Your World Tonight - Trade irritation, screening for heart attack risk, dead whales, and more

Episode Date: April 23, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada/U.S. relations have ruptured, but he’s confident there will be progress in trade talks. Carney says he doesn’t consider that relationship to be his main focus; he says there is enough to do in Canada.And: Researchers are calling for wider screening for a major cause of heart attacks.One in five people are at risk because of their level of Lipoprotein A. But it doesn't get picked up by routine cholesterol testing. Doctors say all adults should get checked at least once in their lives.Also: There’s been an alarming spike in the number of grey whales found dead off the Pacific coast. It's not just in Canada it’s happening in U.S. waters, too. And experts say more deaths are likely.Plus: Toronto police racism/antisemitism allegations, U.S. - Iran ceasefire, Lebanon funerals, Nova Scotia fracking, and more.

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25% tariff on automobiles. All the tariffs on forced products. Those are more than irritants. Those are violations of our trade deal. The Prime Minister says it's not just the Trump administration that wants concessions, ahead of any new trade negotiations. This is Your World Tonight. I'm Dave Seglins.

It is Thursday, April 23rd, coming up on 6th. P.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast? Historically, we haven't really done a great job following lipoprotein A levels because there wasn't much we could do about it. The substance in your bloodstream you may not have heard of, cardiologists now say every Canadian should be tested for it in an effort to save lives. It is arguably the biggest source of ongoing economic anxiety for Canada, our trade relationship with the U.S. And with so much confusion about Donald Trump's changing demands comes a noticeable shift in Mark Carney's tone.

As Olivia Stefanovic reports, the Prime Minister didn't hold back today about the trade irritants from this side of the border. We're not sitting here taking notes, okay, and taking instruction from the United States. A day after, the U.S. threatened Canada again for ongoing provincial American booze bans, Prime Minister Mark Carney put Ottawa's demands on the table. 50% tariff on steel.

50% tariff on aluminum. 25% tariff on automobiles. All the tariffs on forest products. Those are more than irritants. Those are violations of our trade deal. Carney also pushing back after multiple sources told Radio Canada, the Americans want Canada to make a series of concessions. In a gesture amounting to an entry fee,

just to start formal negotiations on the review of the Canada-U-S-Mexico agreement known as Kuzma. I don't know where the talk of a quote entry fee is from. Certainly not coming from me. It's not language I've ever used. And it's not language I've ever heard from the President of the United States. The Prime Minister's response comes, as Carney's newly appointed ambassador to the U.S., appears at the House Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

As the Prime Minister has said, this relationship is changing. Mark Wiseman, updating MPs for the first time as he helps lead Canada's Kuzma talks. Our objectives are clear. First, to secure stable and preferential access to the entire North American market. Second, to reinforce Canada's economic sovereignty. And third, to defend Canadian workers and businesses at every turn. With just over two months to go until the Kuzma deadline, the opposition, patients is wearing thin. We've seen the Americans double tariffs on steel and aluminum and triple them on lumber. Conservative leader Pierre Pollyov urging Cardi not to give into any more U.S. demands.

After Ottawa previously dropped a significant portion of reciprocal counter tariffs and scrapped the digital services tax. I don't think we should squander any more leverage after learning from Mr. Carney's mistakes. I do not get up first thing in the morning to think about the United States. Okay, I think about Canadians. Carney says there's a misimpression among some about how reliant Canada is on the U.S. Yes, it is our biggest trading partner by far. We are also their second biggest trading partner.

Carney says Canada is ready to go into detail negotiations with the Trump administration, but also prepared to wait the Americans out. Olivia Estevanovich, CBC News, Ottawa. Two weeks into Donald Trump's ceasefire with Iran, the bombings have mostly stopped. The president's war of words has not. Trump says Tehran is leaderless. The U.S. now controls the Strait of Hormuz, and his navy is armed with, quote, shoot-to-kill orders. Katie Simpson has more from Washington.

On the Indian Ocean, the U.S. says its forces surrounded and seized an oil tanker. Called the Majestic X, the U.S. says the ship is part of Iran's shadow. fleet used to move sanctioned oil. The vessel, Majestic X, we intend to conduct the boarding of your vessel. Video purportedly capturing the operation shared on social media by the Pentagon in a show of strength, following a similar display by Iran hours earlier. The Revolutionary Guard posted a highly produced video claiming to show its forces boarding one of two ships it says it's seized within a 24-hour span. Both countries attempting to assert

dominance over control of the seas and the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping route. We have total control of the strait. Donald Trump insists that the U.S. is under no pressure to reach a deal to end the war. Seven weeks into the conflict, the president says the military operation remains on schedule, even though he initially said it would only take four to six weeks. I don't want to rush it. I want to take my time. Part of the reason why there's no deal yet, Trump says, is because the U.S. has killed senior officials within the Iranian regime.

They have all new leadership and they're fighting like cats and dogs, or who's going to control? Iran's president denied that assessment. In a post on social media, he said the Iranian people are united, dedicated in complete obedience to the supreme leader, and that the regime will make the aggressor criminal regret his action. Adding to the tensions, Israel, which joined the U.S. in the war on Iran, suggests it is ready to resume its military operation.

Israel is prepared to renew the war against Iran, said the Israeli defense minister, and that he is waiting for the green light from the U.S., ready to return Iran to the dark and stone ages, he says. Trump also wrote on social media he's given shoot and kill orders if U.S. forces spot any small boats trying to lay minds in the Strait of Hormuz. The posturing alarming critics of the war, including Pope Leo. encourage the continuation of dialogue for peace, he said, urging all sides to return to the negotiating table. Diplomats and mediators are trying to push the same message, encouraging the U.S. and Iran to send delegations to Pakistan for additional talks, efforts that so far are failing. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington.

Representatives from Israel and Lebanon are back at the table in Washington for another round of peace talks. Despite a ceasefire, the violence between Israel and the Iran-backed militants is unrelenting. Chris Brown is in Lebanon with a closer look at the ongoing conflict there. Whatever durable truce might come from the meetings at the White House, the killing of journalist Amal Khalil has convinced many in Lebanon the ceasefire is stacked against them. At Khalil's funeral tonight, her blue press helmet was placed on her casket. As social media tributes poured in, dueling narratives took hold. The Israeli military says Khalil was inside its occupied zone in Lebanon south.

An Israeli missile killed two men in a car ahead of her. While she and photographer Zainab Farage, who was severely injured and barely survived, took cover in a building. Lebanese authorities say the IDF destroyed the building and attacked her rescuers. Israel says it was firing at Hezbollah terrorists who posed a threat and that it didn't hinder rescue efforts. Many Lebanese believe Israel is unrestrained by the truce and can kill whomever it wants and even destroy villages. Hezbollah has also continued attacking IDF troops. Our CBC team attended a mass funeral for Hezbollah fighters and civilians in the southern village of Kaffir, a Shia majority region where the Iran-backed militants are popular. There was fury at Lebanon's

national government that it's talking to Israel. It's a disgrace, said this cleric, as the enemy was fighting, slaughtering, and killing us up close, our government was shaking hands with them. Despite being designated a terrorist organization by Canada and many other Western countries, In the south, the group is seen as a protector against Israeli occupation. Mourner Dia Diazcafi told us Lebanon's government has taken no action. It's failed to find a way to protect people here. Many Lebanese blame Hezbollah for dragging the country into war, but not in this village. Did Hezbollah make a mistake by starting this latest phase of the war?

Of course not, she replies. were planning on hitting us first, so Hezbollah surprised them. It will be up to Lebanon's government to ensure Hezbollah militants stick to any deal with Israel that comes out of the Washington talks. It may be an impossible task. Chris Brown, CBC News, Beirut. The war in the Middle East is pushing up the cost of passage through another vital shipping route. The price of crossing the Panama Canal has nearly tripled since the U.S. started its military action against Iran.

The Panama Canal Authority says the average price paid for a crossing slot at auction has risen to $385,000 U.S. dollars. And some ships have paid more than a million. Coming up, the Toronto Police Force says it will investigate allegations of a renowned retired homicide inspector. Hank Zinga is accusing unnamed senior officers of misconduct, including anti-Semitism and anti-Black racism. And protesters shout down. on proponents of Nova Scotia's fracking plans as the province begins public information sessions. And later we'll have this story. Researchers are flagging an alarming trend off BC's coast.

Four gray whales found dead in 10 days. These particular animals are severely maciated just in terrible shape, almost swimming zombies. The spike in deaths is mirrored in American waters too. Scientists believe it's linked to a shrinking food supply in the Arctic due to global warming. I'm Tanja Fletcher in Vancouver. I'll have more on what this means for an already dwindling gray whale population. Later on your world tonight. One in five people could be at a higher risk for a heart attack and not even know it. Routine blood work for what's considered good and bad cholesterol doesn't screen for another significant marker for heart-related health.

Something called LPA. Now, as Christine Beirak tells us, Canadian cardiologists say every adult should be tested. Well, stress test. We did the stress. 41-year-old Rami Metyas and his family doctor are talking tests. He came to her asking to be tested for lipoprotein A or LPA. It was brought to my attention by my brother. It may be the most important cholesterol test people have never heard of.

Unlike LDL or bad cholesterol in your blood, LPA is worse. It cannot be lowered with diet or exercise. Instead, it's genetic and runs in families. Even young, active people can have high LPA. It's a major cause of unexpected strokes and heart attacks in otherwise healthy people. Mityas's level came back elevated. No idea that it existed and how you treat it, what you do, lifestyle changes, diet. So all that was eye-opening.

It should be measured once in a person's lifetime. That is the recommendation from the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Dr. Sonia Anand is a professor of medicine and epidemiology at McMaster University. She co-authored an article that offers doctors a framework for screening, risk assessment, and management of elevated LPA. Dr. Anon says it affects an estimated 20% of Canadians. When we consider all of the potential things to be measured, this is a very important one to prevent one of the most common causes of death amongst Canadians. If cholesterol particles looked like traffic on a highway, LPA behaves like Velcro. It sticks to the road.

Not only does it build plaque faster on artery walls, but it makes clots harder to clear. But many family doctors say they don't routinely test for LPA. Dr. Ali Khan Abdullah is a family doctor in Orleans, Ontario. There will always be things that you can control, and there will be some things that will be outside your control. I think, you know, historically, we haven't really done a great job following lipoprotein A levels, because there wasn't much we could do about it. Dr. Jody Heshka is a cardiologist at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. She says even though LPA is fixed, knowing your level can guide powerful newer treatments

for lowering other forms of cholesterol on top of lifestyle changes. And in the very near future, we're going to see new medications that may be able to safely and effectively lower lipoprotein A level. Maybe we should be offering lipoprotein A testing to more people. Back at his doctor's office, Madyas hopes his kids won't need to push full. a test. Better to know earlier and to do something about it. Doing something that can stop a surprise heart attack before it happens. Christine Beirak, CBC News, Toronto. Alberta has launched a website for a referendum in the fall that will ask residents nine questions.

There are a range of issues among them, immigration, judicial appointments, and abolishing the federal Senate. Not on the ballot so far, the question of separation. Premier Daniel Smith says separatist groups are trying to get that question put to the public, but she says she has been clear. My position is that we should remain in Canada. That's the position of our government. We believe that we should assert sovereignty within a united Canada. So that is our policy. And so others are putting forward a proposal that would have a different position. And so it would not be a government-sponsored question. It would be one that would be a citizen-initiated response. And so we're waiting to see if the court will affirm that and allow the signature collection to be validated.

One thing Alberta is moving ahead with, giving up on the twice a year time change. The government has introduced legislation to remain on daylight time year-round. Smith says British Columbia's decision to do it, pushed Alberta to do the same. Permanent daylight time means Albertans will see more darkness in the morning during winter, but have more sun at the end of the day. Saskatchewan and Yukon already got rid of time changes and now just observe a single time year-round. Canada's biggest municipal police service

says it will investigate claims made by a former officer about anti-Semitism, anti-black racism, and other misconduct inside the force. The former head of the Toronto Police Homicide Unit made the allegations in an interview with CBC News as well as in his new book. Thomas DeGle has more on the fallout. We take this very seriously.

After Toronto Police this week downplayed claims of discrimination and corruption within their ranks, saying they had no way of substantiating the allegations, today Deputy Chief Robert Johnson provided a different response. We are reaching out to the retired member to have him formally come forward to provide us some details so that we can investigate these serious allegations. Those claims came in a CBC News interview with the former head of the Toronto Police, Homicide Squad. I don't think I would be welcome back of police headquarters.

Now retired, Inspector Hank Idsinga led high-profile investigations in the city, including the case of notorious serial killer Bruce MacArthur. Itzinger's memoir, The High Road, is due to be published next week. Ahead of its release, he told CBC's chief correspondent, Adrian Arsino, about what he considered a corrupt promotions process, anti-black racism by a senior officer, and repeated instances of anti-Semitism. Tyrannical behavior, dysfunction in the senior ranks.

As the grandson of a Holocaust victim, Itzinga recounted how he heard another senior officer call a kosher barbecue a Jew cue and separately describe a colleague and a lawyer as effing Jews. And that really was a seminal moment when I said, okay, you know what? I was pretty sure you're a Jew hater. Now I'm positive you're a Jew hater.

Aitzinga also alleges anti-Semitism may have influenced how Toronto police responded to protests against Israel's war in Gaza, following the October 7th Hamas attacks. These allegations need to be investigated. Richard Robertson speaks for the Jewish advocacy group, Ben Abreth. We have been increasingly relying on police to protect our institutions and our neighborhoods, and we need to know that we can continue to trust the police. Criminal defense lawyer Selwyn Peters says it's. It's not enough for Toronto police to look into the claims themselves. To him, accusations of discrimination sound all too familiar. I think there has to be a commission of inquiry.

It's institutional. It's systemic. It's systematic. Toronto police say it'singa had a duty to report his concerns when he was still on the force, instead of waiting years, only to make the claims in public. Thomas Daigl at CBC News, Toronto. Stop, stop, stop. That was the alert from air traffic. traffic control right before a speeding airport fire truck collided with an Air Canada plane last month. The crew on the truck says they heard it, but didn't know it was for them. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has issued its preliminary report into the collision

at LaGuardia Airport in New York that killed two Canadian pilots. It cites a number of contributing factors, including that the fire trucks didn't have transponders, which could have triggered a warning system to alert the controller of an imminent collision. There is pushback in Nova Scotia. The province is holding public information sessions on a controversial plan to allow onshore natural gas exploration. A ban on fracking was lifted last year after more than a decade as the premier pushes resource development to help tackle the province's record deficit. Kayla Hounsel reports. No trackings, no. Nova Scotia's Premier has accused those shouting of shutting down a conversation the province needs to have

about hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Tim Houston took to Facebook sharing video of concerned Nova Scotians speaking up at an information session Monday in a hotel conference room, warning the sessions would continue, but his expectation was that no voice get drowned out. The provincial government is trying to explain why it is considering the pursuit of onshore natural gas development after lifting a fracking ban that had been in place for more than a decade. We're here to learn and listen, but also to disseminate information about opportunities for onshore natural gas. Kim Doan, Executive Director of Energy Resource Development, was on hand at last night's session, which wasn't as loud, but still well attended. We're all, I think, devastated. Barbara Jack was also there. She's a retired farmer.

There are health risks, their financial risks, there are risks to the water, and it's insanity. In 2014, Nova Scotia put a fracking moratorium in place following an independent review. Fracking involves pumping large volumes of water mixed with sand and chemicals into wells at high pressure to extract natural gas. Last year, Houston's progressive conservative government passed legislation to run. repeal that ban. Houston was re-elected with a super majority in 2024, which means he holds two-thirds of the seats in the legislature. He's also the province's energy minister and insists resource development is necessary to combat a record deficit and gain independence from the U.S. We're completely dependent on the United States for our natural gas at the moment, but some of that

is actually originating in Alberta or West. We have it here underfoot. Houston also points out, Fracking is already happening in Canada, in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. I don't think that Western Canada is uncivilized or backwards, and I don't think everyone has a birth defect, and I don't think they can't drink the water. Robin Tress is with the Council of Canadians, which has been advocating for a nationwide fracking ban. In reality, the lived experience in B.C. is that there's health issues surrounding fracking sites, especially in indigenous communities and among pregnant women. This is the start.

Donne says the information sessions are done. just the beginning, not the end. The province has contracted Delhousie University to study the matter, a $30 million program. But if nothing changes, exploratory drilling could begin in Nova Scotia as early as July. Kala Hounsel, CBC News, Halifax. Now to British Columbia, where four gray whales have died in just 10 days. That's an alarming spike that's been seen right down the Pacific coast along U.S. waters, too. As Tanya Fletcher tells us, Researchers are worried that more whales will die in the coming weeks. Off the west coast of Vancouver Island, cruised hoe a lifeless gray whale to shore.

Four of them have been found dead in B.C. waters in the span of 10 days this month. Of the four animals, two are severely emaciated. They're basically a bag of bones. Really sad, sad to see that kind of body condition. Biologist Paul Cottrell with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans describes them as swimming zombies. He says the visible signs of starvation are obvious, and it's especially concerning for the female whales. Their fertility rate is a strong indicator of what's to come, and right now, it's not good.

When females are not healthy enough to have calves, that shows the population is in a bit of trouble, and that's what we're seeing for 2025, I think the lowest calf production on record in recent history. So that doesn't bode well. The recent rise in gray whale deaths extends south into U.S. waters as well. So far in 2026, there have been 15 dead whales found off Washington State, at least two in Oregon, and nine along the California coast.

It is heartbreaking. I used to say in recent years, you know, oh, these deaths are worrisome, but they're not yet alarming. Well, now they are alarming. John Kalimbochidis from the Cascadia Research Collective says climate change has limited their food supply in the Arctic. These whales typically fast when they migrate down to their breeding grounds in Mexico that they're on their way back from. And so this is the period that kind of is most stressful, if you will. If they didn't get enough of a reserve, that's when they're not making it. The health of gray whales has been on the decline for several years, and so have the animals themselves. There's been a roughly 50% decrease in the population over the past decade. UBC Marine Mammal

researcher Andrew Trites expects this year's trend to be on pace with one of the deadliest ever along the West Coast. There are going to be more deaths. I think there's no doubt about that. Starting as early as February, they begin to migrate north. And so they're in sort of a stage departure times. And now sort of the peak time to be passing by British Columbia. And as they keep going, we're going to see still, we still have all the May to get through. So I do expect there'll be more deaths. Scientists are using drones to track specific whales over time to see how their body condition changes from season to season and year to year. But, Experts say more research is needed.

It's hoped a cross-border collaboration will help them better understand and in turn protect grey whales up and down the West Coast. Tanya Fletcher, CBC News, Vancouver. Finally tonight, anxiety around climate change is well documented in young people. Surveys indicate a majority of them are occupied with worries about the planet's future. Now, in Edmonton, some have found a creative outlet to explore those emotions. Either the love for the planet or the fears and the exhaustion and the sadness, but I think what we're doing here is really helpful because art for me is one of the best ways to process anything.

That is Lulet and Dallet, a singer in Edmonton Young Voices, whose members range from kindergarten age to mid-20s. This choir is preparing for its spring concert called Pale Bale. Blue Dot. Resident composer Sheila Wright was inspired by the late astronomer Carl Sagan's book of the same name. Toby Malte is another choir member. I get a lot of anxiety. I think I feel very nervous, hopeless for sure when I see news about continuous problems with our climate, when I see and smell smoke in the summer, when I see that the winters are shorter. Besides being a love letter to the plant,

The concert is a research project for Hannah Bain, a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta's School of Public Health. I'm really interested to see how can we help people to cope with the impacts of climate change on their mental health and their well-being. And so music is one of these ways that I think could be really effective at allowing people to process and cope with these emotions. Edmonton Young Voices will perform Pale Blue Dot on May the 9th. Thanks for being with us. This has been your world tonight for Thursday, April 23rd. I'm Dave Seglins. Have a good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca slash podcasts.