Your World Tonight - The search for a missing medical ambulance, and more

Episode Date: October 3, 2026

The U.S. Coast Guard crews is conducting a major search and rescue operation off the coast of Massachusetts. They're looking for an Ontario based air ambulance carrying six people that vanished off radar near Nantucket. Also: E-scooter injuries have nearly tripled in the past year. So doctors and police are urging parents to treat them as serious vehicles rather than toys. While Ottawa considers establishing national safety standards, a new CBC Marketplace investigation reveals a dangerous regulatory grey zone that's allowing the high-speed devices to be sold in stores - along with models marketed to kids. And: Florida residents will soon vote on whether to scrap residential property taxes. If they do, It'll mean municipalities will have less money for things like infrastructure, water management and emergency services. But the state's governor has a solution to make up for the revenue loss: tax Canadians more. You'll hear how snowbirds are reacting.Plus: How Alberta separation would affect Canada's economy, The rise of exotic animal smuggling in India, and more.

The following is paid content for Desjardin. Lately, it feels like everyone has a take on Gen Z. There's a misconception that everybody in our generation wants things handed to them. Which is so unfair. A lot of the circumstances that other generations got to have, we simply do not have. So when Dejordan asked me to go out and hear directly from young people, I was all in. Because between sky-high rent, $10 Lottes, and the AI Revolution, got a lot to unpack. We went out to see what Gen Z's reality actually looks like, and we made a web series out of it.

It'll be on CBC Gem. It's called Countess In, and honestly, I think you guys are going to love it. This is a CBC podcast. They've got helicopters, they've got a Coast Guard cutter, and so they're doing a pattern search on last reported position. The latest on the search for a missing air ambulance, based in Ontario, now vanished near Nantucket with six passengers on board. This is your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Scandaris. Also on the podcast, party leaders are making their final. pitches in Quebec's election campaign, and Florida's governor wants to get rid of property taxes, and he has a plan for how to make up the lost revenue.

Those Canadian visitors are snowboarders. They are going to be impacted with additional taxes. Hear how those snowbirds are reacting. The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a major search and rescue operation off the coast of Massachusetts after an air ambulance carrying six people, Vanek. off the radar near Nantucket. Four of those on board are reported to be Canadian. Joining us with more on this developing situation is the CBC's Philip Lee Schenock. Phil, what is the latest on the search efforts? Well, the U.S. Coast Guard Northeast District,

they're searching near Nantucket Island, not far from Boston. They're sort of flying in a criss-cross grid. They've got helicopters and a number of vessels and aircraft in the area, including a Hercules and a Coast Guard cutter. I spoke to John Graddock. He's an aviation expert at the McGill University in Montreal. And he says there was an ELT, an electronic location transponder on this aircraft. And so they do have a last reported position from this transmitter,

which has kind of led the rescuers to narrow in on where to go. They're certainly pulling out all the stops. If you look at the search pattern, they're narrowing in on something. so we could have an update fairly soon. Graddock also says Nantucket authorities reported the pilot declared an emergency before they lost contact. Have a listen. It may have been an electrical problem.

The aircraft did descend to 11,000 feet. And that would bring the airplane into contact with a weatherfront, which may have been affecting the performance of the aircraft. So the company the jet is really, registered to latitude air is based out of Ontario. What do we know about the company and those on board? This was one of four Gulfstream G-100 jets registered to Hamilton-based Latitude Air Ambulance. It went by the radio call sign, Heartbeat 104.

Basically, the company works with insurance companies, and they provide medical evacuations for hundreds of people every year. I mean, if you have medical insurance, this is kind of the... a company that would take you back if you fall ill. So it had four Canadians on this particular jet. They departed Hamilton Friday around 7 p.m. They landed in Bermuda shortly after and picked up a patient and a family member. Both were non-Canadians.

And then they left for Boston around midnight. Approximately two in the morning, the Federal Aviation Administration notified the Coast Guard that they had lost contact. So everyone from the company's owners, we got a statement from Global Affairs, Canada, the federal transportation minister, everyone's hoping that they're going to be found safe. The CBC's Philippe-Shanock covering this from Toronto, thank you so much. You're welcome. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have identified the weapon used on the fly-du-by flight

that narrowly escaped disaster. The country's prosecutor general says the attacker used an emergency crash-assar Ax stored in the cockpit, attempting to take control and carry out a terrorist attack. The aircraft was carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain, briefly sending it into freefall before passengers took back control. Multiple news outlets are identifying the co-pilot as an Omani National, who was allegedly fired from his previous job over extremist views. injuries have nearly tripled in the past year. So doctors and police are urging parents to treat

them as serious vehicles rather than toys. While Ottawa considers establishing national safety standards, a new CBC marketplace investigation reveals a dangerous regulatory gray zone, allowing the high-speed devices to be sold in stores, along with models marketed to kids. Asha Tomlinson reports. So today I'm just going to give you a verbal warning. Okay, but if we see you again, it could be a ticket, okay? We're on a ride-along in British Columbia with the Richmond, RCMP. They have a road safety unit that does regular patrols and stops e-bike and e-scooter riders who are violating traffic loss.

For an e-scooter, you have to be in the bike lane there. So riding on sidewalk is a $109 ticket as well. Do you see a lot of young people riding these things? There's a lot of young people riding them. We want the parents to know these are not toys. You could get seriously injured or even die. Like, it's not a joke. It's not a game. More kids are landing in hospital with serious injuries from electric devices.

Ten children died in 2025. And the number of e-scooter injuries almost tripled in the past year. Dr. April Cam is an emergency physician at McMaster Children's Hospital. She says this was the worst summer she's seen by far. It's not just a toy. it's a motorized vehicle. We don't recommend children under the age of 16 be on an e-scooter. And yet, in our hitting camera investigation,

we found some retailers selling e- scooters recommended for kids as young as eight. 16 kilometers an hour, eight plus. What's the youngest, I wonder? Like, that could ride this. I was so 10 years old. While most salespeople in Ontario told us the speed limit is 32 kilometers an hour, some still showed us devices much faster than that.

When they can go up to 110, 120 as well. If you unlock it, this one can go around 80 kilometers per hour. The retailers tell us customers should always follow local road laws. And Razor, the manufacturer of that scooter designed for kids as young as 8, says it meets U.S. safety guidelines. Regulatory lawyer Michael Parrish. I think Transport Canada, they need to have some comprehensive. of legislation. Transport Minister Stephen McKinnon says it's up to the provinces and cities to make

and amend the rules. But when pushed, he also said this. Right. But what about a federal vehicle cost? And we need to absolutely consider what we will do in terms of bringing the safety of most of us. It's absolute. Until that national standard exists, the risk falls on the rider. And RCMP units like the one in Richmond are left handing out the reality check. Tomlinson. CBC News, Toronto. Still ahead, a new ad campaign in New York's Times Square is luring tourists to Newfoundland and Labrador using a secret weapon. Hot Fisherman, played by actor Josh Hartnett. Hear how real fishermen feel about the Billboard Bait that's coming up on your world tonight.

A new memorial in Victoria is being unveiled today. It honors thousands of Japanese Canadians uprooted during the Second World War. The monument features 100 granite panels, listing the names of nearly 22,000 people subjected to forced internment and dispossession. John Nagamatsu is interim executive director of the Japanese-Canadian Legacy Society, the group that spearheaded the project. I'm sure my family's not the only one that had the experience of our parents not talking to us about what had happened, you know, some almost 80 years ago. And I think generationally, we've, I think, learned to forgive. And we certainly hope genuinely that no other community across Canada ever has to endure what the Japanese community endured. Organizers say the 91-meter-long wall of names is designed as a space for reflection and education.

Quebec's provincial election is in its home stretch. Voters will elect their next government Monday. Five parties are on the ballot. The separatist, Parti-Cubecois, looks poised to form government. Alexander Silberman joins us from Montreal. So Alexander Poll suggests the Parti-Cubecois could be on track for a majority. How exactly is the PQ standing out from the crowd? Well, Stephanie, the Partsie-C-C-C-Ebec-looking for change.

Support for the Coalition Avenir-C-C-E-C-QeQ has collapsed immensely after eight years in government, under former Premier Francois Lego. CAQ leader Christine Frechette has struggled to distance herself from Legault and the fact that she was a cabinet minister in his government and attempts at rebranding and trying to position herself

as a safe bet during the U.S. trade war just haven't gained traction. The PQ under leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamandandand is promising fiscal reform, a balanced budget, as well as a third referendum on independence, but not until U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office in 2029. That idea is deeply unpopular in Quebec, with about two-thirds of voters opposed to Quebec separating from Canada, according to a Main Street research poll in September.

But voters appear willing to put that aside for now. None of the three main federalist parties have managed to rally voters around an anti-referendum message. The liberals under Charmillae could retain official opposition status. The party, The party leads amongst English-speaking voters but remains extremely unpopular with francophones. This race is crowded, though, with five parties running. The Conservative Party is expected to win seats in the Quebec City region, and the left-leaning Quebec Salidaire is competitive in a handful of urban ridings. And so what approach are we seeing from party leaders in these last few days?

So the PQ was on an all-out blitz to try and win that majority. Vote splitting could mean they win enough seats. without ever having pulled above 30%, which would be the lowest vote share in Quebec history for a majority government. They're crisscrossing all around the province right now, including one day with 3,000 kilometers of travel. The CAQ appears to be on the defensive with leader Kristen Frischette spending time in her own riding. So too are the liberals, spending time in and around Montreal and the eastern townships where their leader is running. And the smaller parties are also focused on the regions where they have the best chance

of winning seats, fighting for a chance to hold the balance of power if Quebecers elect a minority government on Monday. Okay. The CBC's Alexander Silberman in Montreal, thank you so much. Thank you. So while some Quebec politicians are pondering another independence vote, the federal government has been studying the last one. CBC News has been granted federal documents that paint a picture of how Ottawa is assessing Alberta's upcoming referendum and its potential economic fallout.

Stephanie, what does this report tell us about the potential economic shocks caused by Alberta's referendum? The document shows even the possibility of a separation referendum could cause economic harm to Canada and Alberta. The mostly redacted report looks at other separation votes, including the 1995-Covec referendum, and the 2014 Scottish referendum. In both cases, the no-vote won, but the uncertainty led to measurable economic impacts. Both Quebec and Scotland saw businesses delaying investment, another effect, the loss of businesses. The report says in the decades leading up to the 1995-Covec vote, 263 major corporate head offices left the province, including Sun Life Insurance, which was located in Montreal.

It also highlights a survey done by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce that says over half of businesses in that city feel like the referendum is already negatively affecting their businesses. Another worry the report raises is the loss of people. In 2021, during the height of the pandemic, Over 17,000 workers with post-secondary degrees moved to Alberta, mostly from other parts of the country. The document suggests if Alberta leaves Canada, many of those people might leave the province. You know, the pro-separation camp often says Alberta contributes more to Canada than it gets back. What do people who have crunched the numbers say about that? The report says that between 2022 and 2024, Alberta's net fiscal contribution averaged around 18,000. billion dollars annually and the province accounts for 15% of the national GDP over the last decade.

Most of this coming from the energy sector. The University of Calgary economist Trevor Toome has been crunching the numbers. He's a federalist with the group Lead Not Leave. What he found is that in 2024, Ottawa collected $19 billion more than it's spent on Alberta. But the economy that'll be hit the hardest is going to be Alberta. The biggest hit by far is to living standards in Alberta with the economy contracting potentially as much as 10%. Elsewhere in the country, the effect would be closer to about 1%. Tume says the country as a whole would see a dip in productivity.

Tum also says that Albertans, on average, are higher income earners. So losing the proceeds from income taxation from Alberta would increase the size of the federal deficit. Okay, CBC Stephanie Cram in Edmonton. Thank you so much. Thank you. Florida residents will soon vote on whether to scrap residential property taxes. If they do, it'll mean municipalities will have less money for things like infrastructure, water management, and emergency services. But the state's governor has a solution to make up for the revenue loss, tax, Canadians, more. J.P. Tasker explains.

This political thing with Trump, I've had enough of it. The threats, the tariffs, just everything. Glenn McGill and his wife Deb have spent the last 15 years flocking to North Fort Myers, Florida. It was more than just a place to escape the winter weather. The snowbirds put down routes and made friends with Canadians and Americans alike in a retirement park that had many of both. But things have changed since the onset of Trump 2.0. We're not broke, but we're not rich.

We're in the middle. We can do the Florida thing comfortably. But starting to pay extra taxes, that would hurt. Now, Florida voters are weighing whether to scrap most residential property taxes. A constitutional amendment is on the midterm ballot this fall to do just that. It's a policy that will cost local governments an estimated $12 billion U.S. a year. Proponents say they can make up the lost revenue by leaning on Canadians. McGill is furious.

And it just makes me think they're even greedier. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is behind this push to scrap property taxes. He says they're a form of modern-day feudalism. We need to focus on our Florida residents. I want Canadian tourists and Brazilian tourists subsidizing the state and making it so Florida residents pay less taxes. I don't want to give Canadians a tax cut. Petey Osley is leading the fight against the ballot measure. Well, listen, Amendment 3 is a train wreck.

It's a train wreck for Floridians. It's a train wreck for those who come in winter. She says local governments will be hollowed out if this change goes ahead. And a shrinking Canadian population, so many of them driven away by Trump's taunts, shouldn't have to fill the gap, she says. Lily White has spent the last 25 years wintering in Florida, but she can't stomach going back. The rhetoric she's heard from the White House is too much to bear.

But as a Canadian looking in, the tone and the tension in the states right now, I just feel very uncomfortable. And the threat of hitting Canadians like her with higher taxes is the final straw. Why would we want to go somewhere where we're not treated with respect anymore? Being disrespectful for political gain, come on. The amendment needs a 60% supermajority to pass, and polls suggest the measure has more than enough support to clear that hurdle. Real estate agents are already bracing for another Canadian exodus from the Sunshine State.

J.P. Tasker, CBC News, Washington. Ever since the capture of Nicholas Maduro in January, the U.S. President has promised Venezuelan oil could lower prices for Americans. But even though it has the world's largest oil reserves, Venezuela's industry is in disrepair. Nowhere is that more clear than around Lake Maracaibo. Once a symbol of oil wealth,

the area is now a picture of environmental devastation. Freelance reporter Cody Weddell visited the lake and brings us this story. On Lake Maracaibo in western Venezuela, fishermen have watched the country's oil industry slowly fall apart. Oliver Enriquez says most of the oil is being wasted and nobody is collecting it. The lake is dotted with pump jacks and rigs, but many are rusted and out of use. oil and gas are leaking into the water from many of the machines. The lake and nearby town of Kabimas were once a symbol of Venezuela's oil wealth. An Anglo-Dutch company first discovered the massive oil deposits just over a century ago.

Now, a new deal between Venezuela and the United States finalized in late August promises to bring the fields back to their former glory. Interim president Delci Rodriguez finalized the deal in a signing ceremony with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Caracas. A private company will be granted a 100-year concession over 17 oil fields across the country, promising to double crude production in two years. Jessica Partida, who lives by the lake, says she believes the deal will bring about change, but also has her doubts because the leaks and oil spills have continued. The oil spills have caused them skin and respiratory problems in the past, she adds.

Fishermen, many of whom say their catches have halved over the past few years, hope the deal also comes with a plan to clean up the oil spills on the lake. They depend on fish. says Carlos Rodriguez. If we don't catch anything, we don't eat. But many also hope the new investment may bring steady jobs for those who live alongside the oil. While the government of Venezuela has said for years it plans to clean the lake and its shores, so far officials have not said whether a cleanup is part of the new deal. Cody Weddle for CBC News, Kabimas, Venezuela. In India, the discovery of five baby orangutans in a forest is raising concerns about a growing illicit market.

Conservationists warn the country as becoming a major hub for exotic animal smuggling. Freelance reporter Mureli Krishnan has that story. The five young orangutans were found by forest rangers in Odisha in early September. They were taken to a zoo for care. Orangutans are native to the forests of Indonesia and Malaysia. Forest officer, Pratik Prakash in Dilkhar, suspects the apes may have been brought into the country by an international wildlife smuggling network. But we're conclusively not yet, because we're not evidence not.

But we don't have the evidence yet. It is not their natural habitat. And now, we will begin the investigation of how they came here. Indian authorities have recently seized hundreds of exotic animals arriving from Southeast Asia, including snakes, parrots, rabbits, giant tortoises, gibbons, alligators and iguanas. The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, Traffic, says over 7,000 individual animals were seized from passenger baggage in attempted smuggling between Thailand and India from January 22 to May 2025. Most of the animals are smuggled by air, but there are also land routes through India's northeast.

Tito Joseph of the Wildlife Protection Society of India says trafficking routes have increased since the COVID pandemic. Land route trafficking is mainly from Myanmar, northeast India into other parts of the country, as well as there is a movement from Bangladesh into India. By air, Thailand and Malaysia are important sources of traffic to wildlife. And there is a market waiting for them. Social media has also made it easier to display exotic animals and connect buyers with sellers. India now is also appearing in international wildlife trafficking routes, primarily as a destination market, but also potentially as a transit point.

Conservation filmmaker and science communicator Trishala Ashok says authorities are struggling to keep up. We need to start identifying who are the players, who are the suppliers. We need more and more data. We need to start treating this as criminal cases. The five orangutans in Odisha are now part of an investigation. Indonesia has asked India to establish where they came from and returned them to the place of origin. For our investigators, the question is not just where the animals came from,

but who brought them into India and who may have been waiting for them. Murly Christianen for CBC News, New Delhi. Newfoundland and Labrador has a lot of lures for tourists. Icebergs, whales, Music, but a billboard in Times Square is trying a different bait, handsome fishermen. It's part of a promo for a new Netflix series set in Newfoundland. Laura Howells explains. Yeah, we're pretty attractive people, I must say.

Fisherman Keith Boland looks at a billboard in Times Square with a giant picture of actor Josh Hartnett. The billboard says, visit Newfoundland and Labrador. All our fishermen look like this. Don't yours? Nope, not at all. Real fisherman, Leonette. Abbott doesn't think so. Look at us. We're all old, some of us are young, some with a pudgy, but we don't look like models. You don't think so? No, we look like fishermen.

The Billboard is part of promo for the new Netflix series below. It stars Josh Hartnett playing a Newfoundland fisherman. I spent my whole life underwater. I thought I understood it. The provincial government's logo is also on the billboard. CBC asked the province about it. They said it's a Netflix initiative. The government didn't pay for it, but did approve the use of their logo. As a tourism strategy, real fishermen have mixed reviews. I think it's a fabulous idea. I think it'll work great. Whatever works. It's kind of perfect. You know, it is an actor doing the show, so we don't act. We do this for a living, right? So it's kind of crazy for this. Yeah, a bit of the stolen glory maybe for him. Yeah. I like to see him on a real boat and do the real work.

True, Josh Hartnett may be more heartthrob than harsh seas, but he's certainly putting Newfoundland and Labrador in the Hollywood spotlight. When you go to Newfoundland. Hartnett's been doing the press tour, telling Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson about screechins. Which requires drinking some screech, but also kissing a codfish and eating some bologna. A literal codfish? You know, our local initiation ceremony for visitors. Oh, you make out with a fish.

Yep. Josh, Hartnett, everybody. Hartnett was recently on the Tonight Show, where he tried to teach Jimmy Fallon a Newfoundland accent. Eyes the by that catches the fish and brings them home to Lyser. It brings her back to Lizer. Perfect. All right, great, we're set. You all right, that's not bad.

Back on the wharf in St. John's, Keith Boland maintains. Sure, Josh Hartnett may be the bait, but actual Newfoundland and Labrador fishermen are the real catch. Yeah, he's pretty hot, but I mean, at the end of the day, I think we can give him a run for his money. Laura Howells, CBC News, St. John's. People in Mayo, Yukon are looking up to a not-so-little bird right now, a black vulture that has appeared in their small village.

It's rare. The birds aren't normally found anywhere in Canada. The last time one was in the Yukon was in the 80s. So, naturally, the territory's birders are all a flutter. It was fantastic. We had good intel on where the bird was hanging out, basically right in the middle of town. That's president of the Yukon Bird Club, Cameron Eckert, speaking to CBC News. When he got wind of the Black Vulture sighting, he drove five hours to Mayo to check. check it out for himself. His verdict? Worth it. There it was on Sunday morning, hopping around yards, up on roofs, battling it out with the ravens, and essentially doing what black vultures do.

Eckert describes it as about the size of a compact turkey. Mostly black plumage, long bare legs, wrinkly, bald head with a pointy little beak, more of a face for radio, but definitely not a voice. But it turns out bird beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think it's maybe not super attractive, but over the hours I spent watching that bird, I thought it looked more and more attractive. It's a very kind of fun, cute bird,

and eventually would sort of follow us around a bit, maybe hoping we were going to find something to eat. Or hoping someone would point it in the right direction. Eckert says he can tell, the bird is young and it's not built for sub-zero temperatures. So he hopes this little bird gets turned around and heads back down south. Speaking of a little bird, here's more of the Annie Lennox song by the same name on your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris.

Thank you for listening. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca.