The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/22 at 15:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 22, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/22 at 15:00 EDT

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 Khalil Hassan Ali. Sources have told the CBC that April 28th will be Election Day. Everything is expected to be made official tomorrow after Prime Minister Mark Carney goes to Rideau Hall

and meets with the Governor General. Today, his Health Minister announced a big expansion to the federal dental care program, adding up to five million people to the list of those eligible for coverage. But as Olivia Stefanovic reports, the future of the program hangs on the outcome of the federal election.

This is about ensuring that health care is a right and not a privilege in this country. In one of the Liberal government's final acts, Health Minister Kamal Kara promised dental coverage for the remaining eligible Canadians. Starting in May, Kara says uninsured Canadians making less than $90,000 who are between the ages of 18 and 64 will be able to apply for coverage and could start receiving services as early as in June, after the spring election. Nothing is safe when he's proposed cuts to the operating budget. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh fought for dental care and says the program isn't safe under the Liberals, even though they've committed to expanding the program, or the Conservatives, who haven't clearly said if they'll keep or kill dental coverage.

Olivia Stefanovic, CBC News, Ottawa. People are starting to gather outside Toronto City Hall for a non-partisan Elbows Up rally. Comedian Sean Majumder and Blue Rodeo singer Jim Cuddy are among those appearing. Organizer Peter Wall says events like this can make Canadians feel less alone and more powerful in the face of American threats. We're all kind of feeling something right now as a country I think. Canada is very unified in this moment. We're frustrated, we're concerned. I honestly woke up in the middle of the night

and I thought, we need to do something together. We need to come together. So we organized an event in Ottawa. We had about 1500 people. We're doing one here now. And it's just great to be able to feel like you can do something. Wall says his group is putting out a toolkit

with instructions on how to organize elbow up rallies in their cities and towns. There's some positive news on Pope Francis. The Pope's doctor says the 88-year-old will be released from hospital tomorrow. Dr. Sergio Alfieri said the pontiff will need at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he continues his recovery. The 88-year-old was admitted to hospital on Valentine's Day. He was dealing with bronchitis, which developed into a life-threatening case of pneumonia

in both lungs. Francis is expected to offer a blessing from his hospital room tomorrow, marking his first public appearance in five weeks. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says Vladimir Putin went to church to pray for Donald Trump after hearing he'd been shot at a rally last year. Whitcough said it on former Fox News host Tucker Carlson's podcast. Dominic Velaitis has more on a special gift also from Putin to Trump. Whitcough says it was during his second meeting with Putin that the Russian leader told him

his reaction to the news Trump had been shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. He went to his local church and met with his priest and prayed for the president, not because he was the president of the United States, but because he had a friendship with him and he was praying for his friend. Wittkopf also told the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on his podcast that he'd relate the story to Trump, who was clearly touched. The US special envoy also claims Putin commissioned a leading Russian artist to paint a portrait of Trump, which the American president has

reportedly received. Dominic Vleisius for CBC News, Riga Lapvea. Two libraries in Saskatoon are closing for a month. They're citing a spike in homelessness and drug overdoses. Staff has responded to 50 ODs this year, double this day what happened in the same period last year. They say it makes it difficult to provide safe and effective library services. They will spend the next month enhancing safety measures and providing staff with more training. That's the World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Khalil Hassanali.