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politics briefing

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017SEAN KILPATRICK/The Globe and Mail

Good morning,

Justin Trudeau's trip to China appears to not be going the way he hoped. Mr. Trudeau was expected to announce on this trip to China that Canada and China were going to launch free-trade talks. Instead, the Canadian Prime Minister and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang emerged from a private meeting this morning to say that the two countries would continue to explore whether to launch those free-trade talks. It wasn't immediately clear what the sticking point was, but Mr. Trudeau will remain in China for a few more days.

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

PRESS GALLERIES

On Friday, we wrote about how the presence of reporters in Canada's legislatures has declined. The topic seemed to generate a lot of discussion. Here are a few things we learned.

  • In our initial post, we cited the president of the Saskatchewan press gallery as saying there are no full-time legislative reporters in the province. In fact, David Fraser of the Regina Leader-Post says he does spend most of his time covering the legislature and government.
  • Quebec City has the largest gallery by far at 41, but, as Maya Johnson of CTV points out, only four work for English media.
  • Speaking of language, one reason why the New Brunswick gallery may be punching above its weight (at nine current reporters) is that, as Canada’s only officially bilingual province, there are reporters for both English and French outlets.
  • In Ottawa, iPolitics did a count of the Parliamentary Press Gallery last year and found there were 320 people with passes, an historic low. That number, though, includes technical staff and camera operators, so the number of reporters is lower.

We are still compiling numbers for Canada's territories and city councils, and we'll publish those later this week.

CANADIAN HEADLINES

As North Korea's threat grows, the Canadian government says it is committed to its diplomatic efforts with the country. "We definitely know enough that we need to be very concerned about North Korea's ballistics and nuclear missile testing," Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told The Globe.

The government will mark the 20th anniversary of the Ottawa land mine treaty by investing $12-million for removing mines around the world, including those left behind by the Islamic State.

The federal government is tightening the rules for farmers who want to use temporary foreign workers from Mexico, after allegations that workers in B.C.'s Okanagan region were living in crowded conditions.

And B.C. is preparing to crack down on money laundering after longstanding concerns that criminals have used the province's casinos to move the proceeds of their crimes. Attorney-General David Eby says money laundering has become so pervasive that intelligence agencies have referred to it as the "Vancouver Model." Mr. Eby has an event scheduled Tuesday to outline the findings of an independent expert's review of the problem.

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on trade with China: "Donald Trump isn't right about trade, but he was partly right about trade with China: It had a disruptive effect on U.S. manufacturing jobs. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to China this week for a visit centred on the possible launch of free-trade talks, his key challenge is still to convince Canadians it won't lead to another China shock. China shock is the term used to describe the impact that the rapid rise of Chinese industry had on U.S. manufacturing jobs. Now, there's evidence Canada had a China shock of its own." (for subscribers)

Globe and Mail Editorial Board on "free" trips for Parliamentarians: "Members of Parliament and Senators have long taken overseas junkets, paid for by foreign governments or organizations. Remarkably, these trips are not in violation of the ethical standards for public office-holders, or Canada's political donation rules. The problem is not that Canadian politicians are travelling abroad. The problem is that these 'free' trips aren't really free. The people footing the bills are doing so to exercise influence on our elected officials, whether overtly or more subtly. Those picking up the tab are at the very least buying the time of MPs and Senators. It's not a good look."

Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on think tanks: "There is little doubt that the research conducted by Canadian think tanks often enriches public-policy debates. While they claim to be independent, however, most think tanks rely on funding from wealthy benefactors, corporations, unions or lobby groups seeking to push their own causes. Yet, few Canadian think tanks will tell you who exactly is funding them, or, if they do, how much they get from such benefactors."

Mitu Sengupta (The Globe and Mail) on free speech: "We are taught to have the highest regard for free speech, the cornerstone of our liberal democracy. We receive less instruction, however, in understanding that free speech is still an ideal, not a reality. We should recognize speech is usually more 'free' for some people than for others. This may not be due to any tangible constraint, and may even occur despite our best efforts."

Philip Slayton (The Globe and Mail) on the Supreme Court: "Once upon a time, appointments to the Supreme Court were a lot simpler. Once, it was perfectly all right to be a unilingual white male (the first female justice was not appointed to the Court until 1982). It helped a lot to be a stalwart supporter of the political party in power. In the old days, no one gave a moment's thought to Indigenous representation in the judiciary. Of course, geography mattered: You had to be from the right region. Things are obviously much better now. The new politics is better than the old politics. We care about the gender composition of the Court. We accept that judges should be bilingual. Indigenous representation has become a compelling issue. We still worry about regional representation far too much. These are worthy concerns (apart from geography). But these concerns have turned into a checklist that traps us."

Justine Hunter (The Globe and Mail) on the Site C dam: "If the project goes ahead, what will it do to BC Hydro's debt, which bond rating agencies have already flagged as dangerously high? That will depend, in part, on the final price tag, which the B.C. Utilities Commission says could exceed $12-billion." (for subscribers)

Christie Blatchford (National Post) on men exposing themselves: "From time to time, you may be asked to take it out. It's a big old world and some of us on this side quite like them, and if we also like you, we may ask. I myself have asked. But therein lies the key: If a woman wants to see it, she will ask. If she does not ask, do not assume she is shy and secretly wants you to take it out. Do not assume she will be pleasantly surprised by its magnificence or that in any way she will find this a winning trait."

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

As democracy wanes in Cambodia, China is stepping in. The Globe's Nathan VanderKlippe reports from Phnom Penh that Chinese President Xi Jinping is seeking to extend his country's influence in in Southeast Asia. Recent months have seen the Cambodian government dissolve the official opposition, jail a former opposition leader, close two dozen news organizations, jail journalists and targeted NGOs and aid organizations. "The authorities in Cambodia would like to transmit the idea that they are mini-China to Beijing," one expert says.

The U.S. and South Korea launched their largest-ever joint air exercise, a week after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that some experts say could reach the eastern seaboard of North America.

The Republicans in Congress must now reconcile the House and Senate tax overhaul bills, after senators stayed up late Friday night passing a bill that dramatically lowers the corporate tax rate and may lead to millions losing their health insurance.

A Trump campaign adviser was sent an e-mail with the subject line "Kremlin Connection," in which it was mentioned that Russia was "quietly but actively seeking a dialogue with the U.S." The e-mail was sent by a member of the NRA, the powerful gun lobby, and indicated that the association's annual convention could be used to make "first contact." "Putin is deadly serious about building a good relationship with Mr. Trump," the NRA member wrote. "He wants to extend an invitation to Mr. Trump to visit him in the Kremlin before the election. Let's talk through what has transpired and Senator Sessions's advice on how to proceed."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned that U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would undermine Middle East peace talks.

Pope Francis, who was criticized for not referring to the Rohingya directly while speaking publicly about human rights in Myanmar, has defended his choice of words. He says that publicly addressing the situation would have "slammed the door in the face" of positive progress ahead of private meetings with Myanmar's top political and military brass.

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on tax reform in the U.S.: "In the dead of night, with no real debate, with most senators not knowing what, exactly, they were voting on, with amendments so rushed that they existed only as illegible handwritten scrawls on the margins of the text, the Republican caucus pushed through massive tax reforms that slash taxes on the wealthiest Americans. This at the cost of more than a trillion dollars added to the national debt, along with cuts to funding for health care and education. Why did the senators do this thing? Because they were being blackmailed by a few powerful oligarchs, the very people who will benefit most from the tax cuts. Between kowtowing to those oligarchs and the President's brow-beating of the press, it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between the United States and Russia."

Tom Rachman (The Globe and Mail) on fool Britannia: "What has happened to Britain? Not long ago, this was among the most stylish, creative, vibrant places on the planet, with nimble businesses, an edgy cultural scene and affordable flights jetting around Europe and beyond. Then the hardy nation – always prone to a grumble, but scornful of the moan – erupted in a revolutionary roar, and it's costing these isles dearly. This is a story of how politicians flopped and money corrupted; how Second World War idealism and financial-crash cynicism formed a toxic mix; how a new divide overtook the class system; how a rabid right-wing press lit the match; and how precarious is the future of Britain, the kingdom once known as united."

Doug Saunders (The Globe and Mail) on the politics of demography and geography: "There are two paths to political power in a democracy. You can go for demography – that is, appeal to the interests and beliefs of the largest group of people, and win their votes. Or you can win through geography – that is, by ignoring most of the population by focusing on securing the many constituencies that have hardly anyone living in them. If your ideas are offensive to the majority, you can still stake your victory on the swaths of land between the places where most people live. At the moment, across large parts of the democratic world, the politics of geography are triumphing over the politics of demography."

Alexandra Fuller (The Globe and Mail) on the new regime in Zimbabwe: "The Old Man is gone, and Emmerson Mnangagwa – the Crocodile, they call him, for his ruthlessness – is in. It will take a powerful person to lead Zimbabwe out of the ashes; the last thing the country needs is another strong man. The future of the country depends on Mr. Mnangagwa's resolve not to dig into the same trenches of his two corrupt predecessors, Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe, looking to enrich only himself and those who look like him. The future of Zimbabwe depends on Mr. Mnagagwa pursuing the freedom of his people, 37 years after their independence."

Lauren Duca (Teen Vogue) on politics and #MeToo: "Our cultural conversation about sexual misconduct has been perverted into a partisan showdown, in which abusers are being propelled across the aisle like human dodgeballs. For the #MeToo movement to be effective, we must avoid falling prey to the whataboutism warping hard lines out of shape."

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