Your World Tonight - Canada sizzles, parasite spreads in U.S., Trump’s Hormuz toll flip, and more

Episode Date: July 14, 2026

Environment Canada has issued alerts for at least five provinces and one territory. Extreme heat, wildfires, and tornadoes are making for more volatile weather across the country. And: Public health experts in the U.S. are trying to track the source of an outbreak of cyclosporiasis. It’s usually food- or water-borne. The outbreak has spread to 30 states, and while it’s not usually fatal, it can be very unpleasant. Also: President Donald Trump backtracks on his plan to charge transiting ships a fee, as the U.S. and Iran each claim control of the Strait of Hormuz. Plus: The Assembly of First Nations criticizes the prime minister's major projects plan, Canadian connection to the murder of a Punjabi singer, the campaign to free a Palestinian doctor, home insurance costs rise in Canada, and more.

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This is a CBC podcast. It's okay by the pool or by the water. I think when I leave to go home, it might be another story. It's pretty gnarly. Like, I have a crappy air conditioning unit in my apartment. So, yeah, coming here and, yeah, staying in the shade. I have a little fan. Millions of Canadians doing what they can to beat the heat.

Sizzling temperatures are hitting large areas of the country, including central and eastern Canada and part of the northwest. Many are pointing to climate change and some are quite. questioning the federal government's fast-tracking of emissions-heavy projects. This is Your World Tonight. I'm Salima Shivji, also on the program. I just thought I had food poisoning. I mean, I have never been so exhausted in my life. That's one of thousands of Americans infected with an illness causing serious gastrointestinal symptoms. Health officials say they're narrowing in on the possible causes,

and Canadians traveling south are warned to do so with caution. It's hot, very hot. Canada has issued extreme heat warnings across Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, as temperatures rise to dangerous levels in some places. The extreme heat, just another example of increasingly wild weather across the country. And as Jennifer Yun reports, it's all being made worse by climate change. The sound of sweet, cool relief. It feels like 46 degrees in Toronto today.

Many coping any way they can. like Andrew Gilmer, firmly planted at an outdoor pool. I've been here like the past three days in a row. Much of Canada is under a heat warning today. The weather system responsible is huge and wide-ranging, says Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Jeff Colson. Stretching all the way from Montana and southeastern Saskatchewan through Manitoba, all of the province of Ontario, all of the states bordering the Great Lakes pretty much,

and parts of Western Quebec. The air quality also is. a concern for millions. In Montreal, the outside literally looks yellow. The sky looked apocalyptic as the weather system trapped wildfire smoke in the air. We've always had heat waves even before climate change, but in many ways, climate change is supercharging them. On top of global warming, climate researcher Zikaal's father is worried about El Nino this year. The natural warming cycle can wreak havoc on the weather, and it's still growing in strength. And the models that we have, 14 different modeling groups all around the world have pretty stunning forecasts for what is likely to happen later this year.

The heat wave has already been deadly this year. In Europe, a record-breaking heat wave led to 10,000 excess deaths. A lot of these heat events that we have seen have been virtually impossible without climate change. With more extreme heat events expected and with an aging population, Arizona State University heat researcher Jennifer Van Oswries, more people will die because of the heat. So increase in vulnerability and increase. and temperatures is bad news unless we can figure out ways to adapt to that as a society. That includes building health infrastructure, Van Osse says. The climate crisis is still with us, and our commitment to fighting it is absolute.

Yet, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney fast-tracking major oil and gas projects in response to American tariffs and the war on Iran, even as he acknowledges... The changes we have made will mean that our emissions will be higher in the next few years than they were projected to be under the previous government's plan. Housefather says that's short-sighted. You know, climate physics aren't going to change just because our politics do. Ultimately, he says, the world will have to address climate change. And the longer we wait, the worse it's going to get.

Jennifer Yun, CBC News, Toronto. Michigan officials believe lettuce could be the source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak. The parasite has sickened thousands in that state, but cases have also been found all over the United States. So far, the public health agency in Canada is not investigating any possible outbreaks here, but experts say Canadians should be aware of the increased risk when heading south. Health reporter Tashana Reid has more. I just thought I had food poisoning. I mean, I have never been so exhausted in my life.

Christina Serafino of North Carolina is one of thousands of Americans infected with cyclosporiasis. The gastrointestinal illness caused by a parasite. Tuesday of last week I went and I got tested. About two days later, I tested positive. The center of the outbreak in Michigan has more than 3,300 cases reported. Officials say they are investigating a possible link to lettuce and salad greens, but said other food items cannot be completely ruled out. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cases have been reported in more than 30 states since the start of the year, and thousands are under investigation.

The CDC says cases in Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and Kentucky are all connected. Physician Dr. Frieda Fisher in Atlanta says patients can have extreme symptoms. Patients are reporting having diarrhea episodes 14 times a day, even for zero, 40 times a day. So it's pretty... The infection is treatable with antibiotics, but puts the elderly young children and immunocompromise people at risk. And if untreated, symptoms can last for weeks. If you're having diarrhoea like that, then it's important to go and see a doctor ask to be tested for cyclospora.

Experts say the rare pathogen carries a long incubation period and symptoms can take up to two weeks to appear. So if you go around and ask people what they ate 7 to 14 days ago, maybe they know, maybe they don't. It's very difficult to recall. Jennifer Ronholm is a microbiologist and associate professor at McGill University in Montreal. She says another challenge finding the source is the shelf. life of the usual suspects. Most of the things that they've eaten associated with cyclospora, raspberries, lettuce, herbs, they will have been expired and thrown out by now. So it's hard to go back to the source of the food because everything's so perishable. The Public Health Agency of Canada

says it's not investigating any cyclospora outbreaks in Canada, although they see nearly 240 cases each year mostly linked to travel. Lawrence Goodrich, a food microbiologist at the University of Guelph says if you're traveling south, be cautious. And this outbreak is so distributed across the country that Canadians who do travel to the U.S. I think need to be vigilant. Some expert tips, eating cooked vegetables, following safe food handling guidelines and consuming produce grown in Canada. Tashana Reid, CBC News, Toronto.

Coming right up, backtracking as guardian of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump changes his messaging a day after suggesting, ships would have to pay into American coffers to pass through. Plus, the Assembly of First Nations raises concerns about stalled clean water legislation and a lack of consultation on major projects at its annual summit. And later, we'll bring you this story. Fire, floods, and intense heat. Severe weather is impacting Canadians and costing you money.

I didn't know it at the time when we had set up our insurance that there was extra coverage for things like this. I'm Morgan Black in Edmonton. On Your World Tonight, find out what you need to know about rising insurance costs and why you may be on the hook for more than you think. U.S. President Donald Trump has changed his mind about charging ships to use the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, he says Gulf countries will make what he calls massive investments in the U.S. That country restored its naval blockade of the strait today with the president insisting

he will keep the waterway open for all ships except those servicing Iran. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Iran continue to exchange strikes, leaving the interim peace deal very much in tatters. Julia Wong is in Washington with the latest. Another day of fighting in the Middle East as U.S. fighter jets streak across the sky, dropping missiles over targets in Iran. Iran reciprocated, launching its own attacks on U.S. assets in the Middle East. We don't take anything.

We don't need a U.S. President Donald Trump announced today the U.S. would not be charging a 20% fee to commercial ships crossing the street of Hormuz. A plan he shared Monday, despite international law saying waterways must be free of charge. I thought it was good. I was called by different people, different countries, kings and Amirs and all of the people that we all know. And we all love. And they've been, frankly, they've been very strong partners. Trump says,

Instead, countries will compensate the U.S. differently. The Gulf states are going to invest a tremendous amount of money into the United States, and that was very satisfactory to me. I think it's actually much better. But Nader Hashemi, a Canadian, and a Middle East politics professor at George Washington University, says there are other reasons Trump is flip-flopping. He had to backtrack and announce a reversal of policy to, save face to make it seem like the United States is not acting in an openly hypocritical way.

And Hashimi does not expect those investments Trump alluded to will actually happen. I'd be very surprised if there was any serious financial offer that was made by these Gulf states to invest in the American economy. So I think this is largely posturing and it's really damage control. Meanwhile, oil prices have surged and recently. and days. And with so much uncertainty, this may only just be the beginning, according to Patrick DeHan with Gas Buddy. The U.S. President has kind of alluded to the fact that, you know, he's tired of this memorandum, the ceasefire. And so it's really unknown whether this could last into Labor Day into the month of August. As for whether a peace deal can be reached, Hashimi says it's complicated.

Because there is no military solution. There's only a diplomatic. solution. And I think it's going to have to entail some sort of concession from the American side that at least for the foreseeable future, Iran is going to retain control over this body of water. A solution that Hashemi says may not be palatable to the U.S. Julia Wong, CBC News, Washington. The case of a prominent doctor from Gaza being held in Israeli custody is gaining international attention. Israel's military claims Dr. Husam Abu Safia is a member of of Hamas, but his family denies it and fears for his life. He's one of more than a dozen doctors

who have been detained without charge for more than a year. Senior international correspondent Margaret Evans reports. Dr. Hussam Abu Safi, Director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, with a message to the outside world back in February 2024. He's saying his hospital, full of injured, will face a humanitarian catastrophe unless urgent medical supplies are allowed to reach Gaza. Abu Safia's voice was one of the strongest to detail the suffering inflicted on Palestinians during the first year of Israel's war in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7th attack in 2003, a voice that fell silent the day Israeli troops took him from the hospital and the patients he'd long refused to leave.

That was some 18 months ago. His sister, Samahir, still waiting for his return in Gaza. She denies Israeli claims that her brother was a Hamas operative. They took him from his work while he was wearing his white coat, she says. They didn't take him from a battlefield. She fears she won't see him alive again, after his lawyer was granted a rare visit, reporting what he described as a marked deterioration in the doctor's health,

that he'd been beaten. Israel has held Abu Safia as what they call an unlawful combatant, which allows Israeli authorities to detain individuals without charge indefinitely. The Israel Defense Forces told CBC News Abu Safia is suspected of involvement in terrorist activities, but ignored our queries as to proof or why he hasn't been charged. I'm sure that if there was any evidence, that would come in a form of an indictment. There are no charges.

Tjitza Libovitz is Deputy Director of Physicians for Human Rights, Israel. Challenging claims by the Israeli government that Abu Safia's health is not in danger, petitioning the Supreme Court for his release, along with that of 13 other Gaz and doctors being held without charge. These are personnel who have witnessed some of the atrocities happening in the hospital. Once they have been in the Israeli detention system, they are also witnesses of what is happening there. The UN has expressed alarm over widespread allegations of systematic abuse of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israeli prison service has persistently rejected such allegations. Amia is the head of Gaza's El Shifa Hospital.

He says he was tortured during seven months of incarceration without charge before he was released earlier this month. The occupation seeks to break the will of Palestinian doctors inside Israeli prisons. He says it wants to destroy their morale, something in short supply in Gaza. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. Lebanon and Israel have resumed talks in Rome. Late last month, the two signs agreed to an end to fighting. The deal called for the disarmament of militant groups

and Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Neither of those has happened yet. The talks are being brokered by the U.S. and do not include Hezbollah. The Assembly of First Nations is meeting in Ottawa for its annual gathering. On the agenda this year, concerns over the federal government's new clean water bill, and Ottawa's plans to fast-track major projects. Olivia Stefanovic explains why the AFN worries the impact from both may undermine not only the environment, but also the rights of First Nations.

Before this year's annual General Assembly officially opened, more than 100 First Nations leaders and community members marched in honor of water. We need to protect water. We need sustainable water. Greg Sarazan is chief of the Algonquins of Pickwakanagon First Nation. Located just 120 kilometers west of Ottawa, the community struggled for 40 years to get a clean drinking water system. There needs to be legislation that ensures safe, clean, sustainable drinking water.

The federal government introduced a bill last month to ensure all First Nations have that guarantee, but it doesn't explicitly say it's a human right. something that was included in the previous version of the bill. And we're actually getting ready, I think, to go to war for water on behalf of our communities. Brendan Mitchell is AFN regional chief for Newfoundland. He says First Nations are sliding down the federal government's priority list. Previously in meetings with a former prime minister, at three times I heard him state in a meeting like this,

that no relationship was more important to him than his relationship with the indigenous people of Canada. I've yet to hear our current Prime Minister say that. I want to know where we stand. So it's disappointing. AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse-Nepe-Nak says First Nations are worried Ottawa is watering down human rights protections to make it easier to push through its major projects agenda.

Our rights are our rights and this land is our land. Still, many First Nations leaders say they want to be involved in Prime Minister Mark Carney's economic development, but they say they want to be brought in on the onset of project planning and see benefits for their communities. What about us? Who's holding all the risk when it comes to the environment? Kelsey Jacko is chief of Cold Lake First Nations in Alberta, where two new oil pipelines are being pitched by the provincial government.

Like we should be the Saudis of Canada, right? There's a lot of money, trillions of dollars come from our lands. And, you know, when it's all trickles down and it's really nothing. And, you know, it's more about equity. Carney says the proposed new pipeline to the West Coast will be built in full partnership with indigenous peoples, and a meaningful equity stake will be offered. But what that means in reality is something First Nations leaders gathered at the AFN this week are still waiting to see, as they navigate a new relationship with the federal government. Olivia Estefanovich, CBC News, Ottawa. Indian police say the killing of a young Punjabi singer may be connected to Canada.

Three men have been arrested in India, but Punjab police allege their chief suspect lives in Canada and knew the victim. They want to question him. As Susan Ormiston reports from Luddiana, there are no charges filed, but the singer's family is pressing for answers. Yashinder Carr was a 29-year-old Punjabi singer popular on social media and in a Punjabi fan. film. Suddenly, one night in May, she went missing in her home city, Ludiana. On the last night of her life, police say she was shot in the head and the chest, and her car and body dumped in a canal. Her murder touched off a wild media frenzy, fueled by police, that the chief suspect in the case had fled back to Canada. In May, Punjab police arrested three men as accomplices,

parading them before the media with black hoods covering their heads. They say two guns recovered are registered to a man, Sukhinder Singh Bra. Forensics on the weapons are still pending. Police say Brar is a permanent resident of Canada and they want to question him about his relationship with the singer. According to Kaur's family, the two shared a long-distance friendship.

celebrating his birthday in India in January and with talk of marriage. Before they say, they discovered he was already married in Canada. A cousin Garendra Palsing is pleading for Canada to get involved. We urge the Canadian government and we seek his deportation to India. But with no charges yet, and a case still to be tested in Indian courts, there's no process yet to engage Canadian authorities. If he is indeed in Canada, CBC has confirmed he's listed as a director in a Calgary construction business and owns a home there,

but he has not responded to attempts to contact him. The RCMP and Calgary police told us they've had no contact regarding the murder. Dalje Carr, the singer's mother, feels helpless. My child come back to me. feels right. Nothing feels good anymore. My daughter wants justice. The family fears that will be a long time coming.

Susan Ormiston, CBC News, Lidiana, India. 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, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. Professional Women's Soccer is coming to Manitoba. The Northern Super League says its seventh team in the women's league will be in Winnipeg. The first expansion team in NSL history was founded by two very popular soccer figures from the province.

Storyed coach Rob Gale and retired NSL star player and Olympic gold medalist, Desiree Scott. Growing up in Winnipeg, I dreamed of playing professional soccer. The problem was there wasn't a professional league here. There wasn't a professional team here. If I wanted to chase that dream, I had to leave home. Like so many Canadian players of my generation, I had to build my career somewhere else. After today, the next generation won't have to. The expansion will officially kick off in the 2027 season next April.

Extreme weather happens, but as the planet warms, it's getting a lot more extreme and a lot more frequent. All those fires and floods often come with an emotional toll and a major financial one. Many Canadians are also discovering that the more frequent natural disasters are to blame for rising insurance costs. Morgan Black has that story. Floods, fires, and storms. It's off, Corey! Across the country, extreme weather is causing more destruction more often. It kind of just ruins everything.

When Edmonton resident, Sarah Dano heads downstairs. She gets emotional. It's tough. After historic rainfall in Edmonton, her basement has flooded twice. The flooring, ripped out, unearthing more damage. What remains is a damp smell and furniture and baby toys piled high. Last week, at the beginning of July,

we heard that our claim is going to possibly be denied because of seepage. And I don't know what seepage meant. Dano is one of thousands of homeowners across Canada who are navigating the insurance system after severe weather strikes. And this is just an ongoing growing concern. Rob DePree with the Insurance Bureau of Canada says Canadians are paying more to protect their homes, cars, and belongings. Because Canada is just becoming a riskier place to do insurance.

The cost and scope of what insurance covers is also changing. And the reality is many people might not be aware of the details of their insurance policy. They just assume that everything's covered. Dano discovered she was not covered for the water damage in her basement. I didn't know at the time when we had set up our insurance that there was extra coverage for things like this. Extreme weather is costing insurers more than ever. For example, Statistics Canada says homeowners insurance in Alberta increased by 400%, pointing in part to severe weather. We can't change mother nature, but what we can do is build more. resilience. Ryan Ness is trying to convince governments to do just that.

If governments don't take proactive steps to adapt to a warming climate with more intense rainfall, the bill to maintain our infrastructure will increase on average to the end of the century by $15 billion per year. He's the director of adaptation research at the Canadian Climate Institute. He suggests governments must change as the climate changes. We can't just use the same old building codes we've always used. They need to be updated to reflect the fact that there'll be more wind trying to tear the roofs off houses. But for now, many Canadians are stuck paying the price for weather they cannot control. There's limits to what people can do individually. For Dano, the cost goes beyond money. It's going to put our family plan behind.

All she can do is take a closer look at the fine print and hope for better weather ahead. News, Edmonton. This is Connor Hurdle at the mic with his country band called Hurdle, performing on stage at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival on Prince Edward Island this past weekend. It was his band's first time playing at Atlantic Canada's largest outdoor concert. But that's only part of why the 32-year-old Nova Scotia man says it was so special. Just the full-circle moment of having your life change and then being able to play on the stage just down the road from where it happened.

It is a swimming accident in the summer of 2015 while he was in the area for the very same festival with friends and family. It left him mostly paralyzed from the collarbone down. That meant some dark times for someone with a love of sports who was learning to play the guitar. But rehab helped that. They try and give you different avenues

to deal with what had happened. And writing is a big one, journaling, I guess per se. But with me loving music, I said, well, geez, why don't I try writing some songs? One of those songs is Hurdle's debut single, Sun Will Rise. It was released in January, and it's about his injury and journey as a quadriplegic, and about brighter days ahead. Hurdle says he and his bandmates are dreaming of making it big,

and we'll do all they can to make it to Nashville. But even thinking about where he is now, he still finds it hard to believe. I never thought 11 years ago after breaking my neck, that we'd have a band and be singing at Cavendish. It just wasn't in my mindset at that point. It's crazy to think how stuff like that just happens. Thanks so much for being with us.

This has been Your Will Tonight for Tuesday, July 14th. I'm Salima Shigree. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC.ca.ca.com.