Your World Tonight - PM leaves for India, Poilievre targets Trump, Hillary Clinton’s Epstein deposition, and more

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney is on his way to India. The visit is meant to put years of frosty relations aside and lay the groundwork for a comprehensive trade deal. Sikh activists in Canada say some of them are being threatened by people with ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. They say India should not be rewarded with a trade deal.Plus: Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has laid out his vision for Canada. And its future trade deals. Poilievre did something he has avoided before: directly criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's trade and tariff policies. But he says the two countries are inextricably linked, and need to be able to work together.And: Hillary Clinton told U.S. lawmakers… if they want answers about Jeffrey Epstein, they are looking in the wrong place. Clinton was summoned to be questioned about Epstein, but said she had never met him, or visited any of his homes or offices.Plus: Potential overuse of antipsychotic drugs in long-term care homes, Cuba boat shooting, Iran talks continue, and more.

This ascent isn't for everyone. You need grit to climb this high this often. You've got to be an underdog that always overdelivers. You've got to be 6,500 hospital staff, 1,000 doctors all doing so much with so little. You've got to be Scarborough. Defined by our uphill battle and always striving towards new heights. And you can help us keep climbing. Donate at lovescarbro.cairbo.ca.

This is a CBC podcast. So we as sick Canadians feel as though our lives are not as important as Prime Minister Carney's desire to sell more lentils to India. It is a political high-wire act for the Prime Minister as he begins a high-stakes trip to India. Find the balance between landing new trade deals with one of the world's largest economies while holding its government to account over the threat of foreign interference. Our top priority is to ensure that we have guardrails in place. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner.

It is Thursday, February 26th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast, reboot and rebuttal. Canada's prosperity and security are inseparable from a stable relationship with the United States. From Trump to trade relations with China, Pierre Paulyev lays out his vision for Canada. Canada's future as the conservative leader tries to reset the conversation following a string of political setbacks. And we look at what's behind a troubling rise in the overuse of antipsychotic drugs in Canada's long-term care homes. The Prime Minister is on route to Asia tonight for another international trade mission, part of his broader economic agenda to find more customers outside

the U.S. Mark Carney will go to India, Japan, and Australia. That first stop, though, is causing concern in Canada. Some people here are worried about their own safety from the Indian government on Canadian soil. Rafi Bujikani reports. Prime Minister Mark Carney and his entourage departing from an ice-cold, Ottawa airstrip for the warmer climes of India. His government continuing to work on the diplomatic thaw between the two countries. We are there to elevate the Canada-India relationship. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will be joining Carney. Just Wednesday evening, a senior Canadian official said during a media briefing,

the government is confident Indian transnational repression is no longer occurring in Canada. Adding if Ottawa believed India was actively interfering in the Canadian democratic process, the trip would probably not be happening. Can you give us a sense of how the assessment of, India's interference has changed and that assessment seems to have changed so rapidly. Appearing on CBC's power and politics, Anand struggled to say it's not so black and white. Our top priority is to ensure that we have guardrails in place. Guard rails like talking to Indian officials about public safety concerns,

the previous expelling of Indian diplomats, and recently adding the Bishnoi gang to Canada's list of banned terror groups. The Canada-India relationship is expansive. and the work that we are doing is to push along a number of metrics. The two countries are hoping to launch talks for a free trade deal during Carnie's trip. The message it's sending is that trade and economics are much more important than Canadian lives and especially sick lives right now. Moninder Singh is a sick activist who lives in Syria, British Columbia. He says Vancouver Police visited him only a few days ago

to warn him there is an attempt on his life. The fourth such warning he is received, this one also extending to his wife and children. I think being wary of the family's movements now is the difference, that my kids go to school, they're around other people as well. The Indian government denies it takes part in repression. Its High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnake, says he looks forward to more trade between the two countries and more access to Canadian potash. You're an energy superpower, but you're only supplying one country.

And so for you to be able to supply all of us, and we would be your biggest client. I think that is possible in the near future. Meanwhile, sick organizations are now pushing sick MPs across party lines to ask for a public inquiry into Hardeeves Singh Niger's shooting death, among other demands, or face a ban from Sikh temples known as Gordwara's. The deadline, tomorrow morning, Justice Carney arrives in India. Rafi Bji Khan, UNFSIBC News, Ottawa.

Conservative leader Pierre Paulyev laid out a vision today to fortify the Canadian economy amidst a trade war. In a speech at the Economic Club of Canada, Boliv rebuked Donald Trump and his policies, but said Canada can still maintain a relationship with the U.S. and should be wary of partnering too closely with countries like China. Marina von Stackleberg has the details. What President Trump says about Canada is wrong.

Here Pauliev mentioning the U.S. president by name. The conservative leader has been. criticized for not doing that in the past. In his speech, he laid out his plan to fight Canada's trade war. Polyev argues the root issue isn't the U.S. administration's volatility. It's that Canada has not done enough to strengthen itself against it. We cannot allow President Trump to distract us from the work we need to do here at home. Pauliev says Canada must cut bureaucracy and open up resources, so it can export more to markets outside of the U.S. He wants a critical mineral reserve, tax breaks for domestic investment, and a new North American tariff-free auto deal. He did not mention

Mark Carney's name, but criticized the Prime Minister's past comments on the U.S. and new trade deal with China. Canada's prosperity and security are inseparable from a stable relationship with the United States. And that is why we should not declare a permanent rupture with our biggest customer and closest neighbor in favor of a strategic partnership for a new world order with Beijing. This was largely seen as Pauliev's response to Carney's Davos speech and to Trump. David Coletto is a pollster with abacus data. Conservatives have struggled and Mr. Poliavis specifically has struggled to be relevant in that conversation. Coletto says that's in part because some of the conservative base

likes the U.S. president. But Poliev's reticence to talk Trump has reflected in broader Canadian opinions of the conservative leader. The gap between how people feel about Mark Carney and Pierre Polyeth is the widest it's been. And on the question of Donald Trump and the Trump administration, you know, the liberals have over a 40-point lead among those who care most about that issue. Conservative strategist Jamie Watt says Pollyev's speech and the notable tone change to one that's more statesman-like is overdue. This may be, you know, a little bit too late. I'm not sure Canadians are paying a lot of attention to what he is saying right now. Pauliev is calling on MPs of all political stripes to work together ahead of the Kuzma Review later this year. And he's heading out on his first international trip as conservative leader.

perhaps an effort to appear less confrontational and more prime ministerial. Marina von Stackleberg, CBC News, Ottawa. The Carney government's budget implementation bill has passed in the House. The Conservatives and the Blo Quebecois negotiated several amendments to the legislation before the confidence vote. The bill needs to pass the Senate and then receive royal assent. Coming up, she said, he said, The closed-door drama from Hillary Clinton's testimony on the Epstein files

as her husband prepares for his grilling tomorrow. Also, Cuban squeeze the questions surrounding a deadly shootout off Cuba's coast as the island nation reels from a U.S. oil blockade. Later, we'll have this story. New Canadian research shows that one in four residents in long-term care were given antipsychotic drugs despite not having a psychosis condition. Rates of potential overuse of these medications has been on the rise in Canada. And health advocates say patients are at risk.

A lot of people are put on these medications and sometimes without a proper underlying diagnosis. And these medications may be with them for a long time. I'm Tashana Reid. I'll have that story coming up on Your World Tonight. Hillary Clinton appeared before U.S. lawmakers to answer questions about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. In her opening statement, Clinton said she never met the late convicted sex offender. She told lawmakers they're looking for answers in the wrong place. Bull Hunter has more. As a motorcade, presumably carrying Hillary Clinton,

made its way toward the Chappacro Performing Arts Center in New York, where she would testify on what she knows of the late sex offender billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his one-time now imprisoned sex offender girlfriend, Elaine Maxwell, Republican James Comer on why she and tomorrow her husband, the former President Bill Clinton, are being put under oath. To my knowledge, the Clintons haven't answered very many, if any, questions about their knowledge or involvement with Epstein and Maxwell. Again, no one's accusing at this moment the Clintons of any wrongdoing.

They're going to have due process, but we have a lot of questions. The scandal around Epstein has rocked the Trump administration and drawn in high-profile former associates of Epstein foreign-wide, including Trump, a one-time friend of Epstein, who broke their relationship in the early 2000s. And while, like Trump, Bill Clinton has not been accused

of any wrongdoing, photos of Clinton with unidentified women have appeared in the so-called Epstein files released by Trump's Department of Justice. Galane Maxwell was a guest at the wedding of the Clinton's daughter. But as Hillary Clinton put it in her opening

statement today on social media, I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes, or office. I have nothing to add to that. The hearing itself got off to a rocky start when a Republican lawmaker appeared to have snuck a photo of Clinton testifying and emailed it to a media contact. A Clinton aide then told reporters,

The hearing has been paused briefly while they figure out where the photo came from and why, possibly members of Congress or violating House rules. The hearing resumed soon after. In it, Clinton slammed the process, calling it a fishing expedition, designed, she said, to protect one political party and one public official rather than to seek the truth. Put Donald Trump under oath on Epstein, she said. Today's hearing, she wrote, is to distract attention from President Trump's actions and cover them up.

This week, the New York Times reported, the Justice Department is holding from public view documents suggesting a woman told the FBI she'd been sexually assaulted by Trump and Epstein when she was a minor. As Clinton continued her testimony, Democrat Robert Garcia stepped outside to echo Clinton's call for Trump to go under oath. We're demanding immediately that we asked President Trump to testify in front of our committee. That needs to happen, he said, right now. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. Not a breakthrough, but also not a break up. The third round of talks between the U.S. and Iran over the future of Tehran's nuclear program

ends with no deal on the table, but an agreement to keep talking. Chris Brown reports. Oman's foreign minister hosted the indirect talks at his residence in Geneva, with convoys of limousines carrying Jared Kushner and Steve Whitkoff from the U.S. arriving, in Iran's negotiating team led by its foreign minister Abbas Arachi coming separately. Three hours later, both sides broke for consultations and then came back in the evening. That in itself was a good sign, says Iran analyst Ali Vez, of the crisis group who's in Geneva. Look, I think the costs of failure are now very clear to all sides.

Everybody understands that although there is a military option, there is no military solution to this dilemma. By day's end, Oman said significant progress was made, paving the way for more talks next week in Vienna after both sides meet with their leadership. But what progress on what issues is unclear. In his state of the union speech, U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal is better than war with Iran, suggesting his primary focus remains its nuclear program, even though Trump declared it obliterated, months ago after joint strikes with Israel. We want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words. We will never have a nuclear weapon.

In fact, Iran has said repeatedly its nuclear program is peaceful. Other U.S. officials have raised the threat of Iranian ballistic missiles, which are also at the top of the list of what Israel wants eliminated. In January, Trump also threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on protesters. at one point telling demonstrators that help was on the way. But there's been little talk of that lately, even as new protests erupted at universities this week. CBC News was sent a voice message from a 22-year-old woman in Iran

were disguising her voice for her safety. We have reached a crisis and a disaster, and the government has no solution. They can wipe off the blood off the streets. Iran came to these talks wanting sanctions relief, and the right to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes. The Geneva talks are happening against the backdrop of the largest U.S. military buildup in the Middle East in decades. Speaking to state TV, Iran's foreign minister said both sides are close to reaching and understanding in some areas,

and the talks on Monday will be technical in nature. U.S. officials have offered no such upbeat assessment yet. Chris Brown, CBC News. London. A Cuban foreign ministry official says the country has been in contact with the U.S. State Department. A gunfight off the coast left

four people dead yesterday. Cuban authorities say it all started when 10 men aboard a Florida registered speedboat showed up in Cuban waters and opened fire on Cuban forces, but American officials are skeptical. Philip Lee Shenok reports.

According to Cuban state television, the 10 heavily armed men aboard the speedboat came into Cuban waters with plans to destabilize the country, intending an infiltration for terrorist purposes. Authorities say the men were armed with assault rifles, handguns, Maltaf cocktails, and were wearing camouflage and bulletproof vests. President Miguel Diaz-Kineel said Cuba will defend itself against any attempts to undermine its sovereignty and national stability.

And he warned that imperialist, aggressors should calculate the costs of such attacks. In yesterday's attack, Cuban forces return fire, killing four people and wounding six others who are being held under guard and hospital. We obviously want to have access to these people, if they are American citizens or U.S. residents. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says this was not a U.S. government operation. The majority of the facts being publicly reported are those by the information provided by the Cubans. we will verify that independently as we gather more information

and we'll be prepared to respond accordingly. Will Freeman is an expert in Latin American Studies with the Council on Foreign Relations. He says the area of the Florida Straits where the incident happened is heavily guarded because it's a popular launch point for boats by Cubans seeking to escape to the U.S. U.S. and Cuba have cooperated since the mid-1990s to repatriate Cuban vessels that are spotted,

people trying to migrate by sea. So there's actually protocols in place, and there's communication between the Coast Guard and Cuban authorities. So it's pretty unusual. And he said the stated purpose of the U.S. oil blockade cutting off Cuba's main energy source is regime change. This is the weakest and most fragile the regime has ever looked, at least from the outside.

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened tariffs on any nation that provides fuel, but is now allowing oil to be sold to Cuba's private businesses for commercial and humanitarian use. John Kirk is Professor Emeritus of Latin American Studies at Dalhousie University. He says that sounds good in theory. But if you're a ship transporting this,

can you trust how long this is going to be in effect, given how unpredictable Donald Trump's policy is? The shortage also caused Canadian airlines to cancel flights to Cuba, undercutting the island's tourism industry. Philip Lyshanock, CBC News, Toronto. Alberta's financial forecast isn't as rosy as many in the oil-rich province may have hoped. The UCP government tabled its 2026 budget today, and they're projecting billions of dollars of deficits for years to come.

Sam Sampson reports. But Albertans are no strangers to tough times, and we never back down from a challenge. Alberta's finance minister, Nate Horner, sets the tone. The province is facing a $9.4 billion deficit. with no plans to get back in the black in the next three years. For a province that's recently enjoyed healthy surpluses, a second consecutive deficit is a new reality. I recognize that this is a tough pill to swallow,

but this deficit reflects our commitment to providing top quality services like education, health care, and social supports, while managing substantial drops to the price of oil. That's one of two factors Alberta attributes to its deficit, low oil prices. The other is large population growth. Premier Daniel Smith has blamed past federal liberal immigration rules for the influx, although the province did run a campaign openly inviting people to move to the area. So many people have moved to the province that now,

Alberta is holding a referendum this fall to ask residents how the government should deal with newcomers. But the finance minister was not able to quantify how much they're costing the province. There's a real appetite to just look across the system when you're looking at Alberta about who's here, who's paying taxes, who's using the services. If you can't put an exact dollar figure to it, why is your government blaming them and launching a referendum against them? Oh, I don't think anyone's blaming everybody. I think they're trying to have a conversation with Albertans about, you know, how we're going to pay for services. You know, anybody that's been paying attention, the immigration policies of Canada over the last few years, we're not responsible.

Even with overall revenue down, spending is up. The province promises billions more for health care and education. To try and offset those costs, Alberta is increasing its education property taxes, boosting fees like the tourism levy, and cutting caregiver credits. We also don't see oil prices rising very rapidly into next year. Toronto-based TD economist Mark Urqualeo says Alberta is joining a national trend. Most provinces are expected to run deficits this fiscal year. Though the province says it's not waiting for another oil boom to solve its problems,

it is looking to increase production, so oil still plays a big part in revenue. We're in a bit of an oversupplied market, and so price growth will be minimal at best. This budget is based on U.S. tariffs staying the same. But keep in mind, the trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. is up for renegotiation this spring. So any smidge of certainty could quickly change. Sam Sampson. CBC News, Edmonton. says it will start notifying parents if their teenagers

repeatedly search for terms related to suicide or self-harm. The social media company says parents who are signed up to its supervision setting will get a notice if those searches happen several times in a short period. Instagram's teen accounts are for those under 16. It already has a policy to block self-harm searches for teens and redirect them to support services. The alerts will begin next to,

week for those signed up in Canada, the United States, Britain, and Australia. It is not unusual for elderly people living in care facilities to be on multiple medications. But a red flag is being raised today about the potential overuse of antipsychotic drugs in long-term care homes. Health reporter Tashana Reid has more. He was very lethargic. Eddie Callisto Tavares noticed a difference in her dad right away. after his move into a long-term care facility in Winnipeg. Very confused. He had faults because he would get up like his normal self, but then he would get dizzy and he would fall. Manuel Calisto moved into the care home in 2019, where he was

prescribed antipsychotic drugs to deal with symptoms related to his Alzheimer's. It was hard to convince the medical system that this was not the way to handle my dad. The Canadian Institute for Health Information, known as Kai Hai, published a new long-term care report for 2024 to 2025. It found on average one in four long-term care residents in Canada received an antipsychotic medication even though they were not diagnosed with psychosis. We're not doing well in this area. The numbers haven't been trending the right way. Kai Hai researcher Andrea Fobel says rates of potentially inappropriate use of antipsychotics were trending downwards until the COVID pandemic. So there was staffing shortages, isolation of residents for their own safety.

There was less visits from family members. The data shows rates of potential overuse remain high in most provinces, with averages ranging from 20 to 36%. Last year, the Appropriate Youth Coalition, a national group of health organizations, set a target of 15% or less for long-term care homes. It just shows that this is a persistent problem. Dr. Samir Sinha, a geriatrician at Sinai Health in Toronto, says antipsychotic medications for disorders like schizophrenia are sometimes used to address symptoms like aggression in patients with dementia. But there are risks of more falls, fractures, and stroke. They should best practices, you should review them every three months to say, do we still need this medication? And if we don't need it, let's get them off that medication as

soon as possible. Advocates say there are alternatives. Rosslyn Compton is the executive director of Better LTC, a nonprofit that supports seniors in Saskatoon. Maybe an exercise program, maybe painting, maybe going outside for a walk, maybe just the change of the environment could really help. Eddie Callisto Tavares' father died during the pandemic. But she still remembers how hard she had to fight until he was taken off the medication. Until we see systematic change, you just can't give up. And she continues to use her voice to push for that change.

Tashana Reid, CBC News, Toronto. Finally, we leave you tonight with the new details about an upcoming hockey-themed bash, sparked by a bit of political controversy. I want to see everybody bring your body to the party. That's rapper William Jonathan Drayton. The world knows him as Flava Flav. He's a full-time hype man for Team USA's Olympians and a full-throated supporter of women's hockey. I got you guys covered.

I want to go bigger and better. You know what I'm saying? Word up. We're going to throw a big party. I mean, we've got to build up everybody. And that's what this is all about. Flav is planning a July party in Las Vegas for the American women to celebrate their gold medal win over Canada.

He says he felt inspired to hold the event after the mediocre state of the union invite by the U.S. president. And we'll do the White House the next day. We'll just have some fun. We have medals for you guys. And we have to, I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the woman's team. You do know that. I do that.

I do believe I probably would be impeached, okay? Trump said that, Sunday, while on FaceTime with the U.S. men congratulating them for their gold medal win over Canada. Unlike most of the men, the women chose not to attend Tuesday's speech. And unlike the men, they weren't laughing about Trump's offer. especially team captain Hillary Knight. No, I just thought the joke was distasteful and unfortunate. And now I have to sort of sit, and anybody has to sit in front of you and explain someone else's behavior.

It's not my responsibility. Speaking to reporters, Knight says the American women's and men's teams are close. She doesn't hold a grudge for their actions. As for Flav's invite to Vegas? You know, everything that's been going around online to be. be able to, you know, have someone step up like that and really go to bat for us. And I think we're fully going to take advantage of that and go have some fun and celebrate like we deserve to.

Flav says he's also inviting Team USA's other female medalists from the games. Oh, the men can come too. But he says this party is really about acknowledging the feats of women, especially when they may have been overlooked. Flavre, Flavere and full of fact, support women's sports. It's all about women's sports. baby. Thanks for joining us on your world tonight for Thursday, February 26th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca slash podcasts.