Your World Tonight - Airline fines, pipeline politics, bad allergy season, and more

Episode Date: May 1, 2026

Ottawa is raising fines for airlines that repeatedly violate passengers’ rights. But advocates for those passengers question whether a $1 million penalty will stop bad behaviour. They say the key is in enforcement.And: A new cross-border oil pipeline could mean more jobs, and more money here in Canada. It could also mean tying Canada more closely to the U.S., just when the federal government has said it’s time to pull away.Also: Sneezing, sniffling, scratching? You might be able to blame climate change. Scientists say it’s making allergy season worse.Plus: Weather prediction markets, B.C. health cuts, U.S./Iran war politics, Liberals use majority on committees, and more.

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The airlines seem to be very adept at finding loopholes that are advantageous to them. Well, the customer didn't do this properly or the customer didn't do that. Just take a little accountability. Flight or fight, the Carney government vows to clear the ballooning backlog of air passenger complaints, adding bigger fines for bad practice. But critics argue the promise is too up in the air. This is your world tonight. I'm Angie Seth.

It is Friday, May 1st, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on your podcast, new name, same problems. It's natural to be skeptical. I have another term. It's called the battered pipeline optimism syndrome that we have here in Alberta. The pipeline politics surrounding the updated plan to send Canadian crude south of the border. The federal government is raising fines for airlines that violate passengers' rights. They're betting a sky-high financial penalty. could prevent future problems. And as Anise Hedari reports, the current backlog sits at nearly

100,000 cases. Financial penalties are a last resort. They're meant to be there for clear breaches. Transport Minister Stephen McKinnon says the federal government wants to increase the maximum fine an airline can face if it violates air passenger rights. When there is a clear breach, there should be a stiff penalty and one that dissuades these events from happening again. and I'm pretty confident that airlines will want to live up to the expectations that we've set. That stiff penalty could be up to $1 million if actually implemented. Fines that high would be if airlines repeatedly breach the air passenger bill of rights. Those rights include compensating passengers for controllable delays or cancellations.

But will the airlines care? Well, I think they will at a million dollars. Ian Jack represents travel agency CAA. He says the proof will be in enforcement, which hasn't always been quick in the past. Ranging the puck was almost incentivized under the old system. So, you know, we will have to see those fines actually applied in a couple of cases, I think. Otherwise, it's an empty threat. And the last proposed fine increase from 25,000 to 250,000, it's not fully in force yet.

Maybe if the government actually goes through and follows through on the fines instead of just talking about it. As for even higher fines, passengers, at Toronto's Pearson Airport are unsure. If that's what it takes to have them fix up and kind of just get us have an overall better experience. I can't even begin to think of a dollar figure. I mean, deterrence are great if they work. Part of what hasn't been working, the current complaints process. The Canadian Transportation Agency has a backlog of complaints.

That backlog is at least 95,000. There's the notion of this third party that's going to be brought in right away to deal with complaints. Ian Jack at the CAA is not sure a federal promise to use a third-party adjudicator for clearing through those complaints will help passengers. It may be that the private sector is more efficient than government at some things, but I don't think that they're that efficient, that they can turn 100,000-person backlog, or 100,000 complaint backlog into zero

while having to apply the same very complicated rules that exist today. While the federal minister himself called the current system onerous and expense, he wouldn't commit to when new, simpler regulations might be implemented. Any SADRI, CBC News, Calgary. A new cross-border oil pipeline approved by U.S. President Donald Trump is drawing mixed reactions, applauded by some for bringing more jobs and more money to Canada. Others worry it could also tie Canada even further to the United States just when the federal government has said it's time to pull away.

Marina von Stackleberg reports. We've seen in the past, the U.S. approves pipelines and then cancels pipelines. Canada's energy minister, Tim Hodgson, seriously managing expectations about a new proposed pipeline between Canada and the U.S. The pipeline that the president approved is at a very early stage. It's an approval for a pipeline to cross the border. There are a number of incremental steps that they have to achieve.

Yesterday, Donald Trump signed an order to authorize the Bridger pipeline. A lot of jobs, too. lot of jobs. Okay, very good. This revives part of the old Keystone XL pipeline to send Canadian crude to American refineries. Canada previously approved that project, but former U.S. President Joe Biden canceled it five years ago after indigenous and environmental opposition. This new Bridger project will use some of the old keystone pipeline already built in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The one hang up was always, I think, the presidential permit.

Al Salazar is a Calgary-based energy analyst. He says the new route through the U.S. takes a more winding path to address some land right and environmental concerns. And he says the industry is hopeful this one will actually get built, since the global oil crisis means it's never been a better time to approve a pipeline. It's natural to be skeptical. I have another term. It's called the battered pipeline optimism syndrome that we have here in Alberta. We've had three pipelines over the past decade that's been cancelled now. I think things are different because Prime Minister Carney looks to be a little more constructive. If it goes ahead, Bridger could funnel more than half a million barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta to Wyoming,

increasing exports to the U.S. by more than 12%. Salazar says Canada would need to step up production to fill those pipes and wouldn't have much left over, at least not right away, for a future it, West or East pipeline. Those routes would send Canadian oil to more lucrative markets overseas. We have to be careful that we keep doubling down on a captive market.

Frank McKenna, Canada's former ambassador to the United States, says Canada should focus on getting more of our oil to our coasts and international markets. Part of our problem is that we've got so much oil going to the United States of America that we lose all of our leverage in the negotiation. And they're getting a deep discount.

on that oil. It's likely why this pipeline got such a cold reception from Canada's energy minister and why he says he's focused on getting our oil to new markets. Marina von Stackleberg, CBC News, Ottawa. In the short time, Mark Carney's liberals have held a majority in Parliament, they've already started making changes to how they're doing business. As Kate McKenna reports, four committees have now been taken behind closed doors, prompting questions about democracy and transparency. With that, I move to have the meeting in camera. This week, over and over and over again, Liberal MPs like Maggie Chi moved to make public proceedings private

and turn off cameras at parliamentary committees. We will not be silenced. Despite outcry from opposition MPs like Conservative Dan Albus. It's wrong, and I think that the government should reconsider this. At four parliamentary committees, the liberals move to go in camera, avoiding public debate on things like a $300 million health care program that appears ineffective and a $200 million spaceport investment in Nova Scotia. This move to in-camera is completely undemocratic.

Conservative House leader Andrew Shear says this started happening mere hours after the government passed a motion to give itself control of committees after forming a majority with the help of five floor crossers and three by-election wins. So it's extremely disappointing. And it's an abuse of power. It's not just an abuse of power. It's an abuse of power that was not granted to the prime minister at the ballot box. It is a classic move that a new, majority government makes, feeling emboldened and feeling that, okay, now we can run things our way.

David McLaughlin was Chief of Staff to Brian Mulroney. He says committees play an important role in shaping legislation and cautions the liberals from adopting this strategy long term. Adding Mark Carney's political brand has been about avoiding partisan games. I think it was way too much too soon and it was absolutely the wrong signal to send on behalf of Prime Minister Carney who is suggesting and has shown. in certain ways a different style of politics. This government is not the first to use this tactic.

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper was criticized for similar behavior in 2013. Speaking to reporters today, government House leader Stephen McKinnon didn't defend what happened. I accept that the burden of the government is to ensure that this work remains virtually entirely done in public. But says opposition has a role to play too. In recent years, conservatives have used committees to slow legislation. If everything they do as they march into committee meetings every day is dilatory and seeks to impede or obstruct, well, then that is going to provoke a counterreaction. He says they're still making adjustments after shifting from a minority to a majority government and calls for both sides to assume goodwill. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Ottawa.

Coming up, checks and imbalances, the political pushback over the Iran war and the questions over the U.S. President's powers to keep the operation going. Plus, sneeze guard, the new data highlighting Canada's allergy hotspots and why experts say these seasons keep getting worse. And a little later, we'll bring you this. The bet is that in two years, the water level in Miami is going to rise 10 inches. Will you take the bet? Not exactly the action on climate change you imagine, but there's a growing market to bet on the environment and not all see it as dangerous. By then taking the bet, I already won. I'm Anandram in Toronto. Coming up on your world tonight, can betting on the weather bring people closer to the climate crisis? The fog of a war. The U.S. administration insists isn't a war, just got foggier.

President Trump rejecting another Iranian proposal saying he is not satisfied with the terms, even as he pushes back on a significant constitutional deadline to end the war or to get approval from Congress to continue it. Katie Nicholson unpackes this for us. Making his way to Florida for the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump insisted the war powers resolution clock hasn't yet run out. We had a ceasefire, so that gives you additional time. But no other country's done it. The resolution requires the White House to seek congressional approval to continue military action 60 days after first notifying Congress of the military conflict. Passed by a supermajority in 1973 during the Vietnam War, it was meant to be a check on presidential power. Trump, however, doesn't see it as a check on his power.

Many presidents, as you know, have gone and exceeded it. It's never been used. It's never been adhered to. And every other president considered it totally unconstitutional. And we agree with that. Most presidents have acted consistently with the war power's resolution because for the most part, it is, in fact, constitutional. Tass Bridgman served in the Obama White House

and was a deputy legal advisor to the National Security Council. She says this war is now triply illegal. It's illegal under international law. It's illegal under the U.S. Constitution. And it is now also illegal under the war powers resolution. What we're left with is what Congress can do to step up and police these abuses of power by the president and stand up for its own prerogatives. It still controls the power of the purse.

Congress could financially starve Trump's war effort, but it's uncertain whether the votes would materialize. The Yaser 47. the nays are 50. After all, yesterday, the Senate failed for a sixth time to pass a war powers resolution measure. And the motion is not agreed to. Even though Trump doesn't appear to think he's bound by the 60-day warpower's clock, the White House is clinging to its math, claiming that the hostilities with Iran, which started on February 28th, have been terminated, pointing, as the president did, to the April 7th ceasefire. But Bridgman says hostilities are clearly ongoing. For one, there's the U.S. military blockade. Turn around and prepare to be boarded.

And the ships the U.S. has fired on and seized. It really is nonsensical to argue that hostilities have paused because of the so-called ceasefire that's in effect. There is a caveat that carves out an extra 30 days on the clock, but only if the military is in the process of withdrawing troops and only with the presidential certification to Congress, which hasn't been made. He should send a request to us.

But Senator Mark Kelly isn't holding his breath. He routinely operates, outside the bounds of the law. And he doesn't seem to understand what our constitutional responsibilities are, or he doesn't care. The American people, however, care a great deal about how their military is being deployed. An Ipsos poll today finding 61 percent think it was a mistake for the U.S. to use military force against Iran. Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington. Trump says he's raising tariffs on vehicles imported from the European Union. He says starting next week, cars and trucks will face a 25% tariff.

We raised the tariffs because they were not, as usual, they were not adhering to the agreement that we have. We have a trade deal with the European Union. They were not adhering to it. Trump wants to push foreign car companies to set up shop in the U.S. and says the EU is not moving fast enough. Washington also expressed frustration about delays in the ratification process and says the EU isn't buying enough U.S. exports. The chair of the European Parliament Trade Committee called Trump's move unacceptable and says it shows the unreliability of the U.S. Health Canada has approved the second generic version of brand name OZemPEC. The latest one will be manufactured by Canadian company Apotex.

The injectable medications are approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but OZempeg is often prescribed off-label for weight loss. The first generic version was approved just a few days ago. The BC government has quietly stopped work on some. major health projects that were already underway, including a hospital expansion and multiple long-term care homes. The province's health care system is already strained, and as Tanya Fletcher reports, this latest decision is causing anger and confusion. The last upgrade to this hospital was done in the late 70s. Christy James stands in front of Burnaby Hospital, the site of a long-awaited

and desperately needed expansion. She's head of the Burnaby Hospital Foundation, which has spent years raising tens of millions of dollars for the project. The first phase is done, it opened last month, but the second phase, which includes a new ICU and cancer center, has been halted indefinitely. Well, the whole community is going to be affected. We were extremely disappointed. We've been reassured for the last few months that we were going to be moving ahead. After initially saying multiple healthcare projects were being repaced because they'd become too expensive, the province now admits six contracts have been outright cancelled. Burnaby Hospital plus five long-term care homes across BC.

Infrastructure Minister Bowen-Ma was asked why the government wasn't more clear and transparent about it. We can call them deferred. We can call them rescheduled. The bottom line is those projects were not ready to go. And the government has completely let us down in Delta. Opposition MLA Ian Payton says residents in his riding feel betrayed, especially because construction of Delta's 200-bed long-term care home was already underway. The company that's actually got the contract that's working on it, that's already spent $15 million, preparing the site,

have been told, pack up your tools, your excavators, and you're done. Tell your employees that they're laid off. The worst part, he says, donors had fundraised $18 million for that facility. Similar to Burnaby's Hospital, where the community raised over $55 million for its redevelopment. The cost cutting comes as the province stares. down a $13 billion deficit. For crying out loud, the economics, these clowns are such a disaster with their finances.

Like, it's just an embarrassment. Today, Premier David Eby defended the move. He says the price tag on new long-term care beds needs to be lower before those projects can proceed. And he vows the Burnaby Hospital expansion will continue eventually. This project was off the rails. It was over budget. It had completely changed the siting.

and the scope of the project. Cancelling the construction contract enables us to have that reset. BC's senior's advocate Dan Levitt says the impact, however you frame it, will be felt, particularly for seniors needing to move into a care home, on average, now waiting 10 months. It's very concerning. Around the province, there are 7,000 people on the wait list. The wait list in the past six years has gone up by 200%. He says an already strained health care system will feel compounded pressure, with the future of so many critical projects now in question. Tanya Fletcher, CBC News, Vancouver.

Canada soccer is getting nearly $10 million from the federal government for a national training center. Soccer's new permanent home will include facilities to support high-performance development as well as recreational facilities for the community. Secretary of Sport Adam Vancouverden says a dedicated training facility will help fuel passion for the sport. For 60 years, Canada has invested in sport opportunities,

when we welcome the world here. But rarely have we stepped up and said, this is an important thing just to build for Canadians. All of the best sport infrastructure in our country was built to host the Olympics or the Pan Am Games or another multi-sport event. But we're stepping up to build Canadian sport infrastructure for Canadians.

And that's a real change. Now it's unclear where the center will be located. So far, 18 communities across the country have expressed interest. Spring is in the air, and so is pollen. Lots of it. For allergy sufferers, it is the season of scratchy eyes, sneezing, sniffing, and suffering. Experts warn allergy season is getting longer and more severe. Lauren Pelley explains why.

My pollen allergy includes pretty much everything from grass to mold to pollen from trees. For London, Ontario resident Tristan Joseph, allergy season lasts most of the year. It started off really early this year with watery eyes, stuffed up nose. A new report looking at the country's topic. allergy hotspots shows most of them are in Ontario. Number one was Windsor. Daniel Coates is with aerobiology laboratories. The company collects daily pollen air samples from across the country. Its report says the Ontario cities of Barry, Hamilton, and Kingston, along with Victoria, BC, round out the top five worst spots for allergy sufferers. Overall, Coates says Canada's allergy

seasons are getting worse. And since we now have longer seasons of warm weather, we've actually seen pollen double across Canada since 1995 to well over million plus grains per year. Scientists point the finger at climate change. One American study found the pollen seasons of many plants started on average three days earlier in the 2000s than in the 1990s. It also showed the annual total of pollen in the air each day has increased by nearly 50%. It's a little swollen. Part of the allergy. Alarist Dr. Gordon Sussman is looking inside a woman. knows at his Toronto Clinic. While he says more patients are feeling the impact of severe allergy seasons, there are also more treatment options. The first step, Sussman says, is prevention.

So in the summer, you want to control the windows. You want to keep the windows closed, particularly when the pollen counts are high. The second step is over-the-counter medications, like non-drowsy antihistamines, eye drops, and nasal sprays. And a third option is immunotherapy. Which we can do by sublingual tablets or by allergy injections, which if given long enough, will modify the disease itself. It works by giving people small doses of a specific allergen, all to train the immune system to build up tolerance, eventually reducing or even wiping out allergic reactions.

Nowadays, you can use basic tablets that go under your tongue, which means patients can do the treatment at home, but the process can take years. and may cost you hundreds of dollars each month if you don't have insurance. I find every few years I have to change to a different medication. Joseph says treating her seasonal allergies is a constant journey. Allergies impact your entire life. Making them far more than just a seasonal annoyance.

Lauren Pelley, CBC News, Toronto. If there's a sure-bett topic to start a conversation, it's the weather. That jackpot icebreaker is also becoming a hot-button issue in the world of gambling. There's increasing concern tonight over a recent rise, and weather bets on certain online sites. Science reporter Anandram tells us more. You'd be forgiven at Paris's biggest airport for not hearing anything over the sound of hundreds of flights taking off.

And definitely for not hearing this. But if you believe online chatter, a hair dryer might be the myth of choice behind two unusual temperature spikes in April, detected at Wasee-Shals-Degau Airport. ... investigating possible tampering with a weather monitoring device at Charles spikes lined up perfectly with suspicious bets being... But what's got the internet and French investigators interested is whether a sensor was

intentionally messed with so someone could make a huge payday on predictive markets. Have you heard about this prediction market, Kalshi? Platforms like Kalshi and Pali Market have gained momentum for yes, no, gambles on anything, even the weather and climate. Is it going to be 26 or 27 degrees today? Is the year going to set a temperature record? Will a hurricane hit before June? Easy as saying, bet. You've created this new threat to the integrity of weather observation. Mark Ralston is an expert on prediction markets with Lancaster University in the UK.

He says tampering for profit wouldn't be the norm. He also sees other potential. Weather markets might better incentivize scientists. Come up with better forecasting tools? Your research gets funded. It's a more efficient way to allocate money for research than making people write grant proposals. Giving people money for forecasting based on grant applications is a bit like choosing your national track and field team with an essay competition. But closer than that decidedly academic value, Moran Surf, a neuroscientist and business expert at Columbia University in New York,

thinks the gambling can bridge divides, say, between climate deniers and believers. Guys, you don't believe, I believe. Let's put a bet. And the bet is the following. In two years, the water level in Miami is going to rise 10 inches. Will you take the bet? By getting deniers to play, you might try. change their mind, but more powerful, having them engage in accurate climate information, even if just to win a bet. At some point, it kind of leaks because you keep making money from something that you

say, I don't trust them. Climate change is not happening, but I keep making money from NASA saying it is happening. These unintended outcomes still have to navigate the very real moral and ethical issues of betting on climate-related disasters and the higher chance of them happening from planet warming fossil fuels. But for now, it's an amusement. and despite how much of a national pastime it is, Canadians can't engage in predictive markets legally.

Androm, CBC News, Toronto. And finally, as people around the world mark May Day, an annual event that celebrates workers' rights, we end with the origin story of a song fit for the occasion. You've probably sung this tune yourself once or twice, or at least hummed it around your boss. Take this job and shove it, belted by the aptly named Johnny Paycheck.

The 1977 hit was an anthem of the working class. Paycheck was part of country music's outlaw movement. The group fought for the working rights of artists and included legends like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and David Allen Coe. You better not try standing my way when I'm walking out the door. Take this job and shove it.

I ain't working here no more. Coe actually wrote Take This Job and Shove it. He would perform it throughout his career for more than five decades. Coe was a mainstay in country music as both a singer and songwriter. He also took his outlaw title, literally. Known to boast about his past, Coe spent a lot of his early years with biker gangs and behind bars for various theft.

related crimes. I was in prison for 20 years and I feel like ex-convics need somebody to identify with. There's another ex-convict and men in prison are going to be ex-convict someday. They need someone to identify with. Many in the industry thought Coe's claims were mostly made up. Still, he embraced the persona. Donning a Lone Ranger mask and driving a hearse, his career and legal troubles would run well into the 2000s, appearing before thousands at concerts and a judge for tax fraud. his job and shove. Co died in hospital this week at 86. In a tribute, his wife Kimberly called him a complicated man, an outlaw.

I'm one of the best singer-songwriters of our time. As for us, well, we love our jobs here at Your World Tonight and our audience. It's Friday, May 1st. I'm Angie Seth. Thanks for listening. For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC.com. c.com slash podcasts.