Your World Tonight - Gaza shockwaves, Trump Effect in Canada, decoupling the auto industry, and more

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

Donald Trump’s abrupt announcement about taking over Gaza has sent shockwaves across the Middle East and around the world. The White House says his reasons are humanitarian. Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have rejected the idea, and are worried about what it would mean for the West Bank. The far right in Israel is celebrating, but many people on the street think it is unlikely to ever happen.And: Trump’s tariff threats are driving the issues for political races here in Canada – pushing Liberal leadership candidates to focus on how to handle them. And the leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, is also pivoting his message – from carbon tax to crime.Also: As Canada looks to protect its economy from potential tariffs… one of the industries that could be hardest hit is auto manufacturing. Alexandre Silberman looks at whether there is any way to decouple a deeply integrated industry.Plus: Drug trafficking in Canada, Elon Musk’s slashing agenda, Emilia Pérez controversy, and more.

When a body is discovered 10 miles out to sea, it sparks a mind-blowing police investigation. There's a man living in this address in the name of a deceased. He's one of the most wanted men in the world. This isn't really happening. Officers are finding large sums of money. It's a tale of murder, skullduggery and international intrigue. So who really is he? I'm Sam Mullins and this is Sea of Lies from CBC's Uncovered, available now.

This is a CBC Podcast. I think Trump cannot do anything here because in front of him there is a great people called Palestinian people. Donald Trump's comments about moving Palestinians out of Gaza causing shockwaves inside Gaza and around the world, even as his own administration tries to clarify what he actually said or at least actually meant. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Wednesday, February 5th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast.

It should not take a foreign leader to get the Liberals to wake up to the drug crisis that they have caused here at home. Canadian politicians are taking turns responding to demands from Donald Trump on fentanyl, the border, NATO spending, all with one eye on smoothing future relations with the US president and the other on their own chances in any upcoming federal election. It was a stunning salvo from US President Donald Trump. The idea to relocate Palestinians and make way for a US takeover reaction is ranging from horror to nods of approval.

And tonight there are still many unanswered questions about Donald Trump's proposal. Most importantly, is he serious? Paul Hunter has the latest from Washington. President Trump is in charge and America is back. At the White House press briefing, the day after U.S. President Donald Trump stunned the world by proposing the U.S. take ownership of the Gaza Strip, send all displaced Palestinians to other countries, and develop Gaza into, quote, the Riviera of the Middle East, a defense of the plan, from White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt.

President Trump is an outside-of-the-box thinker and a visionary leader. And she added a clarification. Though Trump had seemed to suggest it would be a permanent relocation for the nearly two million displaced Palestinians, said Levitt today. The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza for the rebuilding of this effort. Again, it's a demolition site right now. It's not a livable place for any human being. Reaction to Trump's proposal globally was swift.

A number of world leaders rejected the idea, some suggesting it would be an international crime. Saudi Arabia, in particular, underlining its demand for an independent Palestinian state is, quote, firm and unwavering. And then there's the question for the U.S. How would it be carried out? Would the U use military force? The White House wouldn't rule it out. In the pursuit of our war goals. After meeting yesterday with Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down today with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,

who was asked by reporters directly, is he working on plans that involve sending US troops to Gaza? The president is involved in very complex and high-level negotiations of great consequence to both the United States and the state of Israel, and we look forward to working with our allies, our counterparts, both diplomatically and militarily, to look at all options. But we certainly would not get ahead of the president or provide any details about what we may or may not do. Dude, that's just bad military.

That's all we have. It is inhumane. On Capitol Hill, Democrats such as Representative Gregory Meek seemed gobsmacked by Trump's idea. Well, it's just ridiculous. You know, it doesn't make any sense. Again, the president just going off on his own. We're trying to get the details of it. Even a number of Trump's Republicans raised questions on it, though Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called it a bold proposal.

It was a surprising development, but I think it's one that we'll applaud. Said Trump earlier, everyone loves his Gaza plan. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. For many people in Gaza, Trump's proposal is infuriating and painful. Having already lost lives, property and dreams to the conflict, the idea of losing their land is unbearable. Senior international correspondent Margaret Evans has more. A shovel breaking ground in Hanyounis at one of Gaza's impromptu graveyards. No headstones, just bricks to mark the dead,

buried hastily when bombs were falling. But this is an exhumation. For many of those who died during 15 months of war, there is still one more journey to make, home to the places they were forced to run from when they lived. Shireen Talaba and a handful of men helping her have come for her brother Khalil and two cousins all killed by Israeli fire she says in separate incidents.

We have no one but our family says Talaba. We refuse to return home without them. It is just one scene of many as Gazans try to piece together what's left of their lives during a fragile ceasefire. Donald Trump's proposal to own Gaza and empty it of Palestinians has been met with fury, disdain and despair. Hassan Mohammed is 28 years old. He will come now with his all the plan to evacuate not just Gaza Strip to all Palestine.

During his first presidency, Donald Trump broke with convention by recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, despite Palestinian hopes of a state with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital. Many Israelis, including Moshe Dickman in Jerusalem, are welcoming of the Trump proposal. He's got the right idea. How to implement it is a different story. But if anybody can do it, it'll be Trump. The Gaza proposal is widely seen as a gift to hard-line Jewish nationalists

who want to resettle Gaza themselves and annex the occupied West Bank. Bezalel Smotrich is Israel's finance minister. Bezalel Smotrich is Israel's finance minister. Now, with God's help, he says, we work to permanently bury the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state. That, even though both Egypt and Jordan have rejected Trump's request to take in Gaza's population, still, some Gazans, including Mohammed Abu Shamouk, fear that won't hold. Eventually they will agree to move the Gaza people from Gaza. But Hassan Mohammed says nothing will uproot Gazans from their land. Trump cannot do anything here because in front of him there is a great people called Palestinian people.

More than 500,000 Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza since the ceasefire began two and a half weeks ago. Some like Shereen Talaba to bury their dead for a second time. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie said in a statement, Canada's position on Gaza has not changed. She says Canada is committed to a two-state solution in the Middle East where Israelis and Palestinians live securely within internationally recognized borders.

Coming up on the podcast, how the threat of a trade war is changing Canadian politics, shifting strategies from the Conservative leader and the Liberal leadership contenders, and a shifting focus on cartels in the fight against the fentanyl trade in this country. It is clear now this Trump presidency and its looming threat of tariffs will have repercussions across Canada for months, even years, to come. Average Canadians are changing their buying and vacation plans. Business and industry leaders are rethinking their affairs too. And as Tom Perry reports, strategies for our next federal election are suddenly getting a major overhaul.

Let's call fentanyl trafficking what it is. Mass murder. Conservative leader Pierre Polyev has lately had to change up his script. Polyev still talks about his favorite subject, the federal carbon tax, but like so many other Canadians, his focus this week is on US President Donald Trump and his lingering threat to impose crushing tariffs on Canada. President Trump has threatened to tariff Canada because of what he says is lethal, lethal, lethal drug flows. But whether or not we agree with him should not matter. It should not take a foreign leader to get the liberals to wake up to the drug crisis

that they have caused here at home. Poliev was in B.C. where thousands have died from opioid overdoses pledging to crack down on what he calls fentanyl kingpins. Donald Trump has accused Canada of allowing fentanyl to flow freely across the US border, even though records show only a tiny fraction of America's supply comes from here. But Poliev is not the only one crafting policy to, in part at least, offset the threat posed by a mercurial US president. Recent events have been a wake-up call for Canadians.

Campaigning in the border city of Windsor, Ontario, Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney pledged to diversify Canada's export markets so the country is less reliant on the U.S. Carney is also promising to address a chronic U.S. complaint and boost Canada's defence spending to reach the NATO target. My government would work to reach 2% of GDP in defence spending by the end of this decade and pull our full weight in NATO. Chrystia Freeland, another Liberal leadership candidate,

has issued her own 10-point plan to counter the threat of US tariffs, pledging to fast-track projects to extract critical minerals, build up Canadian defence manufacturing, and break down inter-provincial trade barriers. That last point, allowing Canadians to more easily buy and sell goods across provincial boundaries, has become a priority for the current Liberal government. Anita Anand, Canada's Minister of Transport and Internal Trade,

has been meeting with provincial trade ministers and, she says, making progress. The momentum is palpable. The moment is here and we are seizing the moment. But at this moment, it all feels very unpredictable. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with the premiers today and will sit down with business and labour leaders in Toronto Friday, all of them focused on what now dominates this country's politics, tariffs, trade and Trump. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa.

As part of the deal to stop Trump's tariffs, the Prime Minister has promised a crackdown on fentanyl production and trade in this country. But there's growing evidence that will involve taking on powerful Mexican cartels inside Canada. Thomas Dagla reports. What we have here right now, this is a large load. At Toronto Police headquarters recently, investigators laid out bags and packages filled, they say, with cocaine. $83 million worth, destined for every corner of the country. And Superintendent Paul McIntyre pointed to a source thousands of kilometres away.

As the hallmarks have been associated to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. That's a very violent cartel operating out of Mexico. For years, cartels have been linked to truckloads of drugs slipped across the U.S. border into Canada. Plus, money laundering and human trafficking, even murders. Now the federal government says it's taking a new approach, appointing what it calls a fentanyl czar, and planning to designate the cartels as terrorists. Public safety minister David McGinty. It's going to be giving our government,

our law enforcement authorities forgive me, more powers to exercise, to track the money, follow the assets, and disrupt the activities of cartels. The move comes as part of the measures the prime minister announced this week to ward off U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs. All of it as Trump's allies ramp up warnings about Canada. Like this from his trade adviser Peter Navarro at a recent Politico event. The Mexican drug cartels are rapidly expanding in Canada and that's a danger.

Another massive police bust last fall also suggested cartels are making inroads here. RCMP in British Columbia took down what they described as a drug super lab, seizing enough chemicals to make nearly 100 million doses of fentanyl. They are here, I would say, thriving. Luis Nejera is a journalist who investigated the cartels in Mexico and later fled to Canada. Usually when politicians put their attention on these issues, there's of course a lot of resources and attention, so it should be resolved soon. Former CSIS analyst Jessica Davis says for investigators the terrorist designation could mean reassigning already stretched resources.

The benefit of designating the cartels is primarily a political one in terms of terrorist designation could mean reassigning already stretched resources. The benefit of designating the cartels is primarily a political one in terms of appeasing Trump and signaling to our American allies that we are willing to play ball. Ottawa hasn't offered details on the new plan or any timeline for when the cartels could join the likes of ISIS and the Proud Boys as listed terrorist groups. Thomas Daigle, CBC News, Toronto. Canada's auto industry is certainly hoping the US has parked the threat of tariffs and not just tapped the brakes. More than half a million Canadians are employed directly and indirectly by the auto industry. Those jobs are intricately tied to the auto sector south of the border.

But is there a way to decouple the Canadian side? Alexander Silberman reports. The relief is massive. In Windsor, Ontario, the heart of Canada's auto industry, the delay of tariffs is welcome news. I mean you don't go after your ally and your friend. Across the Ambassador Bridge in neighbour neighboring Detroit, similar feelings. Honestly, I just hope they figure it out. It's really frustrating trying to just like keep the peace.

And tensions have been high on both sides of the border over the threat of tariffs on Canadian goods in North America's deeply integrated auto industry. Manufacturers warn a trade war could bring production to a halt and leave tens of thousands of workers in both countries without a job. This impact will absolutely devastate the Windsor community. John Dagnolo is an auto worker and president of Unifor Local 200 in Windsor. He says people are fearful of losing their jobs if tariffs lead to higher prices and a slowdown in sales.

We've got to make sure we protect ourselves. We're going to have to look at trading with other partners, but at the end of the day, I hope we don't have to go there. The tariff threat has the auto sector discussing the idea of self-reliance. Glenn Stevens is head of Mish Auto, Michigan's industry association. He's also a former auto worker and says the reality is, the current supply chain works. The relationship with Ontario is it's one region. So disruption to that is not something we're interested in.

We're not looking to look elsewhere. Parts and components may cross the Canadian, U.S, and Mexican borders as many as eight times before being installed in a final assembly. So with tariffs, a completed car could get taxed multiple times. For instance, steel manufactured at a Canadian plant would be charged on its way to an American auto parts factory, then taxed on its way back to Canada, then again after a completed car is sent to the U.S.

We've got to continue to make the case for Canada. Brian Kingston is president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association. If you were to replace Canadian production and Mexican production in the United States, we're talking about for Canada alone, five to six assembly plants, 50 billion dollars, years to build these plants, that's simply not feasible. That reality making it difficult to do anything to absorb the blow of U.S. tariffs, leaving the auto industry in the U.S. and Canada both calling for a solution to avoid a trade war. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Toronto.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are rapidly reshaping the US government, purging who they call partisan federal employees and cutting some agencies entirely. As Katie Simpson reports, the campaign is pushing the limits of presidential power and sparking protests. Elon Musk is about to go, hey, hey! Go, go! The backlash is building. Hundreds of demonstrators gathering on Capitol Hill and in other cities across the U.S. Angry with the fast-moving overhaul of the federal government led by Elon Musk. The unelected billionaire heading the Department of Government Efficiency,

known as DOJ, is executing a shock and awe campaign to identify what he sees as government waste, stunning his opponents. We will not shut up. We will stand up. We will speak up. In the two and a half weeks since Donald Trump took office, Doge offered millions of federal government workers a buyout package or face the prospects of an uncertain future.

Offers now extended to staff at the Central Intelligence Agency. Some independent government watchdogs have been let go. Some prosecutors who tried January 6th cases were fired. And FBI agents who investigated the Capitol attack have been put on notice. They could lose their jobs if they're seen as partisan. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden says the public should be deeply alarmed. They have set their sights on a full purge of anyone in government that doesn't bend the knee and follow their orders.

Musk has ordered the foreign aid agency USAID be shut down while plans are in the works to dismantle the departments of education and labor. The White House also confirming the Doge team has access to the most sensitive information at the Treasury Department. Details about $6 trillion in annual payments from Social Security to Medicare to spending approved by Congress. Presumably they want this access for something. They plan to use the data in some way, either to reject payments or to use it for some other punitive purpose. It's something that regular Americans are fearful of and certainly it's not something that's allowed or legal. Lisa Gilbert is the co-president of Public Citizen,

a watchdog group that is suing the federal government to try to halt outside access to the sensitive information. Democrats are supporting lawsuits and trying to slow the Trump administration's agenda in Congress in protest, even attempting to get Musk and his Doge team to testify before lawmakers. No, you state your point of order. That's not a point of order. Nobody was breaking the law.

But after a heated back and forth, Republicans shut down the idea. House Speaker Mike Johnson says he has no issues with Musk's operation. I think there's a gross overreaction in the media to what is happening. The executive branch of government in our system has the right to evaluate how executive branch agencies are operating. The White House echoed this point saying Musk campaigned with Trump and they promised voters serious government spending cuts. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Trump signed another executive order, this one intended to bar transgender athletes from competing in girls and

women's sports. Trump has already declared his administration only recognizes two genders and that the gender must match the one assigned at birth. Today's order would cut funding to schools or athletic associations that allow transgender athletes to compete. Trump claimed transgender athletes have taken advantage of access to competition. Under the Trump administration we will defend the proud tradition of female athletes and we will not allow men to beat up injure and cheat our women and our girls. From now on women's sports will be only for women. The Department of Education will investigate to make sure schools are in compliance, although that's one of our episodes, follow

us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. Ismaili Muslims have a new spiritual leader. Prince Rahim al-Husseini has been named the 50th hereditary imam. His father, the previous aga Khan, died yesterday at the age of 88. Around 15 million people are part of the world's Ismaili community, a branch of Shiite Islam. The film Emilia Perez has already won big at the Golden Globes and is a top contender at next month's Academy Awards with 13 nominations including for best actress. Carla Sofia Gascon is the first openly trans person to receive an Oscar nod but suddenly all the buzz around her

and the film is starting to sting. Eli Glasner explains why. sting. Eli Glassner explains why. For months, Emilia Perez was an award season sensation, considered a serious best picture contender. International films usually don't ever make this kind of impact. Kevin Fallon is an editor at Daily Beast and close watcher of the Oscar race. It had won so many Golden Globes. It has the most nominations at the Oscars. It had won so many Critics', it had the most nominations at the Oscars. It had won so many critics' prizes leading up to the nominations. It seemed like the absolute movie to beat.

Quite a feat for a Spanish language musical about a Mexican cartel boss who transitions to a woman. Then the tweets from Carla Sofia Gascon, who plays Amelia Perez, surfaced. Canadian culture writer Sarah Hagi decided to dig into Gascogne's social media history. What she found last week was disturbing and offensive. Dating back to 2016, Gascogne posted that Islam was, quote, a hotbed of infection for humanity, in later posts describing George Floyd as a drug addict and a swindler, and that she didn't understand the World War against Hitler. After reaction exploded, Gascault apologized, saying in part,

As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well, and I'm deeply sorry to those I've caused pain. Well, how did we not know this until just a few days ago? Anne-Marie Malika is a crisis and reputation management expert. She says Netflix, the distributor, should have done its homework. It wasn't hidden. It was just under a few layers of surface, if you will.

And I think any good Gen Z sleuth could have uncovered that without a ton of trouble. And this is a business. And when you're running a business, you want to make sure your investment is sound." As the situation snowballed, Gasgon booked her own appearance on Spanish-language CNN apologizing once again. Public relations is the opposite of crisis management and she went on a PR campaign and in doing so I think sealed her own fate. Netflix didn't have much of a choice, but to step back from her.

Now with Oscar voting approaching, Netflix is removing Gascon from promotional posters and further awards appearances. Here we have this historic first nomination of a trans actress for an acting Oscar, and the trans actress is being erased from the film's Best Picture campaign. It's a really horrible irony, in my opinion.

Well, Fallon says Emilia Perez could still win in music and supporting acting categories. Oscar producers have their own quandary. As host Conan O'Brien going to acknowledge it, the producers have already announced that they had planned to revive what is usually a really touching bit where five past Best Actress winners come and give tributes to all the nominees. Already Oscar producers have scrapped those plans as they try to keep the spotlight on the films, not the scandal. Eli Glasner, CBC News, Toronto. Finally, Valentine's Day is just around the corner, which is posing a challenge for Roslyn Phipps.

Her shop, Palisades Flowers, was burned down in the recent California fires. She visited the remains for the first time just a few days ago. It was a beautiful little shop and to see it like this it's really heartbreaking. It was like our second home. We were among friends, we were among beautiful flowers and it was a great job, a great place to work. Phipps did uncover a pleasant surprise as she moved the ashes and charred wood aside. Some of the plants they grew outside of the building itself were still there. Just amazed to have found a couple of plants still green, still with roots, so I'm taking those home and repotting them.

Phipps says the plants are a sign of hope for her and her team. They'll also do their best to rise out of the ashes. With no physical shop left and existing shops already fully staffed for the big day, Phipps is taking orders on the shop's Instagram page and they will host a pop-up in time for the holiday. Losing the shop, it's heartbreaking, but I'm a florist and nothing's going to stop me from selling flowers on Valentine's Day. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for February 5th.

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