Politics Briefing newsletter: Liberals to announce small-business tax changes

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Good morning,

The Liberal government surely never expected their changes to the tax rules of private corporations would create as much rancour as they did, but now they are prepared to make up for it. Liberal MPs were called to Ottawa for a special 8 a.m. (ET) caucus briefing, followed by an announcement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his finance and small-business ministers at 11:45 a.m. Sources tell The Globe that the Prime Minister will mostly press ahead with the reforms to the tax rules, but will offer changes to address the concerns of the small-business lobby. If you need a refresher about what the Liberals proposed, we've got you covered here.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa and Mayaz Alam in Toronto. 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.

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CANADIAN HEADLINES

Finance Minister Bill Morneau did not place his substantial assets in a blind trust when he entered office, The Globe and Mail reports. A blind trust is a way of ensuring a politician's investments are beyond their reach and influence, and is the route Mr. Trudeau took. Mr. Morneau said he took Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson's advice not to bother.

New NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is kicking off a tour of every province and territory to introduce himself to Canadians. The party says they see growth in suburban ridings in the 2019 election (though, as they say, anything can happen in the next two years). Current and former Liberals tell the Hill Times – mostly off the record – that Mr. Singh is making them nervous.

And as childhood obesity rates rise, Canada is being drawn into the mix on the global sugar tax debate. The federal government has brought forward changes to labelling for foods and beverages and has held public consultations on what regulatory measures can be taken. Despite the action, the pressure is on to do more. Proponents of a levy say it's necessary to curb consumption and will end up reducing health-care while opponents argue that it will hit low-income families the hardest and lead to job losses. Where does the government draw the line on the growing public health issue?

Globe and Mail Editorial Board on the NDP and Quebec: "Parliament, like Mr. Singh, acknowledges the possibility of secession. But unlike Mr. Singh, Canada insists on a high standard of integrity and clarity in the process of achieving it, and would otherwise be under no obligation to negotiate its own demise. Quebec is rich in votes, and other federal leaders have flirted with the independence movement. But at some point, you have to choose a side. Canadians and Quebeckers need to hear more about this from Mr. Singh."

Doug Saunders (The Globe and Mail) on Trump's effect on Canada: "We need to treat the Trump years, even if we get through them unscathed, as a stress test. It's a test Canada ought to take: Like a jetliner that needs to prove that it can fly with one engine, Canada needs to prepare its economy and its institutions for a world economy with a lot less globalization."

Chef Jamie Oliver in The Globe and Mail on fighting obesity: "[Canada's] strategy contains some great laws on marketing junk to kids, and introducing some of the clearest food labelling I've seen. But I reckon there's a massive piece missing in your government's plan – a sugary drinks tax."

Andre Picard (The Globe and Mail) on why a sugar tax won't necessarily fix the problem: "The obesity epidemic was not caused by sugary drinks alone. It is the result of an unhealthy environment – one that encourages the consumption of unhealthy foods and discourages physical activity. Changing that, if it is possible, is going to require a panoply of bold public policies and a profound cultural shift. We're not going to tax our way out of the obesity epidemic. But if we are going to embrace a sugary drink tax, it has to be clear that it is only the beginning of a series of measures that aim to change the way we drink and eat."

Dawn Fowler (The Globe and Mail) on B.C. and the abortion pill: "The NDP prides itself on being a pro-choice party and supportive of gender equity. However, by failing to remove barriers to the gold standard of medical abortion, the Premier and his Health Minister continue to do disservice to the women of B.C. There really is no good reason for not providing universal coverage for Mifepristone. Why can't they provide access like Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia? It is the right thing to do."

Adam Kassam (Toronto Star) on health care spending: "The evidence to support a reduction in wasteful diagnostic and therapeutic resources is clear and uncontroversial. The Canadian Institute for Health Information estimates that 30 per cent of health care, or nearly 1 million tests and treatments annually, is unnecessary."

Wayne K. Spear (CBC) on removing "chief" from job titles: "I'm discerning a trend, and I don't like it, and neither do many other Indigenous folks. The trend is to read (or pretend to have read) the TRC's recommendations and to have been 'inspired' to do something symbolic no Indigenous person has ever requested and that will have no discernible material benefit."

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

The U.S. has finally started releasing some of its key demands for NAFTA renegotiations during the fourth round of talks and the proposals don't bode well for either Canada or Mexico. The Americans are exhibiting a protectionist bent, having asked for higher proportion of vehicles be made in the U.S., a dismantling of the dispute-settlement mechanism and a sunset clause that would allow the country to leave the trade deal after five years. Sources have also told The Globe that the Americans have acknowledged privately that they don't expect renegotiations to finish by the end of the year and have floated the idea of holding talks as late as February of next year.

At least 276 people have been killed and hundreds more injured following a truck bomb in Somalia. It's considered to be the deadliest attack in the country's civil war and is believed to have been carried out by the al-Shabab terrorist network.

Of the nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and have benefited from Obama-era DACA protections, fewer than 900 are enlisted in the U.S. Army. The Globe's U.S. Correspondent Joanna Slater spoke to one 21 year old who is waiting to attend basic training while his whole future serving his country is stuck in limbo.

And in the past, North Korean hackers were known more for their errors than their data breaches. That's starting to change. Cyberhacks have stolen high-level information from the South Korean military and crippled Britain's national health service earlier this year.

Shastia Aziz (The Globe and Mail) on systemic racism in Britain: "Theresa May's government issued the findings of its first audit on race disparity. The report's data is not new – recycled and packaged fresh for 2017, it's more of the same old, same old. Ms. May announced she had commissioned the report in September 2016 but it was only published last week, alongside the Prime Minister's call to address "burning injustices." The report is the latest in a number of government reports released this year alone into the state of Britain's minorities, focusing on integration, the criminal justice system and social mobility. There is nothing new in the report – but the one thing it has succeeded in is this: there is now accessible data stored in one place, laying bare the ugly truths of structural racism in Britain. There are huge discrepancies in the opportunities afforded to and the value of life placed on non-white people in Britain."

Denise Balkissoon (The Globe and Mail) on social media: "Social media is actually more like food than a drug – a broad category of sources with both helpful and harmful possibilities. Like food, social media can nourish us in the right company. But it can also be addictive – or at least a crutch for our vulnerabilities. Those weaknesses are exacerbated by inequalities of access that leave some people more open to manipulative messages or unhealthy choices. Government policy should aim to even out this access, prioritizing people over corporations and publishing research into risks and benefits so that individuals know enough to feed themselves well."

Bessma Momani (The Globe and Mail) on the Iran deal: "Regardless of Congressional actions, the Iran nuclear deal will persevere. Predictably, original signatories of the deal have reiterated their continued support for JCPOA, not least because reneging on the deal would undermine international negotiations with North Korea to limit its nuclear program. The Europeans, China, India, Russia and others are already signing business deals with Iran and, despite Mr. Trump's bluster and theatrics, consolidated global support for the JCPOA will continue."