The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/16 at 20:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/16 at 20:00 EDT

When they predict we'll fall, we rise to the challenge. When they say we're not a country, we stand on guard. This land taught us to be brave and caring, to protect our values, to leave no one behind. Canada is on the line and it's time to vote as though our country depends on it. Because like never before, it does. I'm Jonathan Pedneau, co-leader of the Green Party of Canada. This election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the Registeredleader of the Green Party of Canada, this election, each vote, makes a difference.

Authorized by the Registered Agent of the Green Party of Canada. From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Julianne Hazelwood. The leaders of Canada's four main political parties have squared off in their first debate of this election campaign. The French-language debate took place tonight with Liberal leader Mark Carney a frequent target for his opponents. Tom Perry reports. Almost from the start, it was Liberal leader Mark Carney on the defensive. With conservative leader Pierre Polyev and Bloc leader

Yves-Francois Blanchette looking to draw a direct connection between Carney and Justin Trudeau. It's the same party, the same ministers, the same ideology, Blanchette says. Carney, clearly the least comfortable in French, responded carefully and deliberately, arguing this election is about choosing who will succeed and who is best to take on Donald Trump. You want to Americanize our system. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh targeted Poliev and Carney and said it's New Democrats who will stand up for working Canadians. The leaders will go toe-to-toe once again Thursday night, this time in English.

Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. We're taking a historic step forward to protect and unify our country. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is making domestic trade easier. Ford has signed free trade agreements with the Premiers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Much like President Trump's tariffs, these trade barriers hurt our economy, drive away jobs and investment, and divide us from each other. Ford also says a new bill would make Ontario the first province to remove all current exceptions to inter-provincial free trade.

It would also remove barriers that make it difficult for people in certain jobs to work in different provinces. Ontario estimates inter-provincial trade barriers cost the Canadian economy $200 billion a year. The Bank of Canada is taking a wait-and-see approach on interest rates. After seven consecutive monthly cuts, it's now leaving its lending rate unchanged at 2.75%. Peter Armstrong has more. The Bank of Canada is struggling with many of the same things the rest of us are, namely all this uncertainty. Just consider how the Bank of Canada began its explanation of this decision.

It says, the major shift in direction of US trade policy and the unpredictability of tariffs have increased uncertainty, diminished prospects for economic growth, and raised inflation expectations. The bank forecasted two distinct scenarios, one where the trade war remains rather limited in scope, where growth cools but only temporarily, but also a scenario where it lasts longer and bites deeper. In that scenario, Canada dives into a recession and inflation surges. So in a way the bank is saying it wants to save any changes it may make to interest rates until it sees how this trade war actually

unfolds. Peter Armstrong, CBC News, Toronto. US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blames the environment for causing autism. The politician says he's committed to identifying the root causes by September, and he insists autism is a man-made epidemic. This is coming from an environmental toxin. And somebody made a profit by putting that environmental toxin into our air, our water, our medicines, our food, and it's to their benefit. The health secretary's comments clash with decades of research and scientific consensus

that genetics play a large role. A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control shows an estimated 1 in 31 children have some form of autism in the US. Health officials say the growing numbers reflect better diagnostics and more widespread screening. Scientists have caught a colossal squid on camera for the first time. An international research team cited the elusive creature from a remote-controlled submarine. Video captured the young squid at a depth of more than half a kilometer in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Full-grown adults are about as big as a fire truck. They are the largest invertebrates in the world. And that's your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.