The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/25 at 06:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/25 at 06:00 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, it's the world this hour. I'm Joe Cummings. Ukrainian and US negotiators are meeting again today in Saudi Arabia for a third day

of ceasefire talks for the war in Ukraine. As the talks continue, the Canadian military is preparing for the possibility of joining any peacekeeping mission that comes out of an agreement. Murray Brewster explains. Lieutenant General Steve Boivin is Canada's military operations commander. We are working off a number of assumptions and developing contingency plans. Boivin has been given the unenviable task of planning for a deployment of Canadian troops should there be a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

A ceasefire is not a give-in. Even still, in early March, Canada signaled it is willing and ready to contribute soldiers. There is broad skepticism about the coalition of the willing. The U.S. envoy overseeing Russia-Ukraine peace talks has dismissed it outright. Defense Minister Bill Blair has said U.S. backing of the plan is critical. There's important discussions that need to take place with respect to security guarantees for Ukraine. A recent report by a Washington-based think tank has warned that given the 2,000-kilometer

front line, the peacekeeping force might have to be massive, as many as 100,000 troops. Murray Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. Now to the federal election campaign and the Bloc Québécois. It is looking to capitalize on the Liberal Party's decision not to take part in a French-language leaders debate. Rafi Boujikanean has more. Yves-François Blanchet! part in a French language leaders debate. Rafi Boujikhanian has more. Yves-François Blanchet

Yves-François Blanchet had a rally in Quebec City, looking to mark this moment. Mark Carney comes irrevocably from this disqualification. Telling his supporters' liberal leader Mark Carney just disqualified himself as a voice to represent Quebec, after the grids refused to pay $75,000 to take part in a French-language debate that would've been hosted by the private network TVA. It in turn cancelled the event. This guy is supposed to be strong enough to face Donald Trump.

And then we say, hey, come in Quebec and discuss with us, because you want us to vote for you. Oh, I won't go. There is still one official French debate scheduled for April 16. Rafi Boudjikani on CBC News, Quebec City. With no end in sight to the measles outbreak across the country, it's being suggested that a tracking tool from the COVID pandemic might be helpful in slowing the spread. Jennifer Legasse reports.

We really don't always have a great handle on how much measles virus is circulating in our population. But we could if only Canada was tracking the highly contagious respiratory virus in wastewater, says Eric Arts. He's a microbiology professor at London Ontario's Western University. Across Canada there's been more than 500 reported measles cases this year. But ARTS says that number is likely higher. We could identify where the measles virus might be spreading and then put in public health measures. What's devastating is that this is preventable. Dr. Caroline Quash is a pediatric infectious disease specialist. Surveys show

majority of Canadian parents want their children vaccinated. She says about 3 to 5 percent are against all types of vaccines. Though health officials say wastewater surveillance could better address this group, the tool has been scaled back across the country. The Public Health Agency of Canada's online tracker doesn't currently include measles. Jennifer LaGrasse, CBC News, Toronto. A portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump hanging at the Colorado State Capitol building is being taken down. This after Trump complained that his face had been, quote, purposely distorted. The painting was done by artist Sarah Boardman and was commissioned by former state Senator Kevin Grantham.

Listen, this is a artist with a great reputation. She's got a great body of work. If I remember correctly from a prior conversation, she's also a Republican and a Trump supporter. The idea that anything was done with ill intent, I don't think is correct. Sarah Boardman has also done a portrait of Barack Obama, which Trump calls wonderful. But he says on social media that Boardman must have, quote, lost her talent as she got older. And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.