The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/20 at 19:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/20 at 19:00 EDT

What do you see when you look around? Lively cities, growing neighborhoods, things that connect us. For those into skilled trades, it's a world they helped create. Discover more than 300 careers, paid apprenticeships, and the unmatched feeling of saying, I made that. Learn more at Canada.ca slash skilled trades. A message from the government of Canada. From CBC News, the world this hour.

I'm Mike Miles. Canada is likely to see a spring election. Sources tell CBC News Prime Minister Mark Carney is going to call it this Sunday, one day before MPs were due to return to the House of Commons. Marina von Stackelberg has more. Will you be calling an election this weekend? The fair question. Fair question, but no clear answer from Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Sources tell CBC and Radio Canada the election call is expected this Sunday. You can see the action that's happened. I haven't been prime minister for a week yet. And you can see what we've done thus far. We can do even more with that strong and clear mandate to move forward for the country for all Canadians. The opposition leaders say they're ready to go. Conservative leader Pierre-Paul Liev. We will restore Canada's promise that hard work gets you a great life in a beautiful, affordable house, on a safe street, protected by brave troops under a proud flag. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

You want to choose new Democrats who are going to continue to fight for you and your family. That's a choice in this election. Voters will likely head to the polls at the end of April or in early May. Marina von Stackelberg, CBC News, Ottawa. Poliev is defending his decision to break with tradition and not allow reporters to travel with his campaign. Historically, media outlets have paid the parties for seats on the planes and buses

in order to cover their campaigns. But Poliev says there'll still be media coverage. We will have open media across the country. Local media will have the ability to ask questions. It will be refreshing to hear from local outlets. Meantime, a new study is mapping the disappearance of local outlets. Just about all have been facing economic difficulties in recent years, but none more so than local outlets. And the study warns that has grave implications for democracy. Jamie Strashen reports.

For many Canadians accessing local coverage of their communities is becoming increasingly difficult. We are on a fairly steep downward spiral particularly on the print front but also on private broadcasting. According to a new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada's local news landscape is continuing to shrink. One of the reports authors David McDonald says communities are losing about 20 local print or online outlets every year. On the broadcast side, 2024 saw more private broadcasters abandon local news than ever before. This isn't only a small town, you know, rural issue. This is a big city issue where we just don't have the level of scrutiny of public affairs in order to make good democratic decisions. McDonald says without local news outlets, many are relying on social media.

Often he says a source of misinformation. Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto. There are now some answers about that Delta plane that crashed and overturned at Toronto's Pearson Airport last month. All 76 passengers and four crews survived, but 21 people suffered injuries, some serious. Investigators have released preliminary findings. Nicole Williams has more. Oh no no no no no. The unforgettable moment the plane came crashing down, catching fire, skidding along the runway and flipping over. Ever since there have been questions swirling about how this could have gone so horribly

wrong. Investigators conducted several approaches and landings. The Transportation Safety Board has now released some initial findings, including that the plane was descending at a rate which set off an alert in the flight's final seconds. And upon touchdown, the right landing gear fractured. The TSB says it's still too early to draw any conclusions, but one thing the report makes sure to mention, the experience of the crew. The TSB says these are complex investigations and generally take about 600 days to complete.

Nicole Williams, CBC News, Ottawa. — U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order this afternoon to close the federal Department of Education. Now, by law, that can only be done by Congress. Republicans there are working on just that. For now, the department will be limited to legally required functions. That is your World This Hour for CBC News. I'm Mike Miles.