The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/17 at 21:00 EST

Episode Date: December 18, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/17 at 21:00 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. We begin in Washington where U.S. President Donald Trump is delivering a live address from the White House this hour. But there's another big story in D.C. for Canada tonight. For the first time, we're getting a clear picture of the demands the Trump administration is making of its biggest trading partners. Washington is laying out what it will insist on to stay in a three-way trade deal with Canada and Mexico. The demands will set the stage for the review of the agreement known as Kuzma. The CBC's Katie Simpson has new details from Washington.

Think booze and think dairy. You're going to be hearing a lot about both in the months ahead. It's a big deal that we finally have some specifics, given how important this trade agreement is for Canadian workers and Canadian businesses. Today, the top American trade official, U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer, submitted a list essentially of complaints about Canada and Mexico to Congress, outlining the concessions it is seeking in order for the U.S. to remain in this three-way trade deal known in Canada as Kuzma. Here is just some of what the U.S. wants from Canada, an end to those provincial bans on the sale of American alcohol, making it easier for American farmers to sell dairy products into Canada. It has some problems with the Online News Act, which forces some American tech giants to pay for Canadian news content. And it says Alberta is treating energy producers in Montana unfairly.

Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. The federal liberals are one seat shy of a majority, and the Prime Minister believes they can get there without going to the polls. In an interview with CBC News, Mark Carney suggests there could be more floor crossing. Kate McKenna has more from Washington. Prime Minister Mark Carney is not ruling out the possibility of more MPs crossing the floor and joining his party. Carney sat down for a year-end interview with CBC's chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton. Are you comfortable getting the majority government through people crossing the floor? I am comfortable commanding the confidence of the House of Commons

and getting through the House of Commons, getting support in the House of Commons and votes, obviously votes and support in the House of Commons for legislation that is. going to protect Canadian communities that's going to build this country, it's going to make our country more independent, more sustainable more. Over the last few weeks, two MPs, Chris Dantremant and Michael Ma, left the Conservative Caucus and joined the Liberals, leaving the government just one seat shy of a razor-thin majority. When Carney was asked whether he's actively trying to recruit other opposition MPs,

he hinted more may be coming but didn't share any names. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Ottawa. After six months as head of the Quebec Liberal Party, CBC has confirmed that Pablo Rodriguez has resigned. That puts an end to weeks of turmoil inside the provincial party. He made the announcement during a virtual caucus meeting today. According to sources, Rodriguez felt he had become a distraction that was hurting the party. Rodriguez was a former federal transport minister in the old Trudeau cabinet.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just announced a plan to fight anti-Semitism after gunmen opened fire at a Jewish event in Sydney on Sunday, killing 15 people. The Attorney General and Minister for Home Affairs will develop a package of legislative reforms to crack down on those who spread hate, division and radicalization. It will target people who preach religious hate speech that promotes violence and increased penalties. It will also make hate an aggravating factor in sentencing people who make online threats and harassment. The U.S. government now admits that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the American Army played a role in causing the collision last January between an airliner and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington.

67 people were killed. The official response to the first lawsuit filed by one of the victim's families says the government is liable in the crash, partly because the air traffic controller violated procedures. And that is your world this hour. CBC News. I'm Neil Hurland.