Politics Briefing: In Vietnam, Trudeau meets Suu Kyi and walks from TPP

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Good morning,

What goes around, comes around.

Roy Moore won the Republican nomination for Alabama's special Senate election by viciously attacking his party's establishment.

Now he finds himself in a bit of trouble and the establishment is happy to him hang out to dry.

"If these allegations are true, he must step aside," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Politico.

"I'm horrified, and if this is true he needs to step down immediately," Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said.

"The President also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside," White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said.

The allegations are that Mr. Moore initiated a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney. (The Washington Post, which broke the story, has similar accounts from other women who were teenagers at the time.) Mr. Moore, of course, came to prominence as a judge who refused to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments from Alabama's Supreme Court. He's said homosexuality should be illegal and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks might have happened because the U.S. "distanced" itself from God.

The Alabama special election to elect a U.S. senator is on Dec. 12. The seat was vacated when Jeff Sessions was appointed Attorney-General.

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.

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CANADIAN HEADLINES

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi for 45 minutes today, to talk about the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have been forced out of the country and are living in squalid conditions in Bangladesh.

Federal Liberal MPs are split about whether Quebec's provincial face-covering law is a good idea, but are so far united that the federal government shouldn't wade into it. "This is [the Quebec government's] responsibility and we are giving them the necessary leeway to do what they feel they have to do. With the court challenges that are starting, it's up to them to react accordingly," Liberal MP Rémi Massé told The Globe.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says he hopes an international conference in Vancouver next week focuses more on how peacekeeping is done rather than simple pledges for troops and resources. The UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial conference will bring together representatives of 80 countries. Canada is expected to use the event to finally disclose its peacekeeping plans. Mr. Sajjan says he wants the discussion to focus on ways to innovate when it comes to peacekeeping.

The federal government is analyzing the implications for Canada if the U.S. moves forward with ending DACA, which protects residents who were brought to America illegally as children from deportation. Around 800,000 people are enrolled in the program.

The bill to end sexist discrimination in the Indian Act has finally passed its final vote in Parliament.

The United Conservative Party in Alberta is warning that a bill related to gay-straight alliances at the province's schools could be used to teach children sex education without their parents' consent. UCP critic Mike Ellis raised the possibility in the legislature, introducing an amendment to block such activity. The NDP government insist the bill protects the student clubs and would not change the current sex-ed policies.

The B.C. government is set to expand a service today that allows drug users to test their drugs for fentanyl, as the latest figures from the provincial coroner show more than 1,100 people have died of overdoses so far this year. Judy Darcy, B.C.'s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, will increase the number of facilities where people can check their drugs for the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The province will also unveil new drug-checking technology.

Situated on Hudson Bay some 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg, Churchill has only one link to places to the south: rail. But after flooding damaged tracks and bridges earlier this year, residents of the Manitoba town have been left isolated as the U.S.-based owner of Hudson Bay Railway refuses to repair the rail line, despite being threatened by a lawsuit by the federal government. Eric Atkins reports that as the tussle between Ottawa and Denver's OmniTrax goes on, Churchill pays the price.

Boats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Eastern Canada will be ordered to give right whales a 100-metre buffer zone, according to Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Twelve of the mammals have turned up dead in Canadian waters so far in 2017 and they are an endangered species.

And for your long read of the day, The Globe's Tu Thanh Ha profiled Jack Ford, a 95-year-old who was photographer and acted as the Allies' eye in the sky. His aerial images were vital for reconnaissance efforts at Normandy and beyond. Now, he's donating his prints, several of which capture life on the ground on the Western Front.

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on Andrew Scheer's path to victory: "While issues such as climate change and sexual minority rights matter a lot to the punditocracy, for millennials, immigrants and all suburban, middle-class voters outside Toronto and Vancouver, the defining issues centre on the economy, taxes, crime and infrastructure – especially making the commute into work less of an aggravation. Can Andrew Scheer convince these veto voters that what matters to them matters to him? Justin Trudeau convinced them in 2015, but now they're not so sure. If Mr. Scheer can win them over, he can become prime minister. But it's a long way to there from here." (for subscribers)

Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on Nenshi and racism: "Mr. Nenshi now has four more years to champion this cause, and I hope he does. Few speak with as much passion and authority on the subject or can speak from his personal experience. Social media has given those who yearn for a society that existed in the past – who have no room in their hearts for people who may not look like them or speak like them – an unfiltered megaphone."

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

We may not have a new NAFTA yet, but some in the auto industry say it's already impacting investment decisions. Companies considering long-term investments are "probably either waiting or they're going to be biased to invest more in the U.S. until there's an outcome," Magna CEO Don Walker said.

Japan is hailing progress in trade talks for a Trans-Pacific Partnership without the U.S., but discord between the East Asian nation and Canada has emerged. A planned meeting of leaders has been postponed as Canada remains the holdout on signing a deal.

An estimated $100-billion has been stolen through graft, according to authorities in Saudi Arabia. More than 200 people have been questioned in the anti-corruption probe led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Members of the royal family, high-ranking government officials and prominent businessmen have been swept up in the probe that analysts say is a way for the crown prince to consolidate power.

Also in the Arabian Gulf: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE warn nationals against travel to Lebanon. The decision comes as tensions rise in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia and Iran as they wage a proxy war for control in the region.

And: Russia. U.S. Election. Meddling. Doping? Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that allegations of doping by Russian athletes in the Olympics and other international competitions could be an attempt by the U.S. to interfere in Russia's next presidential election.

Bessma Momani (The Globe and Mail) on Lebanon and Saudi Arabia: "With the call for Saudi citizens to immediately leave Lebanon, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman, also known as MBS, seems intent on putting Saudi Arabia on the path to yet another conflict in the region with no clear exit strategy. The Saudi monarch is quickly becoming known for his visionary economic policies, but also his brash foreign policy and propensity for starting disputes he cannot end. Lebanon is the next arena of MBS' folly and it will be the Lebanese people who pay the price."

Denise Balkissoon (The Globe and Mail) on our coverage of mass shootings in the U.S.: "Yes, we share a long border with the U.S. – they're our closest neighbours and despite everything, we care about them. But glorifying killers through endless newsreels of shooting deaths won't achieve any of Canada's goals, including the need to make sure that American guns stay in America."

Aurel Braun (The Globe and Mail) on Russia's retaliation: "What we see in Russia's harsh and yet flailing reaction to Canada taking legitimate steps against certain Russian officials are Soviet-like posturing and rhetoric but certainly without the old superpower capacity. As such, keeping politicians, business people and academics away from Russia will only diminish the country's international standing."

Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on Election day 2017.: "The large number of state and local wins on Tuesday have distanced the Democrats from the Clinton collapse, invigorated the party and demonstrated that right-side populism, owing to Donald Trump's ineptitude, could well be a passing phase."