The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/16 at 18:00 EST

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/16 at 18:00 EST

This message is from Wise, the app for international money. With Wise, you can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with a fair exchange rate and no hidden fees. Download the Wise app or visit Wise.com. T's and C's Apply. From CBC News The World This Hour, I'm Stephanie Skandaris. The federal government has announced new measures to address one of the most potent drivers of climate pollution. Methane emissions are produced by the oil and gas industry as well as landfills. Environment Minister Julie DeBruzen says the new regulations aim to cut methane emissions by 75% by 2030, but they also offer the industry more flexibility in how to comply.

Companies have two choices. They can follow a clear set of actions to stop intentional venting of emissions and fix leaks, or they can choose a performance-based pathway that uses continuous monitoring and allows them to design their own solutions as long as they meet strong performance standards. DeBruzen says the government is also investing nearly $16 million to support methane detection and measurement projects across Canada.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Ottawa has expressed its objection to Israel over the treatment of a Canadian delegation. Israel has denied entry into the occupied West Bank to that delegation of 30 Canadians, including six members of Parliament, The trip was sponsored by a non-profit charity called the Canadian Muslim Vote. Its goal was to meet with displaced Palestinians.

Israel says it turned the group away for security reasons. NDP MP Jenny Kwan is with the delegation. I, for one, rejected that notion that civil societies who's doing humanitarian work on the ground is a security threat. And I also reject the fact that members of Parliament doing our work also posts somehow as security threat. Israel says the group also arrived without prior coordination. Kwan says the Canadian government had formally notified Israel of the visit. She says electronic travel authorizations to enter the West Bank were initially approved, then revoked on the day of arrival.

Newfoundland and Lappadoors projected budget deficit has ballooned to almost $1 billion. Meanwhile, the province's newly elected progressive conservative government insists it'll keep election promises and bring down that deficit. Mark Quinn has more. The new deficit projection is $948 million, up from the Liberals' prediction of $626 million in August. Finance Minister Craig Party says it's a big problem. This number is deeply troubling. These structural challenges will take time to fix. Still, he says the government will keep its election promises to improve health care, cut taxes, and make community safer.

But he hasn't laid out a plan about how that will be achieved. The provincial opposition leader John Hogan says it's not enough. I don't think I heard one substantive answer from the Minister of Finance. He kept deferring to saying they will do a long-term plan. NDP leader Jim Dinn says the finance ministers talk about spending smarter makes him nervous. That usually means prepare for the worse. Batten down the hatches, cuts are coming. Party says the government will have a detailed plan by budget time this coming spring.

Quinn, CBC News, St. John's. More than two weeks after it started, the most complex fire in Toronto's history is finally out. But residents of the two affected buildings still don't know when they'll be able to go back home. Megan Fitzpatrick reports. Fires finally out, but fire trucks are still on site in Toronto's Thorncliffe Park neighborhood. And the 408 units evacuated nearly three weeks ago remain empty. On November 27th, crews were called to the buildings that are, joined together where the particle board in between them was smoldering like a cigar.

Fire hoses couldn't get into the minuscule space. We could not see the fire. Chief Jim Jessup says it was an unprecedented type of fire that took innovative techniques to finally extinguish like cameras, helium, garden hoses and foam. I've had phone calls from fire chiefs from across North America that have never experienced something as complex as this. Engineers will now assess the building's structural integrity, air quality, plumbing, and electrical systems to determine when it's safe for residents to return. Megan Fitzpatrick, CBC News, Toronto.

And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Stephanie Scandaris.