Your World Tonight - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Imperial Oil cuts hundreds of jobs, Trump addresses generals, and more

Episode Date: September 30, 2025

Across the country people wear orange shirts to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day is to pause and remember the survivors and children who did not make it home from residential schools.And: Imperial Oil plans to pull most of its employees out of Calgary. The energy company is cutting almost 1000 jobs.Also: U.S. President Donald Trump revives talk of Canada as a 51st state, in a rambling speech to military generals.Plus: The wait for Hamas response to Gaza peace plan, out of control fire in Nova Scotia, new softwood lumber tariffs, and more.

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Holding these little moccasins, we should remember these children and the lives they gave so that we could move forward as a nation. Trying to build a brighter future by honoring indigenous history and remembering those who were lost in its darkest chapters. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,

an acknowledgement of Canada's tragic legacy, generations of trauma, and the unfinished work to restore trust. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Tuesday, September 30th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. So it's hard to swallow,

but this is about a corporation, having the lowest possible costs it can have for a barrel of oil. As Alberta tries to get more oil flowing out of the province, it's jobs that are moving out of Calgary. Imperial oil is cutting its workforce, restructuring and relocating from a city. The company has been operating in for more than a century. The day celebrates indigenous culture while confirmed. confronting the historical efforts made to destroy it.

People across Canada, indigenous and non-Indigenous, are marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. And amid the songs, speeches, and ceremonies, there are also questions about the federal government's commitment to help the country heal. David Thurton has our top story tonight. And President Watch means to listen. That was our Algonquin name until the missionary, the priest,

They changed it, our government, whoever changed it. Jackie Pizzanoach and her brother, Eddie, were taken to a church-run residential school at St. Mary's in Canora, Ontario. Like so many other indigenous students forced into the government-funded institutions, they returned with painful memories. In time to my sisters,

we were just sitting there, you're traumatized, and they're trying to, you know. You don't know what to say, think, you know? Both siblings were in Ottawa for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A day cut our hair, they scarred our skin. A day to honor survivors, students who never made it back, and for others who weren't involved, a day to contemplate their role in reconciliation.

I do feel a responsibility, even though I arrived in Canada less than two decades ago. Temri's Khan moved to Canada from Pakistan. One of the issues that I think Canada really needs to grapple with and still hasn't, and I don't know if it will be able to. This year marks nearly a decade since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its calls to action. You know, we have a lot of work to do on the truth and reconciliation. Sydney Woodhouse-Nipanak, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, urging follow-through on those calls.

The commission heard from thousands of residential school survivors and issued 94 action points. You know, how far have we come on each of those calls to make this country a more just society for everyone and to close the infrastructure gap? According to a CBC analysis, about a dozen have been completed.

On education, language, culture, and justice, though, there's still much work left. Canada's new government is moving forward on the truth and reconciliation's commission's calls for action. Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's committed to advancing the work of the commission

but through largely an economic lens. But we are building together in health, in education, in economic opportunity, in housing. In an interview with CBC's power and politics, Governor General Mary Simon says, Progress is not about ticking boxes. It's one of those values that transcend policy development. According to Simon, Canada has made progress. Still, she called on all to use what? whatever influence they have, not just in government, but also in schools,

workplaces and communities to make a difference. David Thornton, CBC News, Ottawa. Alberta's Premier says she's disappointed by Imperial Oil's decision to slash jobs and shift most of its Calgary workforce to Edmonton. Daniel Smith says she's still confident in Alberta's energy sector, but says Ottawa should remove a handful of federal laws to keep the industry strong. The industry for the last 10 years has been hampered by federal government decisions. And if we can realize the aspiration of building our pipelines north-southeast and west,

doubling our production, then there's a lot of opportunity for people to be able to get re-employed in this sector. Imperial Oil says its decision is about global restructuring and a focus on technology. About 1,000 jobs will be cut. The hit will be a especially hard on Calgary. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong is here in Toronto. Peter, before we dig into why Imperial is cutting these jobs, put it in context for us. How big a blow is this? Yes, Susan, it's really hard to overstate how enormous a presence Imperial oil has had in Canada,

in Alberta, and maybe most specifically in Calgary, right? It was founded in the 1800s. It discovered basically the project that launched Western Canada's oil industry as we know it. The company is like an avatar for the oil industry itself. So there's some real symbolism here to such a huge restructuring. And it's a real hit to this province at a time when unemployment is rising sharply. Yeah, this means some very real pain for Alberta, for Calgary, that were both already struggling, right? Alberta's unemployment rate was like 8.4% last month, second highest in the country.

And remember, these are some high paid, high-skilled jobs. This is a tough day. Now let's get into the Y. What's really happening here? So Imperial is owned by ExxonMobil, and these cuts are part of like a global restructuring within that company. Another, I think, thousand jobs are being cut in Norway and in Europe, as that company really reckons with these persistently low oil prices we've seen.

Charles Saint-Arnaud, the chief economist with Alberta Central. He says the industry has been cutting jobs since the price of oil fell back in 2014. The broader oil industry, if you include spillover to specialized construction, manufacturing, and kind of all the engineers that designed the projects and all that, you're at 85,000 fewer jobs now than back in 2014. So, Peter, job decline, production increases over that period, isn't it? It is. And I think that's a really important part of this, right?

That this is a story about a company that is becoming more efficient, more competitive, more productive. We called up Heather Exeter Perrault, the director of energy, natural resources, and the environment at the McDonald-Lorens Institute. Take a listen. What Exxon and Imperial are doing is trying to be the lowest cost barrel in the oil sands and also globally competitive. And so they aren't shutting in production. They have no intention of producing less oil. That means the royalties keep coming in. It means the sector is healthy.

It means Imperial stays healthy. So it's hard to swallow. But this is about a corporation having the low. as possible costs it can have for a barrel of oil. Peter, Alberta, Premier Daniel Smith, has blamed Ottawa for this. How does that fit into what you're telling us? Look, these are global cuts by a global company full stop. But the question is, what can be done to boost investment in Alberta?

We're seeing money flow into BC around some of these like LNG projects. Will we see a shift to more oil production in Alberta? What about these AI data centers infrastructure there? That's got to be the next step in this. Thank you, Peter. You bet. CBC's senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong here in Toronto. Canadian softwood lumber will soon be hit with new tariffs.

It's part of a fresh wave of trade attacks by U.S. President Donald Trump. Canadian furniture and kitchen cabinet makers will also be hit. Nisha Patel has more on what it means for an industry already suffering in the cross-border trade dispute. At the Glenwood Kitchen Factory in Shediak, New Brunswick, production is humming, but it may not be for long. Obviously very upset about it. I don't think it's justified. President James McKenna says new U.S. tariffs will hit his company hard, 25% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities.

That could jump to 50% on January 1st. A senior Canadian government source told CBC News, there's no exemption for Kuzma compliant goods. I'm giving it about three months before that business completely dries up for us. McKenna's family business exports about 20% of their products south of the border. He plans to absorb some of the tariff for now to keep his customers, but says that's not a long-term option. We've definitely been scrambling in the last few days,

trying to put together a plan on how we're going to recoup that business. U.S. President Donald Trump has also slapped a 10% global tariff on lumber. Combined with U.S. anti-dumping duties, total levies on Canadian softwood producers would add up to 45. percent. Softwood lumber is a long-standing source of tension between the two countries, with the U.S. claiming Canadian imports are sold below market value. Brian Menzies is executive director of the Independent Wood Processors Association of BC. I'm getting notes from our people that I represent saying, look, my emails are dead, my phone lines are quiet. They're really concerned. Menzies says the increased pressure may force some mills to close. Look, we've already been dead.

devastated. Business survives uncertainty. There's no certainty anymore. It's just, it's just chaos. Trump is using a national security argument to justify the new tariffs, similar to steel, aluminum, and autos. He said major economies like the EU and Japan that have cut separate trade deals will have lower tariff rates. Fenn Hampson is a professor of international affairs at Carlton University. He says it's a deliberate escalation. What it tells us is that trade talks, between Canada and the United States are clearly stalled. There are no visible signs of progress. Formal negotiations to review Kuzma are expected to begin in early 2026.

Nisha Patel, CBC News, Toronto. Coming right up, Hamas, is reviewing a U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza, and the White House wants an answer. And Donald Trump tells his top military leader, their next deployment could be in American cities. Later, we'll have this story. A $225 billion power deal has become a charged issue in the Newfoundland and Labrador election.

We are on the cusp of finally turning that page. I will not rubber-stamp a bad deal that sends the benefits of our resources to Quebec for another 50 years. I'm Peter Cowan in Happy Valley Goose Bay. Later on your world tonight, I'll tell you what voters want politicians to do with this once-in-a-generation-generation-off. opportunity.

The clock is ticking for Hamas to respond to an American proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. It was unveiled yesterday in Washington by the U.S. President and Israel's Prime Minister. As Hamas reviews the plan, Donald Trump says he wants an answer this week. Senior International correspondent Margaret Evans reports. U.S. President Donald Trump. in a media scrum outside the White House, still basking in what he clearly hopes

will turn out to be a diplomatic victory. We're going to do about three or four days. We'll see how it is. All of the Arab countries are signed up. Israel's all signed up. We're just waiting for Hamas. It's a 20-point plan aimed at ending Israel's assault in Gaza immediately and the release of all the remaining Israeli hostages.

within 72 hours, a plan that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to agree to in public on Monday. Noga Tarnapolski is an Israeli journalist. What we saw yesterday was remarkable. Four days earlier at the UN, Netanyahu made it very clear that Israel was going to remain at war. She credits Trump and coordinated international pressure for the shift, but worries the deal won't stick.

It mentions the possibility of a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood. Not enough for the Palestinians and too far for the hardline coalition partners Netanyahu relies on to stay in power. Overnight, the Israeli Prime Minister posted a video in Hebrew on social media saying he'll never agree to it. Absolutely not, he's saying. We said we would resist in force to a Palestinian state. Palestinian critics say the plan waters down the original language demanded by Arab governments on statehood and on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

If it's a blueprint only and that can be improved, that's fine. But if it is final and nobody can even improve it, then we are dealing with a problem. Long-term Palestinian politician Mustafa Bargudi says Palestinians have been left out of any discussions about their own future. The most important thing about this deal is that it could stop the war, and that's the war we are suffering from.

Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have all reportedly urged Hamas to approve the plan which envisages a Hamas-free and demilitarized Gaza. Journalist Nogatarnapolski again. What Donald Trump is imposing both on Netanyahu and on Hamas is the possibility of their political end. And I think that that complicates matters. Today, the Israeli military dropped more leaflets over Gaza City, saying Palestinians should flee to save their own lives

and that the fight against Hamas won't end until it's defeated. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. As Donald Trump tries to stop an overseas war, the U.S. President is making new threats to deploy his own troops on American soil. Together with his defense secretary, who now goes by Secretary of War, Trump addressed senior military officers today

laying out controversial plans to reshape American forces while vowing to fight what the president calls the enemy within. Katie Simpson has details. U.S. President Donald Trump stood before hundreds of the most senior American military leaders,

admirals and generals flown in from around the world for a rare in-person meeting. It was to this audience, the president repeatedly advocated to use military force against U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, national guard. There was little response from the crowd as Trump railed against large cities run by Democrats, calling for a crackdown on what he described as civil disturbances. It's the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control. It won't get out of control. And he suggested he's ready to routinely deploy National Guard troops to major cities,

as he did in Los Angeles, Washington, and most recently, Portland. In our inner cities, which we're going to be talking about, because it's a big part of war now. It's a big part of war. Trump spoke for more than an hour, rambling at times, airing his usual grievances, though he made a bizarre reference to a racial slur when talking about the threat of nuclear war. There are two end words, and you can't use either of them. And he rehashed his longstanding threat to annex Canada.

Which I said, well, why don't you just join our country? He'd become 51, become the 51st state. Trump overshadowed his war secretary, Pete Hegeseth, who earlier at that meeting unveiled his plan to give members of the military more power and its leaders more autonomy. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement. just common sense, maximum lethality, and authority for warfighters. Hegset is removing some of the guardrails to prevent abuse and harassment, curbing certain programs that allow people to file complaints about toxic and inappropriate behavior.

It's a key part of his strategy to reshape the military. No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship. No more debris. we are done with that shit. There will be new fitness requirements. No more fat troops or generals, Hegeseth said. Gender-based standards are also being eliminated. In order to qualify for combat roles, women must now meet the highest male standards.

If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. Between some of the changes announced by Hegsseth and the broader statements from Trump, Americans should be concerned, according to Yvonne Chu, a U.S.-based defense and war strategy scholar. some parts of the administration that are trying, trying very hard to move in an authoritarian direction. Hegzeth had a direct message to anyone feeling uncomfortable with the military's new direction, that he would welcome their resignation. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. The United Nations in Afghanistan urged the Taliban to immediately restore internet and telecommunications in the country.

The appeal comes 24 hours after a nationwide blackout was imposed. Taliban authorities began shutting down high-speed internet to some provinces earlier this month. As part of the crackdown on immorality, flights, banking, and health services have been disrupted. The Taliban have yet to give an official reason for the outage, but said it would last indefinitely. 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.

Summer may be over, but firefighters in Nova Scotia are still battling an out-of-control wildfire. The Lake George fire grew overnight, and now dozens of families have been told to leave their homes. As Brett Ruskin reports, officials say a fire this big, this late in the season, is not normal. Chris Levy loads up his truck at his home in Lake George, Nova Scotia, just outside the evacuation zone. It's just trying to grab things that I'm dear to. What little that I can take, and it's not going to be a lot. So far, 275 homes have been evacuated,

but Levy hasn't been told to get out yet. However, with the fire close and conditions worsening, he's not taking any chances. We're getting a storm coming up with high winds and no rain. It's blowing north. I can see the wind is at my back right now, and the fire could shift, and it might blow right up through here. Officials say the fire now measures around 150 hectares in size. David Corkum is mayor of Kings County.

Thankfully, we have lots of people, dedicated people, like I said, the Red Cross firefighters that are here doing everything that they can. Throughout the day, water bombers rumbled overhead, scooping up from nearby lakes to try to control the fire. Crews are on the ground too trying to dig through dirt and chop down trees to create fire breaks that could slow the flames. It's a situation we've seen a lot of in Nova Scotia this year with a busy wildfire season including a large fire that burned near Long Lake roughly 40 kilometers from this new one. That fire destroyed 20 homes and damaged many others. Provincial officials said in a briefing today that fires this intense and this late in the season

is unprecedented. Here's Nova Scotia's Director of Fleet and Forest Protection, Jim Rudderham. Never in my history here have I seen this. It's been quite a year. Tomorrow is October. And most of my experience in this province,

the rain started in September and we're pretty much done. So this is a new one for me. Meanwhile, residents like Chris Levy are packing up and getting out, a response that's becoming more common here, and in many other parts of the country.

There's nothing you can do about it. It's nature at its worst. Brett Ruskin, CBC News, Halifax. It is a deal that could alter the economic landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador, and it's already changing the conversation in the provincial election. $225 billion to sell hydro power to Quebec.

The liberals say the agreement will usher in new prosperity in the province, progressive conservatives, aren't convinced. Peter Cowan reports. After decades of being shortchanged, we are on the cusp of finally turning that page. Newfoundlandland and Labrador Liberal leader John Hogan brings it up every chance he can in this election. A $225 billion deal negotiated by his predecessor to develop hydropower on the Churchill River, money he's already promising to use to hire doctors and cut the tax on electricity.

This historic deal will mean funding for health care. It will mean more money in your pockets. Newfoundland and Labrador first signed a hydro deal with Quebec in 1969 to sell power from Churchill Falls for an extremely low price until 2041. The new deal means more money now, half a billion dollars this year alone, in exchange for guaranteeing Quebec access to the power for 50 years and new hydro developments on the river. Political science professor Kelly Bladuke says 56 years after the last deal, many people are still upset, so he's not surprised a new deal

is getting so much attention. I think that for Newfoundland and Labrador, as a small sort of peripheral province that felt like maybe we were stuck in a bad financial deal for a long time, to see some relief from that, to see the province, the government say, hey, we have more money, we can do more things. Those are really big things here.

Some voters are skeptical. I just have this sneaky suspicion that Quebec is out for themselves. At a coffee shop in Gander, Sandy Moss had a chance to chat with the liberal leader. So I really want to see you look out for Newfoundland. I don't want to see another 99-year deal that we're locked into. He has the arrogance to demand that this election must be about his deal with Quebec.

The province's progressive conservative leader, Tony Wakeham, has been telling voters he could get a better deal, and he would put it to a referendum. On my watch is Premier, I will not rubber stamp a bad deal that sends the benefits of our resources to Quebec for another 50 years. Just down the Churchill River and Happy Valley Goose Bay, it's about more than just revenue. Neve Roach owns more meats. The deal would mean billions in construction, more jobs, and she hopes more customers for her shop.

I think that's the biggest project that we'll probably ever see in our lifetime here. And it's really crucial that this Liberal Party and the government get this right. Labrador deserves better. Jamie Felsberg, who stopped in to pick up a pulled pork sandwich, wants whoever wins the election to take their time. let's not make sure we're rushing into it and make sure that we're doing the proper things. Hogan wants to finalize a deal with Quebec by April,

but whether he gets to do that depends on who voters choose on October 14th. Peter Cowan, CBC News, Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador. The Algonquin, Anishnabe, Eagle, River Singers performing this afternoon in Ottawa on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in the Capitol and across the country, ceremonies and gatherings marked the national holiday on a grand scale. But on the path to reconciliation, small, everyday acts can be just as powerful.

We asked several indigenous Canadians what has meant the most to them. We moved here from a small town, Brennanbury, and there wasn't really much Aboriginal kids there, And so my kids would dance pow-wow, and so that was one of the ways. And, like, everybody was so amazed by the dances and how beautiful was. They were just really amazed of how I danced and all of that. Because we are taught that, but it's like you don't really get to see it. Last year, I went to Eagle Lake, pow-out, and I met his young lady and her son. And I asked him, you've been to a pow-before?

And the lady said, no. We welcome all people, no matter what color you are, what race you are, where you're from. Even just like wearing the orange shirt, it's just showing that you see and you understand and you're acknowledging it. Even something that small or just even attending, we're finally being seen. It's probably hard for them having to like reopen themselves to this, reopen all of this. But it's part of the healing process and I think that's a good step into the right direction. Thank you for joining us. This has been your world tonight for Tuesday, September 30th.

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