Your World Tonight - Bank of Canada rate cut, adding citizenship to driver’s licenses, Trump gets royal reception, and more

Episode Date: September 17, 2025

In a sign it is expecting some rough waters ahead for the economy, the Bank of Canada has lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 per cent.And: Alberta’s privacy commissioner raises red flags about the province’s plan to add citizenship status to driver’s licences. She says the benefit is unclear.Also: U.S. President Donald Trump receives a royal welcome at Windsor castle in England. It’s his second state visit to the UK. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hoping to seal a trade deal and technology partnership with the U.S.Plus: A former swim instructor is accused of dozens of sexual assaults at a provincial youth correctional facility northwest of Halifax, so-called “risky heat days” way up in Canada thanks to climate change, and more.

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call today. Visit no more debts.org. This is a CBC podcast. I think the industry in general is hurting pretty bad. The manufacturing in Canada has really nothing good, no good stories to tell. The trade war hasn't gotten any better. It's likely gotten worse. As Canadian companies slash jobs and households trim their spending, the latest cut comes from the Bank of Canada, reducing its benchmark interest rate, a move that may provide a bit of relief to a Canadian economy being chopped up by U.S. tariffs. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Wednesday, September 17th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast.

What it does is inject a great degree of innuendo by suggesting that immigrants are trying to claim benefits and use services to which they have no entitlement. Date of birth, eye color, height, citizenship? Alberta wants to include the status on its new driver's license to improve access to services and reduce voter fraud. But critics say that's handing over too much information and it could lead to discrimination. It may provide relief,

but it also reflects concern about the Canadian economy. Battered by U.S. tariffs, the Bank of Canada is trying to spark economic activity with a cut to its key lending rate. Few regions need that boost more than the auto manufacturing hub of Windsor, Ontario. That's where Jennifer Lagrasa kicks off our coverage tonight. It hasn't gotten any better, long story short. Just outside Windsor, Ontario, in the town of Ticumsee, Jonathan as a party is the president of auto parts mold manufacturer LaValle Tool.

The trade war, he says, is killing business. Sales are down probably 25% if not more. Tariffs and trade deals. We need that to be behind us. And we need it behind us as soon as possible. Tariffs have stifled business in Windsor, an automotive manufacturing hub, leaving it with the highest unemployment rate in the country. Dyer situations like this, which are playing out across Canada,

including in the steel, aluminum, and lumber sectors are largely what drove the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision today. Governing Council has been proceeding carefully, paying particular attention to the risks and uncertainties facing the Canadian economy. Governor Tiff Macklin cut the interest rate by 25 basis points, bringing it to 2.5%. It's a move that could offer relief for some amid Canada's slow economy. Considerable uncertainty remains, but with a weaker economy and less, upside risk to inflation, governing counsel judge that a reduction in the policy rate was appropriate.

With exports down, inflation at 1.9 percent and more than 100,000 jobs lost across the country in recent months, experts expected to see a rate cut. It's probably appropriate to have interest rates a little bit lower to provide some support. Eric Lassell is RBC's chief economist for global asset management in Toronto. This cut is the central bank's first since March. While Lassel says cutting the rate earlier might have been better, there was too much uncertainty. One of the challenges with monetary policies, it takes some time for an interest rate move to fully trickle its way into the economy. And while that might be the case for businesses, people with loans, specifically variable

rate mortgage holders, will instantly feel some relief. Welcome news for Mesbah Mahdhab in Whipi, Ontario. I think from my calculations anywhere from $50 to $80 will come back, like my mortgage will go down. Every little bit obviously helps. And while some economists predict more rate cuts are on the way, without a stable market business owners, like as a party of Laval Tools, aren't sure how much they'll help right now. It's not going to make anybody, you know, jump out of their seat and start doing investments. Like, let's not fool ourselves. That's likely not going to happen. He worries that the longer businesses are caught in the crossfire of this trade war, the more injuries that they might never recover from.

With heightened uncertainty, Governor Macklam didn't hint at what's to come with the interest rate decision in October. Jennifer LaGrasa, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong is tracking all of this. Peter, the bank, does not have a lot of time until that next rate announcement in October, which is just before the federal budget. I think, Susan, in large part, that is why the Bank of Canada Governor, Chief Macklin, works so hard to try to avoid getting pinned down on any commitment to future rate cuts. There are still so many unknowns here.

Usually the bank has some kind of a line in there about, economic conditions weaken the bank is prepared to cut rates further. There's none of that here. What are the main unknowns that he's worried about? I think there are a few key ones, risk of inflation, obviously. But as you say, the federal government promised a ton of spending. We don't have a budget yet, so that makes it hard to plan for. And then we just don't know what may happen day-to-day week-to-week on trade.

Tariffs could be lifted. They could be expanded. We just don't know. So then how does the Bank of Canada calculate these decisions? Yeah, Macklin talked a lot today about, you know, the shifting balance of risks. And what he means by that is the bank was worried about inflation. Its key concern is now growth. The economy needs support, and it needs to, you know, get that support.

So starting a rate cut cycle will help. A rate cut cycle. I was wondering how much a single cut can really help. We heard in Jennifer's piece, the business owner and the mortgage holder, they're not going to see a huge benefit here. No, but small changes on the margin can make a big difference when you scale that out over the population across the country. If those businesses spend even a little bit less on debt payments, they can maybe afford to keep an employee or even hire someone extra.

If those households have a little bit extra money sloshing around, they can spend without as much fear. It doesn't make the problem go away, but it does help them weather the storm a bit longer. South of the border, the U.S. Central Bank, the Federal Reserve cut rates today as well. Peter, is this just a tale of two central banks? You know, look, I think the U.S. economy is in a very different place. You know, until quite recently, the American economy hadn't seen any real damage from these terrorists. Indeed, the Trump administration has gone to great lengths to stay at this point still, that there is no cost to the tariffs, that they're only a good thing.

But we're seeing job growth slowing. We're seeing cracks appearing. So the question is becoming, was the pain and cost of the tariffs averted or merely delayed? Thank you, Peter. You bet. CBC's senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong here in Toronto. The rate cut and Canada's shaky economy are also getting a lot of attention in Ottawa, with Prime Minister Mark Carney facing questions about the finances of the federal government

heading into his first budget. Tom Perry has that part of the story. Deficits drive up inflation, grocery prices, housing costs, and interest rates. For conservative leader Pierre Palliev, it's a familiar and effective line of attack. going after Prime Minister Mark Carney the same way he went after his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, taking a hard line on deficit spending that to Palliev is both irresponsible

and out of control. We're six months in. Does he even know the size of his own deficit? Carney has repeatedly vowed to rein in program spending while boosting investment in areas like infrastructure, housing, and the military. The liberals say it's all about strengthening the economy,

but they warn it will add up to a substantial deficit, though Carney insists the economic fundamentals in Canada remain firm. The leader of the opposition just mentioned interest rates. One thing I know is that Canadian interest rates are much lower than American interest rates. They're lower because this country's fiscal situation is strong, because this government has a plan to grow this economy. Pahliev says falling rates are a sign the economy is slowing, to the point of collapse. And while that may be an exaggeration, the Bank of Canada says its rate

cut today does come in response to a weaker economy as the country struggles under U.S. tariffs and an unpredictable U.S. trade policy. It's that unpredictability that's driving the federal government's push to spend heavily on programs it hopes will make the country more resilient and less reliant on the U.S. It is sad, I would say, that our largest trading partner turned its back on Canada, which has led to us having to reassess how we're going to build the economy of the future. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne today welcomed the Bank of Canada's rate cut while once again lamenting a trading relationship that's been thrown into disarray.

The government is continuing its efforts to reach a deal with Washington on tariffs and is expected to announce soon its launching public consultations on a formal review of the Canada-US-Mexico Free Trade Agreement. As for the budget set to be tabled November 4th, Champagne says it will contain what he calls generational investments aimed at reinventing the Canadian economy. If that sounds expensive, it's because it is. And the opposition is not convinced it will all be worth the price. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Coming right up, a former Nova Scotia swimming instructor facing,

dozens of sex-related charges dating back decades. And identifying concerns with Alberta's proposed new driver's license, the province's privacy commissioner is raising questions about the decision to include citizenship status on the card. Later, we'll have this story. Summer days are soon gone, but Canadians felt extreme heat from coast to coast to coast, and two new studies suggest we could see more in the years to come. We expect June, July, August, to be. the times of year when people experience these risky heat days. Some of that is natural, but climate change is loading the dice. I'm Anandrom in Toronto. Coming up on your world tonight, the days of risky heat that Canadians went through and what future summers might look like.

Our Sampia in Nova Scotia have charged a man with dozens of counts of sexual assault, Most of them involving boys at the province's youth correctional facility. The man was the swim instructor there for nearly 30 years. Investigators say there are hundreds of victims. Kayla Hounsel reports. It's good news. It should have been done a long time ago. Gannam Harb says he was a rebellious kid, his home life, not great. Now 49 years old, he says he was around 16 or 17 when he was incarcerated

at the Nova Scotia Youth Center. He didn't like swimming there because of the instructor, Donald Douglas Williams. He was just a creepy dude, man. And when he'd help you learn how to swim, that was the worst because, you know, his hands would move in different directions under the water and it was just disgusting.

Today, charges. Because of the bravery and patience, of those who've come forward to report the sexual abuse they suffered while at the Nova Scotia Youth Center so many years ago, we've been able to arrest and charge their perpetrator. R.C.MP staff sergeant Rob McCamond says Williams is facing 66 charges, including sexual assault causing bodily harm, sexual exploitation, and invitation to sexual touching.

Williams was the swim instructor at the correctional facility from 1988 to 2017. Police believe there are more than 300 survivors. McCammon was often overcome with emotion as he explained the complexity of the case. To date, we've interviewed hundreds of survivors of witnesses across Canada. We've reviewed over 9,800 seized documents, totally more than 740,000 pages. McCamond says more charges are expected. The current ones relate to 30 individuals. Harb was not one of them, but he is part of a class action lawsuit.

This case has mushroomed. Mike Dole is the Halifax lawyer leading the class action. He wants to know how the kind of abuse being ill. alleged could continue for 30 years without others knowing and says troubled youth are inherently vulnerable. It allows, you know, institution or surrounding staff to sort of, you know, doubt the validity of contemporaneous allegations, you know, we don't believe you because of who you are. In a statement, Nova Scotia's justice minister said her department is cooperating fully with the investigation. I don't go swimming anymore. Ganim Harb says he's clean now,

but he's been in and out of jail most of his life and is currently sleeping in a tent. That's supposed to be a place where we're supposed to be where you habilitated, not roomed. And that's exactly what it did. It just roomed a bunch of us. Now he hopes the man he says hurt him when he was an incarcerated youth

winds up behind bars himself for a long time. Kayla Hounsel, CBC News, Halifax. There's a lot of personal information on a driver's license. Alberta now wants the ID cards to include citizenship status. Officials say it will make it easier for Albertans to access services and vote. But as Julia Wong reports, the move is raising serious questions about privacy and the potential for discrimination.

Citizenship information is sensitive information. Alberta's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Diane McLeod, is questioning a plan by the provincial government to mark citizenship status on provincial driver's licenses and ID cards. The move, announced Monday, will see the letters C-A-N included on IDs if the person is a Canadian citizen. It is unclear to me why the government has decided to add this piece of information to this regularly used form of identification. McLeod is raising privacy concerns and security risks. It's more information, more risk to individuals if that information can be used to harm them, including by identity.

theft and fraud. But do you see any benefits in your eyes? I don't see any benefits in my eyes, but again, without understanding what the government is doing, I cannot weigh in on it. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has previously said citizenship information on IDs would streamline access to social services, such as student aid and disability benefits. Wednesday, she doubled down on why that information needs to be shared. They're very costly, expensive services that we have to make sure.

sure that we're prioritizing those who are Canadian citizens first. Daniel Bernhard, with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, worries about the message being conveyed about newcomers. What it does is inject a great degree of innuendo into the conversation about immigration by suggesting that immigrants are here trying to claim benefits and use services to which they have no entitlement. ID needs to be shown at liquor stores, bars, and if you're pulled over while driving. Bernhardt says adding sensitive information to them could lead to more tension and more discrimination.

I mean, the immigration conversation in Canada has become particularly charged in recent years, and it's now starting to get much more vitriolic. It's taken a dark turn. Canada needs immigrants far more than they need us. And if we're sending them the message that they're not welcome here or that they're somehow intrinsically suspicious, the big losers are not the immigrants who decide to go elsewhere. Service Alberta minister, Dale Nally, dismissed concerns. Because we live in Canada, there will be no discrimination. Smith also says having citizenship information on IDs will help with election integrity, since only Canadian citizens can vote.

McEwen University Political Science Professor Brendan Boyd says there could be other forces at play. Most studies will show that voter fraud is not really a large issue or a significant issue. And so it does kind of seem like, you know, some of the stuff that comes from the United States, States over election fraud and questioning elections. It's starting to make its way north of the border, I guess. The change on ID cards will roll out late next year. Julia Wong, CBC News, Edmonton. This is Your World Tonight from CBC News.

If you want to make sure you stay up to date and 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. Thousands of Palestinians are heading south to escape Israel's assault on Gaza City. Israel has intensified its bombardment, striking more than 150 targets in two days in support of ground troops, the stated goal to defeat Hamas and free the remaining hostages. Israel says it has opened a route to designated humanitarian zones. The United Nations and other countries have said the condition

in those zones are dire with limited food, shelter, and medical care. A royal welcome and rowdy protests marked Donald Trump's arrival to the UK. The U.S. President is there for his second state visit to Britain, where there's a contrast between the pomp and ceremony at Windsor Castle and angry demonstrations in the streets. Chris Brown has that story. As Donald Trump choppered in from his overnight stop in London waiting at Windsor Castle to greet him was King Charles and Queen Camilla. Prince William and Princess Kate were there too.

In fact, the palace appeared to pull out all of the soft power touches it has. There were more fancy carriages, more mounted troops and colorful red uniforms, and more military bands than perhaps the 1,000-year-old castle has ever seen. all coming together in a royal procession that escorted the Trumps around the castle grounds. Donald Trump then walked amongst the red tunic soldiers as he inspected the Guard of Honor. It was an elaborate exercise sure to appeal

to Trump's sense of self-importance. Outside the castle, protesters mixed with a few supporters. Augustine Oboto is with a group called Friends of Trump, UK. I'm sticking my life for Trump because It's our son, and we love Trump. The crowd of protesters that marched through central London in opposition was far larger, with most people carrying signs, some of them obscene, that called Trump a sex predator, a racist,

and that he's complicit in killing Palestinians because he's a strong supporter of Israel. Michaela Demis is a U.S. student studying in Britain. I think it'll inflate his ego even first. He's under some delusion that the world loves him. The United States, though, is Britain's most important military ally and its largest trading partner. And driving both points home was a military flyover and announcements of major new investments by tech companies in the UK.

Though they differ on NATO commitments, support for Ukraine, and they come from opposite sides of the political spectrum, political scientist Anand Menon says Britain's Keir Starmer has so far succeeded at keeping Trump on side. We, of course, got what we call a trade deal, which is basically a piece of paper that implies we're going to have lower tariffs than the European Union. So in that sense, at least, then I think Starma will probably be quite happy with what he's had today. As we celebrate this unparalleled partnership, allow me to propose a toast to President Trump. The day ended with King Charles toasting Donald Trump at a time.

a state dinner. But this is truly one of the highest honors of my life. And Trump, returning the praise, lots could still go wrong. This day was about spectacle. Thursday is for business. Chris Brown, CBC News, London. The wife of the late Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, says there is proof that he was murdered. Navalny died suddenly in February last year in a Russian prison. He was 47. Yulia Navalny released a video saying two foreign labs carried out tests on biological samples to determine how he died. She blames Russian president Vladimir Putin, and she says the labs are afraid to make their findings public for political reasons.

Alexei was my husband. He was my friend. He was a symbol of hope for our country. Putin killed that hope. We have the right to know how he did it. I demand that the labs that conducted the analysis, published their results. The Kremlin denied knowing anything about Navalnya's claims. They are the long, hot and potentially dangerous days of summer. Scientists call them extreme heat days. And new research suggests because of climate change, there are more and more of them on the calendar.

Anand Rahm breaks down the data for us and the impact on our health. Head out in a heat wave and you're going to hear this side of the story. I love the heat. I love it. We endured the rain. It's time for the sun. What more could I ask for? I need to get as much of the sun as possible.

And he might get his wish. Summers like the one we just went through with day. of extreme heat, that's the focus of two new studies that looked at the last few months. Nathan Gillett is a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. In regions in the West and in the East, those heat waves were at least twice as likely because of human-induced climate change. And his analysis found one particular heat wave in August affecting Atlantic provinces. That was the most extreme event of the summer.

The temperatures there were made at least 10 times more likely by human-induced climate change. Some of that is natural, but climate change is loading the dice. Christina Dahl is vice president of science at the U.S. nonprofit Climate Central. Her new research found Canadians on average this summer had 39 so-called risky heat days. We defined risky heat as being heat that is hotter than 90% of the temperatures you typically experience in your local area. So that looks different if you're sitting in Toronto than it does if you're sitting in San Diego or Los Angeles. In other words, days hotter than our bodies are used to living in. And crossing into that risky territory means our health suffers.

Jennifer Vano studies extreme heat at Arizona State University. It's really important to understand the relative nature of heat. The risk is greater for the elderly children, those with underlying medical conditions or taking medications. And not being able to get out of the heat is another factor. What is their ability to adapt in this situation? And that includes having air conditioning policies that protect outdoor workers, thinking about your social capital. So what's your community that you can rely on when it is hot if you do get into a dangerous situation? The studies say that the carbon emissions

that humans are pumping into the atmosphere are a kind of thumb on the scale, increasing the chances that such extreme days will be felt again. But there's another problem. Hussein Bonakdari with the University of Ottawa says it feeds into a loop. Heat waves means drought condition. Drought conditions lead us to the wildfire. Wildlife oil oil fire, sea water production increased significantly, you know, the climate change. So as we add to global warming, summer heat waves from coast to coast to coast could stop being rare and start being regular. On the ROM, CBC News, Toronto.

We close tonight with a Halifax woman finding her calling by helping people identify bird calls. It's not that what I'm saying is the sound is the definitive sound. a way of framing the sound so that you remember it, so then you know what that bird is. Becca Rowland explaining her method of matching bird calls with everyday sounds so people can pinpoint what species they're hearing. She makes short videos of her associations and animated bird drawings. They've attracted a massive following on TikTok and Instagram. Surprisingly, she doesn't tweet. If it sounds like dragging a stick down a wooden fence, it's a double-crested cormorant. If it sounds like it's saying Chicago, it's a confused California quail.

If it sounds like the theme song, from the Price is Right, it's a grasshopper sparrow. Roland says she came up with the idea of linking bird song to theme songs and other recognized sounds by watching her mom identify cardinals by ear. She says many followers have thanked her for helping them unlock a mystery. There's a sound of a bird at the grandma's house when they were a kid and they could never figure out what bird it was. And when I play the video, they're like, that's it, that's the bird that I remember from my childhood.

After Roland's social media profile took flight, a book publisher came calling, bird talk, hilariously accurate ways to identify birds by the sounds they make was published this year. Thank you for joining us. This has been your world tonight for Wednesday, September 17th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again. cbc.ca slash podcasts.