The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/08/02 at 18:00 EDT

Episode Date: August 2, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/08/02 at 18:00 EDT

If you're absolutely loving your summer read and don't want the book to be over, your experience doesn't actually have to end when you finish reading. I'm Matea Roach and on my podcast Bookends, I sit down with authors to get the inside scoop behind the books you love. Like why Emma Donoghue is so fascinated by trains or how Taylor Jenkins Reid feels about being a celebrity author. You can check out Bookends with Matea Roach wherever you get your podcasts.

From CBC News, the world this hour, I'm Peter Dock. After more than a year and a half of talks, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has rejected what Canada Post calls its final offer. The union wants to resume bargaining, but Canada Post says it's still considering its next steps. Meanwhile, small businesses say they cannot afford another mail strike. CBC's Sarah Law reports. The country's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses is calling on Ottawa to extend the current collective bargaining agreement. Because if there's another postal strike, it says two out of every three businesses may decide to walk away from Canada Post forever. Marvin Rider is an associate professor at McMaster's DeGroote School of Business. He says that while Canada Post could issue a lockout,

it may not be in its favour. It would upset a lot of Canadians at a time, given Donald Trump, what have you, they're already feeling upset. Ryder predicts both sides will seek binding arbitration, where a neutral third party would choose between each party's last best offer. If that happens, he says a deal may be reached in the next few weeks. In the meantime, with a drastic decline in letter mail and red ink rising fast, he says the Crown Corporation must do things differently. Sarah Law, CBC News, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

An aggressive wildfire on Vancouver Island has burned down railway trestles and is threatening homes. British Columbia firefighters say more lightning could cause more challenges over the holiday weekend. CBC reporter Akshay Kulkarni has more. Fire conditions throughout the day yesterday proved to be challenging, requiring extensive aircraft operations. A stark update from the BC Wildfire Service. Fire Information Officer Kristi Howes is talking about the Wesley Ridge wildfire where just under 200 properties northwest of Nanaimo are under evacuation orders and several disused

railway trestles were destroyed. Some fire suppression equipment was damaged last night. That said workers and staff were tactically withdrawn from that area safely. There have been over 48,000 lightning strikes in BC since Thursday and the number of wildfires doubled in the span of a day. Carly de Rozier with the wildfire service is urging caution during the long weekend. Areas where there's no measurable precipitation are at the highest risk for new wildfires. De Rozier said anyone camping this weekend should take precautions. Akshay Kulkarni, CBC News, Vancouver.

Police in London, Ontario are warning the public about a man who was mistakenly released from custody after a court date. 28-year-old Cody Anthony LeBlanc Ash was accused in a shooting dating back to last year. Acting Inspector Maria Wright speaks for the London Police Service. He should be considered armed and dangerous, as you're aware. His charges include attempted murder, so we just want to make sure the public is aware and that they call 911 and just do not approach this mail if they see him. Community safety is a top priority for us, so that's why we're doing this.

Wright says Ash was in provincial custody when he was mistakenly released. And levels of algae in Canada's fresh water have exploded since the 1960s and climate change is the likely reason. A team of Quebec researchers looked at 80 lakes from coast to coast and found high levels of chlorophyll. Their report suggests hotter summers and increased sunlight are driving algae growth. Dermot Antoniades is a professor at Laval University and one of the authors. He says algae can cause problems for wildlife and humans. If you get to the point where you're getting to having blooms of algae and cyanobacteria,

sometimes cyanobacteria can be toxic, sometimes the blooms of algae are going to accumulate on the beach. So now we're starting to have problems with swimming, with fishing, with making drinking water. S2 And Tanya Dees says the findings point to a need for coordinated action on a global scale. And that is Your World This Hour. Remember, you can listen to our podcast anytime. We update every hour, seven days a week. For CBC News, I'm Peter Donk.