The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/19 at 16:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 19, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/19 at 16:00 EDT

It's on. A federal election is here and party leaders are racing around Canada to convince you to give them your vote. We're seeing a lot of spin, a lot of promises and a lot of accusations swirling around. And we are here to filter through the noise. I'm Catherine Cullen, host of The House. And every Saturday we want to slow you down and make sure you're getting the big picture and deep context and everything you need to make politics make sense. Because democracy is a conversation and we're here for it. From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.

Conservative leader Pierre Poliev is on the campaign trail in B.C. pitching his plans to tackle addiction. He proposed allowing judges to order mandatory drug treatment instead of sending some drug offenders with minor convictions to jail. J.B. Tasker has more details. This policy is not about punishment, it's about redemption. Conservative leader Pierre Pauliev is pitching mandatory drug treatment for convicted criminals with an addiction, saying some drug offenders should go to rehab, not jail.

We will give judges the power, we will take action, and we will save lives. It's the latest in a string of conservative tough-on-crime policy proposals. Poliev has also promised to invoke the not-withstanding clause to push through policies that will keep some murderers in jail for life. People in B.C. are terrorized and afraid to go outside. Critics say Poliev is pushing a cruel, American-style agenda that just doesn't work. The Tories, meanwhile, say a spike in violent crime and drug use demands a crackdown. JP Tasker, CBC News, Richmond, B.C.

New Democrats released their election platform today. It contains billions of dollars in both new spending and revenues. The NDP says much of the spending is about helping the middle class, while wealthy Canadians and CEOs will pay for it. David Thurton reports. That's why today I'm proud to share our campaign commitments. Jagmeet Singh says the NDP's platform is focused on workers. The document contains massive commitments to public health care.

The party would spend $46 billion over four years to provide every Canadian with a family doctor, expand pharmacare and improve mental health coverage. We'll make mental health care part of public health care. No more waiting, no more choosing between your well-being and your bank account. These and other measures will worsen the federal bottom line the NDP admits, adding $48 billion to the projected deficit over four years. The NDP plans to offset that with taxing those who are extremely wealthy. The party expects that that measure alone could generate more than $94 billion in federal

revenues. David Thurton, CBC News, Burnaby. Labor leader Mark Carney also unveiled his costed election platform today. It proposes billions in new spending but also promises a deficit that shrinks over the next four years. Kareena Roman reports. The biggest expenditures in the liberal platform are the previously announced income tax cut, the scrapping of the capital gains tax changes, and the Build Canada Homes plan for affordable housing. There's 18 billion

in new defense spending that the Liberals say would get Canada to the 2% of GDP spending target before 2030. Overall there's a hundred and thirty billion dollars over four years of new measures with the deficit projected downwards from nearly 62 billion this year to 47 billion in 2029. Liberal leader Mark Carney. The numbers do add up very much that is how you meet the moment that is how you meet a crisis. There are a slew of new promises in the costed platform including a comprehensive review of government programs estimated to save the government $28 billion.

The Liberals account for counter-tariff revenues only for this year, signaling their hope that the trade war with the U.S. will get settled. Karina Roman, CBC News, Peterborough, Ontario. Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine. Guided by humanitarian considerations, the Russian side is declaring an Easter ceasefire. Putin says he expects Ukraine to follow suit, but also ordered Russian troops to be ready for any violations. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the move saying air raid alerts and drone attacks continued as the ceasefire was set to begin. And in the last

hour Canada beat Finland 8-1 in its semi-final match at the Women's World Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic. That means Team Canada now gets to challenge the US for the gold in tomorrow's final. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Julianne Hazelwood.