Your World Tonight - Alberta pipeline timeline, Congo Ebola, Drake spectacle, and more

Episode Date: May 15, 2026

A clear message from the Carney government today — it’s serious about a west coast pipeline. That move was welcomed in Alberta, but not so much by environmentalists. The Prime Minister and Alberta's Premier announced a firm timeline for a pipeline while agreeing on a key piece of the puzzle — industrial carbon pricing. But there's still a long road ahead, before any oil flows.And: The World Health Organization is trying to contain a massive new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 65 people have already died. There are close to 250 suspected cases.Also: It was part spectacle, part diss. Canadian rapper Drake has dropped three new albums at once. Drake’s feud with Kendrick Lamar is part of rap history, and Drake isn’t leaving it in the past. Toronto was turned into a release party last night, with thousands of people participating.Plus: Supreme Court on intimate partner violence, U.S. officials talking to Cuba, Trump concludes China visit, and more.

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It's an honor to be here with Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce a major step forward in unlocking the enormous potential of Canadian energy. Alberta's Premier and the Prime Minister call it cooperating. They've signed a deal to speed up pipeline construction. Critics call it compromising on Canada's climate goals. This does not enable Canada to meet its international climate commitment. And essentially it's sort of going back to the draw.

board. This is your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. It's Friday, May 15th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast? I think there's always the perspective of how horrible the disease this is. When we talk about people being sick, they're very, very sick. As countries around the world watch for pantavirus cases, Congo is facing another outbreak of Ebola, the once rare disease that has become a persistent challenge. A clear message from the Carney government today, they are serious about a West Coast pipeline, a move welcomed in Alberta. The Prime Minister and Alberta's Premier announcing a firm timeline for that project and agreeing on a key piece of the puzzle, industrial carbon pricing. It's the latest in a series of steps taken by the government to push the plan forward.

But as Kate McKenna reports, they're still a long road ahead before any oil flows. And hello, today is. is a good day for Alberta, and it's a good day for Canada. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has called her deal with the federal government a grand bargain. Today it sounded like she thinks it's paying off. The last 10 years have been an extremely difficult time for hundreds of thousands of Albertans and their families whose livelihoods depend on a strong and growing Alberta oil and gas industry. But today we're turning a corner.

She and Prime Minister Mark Carney grinned while shaking hands before signing an updated agreement to build a pipeline carrying Alberta crude to the west coast, with the goal of getting oil flowing as soon as 2033. We've accomplished a lot in the last six months, and we've accomplished it together, and I think that's the important point. For today's announcement, Alberta will submit a plan by Canada Day. Ottawa is poised to help fast-track its approvals as soon as this October,

with construction possibly starting in September of next year. All of this while the specter of separatism looms over Alberta. What does today's accord or implementation agreement as it's called, what does it tell us? It's that the country works. The government of Canada, the government of Alberta coming together, challenging issues, but coming together with a common solution. It may not be the deciding factor for everyone, but it's going to, I believe, convince a few more people that Canada is worth fighting for and it's worth working towards.

Ottawa is making significant concessions. Kearney says having an agreement to move ahead with carbon capture and storage is not non-negotiable. But the document shows the scale of that project appears to have been watered down. The new industrial carbon price is also much less ambitious than it was under the previous federal government. The Canadian Climate Institute says Canada's commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 is now firmly out of reach. I've been environmentalist, you know, my career, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action. Carney defended the deal, saying Alberta has agreed to tangible action, which is a big step forward.

Those last two words, climate action. This is climate action. This is investment. This is moving forward. Alberta also has a lot more work to do. They must find a private sector company to build it, as well as a route through British Columbia. The Premier David Eby is very critical, saying today in a statement, it's time to stop rewarding bad behavior and prioritizing projects and provinces facing separatist threats. All things that must be overcome before shovels are in the ground. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Ottawa. So as government and energy leaders praise the agreement for bringing economic certainty and instilling confidence in Canada, climate advocates and indigenous communities are less convinced. Julia Wong has those details.

A bit of a rollback and quite a significant rollback in the ambition. The disappointment is clear in Jeanette McKenzie's voice. The director of oil and gas at the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think tank, unimpressed with the new energy agreement reached between Alberta and Ottawa. In particular, the deal on industrial carbon pricing, a lower price over a longer timeline. That Canada's climate policy is no longer aligned with international climate commitments and the pace of climate action internationally. McKenzie worries, with that new carbon pricing structure, companies may not want to invest as much in emissions reductions.

These are high-emitting companies, at a high-emitting sector, they have a path forward to begin to reduce their emissions. what has been announced today with industrial pricing makes that path harder. Former energy executive Dennis McConakey supports the new pricing plan, saying it creates certainty for the sector. There's clarity for industry to judge any future investments they're going to make in future oil sands production against what is the dimensions of Canadian carbon price, carbon tax liability they're going to have to cope with. However, he has questions over the path forward for a pipeline to the West Coast,

with construction possibly starting as early. early as September 2027. Can they actually meet that deadline and the ambiguities of the courts related to whatever, you know, outstanding stakeholders who are disgruntled by any approval? He says it's unclear whether a private company will even step forward, mainly because they may not want to commit financially to the Pathways Project, a massive carbon capture and storage network. The Pathways in and of itself is a very onerous cost to impose on incremental oil sands production.

however it's accommodated. And I think that's one of the reasons why they haven't gotten to an agreement on it. But for Prime Minister Mark Carney, there's no negotiation. No pathway, no pipeline. And that's very clear in the agreement. And when asked about his commitment to climate goals, this deal more than compensates for those emissions. That's how you make progress.

For some Alberta First Nations, patience is wearing thin. They're calling on Carney to withhold support for investments, projects, or MOUs in the province, until Alberta Premier Danielle Smith rejects a separatism referendum. The Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and Miccosoo-Cree First Nation chiefs say they will not participate in consultations, while uncertainty around that continues. Julia Wong, CBC News, Edmonton. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada has expanded the list of damages that can be claimed by victims of intimate partner violence. It provides legal recognition that control, isolation, and intimidation

are part of a pattern of abuse, and victims can now cite it when suing ex-partners for financial compensation. The court says it moved to fill a gap in existing law. Philip Lyshanock has more. I was losing my self-respect. After marrying in India and emigrating to Canada, Kaldip Alawalia's husband controlled every aspect of her life. I was losing my dignity. I lost my career. The former teacher didn't have access to a bank account. She suffered physical attacks and psychological abuse over 16 years of marriage. When her former husband, Amrit, filed for divorce,

Alawalia was awarded damages that made an unprecedented allowance for the nature of the controlling relationship. While it was overturned in Ontario on appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada today adopted the concept and created a new legal provision for damages. I'm glad that it has become a landmark case, and I'm sure it's going to help a lot many women out there. While victims of intimate partner violence could already seek civil damages for physical and sexual assault, the court found the laws did not acknowledge that the physical violence, along with isolation,

humiliation, economic and sexual coercion amounted to a system of control. Julia Hannaford is Alawalia's lawyer. The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized the three pillars of dignity, autonomy, and equality as the rights that are the first to go when someone is exposed to intimate partner violence. Hanford says the provisions will also help victims who often experience legal bullying, which can leave them financially vulnerable. There is a clear pathway for ordinary Canadians who don't have the resources to find a way to deal with what has happened to them to obtain relief. It's not just one incident that it's rather a pattern of domination. Angela Marie McDougal is Executive Director of Battered Women's Support Services in Vancouver, British Columbia. She calls the Supreme Court of Canada ruling historic in that it recognizes the dynamics,

of intimate partner violence. It's more than, let's say, you know, a bruise. Rather, it is about the control and domination and the elimination of freedom. While critics say existing laws should suffice and a new area of law isn't required, a number of provinces have said they welcome the ruling. BC and Quebec have recently revamped legislation

around intimate partner violence and says the Supreme Court ruling recognizes what happens behind closed doors in many homes in Canada. Philip LeShanock, CBC News, Toronto. Former fashion mogul Peter Nygaard has lost a legal appeal of his sexual assault convictions. Ontario's top court has upheld all four of Nygaard's convictions in relation to four complainants and the 11-year prison sentence delivered in 2023.

In the appeal, Nygaard's lawyers argued the trial judge made errors regarding expert testimony on the effects of trauma. The appeal court judges ruled. they do not believe that caused a miscarriage of justice. Nygaard was found guilty of sexually assaulting women from the 1980s through the mid-2000s at his company's headquarters in Toronto. Coming right up, tea in the Imperial Garden and a gift of roses. US President Donald Trump's visit to China was high on ceremony

will look at what was actually accomplished. Also, Cuba is running out of fuel again. The country has been under an energy blockade by the U.S. Now the U.S. is pushing for reforms, and Cubans are being told to resist. Later, we'll have this story. Canadian rapper Drake's serving up fire and ice, dropping his new album, Iceman, and surprising the world with two more albums. He's opening up about a lot, including his feelings on that rap beep with Kendrick Lamar gone wrong. Here in his hometown of Toronto, his fans are fired up.

He's the best. He's the go. He's the best. He puts Toronto on the mess. and he's the best rapper in the game. I'm Maktagabra Salasin. I'll have the story of Drake's ambitious rollout and the mixed reaction it's getting. Cuba appears to be teetering toward a historic reckoning with the U.S. People are desperate for relief from an energy blockade and consumer shortages,

and unrest is spreading throughout the country. Amongst the turmoil, Washington has sent high-level officials to Havana to present a host of demands for widespread change. Hunter reports. On the effectively blacked-out streets of nighttime Havana, protest, fury, and misery. A U.S. energy blockade means the country is running out of oil with widespread power cuts that leave no lights, no way to cook, food that's rotting without refrigeration, and a population in ever more despair.

The situation is terrible, this woman says. There's nothing we can do about it. These are things that happen and there is no solution insight. Tensions between longtime adversaries the U.S. and communist Cuba have lately ratcheted. As U.S. President Donald Trump presses for what the U.S. calls fundamental changes in how Cuba operates, a country the U.S. labels as an extraordinary threat. All of it, interpreted by the Cuban leadership as a push for regime change. Yesterday, in a supremely rare move, the director of the CIA, John Ratt,

flew to Havana for meetings with Cuban officials to underline the U.S. is demanding reforms in that country. At the same time, there's reporting the U.S. is now looking to file criminal charges against Raul Castro, the country's former president and brother of longtime Cuban leader, the late Fidel Castro. At issue, an incident 30 years ago when Cuban fighter jets shot down two U.S.-based planes carrying humanitarian aid. On those potential charges, said Trump to reporters. Well, I don't want to comment on that, but they need help, as you know. And you talk about a declining country. They are really a nation or a country in decline.

So we're going to see. We have a lot to talk about on Cuba, but not maybe for today. The CIA director went to Havana to give the regime a last chance to do something about what the U.S. wants. The U.S. wants regime change. The way Sebastian Arcos sees it, interim director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University in Miami, all signals now point to some sort of U.S. military action against Cuba. I think it's almost inevitable unless we have some dramatic regime, internal regime change within Cuba, that I honestly don't see happening.

Back in Havana, where gas stations of all but. run out of fuel. City streets piled with garbage and Cubans wondering what's next, the message from the country's leadership, be ready for a fight. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. The U.S. President's trip to China is over. The visit yielded plenty of photo ops, but few deals. Despite that, Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are calling their summit a success. And as Lisa Xing reports, the fact the meeting even happened might be the biggest win. In the most beautiful roses, anyone's ever seen. In the final hours of his visit to China, the U.S. President was granted rare access to

Donanhai and its pristine gardens, the highly secretive compound of China's Communist Party. Before another meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping over tea and lunch, Donald Trump gave his view of the summit. This has been an incredible visit. I think a lot of good has come of it. We've made some fantastic trade deals. While Trump and U.S. officials announced China will buy at least 200 Boeing jets, more agricultural products and energy.

The Chinese have not confirmed much, just that they will form a board of trade to facilitate trade and reduce tariffs. While Trump's entourage of business CEOs like head of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang, only had good business. things to say, there were also no details about reports the company was given the go to sell its advanced microchips to China. Meanwhile, for Xi, perhaps the biggest twin, stability. Calling it a historic and landmark visit, he said we have established a new, constructive and strategic relationship. On his way back to Washington, Trump addressed a point of friction over Taiwan,

the self-governed island Beijing claims. A $14 billion arms package from the U.S. to the island is waiting for his signature. What about the arms sales to Taiwan? I'll make a determination over the next early short period. Earlier in an interview with Fox News, he elaborated. We're not looking to have wars. We're not looking to have somebody say, let's go independent because the United States is backing us. And if Xi had any plans to help Trump end the war with Iran, he did not say publicly.

Instead, a statement from China's foreign ministry said the conflict should never have happened and has no reason to continue. Zhaohai, with the National Institute for Global Strategy in Beijing, says the summit was significant, even if it did not yield agreements yet. Moving forward, I think both sides see the downside of not working together, of competing without limits. She is expected to visit the U.S. in September, just before a trade truce between the two countries is set to expire.

Lisa Shing, CBC News, Toronto. Toronto's Police Service Board is calling for an independent inspection into the city's police force over recent allegations of anti-Semitism, racism, and other culture issues. The board says its request follows engagement with the city's Jewish community, and it comes weeks after former homicide inspector Hank Idzinga told CBC News about what he witnessed when he was serving. Racism, anti-Semitism. Racism, anti-Semitism.

Racism, anti-Semitism, tyrannical behavior. corruption, dysfunction in the senior ranks. The board is asking for Ontario's policing oversight body to carry out the inspection and that it be done promptly and publicly. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, an Ebola outbreak has killed more than 60 people and the highly contagious virus has spread to neighboring Uganda. Congo has dealt with multiple outbreaks in the past. Health reporter Lauren Peli explains why a fact,

officials are so worried about this one. We have deployed medical supplies. Dr. Tedro Saddam Gabriasas says the World Health Organization is working to contain a massive new outbreak of Ebola. African health officials are reporting at least 246 suspected cases and 67 deaths, all within the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dr. Mohamed Janabi is the WHO's regional director for Africa. It's a very densely populated area.

and this naturally increased the transmission rate. The outbreak is concentrated in one of Congo's remote and conflict-ridden provinces. Infections have been reported throughout rural communities and a major urban center. There are some security concerns which can sometimes limit some areas to be rich. The region borders South Sudan and Uganda. Health officials there say a man from Congo with Ebola died in hospital yesterday and today Uganda declared an outbreak. Uganda's health ministry says it is quarantining everyone who came into contact with the man before his death.

The biggest thing right now is getting those contacts identified, right? University of Manitoba microbiologist Jason Kindrichuk has worked on the ground during past Ebola outbreaks. He says tracking the virus's spread will be key, but warned it won't be easy in such an unstable region, particularly since case counts have soared so quickly. It's much larger than some of the more recent outbreaks that we've seen in DRC. Another challenge, tests show this is a rare strain of Ebola, one that doesn't have a vaccine. Dr. Lenora Saxinger is an infectious disease expert with the University of Alberta. The stockpile of vaccine that they use for ring vaccination strategies for control of outbreaks is not going to be relevant.

Ebola can cause severe hemorrhagic fever, multi-organ failure, and often death. It's also highly contagious, though only through infected bodily fluids. Kendritchuk says it remains a major health threat. There's always the perspective of how horrible the disease this is, right? When we talk about people being sick, they're very, very sick. Today's grim update could mark the start of a lengthy crisis. African health officials are now calling on the world to help, including their counterparts in Canada.

Lauren Pelley, CBC News, Toronto. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. And if you 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 been a tough couple of years for Drake. The Canadian rap legend retreated after he was judged the loser of an extended online feud with American Kendrick Lamar.

But Drake fans flooded Toronto streets late last night for a splashy outdoor spectacle to launch not one but three new albums. As Macte Gables-Lassa tells us, there's a lot riding on the comeback project. Rolling out a cold-as-ice-ice comeback, Drake took over downtown Toronto with an icy-looking sea and tower, a huge closing fireworks show, and in between a live stream of his Iceman album and its hometown visuals. But there was more. Drake dropped two other albums, Habibti and Made of Honor. In the mix, lover boy lines, lyrical shots at foes, and dance hall vibes.

It got his fans in Toronto fired up. I just listened to all three on the way here on the train, and they're all fantastic. I just, I love that Drake does whatever he wants, essentially, and we're all just behind him. I love it. Oh, he's the best. He's the goat. He's the best. He puts Toronto on the map, and he's the best rapper in the game. That claim got put to the test two years ago when Drake's rap battle with Kendrick Lamar kicked off. Lamar's hit song, Not Like Us, went after Drake, branding him a pedophile.

Drake denied the allegation and launched a defamation suit against their shared label, which was later dismissed. While Drake is still appealing it, he also poured all of that into the music. Leading into this rollout, Drake had something to prove, says Mark. Campbell, an associate professor of music in Toronto. And I think part of his job now is to resuscitate his career and to demonstrate to a younger fan base or to his original fan base that he can still come back, make hits and be the pop star that he has been. But his new music is getting mixed reviews.

The Guardian called it boring and a bloated disaster. But some Drake supporters disagree. For sure, it's definitely going to be a Drake summer. Toronto radio personality, Tris, likes what he's heard so far, and he thinks Drake is set to reach new heights. I think we actually might see just like this, like, dominance across the chart. I think it might be the first time we actually see three albums chart at the same time. There's not just Drake's reputation on the line. Rap music has made headlines about a lack of presence on top Billboard charts.

So a big win for Drake, if it happens, could be a win for the genre too. Magde Gepra Salas is CBC News, Toronto. Finally, they're not for everyone, but if you are a big fan of snakes, the place to be right now is Manitoba, where people are flocking to Narciss snake dens to see the largest gathering of garter snakes in the world. Okay, picture a writhing pile of snake bodies,

some sliding along the grounds and paths around you. Some recent visitors actually enjoyed being able to pick them up. Soft. I did not expect to be soft. I know, it's really not how you expect. It's smooth. Of course it's smooth. Wait, what?

That is so weird. Like, you feel. All of the thing. Snake season started late this year because of Manitoba's colder, longer winter. Snake interpreter, Raylene Swatsky Dick, says that means the snakes are in a hurry. They haven't eaten all winter, so they're hungry, and they also need to mate before they leave, and our summers are so short, so you've got to get everything in within four months. And they're also small, so it takes them a long time to travel anywhere, and they might be going up to

20 or 30 kilometers away for food. So they got places to be. She says people have no reason to be nervous about the reptiles who are a good thing for the ecosystem. They're not scary. Manitoba doesn't have any venomous snakes, so there's nothing to be afraid of. And if you just leave them alone, they'll eat pests for you. And we should be nice to snakes. I'm a bit scared of snakes, but they're still pretty cool.

Oh, I've never seen that snake get out his dog. Oh, wow, wait, that is so soft. It's like rubber. Whoa, that's actually so cool. It's been so long since I held a snake. Well, there you go. Nothing to be afraid of. This has been your world tonight.

I'm Stephanie Skendaris. Thank you for being with us. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca. Thank you.