The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/19 at 14:00 EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/19 at 14:00 EST

Okay, so there's this new play about the Rogers family and their battle for control over the gigantic telecom empire, and I cannot stop thinking about it. I'm Alameen Abdul-Mahmoud. I host a pop culture show called Commotion. This week, we're talking about Rogers v. Rogers, and on the show, we'll get into what this corporate story actually tells us about our national mythology and why Canadian theater audiences are craving more and more homegrown stories. Find and follow Commotion on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Kate McGilfrey. Three men in the Toronto area have been arrested and charged with hate and terrorism-related offenses. Police and RCMP say the men targeted Jewish women in two incidents earlier this year. Philip Lyshanuk reports.

Nishandarapa is the chief of Peel region of police near Toronto. He says it started with an attempted abduction. Three mass men armed with firearms and knives tried to force two. young women into a vehicle. We were able to link that incident to one that happened in May where the armed suspects attempted to kidnap a woman in Toronto. Toronto police said the victims were members of the Jewish community and the attackers allegedly motivated by extremist ideology. Noah Shack is with the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs. He says these arrests coming after the attacks on Jews in Australia show a growing trend in

extremist violence. There's a serious problem in this country of radicalization, of extremism, of the glorification and promotion of terrorism and violence. 18-year-old Osman Azizov and 19-year-old for Hat Sadat face weapons assault and kidnapping charges, while 26-year-old Walid Khan also faces multiple terrorism-related charges. Phil Bishanak, CBC News, Toronto. Police in Welland, Ontario, are asking people to stay inside and away from their windows. They say a suspect has been contained inside of a building after a shootout earlier this morning. Nearby schools and a hospital have been put into lockdown.

Here's Constable Richard Hingley. We have a heavy police presence, quite a big perimeter, given the nature of the attack on our officer. We don't know what weapon was used right now. However, we are going with a larger perimeter to ensure the safety of the public. An officer was shot as police responded to reports of gunfire, but her injuries aren't life-threatening. Police say the disturbance began as a dispute about a full.

fence that was blocking traffic sight lines. Quebec's family doctors overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new deal with the province. The agreement rolls back several parts of a controversial provincial law, which would have included wage penalties for doctors who failed to meet performance targets. Lauren McCallum tells us more. Treasury Board President Francelaine Durantso says she's happy Quebec's GPs support the compromise their federation reached with the government. I think it shows that it's a win-win agreement.

So we're very happy about that. And I think it shows also that GPs are ready to move forward and make it better for the patient. Durantso acknowledges sections of the original bill were removed, but she adds the government was finally able to change the way doctors are paid and was able to implement some performance indicators. As a result, she says 500,000 new patients will have access to a family doctor at the end of June. But the president of the Quebec Federation of General Practitioners,

Mark Andre Amio points out doctors won't be forced to accept them. Amio says doctors who are swamped won't have to add to their workload. Lauren McCallum, CBC News, Montreal. Donations to Canadian charities are now at a 20-year low. A study by the Fraser Institute found less than 17% of tax-paying Canadians gave to charity in the 2023 tax year, and the amount being donated has also fallen. Of all the provinces, Manitoba has the highest number.

of donors, and Alberta has the top spot in the average value of the donations. And the world's leading monitor on food security says there is no longer famine in Gaza. Since the ceasefire was struck in October, access to humanitarian supplies and to food have improved, though UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the need is still growing faster than aid can get in. It breaks my heart to see the ongoing scale of human suffering in Gaza. Families are enduring the unendurable. Children are forced to sleep in flooded tents.

The integrated food security phase classification declared famine in the enclave four months ago for half a million Palestinians in Gaza. It says despite some improvement, the situation remains critical. And that is The World This Hour. You can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts. We update every hour, seven days a week. For CBC News, I'm Kate McGilfrey. Thank you.