The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/17 at 15:00 EST

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/17 at 15:00 EST

With the Morial app, you can sharpen your French skills in no time. You'll have a blast learning with content from Radio Canada. It's easy as Arndor Trois. Learn French, have fun, repeat. Download the free Morial app now. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Kate McGilfrey. The leader of Quebec's Liberal Party, Pablo Rodriguez,

told members of his caucus he's stepping down. That's according to Radio. Canada's sources. The former federal MP and Trudeau cabinet minister took over the party leadership in June. In recent weeks, the party's been in turmoil over claims of illegal campaign donations. Rodriguez has said he knew nothing about the alleged scheme and he ordered an internal investigation. He plans to make a public statement tomorrow. An American fugitive who spent more than two decades hiding out in Toronto will not fight his extradition to the U.S. A CBC News investigation earlier this year revealed that Patrick Lutz Jr. had been living a double life in the city.

Thomas Degler first broke the story. He has this update. A lawyer for Patrick Lutz Jr. told an Ontario court the longtime fugitive will be waiving his right to an extradition hearing. The move all but guarantees the 52-year-old will finally be sent to Florida to face manslaughter charges. On Christmas Day 1998 in Orlando, his truck slammed into a vehicle carrying two teenagers, killing both on impact. Ralph Cordero lost his step-sister Nancy Lopez and says his family never gave up hope that Lutz would be found. The motivator was to ensure that this guy does not die before we get our hand on him. A CBC News investigation found Lutz fled to Toronto and lived in the open with a U.S. warrant out for his arrest, Hosting trivia nights at a local bar and making a living as a self-styled psychic.

If convicted on two counts of DUI manslaughter in Florida, Lutz faces up to 30 years in prison. Thomas Dagg at CBC News, Toronto. Canada's population fell in the third quarter of this year. Statistics Canada says the decrease is driven by a drop in non-permanent residents. For example, people on temporary work or study visas or those applying for refugee status. Ontario experienced the largest decline of more than 107,000 people. Police in Ontario say they've broken up an auto theft network responsible for sending stolen cars to destinations as far away as West Africa and the Middle East.

20 people have now been arrested and millions of dollars worth of luxury cars recovered. Megan Fitzpatrick has details. We have sent a clear message. Ontario will not be a source for criminal profits. OPP Commissioner Thomas Creek says investigators have dismantled a sophisticated auto theft ring operating out of the greater Toronto area. Business owners and others tied to the shipping industry were allegedly laundering money and using false documents to send stolen cars overseas. Police tracked shipping containers to ports in Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver and executed multiple search warrants in the Toronto area. Detective Inspector Scott Wade says the investigation's results are significant.

Three hundred and six stolen vehicles were recovered, valued up more than $25 million. Twenty people were arrested. They're facing more than 100 charges. Police say auto theft in Canada is on a downward trend, but it's still a massive problem that adds up to a billion dollars worth of stolen vehicles every year. Megan Fitzpatrick, CBC News, Toronto. About 50,000 homes and businesses in BC still have no power after a fierce windstorm overnight. That's down from 120,000.

outages a few hours ago. The bulk of them are in BC's lower mainland and on the sunshine coast. B.C. Hydro says all available crews and contractors are mobilized to deal with the outages. And Warner Brothers Discovery is telling its shareholders to reject a hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance. Earlier this month, Warner Brothers struck a deal worth $72 billion U.S. to sell Netflix its film and streaming businesses. Paramount threw a wrench into that takeover by launching a competing $108 billion bid. Now, the Warner Brothers Board says the offer from Paramount poses numerous risks and says Netflix offers better long-term value to shareholders.

Regardless of who takes over the legacy media company, its merger is expected to trigger regulatory concerns. And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Kate McGilvery. Thank you.