The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/21 at 11:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 21, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/21 at 11:00 EDT

So Canada, we've got to choose a new prime minister and it's a pretty crucial time. Even people who don't normally follow politics are trying to figure out what the heck is going on. I'm Catherine Cullen, host of The House, and I started a new weekly election show with two friends and fellow political nerds. Hello, I'm Daniel Thibault bringing you the Quebec Point de Vu. I'm Jason Microsoft and Calvary bringing the takes and stakes from the West. Together, we are House Party, a weekly elections podcast for everyone.

We tackle one big burning question every Wednesday. Find us in the House's feed wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Gina Louise Phillips. We begin in St. Peter's Square where mourners are paying their respects to Pope Francis. The leader of the Catholic Church is dead at the age of 88. I think he was a great pope. I think that every Christian people must come here to say goodbye, to farewell to him. I mean, I'm from Argentina.

The pope is Argentinian, So, you know, it has kind of a bit of significance for us. It's a very sad day for the Roman Catholic faith and hopefully, hopefully the next Pope will do everything that the Roman Catholic faith needs of it. In a statement this morning, the church says Francis died at 7.35 a.m. Vatican City time on Easter Monday. Francis had been suffering from health problems in recent months including double pneumonia. Francis led the Catholic Church for 12 years. He made his final public appearance yesterday for Easter before a pact, St. Peter's Square. It was just three years ago Pope

Francis was in Canada. He expressed deep sorrow for harm suffered at residential schools and he asked for forgiveness for church members' cooperation with government policies of assimilation. CBC's Juanita Taylor has more on this. Well, leaders in Iqaluit called this visit historic, where Pope Francis spent only a few hours in the Nineveh capital. Thousands of people stood outside to see and hear the Pope speak, more specifically say sorry, and he said sorry in Inuktitut. Again, that time some felt the apology felt short because Pope Francis didn't apologize for the church's role in abusing children at residential schools. But before

the event outside, over a hundred people got to meet privately with Francis inside a school in a colloid. And that historic visit wasn't the Pope's only effort at reconciliation. He also invited and met with a delegation of Indigenous leaders at the Vatican in 2022. Residents around Los Angeles are rebuilding after the devastating fires in January. Thirty people were killed. More than 11,000 homes were destroyed. Steve Futterman reports from Los Angeles. More than a hundred days since fires ravaged LA there are finally some concrete signs of rebuilding. Robert Lund has actually begun after getting one of the first permits to start

construction. It will be a great feeling to just return to this spot. LA Mayor Karen Bass says progress, albeit sometimes slow, is taking place. Disaster recovery is on track to be the fastest in modern California history. Insurance is another issue. There have been more than 37,000 claims, but up to two-thirds of homeowners may have been underinsured. Yesterday, on Easter Sunday, in one of the hardest hit areas, Altadena Reverend Andre Wilson spoke to his congregation.

This is Easter Resurrection. And he talked about their own personal resurrection. Even out of the ashes, something good can happen. And that really needs to move from a conception to a reality. Today we should get a progress report. L.A. Mayor Bass is set to deliver her State of the City address. Steve Futterman for CBC News, Los Angeles. Here in Canada, Election Day is exactly one week away, and today is the last day advance

polls are open. These voters cast their ballots this weekend at Ottawa City Hall. It's our right and our responsibility to participate in this process. It's a long weekend, so it's beautiful weather, it's nice to just wander down here and take that off the list. Well, I think we're not the only ones who feel that this is a monumental election. Elections Canada says 2 million people have already voted on Friday alone. On the campaign trail, the federal leaders are busy getting their messaging out.

Liberal leader Mark Carney is visiting all three maritime provinces today. Conservative leader Pierre Pauliev is in the Greater Toronto Area. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is spending most of the day on Vancouver Island. And Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is in Quebec City. And that is The World This Hour. For news anytime, go to our website, cbcnews.ca. For CBC News, I'm Gina Louise Phillips. Thanks for listening.