incorporation and other tax planning to which it gives rise. As before, tax policy will continue to reward businesses for staying small, while punishing them for growing. Only now the penalty will be that much larger."

Chantal Hébert (Toronto Star) on the Liberal tax announcement: "It is to Stouffville that Trudeau, Morneau, Small Business and Tourism Minister Bardish Chagger, who happens to double up as the government House leader, and her Indigenous Services colleague Jane Philpott, who happens to be the MP for the area, repaired Monday to eat some pasta and then some crow. For, were it not for the headwind that the government has faced over its fiscal reform, chances are Canada's small businesses would not have received an unexpected mid-mandate gift from the federal government."

And the Wall Street Journal editorial board on NAFTA: "Mr. Trump's obsession with undoing Nafta threatens the economy he has so far managed rather well. The roaring stock market, rising GDP and tight job market are signs that deregulation and the promise of tax reform are restoring business and consumer confidence. Blowing up Nafta would blow up all that too. It could be the worst economic mistake by a U.S. President since Richard Nixon trashed Bretton-Woods and imposed wage and price controls."