The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/03 at 09:00 EST

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/03 at 09:00 EST

Hi there, Steve Patterson here, host of the debaters, the show where Canada's funniest comedians compete for your laughter. This week's episode is right on cue, is pool superior to darts? Two sharpshooting debaters are taking this one on, so listen wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, it's the world this hour. I'm Joe Cummings. With Canada at the table offering a new round of financial aid, the he's, NATO foreign ministers are discussing the Ukrainian war effort today in Brussels. And as we hear now from Crystal Gamansing, while the latest peace talks appear to be wavering,

it's clear that NATO's support for Ukraine is not. The best way to put pressure on the Russians is by doing two things. One is making sure that the Russians understand that the weapon flow into Ukraine will keep on going. Mark Ruda, NATO Secretary-General, said the second pressure lever on Russia is biting economic sanctions. NATO members and Ukrainian allies are also not deterred, including Canada. Anita Anand pledged a new round of $200 million to NATO's prioritized Ukraine requirements list, also known as Pearl. Second, I am announcing that Canada is committing $35 million in security support through the NATO Comprehensive Assistance Package Fund. Norway also announced another $500 million for Pearl.

saying it has to be well equipped to defend itself and negotiate from a position of strength. Crystal Gamansing, CBC News, London. The U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is buying 20 armored vehicles from a Canadian defense company. The Toronto area manufacturer Rochelle has signed a $10 million contract to provide the department with similar vehicles built in the past for use in Ukraine. The rush order comes as ICE is being accused of human rights abuses as it carries out orders from the Trump White House to round up immigrants. Public hearings get underway today in Washington into the current state of Kuzma, the Canada-U.S.-Mexican free trade deal.

Under the rules of the agreement, these hearings are held every six years, but this year they come in the midst of a Trump trade war. The testimony will be heard from witnesses with individual concerns about the agreement and from those who say the legally negotiated deal is now being undermined by the ongoing Trump tariff campaign. Questions are being asked in Newfoundland and Labrador about why the province has yet to sign on to the federal pharmacare program. The newly elected progressive conservative government is insisting it is interested, but critics are saying it needs to take action to get on board. Mark Quinn reports.

In a statement, Newfoundland and Labrador's government says it will negotiate a pharmacare deal when the federal government is, quote, ready to facilitate those discussions. The Council of Canadians, Yvonne Earle, is calling on the province to do more. If they wait, it's not going to happen. The push has to come from the provinces. Earl heard Prime Minister Mark Carney say he wants to bring more provinces into the program, but she also saw that there was no new money for Pharmacare in the last federal budget. When the Farmer Care Act passed in 2024, the Trudeau government did say it was, would be the first phase of a universal

pharmacare program. Jim Dinn, the province's NDP leader, can't understand why Newfoundland and Labrador isn't scrambling to sign on. The basic thing like this that could help with affordability. Both the NDP and the Council of Canadians hope to eventually see a comprehensive program that covers all medically necessary drugs. Mark Quinn, CBC News, St. John's.

Newfoundland and Labrador isn't the only province or territory he's still not signed on to the program. In fact, at this point, only BC, Manitoba, PEI, and Yukon have come to terms without a while. The wife of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez says he has been released from prison following a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. And the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is also confirming his release from a penitentiary in West Virginia. Hernandez, who was arrested in 2022 at America's request, was convicted in New York and sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for his ties to a drug cartel. Trump says he believes Hernandez was unlawfully targeted by the Biden administration.

And that is the world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.