Testimony continues in Wanzhou case and pandemic elections: In The News for Oct. 27

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 Oct. 27, 2020 …

What we are watching in Canada …

VANCOUVER — Testimony will continue today in the Meng Wanzhou court case.

The lawyers for the Huawei executive are trying to show her arrest two years ago was unlawful and she should not be extradited to the U.S. for alleged fraud.

An RCMP officer who arrested Meng testified Monday, saying a plan for police to board her plane and arrest her immediately upon landing in Vancouver was merely a suggestion.

Const. Winston Yep says it was an idea shared by text message from another officer — and one that Yep didn’t believe was wise because it could compromise public safety.

Instead, he agreed in a meeting with Canada Border Services Agency officials that Meng should go through customs and screening before the arrest.

The witnesses called to testify in court this week have been requested by Meng’s defence, but a lawyer for the Attorney General of Canada was the first to question Yep.

About 10 witnesses are expected to testify this week.

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Also this …

OTTAWA — A new poll suggests most Canadians don’t want a federal election during the second wave of the pandemic — or even next year.

The online survey by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies comes shortly after the minority Liberal government survived a confidence vote that could have triggered an election.

The results suggest 47 per cent of respondents want the next election to be held in the fall of 2023 — four years after the last election — and 10 per cent would like one to be held in 2022.

Twenty-five per cent of respondents say they want Canadians to head to the polls next spring and 18 per cent next fall.

The desired timing varied along party lines, with nearly half of Conservative supporters saying they want an election next spring and 70 per cent of Liberal supporters choosing 2023.

The online poll of 1,523 adult Canadians was carried from Oct. 23 to 25 and cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered truly random.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

WASHINGTON — Amy Coney Barrett is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee by a 52-48 vote, with Republicans overpowering Democratic opposition a week before election day.

Trump held a primetime swearing-in event at the White House and called it “a momentous day for America.”

Barrett will be the third Supreme Court justice nominated by Trump, and she will be able to start work today.

At 48, she is likely secure a conservative court majority for years to come. Barrett will fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who died last month.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

CANCUN, Mexico — Hurricane Zeta has come ashore on the Caribbean coast of the eastern Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, while whipping the resorts around Tulum with rain and wind.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Zeta made landfall late Monday just north of Tulum with maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometres per hour.

Zeta is predicted to lose some power while crossing the peninsula, before regaining hurricane strength in the Gulf of Mexico today while heading for the central U.S. Gulf Coast and a likely landfall Wednesday night.

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On this day in 1995 …

in the biggest political rally in Canadian history, thousands of people from across Canada arrived in Montreal to urge Quebecers to vote “No” in the sovereignty referendum. Days later, Quebec voters narrowly rejected sovereignty.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2020.

The Canadian Press