Your World Tonight - Plane crash at Pearson, storm cleanup, Europe’s existential moment, and more

Episode Date: February 17, 2025

A plane has crashed and flipped upside down on the runway at Toronto’s Pearson airport. We will have the latest on the incident, and the injuries of those on board.The investigation is just beginning, but weather may have played a factor in the crash. Central and Eastern Canada are buried in snow, and the winds are still high in several places. The storms are slowing, but the cleanup is expected to take weeks. The challenges – where to put all the snow.And: European leaders meet in France to discuss the war in Ukraine. UK prime minister Keir Starmer says the future of Ukraine is a “once in a generation moment for the collective security of Europe.”Also: A Calgary woman has been in prison in Sierra Leone for nearly two months, after being arrested live on TV during a reality show. Her family, and Amnesty International, say she is a political prisoner and should be released.Plus: Canadians buying Canadian, Liberal leadership deadline, coyotes in cities, 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. We just landed. Our plane crashed. It's upside down. A passenger posting on social media after the commuter plane he was on crashed at Toronto's Pearson Airport. The scene hard to believe. The plane completely flipped over, scarred, wings stripped off, passengers pulled from doorways, even as firefighters douse the fuselage with plumes of water. Some of those passengers, including a child now in hospital with critical injuries. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It

is Monday, February 17th, coming up on 6m. Eastern also on the podcast. We got in less than five days almost 40 percent of all the snow we're usually getting in the winter. Snow, lots of it. Howling winds and in some cases freezing rain. Powerful back-to-back winter storms have slowed life in some of Canada's biggest cities to a crawl. I wish I'd seen a plane crash. Oh my god. A passenger plane landing in high winds and snow at Toronto's Pearson International Airport

flipped over onto its roof, sending up plumes of black smoke. The Delta Airlines twin-engine jet was arriving from Minneapolis. At least 15 people are reported injured. Canada's busiest airport was closed for hours, snarling air traffic in Toronto and far beyond. The CBC's Thomas Daglid joins us now from near Pearson Airport. Thomas, what can you see where you are and what can you tell us about what happened? Well, there are several jets parked here on the tarmac at Pearson Airport as arrivals and departures are ramping up again. Some big gusts of winds blowing the snow that fell the past couple days here. There's no word yet on whether that reduced visibility played a role in the crash landing of this Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis. We've

seen multiple emergency vehicles on the scene with their lights flashing. This crash happened at about 2.13 p.m. Eastern time this afternoon just as the Bombardier CRJ 900 was landing here. It's now flat on its back covered in snow. Cell phone video taken right after the crash shows damage to the back of the plane on its underside. Passengers are seen walking away on their own wearing sweaters and whatever else they had on for the flight. Clearly they were not expecting to have to get out in a hurry. The flight was being operated by Delta Airlines subsidiary

Endeavour Air. The plane had flown from Cleveland to Minneapolis earlier in the day, and officials earlier had ordered all Pearson runways closed for the coming hours after that crash, but that restriction has now been lifted. Flights bound for this airport had been diverted initially to Montreal and Winnipeg and Hamilton. Canada's Transportation Safety Board says it's sending a team here to investigate what went wrong and their US counterparts say they'll also be joining the investigation since a US airline was involved, Susan. And yes Thomas, it was incredible to see those passengers

walking away from a crashed plane with their cell phones in their hands. What do we know about those people on board? Yeah, we've seen dramatic video of those passengers being evacuated from inside the plane. Delta Airlines says there were 80 people on board. That's 76 passengers and four crew. All of them have made it out alive, which is extraordinary. When you see those pictures of the plane upside down on the runway being doused by fire crews as passengers are evacuated, firefighters helping them jump out of the plane. We know from emergency crews that three people who were injured had to be airlifted to hospital, including one child who was taken to a downtown children's hospital and two adults who both

suffered what are said to be critical injuries. In all paramedics say 15 people on the scene here had to be treated for injuries. This crash has caused a lot of disruption. It's a very scary moments here at Canada's busiest airport but amazingly everyone has made it out alive. Thomas, thank you very much. You're welcome. The CBC's Thomas Dagla near Pearson Airport. High winds are making conditions in central and eastern Canada a mess. Blowing around the deep snow that fell in just a few days, so much snow, officials say it will take days to clear, using trucks and plows to free up the streets. Jennifer Yoon has more on the massive clean-up effort ahead.

It's been almost an hour. Sweating, digging, trying to free his car encased in a thick layer of snow. Jad Zarawi was having a rough time trying to get to work. I got stuck, yeah. So I tried to dig myself out. My car wouldn't start, so our neighbor helped me to jump start the battery,

helped him to dig out his car as well. Montrealers digging out after being hit with a double whammy of winter storms. Over 75 centimeters of snow falling over the span of four days. It's the most since 1941, says Environment Canada's Gina Ressler. Yeah, it's honestly very exceptional. And it's not over yet. Strong winds blowing up to 70 kilometers per hour, whipping up the snow, complicating the work of digging out.

50% of the sidewalks are not properly cleaned. With snow swirling around him, his eyebrows frosted, City of Montreal spokesperson Philippe Sabarenne tried to enlist the help of teens off school for a snow day to shovel some of those sidewalks. Thousands of city workers are out clearing roads and sidewalks but the cleanup will still take at least eight days. And we're asking everyone to collaborate by helping the city. There's many ways to do so. Move your car, take the public transit. Canadians from Quebec City, through Ottawa, to Toronto are dealing with the aftermath

of the same pair of storms. In Toronto though, digging out will take longer. Three weeks. City official Vince Ferozzo says that's because the process is long, cumbersome and complicated. It takes hours to move snow out of just one kilometer of residential road, going slow blowing the snow into trucks, then those trucks getting filled, sent to dump sites, and then coming back. Plus there's just so much snow to move out. Now the last time we needed to do a snow removal of this magnitude you may remember was in January 2022 when we did receive approximately 50 to 55 centimeters. While the wind is complicating things in Quebec and Ontario,

it's creating bitterly cold conditions in parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Frozen solid under an extreme cold warning with wind chill values between minus 40 and 50. The wind also wreaking havoc in the Maritimes. In Nova Scotia, wind gusts up to 90 kilometers per hour will keep howling through Tuesday morning as it braces for its own winter storm. Jennifer Yoon, CBC News, Toronto. The federal liberals appear to be digging out from their own recent flurry of troubles.

Polling suggests the gap between them and the conservatives is narrowing following Justin Trudeau's announcement that he is stepping down and the candidates in the race to replace him have cleared another hurdle. Ashley Burke has details from Ottawa. Leadership contender Mark Carney enters a packed sports bar on Saturday night. He's hosting a watch party for the Canada-US hockey game. It's the latest campaign event where he's bringing in big crowds and money. His campaign says he's raised almost $2 million, far surpassing the $350,000 entrance fee needed for the race. His final installment paid today.

It's a privilege to go across the country and talk with Canadians. They want change and they've got ideas for change. I'm listening to that. I've got my own and it seems to be resonating. This race's entrance fee the highest in the party's history. It's meant to keep the pool of contenders small and serious during a condensed competition that ends March 9th. Contender Karina Gould said she's focusing on winning over the party's grassroots. It was a high fee but we've got momentum across the country and I'm so encouraged by

you know the number of people who've made contributions. My average donation is still less than 130 dollars. The five contenders still in the race now fleshing out their policies and trying to differentiate themselves. Joining me now is the Honourable Chrystia Freeland. Chrystia Freeland turning to MSNBC and American network this weekend to campaign against Donald Trump's terror threats. This is an act of huge self-mutilation. Doing this will hurt America really badly. Montreal businessman Frank Baylis says his challenge

is he's one of the lesser known candidates and is trying to change that. He's taking aim at the government's handling of Trump. They're making a number of mistakes right across the board in how they're dealing with Mr. Trump. And I would change all of it. And if you've ever dealt with a bully, you'd know this right away.

You don't give an inch. Baylis is the only candidate from Quebec in the race promoting his bilingualism, something Ruby Della is facing criticism over. The Liberal Party denied her request for a translator at the French debate. She appealed the party says it's sticking with its decision. I do not want the fact that I am not fully bilingual at this particular time, even though I speak four other languages,

I do not want that to be preventative from French Canadians hearing of my vision and speaking of my message. Right now she's planning to give an opening statement in French at next week's Debate in Montreal and stay on stage to answer what she can. Ashley Burke, CBC News, Ottawa. Trump's threats. A potential peace plan for Ukraine is forcing Europe to rethink continental security. France's president brought together leaders from the EU and UK today as Russia continues to talk with the United States about ending its war. Meetings that at this point do not include Europe or Ukraine.

Cameron McIntosh has the latest. On the steps of the Lize presidential palace, French President Emmanuel Macron greeting his guests. An emergency meeting, Europe's leaders trying not to be sidelined on what role Europe may have in securing peace in Ukraine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. At stake is not just the future of Ukraine. It is an existential question for Europe as a whole.

And therefore vital for Britain's national interests. An idea gaining traction. Some sort of European peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Nothing is decided yet. It comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to meet with Russia's foreign minister in Saudi Arabia. A meeting framed by Rubio as re-establishing relations to set up negotiations on Ukraine. We're just not there yet. We really aren't. But hopefully we will be, because we'd all like to see this war end. A similar line from the Kremlin.

The question now is to agree on how to start negotiations on Ukraine, says foreign policy aide Yuri Yushakov. Tomorrow's meeting follows last week's call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Absent from these talks, Ukraine. Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement. President Volodymyr Zelensky saying at the very least Ukraine needs security guarantees as NATO membership for Ukraine and whether Russia keeps any of the land it occupies stand as critical issues, along with how involved the U.S. is with military support. All could have implications for the whole of Europe and its security along its Russian border. David Blagdon is a professor of international security and strategy.

There will be some very significant alarm in European capitals about what might be discussed with regards to the security of their continent, their home region. President Trump says Ukraine and Europe will have seats at the table if this meeting leads to negotiations. We're moving along, we're trying to get a peace with Russia, Ukraine, and we're working very hard on it. It's a war that should have never started. The president, who promised to end the war quickly, now trying to set the terms for a deal that could reshape security

across Europe. Cameron McIntosh, CBC News, Washington. A Canadian family is hoping for a deal to free a loved one jailed in Sierra Leone. The Calgary woman was arrested on live television for her online activism. Critics argue she's a political prisoner and the latest victim of a nation that is often accused of stifling dissent. Erin Collins reports. It's Sierra Leone's take on the hit show Big Brother. Contestants living together, competing for prizes. living together, competing for prizes. In most African cultures.

The reality TV program, a little too real for this Canadian contestant, arrested live on television. It's okay. No, no, it's okay. A dual citizen, Hawa Hunt has called Calgary home for more than a decade, travelling to the country of her birth to take part in the show. Please, Sarah Lyonou, cast your vote for Hawa Hunt. Detained for this two-year-old social media post

criticizing Sierra Leone's president and first lady. When it's just two months to election, why is he going around giving money? A huntsman in jail since being arrested in late December, a fact that worries her family in Canada. My mom is not doing well at all. Alicia Hunt's been working with a lawyer in Sierra Leone to have her mother released information about her condition largely gleaned through social media.

It's horrifying for sure, not being able to communicate with her often and not knowing how she's doing. Howa has reappeared on social media too, apologizing for criticizing Sierra Leone's president. I'm really sorry, again, I'm remorseful, you know, apologetic towards the family. Despite that apology, Hunt has been denied bail three times, her case being closely followed by human rights groups. Solomon Sogbandi is with Amnesty International in Sierra Leone. We are really concerned about the arbitrary arrest and detention of our hunt because we believe by now she will have been released.

The Canadian government is on the case too, writing in a statement it is in contact with local authorities and providing consular service. But Howa Hunt isn't the only person who has been detained in Sierra Leone for being critical of the government in recent days. We're seeing a curtailment of freedoms and rights across the board. A troubling trend for Rachel Pulfer with the group Journalists for Human Rights. She points out that a Dutch journalist was arrested and released in Sierra Leone just last week. African leaders who had authoritarian tendencies have been emboldened by Trump's attacks on the media.

Back in Calgary, Alicia Hunt continues to work to get her mom out of jail. Get her home and give her the biggest hug. Until then, she'll continue to scroll for updates, waiting for her mother's release. Erin Collins, CBC News, Calgary. Pope Francis' doctors say his condition is more complex than first thought. The pope was admitted to hospital on Friday with a respiratory infection. All of the 88-year-old Pope's public appearances have been cancelled until at least the end of the month.

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. This one's over as Canada gets to the final with a 5-3 victory here this afternoon. Canada's men's hockey team defeated Finland today at the Four Nations face-off. It sets up a rematch against the USA in the final. Their first round game was marked by numerous fights and Canadian fans booing the US national anthem.

The two countries are also in a tense face-off over cross-border trade, a tariff dispute that's provoking patriotism at the hockey rink and in retail. Lindsay Duncombe reports. Joshua Haywood uses a machine to attach a rubber grip onto the shaft of a golf club. When it comes to clubs, this is about as Canadian as it gets. Haywood sources as much Canadian material as he can and the clubs are designed, tested and assembled in his Burnaby warehouse. Canadian sales have just gone through the roof to our surprise. That's due, he says, to Canadian consumers looking for an alternative to American clubs.

Customers, the company says it will need if tariffs erode American business. It's kind of a saviour. If our Canadian sales continue to increase at the rate that they are, it will most likely be able to help offset a significant portion of our U.S. sales. In an online survey conducted on behalf of fuel company Petro Canada, 94% of people responding

said it was important to support Canadian businesses, 76% said they were willing to pay more to buy Canadian, and 34% said they had substituted a product they would normally buy with a Canadian option. I've never seen anything like this in my life before. U of T business professor David Soberman says Canada is in the middle of an unprecedented response to unprecedented trade threats. But he says Canadian spending power isn't enough to offset the losses that would come with Trump's proposed tariffs.

There's a silver lining, but I don't think the silver lining is still enough to outweigh the cloud. And then there's the big question. Can Canadians keep this up, especially when many Canadian goods cost more? Maurice Panetta teaches consumer behaviour at Wilfrid Laurier University. She says if tariffs impact the economy, Canadians might not have enough cash to shop with their hearts. Canadians are struggling and at that moment of decision-making they're going to have to weigh the importance of their behaviors and supporting Canadian products with the realities that they're

dealing with in their financial situation. Joshua Haywood hopes his new customers are here to stay. I think people are just fed up with you know the potential bullying that's occurring and I think that the sentiment is probably gonna stay for a long time. A message Canadians are driving south with how they spend. Can't mess with this club. Lindsay Dankom, CBC News, Vancouver. One neighborhood in Toronto is calling for help after a how they spend. Can't mess with this club. Lindsay Dancome, CBC News, Vancouver. One neighbourhood in Toronto is calling for help after a spike in sightings and attacks

by coyotes. Coyotes are no strangers to Canadian cities, but they often stay out of sight in parks and ravines. Experts say a healthy coyote population can be helpful, but not always. An IIT Sing reports. You have to give us something more than, you know, garbage bags and yelling at coyotes. A downtown Toronto neighborhood besieged by a terrifying spate of coyote attacks. In this virtual town hall, Liberty Village residents poured out their frustration at the city.

We do feel like a lot of what you're saying to us is tone deaf and disconnected. We need a solution. Residents here have recorded over 50 coyote attacks in the past three months in this densely populated neighborhood of glassy condo towers. The incidents are bringing attention to a very common city-dwelling animal found in the thousands in major North American cities. Stan Garrett has led research into urban coyotes in Chicago for over two decades. The vast majority of them are able through a tremendous amount of skill carry out their daily lives without coming into conflict with us. But Garrett says conflicts do pop up like

in Toronto part of the reason is that February is their mating season, and coyotes have a good reason to be even more passionately protective of their mates. They remain monogamous their entire life, staying with one partner till death do them part. And in fact, we've never documented a divorce among our mated pairs. So if they see dogs or that type of thing, they may see that as a threat to their territory and to their mating bond. Gerrit says knowing about this time period along with another in two months

when the pups will be born can help people take special precautions to keep themselves and their pets safe. But if the coyotes get too dangerous, the city has to consider harsher measures. And Colleen St. Clair, who has led a similar research project into urban coyotes in Edmonton, says simply relocating the animals may not work. They come into conflict in their new location using the same behaviors, or they try to come back to their original territory, re-establishing the conflict there. A targeted cull of specific problem coyotes, St. Clair says, would keep people safe.

But in general, we need to learn to live with the coyotes. Despite how scary they may be, they help us out a lot. They prey on mice, rats and other pests and keep them from destroying native plants and ecosystems. And they clean up dead animals. They provide a kind of sanitation service for free. So ultimately I think we want to coexist with coyotes in urban areas. And even if we didn't want to, it would not be possible to get rid of coyotes in urban areas. The more realistic goal being accepting the coyotes as sometimes problematic, but generally

helpful neighbours. Inayat Singh, CBC News, Toronto. Finally a dramatic rescue in the Cape Breton Highlands this weekend. Dave Metcalf and his friend Huey Whelan had snowmobiled in winter storms before, but this weekend Metcalf says things quickly took a turn for the worse. The drifts were just too high, too deep, we're getting stuck. We ended up in a spot where we weren't even on a trail. Everything kind of looked the same.

We couldn't see the tree line anywhere. Bad. Metcalfe's snowmobile got stuck. Whalen took off on his to find help. Metcalfe dug himself a hole and waited and waited and waited. By the time daylight came back around, the wind was after change and it's kind of filling up. My shelter I had Doug and that's getting smaller and smaller.

The shovel is God knows where now. The wind is just unreal. Wayland's wife put out a distress call on social media. Richard McPhee was part of the search team that answered. It took several hours to get up there because we had to stop so many times because we just couldn't see our hand in front of us. And that's not exaggerating. I've been in some pretty bad conditions in my life and by far this is the most severe. They found Wayland slouched over his snowmobile on the top of a hill. They thought he was dead. But he grunted and they knew he was somehow alive.

McPhee says they had to leave him to go find someone to dig a trail back down to the road. They got Whale into hospital where he's being treated for hypothermia, then resumed their search. Metcalf, in his hole, was sure he was going to die alone. And all I could think about was my 76 year old mother, my brother just younger than me, passed away unexpectedly a month ago. So it's one of those things where you wake up from a dream and think, oh my God, that was a terrible dream. Only anytime I nodded off and woke up,

you know, it just became more and more and more real that this is some serious trouble here. Finally, after spending 20 hours in his makeshift shelter, he heard the hum of approaching snowmobiles. He thought he was hallucinating. He was taken to a shelter, warmed, fed, but mostly unharmed by the cold. Metcalf says he can't believe perfect strangers

risked their own lives to save his and Wayland's. And he says they've learned a valuable lesson about respecting nature and storm forecasts. Thank you for joining us this has been your world tonight for Monday February 17th I'm Susan Bonner talk to you again. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.