Your World Tonight - Air Canada CEO leaving, Carney on China abuses, Cuban dissidents, and more

Episode Date: March 30, 2026

He made headlines for what he didn’t say. And now, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau is saying he will retire. Rousseau has been under increasing pressure to leave since he posted a video last week about the Jazz crash at LaGuardia Airport that contained just two words in French.Also: Prime Minister Mark Carney defends his government's handling of Canada-China relations. A Liberal MP last week was accused of downplaying human rights abuses by Beijing.And: Cubans face a daily struggle under the U.S. oil blockade. But the CBC’s Jorge Barrera spoke to some who are hoping that after the pain, there will be some gain.Plus: Trump threatens Iran’s energy infrastructure, the connection between brain and heart health, meat thefts, and more.

Jacqueline Furland Smith, a 40-year-old former Canadian military trainer, moves to Costa Rica to follow her dreams, but in the summer of 2021, vanishes without a trace. How can a woman just go missing and us put out all that effort to find her, and she's still missing? I'm David Rigen, and this is Someone Knows Something, Season 10, the Jacqueline Furlin Smith case. Available now on CBC Listen and wherever you get your podcasts.

This is a CBC podcast. It didn't pay respect to Francophones in Canada, and it didn't pay respect to the law itself, which oblige Air Canada to be bilingual. Au revoir, bon voyage. However you want to word it, Air Canada's CEO is departing. The airline calls it retirement.

That comes after Michael Rousseau failed to learn French and steer the company through a tragedy in both official languages. This is your world tonight for Monday, March 30th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. Also on the podcast. They have to comply with our laws, which obviously to simplify them, are against any element of forced or child labor in any element of the supply chain. Prime Minister Mark Carney with some work to do, clarifying and defending how Canada handles human rights

and the issue of forced labor in China. There's pressure on the problem. the government after comments from a liberal MP as Ottawa tries to reset relations with Beijing. After calls for his resignation, Air Canada's CEO says he's retiring. Michael Rousseau provoked a political firestorm last week when it became clear he hadn't fulfilled a promise to learn French. Nisha Patel has more on the announcement and why at Canada's largest airline, language skills are a big deal. Hello, bonjour. I'm Michael Rousseau, president and CEO of Air Canada.

After last week's deadly plane crash where two pilots were killed, including a francophone from Quebec, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau spoke just two French words in a recorded condolence message. It was seen as a corporate misstep that sparked a national backlash and calls for his resignation. Now the airline says he will retire later this year. It's the right decision at the right time. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the departure appropriate and said Rousseau's replacement should be bilingual. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe-Champin agreed. It's not just a matter of respect for who we are as a nation, but also with respect to the customers.

Air Canada, once a Crown Corporation, is now a publicly traded company, though it's still subject to Canada's Official Languages Act, and policy requires its communications to be in both English and French. This isn't the first time Rousseau has stirred up this kind of controversy. Five years ago, not long after he took over as CEO, he suggested he didn't need to learn the language in a speech to Montreal's Chamber of Commerce. I've been able to live in Montreal without speaking French. After this latest incident, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

received more than 2,000 complaints. And Rousseau has been summoned to Ottawa to explain himself. in front of the official languages committee. It's a company that is at a time a symbol and a presence very important. Quebec Liberal MP Jean-Eve DuCloz says Air Canada is a symbol and has a significant presence in Canada.

The issue has struck a nerve with Quebecers according to Frederick Berard, director of the National Observatory on Language Rights. It didn't pay respect to Francophones in Canada and it didn't pay respect to the law itself which obliged Air Canada to be by He says it shouldn't be too much to ask of someone in a position of leadership. And now I think that the message should be clear. I mean, we're living in bilingual country.

You want those top jobs? That's fine. Now, please make sure that you can speak both languages. John Graddock is a professor of aviation management at McGill University. He says the search is already underway. It'll be global search. We have a number of candidates potentially internally within our county who are fully by Linole and who have, you know, significant management skill sets. Rousseau will stay on until the end of September. Air Canada says it's been working on succession planning for more than two years. As it looks for its next CEO, the airline confirmed speaking French will be part of the criteria. Nisha Patel, CBC News, Toronto.

Mark Carney has been trying to repair Canada's damaged relationship with China. But as the Prime Minister tries to drum up more business, Concerns over potential human rights abuses are resurfacing. And today, Carney was pushed to explain where he and his government stand on the issue of forced labor. Tom Perry reports. Look, we take this issue of forced labor, child labor, incredibly seriously. It was an odd mix of foreign and domestic politics. Prime Minister Mark Carney making a housing announcement in Toronto,

trying to make himself heard over protesters angry about mercury poisoning at an Ontario First Nation, all while facing questions about forced labor in China and some questionable remarks by one of his MPs. Mr. Ma has apologized for his comments, as he should have. Michael Ma, a conservative floor-crosser who joined the Liberals late last year, got into trouble last week when he challenged a witness at a parliamentary committee over a report by Human Rights Watch on forced labor in the aluminum industry supplying China's electric vehicle sector. You claim about forced labor in Sanjin. Have you witnessed this yourself? Have you been there ever? I've been to China many times. Have you witnessed since 1979? Ma later said there was

forced labor all over the world without naming China, leaving Carney today, forced to clarify whether he believes forced labor in China is a problem. There are parts of China that are higher risk and therefore need to be diligence, yes. This comes as the Prime Minister is trying to rebuild relations with China. Part of that includes allowing more Chinese EVs into Canada in exchange for China lowering tariffs on Canadian agriculture products and seafood. But conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong says if any Chinese products made with forced labor are entering Canada, the government can't turn a blind eye. The government needs to make a simple assessment.

Is forced labor being used in the production of these products? Yes or no? If yes, then these products must be banned under not just Canadian law, but under international treaties that we are signatories to. Margaret McQuag-Johnston, the China expert who Michael Maugh grilled at that committee last week, is more positive. Government minister, she says, need to talk more about China's human rights abuses, but she thinks the prime minister understands what's at stake.

I do believe that he sees this as a serious issue. I know that before he became Prime Minister of Canada, he was supportive of international issues related to forced labor. But Carney's government continues to court Beijing, with finance minister Francois Philippe Champagne set to visit China this week, while the Prime Minister takes part in a liberal fundraiser tonight, co-hosted by Michael Ma. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa.

Coming right up, it'll make Ontario housing less expensive to build. Officials in Ottawa and Toronto hope a new plan will also make it cheaper to buy. And a concerning food-related trend that suggests Canadians are hungry for a deal, and grocery store thieves are capitalizing on it. Later, we'll have this story. I'm Jorge Barrera, reporting from Havana, Cuba, where a U.S. oil blockade is creating more hardship. for the Cuban people, but there are some in the country who see hope on the other side of this

historic moment. In the depth of the darkness, from the depth of the cave itself, there is also light, says Manuel Perez, who was a child during the Cuban Revolution. That's coming up on your world tonight. Ontario and the federal government are partnering on a plan they hope will get more housing built in Canada's most populous province. They're spending billions. to temporarily cut development fees by as much as half.

Kate McKenna explains how it works and why more provinces may follow. Don't you love the sound of construction in the morning? Prime Minister Mark Carney says it's music to his years. This morning he was joined by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to announce nearly $9 billion in funding to get more homes built. Across the country, we're moving fast. We're starting to get results. The federal government and Ontario will each contribute nearly $4.5 billion. intended to cut the cost of municipal development charges up to 50%.

Those charges pay for public infrastructure like roads, water, and sewers that have caused building costs to skyrocket. Ford says to qualify for the cash municipalities must cut them. If you don't cut D.C.s, you aren't getting any money. I'll simplify that. But if you do, we will be there to support you. In last year's election campaign, the federal liberals promised to cut these fees in half. This deal is a big first step. and comes following another joint announcement with Ontario to remove the 13% HST on new builds under a million dollars for the next year. So this is going to be able to get some of those costs down, make it economically viable to build homes and homes that are more affordable for middle-class families.

Mike Moffitt is the founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative with the University of Ottawa. He says these policies could have a real tangible effect on the cost of homes. They're putting in some very good policies here. It's still not going to get us to the 500,000 homes a year that they promise, but it's going to get us a little bit closer. I like Mark Carney. I think there was a lot of promise, I think, with Mark Carney. Conservative housing critic Scott Acheson says the Carney government still isn't moving quickly enough,

noting this announcement will only help buyers in Ontario. They do very pretty photo ops, and it seems really good. But the results just are not there. The federal government says more deals with other provinces are coming, as long as they're willing to match funding. Gregor Robertson is the federal housing minister. He says it's up to provinces to enforce that municipalities really are lowering costs. It's a package deal.

So the infrastructure investments will come to those local governments that are reducing their development charges, and the provinces are responsible for tracking that. But he says it's in everyone's interest to get more homes built quickly. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Ottawa. Avi Lewis is getting down to work as the new leader of the federal NDP. After winning Sunday in a decisive vote, Lewis says he's already met with caucus and will immediately address the party's shaky finances, which includes $13 million of debt.

So the fundraising challenge is real, but we are excited to embrace it. And I think that part of getting election ready is retiring that debt as fast as possible. And that is one of the reasons that I'm not entering the House of Commons at the first available opportunity. Without a seat, Lewis will need to lead the NDP from outside the House of Commons. He faces a long road of rebuilding the party, which has just six MPs. As the cost of living continues to rise and food inflation soars, meat is getting more and more expensive, and that makes it a prime target for thieves looking to profit on the black market. Yes, Minanea has the story.

On a daily basis, we're looking at about $2 to $300 per day minimum. That's how much Munther Zeed says he loses from meat being stolen from his Winnipeg grocery stores. We had an incident about a week and a half ago at our Maryland location. The guy stole a basket of meat and we caught him selling it in the hotel parking lot block over. The thefts hurt his bottom line. So much so, Zed goes to potentially dangerous lengths to recover the stolen meat. We're not in the business of hurting a human being, but sometimes that human being goes, you can't touch me.

And it's just like, I don't want to touch you unless you force me to. So we do approach with baseball bats, I'm not going to lie. I mean, we have them all over the store. We approach it as a way to put a bit of fear in that person to basically drop and go. And 99% of the time it works. It's not just Winnipeg. Police across the country say retail meat thefts are on the rise at both big corporate grocery stores and smaller independent shops.

In Vancouver, there were 249 reported incidents from January, March of this year compared to 184 for the same time period last year. And about 30 minutes away in Richmond, BC, there have been about 40 reported theft since December. It's actively being investigated right now. RC&P Constable Frank Bryson says the pattern and volume of theft suggests potential organized activity. It's possible that there's some element to that rather than just all opportunistic thefts. Meat prices have soared in the past year. Beef is up 14%. Yvonne D'Anguroen, Professor Emeritus at the University of the Fraser Valley, says criminals can capitalize.

Knowing that people will be looking for meat that is a little less expensive, so by stealing it and redistributing it, there's a wonderful opportunity for profit there for some criminals. It doesn't mean that there's a vast network of meat thieves across the country. It simply means that people are looking for opportunities to make money. And many Canadians may be looking for opportunities to save money, but police warn not to buy meat from unverified sources. It could be stored or handled improperly and make you sick. Yasmir Ranea, CBC News, Vancouver. Ottawa is taking steps to counter digital fraud.

Finance Minister Francois-Fel-Philippe Champagne says the government is starting four weeks of consultations. The end goal is to create a host of new rules for businesses like banks and phone companies. to stop online scams. And I sent a message very simple, enough is enough. And that's a message that has been resonating across communities, families, and people across the nation understanding that the best way to tackle crime was to go after criminals, but to follow the money. The National Anti-Fraud Strategy is part of the Carney budget that went into effect last week.

Recent data shows Canadians were scammed out of more than $700 million in 2025. Across the Middle East, attacks and counterattacks, threats and counter threats are escalating on all sides. Claims by the United States of progress in negotiations are being met with more denials from Tehran as the conflict expands and intensifies. Sasha Petrissik is in Jerusalem with the latest. Warnings echoed over northern Israel as Iranian missiles headed for Haifa. intercepted, but their debris leaving refinery oil tanks burning. At a Saudi airbase, a blackened U.S. E3 radar surveillance jet sat with its tail destroyed by another Iranian hit. And in Tehran, Israeli airstrikes targeted what Israel calls military infrastructure,

though apartment blocks were also destroyed, residents picking through debris. They hit my brother's home, says Esmaili. Who says they don't bomb civilians? No let up in a war the U.S. and Israel say is going well and on schedule, but seems to have no clear end in sight. We destroyed many, many targets today. It was a big day. Yesterday and again today, U.S. President Donald Trump boasted of military victories

alongside peace talk progress. I would only say that we're doing extremely well in that negotiation, but you never know with Iran because we negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up. In an online post, he once again threatened to obliterate Iran's electric generating facilities, oil wells, and desalinization plants. If the strategic Strait of Hormuz isn't open for oil tankers by next week, The full reopening of the strait is something the administration is working towards, but the core objectives of the operation have been clearly defined.

But in a White House briefing later, spokeswoman Caroline Levitt did not list her moves as a core objective, despite oil markets, once again, raising prices in anguish. Those objectives were all about denying Iran its weapons. And in Tehran, officials repeated, there are no direct negotiations. with the U.S. Foreign Ministry's spokesman Esmail Baghe called American demands excessive, unrealistic and illogical. Iran vowed to completely destroy its attackers.

Pakistani mediators have said they are passing messages between the adversaries with meetings possible in a matter of days. But if any progress is being made, It's being kept hidden between threats and bravado on both sides. Sasha Petrissig, CBC News, Jerusalem. At least 70 people are dead after two days of gang violence in central Haiti. Dozens more are missing.

Human rights activists say the group, known as Grand Grief, attacked the town of Petit Rivier on Sunday. They shot civilians, burned down homes, and built roadblocks to keep out police. Gangs control most of Haiti's central rifted. region. The UN says more than 20,000 people have been killed by gangs there since 2021. Another one million have been forced from their homes. In Cuba, there is word of some relief today, with a Russian oil tanker being allowed to deliver more than 700,000 barrels. Cuba is struggling

through a severe energy crisis, hitting homes and businesses as a U.S. oil blockade chokes off critical supplies. For Cubans, the situation is bleak. But as Jorge Berera tells us from Havana, a difficult past is helping some stay optimistic about the future. 77-year-old Giustado Valdez says he used to cut sugar cane and worked in fields all over Cuba. Now he comes daily to the side of a highway west of Havana to cut long grass to feed his three goats.

Valdez says Cuba has no future until it gets oil again. The U.S. oil blockade on the Cuban government has impacted almost every facet of life, triggering regular power blackouts, creating frustrations that have flared into sporadic protests, rarely seen in Cuba. Like the banging pots and pans and the torching of a Communist Party building. I was 11 years old when the revolution triumphs, says Manuel Perez. He is now in his 80s, watching the afternoon go by, in a park in Bauta, a town about 40 kilometers west of Havana.

He says he feels hopeful something better awaits Cuba on the other side of this moment in history. In the depths of the darkness from the depths of the cave itself, there is also light, he says. Julio Aleaga holds a novel, he wrote, that is banned in Cuba. It's titled Malekonazzo and set in another time of crisis in the country from the early 1990s called the special period

after the fall of the Soviet Union. He says it was much tougher than what Cuba faces today. There was no gas for anybody, even government officials, that shows the depth of the crisis, he says. Aleaga is aligned with the Cuban opposition movement. An academic author and journalist,

he's lost work, been detained, and even beaten for criticizing the government. Still, he says he doesn't want this government to collapse because it could lead to something much worse. Aliaga says Cuba should embark on what he calls a process of transitional justice where all sides build a new future together, like in post-apartheid South Africa.

In 1992, South Africa followed a process they called truth and reconciliation, he says. The problem now is there's a lot of uncertainty, says Aliyaga, from his modest apartment. His balcony overlooks the famed Havana seawall on the Straits of Florida. North across these waters glistening in the late afternoon sun sits a country that holds part of Cuba's future in its hands.

Porjibura, CBC News, Havana, Cuba. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. want to make sure you never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. It's Selindian's 58th birthday, but it's her fans who may be receiving the biggest gift. In a video posted on Instagram, Dion said as a birthday gift to herself, she is returning to the stage for a series of concerts in Paris starting in September. I'm so ready to do this. I'm feeling good. I'm strong. I'm feeling excited. Obviously,

of course, a little nervous, but most of all, I am grateful to all of you. The Quebec song stress has rarely performed in public since being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a rare disorder that causes rigid muscles and spasms. She canceled her North American tour in 2022. Doctors in Canada have new guidelines for treating patients with heart and brain issues, with growing evidence showing a strong connection between the two. The guidelines call for a more integrated approach to screening and care. As Jennifer Lagrasa reports, some welcome the recommendations.

Others say they don't go far enough. It was quite panicky at the time. Patrice Lindsay was 38 years old when a stroke left her temporarily unable to speak. and paralyzed the left side of her body. When they said I had a hole in my heart, like that was just a total surprise to me. The Toronto resident was born with a hole in her heart, which increased her risk of stroke.

Growing research now also suggests it could raise her risk of dementia. Helping to promote the connection between the heart and brain is so important to me. That's why now at 62, she and a group of others with lived experience helped draft new recommendations for Canadian doctors that focus on the connection between heart health and brain health.

We are seeing an increase in people with multiple chronic conditions as the population ages. Jody Edwards is the director of the Brain and Heart Nexus Research Program at the University of Ottawa. She co-authored the 11 new recommendations published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Two main ones, testing patients with an irregular heart rhythm for signs of dementia and checking patients with heart disease for depression. Other recommendations like treating high blood pressure and offering vaccinations for older adults, such as flu and shingles, could also decrease the risk of heart attack and dementia. The benefit is that if you properly manage those risks and reduce your risk of heart disease,

you get benefits for your brain as well. It's a great reminder that diseases of the brain are diseases of the heart. NavPersad is a family doctor. He says the biggest challenge will be getting family doctors to school. screen patients. It's easy to say family physicians should be screening for this, but it's more difficult to implement for a busy family physician. I think these guidelines are a conservative. Geriatrician Samir Sinha says the guidelines don't go far enough. For example, he says diabetes treatment should also be a priority. It's really good to make sure that you get it under control

to help prevent the future risk of dementia. Good diabetes management will help reduce the risk of part of these as well as strokes. The authors of the guidelines say these are just a starting point, and they'll add to them with growing evidence. I hear so much that patients will feel like they're being heard. As for Lindsay, her hope is that this also validates patients, empowering them to advocate for themselves and ultimately improve their care. Jennifer Lagrasa, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario.

We close tonight in our final two minutes or so with a high-end art heist. It didn't take much longer than that. It happened last week in northern Italy, outside of Parma. Four masked men broke into the Manniani-Rocca Foundation Museum and took paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse. The Renoir alone is valued at over $9 million. Chris Marinello is an art lawyer and the founder of Art Recovery International. They were part and parcel of the collection

and a very important part of this museum's heritage and cultural heritage for everyone in Italy. Italian police say the suspects forced their way through the museum's main door, and they appear to be a well-organized group. The incident follows other high-profile robberies at European museums. Last October, hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of jewels

were taken from the Louvre in Paris. They have not been recovered. The message that was sent to the world, at the Louvre was that criminals, if they can get into the Louvre, they could get anywhere. I thought that the museum world was going to wake up and start addressing their security concerns in a little more serious manner, and that's what we need to do. Staff at the Italian Museum credit an alarm system for forcing the thieves to flee. Otherwise, they could have stayed longer than three minutes and taken more than three paintings.

This has been Your World Tonight for Monday, March 30th. Stephanie Scandaris, thank you for being with us. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.