Your World Tonight - Canada’s classroom violence problem, Trump’s trade war, water temps and entangled whales, and more

Episode Date: February 25, 2026

Canada’s main teacher federation says violence in classrooms has reached a crisis point. From class size to the lingering effects of pandemic shutdowns, the reasons vary. But they say violence in the classroom is increasing — even with some educators wearing Kevlar.Plus: A top U.S. trade official says Canada may need to face a future with tariffs, regardless of what comes out of upcoming CUSMA renegotiations. The comments follow a State of the Union speech by President Donald Trump, in which he put America’s trade partners on notice, and suggested the revenue generated from import levies could one day replace income taxes for U.S. citizens.And: Why a changing environment may be linked to increased harm for the West Coast humpback whale population in Canada and the USPlus: Poilievre’s trade message reset, Mexico steps up security, the Pentagon’s Anthropic ultimatum, and more.

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This is a CBC podcast. I have seen anything from furniture being thrown across the room, hitting staff, hitting children. I know of staff who have worn arm guards because they were being bitten. Not the image anyone wants when they think about sending kids or teachers into school. But more and more teachers are reporting violence in the classroom, and they say it's putting them and their students' education at risk. Welcome to Your World Tonight.

I'm Susan Bonner. It is Wednesday, February 25th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. The view of the American administration is that there'll be a price to access the American market. I think, you know, every country of the world that I know of is paying a price. That price comes in the form of tariffs. A word U.S. President Donald Trump repeats like a mantra. Canada's finance minister says Canada is paying a lower. price than other countries for now. But with negotiations on a trade deal about to restart and the U.S.

insisting the levies will be part of any new deal, the price could be going up. Canadian teachers say classroom violence is rising at an alarming rate, with many reporting incidents every day. Kayla Hounsel reports. When the bell rings, classes are in and there's an expectation of safety. increasingly teachers say it isn't so. It's the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning, it's the last thing you think of when you go to bed at night. To be clear, Denise Kelly is not talking about extreme cases involving guns and loss of life, which are rare,

but she says teachers are worried about what they describe as everyday violent behavior. I have seen anything from furniture being thrown across the room, hitting staff, hitting children. I know of staff who have worn arm guards because they were being bitten. Kelly is still subbing after recently retiring as a full-time teacher in Nova Scotia, where more than 27,000 incidents of physical violence were reported in the last school year.

It is at a crisis level. It is not overblown to say it's at a crisis level. Clint Johnston of the Canadian Teachers Federation says in a recent nationwide survey of its members, his organization found 100% of elementary school teachers were significantly concerned about violence in their schools. It's absolutely a trend across the country, and it's one of the things that's also driving teachers to leave the profession, which is very frustrating in a time when we're already very shorter teachers. According to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, in Ontario in 2025, teaching assistants filed more claims to take time off work as a result of workplace violence than any other profession. Elementary teachers came in fourth, ahead of police officers and correctional officers. So we're talking about harassment and violence in the workplace that is extremely pervasive.

Darby Mallory has studied violence in Ontario schools. She says the reason for the rise in violent behavior is largely due to funding cuts and students with greater needs, but also points to the affordability crisis. We find ourselves in a perfect storm of major stressors across this country and decades' worth of legislation and policies that have culminated in. violence becoming a symptom of a school system that's not functioning properly. I would have to say that technology is a big thing. Kelly says kids who are parked in front of screens don't develop the same interpersonal skills

and the ability to self-regulate. At the end of the day, she says classrooms are not safe, students are missing out on valuable instructional time, and something needs to change. Kayla Hounsel, CBC News, Halifax. Donald Trump has called Tariff the most beautiful word in the dictionary. There's a good chance. It's also going to feature in a different kind of document. The North American Agreement on Free Trade is up for review this year. And the White House is suggesting a new deal will not be free of tariffs. Tom Perry has reaction from Ottawa.

You know, I don't know if you watch the State of the Union address. I almost climbed through the television about 18 times. It was a long night for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who's no fan of U.S. President Donald Trump or his fixation with tariffs. I can tell you one thing. A tariff on Canada is a tax on Americans. They know it. They're feeling the crunch down there. They have the uncertainty down there, especially in Michigan. So, you know, they want to tariff us. I say we tariff them back.

The only time Canada was even mentioned in Trump's marathon speech was when he welcomed members of the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team who beat Canada for the gold medal. But America's trade partners were as a group put on notice, as the president vowed to carry on with his tariff agenda despite last week's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, striking much of it down. And as time goes by, I believe, the tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replaced the modern day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love. Setting aside the fact tariffs are generally paid by, U.S. importers and consumers, Trump's determination to carry on with his policy will impact foreign countries doing business with America. After his speech, one of Trump's top trade officials offered a glimpse of what it could mean for Canada. When we go to other countries and we make

deal with them, the other countries that they agree that we can have a terrorist. U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer spoke to CBC News and gave a strong indication that even if the U.S. renews its free trade deal with Canada and Mexico, that trade will no longer be free. If Canada wants to agree that we can have some level of higher tariff on them while they open up their markets to us and things like dairy and other things, that's a helpful conversation. On Parliament Hill today, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he hadn't seen the President's speech,

but Finance Minister Francois Philippe Champagne caught the gist of it. What I would say, I think it is pretty well understood now in the world that the view of the American administration is that there'll be a price to access the American market. To Champaign, this all shows why Canada needs to keep seeking new overseas trading partners. The Prime Minister leaves this week for India, Australia and Japan, trying once again to do just that. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. The lack of progress on the tariffs would seem to be a boon for the opposition, but

conservatives are struggling to get any traction on the issue. and it's not the party's only problem. With another member recently crossing the floor to join the Liberals, the Conservative caucus met today in Ottawa, with Pierre Polyev preparing a new strategy for tackling trade and tariffs. Kate McKenna reports. Is Pierre-Poliath had control of caucus? Yeah, he does.

On the day of their first caucus meeting, since losing a third MP to the Liberals, conservatives like Alberta MP Leila Goodridge put on a brave face. We are United Caucus. It is wonderful to hear how much unity we have, and so that's something that is exciting and wonderful to hear. MPs sat for a longer-than-usual meeting on Wednesday morning. Two floors above them, Alberta MP Matt Jenneru attended his first Liberal caucus meeting, telling reporters he harbors no ill will towards his old colleagues. I have no bad words to say about people on the other side of the aisle. You know, many of them are friends and deep friends, and a lot of them continue to text me. You know, I hope that to remain friends. But it was noticed yesterday when Jenneru and fellow defectors, Michael Ma and Chris Don Tramon,

sat in the front row of question period, facing Conservative leader Pierre Paulyev while he was grilling the Prime Minister. Conservative MP Scott Acheson sat in the opposition benches with Jenneru for years. I think you see a man Janiru yesterday sitting right there at the front. This morning also marked the first caucus meeting since Pauliev had to distance himself from comments his MP, Jamil Giovanni made to an American news site where he described the Canadian trade response as an anti-American hissy fit. And in the halls of parliament, rumors continue to swirl that liberals are looking to further pillage the Tory caucus for more floor crossers. Plus, recent polls show a widening golf in support for the Karni Liberals and Pahliav's conservatives.

You know, Pierre Pahliav has gone from leading over the liberals to being tied neck and neck in a real statistical dogfight between the two parties to now, not only, chasing, but chasing by a wide mile. Shachi Curl is the president of the Angus Reed Institute. Their recent poll shows a 13-point lead for the liberals. She says part of that is Pauliev's failure to connect on the main issue driving voters, Donald Trump. There's a real gap and disconnect between how Canadians are feeling towards Washington and Trump

and how Polyev has or has struggled to respond to that. Tomorrow, Pahliav is going to try to change that with a speech at the Economic Club of Canada. CBC News has learned he will talk about Trump by name and promote new ideas, including an all-party working group on the trade negotiations with the U.S. and requiring companies that move Canadian IP offshore to repay any taxpayer support they received. Another push to reset the message from a leader under pressure. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Ottawa. Coming right up, the drug war in Mexico exploded in violence over the weekend. Things are relatively calm now, but clashes can erupt at any time.

We look at how the military in Mexico is preparing. Also, misanthropic. The AI firm is dropping some of its safety protocols as the U.S. military demands fewer limits on how it can use the technology. And public health officials have vowed to eradicate cervical cancer, a preventable disease, but they are far short of that goal. Later, we'll have this story.

More humpback whales are becoming entangled with things like fishing gear off the West Coast, and climate change may be to blame. We look at a new study that reveals entanglements are more likely in warmer waters. Really, I think this is a key unexpected surprise that climate change is throwing at us. I'm Tanya Fletcher in Vancouver with more on what researchers say can be done about it. That's later on your world tonight. The Mexican government is working to ease fears after fighting in Porta Vallarta and other tourist hotsparts over the weekend.

Thousands of troops have been deployed to increase safety, including the Mexican Navy, which took CBC news out on patrol. Jorge Barrera was there. Beneath clear blue skies at low altitude, the Mexican Navy's Black Hawk helicopter patrols over Palm Line boulevards, Pacific Ocean beaches, and hotels in Puerto Vallarta. The Navy captain leading this aerial operation watches for anything amiss, sudden movement, by someone on the ground, specific types of vehicles, anything suggesting a criminal threat. They saw the helicopter and they are acting not normal.

They think that they act normal, but they are not like acting normal. And they always have like special trucks. They don't have plates in the trucks or in their vehicles. For security reasons, the Mexican Navy says it won't allow the release of this captain's name. captain's name. Its member is potential targets for criminal groups. CBC News joined the Blackhawk as it patrolled this vacation hotspot Wednesday morning. It's part of a security surge by the Mexican government. After chaos engulfed Puerto Vallarta Sunday, as masked and armed men burned over 200 vehicles and dozens of stores, the violence flaring after Mexican special forces killed Del Mensho,

the leader of the Halisco, New Generation Cartel, one of the most. powerful drug organizations in the world. Over 70 people were killed, including 25 National Guard soldiers. I think that they are cowards. They don't think that they are not the law. The normal people work every day for their things, their cars, their houses, and they are cowards that don't think about that. Mexican security forces are keen to show that Sunday's disturbances, which flared in 20 states, were one-off events and that places like Puerto Vallarta are once again safe. The Navy is also conducting patrols through the streets of Puerto Vallarta. This Navy captain, who only provides the name De Naveo, says the 601 Navy Infantry Battalion is providing security in helping to clear the remaining burned vehicles.

that still dot the city. This city is safe, everything is normal, and security is guaranteed by the state, says Captain De Navio. While he spoke, his troops screened vehicles at a checkpoint set up by an intersection connected to one of the city's main avenues that bustled with heavy traffic,

life regaining its rhythm. But here and there, the burned buildings, reminders of a violence the Mexican government is hoping to. to erase Jorge Barrera, CBC News, Puerto Vallarta. A deadline is looming in a standoff between big tech and big government. What happens could open a frontier in warfare. U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegset, has issued an ultimatum to the AI company Anthropic.

He says the company has until Friday to back down from its limits on how the Pentagon can use its technology. CBC Senior Technology reporter Nora Young is watching this. Nora, what is this ongoing standoff about at its heart? What does the Department of War want to use Anthropics technology for? Well, Anthropic wants to prohibit two things. One is using their technology for mass surveillance of U.S. citizens, and the other is using fully autonomous weapons,

so where there's no human in the loop. And obviously, that's clearly raising some alarm bells to have machines capable of killing or making decisions with no human. human control or intervention. Now, the Pentagon says it's not that they specifically want to use the tech for those purposes, but they want the right to use the tech for all, quote-unquote, lawful purposes. So they've threatened to end the contract, calling Anthropic a supply chain risk. And they've also said they'd use something called the Defense Production Act, where they would basically use the technology without Anthropics Agreement. Now, on Anthropic itself, the fact that this is a fight with

Anthropic adds another layer of interest. Yeah. I mean, the Pentagon also has a different agreement with Elon Musk's XAI and they're pursuing one with Google. But Anthropic has always built itself as having AI safety as kind of the cornerstone of what they do. And in many ways, they've really led in that area. In fact, Anthropic was created by former Open AI execs with a primary mission to prioritize AI safety. And there's been so much discussion about AI safety. And just yesterday, Anthropic announced changes to its own safety guidelines. Is that related to what's going on with its...

fight with the Department of War? Yeah, I mean, the timing is certainly striking, but Anthropic told us just this afternoon that the Department of War fight is over Anthropics' usage policy, and that's a thing that applies to all their customers. What Anthropic announced was a revision to a different policy, their internal, responsible scaling policies. So looking at future developments and how to deal with future AI capabilities that pose, quote-unquote, catastrophic risks. Now, the old policy said Anthropic would unilaterally act to limit those risky technologies. In the belief that other companies would follow their lead. Now they're saying they'd act to limit risky tech in conjunction with other leaders. So backing off that unilateral commitment, although

they do say there's still some guardrails they would undertake unilaterally. So where does this leave us all on the question of AI safety? I mean, in one case, we might be talking about AI and nuclear weapons. Yeah, I mean, what it really does for me is raise the question about how robust AI guardrails really are. In the case of Anthropic, where this updated policy is to stop the development essentially until they no longer believe they have a significant lead. So their competitors are going ahead anyway. And as Anthropic themselves point out, if this current U.S. administration seems unwilling to do much AI safety regulation at all. Thank you, Nora. My pleasure. Thank you.

The CBC Senior Technology Reporter Nora Young here in Toronto. Cancer experts say Canada needs to do more to prevent cervical cancer. It's estimated that almost 2,000 women. in Canada were diagnosed with the disease last year. Close to 400 died from it. And as Jennifer Lagrasa reports, the most effective prevention is still not getting to enough Canadians. While many celebrate the advancement in modern medicine,

there is an alarming outlier. Dr. Shannon Salvador heads Canada's Society of Gynecologic Oncology. The organization, along with 20 others, called on Ottawa today to pay closer attention, cervical cancer. Women should not be presenting with advanced preventable diseases in today's health care system. Cervical cancer is almost always caused by the human papilloma virus, known as HPV, which is sexually transmitted. In men, the virus can cause penile or throat and mouth cancers. After many decades of decline, the cervical cancer rate showed a concerning uptick between

2015 and 2019. As of 2021, that rate has plateaued. It's really sad because this is generally a preventable cancer. Dr. Amanda Sulk is a gynaecologist at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. For about 20 years, Canada has been using the HPV vaccine found to be highly effective in preventing the virus. Sulk says there's a lot of hesitancy and misinformation about the vaccine. I think we still have been battling the same misconceptions about HPV vaccines for many, many years. And that is this idea that it might promote sexual activity. and we know that it doesn't.

As of 2024, Canada's National Vaccine Advisory Committee recommends one dose for most people between the ages of 9 and 20 years old. People up to 46 years old can get vaccinated, but the shot is said to be most effective before a person becomes sexually active. Across the country, vaccination rates vary. Coverage among teens and young adults is well below the national target of 90%. There was a huge downed trend in immunizations in general. And experts like Dr. Christine Palme, a family doctor in Toronto,

say the pandemic hasn't helped the situation. And the thing that we know, if you don't catch children during school, it is less likely that they will show up for catch up. Some experts point to the benefits of an opt-out system, like the one in Newfoundland and Labrador, which means a child will get the vaccine unless a parent signs of form deciding against it. And latest data shows Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest HPV vaccination rate in the country. Another challenge say experts is that most of Canada

hasn't switched from PAP tests to HPV tests, which can better catch the virus. And self-test kits aren't yet widely available, which would make screening easier, especially for people who don't have a family doctor. Jennifer Lagrasa, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario. 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. Climate change poses a threat to many animals.

Now, research suggests there's an unexpected danger for humpback whales. More humpbacks are becoming entangled in fishing lines and gear. And as Tanya Fletcher reports, that could be linked. linked to warming seas. Got it. That's the sound of crews cutting free a humpback whale caught up in fishing gear off California.

The type of rescue that's becoming more common up and down the West Coast. And now research reveals warming ocean water may be increasing that risk. The rise of whale entanglements is directly tied to the temperature of humpback habitats. That's the upshot of a new study

from the U.S.-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Really, I think this is a key unexpected surprise that climate change is throwing at us. Jeff Shester is a senior scientist with Oceania. He says the cold water pockets ideal for humpbacks to thrive are shrinking, with more frequent marine heat waves forcing the whales closer to shore. So that warmer water is really compressing the areas where these whales can actually go to find food. And so when those areas are overlapping with where, some of our major fisheries are for things like

Dungeness Crab, that's basically creating this perfect storm of much higher interaction between the whales and where this fishing gear is. So literally, we've created a traffic jam. Andrew Trites is a marine mammal expert at UBC. He says while this particular study looks at the U.S. coast, the findings extrapolate north to Canadian waters too. We're just part of that continuum.

We do have the same issues here. They're getting caught in the ropes that are used. used to attach to crab pots. They're getting caught in gill nets. Before 2014, yearly stats showed fewer than 10 entanglements off the U.S. West Coast, but in 2024, that number spiked to 31 whales. And on average, three quarters of them don't survive. And humpbacks, unfortunately, when they get caught in something, they have a tendency to roll in it, and they can wrap them up so tight, and they have an inability to get out of it. The good news, he says, are new tools that use technology to predict the likelihood of these encounters

based on oceanic forecasts. Chester adds that index can help guide decision-making on when and where to close areas to fishing if there's a higher risk. One of the exciting parts now is that there are new innovations, for example, ropless fishing gear,

so fishermen are now going back in to these areas that are closed with fishing gear that does not pose the entanglement risk. And that, he says, will ultimately calm the waters for coexistence between whales and humans. Tanu Fletcher, CBC News, Vancouver.

Finally, BC's Petulow Bridge is about to be demolished. After nearly 90 years linking New Westminster and Surrey, people have been sharing their memories of the landmark. But nobody has a story quite like Faith Parker and her son, Brendan. I was having quite some pain, and I had told Brendan's dad that I think I was going into labor. His reply was to just hold on a second. He was in the middle of Zelda link video game.

I held on as long as I could. Dad eventually wised up and called for an ambulance. The ambulance driver said they had to hurry, so they headed to hospital. They got as far as the bridge. I remember going just over the front of it, and I said, I have to push. And they said, no, you don't.

And I pushed and I said, my baby's coming. Brendan Parker was born right there in the middle of the bridge in 1994. He wasn't breathing. So the ambulance rushed them to hospital where a team of doctors saved his life. Fast forward to a few days ago when the bridge was opened to pedestrians for one last visit, Brendan Parker made the pilgrimage for the first time since his birth. It was an honor to be able to walk in on the road where I was born. I just wanted to have pictures and memories for my future children to see, right?

Because I'll never be able to bring them to the spot that I was given birth to. Faith Parker now lives in Calgary and says she wasn't able to join him, but she's glad her son was able to say goodbye. And it's sad to see it go, I will definitely miss it. I was terrified of driving over it and it was the first bridge. I made myself drive over, but it turned out being my favorite bridge. For good reason. Thank you for joining us on your world tonight for Wednesday, February 25th.

I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca.