The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/05 at 13:00 EST

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/05 at 13:00 EST

In Scarborough, there's this fire behind our eyes. A passion in our bellies. It's in the hearts of our neighbors. The eyes of our nurses. And the hands of our doctors. It's what makes Scarborough, Scarborough. In our hospitals, we do more than anyone thought possible. We've less than anyone could imagine.

But it's time to imagine what we can do with more. Join Scarborough Health Network and together, we can turn grit into greatness. Donate at lovescarborough.ca. From CBC News, the world is sour. I'm Tom Harrington. The expected phone call between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump has happened,

although we don't yet know what, if anything, came from it. The conversation comes after another 24 hours of mixed tariff messages from the Trump administration. Trump's senior trade adviser, Peter Navarro, is talking tough on Canada today, echoing Trump's rhetoric. They stick it to us on lumber, they stick it to us on dairy, they stick it to us on a wide variety of products. And the president will not tolerate that anymore. But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been suggesting Trump wants to meet Canada halfway on tariffs. His counterpart, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, insists the current trade agreement

must be respected. We're not interested in meeting in the middle and having some reduced tariff. Canada wants the tariffs removed. How long we're in this circumstance, honest to God, I don't know. It's speculating with this American administration or trying to imagine the reasons why X, Y or Z is happening, in my view, is a sort of negative energy. A number of major U.S. businesses have been saying the tariffs will force price increases upon American consumers.

We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects. The United States has stopped intelligence sharing with Ukraine. That's in addition to putting a pause on its military aid. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz says the move is designed to convince Ukraine to come to the negotiating table. And Waltz says the strategy is working. We are having good talks on location for the next round of negotiations on delegations, on substance.

So I think we're going to see movement in very short order. Waltz says the pause on military aid and intelligence sharing may be lifted. But first, Ukraine and Russia must nail down the date and location of talks. Greenland's Prime Minister says the territory is not for sale and cannot be taken. She was responding to US President Trump's message last night. He promised his country will acquire the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark one way or another. Aya Chemnitz is a Danish lawmaker from Greenland's second largest party. She says Trump's threat to seize control of her homeland is disrespectful.

The future of Greenland is completely up to us and I think that's something that the US administration is really trying to understand now and I think they really need to understand that otherwise there won't be any kind of collaboration. Greenland is holding a general election next week. The ruling party is planning to hold a referendum on independence from Denmark should it win. Alaska state troopers say multiple skiers are trapped in the back country after being swept away in an avalanche. The slide happened late yesterday near the skiing community of Girdwood. It is located some 64 kilometers

south of Anchorage. The number of skiers and their physical conditions are not immediately clear. Officials say attempts to recover the skiers were not successful because the snow was too deep. State troopers will attempt again today to reach them. The Grassy Narrows First Nation is finally breaking ground on its mercury care home. The long-awaited facility in northern Ontario will offer treatment and support for those affected by mercury poisoning. Sarah Law explains. The contamination dates back to the 1960s and 70s when the Dryden paper mill dumped about nine tons of mercury into the English Wabagoon River system. Research from Western

University suggests the problem has been made worse by ongoing industrial pollution. The federal government says it's spending 146 million dollars on the care home, something the community's been seeking for years. About 90 percent of residents in Grinero's experience symptoms of mercury poisoning. While 22 people will live at the home, it will also provide outpatient services to all affected community members. Construction is expected to take between two and three years. Chief Sherry Akebi says it's a sign of better days to come. Sarah Law, CBC News, Gracassy Narrows First Nation, Ontario.

And that is Your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Tom Harrington. Thanks for listening.