The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/17 at 18:00 EST

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/17 at 18:00 EST

Choose clicks, choose the algorithm, choose doom scrolling at 3am, eyes tired, brain rewired, choose headlines that scream, choose fake friends, deepfakes, bots, and comment wars that never end. Choose truth bent and broken until you can't tell up from down or right from wrong. Choose the chaos, choose the noise. Or don't. Choose news, not noise. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Kate McGilfrey.

Just six months after winning the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party, sources tell CBC that Pablo Rodriguez told his caucus earlier today he's stepping down. His party has been plunged into turmoil after allegations of a cash-for-vote scheme during the leadership race. Melisa Francois reports. Bit by bit, stories started to emerge in the French language. media, allegations of questionable practices surrounding Rodriguez's leadership campaign, he denied knowledge of any wrongdoing and ordered an investigation. But former MNA Robert Libman believes resignation was the only way out.

Even if he hasn't done anything wrong or even if he didn't know about it, the suspicion and doubt is so strong now and it's hurt the Liberal Party brand. There's already a lot of movement inside the ranks to find a replacement. Federal Minister Melanie Jolie confirmed she's not running, as did her colleague François-Ferlip Champagne. We have a strong team to defend the interests of Quebec, and this is our way of contributing. Rodriguez is expected to hold a news conference tomorrow morning,

which could mark the start of that process. Melissa Francois CBC News, Montreal. Canada's population is going down. The country lost tens of thousands of people in the third quarter of this year, most of them non-permanent residents. Catherine Tunney tells us more. Statistics Canada is reporting a change Canada hasn't seen in years, a drop in its population. New data out Wednesday shows a loss of about 76,000 people.

The decrease is mainly due to a reduction in the number of non-permanent residents, which Staskan attributes to shifting government policy. In 2024, the federal government announced it would be slashing the number of non-permanent residents and lowering the cap on international students. The new numbers show every province and territory had fewer non-permanent residents on October 1st, then on Canada Day, with Ontario, seeing the largest decrease. The recent liberal budget promises to continue slashing the number of temporary residents allowed into Canada over the next few years, and the opposition conservatives are calling

for the temporary foreign worker program to be dismantled. Catherine Tunney, CBC News, Ottawa. Nick Reiner made his first appearance in court today three days after he allegedly killed his parents in Los Angeles. The 32-year-old is the son of prominent Hollywood director Rob Reiner and Michelle. Schell Singer-Riner. He's charged with two counts of murder and today declined to enter a plea. His lawyer, Alan Jackson, spoke to reporters. There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case.

They need to be thoroughly, but very carefully dealt with. Reiner is being held without bail, and his arraignment hearing will continue on January 7th. A ferocious winter storm is hitting the prairies and parts of northern Ontario. The Alberta Clipper is bringing strong winds and snow. The Calgary police are advising motorists not to drive at all, if possible. They say extreme winter conditions have already caused many collisions and road closures. The winds will be especially bad in southwestern Alberta. Mounties say safe travel will be impossible in much of the region.

Environment Canada has put an orange wind warning in place, with gusts of up to 130 kilometers an hour possible. Blizzards and wind has also led to travel and weather alerts for most of Saskatchewan. And one of television's marquee events is changing its home base. And the Oscar goes to? Are they playing us all? No.

Oh, maybe. Anora. Starting in 2029, the Academy Awards will begin streaming exclusively on YouTube. That includes all Oscars content, including the Red Carpet, the Governor's Awards, and the nominations announcement. ABC will continue to broadcast the annual ceremony through 28. That's the year the awards show marks its 100th anniversary. That's the world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Kate McGilvery.

Thank you.