The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/18 at 14:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/18 at 14:00 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. Conservative leader Pierre Polyev is promising to repeal the ban on single-use plastics, a pledge that's long been part of the party's platform. Julia Wong reports. This isn't about science, it's about symbolism and control. They're not about saving the planet, they're about punishing all of us to make themselves feel good. As he stood in an East End Montreal plastics recycling business, Conservative leader Pierre Polyev committed to repealing the federal plastics ban if his party forms government. It prohibits single-use plastic grocery bags, cutlery and straws. Poliev calls

that impractical and expensive. We will end the liberal ban on convenience. We'll base policy on evidence and affordability, not on elite virtue signaling and bureaucratic power grabs. The ban was intended to reduce the amount of single-use plastic waste ending up in landfills and oceans. It was ruled unlawful by the courts in 2023, but remains in effect while the federal government's appeal is ongoing. Julia Wong, CBC News, Ottawa. Many years after the NDP's orange wave washed through Quebec, Jagmeet Singh is trying to rekindle some of that spirit,

making pitches on issues that matter to the province. David Thurton reports. When we lay out our vision for Quebec, it's one of acknowledging Quebec as a nation. Jagmeet Singh unveiling his plan for Quebecers. The NDP leader is making sweeping promises. Under the New Democrat plan, the Quebec government will receive a boost to its immigration funding, $100 million annually, plus reimbursement

for other costs dealing with increased arrivals of asylum seekers. Singh also promised to invest in massive electric transmission lines. And it would be an east-west energy grid that would connect all the way from the west coast to the east coast, and it would allow for Canada to have access to low-cost hydroelectric energy. For Quebec, what that would mean is, instead of having to be dependent on selling energy

only to the states, Quebec could sell energy to the rest of Canada. Although Singh has released his plan for Quebec, he has yet to unveil his national platform. David Thurton, CBC News, Yamashish, Quebec. The U.S. could abandon Russia-Ukraine peace talks if it doesn't see progress soon. Stalled ceasefire negotiations have led to mounting frustration on all sides and conflicting messages from the White House. Phil Bleszanak has the latest. We're not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.

In Paris, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested the U.S. was days away from leaving talks if a deal is not imminent. We have other priorities to focus on as well. But hours later in Rome, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance sounded much more optimistic. We think we have some interesting things to report on. We do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close. From the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested one side was being difficult.

He didn't say whether it was Russia or Ukraine, but just that the time to make a deal was now or... We're going to just take a pass, but hopefully we won't have to do that. And Marco is right in saying we want to see it end. Trump declined to say what would happen to American military aid to Ukraine should the US decide to abandon ceasefire negotiations. Phil P. Shannock, CBC News, Toronto. The Trump administration has released some 10,000 pages of documents related to the assassination

of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. It was fatally shot in June of 1968. Some of the records have already been made public. Others set in archives for decades. Thousands of people came out to protest in Yemen's capital, Sana. Demonstrators expressed their solidarity with the people of Gaza, but also their condemnation of U.S. strikes on the Houthi militants. The latest strike overnight targeted a fuel terminal on the Red Sea coast. Officials in Yemen say it killed at least 74 people.

The U.S. says the strikes aimed to cut off a source of fuel to the Houthis who continue attacking Red Sea shipping lanes. And that's your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.