World Report - September 26: Friday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: September 26, 2025

Canada Post says it won't ask the government to force striking workers back to their jobs.Canada avoids recession with 0.2 percent economic growth in July.Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes a defiant stance in today's UN General Assembly speech.Former FBI director, James Comey, indicted on charges related to Russia investigation.Millions of dollars spent to send Canadians to US for specialized cancer treatment.

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A message from the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning, I'm John Northcott. Canada Post says it won't ask the government to force striking postal workers back to their jobs. The union representing tens of thousands of workers quickly launched the job action yesterday

after the government proposed cost-cutting measures, including ending home delivery. Here's Canada Post spokesperson. John Hamilton. We are busy working on the plan we need to present to the minister in 45 days on the changes we need to make, and we want to get

on with moving forward, and we're also working on a new global offer to present to Cup W. But Cup W says Canada Post is not negotiating seriously. Mark Levinsky is the union's local president in Toronto. He says the union is still waiting for a response to their last offer made more than

30 days ago. At $10 million losses, over 30 days, it's $300 million we've lost, and we're still waiting for a counteroffer from the corporation. When we talk about change, there needs to be changed on at Canada Post. They have to realize we are partners in this. Janice McGregor is following the story from our Parliamentary Bureau. Janice, the Union and Canada Post have been far apart for months. How can they move forward now?

These two sides are so far apart. it's not clear they can even see each other. And that doesn't bode well for bargaining and the good faith consideration of new offers a process that before workers walked out last night had been set to resume today. Negotiator Jim Galant said yesterday, the union feels the inquiry that led to these changes

was fixed in favor of what Canada Post's management wants. And that, yes, there have been a few bad years, but there is money to be made without cutting services and delivery standards. So now he's negotiating in public, to rally opinion around their side. We expect Canadians will get behind us. When we've been out on our picket lines,

people are saying that we're getting the bad end of the stick and that the government and Canada Post should do something. But Canada Post has been clear that what the union's saying is gaslighting. There is no return to sound finances, maybe no future period for the Postal Service without a new approach that matches how Canadians actually use postal services in 2025. Minister Joel Lightbound made it clear yesterday that the Federal Treasury cannot afford billion-dollar bailouts

to cover the Crown Corporation's losses anymore as Canada moves into a period of fiscal austerity with serious economic threats ahead. And I think that's what Canadians expect that we show political courage. In the midst of campaigning for re-election in Newfoundland-Labrador, provincial liberal leader John Hogan was quick yesterday to put out a statement saying provinces and communities

must be consulted before any changes persisted. particularly in rural Canada. That's a sign of how politically potent postal cuts can be. Janice McGregor in Ottawa. Thanks, Janice. You're welcome. The Canadian economy grew slightly in July, Statistics Canada, releasing its latest numbers on gross domestic product.

They show a 0.2% increase over the prior month. Now, CBC Senior Business correspondent Peter Armstrong has had a look at the numbers, and he joins us in studio. So, Peter, can we now say we've avoided a recession? We can say we have likely avoided a recession. We could probably say we have avoided a recession for now. Remember, a recession is just two back-to-back quarters of negative growth, and we knew the economy contracted in that second quarter in April, May, and June.

So if that had continued in the third, in July, August, and September, we would have met the definition. But as you say, July comes in pretty positive. 0.2% growth is nothing to sniff at. and the preliminary print for August is flat. So it would take a pretty deep contraction in September where we are now. And there's not a ton of evidence that pretty broad-based growth through most sectors in July, a bit more weakness in August.

But I think that speaks more to just how kind of tough a moment we're in. But I think there will be a bit of a heaving sigh of relief in the offices of many policymakers that we have not or appear not to have met the definition of a result. session. Okay, a bit of an exhale there, but does this allow many Canadians to feel any better? I think that's a really important distinction here, right? For most Canadians, the difference between a 0.1 percent bit of growth than a 0.1 percent contraction is really minimal. The fact is what we're seeing in these numbers is the portrait of an economy that's stuck in the mud, that's having a hard time getting back on its feet, that is having a difficult time because of

the trade war, the tariffs, and all of the uncertainty. That's what we're seeing here. And that's why everybody you talk to tells you it feels like a recession, even if it doesn't meet the technical definition of one. CBC senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong in studio. Thanks, Peter. You bet. To New York and the UN General Assembly, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a fiery speech at one point addressing the Israeli hostages directly over loudspeakers in Gaza.

This is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you live from the United Nations. We have not forgotten you, not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter and we will not rest until we bring all of you home. Sasha Petrissik has more on Netanyahu's message. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the podium, his delegation clapped while dozens from other countries walked out of the hall in protest. Israel rebounded from its darkest day to deliver.

one of the most stunning military comebacks in history. But we're not done yet. Ticking off a map of the Mideast, he boasted of bombing, Iran, Syria, and Yemen, of setting off booby-trap pagers to kill Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and targeting and killing top Hamas leaders in Gaza. Civilian casualties there, he said, were lower than you could expect. He rejected accusations of genocide. What a joke.

saying Israel's trying to get civilians to leave areas it's attacking, Gaza City at the moment. He offered no new solutions to end the war except to continue fighting. As for the growing list of countries recognizing a Palestinian state, singling out Canada and a few others, he accused them of caving to Islamist hordes. It's an indictment of weak-need leaders who appease evil rather than support a nation whose brave soldiers guard you from the barbarians at the gate. Israel, he insisted, will never allow a Palestinian state to be forced on it, rejecting that as Israeli state policy now.

Sasha Petrissik, CBC News, Jerusalem. My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump. Former FBI director James Comey after he was indicted on two federal charges late yesterday. Both are connected to a bureau investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and possible ties to Russia. Trump has been putting pressure on the Justice Department to indict Comey, but Comey says he's ready for a fight. My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I'm innocent. So let's have a trial.

Comey is expected to make his first appearance in court October 9th. A CBC investigation finds that Ontario paid millions of dollars for hundreds of residents to get health care in the U.S. Over the past seven years, more than $200 million has been paid out with the biggest cost being a specialized cancer treatment. As Valerie Willett reports, Canada is the only G7 country that does not offer proton radiation therapy. Right? Like, I was like, how can this be happening, right?

Alberta's mark surface thought his teenage son had a concussion after a hockey game, but instead, said, 16-year-old Luke was diagnosed with a brain tumor and a treatment best suited for him isn't offered in Canada. Luke will have to spend six weeks in a Florida hospital to get proton radiation therapy, partly paid for by taxpayers. You know, the financial aspect is one thing, but the emotional, I think that adds a whole bunch of stress that families going through this don't have to have. It's a Canada-wide issue. In Ontario, CBC found proton radiation therapy. has been the single biggest expense under the out-of-country medical care program since 2022, costing taxpayers $2.4 million, last year alone.

I'm sure we've been underrefering. Dr. Glenn Bauman is a radiation oncologist at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario. We should have a proton beam therapy unit in Canada. Between 10 and 20% of all radiation treatments, there might be some benefit to think about protons if we had that available. McMaster Health Economics Professor Arthur Sweetman says paying for foreign health care can make financial sense. There can be very expensive equipment associated with treatment and we simply don't have enough cases to justify spending.

We just don't have the expertise and it takes time to build up expertise. Both Ontario and Alberta have made announcements saying they are looking into building Canada's first proton beam therapy facility. They both told us they're still in the planning phase. Valeri Wallet, CBC News. Toronto. And that is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm John Northcott. This is CBC News.