Your World Tonight - Plane crash investigation, U.S. and Russia meet, inflation at 1.9 per cent, and more.

Episode Date: February 18, 2025

There’s still not a lot of detail on what caused yesterday’s crash at Pearson airport in Toronto. What we do know: all 80 people on board survived. We have some of their stories, and details on the safety features and protocols that may have kept them alive. Representatives for the U.S. and Russia met in Saudi Arabia today to discuss multiple issues – including Ukraine. Not on the invite list: anyone from Ukraine. Moscow and Washington have agreed to appoint a negotiating group, ostensibly to find an end to the war. Ukraine and Europe want to know how that happens without Kyiv. On the one hand: a tax holiday. On the other: rising energy prices. Both of those played a part in January’s inflation rate. Canada's consumer price index rose to 1.9 per cent. Peter Armstrong tells us what that means for your wallet, and what it could mean for the next interest rate setting. Plus: DOGE claims it has cut $55 billion in U.S. government spending, Hamas pledges to release six hostages on Saturday, and more. 

1942, Europe. Soldiers find a boy surviving alone in the woods. They make him a member of Hitler's army. But what no one would know for decades, he was Jewish. Could a story so unbelievable be true? I'm Dan Goldberg. I'm from CBC's personally, Toy Soldier. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Back sprains, head injuries, anxiety, some headaches, nausea and vomiting. They sound like the kind of bumps and bruises caused by a fender bender.

But that's a paramedic describing how passengers walked away from a crash landing at Canada's largest airport. The day after Delta Flight 4819 slammed into the runway and burst into flames in Toronto, what could have been a major catastrophe is a survivor story. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Tuesday, February 18th coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. I was upside down. The lady next to me was upside down.

And then everybody was just like get out, get out, get out. We could smell like jet fuel. And then we just crawled out the back of the airplane. As passengers recount the chaotic aftermath the push is on to figure out what led to the crash questions about the weather and the aircraft itself as investigators look at what went wrong and so much that went right. Great engineering with respect to seats and the material that is used in the aircraft produced by Bombardier in Canada. They're very common and they're very safe aircraft. The search for answers in the crash of Delta Flight 4819,

we have comprehensive coverage on this story for you, beginning with Thomas Dagla in Toronto. beginning with Thomas Dagla in Toronto. Oh no no no no no no. Video recorded from a distance and posted online provides the best indication yet of what happened in the final seconds of Delta Flight 4819. Oh my god. Facing gusty winds and snow on the ground, the CRJ-900 touches down, then rolls to the right while still in motion.

Oh f***! The back of the plane erupts in flames, with a thick plume of dark smoke rising over the tarmac at Toronto's Pearson Airport. Today in the howling wind, investigators wearing winter gear and fluorescent vests spent the day examining that jet. Covered in snow it sits mostly intact except for its right wing that snapped off on arrival. We do expect that the investigators on site will be reviewing the aircraft on its current configuration on the runway for the next 48 hours.

Toronto's airport authority CEO Deborah Flint says 20 investigators from the Transportation Safety Board are on hand to find out what went wrong with help from US officials and aircraft maker Mitsubishi. Flint wouldn't speculate on the cause of the crash but points to what she describes as extreme conditions in recent days. On Thursday and Sunday we got more than 20 inches, 50 centimeters of accumulated snow. That is more snow within that time window than we received in all of last winter. Indeed, airline pilot Laura Einsettler says investigators are sure to consider a variety of factors, including weather. Wind gusts, you know, wind shears, things like that,

icing on the runways, the condition of the aircraft, and what the pilots were seeing. Oh my, yo, I was just on this plane. While most passengers managed to walk away on their own, Delta Airlines now says 21 in all were taken to hospital and two are still being treated for their injuries as of this afternoon. Paramedic Corey Tekach says crews found passengers suffering from back sprains and head injuries. Some headaches, nausea and vomiting due to the fuel exposure.

Cell phone video shows firefighters jumping out of an upside down door as the still flaming jet is doused in the freezing cold. Pearson Airport says it had to cancel more than 460 flights yesterday. Now the wreck on the runway continues to disrupt departures and arrivals. It's not clear yet whether that dangerous landing could have been avoided, but it very nearly ended much worse. Thomas Daigle, CBC News, Toronto. The accounts from Monday's crash are nothing short of terrifying.

One says he and other passengers were hanging upside down like bats when the plane ended its runway skid. Many today credit the crew and first responders with their survival. Jamie Strachan has more on that. I was just in a plane crash. Oh my God. Delta Flight 4819, upside down on fire without wings

after flipping and careening down the runway. Somehow all 80 people on board survived. It's really important to recognize how grateful we are that there was no loss of life or life-threatening injuries in yesterday's accident. Deborah Flint is the CEO of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority. She describes the response of everyone involved as textbook. First, the quick-thinking flight crew who quickly got passengers off the plane. The crew of Delta Flight 4819 heroically led passengers to safety, evacuating a jet that had overturned on the runway on landing that was amidst smoke and fire.

John Nelson was on the plane. I was upside down, the lady next to me was upside down. We kind of let ourselves go and fell to hit the ceiling." He credits flight attendants for keeping people calm in a surreal and terrifying situation. And then everybody was just like, get out, get out, get out. We could smell like jet fuel. Even now I smell like jet fuel. And then we just crawled out the back of the airplane. Sarah Nelson is the president of the Association of Flight Attendants.

She says crews prepare for events like this. That fire could have been much worse. That could engulf the plane in about 90 seconds and that's why we're trained to get people off in that amount of time and that training kicks in to get people in motion. We need emergency services runway 23 at traffic 350. There are fire trucks coming out of the hall there but they're going to go west away from you. in motion. As this recording from air traffic control indicates, firefighters directly assigned to Pearson airport were on scene minutes after the crash. Todd Akin is the GTAA Fire Chief. They were able to quickly knock down the spot fires using the

aircraft rescue firefighting apparatus. Once the fires were knocked down, the crews did make entry and perform primary search and rescue. When John Nelson looks back on what he's gone through, it's all hard to believe. I mean it's just all the emotional roller coaster that you go through but stressed, nervous, shaky still. Yeah a lot of stress. Nervous, shaky still. Yeah, a lot of stress. It's amazing that we're still here. For those aboard flight 4819, a sense of thanks for everything that went right. After everything went so very wrong.

Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto. As survivors search for answers to what did go wrong, Monday's crash has pushed questions about the safety of air travel back into the spotlight. Aaron Collins has that angle for us. With a calmness that's difficult to fathom, the crew of Flight 4819 shepherds passengers out of the flipped fuselage of the Delta Airlines plane. We just landed. Our plane crashed. It's upside down.

On the tarmac, stunned passengers assess their situation. Everybody, most people appear to be okay. We're all getting off. That fact that everyone on board survived, hard to comprehend. Well, it's nothing less than miraculous. Colonel J.F. Joseph should know the former U.S. Marine has spent nearly 30,000 hours flying commercial planes. This is what I would consider extraordinarily rare under these particular circumstances and even more so the fact that as the mishap evolved that we didn't lose any passengers or crew members. The dramatic nature of this crash eye-catching, part of the

fascination just how rare plane crashes actually are. Never will get to zero but the number of accidents happen over the years has decreased remarkably. David McNair is a former investigator with the Transportation Safety Board. McNair says that as crashes trend down, safety features on planes have improved. He points specifically to the seats on the Delta flight as potentially contributing to the survival of the passengers and crew on board. Originally the seats I think were, I can't remember, I think were 9G, now they're up to 16G. In other words, they're stronger. They're almost twice as strong where the mounts will stay attached to the airframe, which is important. The plane that held those seats built in this country.

This is a plane that has been produced by Bombardier in Canada. Hassan Shahidi is with the Flight Safety Foundation. He says the CRJ-900 has an excellent reputation. They're very common worldwide and they're very safe aircraft, great engineering and great design with respect to seats and the material that is used in the aircraft." Shahidi says he believes the weather, as well as the speed of the landing, will be closely examined as the crash is investigated. In the meantime, Colonel Joseph says people should

still feel comfortable flying. You know, we have had a number of mishaps in North America in the last couple of weeks, but aviation still is the safest mode of transportation out there. That's a reality that may be harder for those who flew on Flight 4819 to accept. Aaron Collins, CBC News, Calgary. Coming up on the podcast, the US and Russia begin talks to end the war in Ukraine amid allegations the process is rigged against Ukraine and slashing jobs and saving money, the impact of the elimination of thousands of government jobs in the US. US and Russian officials sat down today to discuss ways to stop

the war in Ukraine, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. The talks wrapped with an agreement to appoint a high-level team to negotiate. But as Paul Hunter reports, there's still no clarity on how, when, and even if Ukraine may be included in those negotiations. With the war raging on in Ukraine, the fighting now approaching its third anniversary. A meeting in Saudi Arabia with a stated goal of beginning to find a way to end the fighting. Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh sitting across the table from his Russian

counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The meeting marks a major turnaround in U.S.-Russian relations when it comes to the war. The Joe Biden administration had led massive Western sanctions on Russia. President Donald Trump, who'd once promised he could end the fighting in 24 hours, is moving quickly down this path instead. The goal is, and we agreed on what the goal is, the goal is to bring an end to this conflict in a way that's fair, enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved. What that looks like, well, that's what the ongoing engagement is going to be all about.

Said Lavrov, the conversation was, I believe, very useful. We did not just listen, but we heard each other. The current US administration, he said, has a better understanding of Russia's position on Ukraine. And coming out of the four and a half hour meeting, the two countries agreed to improve their diplomatic ties, boost their economic ties, and said more talks on Ukraine will follow. But just last week, the U.S. suggested any end to the war would have to include Ukraine

ceding at least some of the territory that Russia's come to occupy, something Ukraine has always said would never happen. Weighing in from his home in Florida, Donald Trump seemed to blame the war on Ukraine. You've been there for three years. You should have ended it three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal. I could have made a deal for Ukraine that would have given him almost all of the land, everything, almost all of the land, and no people would have been killed and no city would have been demolished. Ukraine itself was not at the table in Saudi Arabia and says the meeting was a surprise. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky underlining no decision can be made on how to end the war without Ukraine.

That view echoed by other European countries, some who took a call from Rubio after his meeting with Lavrov, pledging they will be involved in talks down the line. European leaders will meet on Ukraine tomorrow, with Canada invited and expected to join. All of it, as that fighting intensifies ever more. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. Canada's inflation rate is up a smidge. The consumer price index moved from 1.8% in December to 1.9% in January, with gasoline and mortgage costs driving up overall prices. Let's bring in senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong. Peter, what are we to make of this

number? Look, it's not a great number and remember January had that GST holiday in place so that was actually driving prices down and still overall price growth picked up from the month previous. But put in context, you know, it's about what had been expected. It's still below the Bank of Canada's target of 2%. It is. But if inflation is in fact picking up, how much does that complicate the forecast for the Bank of Canada? Yeah.

I mean, it's just one more dash of uncertainty and a sea of it. And remember, tariffs are kind of weird when it comes to inflation. Like U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, that's going to drive down demand and thus eventually it'll drive down prices. If Canada, however, responds and imposes retaliatory tariffs of its own, that's going to drive up prices here. So it gets difficult to figure out how all this is going to unfold until we've got a more clear sense of what

actually is going to be hit by a tariff until we actually see the kind of schedule of tariffs and such. Well, the central bank has been steadily lowering interest rates. Will any of this give the bank pause? You know, I wondered the same thing. So I reached out to Claire Fan, a senior economist at RBC economics, and she says, look, that GST holiday kind of muddies the waters a bit in terms of understanding what's happening below the surface. These are not the things that we want to see at this point, especially amidst all these uncertainties. So what the Bank of Canada really want to do at this point is wait for more data, because that's all the central banks can do at this point, be data dependent, wait for more data, especially the March report that will show us the true print of where inflation is outside of the impact of the federal tax holiday. Well, one thing we know amid all this

uncertainty is that mortgage costs are still driving up costs. Yeah, they sure are and we knew they would, right? CMHC flagged this for us in the fall. 1.2 million Canadians are set to renew their mortgages this year. 85% of them, Susan, are those that were contracted when the Bank of Canada rate was at or below 1%. So, you know, look, that bank rate has come back to what's at 3% now and it may well fall further, but that's going to put a squeeze on a lot of households at a time when the economy isn't exactly in a position to absorb any more factors that

are slowing it down. Okay, Peter. So amidst all of this, what's your sense of the economy at this moment? Look, it's a precarious moment. Canada's per capita GDP has been slowing for six straight quarters. The jobless rate is rising. All that was happening before the tariffs and the catastrophic trade war were even in play. Now we have to add in the potential that inflation is accelerating again. It's a rough road ahead and it's rough for households, for businesses and for policymakers alike. Okay Peter, come back when you have good news. I will. CBC senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong in Toronto. The Vatican says the Pope has pneumonia in both lungs. Pope Francis went into hospital with bronchitis.

He has a chronic lung condition which contributes to infections that have sent him to hospital in the past. But the Vatican says he is in good spirits and working from his bed. 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.

You're fired. Once Donald Trump's reality TV catchphrase, now reality for tens of thousands of US government workers. White House advisor, Elon Musk is slashing through department after department, keeping the president's promise to cut the federal workforce. As Katie Simpson reports, they say they've already saved more than $50 billion. And now I see they want you two to start, they want a divorce.

Fox News host Sean Hannity offering an opportunity to Donald Trump and Elon Musk to show the world they're closer than ever. In a sit-down interview with the president and his adviser who leads the Department of Government Efficiency called DOJ, they presented a united front. Elon called me, he said, you know they're trying to drive us apart. I said absolutely. But you know what I have learned, Elon, the people are smart, they get it. Yeah, they do. They get it. Yeah, they do.

They get it. Musk continues to enjoy Trump's support as the Doge website is now estimating $55 billion in savings, cutting costs through a wide range of measures including firings, buyouts, work stoppages and contract cancellations sparking protests across the U.S. Amen! Ho, ho! Evo, ho, ho, ho, ho! Austin, Texas, one of many cities hosting anti-Trump and anti-Musk rallies on President's Day. They want to remake the government into something

that doesn't work for the people but works for them. Doge continues to seek access to sensitive information. The head of the Social Security Administration resigning in protest as she reportedly refused to grant access to files. While the federal government purge has now touched more than a dozen federal agencies. The latest firings include staff at Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the FAA, and the National Park Service. These are folks that do search and rescue, these are water treatment operators.

Kristin Brangel is with the National Parks Conservation Association. She says these firings put visitor safety at risk. One of the things that we're really worried about are if people don't have everything they need when they're in the park, there won't be enough search and rescue folks to help them. The Trump administration is aggressively defending its agenda, with Stephen Miller, a deputy chief of staff, even yelling at a CNN anchor. Then why are you not celebrating these cuts? If you agree there is waste, if you agree there is abuse, if you agree there is corruption,

why are you not celebrating the cuts, the reforms that are being instituted? There is some support among voters too, found in the Virginia suburbs just west of D.C. I think it was a little quick. I think you probably could have rolled it out a little better. But I think overall it's going to be good in the long run. We do have to pull the rug out after a while. I mean, the spigot has got to stop. This has just been ridiculous.

More cuts are coming, with the Department of Homeland Security expected to be hit next. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Here in Canada, anger is building over Trump's 25% tariff threat on imports. That would hit the economy hard and some Canadian travelers are willing to take their own financial hit to show their displeasure. Makda Gabriselassi has that story. We're not going to America. We will not be traveling to the United States. On social media, Canadians are loud and proud about boycotting trips to the US. Michelle Porter in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland is among them. She had a

Florida trip for her and six family members all booked. But Donald Trump's tariff threats changed that. I just cancelled it and then I reached out to my family and I said, well, okay, we're going to go somewhere else. She said the two-week vacation was approximately $14,000 U.S. Flights, accommodations, even Disney tickets were booked. While she got most of her money, thanks to insurance, she says she lost about $1,300 U.S. and has no regrets.

I think that as Canadians that we, you know, we need to stick together and as unity, and I raised my children to feel the same, be proud Canadian. So, you know, why would you go there? And I say that again, why would a Canadian want to go to the United States right now? For Canadians, the U.S. has long been a popular spot. According to the U.S. Travel Association, visitors from Canada topped the list last year, with more than 20 million visits.

It warns just a 10% dip in those visits could mean a loss of $2.1 billion in spending. Meanwhile airlines are on alert. WestJet has seen a 25% drop for US travel. As for Air Canada, We are anticipating proactively that there could be a slowdown. Mark Gallardo is Air Canada's Executive Vice President. During a conference call for the airline's fourth quarter earnings, he said as of now, they haven't seen U.S. bookings drop.

That being said, if we could be risked this a little bit, and be a bit proactive and move capacity to other sectors, we see strength. I think that's the right move right now in this context. Come March, Air Canada will be reducing its capacity for some flights heading south of the border. Travel agencies are adjusting too. We've looked at our numbers and we're about 40% less over last year. 40% less bookings to the U.S. for leisure travel over last year. Robert Townsend is with Total Advantage Travel and Tours in Toronto.

He says clients are going the distance with their Canadian pride. A lot of people are actually even asking to be put on a Canadian carrier rather than a US carrier because they don't want their money to be put into a US airline. People have gone so far to ask me if a hotel chain is US owned. And even if the tariffs never materialize, for some, like Michelle Porter, the damage is done. I will not go to the United States while Donald Trump is in power. And I have no...

And after that even, it's going to take a while. Our trust is gone. Suggesting that Trump's attack on Canada could hurt his own country's tourism for a while. Makda Geber-Selasska, CBC News, Toronto. Finally tonight, thinking ahead to baseball season is usually a nice distraction from frigid February weather. But Toronto Blue Jays fans just got a reminder

that the business of big league baseball can be as cold and hard as the ice on your windshield. When you go into a negotiation, each side has rationale for a number and in this case we couldn't align on a common number that shared risk. Both sides take some on and a decision from both parties couldn't be found. Blue Jays President and CEO Mark Shapiro speaking to the media after the team's front office struck out on a contract extension for their biggest star, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero

Jr. Canadian-born and one of the best hitters in the game, drafted and developed by the Jays, Vladdy, as he's known, is just 25 years old and likely has his best years ahead of him. But after the two sides failed to reach an agreement, there's now a good chance those years will be spent with another team. Front office, my lawyers, my agents, they met, they tried, both part tried, but I mean obviously we couldn't get an agreement.

Guerrero Jr. speaking through a translator and saying it came down to the numbers. In this case, numbers with lots of zeros behind them. If successful, the deal would have been the most expensive in Canadian pro sports history, with some suggesting it could have topped half a billion dollars. Many fans are pointing the finger at Jay's front office and the team's corporate owner Rogers accusing them of penny pinching and ultimately dropping the ball with a beloved star player. Thank you for joining us this has been your world tonight for Tuesday February 18th I'm Susan Bonner talk to you again For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.