Your World Tonight - Bondi Beach shooting, Pierre Poilievre denies internal party struggles, Gazans receiving medical treatment abroad, and more

Episode Date: December 14, 2025

At least 15 people are dead and dozens are injured after a horrific attack at Bondi Beach in Australia. Two gunmen carried out a targeted attack on Sydney's Jewish community, opening fire on a Hanukkah celebration. Australia's Prime Minister is calling it "an evil act of antisemitism". You'll hear the latest from Sydney, and reaction from around the world.Also: Pierre Poilievre insists Conservatives are united behind his message of making life more affordable for Canadians - even after another of his MP's crossed the floor this week. In an exclusive interview with CBC News, the Conservative Leader denies the latest defection is a sign of internal problems.And: Over the past two years, more than 10,000 Palestinians have been evacuated from Gaza to receive medical treatment abroad. Thousands of others are still waiting to be transferred out. Doctors are pleading for borders, like the Rafah crossing with Egypt, to be reopened. We'll take you to Turkey, where about 500 Palestinians are being treated. Plus: Suspect arrested in Brown University shooting, Vulnerable people dying in cold weather, B.C. braces for more rain, and more.

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Donate at lovescarbro.cairbo. This is a CBC podcast. It's just unbelievable that in Australia, this is allowed to happen. We're supposed to be a country where people are allowed to express their religion freely. A horrific attack on Australia's Jewish community. Gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration in what the country's Prime Minister calls an act of evil. anti-Semitism. You'll hear the latest from Sydney plus reaction from around the world, including

Canada. This is your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Scanderas. Also on the podcast, Relentless Rain and New Warnings in a BC area that's been hit hard this week, some evacuation orders in the Fraser Valley are lifting, but more atmospheric rivers are on the way. And my message to Mark Carney is that if you want a costly majority government to drive up taxes, and deficits, then you have to go to the Canadian people and have them vote for it. In his first interview, since the latest affection from his party, Conservative leader Pierre Pollyev doubles down on his attacks on the Liberals. A heavy police presence remains around Australia's Bondi Beach.

It was there Saturday night when two gunmen carried out a targeted attack on Sydney's Jewish community. opening fire on a large Hanukkah gathering. The attackers killed 15 people, including a child and an elderly Holocaust survivor. Another 42 people were rushed to hospital. Phil Mercer is in Sydney with more. Phil officials held a briefing in Sydney this morning. What did they tell us? Well, we now know that one of the attackers was shot dead by the police in the aftermath of the attack.

And we're also learning more not only about the attackers, a father and son aged 50 and 24, but crucially about the victims. We know that the youngest was a 10-year-old child, and the oldest was 87 years of age. So this is clearly an attack that is causing immense trauma across this country. Witnesses have spoken of losing dear friends of how the shots seem to go on, for an eternity. And this is Australia's worst mass shooting in almost 30 years. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was pressed on the issue of anti-Semitism in Australia. What did he have to say about that? Since the October, the 7th attacks and the war in Gaza, schools, synagogues and homes have been

targeted in anti-Semitic vandalism and arson. And there are criticisms of the Albanese government that it hasn't done enough to stem this tide in anti-Semitism. And in response, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, had this to say. What we saw yes, though, was an act of pure evil, an act of anti-Semitism, an act of terrorism on our shores. We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out anti-Semitism. It is a scourge and we will eradicate it together. You mentioned, Phil, that this is Australia's worst mass shooting in decades since the Port Arthur massacre in 96, I believe.

Attacks like this are so rare there because of their really strict gun laws. So what do we know about how this shooting was able to happen? We understand that the firearms used in this attack were registered. The police here in Australia say that the attackers had at least six. registered firearms and that the firearms used in the attack were long-armed weapons that fire a single shot. So safe to say, Australia's gun control laws will come under immense scrutiny in the aftermath of this attack. And earlier today, we also heard from the New South Wales State Premier, Chris Minns. An attempt to break apart our social life to divide Australian against

Australian. There's a massive role for the government, New South Wales police and regular citizens to play here to ensure that we keep our community safe. And I won't hesitate to move legislation if it's required. And we also heard from senior police officers regarding Operation Shelter. This is a specialist police operation to protect the Jewish community in Australia. And where Sydney sits is on the east coast of Australia and there is a large Jewish community in Australia's biggest city and we understand today that synagogues, schools and restaurants will be closed and the police are sending hundreds of police officers to Jewish sites across the city to try to give them a sense of calm after what has been a traumatic period

for not only Australia's Jewish community but the country as a whole. Okay, Phil, thanks so much. Yes, thank you very much. Any time. That's Phil Mercer in Sydney. Now, the mass shooting in Australia is being mourned around the world and casting a dark cloud on the celebrations to mark the first day of Hanukkah. Political leaders are vowing to do what they can to protect Jews and stop anti-Semitism. Philip Lee Schenach reports on that.

Outside in Ottawa Synagogue, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Hanukkah is a celebration of resilience. of light and hope during dark times. That spirit, tragically, sadly, has had to be drawn upon for millennia. Along with members of the Jewish community, Carney says more must be done to aid their fight against persecution. Canada is not Canada, unless all members of the Jewish community can fully participate in all aspects of Canadian life. Similar events were held worldwide.

in London, a vigil outside the Australian High Commission. In a statement, King Charles III said that light will always triumph over the darkness of such evil. In Tel Aviv, a vigil for Australian shooting victims. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he sent a letter, warning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese months ago. The Australian government's policy was promoting and encouraging anti-Semitism. anti-Semitism in Australia. Antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent. It retreats when leaders act. Australia has officially recognized a Palestinian state, as has Canada.

Here, government opposition leader, conservative Pierre Pahliav, says leadership to combat anti-Semitism has been lacking. And it is absolutely unacceptable. We must stand up against anti-Semitism and make Canada and hopefully the world of a safe place for people. to wear their stars of David and their Keepas. Liberal MP Anthony Housefather says incidents of hate have increased since the attacks of October 7th and the Israeli military operation that followed. Now we've seen shootings this year already in the United States. Jews were murdered in D.C. Jews were murdered in Colorado.

You've seen it in the UK. You've seen it now in Australia. Jews feel increasingly unsafe and targeted. And they have since October 7th, 2023. The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto hosted a light, the menorah and stand with Sydney event. We have to also realize this isn't something that's new since October 7. Sarah Lefton of the UJA says intolerance has been on the rise for some time.

It's not just about the Jewish community. This is about us as Canadians being able to celebrate our holidays and in our country. And she says when one community is targeted, no one should feel safe. Philip Lyshanock, CBC News, Toronto. In the U.S., a suspect is in police custody after a, of fatal shooting at Brown University. Investigators are trying to figure out a motive after a gunman entered a lecture hall and opened fire. Two students were killed, another nine injured.

Now witnesses are sharing their harrowing stories of survival. And as Katie Simpson reports for several students, this is not the first school shooting they've experienced. It honestly felt like an eternity. Joseph O'Duro had just finished leading a study session ahead of final exams, around 4 o'clock, Saturday afternoon. The Brown University teaching assistant says students were about to leave the lecture hall when they heard what sounded like gunshots coming from outside the room. And we heard screaming from various students and then about five seconds later, you see a gunman into the room. Then you just screamed something and just started shooting.

Oduro says he locked eyes with the gunmen before he dropped to the ground, narrowly dodging bullets that ended up in the chalkboard behind him. There was a desk nearby, no more than three meters long. He says he and some students hid behind it, including one young woman who was shot in the leg twice. There wasn't too much space, but we may do, because at the end of the day, we just all wanted to survive. Oduro says they stayed put until the gunmen fled. Authority spent the next 12 hours or so searching for a suspect. Using cell phone location data, they tracked a person of interest, a man in his 20s, to a nearby hotel where he was taken into custody. While a suspect has been detained, our work as a state is not over.

Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee asked the public for patience as they try to determine a motive. President Donald Trump wished a speedy recovery to the injured and offered his condolences to the families of the dead. And at Brown University, great school. Great, really, one of the greatest, schools, anywhere in the world, things can happen. Classes and exams at Brown are suspended for the rest of the semester. Students are being given space to grieve and process what they've lived through. I'm shocked, but I'm not surprised. And I think that that's probably a sentiment that a lot of students also have here.

Zoe Weissman was in her dorm room and heard the commotion of the police response. A tragically familiar experience for the second year's student. Back in 2018, her middle school was located right beside a Parkland, Florida high school where a gunman's rampage killed 17 people. Now there's more kids like myself who've been through two school shootings, and I think that's kind of just representative of the situation that the inaction of Congress has put us in. Gun laws in the U.S. are routinely criticized in the wake of mass school shootings, sparking intense debates, though rarely does it ever lead to any kind of tangible, change. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Still ahead, you'll meet one of the more than 10,000 Palestinians who've been evacuated from Gaza for medical treatment. Many of them are now in Turkey, but even there, getting care

can be a month's long wait. The full story is ahead on your world tonight. in Montreal is dead after his tent caught fire in an encampment this morning. With temperatures plummeting, the tragic death is once again highlighting the challenges faced by vulnerable people in winter. And it comes in the same week, three Quebec seniors died in the cold. Sarah Levitt tells us more. Tragedy after a cold night in Montreal, firefighters and paramedics on the site of an unauthorized encampment used by some who are homeless.

Jean-Pierre Brabant is a spokesperson with Montreal police. A 911 call came in at around 7.50 Sunday morning, he says, about a fire in a tent. A man in his 30s was found inside. But it was clear he had died. An autopsy will determine his cause of death, but homeless advocates say, staying warm in Montreal's harsh winters isn't easy. Across the city, homeless encampments continue. to pop up for those seeking some type of shelter.

Andrew Morocco is the executive director at St. Michael's mission. They're not able to consistently have access to the resources that they need. They don't know which shelters are going to be open and which ones are going to be closed sometimes because in the winter a lot of the measures are very last managed. Can we prepare for the winter? Since her election in November, Montreal's mayor, Soraya Martinez Verada, says tackling homelessness is her number one priority. The city opened an emergency shelter with 100 spots with plans for more.

Claude Pinald, the chair of Montreal's executive committee, wrote in a statement that he was saddened to hear of the death this morning. Quote, this tragedy reminds us that we must all redouble our efforts. There needs to be a clear response that's looking to not just open places, but also go to where these people are who have been left on the margins and find ways to accompany them back towards a place of bare stability and of more safety. This morning's death, though, not the only one seemingly related to the cold in the past seven days alone. Three seniors, all in unrelated incidents, were found dead outside, the causes not yet known. Standing outside his grandmother's senior's residence, Mark Olivier Noad, says she died frozen. 88-year-old Jean Goyier suffering from an illness similar to dementia

was found in the snow on Monday. A few days later, this snowplow driver came across an 84-year-old woman wearing a t-shirt during a snowstorm. He performed CPR but was unable to save her. And on Friday, a 78-year-old man was also found dead outside his residence. Exposure to the cold, one factor being examined in these cases. So many tragic endings with winter just beginning.

Sarah Levitt, CBC News, Montreal. Pierre Pollyev insists conservatives are united behind his message of making life more affordable for Canadians, even after another MP crossed the floor. The conservative leader made the comments to CBC News in his first on-camera interview since MP Michael Ma joined the Liberals. As Olivia Stefanovic reports, Pollyev denies the latest affection is a sign of internal. problems. Is this a problem of

your leadership at this point? No, it's a problem of Mark Carney's leadership. Speaking to Rosemary Barden Live, conservative leader Pierre Polyev accused the prime minister of trying to manipulate his way to a majority. Then you have to go to the Canadian people and have them vote for it, not do it by

a dirty backroom deal. This was Pauliev's first on-camera interview since losing three MPs in just over a month. What are you doing now to make sure other caucus members don't leave? What are you saying to them? Affordability, affordability, affordability. Pauliev insisted conservatives remain united behind that message.

Even after Alberta MP Matt Jenneru announced plans to resign, Nova Scotia MP Chris Dantramont defected to the Liberals, and in a move that almost no one saw coming. Wow, such a big welcome. Ontario MP Michael Ma crossed the floor last Thursday, just in time for the Liberal Caucus Holiday Party. These people were elected by their constituents. They make decisions to leave Mr. Polyev's caucus for whatever reason they decide.

Dominic LeBlanc is the federal minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade. He says he'd be comfortable securing a majority through floor crossings. The liberals are now just one seat away. It's an absolutely legitimate parliamentary decision and we'll see if others also decide. If they do, Dmitri Sudez says that could harm Polyev's leadership. Sudez was the director of communications to former conservative prime minister Stephen Harper. It ultimately weakens Pierre Paulyev's authority. It reinforces the perception of a leader who is under pressure.

But because no one's currently challenging him, Sudez says Pahliav will likely win his leadership review next month, a contest that Daniel Smith is endorsing him in. Now let's talk about the amazing and brilliant Premier of Alberta. In his interview with Rosemary Barden Live, Pauliev suggested the prime minister got played by Smith, who got some environmental regulations reversed in exchange for federal support for a new bitumen pipeline,

a project that Pauliev says he would push through, even if British Columbia and First Nations don't want it. Would you just say, too bad, we're doing it? We're doing it. When asked if he took any lessons from the past year, which started off with a conservative leader riding high in the polls, then losing the federal election along with his own riding, Pollyev didn't say.

Focusing instead on the reason he's still in the job, fighting for better, more affordable lives, he said, for Canadians. Olivia Stefanovic, CBC News, Ottawa. Rainfall warnings are back across British Columbia's Fraser Valley. Overflow from Washington's Nooksack River sent a surge of water into BC on Thursday. Now, some waters are receding, but homes and farmland remain flooded, and more rain could worsen an already difficult situation. Caroline Bargut reports.

Honest to God, I was worried. Austin Vela has lived in Abbotsford for 23 years. His home was evacuated twice during the historic flooding in 2021. When floodwater started creeping closer to his property this time around, he prepared for the worst. We started putting stuff up high, so we don't lose most of this stuff in the house. if water gets in and God helped us, you know. 325 properties were evacuated in Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Those residents still can't return home.

However, there are positive signs as the floodwaters are receding. Some evacuation warnings have been downgraded to alerts. Still, more rain is on the way. Up to 80 millimeters is expected in some areas beginning Sunday night. Every time it rains hard, when we hear that word atmospheric river, we're panicking. Vern Oistrick is a supervisor at Enviro Corps Recycling in Abbotsford. His facility was flooded this week, and he's now assessing the damage. We had three feet of water in our warehouse, three feet.

I don't know how many thousands of dollars we're going to lose because I think this is a floodplain, so I don't think we can get insurance. You know, so it's just ugly. It is really ugly, eh? He says it's time for the federal government to do something to protect British Columbians from floodwaters coming from the U.S. The 2,021 floods were the worst in BC history and were also caused by the Nooksack River spilling over its banks,

sending the overflow into communities north of the border. 20,000 people were evacuated. 2.5 million livestock were impacted and more than 1,000 homes were flooded. The ground is just saturated. It's so wet. Ainsley Boyle was out for a walk this morning and says a lot of roads are washed out on the Canadian side of the border. She's not concerned about more flooding,

but says there is nowhere for the water. to go. They're still standing water in dangerous places. It's going to be really difficult to get that out. It's not draining. It's not draining well, right? It needs somewhere to go. And the more rain we get, the more the water just remains. So that's probably my biggest concern. Highway 1 in Abbotsford has reopened, but the province says it may close again if there's too much rain. Environment Canada says more rain could destabilize land that could increase the risk of landslides. Caroline Bargut, CBC News, Vancouver. Volodymyr Zelensky is in Berlin for peace talks.

Ukraine's president says his country is dropping its bid to join NATO. He says it's a compromise to help bring the war with Russia to an end and is instead agreeing to security guarantees from the U.S. and European allies. U.S. envoy Steve Whitkoff says there was a lot of progress made at today's talks, and they will continue on Monday. Over the past two years, more than 10,000 Palestinians have been evisive. evacuated from Gaza to receive medical treatment abroad. That's according to the World Health Organization.

Thousands of others are still waiting to be transferred out. And doctors are pleading for borders like the Rafa crossing with Egypt to be reopened. Breyer Stewart reports from Turkey, which has taken in nearly 500 patients. Inside a very small apartment built out of a shipping container in Arana, Turkey, Mohamed Hamouda sits on the floor and colors alongside his three children. The family of five left Gaza a month and a half ago. They were evacuated because Hamouda needed care after his lower legs were injured in an explosion back in June.

I admitted to the hospital, but there is not enough treatment for me. He points to his badly bruised and scarred legs. There is nerve injury. Burned, he says, after an Israeli bomb struck just meters away from him on a street. It is so difficult. And our children are crying and afraid and ask me if you can walk again or not. In the past two years, he said his family had to relocate 12 different times. After his injury, that meant navigating damaged roads in a wheelchair. The problem, he says, that patients endure throughout Gaza.

in Gaza are suffering a lot. There is many disabled and many amputated people. In Gaza's Nassar hospital in Han Yunus, the rooms and hallways are crowded with patients. Some have been waiting months, hoping to receive the news that they will be transferred abroad for care. Dua Abu Mustafa has been in the hospital for four months with her one-year-old daughter, Mariam.

She's losing weight and regressing, and Mustafa says doctors aren't able to tell her why. I have hope as long as my daughter is breathing, I have hope, she said. But how long does that last? Around a week after she spoke to a freelance video journalist working for CBC News, Mustafa said she was packing because she was told they would be evacuated and going to Italy where a hospital had agreed to treat her daughter.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 16,000 other patients waiting for a medical evacuation out of Gaza. Dr. Ahmed al-Fara is the director of pediatrics at Nassar hospital. Some of them, they are waiting for two months, three months. Some of them pass the way while they are waiting. Back in Adana, Turkey, Hamura is waiting to see an orthopedic surgeon. For now, his family is staying in temporary housing. I am afraid from the future.

He doesn't know how long he will be able to stay in Turkey and whether his children will be able to register for school. What he really worries about is his injury and what it means for his ability to find a job to support his family. Breyer Stewart, CBC News, Adana, Turkey. A far-right candidate has won Chile's presidential election. The Communist Party leader Jeanette Hara conceded defeat with only 60% of the vote.

cast. That means ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Cast will become the country's new president. Cast ran a campaign focused on crime and immigration. He was backed by other right-wing candidates. Christmas isn't Christmas without a tree. But tree farmers say climate change is making it harder to grow them, and that's pushing up prices. Now, a lab at the University of Waterloo is looking for ways to meet the climate challenge and keep real trees at the heart of Christmas. James Chirrani has that story.

This is the pre-cut tree area here, and this is a large number of Fraser fir trees. Joe Wareham and his wife, Alison McRindle, of Chickadee Christmas Christmas. trees in Puslandch, Ontario are starting to see more people coming in, looking for a tree, especially with the coming of snowy weather. The farm is along a quiet country road at the edge of Wellington County, just past a tiny roundabout. They're trying to keep the prices reasonable for their customers, but they used to charge $33 for a cut-your-own tree in 2004. Now it's $86. The problem? Climate change. For starters, the trees aren't coming up as easily as they used to. It's taking longer now, though, with the hot, dry summers.

They've had to deal with other issues, too, like irregular frost. But Wareham says that the biggest challenge they face is extreme heat. You need to be tough mentally and physically and keep going and overcome all of that. And that's probably one of the reasons why the trees cost so much now. It's tough to grow a tree. The Christmas Tree Lab out of the University of Waterloo have been collaborating with Wareham's farm and others like it across the province for their research. Their aim is to foster a more sustainable and environmental sector to keep these farms thriving.

Kelsey Leonard, the lab's director, says that what Wareham is seeing at his farm isn't that uncommon. Because we have so many unique bioregions across the province and across the nation, we're seeing a lot of different types of climate events impacting growers from drought to flooding to erratic freeze-thaw cycles to big extreme storms like a tornado. or wind. Despite the hardships, Leonard feels that it's an industry worth saving. It's a climate-friendly choice. When we think about an artificial tree, they're made from byproducts of fossil fuels. For an artificial tree to have the same carbon footprint as a real one, it would need to be used for more than 20 years. That's according to the David Suzuki Foundation. They're unfortunately becoming a fast-fad fashion. People are turning out their artificial trees

every two to three years. Worm says that with the growers they work with, they're thinking of new ways to be sustainable and affordable, like experimenting with how they grow the trees. They also sell a variety of different types, something that helps since each variant reacts to climate events differently. One of the things about Ontario growers, they're really showing us how to be climate leaders. They're thinking about biodiversity.

They are also thinking about species diversity. So we actually have a lot of resiliency already present in farms across Ontario. James Shirani, CBC News, Pistlinch, Ontario. Earlier in the show, you heard some of the menorah lighting ceremony in Ottawa to mark the first night of Hanukkah. This is a little more from that event. What was meant to be a celebration overshadowed by the mass shooting in Sydney, Australia, that targeted members of that city's Jewish community.

Community youth leaders in Ottawa reflecting on that in their remarks. We gather for Hanukkah to celebrate. light, resilience, and the courage to remain who we are, even when the world tries to extinguish us. But tonight, that message feels especially urgent. Prime Minister Mark Carney was there to help light the candle and offer these comments. This is about thriving. This is about taking the light and spreading it today, across our country, and through generations, so that this is the last generation that has to struggle against hate.

Across the country, similar events were held. In Newfoundland, Cape Spear MP, Tom Osborne, had this to say. I think it's important as we celebrate the holy season of Hanukkah with our Jewish friends, neighbors, that it's also important that we speak out against what we saw in Australia, hatred has no place. And if we speak out loud and we speak out clearly for peace and acceptance and kindness, then at the end of the day, that will win. Messages of strength, hope and solidarity in this country after a dark day in another.

This has been your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. Thank you for listening. Good night.