The Peak Weekend Reader

Good morning. It seems that I’ve arrived at the stage of my career where young journalist hopefuls are asking me for advice on breaking into the industry. I’ve been working in the media world, in some fashion, for 12 years. That sounds like a long time, until I remember that I have another 30 to go before reaching Canada’s standard retirement age.

If I’m lucky enough to spend all of that time in the same field (statistically unlikely given that many professionals make a major career pivot at least once), then my identity — already so fused with what I do — will be even more rooted in work. Perhaps I’ll be joining the ranks of “un-retirees” profiled in today’s feature: older Canadians who decided to return to work post-retirement, some out of financial need, others out of a loss of purpose, or simply too much spare time. “I don’t know how busy I’ll be in the afterlife, so I need to do it right here, right now,” Valerie Kent, a retired art teacher, tells writer Jared Lindzon in today’s story. 

Until then, I’ll keep fielding the advice requests.

Happy reading,

Liz

🎂 How unique is your birthday? Statistics Canada released a new ranking of when the most and least common birthdays are for Canadians. Apparently, September is the month when storks are the busiest. September 20 is the most common birthdate, and the eight top days all fall in that month. And, aside from Leap Day, Christmas Day is the least common date.  

🐦 Lucky bird gets groundbreaking beak-job. In a world first, a southern ground hornbill at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam successfully had broken parts of its beak repaired with two 3D-printed prostheses. The bird was already able to use its new beak on the same day as the surgery. If the positive outlook holds, this could be a viable solution to similar avian injuries.

🕰️ Say goodbye to the “leap second.” Since 1972, the international body that maintains time measurement standards has been adding an extra second every now and then to ensure atomic time and solar time are perfectly synced. Now, this group has voted to abolish this leap second to reduce issues for tech and telecoms and replace it with a future leap hour.

🚗 Tesla unveils rocket-powered “flying car.” In an impressive demonstration, the company showed off a version of its Roadster 2 that, with the help of rocket boosters, drove up a curved ramp, completed a flip over other vehicles, and neatly landed. Apparently, the vehicle will go into production in 2028. Given all the self-driving controversies Tesla has had, colour us a little skeptical that this goes off without a hitch.

If we asked you what the largest majority-Muslim country is, what first comes to mind? Iran? Pakistan? Egypt? Well, you might be surprised to learn that the answer is Indonesia, where approximately 87% of its 288.5 million people practice Islam. That means some 251 million consumers who are looking to shop halal. And what exactly that means in the country is about to change.

Indonesia is instituting a dramatic overhaul to its halal certification process for both domestically made and imported goods. While rigorous certifications are common in Muslim-majority countries for food and beverages, Indonesia is taking things a step further by applying labelling to a wider range of products including clothing, cosmetics, and even toilet paper. The rationale for the new mandate — itself a culmination of a law passed back in 2014 — is based on consumer protection and economic competition. 

Ahmad Haikal Hasan, the head of Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Agency, also argues that the halal label has grown beyond just being a religious requirement and has become a global signifier trusted by all types of consumers. "Halal represents cleanliness, health, safety, and quality,” Hasan told the news agency Antara. “Today, halal is a market need, not merely a regulation." 

However, many foreign businesses aren’t too pleased with the development, as the onus for certification falls on them and they’re not yet prepared. While halal certification is commonplace for food and beverage companies, the same cannot be said for other industries. The EU has gone so far as to say that being able to determine the halal status of things like chemicals and pharmaceuticals is “practically unfeasible” and that the mandate will cause “serious supply chain disruptions.” While non-halal products won’t be banned in Indonesia, they will carry a non-halal label, which would seriously impact sales.

This comes at a time when many nations are trying to boost trade with Indonesia, which is an emerging large consumer market. One such country is Canada, which last year inked a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement with Indonesia — its first ever with a member of the ASEAN political and economic bloc. Once the deal is fully implemented, Indonesia will end or reduce duties on tariffs affecting 97% of existing trade from Canada, and Canada will end duties on tariffs representing 92% of existing trade from Indonesia. Canada gets full access into a booming market and Indonesia gets a foothold in a country with growing halal demand. 

But will the new halal mandate create a sudden trade barrier for Canada? Luckily, it should dodge many of the headaches other exporters will face as the majority of its exports are focused on cereal grains like wheat, which would already be subject to halal regulations, and non-consumer-facing products like wood pulp and fertilizers. Unless Canada suddenly pursues, say, an aggressive push to send pharmaceuticals to Indonesia — for context, it exported a mere $7.3 million worth of drugs there in 2025 — the repercussions should be light compared to many of the country’s other trade partners.

📡 What else is on our radar:

One in 10 Canadian retirees aged 55 and older are back at work. And 20% of those aged 62 and over have no intention of retiring in the next five years. As writer Jared Lindzon found out, the reasons for “un-retiring” go beyond money. Today’s story dives into the data, and asks three older Canadians why they’re back at it.

Also below the fold today…

- The juiciest stuff from Chrystia Freeland’s new book

- Yes, you do need to see the new Elizabeth Holmes doc

- The Canadian pop girl poised for a major breakout

- All of our games, including the big crossword