Your World Tonight - Steel support, indigenous groups push back on infrastructure plan, ready-made drinks trend, and more

Episode Date: July 16, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is cracking down on cheap, foreign steel coming into Canada. The steel industry has been affected by the trade fight with the U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian steel.And: Indigenous groups say federal and Ontario bills to fast-track infrastructure projects are a threat to their rights.Also: Sales of wine and beer may be down, but the “ready-made drink” category is booming. We look at the trend, and also at how much alcohol there is in some of those canned cocktails.Plus: Alberta probes its relationship to Ottawa, tension in Syria and Israeli airstrikes in Syria’s capital and more.

There are two kinds of Canadians. Those who feel something when they hear this music. And those who've been missing out so far. I'm Chris Howden. And I'm Nile Coxall. We are the co-hosts of As It Happens. And every day we speak with people at the center of the day's most hard hitting, heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious news stories.

Also, we have puns. Here Why As It Happens is one of Canada's longest running and most beloved shows. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Canada will be one of the countries most impacted by these developments. We are highly exposed to this fundamental restructuring that's happening in the global steel industry. A Canadian shield for this country's troubled steel industry.

Coping with layoffs and lower production due to U.S. tariffs, Ottawa wants to stop the flow of foreign steel and help Canadian companies recapture the domestic market. But the prime minister's measures don't target the U.S. And he's being accused of backing down after promising to keep his elbows up. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Stephanie Scanderis. It's Wednesday, July 16th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast.

If the government doesn't want to work with us, I think it will be another idol no more. First Nations leaders from across the country ready for a fight and pushing back on Ottawa's plan to speed up national infrastructure projects. They say the law aimed at building mines, pipelines and ports left out Indigenous consultation and environmental protection and they're asking the courts to stop it. It's an attempt to help stabilize a Canadian industry being rocked by a global shift in trade.

The Prime Minister today unveiled a host of measures for steel workers, including more financial help and new tariffs. But none aimed at the country actually causing the economic upheaval, Raffy Bouchicanian explains. We've become too dependent on the United States as our biggest customer, with more than 90 percent of our steel exports going south of the border. After weeks of lobbying by the Canadian steel industry, Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Hamilton this morning to announce supports.

Canada is shifting from reliance to resilience. Steel has been in the crosshairs of the trade war with US President Donald Trump. He imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian imports months ago, doubled that more recently. The industry here asking for retaliation, and that's not where the government is going though. Cardi instead tightening quotas for countries

which do not have free trade with Canada. They'll have a 50% tariff imposed on imports that surpass the new limits. Those which do have free trade, with the exception of the US, do have free trade, with the exception of the U.S., will have a more generous quota, but also face a 50 percent tariff if that's surpassed. These measures will ensure that Canadian steel producers have a bigger share of the Canadian

market. All well and good, says David Fritz, but... The primary focus needs to be getting a deal with the US. Fritz is with Supreme Steel in Saskatoon. About 25% of the suppliers business was south of the border. He estimates that will have to change with the US tariffs. He's grateful Ottawa's moves today could decrease the competition from countries accused of dumping cheap foreign steel here like China and Turkey, but warns the Canadian market is too small to replace the states.

We've been pretty fortunate so far that we haven't had significant layoffs. That's hardly been the case everywhere, with hundreds of industry job losses in the last few months. All of that placing more pressure on Canada to finalize a trade deal with the U.S. After hinting yesterday that an agreement may have to include baseline tariffs, Cardi would not elaborate today. Well, we'll see what the final agreement is. An assertion the political opposition says is becoming less credible the longer the negotiations take.

Shelby Cramp-Neiman is the Federal Conservative Party's Canada-US trade critic. I've reached out to Minister LeBlanc numerous times and the sentiment is consistent that we need to bring together stakeholders, parliamentarians on both sides of the aisle. The government insisting it cannot negotiate in public. Rafi Boudjikan, YonCBC News, Ottawa. Mark Carney's plan for Canadian steel also includes a measure for helping companies advance projects faster. It echoes broader legislation being used to speed up major infrastructure work. But some First Nations want the Prime Minister to slow down.

They say their rights are being trampled and they are taking those concerns to political leaders in Ottawa and to the courts. David Thurton has more. Most of the chiefs in Manitoba will be attending this meeting. Elward Zastry, one of hundreds of First Nations leaders invited to the nation's capital for a meeting with the Prime Minister. Zastry is the chief of the West Swiss-Ipique First Nation. He's warning that if Mark Kearney doesn't back down from his push to build fast and

big, there will be protests. If the government doesn't want to work with us, I think it will be another idol no more. This is just part of the reception that Kearney could expect at tomorrow's summit with First Nations leaders. A gathering called after widespread backlash to the federal government's plans to fast-track energy and transport infrastructure projects. The law, C-5, allows cabinet ministers to approve the construction of pipelines and ports before an environmental assessment and indigenous consultation is complete. C-5 was a bill made in panic, in haste, in fear, purportedly to address the Trump terrorist.

Kate Kempton is a lawyer representing nine First Nations in Ontario. They launched a constitutional challenge of C-5 and a similar Ontario law, Bill 5. Bill 5 is also far worse in many other ways. It removes a bunch of protections for endangered species, and once they're gone, they're gone for good. Who do we think we are? That this species, this species, and this species are expendable can just go. In a statement, the Ontario government says it will continue to build consensus with First Nations on shared priorities, including all-season roads and resource development. The Prime Minister as well defended his federal bill today,

which he says has the duty to consult at its heart. When there is projects identified, consultations around the conditions around those projects that must be fulfilled for them to be to be built and then moving forward from that. But not all First Nations oppose Kearney's vision. I know our nations don't want to be stuck in poverty. Ernie Daniels is with the First Nations Finance Authority, a non-profit that works with First Nations to find investors to back their business ventures. Nations are not against development.

They're really, they just want to be heard. That will be the challenge as Carney sits down with chiefs from across Canada, listening to leaders who will likely have an earful for the new prime minister. The last time a prime minister had a national summit of chiefs was about a decade ago. David Thurton, CBC News, Ottawa. New data shows the rich in this country are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Statistics Canada says the income gap reached a record high in the first quarter of this year. Those in the highest 40 percent of households earned more thanks to investments. While wages

declined in the lowest income households. The agency says the gap has grown each year since 2020. Still ahead on the podcast, Alberta's premier is talking to residents about the province's role and future in Canada. You'll hear why Danielle Smith's summer tour is also a trip down memory lane. Plus, ready-made canned cocktails are an increasingly popular drink of choice for Canadians, but consumers may be getting more than they bargained for. We'll explain coming up on your world tonight. An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is being held tomorrow to discuss Israel's

airstrikes on another Middle Eastern country today. This time it attacked Syria's capital, strikes that Israel says were necessary to defend a minority religious group that has members in both countries. Briar Stewart has the details. A Syrian news anchor was live on television when an Israeli airstrike hit the Ministry of Defense in Damascus in the background behind her. Israel launched that strike and another near the presidential palace. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sarr says Israel's interests in Syria are clear to prevent the development of threats against Israel in southern Syria and to protect the Druze

community. The Druze are an Arab sect and a minority group living throughout the Middle East, many in the Syrian city of Soweta which is about 70 kilometers from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. About 20,000 Druze live there and many more throughout Israel. According to human rights groups, more than 300 people have been killed in recent days and clashes between the Druze and another minority group in Syria, Bedouin tribes. On Tuesday, Syrian government forces moved into the area and ended up clashing with the Druze. These are historic, long-time rivalries between different groups.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the various parties have agreed to steps to end the fighting. And then hopefully get back on track in helping Syria build a country and arriving at a situation there in the Middle East is far more stable. Syria's new government has spoken about trying to include and protect minority ethnic and religious groups, but in recent months there's been a pattern of violence. Hundreds of Israeli Druze have crossed through a fence into Syria after calls to help the Druze community there. Israeli forces tried to stop them by firing flashbangs and gas canisters. Israel has unilaterally declared a demilitarized zone in southern Syria,

a move which Syria and the international community says is a violation of state sovereignty. Jason Pak is an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and host of the Disorder podcast. Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria we have seen a trend where Israel feels it both acceptable and necessary to violate Syrian sovereignty both to protect Israeli interests as well as to protect minority communities in Syria itself. He says Israel can play a constructive role in protecting Syrian minorities, but believes its approach shouldn't include airstrikes on a neighboring capital, which continued tonight.

Briar Stewart, CBC News, London. In Gaza, another dangerous rush for aid once again turned deadly. At least 20 people were killed trying to get food. It happened at an aid distribution site backed by Israel and the US and is the latest tragedy connected to a troubled program. Sasha Petrissic reports. Frantic Palestinians carrying limp bodies run into the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza yelling for help. Doctors shake their heads, declaring at least 20 people dead.

They'd gone to get aid at a crowded, chaotic distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF, where they were trampled. Palestinians are dying for a kilo of flour, says one of the rescuers. 18-year-old Hani Hamad lies on the floor, injured. I spent 30 minutes squished against the gates with people crushing me, he says. The Americans used pepper spray and I passed out. The Americans are armed private contractors working for GHF, an organization backed by Israel and the U.S. It's the only outside group Israel allows to distribute aid in Gaza after kicking out the UN.

A deadly incident unfolded at a GHF news conference. Spokesman Chapin Faye acknowledged the deaths, blaming Hamas. Make no mistake, this tragic event incident was no accident. This was a calculated provocation, part of a pattern of targeted efforts by Hamas and its allies to dismantle our life-saving operations. As its proof, GHF released a photo of a man it says is believed to be with Hamas

and a picture of a kind of pistol it says is known to be used by Hamas. Hamas denies involvement. But hunger has brought a whole new level of desperation to Gaza and NGOs like Oxfam which used to deliver aid alongside the UN says GHF's model is mostly to blame. It is designed to hurt. It is designed to lack dignity. Dalia Al-Oqadi is with Oxfam Canada.

She says there aren't enough sites and they're in the wrong places. I have never been at a distribution point that had thousands of people. Again, over 20 years in some of the most difficult and active conflict zones. Because we know it's a risk. A system the UN relief agency calls inherently unsafe. It says at least 875 deaths have been recorded within the last six weeks. Palestinians seeking aid, shot, stabbed or trampled at GHF sites, the UN says, or collecting aid as it's delivered.

GHF disputes that, saying today's deaths are the only ones it's aware of. Sasha Petrusik, CBC News, Jerusalem. The U.S. has sent five immigrants to the African nation of Eswatini who were not from there. It's part of the Trump administration's third country deportation program. The Department of Homeland Security says the men are citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos. It describes them as criminals who have been convicted of violent crimes.

The Eswatini government says they're being held in isolated units but will ultimately be sent back to their home countries. [♪upbeat music playing You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. And if you want to make sure you 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. [♪upbeat music playing Like many Canadians, Alberta's Premier is hitting the road this summer.

Danielle Smith is touring her province, talking to residents about half a dozen contentious issues from federal transfer payments to creating an Alberta pension plan. It's called the Alberta Next panel and as Aaron Collins explains both the format and the subject matter are familiar. Like rodeos and barbecues this is something of a summertime tradition in Alberta. Thank you for being here for our Alberta Next town hall. This panel crisscrossing the province from here in Red Deer to Calgary, a political road trip of sorts.

Premier Danielle Smith firmly at the wheel. The Alberta Next engagement process will help to shape the future of our province. From transfer payments to tax collection, this panel billed as a way for Albertans to help map out a new course for their province's place in Canada. I think the Alberta Pension Plan personally is the biggest leverage tool we have in any kind of negotiations with Ottawa. I 100% agree with an Alberta police force.

And of course, a chance to vent along the way. If we just stopped sending Ottawa money, we would have so much in this province. We cannot make these changes that we need to make unless we have a means of coercing the federal government. The past Conservative governments have gone down this road before. Ralph Klein's panel was launched in 2003. Separated the extremists on both sides, left and right, and heard from average people. It was Jason Kenney's turn in 2020.

A panel of Albertans to consult with their fellow citizens on achieving a fair deal in the Federation. Nothing much happened after those meetups. Albertans largely rejected the ideas proposed. Now it's Danielle Smith's turn to travel that well-worn path. People are frustrated. They're frustrated with decades-long grievances that they haven't felt they've been able to air. Michaela Fry is the former MLA for Brooks Medicine Hat.

Fry says issues like provincial pensions and police have long been a burr in some Albertans' saddles. This paddle, you know, is maybe the last hurrah for some of these ideas. They've been floated, people have spoken about them. If they're unpopular, obviously they won't get very far. Alberta independence is the elephant in this room, but the Premier says the panel isn't about separation. Still, political scientist Lisa Young says it does give separatists a chance to be heard.

Danielle Smith is walking this tightrope. She's trying to keep people who want to separate inside her party full. This political roadshow will make 10 stops before hitting the brakes in late September. But the rubber will really hit the road next year. That's when the premier says a referendum will be held on at least some of the ideas floated here. Erin Collins, CBC News, Calgary. We are learning more tonight about an alleged stolen plane that made a surprise landing

in Vancouver. Authorities say the Cessna had been hijacked, leading to some tense moments for police and travellers at one of Canada's busiest airports. Jessica Cheung has the latest. A startling sight at Vancouver International Airport. Social media video shows police chasing down a small passenger plane that landed on the tarmac. Lights flashing, officers are seen exiting their vehicles.

The only person on board was the pilot, who gets off the plane and appears to walk backwards toward police before being taken into custody. Planes were grounded at YVR for almost 40 minutes, several flights diverted. A day later, questions are now swirling around how this could have happened. How did this person get access to an airplane in Victoria? This was basically that aircraft. John Gratic is an aviation lecturer at McGill University in Montreal.

He says there are strict protocols in place about who can access aircrafts, like having a valid operating license, filing a flight plan. And when it comes to flying around YVR, he says there's a whole other suite of requirements. But somehow someway this individual bypassed the front desk, as we say, and walked on the ramp and picked up an airplane that was in a state of preparedness for flight and that was accepted.

Police say the incident started just after one o'clock when they got reports that a Cessna 172 had been hijacked from the Vancouver Island area and was entering into airspace near YVR. The plane, seen clearly from the ground by witnesses, including Paul Heaney. He was doing quite a radical turn. I went, wow, you know, I wonder if he's in trouble. No rad, the North American Aerospace Control and Warning Agency confirmed that it scrambled F-15 fighter jets, but the Cessna landed before the military planes could find it. The Victoria International Airport confirmed that the plane was operated by the Victoria

Flying Club. Its CEO is Colin Williamson. He says he's never seen anything like this before. One million sixty thousand flights, I believe. So truly a one in a million situation. So truly astounding. He says that only instructors are able to check out keys to a plane and confirm that the alleged hijacker is not a member of the club. Gratick says it's clear the pilot

knew what he was doing. The pilot definitely knew what the controls were of the airplane. He knew where Vancouver Airport was and he was circling it at an altitude that was enough to make the air traffic controllers very nervous. This was an individual who knows what airspace looks like and knows how to fly an airplane. Both Grattick and Williamson say safety protocols should be reviewed in light of this incident, but no changes have been made as of yet at the Victoria Flying Club. And as for the investigation, there's been no word yet from police on charges. Jessica Chung, CBC News, Vancouver.

Well, with a summer weekend coming up, you might be planning a backyard barbecue, trip to a beach, a park picnic, plus what drinks to bring. Beer and wine are often in the cooler, but these days, so are ready-made cocktails. The popular canned drinks are creating a buzz in more ways than one. Anise Adari has a story. It's the lime margarita 212, 12.5%. Cout water margaritas are the latest talk on Booze Talk.

You know, TikToks where they talk about alcohol. Ain't no way a little bitty can can hit you like you took four shots. Cut water, like many individually packaged drinks, comes in a fairly standard size, like a can of beer, say. Where suddenly we have this like one option at the liquor stores that just gets you wasted. It's not only this one option there's a whole product category called ready to drink or RTD.

It's got an entire section at Calgary's Kensington wine market. People want things that are maybe twice as strong as your average RTD and so that's why they're bottling them at 10 or 11 percent. They're producing that because there's a demand for it. Now, whether people are noticing that or not is a whole other matter. Andrew Ferguson is the owner. He says appearance is a factor too.

In years past, higher alcohol content wasn't packaged as nicely. That's industry wide, like, whether it's wine, beer, spirits, like all of those sectors have really upped their game in the last 20 years as those industries have matured. But ready to drink beverages are gaining popularity. In Ontario, up 9.5% last year. In Alberta, up more than 6%. At the same time, those markets saw beer and wine sales drop. People looking for more bang

for the buck. Adam Levy is known as the alcohol professor. He runs beer, wine and spirits competitions around the world and he agrees these canned drinks are more popular than ever but sometimes people don't realize what's in a can they think cans like you know four or five percent maybe less than ten percent it's like equivalent to a glass of wine so I have a couple of these I'm okay and I'm not doing five shots in a row in a bar. Though these canned drinks aren't really a new category according to alcohol market researcher Martin Ludovics.

They've kind of had their moments in the sun with like your spirit coolers and alcopops that sort of came up and then went. Ludovics is president of IWSR North America in New Jersey, and he says convenience is part of why ready to drink is gaining traction today. Because I can now buy my vodka soda or my margarita or I can buy any of these things in a very convenient package that tastes great and I don't have to go buy a bottle of tequila or a bottle of vodka or a bottle of something else and a mixer and mix it myself. But of course, when you don't mix it yourself, you've got to read the label, perhaps a crap

shoot. Everyone knows seven is bigger than five, and ten is bigger than seven. So mathematically that lands, but how strong is seven percent? How strong is ten percent? How strong is five percent? In the end, may the buyer beware, or the drinker may end up unexpectedly drunk. Ani Sadari, CBC News, Calgary. We end tonight with a rare and ancient discovery pulled from the soil of a southern Ontario farm. The exciting thing about it is that a human being

from 13,000 years ago, before the pyramids, before any of the history that we know about, of civilization, like held this in their hand and made it and used it. A recent ATV ride out to the pumpkin patch on Laura Villenga's farm near Paris, Ontario, led to unearthing something other than a few weeds, a stone spearhead about seven centimeters long. And while indigenous tools, pottery and other artifacts can be found in communities across North

America, this one is chiseled with a distinct fluted design that allows experts to date it back to before the end of the last ice age and the area's earliest known inhabitants. Finding fluted points there, scarce as hen's teeth, are like a needle in a haystack. I think I only know of maybe seven from all of Brent County that have been reported over the years. Archaeologist Christopher Ellis says the point is made from flint rock and it's not local. The material can be traced to southern Ohio. I mean the whole population of southern Ontario might have been 150 people. And in small groups

you have to maintain contact over wide areas. So they're exchanging tools and raw materials with people in Michigan and Ohio and New York State and so on. Now we're holding it 13,000 years later. That's the part that gets me. Valenga is working on getting the spearhead on display in a local museum. But for now, it's still on the farm, spending a bit more time in the place it was hidden for thousands of years. Thanks for being with us. This has been Your World Tonight for Wednesday, July 16th. I'm Stephanie Scanderis. Good night.