Your World Tonight - Ottawa’s tariff-fighting plans, interest rate drop, asteroid holds the building blocks of life, and more

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

Donald Trump’s pick for commerce secretary says tariffs on Canada could come in waves… the first this weekend, but maybe more after April 1st. Ottawa is trying to get the U.S. president’s attention with a video showing all the things Canada is doing at the border. It’s part of a last-minute push to avoid the tariffs threatened for February 1st.Also: The Bank of Canada drops interest rates another quarter per cent. The bank’s analysis says tariffs from the U.S. could add to inflation and push Canada into a recession.And: After a seven-year mission, a probe sent to the Bennu asteroid has brought back clues about the early solar system – and how the ingredients for life may have arrived on Earth. A handful of cosmic dust shows the asteroid once had salty water, and elements familiar on this planet. It also contains amino acids, including ones used to build proteins in living things.Plus: Research around the globe – including here in Canada – affected by a freeze on federal grants in the U.S., tragedy at the Kumbh Mela festival in northern India, RFK Jr. confirmation hearing, 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. This tariff model is simply to shut their borders, respect America, if we are your biggest trading partner, show us the respect, shut your border, and end fentanyl coming into this country. Tough talk from Donald Trump's pick to manage tariffs and a threat that could reshape cross-border trade. As the clock ticks towards a potential Saturday deadline, Canadian officials are working on a last ditch effort

to catch the president's eye and change his mind. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Wednesday, January 29th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. Some of our franchisees have loans of northwards of $300,000. With every rate cut, it feels like they are removing a

boulder off our chest. The relief may be fleeting. Canada's central bank cuts its key lending rate yet again, easing pressure on borrowers and mortgage renewers, but it comes with a warning about that tariff tension building at the border and its potential to derail the Canadian economy. It is a tariff threat getting closer and clearer. With just days to go,

Donald Trump's pick for Commerce Secretary is elaborating on what to expect and what might be done to stop it, as Canadian officials scramble to get screen time with the president. Katie Simpson has the details from Washington. We need to be treated better. We need to be treated with respect. Howard Lutnick appears to view tariffs as a weapon to get the world to bend to the will of the United States and generate some wealth along the way. To that point, he outlined specific warnings for Canada

during his Senate confirmation hearing in Washington, suggesting the Trump administration may deliver a one-two tariff punch. First, immediate tariffs that could come as early as Saturday, he says as a way to try to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. This tariff model is simply to shut their borders with respect. Respect America. If we are your biggest trading partner, show us the respect. Shut your border and end fentanyl coming into this country.

The billionaire business leader also outlined a second separate tariff threat that is potentially far more broad. Trump has ordered U.S. officials to study trade practices over the next three months looking for anything that may be considered unfair to the U.S. or to find ways to help boost manufacturing. The study may very well recommend tariffs as a way to shift trade in America's favor and to make domestically produced products cheaper and more appealing. So I think a thoughtful tariff policy that drives domestic manufacturing I think is fundamental to the American workers.

CBC News has learned the Prime Minister met with Lutnick for an hour-long meeting on the sidelines of his recent trip to Poland. Details were shared with premiers during the first ministers meeting today. Sources tell CBC News and Radio Canada that Canadian officials have also produced a new flashy video showing arrests and border enforcement operations, and that officials have been texting video clips of recently acquired Black Hawk helicopters landing in the snow near the border. All efforts to show Trump and his team they are meeting his demands to improve border security but as of yesterday there were no signs he's changed his mind according to White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt.

As far as I'm still tracking February 1st is still on the books. At his hearing Howard Lutnick did acknowledge tariffs will raise prices on everyday goods for Americans making life more expensive which is the argument Canadians have been making against tariffs all along. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. As Canadian officials work furiously to stop the tariff threat they are also working on a plan in case that effort fails. Today, premiers were briefed on what that could look like. As Rafi Boujikhanian reports, it includes billions of dollars in support for millions of workers and the possibility

of recalling parliament. Workers will not pay the price or bear the brunt of a tariff decision made by the U.S. administration. Labour and employment minister Stephen McKinnon taking that message to an audience of trades workers in Edmonton. We know we'll have to support workers. Provincial and territorial premiers had a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again today to hash out what else they can do to prevent the tariffs and how exactly to respond if they come. Mitigation growing in importance. We may have workers and entrepreneurs that will need supports. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt speaking to the media right after the First Minister's meeting. She says she's reassured by the plan Ottawa presented about financial help.

Details are still under wraps. A senior federal government source described premiers on the call as productively engaged and said in the next two days their focus would switch to addressing Washington's border concerns and on retaliation. If the tariffs come down at 25 percent the hit to the Canadian economy would be something like 3.8 percent of GDP and if we retaliate another half percentage point if not more would be added to that whereas the retaliation our retaliatory tariffs on the US economy would be added to that, whereas our retaliatory tariffs on the US economy would be something like a 0.9% hit to the GDP.

Joy Nod is with accounting firm KPMG. In a poll it conducted with some 250 Canadian businesses, it found most of them support a dollar-for-dollar fight back with the Trump administration. I think the thing that stands out is the fact that the responses that we got were so unified. Most premiers agree with that tactic, but both Alberta and Saskatchewan have been arguing against getting into a trade war with a much larger economy. They do, however, agree with the need for financial support for affected Canadians, some of which could require new legislation to be passed in Parliament.

It's suspended right now as the Liberals pick a new leader. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. There is an option to be able to have conversations with the other political parties to see if there is sufficient support to call Parliament back. But both the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives have shot down that idea. To them, this message from Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey. Very simply, this is not about you. It's about workers.

It's about their families. It's about a historic moment in Canadian history. Put your political agendas aside. Decisions could well turn on what happens this weekend and just what impact the tariffs would have in Canada. Rafi Boudjikani on CBC News, Ottawa. The Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark interest rate again, this time to 3%, which means among many other things, some mortgages will become cheaper each month, and many businesses will

save money as well. But as Anis Hadari explains, while interest rates could bring financial relief for many, it could be the calm before a very unpredictable storm. Another batch of chicken plunks into the deep fryer at this Ajax, Ontario restaurant. But at Cluck Clucks, it's not the cost of food management is watching today. Interest rate cuts can amount to hundreds and thousands.

CEO Raza Hashim's restaurants save money every time the Bank of Canada cuts rates. For example, some of our franchisees have loans of up to northwards of $300,000. So an even 25 paces rate cut makes a big difference. A cut of 25 basis points lowered interest costs today. The central bank's influential policy rate is now at 3%. With every rate cut, it feels like, you know, they are removing a boulder off our chest. But a new boulder could be rolling down the hill. Tariffs. Especially for a company that wants to expand into the United States.

A 25% tariff could potentially derail the expansion strategy that we've worked very hard on developing. In the case of a protracted significant trade conflict, it would badly hurt economic activity in Canada. The possibility of tariffs between the US and this country, a major concern for the Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem. If they happen, they'd likely cause inflation to go up. Our job is to maintain price stability. And our focus is making sure we don't have inflation

that's well above our 2% target, or we don't have inflation that's well below the 2% target. With so many unknowns around tariffs and what they might do, the Bank of Canada is offering even fewer predictions on where interest rates might go next. People must shop. Ron Butler is a mortgage broker in Toronto.

He says a lot of economic factors could shrink the pool of potential mortgage customers. Something that around 1 million people potentially renewing their loans should keep in mind. This is the most competitive moment in the mortgage business. Doesn't mean the lowest rates, of course, because rates bounce around. As for where those rates bounce to? I'll be very blunt. I can't give you a definitive answer to that question today because there's, you know, there's a lot of things we don't know.

What Tiff Macklem doesn't know about is what's coming from the US. So while this interest rate cut could make some loans and mortgages cheaper now, economists warn that with tariffs, the economy itself could shrink at the same time as prices go up. Interest rates would then have to go two directions at once to address both. Monetary policy can't offset the effects of higher tariffs. Economic activity will be lower, you know, we'll be producing less in Canada, we will be earning less. At this point, no indication of what's next from the Bank of Canada, as all eyes remain on Donald Trump and what's next from him.

And he's had our CBC News, Calgary. In the US, the Federal Reserve has left its interest rate target range unchanged at 4.25 to 4.5 percent. The Fed cut the rate three times last year. Chair Jerome Powell suggested the central bank is taking time to see how new government policies will affect the economy. We don't know what will happen with tariffs, with immigration, with fiscal policy and with regulatory policy. We're only just beginning to see, actually are not really beginning to see much. And I think we need to let those policies be articulated before we can even begin to make a plausible assessment of what their implications for the economy will be.

So we're going to be watching carefully. And as we always do, this is no different than any other set of policy changes at the beginning of an administration. Coming up on the podcast, RFK junior gets a rough ride at his confirmation hearing for health secretary, but will it matter? A deadly stampede at a religious festival in India

that draws tens of millions of people, plus anatomy of an asteroid, the lessons living in recovered bits of a space rock. He says he wants to make America healthy again, but first he needs to convince U.S. lawmakers he's the right person for the job. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled during a Senate confirmation hearing today. The known vaccine skeptic is Trump's pick for health secretary. Paul Hunter reports on the hostile exchanges over RFK Jr.'s past comments and future plans.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The hearing began, as they typically do, with a statement of intent. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s pledge, if U.S. senators sign off on him to lead the $1.8 trillion top health agency in America. I promised President Trump that if confirmed, I will do everything in my power to put the health of Americans back on track. But as soon as Kennedy then made mention of the first of a litany of controversies around

him, the suggestion he is an anti-vaxxer, the hearing room erupted. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety. You lie! You lie! You lie! vaccine or any industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety. You lie, shouted someone when he denied it. The protester then quickly escorted away. We'll have a order. Please proceed Mr. Kennedy. And though it wasn't played out at the hearing,

Dear Senators Robert Kennedy's own cousin, Caroline, daughter of former president John F. Kennedy, had earlier released a scathing video statement. Bobby is addicted to attention and power. She called him a predator, who's unqualified, dangerous and willfully misinformed, lacking stability, morals and ethics. I urge the Senate to reject his nomination. Sincerely, Caroline Kennedy.

With all of that as backdrop, Democratic senators took direct aim. Here's Ron Wyden from Oregon. Mr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines. And here's Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire on Kennedy's apparent flip-flop on access to abortion, once supporting it, now seemingly opposed. When was it that you decided to sell out the values you've had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump? Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy and on it went.

Here's Democrat Michael Bennett from Colorado. Did you say that Lyme disease is highly likely a materially engineered bio weapon? I probably did say that. Did you say that? That's what the developer of Lyme disease said. Okay, I want all of our colleagues to hear it, Mr. Kennedy. I want them to hear it. You said yes.

But as has been the case in other confirmation hearings for Trump's cabinet, Republicans effectively were having none of it. The general tone from that side of the room seemed onside with Kennedy. Republican Tom Tillis from North Carolina said afterward, I'm in a presumptive, lean yes position and everything he did today has in a road to that position. In short, said Tillis, from the party that controls Capitol Hill, great choice. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. Confusion throughout the scientific community, including here in Canada,

after the U.S. government froze grants and loans to federal agencies. Some of those grants have been restored, but the funding to the US National Institute of Health is still frozen, and that could affect scientists here. Jennifer Yoon reports. There's a lot of anxiety. Canadian medical researchers are watching the Trump administration with deep worry. It put in place freezes on meetings, travel and communications at the U.S. National Institutes of Health a week ago.

Then there was a separate flip-flop on federal funding freezes across the government. It's hard to understate how important this agency is for everyone around the world. Nathan Spreng, a professor of neurology at McGill University, has relied on NIH funding for Alzheimer's research. The NIH funds some of the world's top research, which could enhance health, lengthen life, reduce illness and disability. Last year, 40 million of its 47 billion USD budget went to Canadian researchers. Spreng worries about delays in research on new drugs and treatments.

There are a number of diseases, injuries that are not well treated at the moment, and there are people that are committed to the improvement and care of these individuals. And absent this kind of funding, these people will just continue to suffer. Vaccines, cancer research, cystic fibrosis, studies of the brain. Canadian epidemiologist Stephanie Strathdee does HIV prevention research in California. She doesn't know what's going to happen to a new US-based grant under review. It was supposed to get advised upon next week. We don't know if we're going to get it.

Scientists say good research cannot endure this kind of uncertainty for too long. It really is putting a freeze on science. It's already sending a chill throughout the science community, says Sinai health cancer researcher Jim Woodgett. We don't know a lot about the details and they seem to be changing every second. And I think that uncertainty actually is adding to the crisis. If the U.S. continues down this road, we'd get worries talented young scientists

who might help find a new cure or treatment might eventually leave the profession. But some, like Strathdie, say Canadians could attract top American scientists who are shaken by the uncertainty by increasing research funding. This is an opportunity for not brain drain but brain gain. It's a possibility the Canadian government says it isn't ruling out for now. A spokesperson for the Minister of Science and Innovation says the government is watching the situation closely.

Jennifer Yoon, CBC News, Toronto. closely. Jada for you in CBC News, Toronto. In northern India, the world's largest religious gathering turned deadly this morning. Dozens were killed at a Hindu festival in a pre-dawn stampede. It happened as millions of people rushed to dip into sacred waters. South Asia correspondent Salima Shivji reports on what happened and how it's not the first time. The sirens blare out as ambulances struggle to carve a path through a sea of people in the chaos after a deadly stampede. It happened in the early hours on the most auspicious day of India's Mahakumala, a Hindu religious gathering lasting 45 days in the northern

state of Uttar Pradesh that draws hundreds of millions wanting to bathe in the holy rivers to wash away their sins. Police officers scramble to pull survivors out over barricades and away from the crush. It's not clear what exactly caused the stampede. It was calm, this woman says, and then there was a huge crowd pushing and shoving. There was no chance of escaping. I was sitting down when the entire crowd fell on top of me, this devotee says, trampling me and others were crushed as barricades broke and buckled. Stretcher after stretcher of the injured were hurried into the nearby hospital while outside family members distraught, broken by grief, waited for news of their loved ones. Elsewhere, bathing continued in the waters considered holy for devout Hindus.

And India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences, calling the tragedy extremely sad. Hours went by after the deadly stampede, with no official word from the government on a death toll or the number of injured, authorities saying very little until finally, at the end of the day, confirmation. State officials saying at least 30 people had died, with 60 more injured, and that there will be an investigation. This is not the first time a Kumbh Mela religious gathering

has turned deadly in India, with the last big one in 2013 killing 42 people at the train station where pilgrims were arriving, also on the most auspicious day that year. In 1954, around 300 people were killed in a massive crush. This year's festival has been heavily promoted by the Indian government as extraordinary, the numbers staggering. Authorities spent weeks touting the intense police presence and slew of CCTV cameras, using AI to detect and manage crowd surges. But whatever was in place failed to protect the dozens caught in a surging crowd full of faith on a day now filled with loss.

Salima Shivji, CBC News, Mumbai. Years in the making, we now have the first results of a kind of space mining mission. A partnership involving Canadian technology went to a near-Earth asteroid and brought back samples. Anand Ram has more on the signs of life found inside. Osiris-Rex collected wonderful samples. Get ready, NASA is excited to talk about rocks. But not just any. Scientists revealed what they found from samples of Bennu,

a small near-Earth asteroid 4 and 1 half billion years old. Nikki Fox is NASA's science chief. Specifically, scientists found 14 of the 20 amino acids that life on Earth used to make proteins. They also found five nucleobases that life on Earth here used to transmit genetic instructions. In other words, the building blocks of what lead to life as we know it here on Earth. Precursors to protein, DNA and RNA. I think this tells a very unique story about how we came to be.

Kim Tate is one of the Canadian authors on the research. She showed us around the Royal Ontario Museum where she curates the mineralogy exhibit. For her, Bennu is kind of the opening to the book of Earth. The first couple chapters is where you get all the really good information, the story plot, the characters, all the backstory. We've lost that here on Earth. So this is, you know, a 500-meter piece of rock that is like literally frozen in time. And liftoff of Osiris Rex.

The mission to Bennu launched nearly a decade ago, and it took years before it gently punched the surface, sucking up some rocks, bringing them back in 2023. What's really interesting about this is the justification effectively for bringing samples back by a spacecraft. Chris Hurd studies the geology of the solar system at the University of Alberta. The beauty of the Bennu samples is that they weren't contaminated by crashing to Earth, meaning those precursors to life that they found existed in the early chaos of our planet's formation billions of years ago. And if those were being delivered to the early Earth, that might have had an

influence then on what took hold on the Earth. It's far from a smoking gun of what brought life here to Earth, but it's a start. And because Canada put an important instrument on the mission, Canadian scientists will soon get samples for further research. I'm very excited. I'm very excited for the rocks to come to Canada and for researchers like myself across Canada to be able to study them. And not only us, but the next generation of scientists that are out there as well. More evidence that going out there can tell us more about how life got here.

Anand Ram, CBC News, Toronto. And finally to a rock that was dug up here on earth, a diamond found in a rough situation and a California couple's ring of fire. He's overlooking at like his studio. This is my desk frame with the bow in the middle. My first reaction was like, oh look, here it is. Stephanie Rayner and Brian McShay talking about their moment of discovery in the rubble of their home in Altadena, California.

The small bungalow burned to the ground in the recent LA wildfires and when they returned, McShay went looking for something he'd been keeping in a desk in a studio but the desk and the room were gone but in a pile of ash there it was the diamond engagement ring McShay was planning to give to Rainer and even though he'd envisioned a more romantic setting the moment felt right. You think about how much all this pressure all this perfection you want in the moment that you propose. But you just, I found it and it's just like, oh, here it is, will you marry me?

Oh, I cried. I was crying. I had my glasses with the goggles on top and they like fogged up completely. And so I just went and I like gave him a big hug and I obviously said yes. A neighbor took the couple's engagement photo wearing goggles, N95 masks, and the ring slipped over Rainer's protective glove.

The diamond was still sparkling, but the gold band needs a polish, while the couple starts planning the rebuild and the wedding. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Wednesday, January 29th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.