General Motors is standing by its plan to close its assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont. Employees reacted by stepping away from their stations and halting production. A silent protest as the automaker moves ahead with its restructuring plan. Unifor President Jerry Dias spoke following his meeting with GM officials in Detroit and said the company “has not only picked a fight with Unifor but they have picked a fight with all of Canada.” The car maker accepted a bailout from Canada during the financial downturn — a fact union members plan to highlight at a rally in Windsor, Ont. this Friday, right across the river from GM headquarters in Detroit.

RBC AND BLACKROCK TEAM UP TO SELL ETFs

Royal Bank of Canada and BlackRock are teaming up to sell exchange-traded funds. The combined entity will create and market ETFs under the name “RBC iShares.” BlackRock is the largest ETF provider in the country and provides RBC with a way to boost its ETF assets, while RBC provides BlackRock’s Canadian unit with better access to a distribution system since it manages one of the biggest adviser networks.

PIPELINE PROTESTS ERUPT ACROSS CANADA

Protesters came out in force across Canada on Tuesday delaying a speech by the prime minister in Ottawa and blocking traffic in other major cities. The rallies came one day after 14 people were arrested by the RCMP at the blockade site in Houston, B.C. which is ground zero in the fight against a pipeline that would bring LNG from nearby Dawson Creek to a port in on the coast in Kitimat. Ottawa and the province approved the project in October.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

-The Bank of Canada is widely expected to hold its benchmark interest rate this morning but observers will be looking closely for clues on how the bank is viewing the economy  

-Husky Energy may sell its network of gas stations in Canada and its Prince George refinery

-U.S. President Donald Trump stopped short of declaring a national emergency in his prime-time address Tuesday night, but demanded Congress provide billions to fight illegal immigration. The partial U.S. government shutdown has reached its 19th day with no end in sight to solve the dispute over Trump’s proposed border wall.  

RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable earnings: Constellation Brands, Aritzia

-Bank of Canada releases interest rate decision and monetary policy report (10:00 a.m. ET, plus news conference at 11:15 a.m. ET)

-U.S. Federal Reserve releases minutes from last FOMC meeting (2:00 p.m. ET)

-Brexit debate resumes in U.K. Parliament

Every morning BNN Bloomberg's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN Bloomberg's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Today's note was written by Senior Producer Alicia Harvey. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnnbloomberg.ca/subscribe.