The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/03/25 at 12:00 EDT

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/03/25 at 12:00 EDT

Hey, it's me, Michael Buble. You hear that? That's the sound of the Junos, the biggest party in Canadian music. I'll be there hosting. Sum 41 will be rocking out on stage for the last time, plus a whole lineup of amazing performances. And guess what?

You're all invited. All bring the tux, you bring the snacks. Let's make it a night to remember. Don't miss the Junos, live from Vancouver, March 30th at 8 Eastern on CBC and CBC Jam. From CBC News, it's the World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings. We start with today's campaign schedule

and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, he is in Toronto discussing affordable housing. We're going to do everything possible to protect families, to protect folks, to protect real people, not the billionaires. They do not need any more protection. We need to protect the actual people that are living in this city, and that's my commitment. With my team, we're going to fight for you. Singh making a hard push for support today in an area of Toronto long considered to be a liberal stronghold.

As for Liberal leader Mark Carney, he's in Nova Scotia, promising to significantly boost Canada's military spending. We will expand the capabilities of the Navy with new submarines and additional heavy icebreakers to defend the North. We will deliver an unprecedented acceleration of investment in our armed forces so that we can defend every inch of our sovereign territory, well helping to support and defend our allies abroad. As well, Carney says he'll be modernizing the military recruitment process to address the shortage of armed forces personnel,

which is currently listed, estimated to be more than 14,000 members. So with the liberals, CBC News has learned that former Liberal cabinet minister, Sean Fraser, is running again in his Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova. Fraser announced he was retiring back in November, back in December, rather, but sources say that the CBC that he's reconsidered at the request of Mark Carney. Fraser was first elected to parliament in 2015 and under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau served as immigration minister and then housing minister. Radio Canada has confirmed that Canada's spy agency has evidence that Indian government

agents tried to influence the conservative leadership campaign in 2022. Pierre Poliev was elected leader in that race, and as first reported by the Globe and Mail, it's being alleged that Indian agents were involved in fundraising and organizing in support of Poliev. It's not clear how extensive those efforts were, but the liberals and the new Democrats say Poliev would receive a full briefing if he agreed to a security clearance. But Poliev says that's not happening.

What I will not do is commit to the oath of secrecy that the liberals want to impose on me. They want they don't want me to be able to speak about these matters. So they bring me into a dark room and they'll say, we're going to give you a little bit of breadcrumbs of Intel, and then we'll tell you you can't talk about any of this stuff anymore. Incidentally, CESA says it has no evidence Paulie Ebb or his campaign team were aware of the alleged interference.

Canadian businesses are starting to feel the impact of the U.S. tariffs on Canadian-made steel. One of them in Quebec's Beaux region just lost a 30 million dollar contract in New York State. Angelica Montgomery has more. Nicolas Blais says even with the current U.S. tariffs, his company offered the lowest price in a bid to sell its steel structures. But the VP of sales says Beaux Atlas still didn't get the contract. Blais says the New York company was scared off by the uncertainty about what the tariffs will be in the future.

Beaux Atlas has secured other contracts so no one will be laid off, but 95 percent of their products are sold to American companies, and Blais says they are now asking his company to assume the risk of higher tariffs. It's not a good day at the moment. asking his company to assume the risk of higher tariffs. Marlène Bisson, the head of the Nouvelle Bosse Economic Development Office, says it can take companies four or five years to develop a new market in some sectors. But Blais says his company's products are too large and bulky to realistically be shipped to an international market like Europe. Angelica Montgomery, CBC News, Quebec City.

With all of France watching celebrated French actor Gerard Depardieu began testifying today on day two of his sexual assault trial in Paris. The 76-year-old took to the stand saying, quote, I will not hide. The former Oscar nominee says it was very emotional for him to be in the courtroom answering charges of assaulting two women on a movie set in 2021. The proceedings opened with Depardieu issuing a plea of not guilty. And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.