The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/11/20 at 05:00 EST

Episode Date: November 20, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/11/20 at 05:00 EST

This ascent isn't for everyone. You need grit to climb this high this often. You've got to be an underdog that always over-delivers. You've got to be 6,500 hospital staff, 1,000 doctors, all doing so much with so little. You've got to be Scarborough. Defined by our uphill battle and always striving towards new heights. And you can help us keep climbing.

Donate at lovescarbro.cairbo. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Neil Hurland. The U.S. Justice Department has 30 days to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein. The convicted sex offender died by suicide in 2019, but the circumstances of his death have fueled conspiracy theories. And last night, U.S. President Donald Trump said he signed a bill to make the U.S. government files public. Marina La CERda says Epstein sexually abused her. We have to remember one thing. This trauma that us women have will never, ever go away.

Trump had previously resisted the release of the Epstein files. Lawyers representing Canadian veterans say an amendment in a new federal bill is an effort to avoid taking responsibility for a decades-long error that led to veterans overpaying for long-term care. Kate McKenna has a. more. It's about miscalculating long-term care contributions. Lawyer Malcolm Ruby says the federal government is trying to dodge responsibility for an expensive mistake. He is co-counsel in a proposed class action, alleging veterans overpaid for long-term care for decades. Veterans' long-term care

is subsidized. The law says they're only expected to pay an amount equivalent to the cost of room and board in the least expensive province or territory. But Ruby says the government excluded the territories which cost less. That resulted in overcharges. A CBC News investigation first revealed this discrepancy. At the time, then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government was looking into it. A year later, buried in a 600-page bill, the Kearney government proposed an amendment to exclude territories from the calculation retroactively.

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne dismissed a question on why the government is doing this, but says the budget includes additional money to help veterans. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Ottawa. Canada has formally issued firm bidding instructions to the two companies hoping to build the Navy's new submarines. As Murray Brewster reports, the document went out last week and the contracts are worth billions. I'll believe it when I see it.

Former defense official Alan Williams is a worried man. He sees all of the political machinations around the F-35 fighter purchase. And he wonders, now that the bidding is underway on the submarine program, whether we'll be witnessing the same kind of brinkmanship. William says there needs to be a simple, clear message delivered to politicians. Don't talk to any of these companies. That will just muddy the playing field. CBC News has confirmed that both Hanwa Ocean of South Korea and TKMS of Germany have received bid instructions. The submarine purchase involving 12 boats is potentially worth $24 billion.

The instructions outlined the federal government's expectations and how the decision will be weighted. The sustainment plan for the submarine fleet, meaning the potential Canadian maintenance work, that follows the purchase of the boats, counts for 50% of the company's final score. Two independent sources tell CBC News the companies have until March next year to submit their formal bids. Murray Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. Alberta says it's going to allow surgeons in the province to work in both the public and private system. The move comes as Alberta's fiscal watchdog says an attempt to privatize its medical testing labs was a costly failure. Aaron Collins has reaction.

We're calling it the dual practice surgery model. Premier Danielle Smith announcing on social media that doctors in Alberta will soon be able to perform elective surgeries for a fee and still practice in the public system. A reaction to the move inside the legislature was swift. Mr. Speaker, they did not campaign on this. They do not have a mandate. Call an election.

The government says more private surgeries will cut costs and shorten wait times. But the plan comes as a scathing. report on another experiment in private medicine has been released by the province's fiscal watchdog. Auditor General Doug Wiley says the privatization of medical labs in 2023 was short-lived and costly. Albertans always pay the price. Wiley says the failed experiment cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars while slowing down test times and adversely impacting patients. Aaron Collins, CBC News, Calgary. And that is your world this hour for CBC News.

I'm Neil Hurland.