The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/19 at 16:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 19, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/19 at 16:00 EDT

We call them clicks at Your World Tonight. It's the little word we use when someone from our team reads over and approves a story. Each one gets carefully checked and clicked more than once to make sure you always get the facts. I'm Susan Bonner. I'm Tom Harrington. And I'm Stephanie Scanderis. Together we bring you the day's news and help you understand it with a process you can trust. Your World Tonight from CBC News.

Find and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. trust. Your World Tonight from CBC News. Find and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Tom Harrington. Pierre Pauliev is promising to fast track development of Ontario's Ring of Fire if he's elected prime minister. The area in northern Ontario is rich with rare earth mineral deposits.

But the conservative leader is already getting pushback from Indigenous communities in the area. Rajpreet Sahota has more. We should process the minerals right here in Sudbury and in countless other communities. That's Pierre Pauliev promising to fast-track all federal permits for mines in northern Ontario and one billion dollars to build roads connecting First Nations to mines. He says all of this would happen within the first six months if he's elected. But Minister of Indigenous Services, Patti Hajdu says Poliev can't act alone. We see an old conservative ideology that somehow you can ram these projects through First Nations communities without the engagement of First Nations people.

So Mamakwa N an indigenous provincial high due. It needs to be we are at the table, not prior informed consent in communities form the land part to oppose mining in Bradford, Sahota, CBC News, Thunder Bay. The president said that having a liberal prime minister would be easier for him to deal with.

And you know what? It's true. The conservative leader using the words of Donald Trump to attack the liberals. Last night on Fox News, the US president said Poliev was no friend of his, but added, while it would be easier if the Liberals won the election, it made no difference to him. Poliev says he'd be the tougher negotiator. It's clear that President Trump wants the Liberals in power because they will keep this country weak. What Canadians need is a leader who's tough, a leader who will make Canada strong, self-reliant, and stand on its own two feet.

The latest opinion polls suggest the Liberals are now in a neck-and-neck race with the Conservatives. Last year, Canada added 744,000 people to its population. The total now is 41.5 million, an increase of 1.8%. Statistics Canada says it was the slowest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2020, when border restrictions related to the pandemic were in place. There may be a breakthrough in the effort to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky says lasting peace is achievable this year. The Ukrainian president is sounding hopeful, following an hour-long phone call

today with Donald Trump. Richard Madden has the details. Today President Trump and Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky had a fantastic phone conversation. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt says Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky has agreed to halt attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure. It echoes the same commitment from Russia's President Vladimir Putin on a call the day before. Zelensky also requested more U.S. military equipment, but U.S. President Donald Trump deferred. President Zelensky asked for additional air defense systems to protect his civilians,

particularly Patriot missile systems. And President Trump agreed to work with him to find what was available, particularly in Europe. The Kremlin has demanded Ukraine stop receiving foreign military support, but the White House says it will continue to share intelligence with Ukraine. High-level talks will begin in the Middle East within days without Ukraine or Europe. Richard Madden, CBC News, Washington.

Europe. Richard Madden, CBC News, Washington. Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza in a video released by the country's military. The IDF says it has launched a new ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip. It comes after two days of airstrikes that local health authorities say killed more than 400 people. Israel says its troops secured a crucial corridor that splits Gaza in two. They are now focused on creating a partial buffer zone between the north and south ends of the enclave. Hamas spokesperson says the advance of ground forces is a clear sign Israel had backed out of the truce agreement. And that is Your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Tom Harrington.

Thanks for listening.