The phrase Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. Chalk up another depressing historic moment onto the board: Canada has surpassed 1 million COVID cases since the pandemic began. The number comes as the country battles what should have been a preventable third wave, this time with Ontario and British Columbia leading the way. B.C. broke its own record on Saturday, hitting a new high of 1,072 cases in 24 hours. On that same day, Ontarians entered yet another province-wide shutdown , once again closing small businesses while leaving malls and big-box stores open. Immediately, videos began springing up, depicting crowds of people shopping at Yorkdale mall and lining up outside an IKEA in North York. In other COVID-related news: Health Canada issued a recall on any masks that contain graphene or biographene, nanomaterials made of tiny antibacterial particles that can actually cause health risks when inhaled. And speaking on CBC's The House, a virologist at the University of Ottawa suggests the COVID vaccine could become a recurring chore to ward off future variants, like getting your annual flu shot. Policy wars. Next weekend, the federal Liberals and NDP will host competing virtual conventions, wherein their members will vote on which policies they'd like to see their party adopt. NDP members will vote on a slew of aggressive proposals, including the literal abolition of billionaires—all gross wealth above $1 billion would be taxed at 100 per cent—as well as the reduction of work weeks to 32 hours, criminalizing hiring scabs during strikes, establishing free public transition within a year of forming government and incorporating Indigenous symbols into the Canadian flag. (Admittedly, those are some of the more radical proposals; more modest resolutions push for a review of the RCMP's $10-billion budget, establishing a publicly owned telecom, constructing affordable housing on vacant federally owned lands and creating a new wealth tax.) Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, whose name has long been bandied about as a possible contender for a Liberal cabinet position or MP, is giving a keynote speech at this weekend's Liberal convention. Carney has been coy about his political ambitions, neither ruling them out nor actually acting upon them. Will this be our first glimpse of Carney the politician? Or is it just opportunistic marketing to promote his recent book? Cancelled flight. Air Canada has nixed its attempt to purchase Air Transat for $188.7 million, after the European Commission denied approval. The sticking point, according to a Reuters interview with EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, was that Air Canada did not adequately address Europe's concerns over competition on their transatlantic routes. Air Canada weighed its options, according to a company statement, but decided not to try and win over the EC with no guarantee its extra time, money and effort would amount to much. Meanwhile, the billionaire CEO behind Quebec telecom giant Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau , has stated his offer to buy the Montreal-based Air Transat is still on the table. The census must go on. Despite the pandemic, StatsCan has been prepping ways to move forward with the 2021 census in May. The rules will be a little different this year, according to census director general Geoff Bowlby, but the new rules primarily affect masked door-knockers who will stay outside people's homes. In 2016, 90 per cent of respondents used the phone or Internet to fill out their forms; the expectation is for a similar outcome this year. Arora Akanksha is not a household name, though she made headlines earlier this year for declaring her intention to challenge sitting United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his gig. In her first interview with Canadian media, the 34-year-old with no diplomatic experience appeared on CBC's Power & Politics to discuss her audacious bid to become the first woman—and first millennial—to lead the international organization. She believes, to borrow the modern phrase, that the UN is ripe for disruption: "We do need a new UN and we need it now." The House of Commons is in the middle of its two-week hiatus, but committees will still be going strong later this week. Specifically, the House industry committee will spend two days hearing arguments for and against (but mostly against) the Rogers-Shaw acquisition, while the committee on the status of women will spend time hearing from a survivor of sexual assault in the military, as well as advocates for women's rights in the military. —Michael Fraiman | 
