The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/05/20 at 16:00 EDT

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/05/20 at 16:00 EDT

From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Stephanie Scanderis. Canada's inflation rate dipped to 1.7 percent in April from 2.3 in March. Statistics Canada says the falling price of gasoline is the biggest factor in the slowdown, mainly due to the removal of the consumer carbon tax. But the price of food continued to rise faster than general inflation. Ali Chyassant has the details. Inflation may be cooling, but prices for goods are again going up. Beef especially at 16.2% year-over-year, as the owner of a barbecue restaurant, David Neinstein, has certainly noticed. We've had to transfer that cost over to the consumer. Burgers used to be a menu mainstay at the Barks

Smokehouse, but to manage the rising cost of fresh beef, Neinstein says now they only sell them on weekends. They are all done by Canadian beef and cost for hamburger was too high. According to the latest numbers from StatsCan, grocery prices in April rose nearly 4% year-over-year compared to 3.2% in March. We've seen three straight months of price increases outpacing where overall inflation is. A weaker Canadian dollar in April, you know, could have been part of that. Nathan Janssen is the chief economist at RBC. You also did have carrots and fava beans on fresh fruits and vegetables.

It all puts the Bank of Canada in a tricky position about whether to cut interest rates to provide some relief on your grocery bill, even menu prices. Ali Chiasan, CBC News, Toronto. Police say a worker is dead after a structure collapsed at a construction site north of Montreal. It's located in Blancville, Quebec. Police say a mobile construction office fell into a large hole that had been excavated. Three cars also fell inside. Two people were injured, one of them taken to hospital.

Top officials from seven of the world's largest economies are talking trade in Banff, Alberta. A three-day G7 summit kicks off today during a time of heightened economic instability. Anis Hadari is there. Central bank governors and finance ministers from across the G7 are gathering in Alberta's Rocky Mountains. That means economic leaders from not just Canada and the U.S., but Germany, France, Italy, the U.K. and Japan are here in Banff for discussions that are very much under the shadow of American tariffs. On top of the levies between Canada and the U.S., several countries in the alliance are facing even higher tariffs later this summer. We don't have a specific agenda for what's up for discussion, but expect talks on trade imbalances or trade deficits between the countries, something

U.S. officials have brought up in the past. And there are talks about Ukraine expected as well. The Canadian finance minister and his Ukrainian counterpart will be speaking later today, though the bulk of the meetings get started tomorrow. And he's hit our CBC news. Bamf. The UK is halting free trade talks with Israel in response to its military offensive in Gaza. Britain is also summoning the Israeli ambassador to condemn its 11-week blockade on food and medical supplies. As of Monday, Israel has allowed a limited number of aid trucks into the territory. British Trade Minister David Lammy calls the large-scale famine looming in Gaza cruel and indefensible. He had this message for the people of Israel. We want, I want, a strong friendship with you based on shared values. We are unwavering

in our commitment to your security and to your future. But the conduct of the war in Gaza is damaging our relationship to your future. But the conduct of the war in Gaza is damaging our relationship with your government. The UK, Canada and France have said they will take concrete action, including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not end its renewed military offensive. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses the three nations of bending to Hamas. This afternoon, the European Union announced it will review its free trade deal with Israel unless it reverses its Gaza blockade. Quebec is asking Ottawa to deploy Canadian Rangers to Pevernituk. The northern village of 2,100 people has been struggling with a severe water shortage.

A pipe connecting the pump station to the treatment plant froze in March. Over the weekend, the village council declared a state of emergency after a fire destroyed a house in the community. Quebec's Minister of Public Security, Francois Bonardel, says the rangers would help with water distribution and logistics. And that is Your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Stephanie Scanderis.