Your World Tonight - Premiers at the White House, Russia and the U.S. talk Ukraine, auto theft down, and more

Episode Date: February 12, 2025

The premiers visited the White House as part of their push to defend Canada’s interests in Washington. Until this afternoon, their audience has mostly been made up of Canadians. But they got a chance to bring their message directly to the president’s senior advisors. It’s still not clear they’re getting any traction.And: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Brussels, talking to European leaders about the challenge of dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump. They are all trying to find ways to cooperate more closely, and potentially deepen trade relationships. Defense Minister Bill Blair was there too, and said Trump’s demand that NATO countries spend 5% of GDP on defense isn’t realistic; he says even the U.S. doesn’t do that.At that same NATO meeting, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says Ukraine can’t expect a return to its pre-2014 borders, or NATO membership any time soon. In Washington, Trump said he spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin today and then Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy about negotiations to end the war.Also: A new report suggests auto theft is down across the country. The report says a lot of the decline is because of enhanced law enforcement strategies that are part of a federal action plan.Plus: Aluminum tariffs could hit micro breweries hard, flag sales are on the rise, 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 very much have their attention. They made that clear to us that Canada is very much top of mind. Canadians are known for their politeness. But when all the Canadian premiers show up in Washington, along with some federal counterparts, it gets noticed. They even succeeded in gaining meetings at the White House, although not with the top man himself.

But will their pleas to Donald Trump's top advisors convince him to say, sorry Canada, about his proposed tariffs? Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It's Wednesday, February 12th coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast. As I understand it from my health minister, for any indication of wrongdoing we've not seen any.

So I think we have to see if there's indication of wrongdoing. We've not seen any. So I think we have to see if there's any wrongdoing first and if there is then we have to clean it up. The patient seems to be fine unless it's not. Danielle Smith's diagnosis for Alberta's Health Services although she says she welcomes a second opinion into how contracts by the AHS were handed out. how contracts by the AHS were handed out. They put boots on the ground and got a foot in the door.

On their second day in the U.S. Capitol, Canadian premiers got a sliver of hope in their fight against U.S. trade threats. A last-minute meeting with Donald Trump's senior staff sparking hope the U. the US president might, just might, change his mind. Kate McKenna has the latest from Washington. Yes, my understanding is there's active work happening on a meeting with the White House. The first hint of the White House visit came around noon when British Columbia Premier David Eby and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt teased something was coming.

Well, it's all getting worked out right now. It's a surprise. Columbia Premier David Eby and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt teased something was coming. Well it's all getting worked out right now. It's a surprise. I'm not sure if all the premiers are going or not, I have to clarify. Soon after they confirmed the premiers cancelled their afternoon meetings to go to the White House to meet with top Trump advisors. Sources told CBC News the guest list included Jim Blair, a deputy chief of Staff to Donald Trump.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says this trip is all about diplomacy. I think we're in a new reality created by Donald Trump and we are going to have to continue to ride the wave in a way that stays true to our Canadian values. Canadian premiers hired a US-based lobby firm to land big meetings. They're paying $85,000 American per month. Canadian Premier's hired a US-based lobby firm to land big meetings. They're paying $85,000 American per month. But there are questions about whether the Premier's group trip to the US Capitol is making any difference. Ontario's Doug Ford held two events yesterday, mostly attended by Canadians.

And some of the lawmakers who met with Ford, including North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer and Congresswoman Lisa McLean, are on the record advocating for tariffs. I understand that and as we inform them I think their minds should should change a little bit. They have a better perspective. The premiers aren't the only Canadians in Washington. Federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with Trump's point person on tariffs, his Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick. I told them clearly that Canadians have become quite emotional in the last number of weeks

and quite united in terms of doing what's necessary to avoid this punitive impact on our economy. Trump could slap a blanket 25% tariff on all Canadian goods starting March 4th. Plus another 25 percent on steel and aluminum in mid-March. Those two tariffs are set to stack on top of each other, meaning an eye-watering 50 percent levy on Canadian steel and aluminum. But Canoe says for now, it's just a threat. Well, there are no tariffs today.

The sun rose again. I expect the Sun will rise again tomorrow. The message from Canadian Premiers is it's not over till it's over. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Washington. The cross border tension here was also being talked about in the heart of Europe. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with European leaders in Brussels hoping for stronger ties with them as relations with the US become more frayed. Olivia Stefanovic is traveling with the Prime Minister and has this report. Let's be very clear, conversations around a 54th state are a non-starter. After meeting with the leaders of the European Union, Justin Trudeau insisted

Canada isn't interested in joining a union with the European Union. Justin Trudeau insisted Canada isn't interested in joining a union with the United States. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that Canada will ever be the 51st state. It's a great pleasure for me to host today Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As Donald Trump's influence is straining relations with Canada, European Council President Antonio Costa says it's an opportunity for closer ties with Europe. We are reliable and predictable friends. We are strong allies from peace and security.

He says the two allies should work on a coordinated response to Trump's global economic threats. European Union and Canada also prove that trade agreements are clearly better than trade tariffs. Trudeau also met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It is the story of good allies and it is the story of trusted friends. And trust is very much needed in an unpredictable world. They agreed to expand free trade between their markets,

uphold the sovereignty of borders and international law. We did talk about reaching our current commitment of 2% and the work that Canada has been doing over the past several months to accelerate our delivery. Canada's Defence Minister Bill Blair joined the Prime Minister in Brussels this morning for a private meeting with Mark Ruta, the Secretary-General of NATO. The US is pressuring NATO members to dramatically increase their military spending. Mark Blair says he's not looking to reach anytime soon.

Would your government ever consider spending 5% of GDP on defense? Well again, I would point out even the United States does not spend 5% of their GDP on defense and the United States is a superpower and they are able to project their power and authority around the world. As for Trump's comments on Canadian sovereignty, Blair is downplaying the rhetoric. I do not believe that that represents a real threat to us. But those remarks are disrespectful and concerning. That is not acceptable to us. We've earned that right as a nation, to be very clear to anyone who would threaten our security

and our nation that Canada is prepared to defend itself. As Trudeau heads back to Ottawa, Blair is staying in Europe for the next few days for a gathering of NATO defence ministers and the world-leading Munich Security Conference Olivia Estefanovich CBC News, Brussels Canada's fentanyl czar started his job today by visiting a border crossing between Ontario and New York Kevin Brosseau was briefed by law enforcement officials there

Kevin Brosseau was briefed by law enforcement officials there. Brosseau's new role was created in part to appease U.S. concerns about fentanyl crossing the border. Brosseau says he wants to lower the percentage of the drug heading south, even though the numbers are already quite low. Getting the number to zero is in fact a goal and should be our goal. If it's one pound, ten pounds, we all know the amount of deaths that that possibly could represent. This is a national security and a public safety crisis. We should be focused on eliminating the scourge

that is fentanyl in this country and in the United States. Less than 1% of the fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. actually comes from Canada. Coming up on the podcast, talks to end the war in Ukraine. Team Trump believes it can get a deal, plus waving the flag, a pumped up display of Canadian patriotism. He wants the war in Ukraine over and Kiev will have to change its expectations dramatically for that to happen. Giving up hope for getting back its land or joining NATO? That was the message from US President Donald Trump to the world today after he spoke directly

to Russian President Vladimir Putin about getting peace talks started. Chris Brown has details. I think we're on the way to getting peace. I think President Putin wants peace. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Donald Trump says he spoke to Vladimir Putin for a remarkably long 90 minutes. We're going to meet also probably in Saudi Arabia the first time.

We'll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we can get something done. But Trump appeared to indicate Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will not be at that first meeting. And when asked if Ukraine is an equal partner in these peace talks, he also appeared to suggest maybe not. It's an interesting question. I think they have to make peace. Their people are being killed and I think they have to make peace. It was Russia, of course, that invaded Ukraine almost three years ago.

And on more than one occasion, Trump appeared to echo Russian propaganda points, implying that Ukraine has fueled the conflict rather than defending itself. As the war approaches its third anniversary, our message is clear. Trump's announcement capped the day of dizzying developments that began with Pete Hegseth, Trump's new defense secretary, visiting Brussels and for the first time spelling out to European leaders what the new administration is prepared to do to support Ukraine and what it is not.

We must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. That's a big shift as Washington has always publicly backed Ukraine's demand for a full Russian withdrawal from the roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory Putin's troops now control. Hegseth also said Ukraine's demand to join the North Atlantic Military Alliance to prevent future Russian invasions is also off the table.

The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. President Trump has been clear that he intends to do what it takes to... At the same time, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant became the first senior administration official to visit Kyiv. Zelensky badly needs continued US military support, and a deal to sell the US some of its rare earth minerals appears to be part of that trade-off, with Besant saying the arrangement would form part of a security shield between the US and Ukraine. And I know that he's a strong man, and I'm sure that he will push Putin. Zelensky later had his own conversation with Trump, which he described as meaningful.

Justin Trudeau, meeting with NATO officials, was also asked about the new U.S. position on Ukraine. It is only Ukrainians that get to decide what is acceptable to them as an outcome of any peace negotiations. Today, Donald Trump made no such promise as he emphasized the need for a fast end to the war. Chris Brown, CBC News, London. The World Health Organization says the United States' pause on foreign aid is having a serious impact on global health. Director General Tedros Adhanom-Gabriez says cuts have

stopped HIV treatment testing and prevention in 50 countries. He says there is still some money left for life-saving measures, but it's not enough. Clinics are shattered and health workers have been put on leave. WHO is gathering data on service disruptions and supporting countries with mitigation measures, including by filling gaps in supplies of antiretrovirals. The sudden suspension of U.S. funding and the sudden disengagement of U.S. institutions is also affecting the response to global efforts to eradicate polio and the response to M-pox epidemics in Africa.

Gabriela says Washington's decision to block communication with the WHO also means the organization has limited information about the avian flu outbreak in the U.S. Alberta's premier had more on her plate than tariffs today. Daniel Smith was in Washington and was asked about potential conflicts of interest in the province's health care system. It was the first time she's answered questions about the allegations. Julia Wong has the latest on that story. Even on a tariff-focused visit to Washington, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith faced questions

about allegations over political interference and possible conflicts of interest in her province's health care system. I first became aware of it when I saw the the newspaper reporting on it and we're interested in hearing what the Auditor General has to say. CBC News has read a letter written by the former CEO of Alberta Health Services and verified its contents. In it, Athana Mentholopoulos alleges political interference in contracts and procurement and says she was fired two days before a meeting with the Auditor General to discuss her own internal investigation. The AG said he started a probe late last month

into private surgical facilities, medication and COVID-19 PBE. The Premier is pointing the finger back at AHS. If there's wrongdoing we'd like to get to the bottom of it. And if there isn't we need to find out why AHS is standing in the way of charter surgical centres. Smith says she has not seen any proof of the allegations yet. Well we've been asking for eight months for any, as I understand it, from my health minister for any indication of wrongdoing. We've not seen any.

So I think we have to see if there's any wrongdoing first. And if there is, then we have to clean it up. The allegations have dominated news cycles in Alberta and cabinet ministers have been towing the line. Education Minister Dimitrios Nikolaidis. I'm really happy to see that Premier has written directly to the Auditor General and requested an expedited review of this. Family and Children's Services Minister Cyril Turton.

The Premier has shown very decisive leadership with asking for that expedited review from the Auditor General. Health Minister Adriana Lagrange. At this point in time I don't have any additional comments but I really do look forward to the Auditor General's review and the internal review that we're doing. The Premier says she wants that internal review delivered to her directly. The official opposition does not agree with that. Deputy Minister Raki Pancholi.

Albertans deserve a government that operates with integrity, transparency and accountability. With the AG looking at both Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services, Gilles Lavasseur, a business and law professor at the University of Ottawa, says there will be many things to balance. Perception in the public life is very important. It sounds very simplistic to say, well, we'll get these parties, these individuals and we'll make the investigation. But the public needs to feel that things were done in accordance with the rules.

Smith is expected to return to Alberta on Thursday. Julia Wong, CBC News, Edmonton. For the first time in a long time, car theft numbers are down nationwide. That's according to a new report by an insurance fraud prevention group. Organized crime groups are still profiting from auto theft, but as Jamie Strashan reports, they're no longer in the driver's seat. David McLean did a double-take when he saw an empty spot on his driveway. I thought, did I actually park it somewhere else? I went through everything and I thought, no somebody's

stolen my car. His insurance company provided a rental, which was promptly stolen. And when the police officer was questioning me about certain things and I mentioned, well, if you look at last week's report, he said, what do you mean last week's report? And he said to me, buddy, you're not having a good week. McLean is one of thousands of Canadians to have had their car stolen. But for the first time in years, things appear to be getting better,

according to new numbers from Equite, an insurance watchdog group. Equite's Brian Gast says 57,000 private vehicles were stolen in Canada last year, down from 70,000 in 2023, a near 20% drop. While Alberta has the highest rate of per-capita theft, a vast majority of cars are stolen from Ontario and Quebec. 2024 is the first time we've seen a decline in the last four years, so it is very promising. There are a number of factors. More police resources, including units, form specifically to combat auto theft. Scott Wade is part of the Ontario Provincial Police's team. Our officers conduct investigations dedicated to dismantle and disrupt organized crimes

that are involved in auto theft. Wade says despite making inroads, car theft remains highly lucrative. They may have to spend a couple thousand dollars to steal that car and then a couple thousand dollars to ship it over and the remainder is profit. And Canadian vehicles overseas are often worth more than their value here in Canada. Drivers are also taking matters into their own hands. Some victims of theft, others prompted by their insurance companies to install protection. Ronan Youssef sees about 200 new customers a month in his suburban Toronto car security shop.

A lot of customers come over after the insurance is asking them. If not, they're going to increase their price. Not wanting to have a third car stolen, David McLean installed the club, a steering wheel lock. About a month ago, he heard a noise in the middle of the night. I looked out the front window at our house and saw two gentlemen trying to break into the car again.

I yelled out the window and the club was in place and both of them sort of took one more grab at it, but weren't successful at all so they took off. A successful moment in a story that for the first time in years appears to be getting better one car at a time. Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto. 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. Getting back to the Canada-US tariff fight and if the stress of that dispute makes you want to crack open a cold one, Well this next story could be a buzzkill. Tariffs targeting Canadian aluminum mean beer on both sides of the border could be getting more expensive. Sarah Levitt explains. At Heartprint in Montreal, a machine prints designs on aluminum cans as they move down a conveyor belt. In a room next door more and more cases of cans are accumulating. The company is stockpiling them now in anticipation of

tariffs. Richard Henin is the chief financial officer. We can import as many as a hundred million cans from the US. It is a situation that keeps changing every day so we should expect the worst and we should be prepared to mitigate any of these risks. More than half of the aluminum in the United States comes from Canada, primarily Quebec. But most beer cans in Canada are made in the United States. Like car parts, the material for those cans will sometimes cross the border several times before they may get to the consumer.

And microbrewer say cross-border tariffs will drive up costs. It's really going to be hard to absorb without passing anything along to the consumer at the cash register. Troy Birch is with Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto. Great Lakes is just one of 1,200 small independent craft breweries operating all throughout Canada and we're already struggling. The brewery purchased their cans for about 14 cents each. Individually that doesn't seem like much, but last year they bought 6 million cans to the tune of roughly $840,000.

With a 25% tariff it would cost more than a million and that doesn't include any possible retaliatory or stacked tariffs craft beer is fun It's a great industry to be in but I won't lie. It's it's some scary times ahead It's going to directly affect us our relationship with our Canadian suppliers Jason Klein is the co-founder of Chicago based spiteful Brewery Company He says no matter how you cut it the tariffs will hurt microbreweries on both sides of the border. You know we're a small business we can't just absorb that it's not really built into our financials and it's it's just kind of the way it is for a smaller guys.

Now these brewers say it's a wait and see game watching if and when the tariffs come into effect and how much they'll cost. In the meantime, many businesses are trying to get ahead by getting supplies as fast as they can. Sarah Levitt, CBC News, Montreal. Donald Trump's tariff threats and the unrelenting talk of making Canada the 51st state has had Canadians seeing red and white. Canadians have been flying the flag, singing our country's praises and showing their patriotism, sometimes with their wallets.

Marina von Stackelberg has more on the nationwide efforts to show the true north is strong and free. It's about time that Canadian pride got a kick in the butt. Zalinda Kaiser hung a big maple leaf flag in front of her Toronto house this morning. All down the street her neighbours are doing the same. I've always been a proud Canadian. I lived in the States for four years and couldn't come back fast enough. I think we're all very aware of our Canadian-ness right now.

At a flag store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, staff rushed to sew enough flags to meet demand. As customers show up, looking to put the red maple leaf anywhere they can. Even putting it on a stick in a snowbank. Carol Aillard with the Flag Shop says people are coming in upset and patriotic. They're basically saying that they want to support our country. That's going to get me emotional. And it's in response to what our former prime ministers have asked us to do. All five of Canada's living former prime ministers are calling on Canadians

to fly the red maple leaf this weekend like never before, as a sign of national unity. This Saturday marks 60 years since the Canadian flag was first raised on Parliament Hill, replacing the red ensign, a unique symbol of a country asserting its independence, that sovereignty now under threat by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Kim Campbell says she and her fellow former prime ministers have witnessed a surge in Canadian patriotism. And maybe if we make a point of celebrating our flag, it will give us a sense of solidarity. Canadians aren't just flying flags. They're canceling trips south of the border and boycotting American products, with grocery stores displaying the red maple leaf

on items made here. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls it all inspiring. This is a response of Canadians who are saying, yeah, this is going to be tough, but we're going to double down on Canadian pride and standing up for each other. And recent polls suggest Canadian pride is growing in response to the new U.S. administration. The Angus Reid Institute did an online randomized survey of 1,800 Canadians at the beginning of February. That's when Trump's tariffs were first set to take effect.

Most respondents said they are proud Canadians. And 44% of them said they were very proud of Canada. That's a 10-point jump from just two months ago. Marina von Stackelberg, CBC News, Ottawa. Finally, the four nations' face-off is underway. This year's replacement for the NHL All-Star game. Pitting the best NHLers from, not too surprisingly, Canada, the U.S., Sweden and Finland. Wouldn't it be nice to spice things up? Maybe by adding teams from someplace warmer, like Kenya? Benjamin Mburu is captain of the Kenya Lions. Ice hockey is interesting. It's fun. It's addictive.

When you get on the ice, it's like you're in a whole different world. It's exciting. The Lions have only been together a few years, but they've won some international games and were accepted by the International Ice Hockey Federation late last year, the first step to playing at bigger tournaments such as the Olympics. Canadian Tim Colby is their coach. The passion that they have for the game. I think I'm back in Canada, where we live for the game. So do these guys.

They love the game. So for me as a coach, when I'm coaching, it's very easy. They live for the game. So do these guys, they love the game. So for me as a coach, when I'm coaching, it's very easy. They pick up the game fast. Many of the players started outside on roller skates and they practice on the only rink in East Africa at a hotel in Nairobi. Carol Joseph is the only woman on the team. She admits there's been a learning curve

for players and fans. My parents were so scared when I told them about the game. They have not come to see, but I've told them and I've shown them photos. They were scared. I felt like maybe I should quit or not quit, but the team are very helpful. They talk to you, they help you, and you keep on and you just never give up. Good advice. On or off the ice. And maybe we'll see the Lions at the Five Nations Cup. Thanks for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for February 12th.

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