Your World Tonight - Billions in counter-tariffs, ceasefire and hostage deal approved, Canada’s border plan, and more

Episode Date: January 17, 2025

Radio-Canada has confirmed the Trudeau government could unveil its first round of counter-tariffs as soon as incoming U.S. president Donald Trump is sworn in on Monday. That first round – tariffs on $37 billion worth of American goods.And: Israel’s prime minister says hostages will be released on Sunday, after the security cabinet approves the ceasefire deal. Fighting in Gaza has not abated since the deal was announced, and dozens have died in the past two days. A recent study suggests the number of deaths in Gaza so far has been undercounted for months… and thousands more are dead.Also: Karen Pauls goes to the Canada/U.S. border to see how Ottawa’s enhanced measures are working. The plan includes more officers, and more technology, including drones and Blackhawk helicopters.Plus: Family members blocked from visiting loved ones in long-term care, food insecurity in Canadian cities, businesses struggle to prepare for tariff threat, and more.

It's 2011 and the Arab Spring is raging. A lesbian activist in Syria starts a blog. She names it Gay Girl in Damascus. Am I crazy? Maybe. As her profile grows, so does the danger. The object of the email was, please read this while sitting down. It's like a genie came out of the bottle

and you can't put it back. Gay Girl Gone. Available now. This is a CBC Podcast. Canada is going to have to be prepared to do everything it must do to protect Canadian workers and that means we have to have a response ready for ourselves in Canada. Playing defense by going on offense. Canadian politicians and business leaders say if Donald Trump goes ahead and slaps tariffs on Canadian goods

then Canada will retaliate with levies on exports coming north. Even if that means both economies risk going south. Welcome to Your World Tonight. It is Friday, January 17th, coming up on 6pm Eastern Time. I'm Tom Harrington. Also on the podcast. We hope that in the future we will be able to finish the job in Gaza. This is something that we want to do.

But now we want to bring our people back home. The ceasefire and hostage agreement is going through the approval process in Israel. It could still be in place by the end of the weekend. Until then, the bombing in Gaza will not cease. Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States is T-minus three days away. Whether that's T for Trump, T for tariff or T for trouble, we do know the potential impact on Canada's economy could be terrible. Now, some details are emerging of a federal plan to fight back with counter tariffs on American goods. Tom Perry has more.

Thank you. Thank you for being here in person. Thank you for being here online. The inaugural meeting of a group whose job is to prepare for next week's inauguration in Washington. Justin Trudeau convening a session of his newly formed Council on Canada-U.S. Relations, a panel of politicians, diplomats, business and labour leaders, advising the federal government on how to defend against Donald Trump and his threat to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian exports. If the incoming American administration moves forward with tariffs, we will not hesitate to act.

We will respond and I will say it again, everything is on the table. The federal government has already drawn up an initial list of $37 billion worth of US goods that could be targeted with retaliatory tariffs. A second list of goods worth an extra $110 billion has also been drafted. The plan to ratchet up Canada's response response depending on how steep Trump's tariffs turn out to be. Lana Payne, National President of Unifor, the country's largest private sector union, is part of the government's Canada-U.S. Council. We're fighting for our country, we're fighting for our economy and we're fighting for Canadian jobs and that means we're going to have to be bold

and united in what we do in response to this. One of the leading contenders to succeed Justin Trudeau is vowing to ramp up Canada's response to U.S. tariffs if she takes over. Former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland confirmed today she's entering the Liberal leadership race, promising if she becomes Prime Minister to impose, if necessary, dollar for dollar tariffs on U.S. goods and raise the price of targeted American products by $150 billion. Canada is still trying to persuade the incoming administration to back off. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie was in Washington today meeting with U.S. lawmakers, reminding them Canada is their biggest customer and urging them to reject

what she calls a Trump tariff tax. This would be basically starting a trade war against us and this would be the biggest trade war between Canada and U.S. in decades. A trade war would do enormous damage to Canada's economy. The government's hope is it doesn't come to that. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. While political leaders prepare for a tariff barrage, Canadian businesses, both big and small,

are in a kind of tariff limbo. They're bracing themselves for whatever comes next. Anish Hidari has that side of the story. We are really going to get hit hard. And I think our unemployment is going to go through the roof. At Ultraform Manufacturing in Toronto, Casey Vesadeva is worried about tariffs on the auto parts they make.

I'm concerned. We just got an order this week for a million dollars from the US. We didn't count the duty in there yet. If that potential duty, tax, tariff, whatever you call it, gets added onto the price he charges... It will hurt the consumer. The prices will go up so much. He says eventually the price of cars would be forced up too. But many observers say all the warnings that prices may go up may not change Donald Trump's mind. It would not be at all surprising to see him start to impose tariffs not just on Canada,

but in other countries as well right from the very first day. Perrin Beatty was a progressive Conservative cabinet minister handling foreign affairs in the 90s. And he was the CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce until last summer. He says Canada and its economy are in for a rough ride. There's no question this is going to be painful. We could very well find ourselves being pushed into recession quite early in this year as a result. And every Canadian is going to pay a significant price.

It's hard to say what that price might be. Scotiabank has estimated that if the U.S. imposes 25 percent tariffs, the Canadian GDP would shrink by as much as 3.8 percent. And even more if Canada were to retaliate against the U.S. with its own tariffs. That kind of impact would come at a time when Canadians are already feeling financial pressures. It used to be that you had some ability to pass on higher costs to your consumer. Deborah Yedlin heads up the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. That ability has shrunk dramatically because we've already come to this inflationary period.

So they've and everybody's already feeling stretched. We hear this affordability, affordability all the time. She says as costs go up for both consumers and businesses, there could be other consequences down the line. We're worried about employment. We're worried about what happens with companies that are still struggling with the impact of higher interest rates and debt levels and now this is going to be another blow for them to navigate. To avoid that over at the auto parts factory KC Vesadeva wants every level of government to get negotiating. So you sit down with them across the table, hey guys, this issue is here, how do we work together?

Otherwise it's a disaster. Disaster or status quo on Monday, only Trump will tell. And he said, RECBC News, Calgary. Coming up on the podcast, the ceasefire agreement and the war in Gaza should be in place by Sunday as Israeli politicians vote to ratify the deal Israeli forces continue to bomb targets inside Gaza. Plus, a battle over visitation rights at a senior's home has become a debate over family access versus staff safety.

And more and more Canadians are having trouble putting food on the table. That's led some communities to declare food insecurity emergencies. Later, we'll get up close with new border security measures aimed at satisfying Donald Trump. It is past midnight in Jerusalem and Israeli cabinet ministers are still working on the Sabbath. Their meeting could end with the approval of a ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas war. Chris Brown has the latest. Painfully and often punctuated with confusion, the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel inched

closer to being a reality. Overnight, after mediators wrapped up what they termed loose ends, Israel's government announced it had finally signed off on the terms, sending it to the Security Committee of Israel's government announced it had finally signed off on the terms, sending it to the Security Committee of Israel's cabinet. Hours later, it was approved, passing an important hurdle. Mike Zohar is a Culture Minister. We came here to vote forward to the deal to bring back our hostages. It's a very hard decision, but we decided to support it because it's very important to us to see all of our children, men and women back home.

Far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir released a video saying he voted no, complaining that Palestinians serving life sentences for murder are being swapped for Israeli hostages. Of the 95 Palestinians to be released in the first wave of prisoners, one was convicted of attempted murder. Many are women who have never been charged with a crime, much less convicted, but have nonetheless spent months in Israeli custody. As the hours passed, anxious families of the Israeli captives held vigils. Michael Illouz's son, Guy, was killed by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival on October the 7th.

Our work is not done. We will not rest until every hostage is home. The truce is due to start Sunday, just after noon. Three Israeli hostages are expected to be returned a few hours later, and Palestinian detainees exchanged after that. Another round of exchanges will happen the following week. But getting to phase two is still a major if, says Frank Lowenstein, a former U.S. special envoy for Middle East peace.

Netanyahu has already said that he intends to resume the war. The foreign minister has been very clear about that. Trump says he'll support a resumption of the war. Tonight, in a highly unusual sitting on the Jewish Sabbath, Israel's full cabinet met to go over the security committee's earlier green light. And while rubber-stamping the deal is expected, it has not happened yet. The implementation phase is next, setting up a tense weekend of dramatic developments ahead. Chris Brown, CBC News, Jerusalem.

The fighting in Gaza has not slowed even since the deal was announced. Israel's military has launched dozens of strikes targeting Hamas. The war has already killed tens of thousands in the territory. The actual number of dead is difficult to pinpoint. But a recent study suggests it is likely much higher than what has been reported. Margaret Evans reports. One more farewell in a land soaked in blood. The ceasefire set to come into effect in Gaza on Sunday in sight, but out of reach for the dead being mourned here. Victims of an Israeli missile strike in Hanunis on Wednesday, after

a breakthrough in diplomacy was announced. More than 100 Palestinians are thought to have been killed in Gaza since then. These fires are inherently dangerous times coming up to this. Aid agencies are waiting anxiously for Qom to arrive in the hopes it will allow them to work. Dr. Louisa Baxter is with Save the Children in Gaza. There's been drugs that we've been waiting for since April of last year, painkillers, supplements for children. The pause will also allow Gazans to count the dead.

A recent report published in the medical journal The Lancet looking at the first nine months of the war suggests the death toll could be 40% higher. We find that it's between 55,000 to 78,000 that were killed possibly from October to June. Dr. Zaina Jamaluddin is the study's lead researcher. The median is around study's lead researcher. The median is around 64,000. That's compared to a count of 38,000 by Hamas officials for the same period. Jamaluddin says statisticians used a sampling technique that relied on cross-checking lists for the Lancet study.

It only relied on names of people who were killed and those who have IDs, but these have also been verified by the UN. The report doesn't distinguish between combatants and civilians, but it does say 59% were women, children and people over the age of 65. In Zoueda, near the sea, 25-year-old Mahmoud Sukkar lives with the near-constant sound of an Israeli drone overhead and not much else. His worldly goods occupy a single shelf along the wall that supports the tent he's living in. A mug, a toothbrush and a hairbrush and a pile of death certificates.

17 members of his family, including his twin brother, Mohamed, were killed in an airstrike over a year ago. He keeps the death certificates close. I carry them so the world sees how we were once a family, he says. And now they're this. He says he helped bury his relatives, but he's been displaced more than once, and has since heard that the cemetery where they lay was bulldozed by Israeli tanks. It is enough, he says. The most precious people are gone. And so much more than numbers on a page. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London.

Russia and Iran are strengthening their military ties. The leaders of the two countries signed a 20-year strategic partnership. They will boost cooperation in military drills, joint officer training and support for warships. The agreement does not include a mutual defense clause or a specific mention of arms transfers. A Windsor, Ontario man is awaiting his day in court. The crime? Visiting his own mother after being banned from her long-term care home. The home says the move was a last resort, but long-term care advocates say it's not legal.

Katerina Georgieva reports. I'm not there to cause any problems. You know what I mean? I'm just there to look after my mom. For Paul Zieman, staying away from his mother was too hard to bear. Anna Zieman has Alzheimer's, and her son was banned from the village at St. Clair under Ontario's Trespass to Property Act in 2023. The home saying he was exhibiting threatening and abusive behavior. Zieman denies this and claims he was just

speaking out about his mother's care. Last month, after staying away for more than a year, Zieman decided to break the ban and visit his mom over the holidays. The police were called Christmas Eve but did not force him out. But when Zieman visited again on Boxing Day, the situation was different. I thought I was just getting a ticket. So he goes, can you stand up? I stood up.

He said, turn around, face the wall. So I did that. And then next thing you know, they're putting cuffs on me. They arrested me. They read me my rights in the room, like right in front of my mom. It was pretty embarrassing, I think. I was humiliated.

He was given a $65 ticket and warned not to come back. The home wouldn't comment about Zeeman's case, but defends its right to use visitation bans, describing them as a last resort and a decision that would not be made lightly. Ontario's Ministry of Long Term Care says the bans are allowed when resident safety is at risk. Jane Metis disagrees. She's a lawyer with the Advocacy Center for the Elderly. Metis says a home cannot legally prevent a resident from welcoming visitors based on relevant case law and the Residents Bill of Rights under the Long-Term Care Act. That gives them an absolute right to have visitors. If they believe

that that the visitor is acting illegally or doing something else, they can certainly find other avenues. But the Trespass to Property Act isn't one of them. Metis says police forces need to be properly trained on this. Ottawa police recently updated their training on long term care residents. Staff Sergeant Jamie Ritchie is in charge of professional development. They're allowed to have visitors. They're allowed to decide to have visitors. And no one under the Trespass to Property Act can bar them from having visitors to their residence. As for Zeman, he hopes to challenge his ticket before a judge to get a written ruling. Advocates believe that would help clarify the law regarding a long-term care resident's right to visitors

and potentially set a precedent across Ontario. Katerina Georgieva, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario. For a growing number of Canadians, the stress of meal time isn't over what to make or from where to order. It's about having enough to eat. In Kingston, Ontario, City Council is now declaring food insecurity a local emergency. Nicole Williams reports. Incredible demand, incredible unprecedented growth. Rhonda Candy is executive director at Martha's Table in Kingston,

a place that serves meals to those who need it. She says demand for food has always been there but since the pandemic it's skyrocketed. Every year we've increased by anywhere between 5 and 12 percent but we have increased over 300 percent since the pandemic. The situation is that it's a crisis. City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Greg Ridge says those outside Kingston might see it as a wealthy university town but that's not necessarily the case.

There are historically parts of the city with large parts of the population that are very poor, amongst the poorest in Ontario. It's why this week Kingston City Council passed a motion that officially declared food insecurity as an emergency there. Public health officials report that last year, one in three households experienced some form of food insecurity defined by Health Canada as essentially being unable to afford nutritious foods or enough food for a proper diet. Rachel Maither is a dietitian with the Southeast Health Unit.

There's the constant worry about being able to afford healthy food then it kind of goes on to you know those who actually then experience like the inability to buy food to then those who are skipping meals, going days without food. And that growing hunger is being felt right across the country. Maither says research shows food insecurity in Canada is the highest it's been in 20 years.

Kingston, also not the first city to declare such an emergency. Toronto and Mississauga have done so too. But by declaring food insecurity as an emergency the city is asking the province for more money for school food programs to increase social assistance payments and establish a guaranteed basic income. Ridge who seconded the motion at City Council, knows what it feels like to go hungry. People are drowning. They're underwater.

They're working and doing the best that they can. My parents were doing the best that they could. But it's not enough. In a statement, the province says it's already done a lot of this work. It did not say whether or not Kingston specifically would receive any more help. Nicole Williams, CBC News, Ottawa. Two officers with the Durham Regional Police East of Toronto are facing criminal charges

in connection with a multi-car collision on the 401 Highway. Four people, including an infant, were killed during the police chase. It followed an alleged liquor store robbery in April of last year in Bowmanville, Ontario. Video of the getaway truck going the wrong way on the highway made national news. The province's special investigations unit have charged the two officers with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. Returning to our top snorey now, those potential US tariffs just days away.

One reason for them, according to the incoming president, is to push for a more secure northern border. Canada is vowing to step up enforcement. Karen Paul's got an up-close look at what that looks like from the front lines of Manitoba. Hi. How are you buddy? When RCMP Sergeant Chris Brown got a call in November about asylum seekers who had just walked across the Manitoba U.S. border, he and his canine partner Mac jumped into action.

They caught five men quickly but they were already suffering from hypothermia. Then they were told there was a sixth man. And Mac instantly indicated to me that there was another human source of scent and I just followed him through the brush. We found the sixth person and that person had already gone to sleep. Brown credits his furry partner with saving a life. We don't find the six without him. He welcomes Ottawa's announcement this week of more support for border security

including drones, two Blackhawk helicopters and 80 more canine units. We're doing a great job of defending the border as it is but there are gaps and we need to close those gaps. Just days ago another group of six men from Africa and the Middle East were apprehended in this same area using a fixed wing aircraft with thermal imaging on loan from Ottawa says Sergeant Lance Goldow of the RCMP's Integrated Border Enforcement Team. Pretty hard to hide in winter when you can see exactly where your heat is. When we talk about contraband and other items that may be brought into Canada with the migrants,

they were able to also pinpoint baggage that had been dropped along the way. These are clients that are here right now. Two of those asylum seekers sit in a waiting room at the nearby Emerson Port of Entry. Their belongings in plastic bins as Canada Border Services Agency officers investigate their claims. The other four have already been sent back to the U.S. says Jaren Peters, the CBSA director for the Prairie Region. We have received increased support for more removals of people who don't belong in Canada and need to be removed from Canada.

The Port, the fourth busiest one in Canada for commercial crossings, is also increasing its drug detection capability, says Stephen Wolske, CBSA's chief of operations. Potentially some canines, some chemical analysis devices that are able to allow us to detect some precursor chemicals. A lot of, they have a lot of problems. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened stiff tariffs if Canada doesn't beef up its border,

citing concerns about illegal migration and drug trafficking. The CBSA's Peters says Canadians and Americans should feel confident. We can meet that challenge and that rhetoric. The big question is whether all of this will be enough. Karen Pauls, CBC News near Emerson, Manitoba. We close with a story of wedding bells that led to wedding bills. Sometimes I may have to hold on to a secret bonus gift to give you during our ceremony.

F*** off. We're going to see the bills. No! No! No! gift to give you during our ceremony. We're going to see the Bills. Sean Smith of New Bedford, Nova Scotia called an audible during his wedding vows and handed off a pair of tickets to a Buffalo Bills football game to his bride. Her name was Olivia Deroan and as heard, she is a massive Bills fan. Smith says that reaction helped the video go viral. No, no, no. Oh my God. Oh my God. Now she's shocked. Apparently that might be just her gut reaction when something's very, very surprising.

The video even got picked up by the Bills' official social media accounts. Dorowan says the response from Buffalo has blown her away. And my phone was just blowing up all day. Messages from Bills fans offering to give us gear to come to their tailgate, free wings if they stop by our restaurant. It's been absolutely incredible and very few negative comments, which is

which is hard to come by these days on social media. So it's been a breath of fresh air for sure. So this weekend the newlyweds are taking a honeymoon road trip to Buffalo. The Bills are playing host to Baltimore in a playoff game on Sunday night, one of the most anticipated of the season. Now, it's supposed to be very chilly at kickoff, 30 below zero with a wind chill and of course, snow. As they say, for better, for worse. This has been Your World Tonight for Friday, January 17th.

I'm Tom Harrington. Thanks for listening. Stay safe and take care of each other.