The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/23 at 08:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/23 at 08:00 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, it's the World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings. The body of Pope Francis is now lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica. That was a scene earlier today as the Pope's coffin was carried into the Basilica, followed by a procession of cardinals and members of the Swiss Guard. Thousands of people will file past the casket over the next three days ahead of Saturday's funeral. It doesn't appear that Mark Carney and his capacity as Prime Minister will attend the ceremony, but it's expected that Governor General Mary Simon

will be in attendance. Now to the federal election campaign, and with less than a week to go before voting day, the three main party leaders are all in agreement when it comes to one specific issue, Canadian defence spending. We have to continue to increase our spending on Canadian security and military. To rebuild our military so that we are a truly sovereign and strong nation. What Donald Trump has done has really changed our relationship forever.

It can no longer be that we are so vulnerable or so dependent. That is Mark Carney, Pierre Poliev and Jagmeet Singh all saying that in the era of Donald Trump, Canadian national security is now a top priority. Murray Brewster has more. I think there's far more similarity than there is difference. Defense expert Dave Perry, who says Canadians can be forgiven for not being able to distinguish which party promised what. The Liberals and the Conservatives, even the NDP, are promising greater presence in the

Arctic. And the parties all agree Canada must spend 2% of its GDP on defense. Canadians need to be aware that we have landed on actually living up to the set of commitments we promised to make and deliver on 11 years ago, just as our allies move on to a new set of commitments. The upcoming NATO summit will likely see the benchmark raise to three or more percent of GDP. In terms of specifics, the Liberals and Conservatives appear to be trying to outdo each other on

points they agree on. How many Arctic bases are needed? How quickly to buy airborne early warning surveillance planes, how much of that there will be in the midst of a trade war remains to be seen. Murray Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. Murray Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. Meanwhile, diplomats from Britain, the EU, the United States and Ukraine are meeting in London today working on a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev.

British Defense Secretary John Healy is saying today's meeting will include talks on, quote, what a ceasefire could look like. But a plan for the talks to involve foreign ministers has been scrapped after the U.S. announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend. Back to the election, the tax force monitoring foreign interference is reporting there has been meddling over the course of this campaign. However, it says the meddling doesn't appear to have targeted any one specific party. Janice McGregor has more. Well, nothing that in the opinion of the officials threatens the integrity of the

election overall, but it has detected ongoing attempts to spread Chinese Communist Party propaganda on social media. Most recently, it's briefed the Conservative Party about one of their Toronto candidates, Joe Tay, being targeted for his advocacy for democracy in Hong Kong. CSIS, however, does not interpret this disinformation campaign as proof that China favors a certain party to win the election. It's more about silencing those who speak out against Beijing. Here's Representative Vanessa Lloyd. Keep in mind that it really is party agnostic.

So it is to stifle the criticism of the government. Officials have asked social media platforms to crack down on this, but they can't force them. Janice McGregor, CBC News, Ottawa. Now to the streets of Kashmir. The protests follow 26 people being shot and killed yesterday at a popular tourist destination. Gunmen opened fire on a crowd of tourists and what Indian officials are calling an act of terrorism. Police are searching for four

male suspects. And that is the World This Hour. For news anytime go to our website cbcnews.ca. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.