The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/18 at 19:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/18 at 19:00 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. Advance polling began today and in many parts of the country, voters aren't waiting for Election Day to make their voices heard. Alexander Silberman tells us about the turnout in Regina. It was like cattle. It was so horrible. Julie Aikman says her Regina polling place was overwhelmed with voters. Hundreds of people showed up early to cast their ballots, only to be greeted by long

lines and waits of nearly two hours. We thought it would be quick. It's Good Friday. But I think everybody had the same idea. The line so long, some turned around and went home without voting. Elections Canada says it's receiving reports of similar turnouts across the country.

Employees are now getting the hang of things and it's moving along faster. Marie-France Kenney is a spokesperson for Elections Canada. She says the delays are due to some new poll workers and more interest on day one than she's seen in recent elections. If things go this way, we should have an amazing turnout. Advance voting continues until Monday.

Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Regina. Conservative leader Pierre Polyev is promising to repeal a 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 Poliev 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 will 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.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is in Quebec promising to boost immigration funding by a hundred million dollars a year. Singh says the province would also be reimbursed for dealing with an influx of asylum seekers and he promises to invest in a national hydroelectric grid that would benefit Quebec. Although opinion polls don't look promising for the NDP, Singh is sounding optimistic. We are going to really just let Canadians know the choice in this election. That's what we want people to know in the last 10 days.

What's at stake and what's the choice? Really, who's in it for you? And that's ultimately the question. And we have said this and I really believe this and more and more Canadians are telling me, yeah, they agree as well. Ottawa does work best when one party doesn't have all the power. I'm going to let people know on the last 10 days of this campaign. Singh is promising to release his party's fully costed platform in his words very soon. A Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador prison met briefly with one of his state senators. Democrat Chris Van Hollen flew to El Salvador and demanded access to the man at the heart of a court battle.

Katie Nicholson has the latest. Moments after touching down, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen delivered this message to Kilmar Abrego Garcia's family and friends. He said that thinking of you, members of his family, is what gave him the strength, even under these awful circumstances. The senator got a brief meeting with the father of three Thursday night, nearly a month after he was picked up by immigration officials and mistakenly deported to a Salvadoran prison before being moved to another detention center.

Federal courts have demanded the U.S. government facilitate his return. So far, the Trump administration has refused. This case is not just about one man. It's about protecting the constitutional rights of everybody who resides in the United States of America. On Friday, President Trump again suggested Abrego Garcia was a gang member, something his lawyers say isn't true. Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington.

And that is Your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.