Good morning. Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in the Philippines as his government looks to deepen Canada’s economic and diplomatic ties with the country, part of a wider push to diversify trade and strengthen relationships beyond the United States. More on that below, along with U.S. doctors’ support for soldiers injured in an Alberta military fire and broadened Remembrance Day commemorations.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Vancouver in July.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
TOP STORIES
Canada, Philippines near trade deal
Canada and the Philippines are expected to announce the conclusion of free-trade talks when Prime Minister Mark Carney visits Manila this week for a regional summit, according to a source familiar with the matter. The anticipated agreement would cap a remarkable expansion with the strategically important Southeast Asian country.
The bigger picture: Canada’s embassy in Manila has grown into the country’s second-largest diplomatic mission worldwide, with about 300 positions. The Philippines, which sits at the edge of some of Asia’s most contested waters, has been playing an outsized role in Ottawa’s four-year-old Indo-Pacific strategy.
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Dr. Jeffrey Carter, left, from Louisiana, and Dr. Vincent Gabriel from Alberta convened in Chicago for a Nov. 6 board meeting of the American Burn Association.Isabella Falsetti/The Globe and Mail
U.S. doctors support burn colleagues after Alberta fire
American medical specialists are providing supplies and support to Canadian burn centres treating soldiers injured in the deadly fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta. The Oct. 17 blaze killed four soldiers and injured 39 others. Health Canada has facilitated emergency imports of spray-on skin technology and mineral oil from the U.S., while American doctors have offered expertise and sent care packages to their Canadian colleagues.
The concern: The cross-border response highlights long-standing ties between the two countries’ burn care communities, but it also exposes gaps in Canada’s preparedness for mass-casualty events and its reliance on American medical supplies.
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Roses placed last year on Remembrance Day on the unmarked grave of Jacob Okonski, a veteran of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion that fought in the Spanish Civil War.Pamela Vivian/Supplied
Remembering Canada’s forgotten fighters
Nearly 90 years after some 1,500 Canadians travelled to Spain to fight fascism, volunteers are working to preserve the legacy of soldiers who were never officially recognized as veterans. Among them was Jacob Okonski, an Alberta miner who survived the Spanish Civil War but returned home traumatized, struggled with alcoholism and died in 1976. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Vancouver.
A lasting tribute: Volunteers recently located his grave and honoured his service, bringing comfort to his granddaughter, Bethany Whelan Jones, whose mother had spent years wondering what became of her father. The family now hopes to install a headstone identifying Okonski as a veteran of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, whose members faced surveillance and ostracism upon returning to Canada.
The Take
We in Canada are so used to living in a disjointed, fractious cage match of a country that we scarcely notice it any more. The time-change mess is only one tiny example among many.
Canada’s patchwork of time zones and daylight-saving rules reflects a broader lack of national unity at a moment when the country needs it most, Marcus Gee writes.
The Shot
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People embrace near Krakow’s Main Market Square on Sunday, the day after a mass shooting in Poland.Jakub Porzycki/Reuters
Poland began two days of national mourning Sunday after a gunman killed six people and wounded 16 others in Krakow’s historic main square on Saturday. The attack, which authorities say may have been inspired by far-right ideology, has shaken the country and prompted heightened security in major cities. Mourners gathered near the scene of the shooting as flags flew at half-mast.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: The Supreme Court of Canada will hear arguments Monday challenging Ottawa’s ban on more than 2,500 types of assault-style firearms, with gun advocates arguing the federal government exceeded its legal authority.
Abroad: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a new government, but difficult coalition negotiations lie ahead after neither his bloc nor Benjamin Netanyahu’s secured a parliamentary majority.
In Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump says he was “only kidding” when he suggested UFC chief Dana White could become his next White House press secretary, dismissing speculation sparked by his social-media post.
Business: Nvidia Corp. has launched an independent investigation into whether CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by foreign intelligence after reports that a Chinese businesswoman with whom he had a relationship passed information to Beijing.
Health: A new automated insulin delivery system has become the first approved in Canada for use during pregnancy, marking a major advance in managing Type 1 diabetes and reducing risks for expectant mothers.
On the roads: Permanent daylight-saving time could put pedestrians at greater risk, experts warn, as darker mornings leave drivers less alert and children walking to school before sunrise.