“An end forever to the wearisome prayers, supplications, and mockeries attendant upon our connection with the lordlings of the Colonial Office, Downing Street, London” --  William Lyon Mackenzie, proclamation to the people of Upper Canada

On this day in 1837, the Scottish-born politician and newspaper publisher called for a rebellion against Britain in his newspaper "The Constitution." Approximately 1,000 insurgents met at Montgomery's Tavern near Toronto, Ont. between Dec. 5-8. An assortment of 500-700 rebels with hunting rifles, staves and pitchforks, marched south on Yonge Street but were dispersed by government loyalists and militia. A second outbreak near Brantford, Ont, was also broken up. Mackenzie and other rebel leaders fled to the United States, where they kept the border in turmoil for nearly a year. Only two of the original rebels were executed and historians debate the impact of the rebellion. Uppper Canada was the predecessor of modern Ontario. The conflict there and a more violent uprising in Lower Canada (the southern portion of present-day Quebec) led to the Durham Report, which recommended that the Canadas be united into one colony, and responsible government introduced.

ENERGY INDUSTRY BRACES FOR CHANGE UNDER TRUMP 

We’re sticking with the theme of political turbulence on BNN today. Our Top Line: The energy industry is getting ready for change under President-elect Donald Trump. In a video, he’s promising to “cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy.” 

Trump has also vowed to roll back curbs on coal – just as Canada presses ahead with a phase-out of coal powered electricity. On Commodities at 11:20 a.m. ET, we hear from Veritas Investment Research utilities analyst Darryl McCoubrey. Despite the plans to kill Alberta’s coal plants, he has a Buy rating on utilities Capital Power (CPX.TO) and TransAlta (TA.TO).

Trump is also promising to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which he called "a potential disaster for our country."  At 10:05 a.m. ET, we’ll assess the impact on Canada with Laura Dawson, director of the Wilson Center's Canada Institute in Washington.    

She has warned that with Trump  promising to slashing environmental restrictions, "Canada is going to be left with very, very, very expensive climate policies… It will be a disincentive to investment and manufacturing."

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THE CASE FOR LEGALIZING DRUGS

Even as America sticks with its ban on recreational cannabis at the federal level, Canada is moving toward permitting weed for fun.  On Commodities at 11:50 a.m. ET, we explore the hazards with Bill Bogart, law professor at the University of Windsor. In his book, “Off the Street: Legalizing Drugs,” he argues that “legalization and regulation can attack the underground economy, drive down excessive use, provide revenue for prevention, treatment, and counselling, and better protect children.” In fact, he argues that there should be a move toward decriminalizing stronger drugs - we’ll ask if he really thinks it’s a viable option to pick up a speedball (cocaine with heroin or morphine, as if you didn’t know) at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Finally, in a world running short of heroes, here’s some true grit.  Seattle bus driver Sam Williams suffered a fatal heart attack on the job. Riders said the 63-year-old – who was once a performer with the Flying Karamazov Brothers troupe – slowed the vehicle and maintained control as he signaled to passengers that he was in difficulty.

“They acted quickly and took the wheel, bringing the bus to safety as Williams died.”

That’s going out in style.

Every morning Commodities host Andrew Bell writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.