By Canadian Press

Truckers to testify and BoC governor speaks to Senate: In The News for Nov. 1

Nov 1, 2022 | 1:22 AM

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Nov. 1 …

What we are watching in Canada …

“Freedom Convoy” organizers are expected to testify at the public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act starting today. 

The witnesses are expected to shed light on the conception of the weeks-long demonstrations that gridlocked Ottawa streets last winter. Several of the protest organizers, including Tamara Lich, Chris Barber and Pat King, are facing criminal charges related to their involvement. 

Barber is expected to be the first to testify.

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By all accounts to date, the idea for the convoy to Ottawa appears to have been inspired by a TikTok video of two truck drivers.

Protesters began to arrive in Ottawa on Jan. 28 to express their anger and opposition to the federal government and to COVID-19 restrictions, including vaccine mandates.

The protest quickly evolved into what police and government officials have described as an all-out occupation, with demonstrators blocking traffic, blaring truck horns and setting up camp in city streets. 

The inquiry is investigating the events leading up to the federal government’s emergency declaration Feb. 14, weeks into demonstrations that had gridlocked downtown Ottawa and spilled into border blockades elsewhere. It has so far painted a picture of confusion and chaos among police forces and levels of government as officials tried to figure out how to respond.

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Also this …

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem and senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers are expected to testify before the Senate banking committee this evening.

Last week, the central bank raised interest rates for the sixth consecutive time this year. 

The Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate by half a percentage point on Wednesday and signalled interest rates would have to rise further to clamp down on decades-high inflation.

Canada’s annual inflation rate was 6.9 per cent in September but has been steadily declining since reaching its highest rate this year of 8.1 per cent in June.

The Bank of Canada also released its latest monetary policy report last week, which suggested the Canadian economy is headed for a significant slowdown toward the end of the year and into the first half of 2023. 

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

Federal prosecutors in the U.S. say the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, told police he wanted to hold the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps.”

 David DePape has been charged with two federal crimes and a state count of attempted murder. 

Police say DePape broke into the Pelosis’ home in San Francisco and struck the Democratic leader’s 82-year-old husband in the head with a hammer. Pelosi was seriously injured in the attack. 

San Francisco’s district attorney announced additional state charges as well against DePape. He was arrested Friday on suspicion of attempted murder, elder abuse and burglary.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Israelis are voting in national elections that are being held for the fifth time since 2019, with many hoping to break a political deadlock that’s paralyzed the country. 

The cost of living is surging, Israeli-Palestinian tensions are boiling over and Iran remains a central threat. Still, the foremost issue in Tuesday’s vote is once again the country’s former leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his fitness to serve amid corruption charges. 

Polls predict a now familiar result: stalemate. The lengthy impasse has mired Israel in an unprecedented political crisis that has eroded Israelis’ faith in their leaders and democratic institutions.

But a powerful new player has threatened to shake things up. Itamar Ben-Gvir, a leading far-right politician, has surged in opinion polls lately. 

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On this day in 1512 …

Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel in Rome were first exhibited to the public. Across the ceiling, he painted themes of the Bible, including representations of creation, man’s temptation and fall, as well as Noah and the flood.

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In business …

Oil giant Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a $42.4 billion profit in the third quarter of this year, buoyed by the higher global energy prices that have filled the kingdom’s coffers but helped fuel inflation worldwide.

The oil firm’s profits will help fund the kingdom’s assertive Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans for a futuristic city on the Red Sea coast, but also comes as the U.S. grows increasingly frustrated by higher prices at the pump chewing into American consumer’s wallets.

Those tensions yet again have chilled relations between Riyadh and Washington before the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

In a note to investors, the predominantly state-owned oil company said its average barrel of crude sold for $101.70 in the third quarter;  up from $72.80 at the same point last year. It put its profits so far in 2022 at $130.3 billion, compared to $77.6 billion in 2021.

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Did you see this?

Canada’s ambassador to Haiti says a team tasked with assessing the situation in the beleaguered Caribbean nation has returned home.

Ambassador Sebastien Carriere revealed the team’s return while testifying to a House of Commons committee Monday afternoon.    Carriere says the team is now briefing senior officials as the government weighs any next steps in assisting Haiti.

Haiti has been in turmoil since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated last year, with gangs ravaging the country amid a worsening cholera outbreak.

While the United Nations is contemplating a military intervention to restore order, Carriere said Canada has not decided whether it supports such a move. Nonetheless, he said expectations in Haiti and the region are high that Canada will take on a leadership role in assisting the country.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022

The Canadian Press