Good morning

“A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history.” Those were the words written by North Korea‘s Kim Jong-un in the guest book of the Peace House, where he began a historic summit with his counterpart in the south, Moon Jae-in.

It was the first time a North Korean leader had stepped foot on southern soil – the start of several days of planned meetings ultimately aimed at denuclearizing the peninsula. South Korean officials have expressed optimism that change is coming to a region that has lived for years under a cloud of nuclear tensions.

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The two leaders held hours of talks, and the specifics of their agreement on North Korean’s nuclear program will be the most closely-watched outcome of the summit. Such an agreement could also clear the way to loosen strict economic sanctions levied against North Korea over its nuclear ambitions.



But in many ways, the summit is a prelude to a planned meeting between Mr. Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump, expected in May or June. The White House issued a statement that said it is “hopeful that talks will achieve progress towards a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula.”

One outcome so far: After 65 years of an armistice that suspended the Korean war, North and South say they will formally stop hostilities and have a permanent peace agreement this year. Leaders of the two Koreas also said they “confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.” Mr. Moon added: “We will totally end war on the Korean peninsula.”

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay 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

TODAY’S HEADLINES

Members of Parliament held a debate yesterday in which many urged Pope Francis to apologize for the Catholic church’s role in Canada’s residential school system. The Liberals and the NDP say they will vote for the motion, which will be put to a vote next Tuesday. Some Conservatives didn’t vote in support of a similar motion, denying it a unanimous consent.

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative leader, Doug Ford, is promising an independent inquiry into spending by Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government if he wins power in June. Ontario’s Auditor-General reported this week that the current government has understated this year’s budget deficit and future shortfalls by billions of dollars.

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A Liberal-dominated committee is urging the government to collect sales tax on foreign online services such as Netflix. The debate comes as the Quebec government prepares to impose its own tax.

Toronto’s mayor is calling on the federal government to provide significant help to cover the cost of housing refugee claimants, who represent nearly 40 per cent of the people in the city’s shelter system.

A Transportation Safety Board investigation into a plane crash that killed former Alberta premier Jim Prentice ended without a concrete conclusion. The private jet did not have a flight-data recorder — often referred to as a black box — but the TSB’s leading theory is that the pilot became disoriented.

British Columbia’s NDP government wants the courts to give it the authority to control the flow of heavy oil through the province, over the objections of Alberta and Ottawa. The province has revealed the questions it plans to submit in a pivotal constitutional reference case, asking the B.C. Court of Appeal whether the province has the power to impose its own permitting system to control the transport of oil — whether by pipeline, rail or truck. The province is launching the case as Kinder Morgan continues to cast doubt on the future of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Ontario’s integrity commissioner has concluded Former Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown broke ethics rules when he failed to disclose a $375,000 loan from a close friend who later went on to become a Tory candidate. Mr. Brown says he accepts the findings and apologized.

B.C. is promising to crack down on unlicensed dispensaries when recreational marijuana is legal later this year. The province has unveiled the legislation that will govern marijuana sale and use in the province, which will use a network of public and private retail stores, with the government maintaining a monopoly for online sales.

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Eddie Joyce, a Newfoundland cabinet minister, has stepped aside amid harassment allegations involving fellow Liberal cabinet member Sherry Gambin-Walsh. An external review of the allegations will be conducted. Premier Dwight Ball said the allegation against Mr. Joyce is not sexual in nature.

Mike Pompeo has been sworn in as the next U.S. Secretary of State. The former CIA director was confirmed on a 57-42 vote, one of the narrowest margins for the position of the country’s top diplomat in recent history. He replaces former oilman Rex Tillerson in the job and immediately went to Europe to begin his role by visiting NATO headquarters at Brussels. Mr. Pompeo is known as a foreign policy hawk and he has made negative comments about the LGBTQ community and Muslims.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance a bipartisan bill protecting special counsel Robert Mueller. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, will now determine the fate of the bill but he has previously come out and said the bill is unnecessary and he won’t put iton the Senate floor.

The parents of Otto Warmbier, the U.S. college student who died following an extended period jailed in North Korea, have sued the country over their son’s death. The wrongful-death lawsuit alleges that Mr. Warmbier was “brutally tortured and murdered.” It comes ahead of an expected meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim.

The United Nations is warning of potential catastrophe as Syria intensified its bombing campaign of a besieged camp of Palestinian refugees and nearby rebel-held areas.

China has carried out new drills in the South China Sea, a disputed area, and around Taiwan, which it considers sacred territory. The Chinese military also confirmed that it has put into service a new missile dubbed the “Guam killer” by the Chinese media and defence experts. The intermediate range ballistic missile can carry nuclear warheads as well as conventional ones and can attack sea and land targets, China’s defence ministry said. Both moves are increasing tensions in East Asia and Washington.

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The U.S. is seeking to extradite a Canadian known as “Russian Mike” who has been charged in the drug traffic case involving the notorious drug boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Armenia will pick its new prime minister next week as protesters have begun to coalesce their support around opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan. The ex-Soviet republic is a key ally of Russia, which has two military basses in the country.

Iran says it won’t accept any amendments to its nuclear deal. Signatories are trying to prepare a new package to help persuade Mr. Trump to stick with the agreement.

And former Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin shares how she became a thriller writer.

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on the summer job program: “The summer jobs flap is simply the latest act that’s bound to alienate voters who are Conservative-Liberal switchers − who, by the way, decide elections. And yet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has little choice. He is bound to act on his beliefs.”

The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Ontario’s budgets: “The PC Party leader, Doug Ford, is trying to elevate the Auditor-General’s report into “one of the largest financial scandals in Canadian history.” He is promising, if elected, to call a commission of inquiry into the Liberal budget. That’s a lot of grandstanding from an untested party leader who hasn’t presented a costed platform and won’t say when he will.”

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Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on the Safe Third Country Agreement and refugees: “Using silly trickery to try to force the United States to do something they don’t want to agree to isn’t likely to make Americans acquiesce. They’re more likely to tear up the Safe Third Country Agreement. It’s Canada, not the United States, that really wants it. The terms allow either country to suspend it at any time.” (for subscribers)

Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on the Senate: “Mr. Harder concedes that the Senate should follow the Salisbury Convention of the British House of Lords by deferring to the government in passing legislation that enacts election promises. But he adds that ‘this does not preclude amendments that would improve the legislation.’ The Government Representative thinks the Senate can ‘redeem’ itself in the eyes of Canadians if it follows his not-so-simple rules. But the Senate is not redeemable for the simple reason that it is, as Mr. Harder himself notes, ‘the most powerful unelected legislative body in the Western world.’ And if it can’t be elected, it should be eliminated.“ (for subscribers)

Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on Melania Trump and Jackie Kennedy: “There have been First Ladies who are wallflowers and those who are players, First Ladies who are tough-minded and those who are duds. In style, look and sophistication, Ms. Trump most ressembles Ms. Kennedy. There will never be another Jackie. No one can possibly get that much excessively fawning press coverage. But the potential of Melania Trump is not to be overlooked. For starters, she brings class to a White House that is crass.”

Marsha Lederman (The Globe and Mail) on Bill Cosby: “It’s impossible to connect with certainty Thursday’s verdict (which came on the second day of deliberations) with the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment that gained enormous steam with the reporting of accusations against the entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein. Although in closing arguments, Mr. Cosby’s attorney slammed the movement, comparing it to a witch hunt or lynching and suggesting Mr. Cosby was a #MeToo victim. But it is also impossible to imagine allegations such as these being considered the same way they were in the environment of the before-time. This new climate has allowed for the unimaginable: for powerful, beloved men to have to pay for their terrible actions – whether in loss of reputation (which Mr. Cosby had already suffered), livelihood or, as we now have, with a criminal conviction.”

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