Your World Tonight - Premiers in D.C., Trump doubles down on Gaza, flu cases rise and more

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

Canada’s premiers are on a diplomatic mission to Washington D.C. They’re trying to garner support for their fight against tariffs. Ontario’s Doug Ford, who is chair of the Council of the Federation, says the levies could mean chaos for the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. But the question remains… is anyone listening? And: President Donald Trump reaffirms the U.S. will take over Gaza. He says if Hamas doesn’t return all hostages on Saturday, then “all bets are off” and the ceasefire will be over. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees – if the hostages aren’t released, the ceasefire is dead. Hamas says Israel violated the ceasefire already by blocking aid from getting into Gaza. Also: Flu infections are on the rise in Canada. Typically, cases would have peaked by this time of year. Emergency rooms in some cities are packed with people showing symptoms. Plus: Arab Americans in Michigan react to Trump’s Gaza plans, how the tariffs might affect the U.S., 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. When you start seeing vehicle plants close, when you start seeing the price of energy go up, that is what we'll get through to President Trump. Unfortunately, President Trump has to touch the hot stove before he realizes how valuable and integrated this relationship is. Warning the White House to back away from tariffs before someone gets burned. A delegation of premiers lands in Washington with a trade war heating up, continuing a Canadian effort that so far hasn't been able to cool things down.

Welcome to Your World Tonight. It is Tuesday, February 11th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. I'm Susan Bonner, also on the podcast. Anytime you have a big surge of patients come in or a large number, that puts a strain then. And so we're seeing more beds being occupied, we're seeing more ICU beds needed for flu cases. Cough, fever, body aches and sometimes hospitalization. The symptoms of an intense flu season.

There's been a surge in cases across the country, putting Canadian hospitals under pressure. It's a trade mission focused on keeping trade alive under threats that keep getting worse. All 13 premiers are in Washington trying to convince the Trump administration to rethink its plan before coming down hard on the Canadian economy and we now know those measures could come down even harder on Canadian steel and aluminum with the White House saying tonight the tariffs on those products could be as high as 50%. Kate McKenna explains in our top story. Let's stick together and please get the message to President Trump this is not a good idea for both countries. Doug Ford left Ontario during an election to instead lobby in Washington with a message

for people in Canada and in the United States. He told the US Chamber of Commerce tariffs are bad for everyone. Let's grow a stronger, more resilient, prosperous, the two greatest countries in the world. Let's work together and protect ourselves from the likes of China or the likes of Russia. The premiers have kicked off a Washington visit. It's the first time they've all traveled to the capital together. They're trying to dissuade Americans from slapping tariffs on Canadian goods. But privately among Canadian lawmakers, there are growing fears the message isn't taking hold.

It's a big deal. It's a big deal. This is the beginning of making America rich again. Donald Trump seems as set on tariffs as ever. Monday he introduced 25 percent tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum set to take effect March 10th and teased the automotive industry could be next. Cars is going to be a very big one and a very important one. Trump's also threatening a blanket 25 percent tariff on Canadian products for March 4th.

Now a White House official speaking on background says that tariff could be stacked with the aluminum and steel levies for a total of 50%. Dennis King is the premier of Prince Edward Island. Sometimes in politics and business you have to deal with shifting sand but this is like quicksand under our feet. Do I think it's going to resonate with Donald Trump? Probably not. Eric Miller is a DC based consultant with Rideau Potomac Strategy. He was one of about 150 people who attended Ford's event and one of the few Americans in the room.

He warns tariffs are probably unavoidable. At this point, unfortunately, I think you're going to have to see pain. It's when you start seeing stock markets go down, when you start seeing vehicle plants close, when you start seeing the price of beef go up, when you start seeing the price of energy go up, that is what we'll get through to President Trump. Others like Joe Loparco are Canadians who came down to support Ford's mission. We have equal-size operations in both the US and Canada and and both operations are extremely valuable to us.

Loparko is the co-president of an Ontario based automotive supplier, AGS Automotive Systems. It's very stressful obviously. We've gone through this journey before but we've worked very hard to grow our business and there's a lot of jobs that rely on it both in Canada and the US. Ford says stories like this are why premiers have fanned out trying to get the ears of Americans. Quebec Premier François Legault is also in Washington where he met with businesses like metals and mining company Rio Tinto and the US National Association of Home Builders.

If the United States don't have enough production of wood it means they would they need to get it from somewhere else. Yes. Why not Canada? Is it because we're too expensive or why is Mr. Trump in fact looking to import wood from other countries? That's what I don't understand. On Wednesday the Premier's will hold more meetings. Federal Finance Minister Dominique LeBlanc will also be in Washington meeting with the person tasked with Trump's tariff agenda, Howard Lutnick. Whether it'll work is hard to know, but at this time it's one of the only tools the Canadian government has.

Kate McKenna, CBC News, Washington. The Prime Minister took a different approach during a global conference overseas. Justin Trudeau pulled aside the US Vice President in an effort to take his warning about tariffs directly to Donald Trump's inner circle. Olivia Stefanovic has more from Paris. Tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum would be entirely unjustified. On his way into an international summit on artificial intelligence in Paris, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a point to stop and address U.S. President Donald Trump's

latest tariff threat. If it comes to that, our response of course will be firm and clear. We will stand up for Canadian workers. we will stand up for Canadian industries. Trudeau didn't specify whether Ottawa would match levies. The U.S. says it will slap on all its steel and aluminum imports. But the Prime Minister did preview Canada's retaliatory plan with the Trump administration's second highest ranking official. As usual, these summits are a great opportunity to speak with a range of leaders. administration's second highest ranking official. Have you spoken with JD Vance?

As usual these summits are a great opportunity to speak with a range of leaders. Moments after the Prime Minister made those public comments, a senior federal government official says Trudeau delivered a private warning directly to the U.S. Vice President. The official says Trudeau highlighted the impact Trump's plan could have on Ohio. J.D. Vance's home state. It sends more than 21 billion dollars U.S. to Canada. Ohio's biggest market now made vulnerable by its own president.

Canada should be our 51st state. We'll bring back industries and we'll bring back our jobs and we'll make America industry great again. When Vance arrived at the global summit in Paris, Why are you slapping tariffs? Are you serious about making Canada the 51st state? The vice president ignored those questions ahead of a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Union, which Trump is also threatening with tariffs.

We talk a lot about, I'm sure, some trade issues, some economic issues, and, you know, the Trump administration has been very clear that we care a lot about Europe. But that's not how the EU trade commissioner sees it. The EU sees no justification for the imposition of tariffs on our exports, which is economically counterproductive. Maros Seszkovic says Trump's plan

will not only harm America's trading partners, he says it will also raise costs for its own citizens. Put simply, it is a lose-lose scenario. And promised countermeasures, fueling a global trade war. As usual, we hope that it will not come to that. Trudeau says Canada will work with the Trump administration over the coming weeks in the hopes it will realize the consequences its actions could have on both sides of the border. Trudeau says he's also working with his international counterparts on a coordinated response

as he heads to Brussels for a meeting with EU leaders tomorrow. Olivia Stefanovic, CBC News, Paris. So on that both sides of the border question, our senior business reporter, Peter Armstrong, is looking south for us tonight. Peter, what impact will these tariffs have on the US economy? Look, tariffs are bad for the US economy.

Remember, we've got a full year of experience on this. During Trump's first presidency, he enacted sweeping tariffs against all Canadian steel and aluminum. So we knew that that was going to be harsh here in Canada. But what we found was that it was also bad for American businesses as well. Well, Trump says he is doing this to save jobs in the American steel industry.

What lesson does 2018 give us? Well, that it worked to a certain degree, right? Steel prices went up, jobs were added in the U.S. steel industry. U.S. steel production jumped by like 15% between 2017 and 2019. That was a pretty good deal for those specific steel companies. But that wasn't a benefit that was widespread, was it? That's exactly the point, right? So let's dive into the numbers from 2018. About a thousand jobs were added in steel producing companies during that period. Pretty good, but that's a sliver of a broader category of companies that use steel to make stuff.

Those companies, they lost a staggering 75,000 jobs. Can you walk me through how that happened? Yeah, so a good example is this company in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. They make nails for construction. They imported their steel, some of their steel, from Canada. The company tried to, you know, stockpile before the tariffs kicked in. They looked for a substitute, but as I say, the tariffs drove up the price of steel across the board, so they ate as much of the increase as they could, but eventually they had to start laying off workers. And they said at the time that continued tariffs would threaten their entire operation. The auto industry is particularly exposed to these tariffs. The CEO of Ford spoke out today.

What did he have to say? Well, he just sort of illustrated that, you know, like that industry is so exposed because it's built up this whole supply chain and spread it out over three countries and tariffs will slow that chain down. They'll make the component parts of it more expensive. Jim Farley, the CEO, spoke at this industry conference and said, look, if Trump can make the US auto industry stronger, he's on board. But quote, so far, what we're seeing is a lot of cost and a lot of chaos. And the chair of the fed, Jerome Powell, was grilled in Congress today. What's his sense of how all of this is going to hit the American economy? Look, Jay Powell worked very hard to avoid answering that specific question today, but he was asked at one point if he thinks Trump's tariffs are like wise policy. Here's his very careful answer. I think the standard case for free trade and all that logically still makes sense.

It didn't work that well when we have one very large country that doesn't really play by the rules. And in any case, it's not the Fed's job to make or comment on tariff policy. Now, Susan, all this matters, of course, because if businesses are hard hit and do start laying off workers, it's going to have to be a monetary policy response. But Powell clearly doesn't want to get dragged into this, at least not yet. Thank you, Peter.

You bet. Senior business correspondent, Peter Armstrong in Toronto. Part of Canada's response to the threat of tariffs included naming a fentanyl czar. Today, the government said it has chosen Kevin Brosseau to fill the role. Brosseau is the former senior Mountie

and has served as deputy national security and intelligence advisor to the prime minister. His job will be to work with US counterparts to detect and disrupt the illicit trade in Fentanyl. Coming up on the podcast, the King of Jordan meets with Trump to talk about his Gaza plan as the ceasefire teeters. We'll hear from people who supported Trump over his promise for peace, and we check in on a bad flu season in Canada. bad flu season in Canada.

A new deadline is threatening to collapse a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Israel's prime minister is vowing intense fighting will return if Hamas does not release hostages by Saturday. His comments come as the U.S. president reiterated his vision of a U.S. owned Gaza alongside someone he will need to make it happen. Paul Hunter has more from Washington. Thank you very much. It's an honor to have King Abdullah with us. As U.S. President Donald Trump sat down in the Oval Office with the King of Jordan up for discussion, Trump's jaw-dropping proposal to remove all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip,

put them in neighboring Arab countries and beyond permanently, and have the U.S. then redevelop Gaza into a so-called Riviera. Trump clarifying the U.S. wouldn't simply buy Gaza, but... We're going to have Gaza. We don't have to buy. There's nothing to buy. We will have Gaza. And you't have to buy. There's nothing to buy We will have Gaza and you're gonna have peace It's gonna bring peace in the Middle East Trump has insisted both Jordan and Egypt would have to provide land for Gazan something Both countries strongly oppose on the suggestion if they don't capitulate the u.s

Would withhold aid money for those countries Trump seemed to suggest he now expects he won't need to. I don't have to threaten that. I don't think, I think we're above that. I do believe we're above that. The king who met privately with Trump after those comments was circumspect. We have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, especially to my people of Jordan, and we're going to have some interesting discussions today. in the region, especially to my people of Jordan. And we're going to have some interesting discussions today. In Jordan's capital, Amman, already home for decades to some two million Palestinian refugees,

this Palestinian Jordanian called Trump an arrogant narcissist. Donald Trump's mentality is from the Middle Ages, he said. He deals with things like a real estate broker. And in Gaza, where some two million Palestinians are still reeling in the devastation of 15 months of war, this Hamas spokesman was blunt. Trump's comments about Gaza, he said, are rejected. All of it leaving the ceasefire in Gaza teetering with Hamas

having threatened to stop releasing hostages, a key aspect of its agreement with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying if they're not out by noon Saturday the ceasefire will end. Intense fighting he said will resume. As Trump put it back in the White House, They either have them out by Saturday at 12 o'clock or all bets are off. Trump later described the meeting with King Abdullah as a great discussion. Trump called Hamas the weakest kind of people, bullies, he said. And Paul, what next? Well, setting aside the noon Saturday deadline

for the hostages and everything that's implicit with that, when it comes to Gaza, King Abdullah also said there's a meeting coming up in Saudi Arabia with Jordan, Egypt, and the Saudis to talk about how to work with Trump on Gaza's future, suggesting the key to it all is some kind of plan from Egypt to be presented to Trump shortly Jordan's foreign minister tonight also describing that as an Arab Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza without Relocating all the Palestinians who live there Trump obviously still insisting that a rebuild would happen only if Palestinians are removed forever.

But, look, most Middle East observers think that's never going to happen. It's not realistic. And so there's been some suggestion all along that Trump may simply be negotiating, pushing his Riviera idea in order to press Arab countries in the region to come up with a plan of their own for Gaza. And if so, maybe it's working. The next step though seems to be whatever's in this apparent plan from Egypt. But again, in the shorter term, Susan, everything depends on what happens Saturday afternoon and whether fighting now breaks out again in

Gaza. Thank you, Paul. You're welcome. The CBC's Paul Hunter in Washington. Many Arab Americans opposed the president's plans to take over Gaza, even though lots of them voted for him. Trump won the first Arab majority city in the US, Dearborn, Michigan. The CBC's Chris Reyes went back there to ask some of those voters how they feel about his Middle

East proposals. I was just shocked because I knew that's not what we had been told. Samra Lukman is one of the many Arab Americans in Dearborn, Michigan, who voted for Donald Trump. And now the president's proposal for Gaza is giving her pause. I'm committed to buying and owning Gaza. I don't accept that. And I'm going to fight that if that's the plan.

The original plan was announced last week by Trump. The U.S. will take over the Gaza script. As he stood shoulder to shoulder with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Since then, Trump has been dropping conflicting details with no commitments. Basically, the United States would view it as a real estate transaction. We're not talking about boots in the ground or anything. Trump made no such proposal during the campaign.

Instead, he promised to end the war. Just before the November election, we talked to Lukman and other Arab-American voters in Dearborn, who said they were willing to support or risk a Trump presidency to bring a ceasefire deal. Back then, Farah Khan, a local activist who campaigned for third party candidate Jill Stein, told us this. Insha'Allah, Harris is going to lose because of us. Now she's reeling over Trump's comments.

I was furious. We are going to just take over the land and just kick them out and make a resort and what not. That like really upset me. Local restaurant owner Sam Hamoud also voted for Jill Stein, concerned with just one thing. Who's gonna stop the bombing of my people? Now he's getting backlash for supporting a third party candidate who may have split the vote in favor of Trump.

Some of the people in the community saying, how's your vote turning out now? You guys asked for it as in they held Dearborn's responsible for what Trump is doing at the moment. For Farrakhan, the pivot is clear. Her activism will now focus on the current administration. We are going to get together and organize against Trump as well, as just as powerful as we did for the Biden Harris administration. Luqman said she plans to use her voice to put more pressure on the Trump administration to change course, but she doesn't regret her vote one bit.

To end the killing of hundreds, possibly thousands of people per day. And we achieved that. At least right now we have a ceasefire. At least we have that. We didn't stop a genocide only to have it continue under a different administration. One thing is clear, many in the Arab American community in Dearborn are on high alert for Trump's next move, ready to abandon ship if the war resumes in Gaza. Chris Reyes, CBC News, Dearborn, Michigan. An American

teacher detained in Russia since August 2021 has been released. Mark Fogel's family says he was traveling with medically prescribed marijuana when he arrived in Moscow. National security advisor Mike Waltz says the U.S. and Russia negotiated an exchange for Fogel but did not say what the American side

of the bargain entails. 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. It starts with a little tickle in the throat, maybe a chill or a runny nose. Flu season is in full swing and the latest numbers show it's turning into a particularly bad one in certain parts of this country. Alison North caught on why and what you can do to avoid it.

In the busy emergency room at the Montreal Children's Hospital Dr. Jesse Papenberg, a pediatric infectious disease specialist says we're in the throes of an intense flu season. Right now on our hospital wards at the Montreal Children's Hospital we've had several hospitalizations in children due to influenza over the last few weeks some of which have required intensive care unit admission. So there have been some very severe cases so far this year. The latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada

shows flu cases have been rising in many parts of the country with widespread activity in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec where there were more than 4,000 reported cases last week alone. Abrupt onset of fever, cough, joint pains. But right now we know that in Quebec roughly one out of every three tests that's sent for influenza comes back positive for flu. So anybody presenting with this type of influenza-like illness has a high probability of actually having the flu.

Montrealer Anna Pannuto fell sick with flu-like symptoms two weeks ago. It wasn't just a standard bad cold or a head cold or congestion. It was just something that got progressively worse within 72 hours. In the Niagara region of Ontario, medical officer of health, Dr. Azim Kazmani, says the flu is putting added pressure on hospitals. Anytime you have a big surge of patients come in or a large number that puts a strain then. And so we're seeing more beds being occupied. We're seeing more ICU beds needed for flu cases.

Kazmani notes this year's flu season started later than usual. He's urging people to get a flu shot, especially the most vulnerable, the very old, the very young, and pregnant people. The number one thing is getting vaccinated. The flu vaccine, it's an effective way for people to help prevent the flu. The vaccine through mid-season, through mid-January, we find reduces the risk of medically attended influenza illness by about half. Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an epidemiologist with the BC Centre for Disease Control,

leads a team of experts who monitor the effectiveness of the flu vaccine in Canada. A reduction in risk by half is a substantial. It's nothing to sneeze at but of course that means that there is still room for um improvement. The virus is circulating widely in the U.S. too where schools in some areas have shut down temporarily to stop the spread. Canadian experts say they will continue monitoring flu cases and the vaccine's effectiveness here in the weeks to come. Alison Northcott, CBC News, Montreal. We close tonight with a final sign off for a voice that echoed through one of hockey's most historic buildings.

Toronto goal scored by number 10 Armstrong. Assist number 20 Colford, the time 1913. Longtime Toronto Maple Leafs public address announcer Paul Morris has died following a long illness at the age of 86. For more than 30 years at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, Morris announced goals, assists, and other things the team was once able to achieve. Lawrence Campbell, the president of the National Hockey League, will now present the Stanley Cup to the Toronto Maple Leaf. Morris started with the Leafs in 1961,

working more than 1,500 consecutive games, his deadpan delivery from an era when the NHL wanted impartiality, in contrast to the cheerleading voices booming from today's stadiums. Morris was also the lead sound engineer at Maple Leaf Gardens, a job that went beyond hockey games. Come on, come on, come on baby now. Come on baby.

Come on and work it out. Morris set up the PA system for the Beatles' five Toronto concerts in the mid 1960s and personally handed the mics over to John and Paul for a sound check. Morris's own time at the mic ended when he retired in 1999 shortly after the team left Maple Leaf Gardens. Morris spoke with CBC Sports on the night of his final game there. Everybody in Canada thinks they know Maple Leaf Gardens and many of them have never been in it.

I don't think you could be in one place for as long as I have been and the family association with the building would not be sad but I also recognize that nothing goes on forever. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Tuesday, February 11th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.