Your World Tonight - Trade talks ramp up, water bombers in demand, e-scooter dangers, and more

Episode Date: August 13, 2026

Canada/U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc meets with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington for the second time this week.Also: Raging wildfires have boosted the market for Canadian-made water bombers. But the manufacturing plant in northeast Calgary says it will need government help to ramp up production.And: Canadian doctors are sounding the alarm about the number of children being seriously injured by e-scooters.Plus: Israel sends more soldiers to the occupied West Bank, a dementia-friendly town in Quebec, and what are your rights if the concert you paid to attend is delayed?

This week on two blocks from the White House. Democratic socialist and leftist candidates have been seeing success in Democratic primaries, but it remains to be seen if they can win in general elections. So this week, we're asking, in what direction is the Democratic Party going? Join me and two guest correspondents this week, Jamie Poisson and Josh Wingrove, as we break down U.S. politics from a Canadian perspective. Find and follow two blocks from the White House wherever you get your podcast. And watch our CBC friends on YouTube.

New episodes dropping every Wednesday. is a CBC podcast. Every single tariff, we have to match tariff for tariff. We can't negotiate through weakness. They can't put tariffs on our autos, and we aren't putting tariffs on theirs. Standing firm, the premiers of Ontario and Quebec, say they don't want Canada to make concessions

unless the United States does the same. This is talks between the two countries in Washington are running out of time. This is Your World Tonight. I'm Colin Butler. It is Thursday, August 13th, Coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. It's tens and tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars to get a second line up and running.

But if the orders are there, we'll make the investment. Slow lift off, the calls to get a new batch of highly specialized Canadian-made water bombers up in the air. Demand is booming as wildfires burn across Canada and around the world, but those deliveries could still be years away. It's been three weeks since the latest round of high. high-level trade talks began in Washington and still radio silence from Canada's negotiating team on how things are going. But the premiers of Canada's two biggest provinces are speaking out, standing firm on what they want from these trade talks, a fair deal or no deal at all.

But sources tell CBC the current trade proposal from the U.S. is anything but that. Evan Dyer has more. Quebec Premier, Christine Fraschette, had a list of non-negotiable. Quebec Premier Christine Frasette had a list of non-negotiables today that started with supply management as the leaders of Canada's two biggest provinces appeared to hold firm on their response to threats of new American tariffs now less than a week away. Ontario's Doug Ford was also in no mood to compromise. We want a fair deal for Ontario. We want a fair deal for Canadians. And we negotiate through strength, not weakness. Ford showed no inclination to end his boycott of U.S. alcohol for anything less than a zero-tariff to eat.

We have to make sure that before anything happens, we protect our auto sector, our steel sector, our agricultural sector, our forestry sector, and our friends in the aluminum sector in Quebec. We need to protect manufacturing sector before we put any booze on the shelves whatsoever. Ford made it clear that his definition of a fair deal didn't include a scenario where Canada lifted counter-tariffs but continued to face a U.S. tariff. Every single tariff, we have to match tariff for tariff. They can't put tariffs on our autos and we can't, and we aren't putting tariffs on theirs. The Premier's resolve appears to have been strengthened by a stream of better than expected job numbers over the past four months, with Ontario leading the way with 52,000 new hires in July alone. Kicking the Americans butt, by the way, because they went down, we went way up in 119,000 jobs in four months.

But there is clearly concerned that jobs could be lost if the threatened tariffs go ahead on August. 19th. Quebec's Christine Frachette said the losses in Quebec would be most severe in the province's regions. We've been there to help them since the beginning of this tariff war and we will be there again, but I think that the government, federal government, must be there also. Federal finance minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, traveling in one of the most tariff- vulnerable regions of Quebec, the Saguenay, said his government would be. We are always going to support our workers. We have put programs in place to make sure that our industry could weather this period, which is more complex. But at the end of the day, it's all

about trust. For now, trust between provinces and the federal government seems to be holding as negotiators brace for the possibility of more tariffs next Wednesday. Evan Dyer, CBC News, Ottawa. The extent of the economic fallout from the wildfires in BC is only just starting to take shape. Mass evacuations, highway closures, and dense, dangerous smoke have brought tourism to a halt and forced local. businesses of all sizes to scramble to stay afloat. Helen Pike has more on that story from Penticton. A calm day at Penticton Beach as the Bald Range wildfire burns out of control just beyond view. What few tourists there were in town asked to go home to make room for evacuees.

Kelsey Hoy owns tickleberries, a local ice cream shop. Obviously it's the right thing to do, but then from the business standpoint, you are just devastated. Her two beachside shop, are closed. It's been too smoky. She's reduced staffing about 80%. Her downtown Penticton location is open and ready to scoop, a relief for her staff. We've had so many of the university staff being like, please, are there any hours? Like I have three more weeks to make money before I go to university and it's just you really feel for them. Traditionally August is a maker break month for the region. But Thompson-Okinawk and Tourism Association CEO Ellen W. Walker Matthews says times have changed.

I think what we've encouraged our stakeholders and our businesses to do is not rely on summer, whether it's because of wildfires or rain. You know, if you're depending on two months of perfect weather, whatever that looks like, it's not enough to build a business on. A lesson that's already in motion over at Hoodoo Adventure Company. Owner Lindy Sedden says she's adapted. This is our 20th year. and only three of the last 10 we haven't had smoke.

So it was in 2018. I decided that July and August had to be bonus months. If I can make it work in those months, great. But other than that, I've shoulder-seasoned everything as much as I can. Despite what she's done to prepare her business for seasonal uncertainty, this year the fire forced her to close her doors. The ashes were raining on us at our house. and that was incredibly stressful.

Now that the immediate danger is passed, she's open, but it's not business as usual. She's mostly working the phones. Her shuttle to popular trailheads isn't in demand while the fires nearby still burn. Shedon says she's talking to customers anxious about what September looks like and giving them the bad news.

Cancellation because of wildfires don't guarantee refunds. And I can understand people want to they want to know what their holiday looks like and if they're not going to come here, then they need to make up their plans. I get that, but it's also understand that businesses need to protect their employees and their investment as well.

Businesses like hers are taking things day by day, hoping when the time is right, tourists return ready to support the region. Helen Pike, CBC News, Penticton. Wildfires across Canada and around the world, have put Canadian-made water bombers in high demand, but with long wait times for delivery, many are calling on the federal government to support a Calgary-based company before foreign competitors get into the market. Kyle Bax has that story.

Slowly, piece by piece, a new water bomber is taking shape inside an assembly plant in northeast Calgary, the wings, fuselage, and cockpit all built by hand, a unique amphibious plane that can scoop up large amounts of water to help douse flames. The Canada air water bombers, known as super scoopers, were first built in the 1960s, but production stopped in 2015 by Bombardier as demand was low. Calgary-based to Havlin now owns the water bomber program and has restarted production as demand has soared. European countries ordered the aircraft in 2022. They're still waiting for deliveries with the first few aircraft on schedule to be ready in 2028. The new water bombers are desperately needed

to expand firefighting fleets and replace aging aircraft. When the world is looking for more water bombers, newer water bombers, we're not ready. Aviation expert John Graddock with McGill University says the stakes are high for DeHavent with yet another brutal wildfire season in Europe and North America. If the company can't meet demand, Graddick warns other countries, and competitors may develop their own rival water bombers. Whether it's China, whether it's Russia, whether it's France, whether it's the UK, whether it's Greece, whoever, they're going to come out. And they're going to come out fast and furious.

Canadian premiers are also waiting. Alberta, Ontario, and Manitoba all have the water bombers on order. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is urging her counterparts and the federal government to order more to encourage DeHavlin to develop a second production line. Executive Neil Sweeney says the company is considering the expansion. It's tens and tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars to get a second line up and running. But if the orders are there, we'll make the investment. The federal government is considering its options to tackle the growing issue of wildfires,

including whether to create a national fleet of firefighting aircraft. For Sweeney, the risk of new competition is real. We're always watching what our competitors are doing. We have the best aircraft. We have the best scooping aircraft in the world. bar none. We've had it for 60 years, but having it for another 60 years is not guaranteed. For now, as wildfires rage, the pressure continues to build for new Canadian water bombers to take to the sky. Kyle Backs, CBC News, Calgary.

Conservative and block MPs say the House of Commons Public Safety Committee should look into accusations of spying by a Canadian. A former NATO intern was arrested last month in Belgium, suspected of spying for another country. Her audience, online resume suggests she previously worked for the Canadian Space Agency in Statistics Canada. Opposition MPs say the allegations raise serious questions about Canada's national security screening. The group says Parliament must determine where the gaps are and whether any sensitive information has been exposed. Coming right up, scooting to injury, Canadian doctors sound the alarm about rising injuries among young people and call for more regulation on e-scooters.

High-cost tickets and uncertain rights, the options for customers when events get delayed. And later, we'll have this story. A town in Southern Quebec wants to transform into a dementia-friendly community. Rome Lake wants to build friendlier, more accessible spaces for people with neurocognitive decline,

and it's letting those with firsthand experience take the lead. We should be very open about it and be able to understand and welcome the people and give them a hand. I'm Sharon. Leon and Reynolds in Brom Lake Quebec. Later on Your World Tonight,

how a small town hopes to set an example for the rest of Canada. E- scooters are quickly becoming a popular mode of transportation for Canadians, particularly in the summer. They're small, nimble, and a zippy way to get around, but there are concerns they're in the hands of too many children. As doctors across the country warn that e-scooter injuries are rising dramatically and that safety regulations are either confusing or non-escooter. existent. Magda Gabor Salasa tells us more. I had seen that he was laying there unresponsive.

Crystal Dunkley in London, Ontario, recounts a terrifying time from last year. Her then 12-year-old son, Sean, hit a raccoon while on an electric scooter, reportedly going 69 kilometers an hour. He wasn't wearing a helmet. The doctors told us that there was a possibility who would not make it. Scenes like this have been playing out in hospitals across the country. From late 2025 to early 2026, the Canadian pediatric surveillance program has been hearing about pediatric injuries and deaths involving micromobility devices, including e-scooters. We're seeing close to a 20% admission rate. Dr. Debbie Friedman is with Montreal Children's Hospital. In Quebec, a pilot project allows anyone 14 and older to use e- scooters,

that go up to 25 kilometers an hour. They're allowed on bike paths and some roads. Friedman says it's landing more kids in hospital. Serious brain injuries, facial trauma, complicated fractures, abdominal trauma. Our concerns are very significant. What's happening is alarming but not surprising, says Dr. Eddie Lang, an emergency physician in Calgary. I'm sure that everyone has seen that children are using these sometimes on their own,

sometimes being piggybacked onto these devices. There's often an absence of security equipment, adequate helmets. Politicians are weighing in, too. They're zipping all over the place. They're dangerous. That's Ontario Premier Doug Ford today. The province has e-scooter requirements and riders have to be at least 16.

But Ford doesn't seem keen on more standardized provincial rules. So I'll leave it up to the cities. They know their cities. Across the country, different municipalities have different rules. In Toronto, East Scooters are illegal on public roads, trails, and sidewalks. And this week, Toronto Police are cracking down on those breaking the rules. In Vancouver, East Scooters can be on roads, bike lanes, and park paths, at a maximum speed of 25 kilometers an hour. And in many places, helmets are required or recommended depending on age.

I would say this is the rules Royce of scooters. That's Xavier Trudeau, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's son, in a video promoting an e-scooter brand. He issued an apology after facing some backlash for not wearing a helmet while riding. Dunkley's son had to learn the lesson the hard way. He will often tell random people to wear their helmet. Luckily, she says he's fully recovered from his injuries. Makta Geberda-Salesis, CBC News, Toronto.

It's been a summer of big concerts and increasingly of big concert delays. With tickets costing fans hundreds of dollars, many concert goers are wondering what they're entitled to when the show doesn't happen as plan. Ina Sadiou reports. That's R&B Pop Star A-Con apologizing to a packed Scotia Bank Saddle Dome in Calgary, the second delay in as many nights. The concert also headlining Neo was supposed to start at 9 p.m. But at that time, the doors hadn't even opened. Thousands of fans, including

Amandip Waliah, forced to wait. You couldn't even get to your seats. Everyone's just sitting in the concourse. And more or less, I was thinking this is a safety hazard, really. Walia says two tickets, food, and extending their babysitter ended up costing about $700. This isn't an isolated example. Jay-Z's concert night three, we got thousands of concert goers standing right outside. Chaos outside Yankee Stadium in New York. The final show of Jayze's residency started four hours late after midnight. Promoters Rock Nation and Live Nation said the delay wasn't their fault. They explained the delay to you guys.

It was like 10,000 people outside. And they closed all the doors. Somebody rushed the door and they closed the door for you guys' safety and everybody's safety outside. So what exactly are ticket holders in time? title to when a show runs hours behind schedule. Entertainment lawyer Kurt Dahl with Miller Thompson says, not much. You're guaranteed the seat that you paid for and you're guaranteed a show to some extent, right?

If it doesn't show, you get your money back, but that's about it. Doll says the reason is buried in the fine print. Most concert ticket contracts are written to give promoters considerable flexibility if schedules change. Ticketmaster says a performance. that begins late but takes place is not a cancellation or reschedule, so it does not automatically entitle a ticket holder to a refund. A Shi Sharma is with the Consumers Council of Canada. It might be worthwhile trying to legislate for some sort of rights

when you have a flight, and if your flight is delayed by two or three hours, that you have the right to a refund. Live Nation Canada says live events are complex, and despite extensive planning, unforeseen circumstances can sometimes arise. But Walia says when you're spending that much money, there should be some type of compensation.

We should have got a 30% rebate or a 40% credit towards the next show from Ticketmaster. Or he says at least better communication from the event organizer. Ina Sedu, CBC News, Calgary. Ontario is the latest province to lay out plans for data center approvals. The plan says approvals will be based on various factors, including economic development, public confidence, and data sovereignty. It says new large data centers will need approval to connect to the electricity grid and will pay a higher separate electricity rate.

The announcement comes as municipalities across the province impose deliberate moratoriums on data centers. The province is forecasting that by 2035, AI will generate $122 billion for the economy. Israel says it's sent the military into a West Bank village, where Israeli settlers surrounded a number of Palestinian homes. The military says it's working to move the settlers out, though Palestinians fear they'll be the ones who are forced to leave.

Settler violence against Palestinians has been escalating, as have the Israeli government's efforts to rapidly expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and block any possibility of a Palestinian state. Tom Perry reports. Video from the West Bank, village of Kusra shows Israeli troops pushing back militant settlers who descended on the village this week and surrounded three homes, pitching a tent outside and refusing to allow Palestinians living there to come or go.

The main road that leads to the house was blocked, says Rukaya Hassan, whose home came under siege. They dug up the road, she says. They put rocks on it. No one is allowed to pass through it. One home that came under attack is owned by Lvajan. Louis Ridi, a Palestinian American. His brother and nephew are still in the house in Kusra, with no electricity or water and a dwindling supply of food.

Ridi has been in constant contact with them from Toledo, Ohio. It's terrifying, and I'm here watching him live talking to him, watching those settlers. Ridi had been keeping track of the siege through a surveillance camera mounted on his house in Kusra. But he says Israeli soldiers today took the camera down. Before they did, Reedy says, he watched soldiers casually mingling and even praying with settlers outside his home. He says the IDF has tried to remove settlers from the area seven times in the past eight months, but they keep coming back.

It's not only at my house. It's not only our village. It's all over the West Bank. The Israel Defense Forces have condemned the attack in Kusra as illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable. And it says any IDF members found, have been involved will face disciplinary action. But to human rights groups, those are empty words. Jair Devere, with the group Batsalam says in most cases, attacks by Israeli settlers are either ignored by the IDF or actively encouraged. In many, many, many of the videos of the attacks, you can see the settlers attacking while there are soldiers together with them, either standing by and not doing anything or many times even participating in those attacks.

This siege prompted a harsher than usual response from Israel's closest ally the United States. Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, referred to the attackers as Israeli terrorists, who carried out a horrific act meant to intimidate and harass a Palestinian-American family and others. Louis Ridi says he's glad to hear such strong language. But he says it needs to be backed up by action so that Palestinians in his village and across the West Bank can live securely in their own homes. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. The for-profit company collecting plasma in several provinces says it is pausing operations across the country. Two people died in the past year after donating to two Griffle's locations in Winnipeg.

In a statement, the company says it is proactively pausing activities because of the attention on its pay-for-plasma business. Griffles says it will work with Health Canada and Canadian Bloodsrues. services to restructure and will resume as soon as practical. For hundreds of thousands of Canadians living with dementia, life can become increasingly isolated with accelerating dementia symptoms and decline from the disease. But research shows that continued community integration can help prevent that. A town in Quebec is one of the latest in Canada working to keep people with dementia engaged by creating friendlier, safer, and more accessible spaces for people living with the condition.

Sharon Yonan Reddell visited the town and has this report. We're swimming across the lake. This isn't your ordinary seniors meetup. Nearly everyone doing exercises at this Brom Lake Cafe is living with dementia. So let's stretch our neck. We're going to look up. It's a diagnosis that changed Patrick Quinlan's life. Before, we had a lot of different things going on from a business point of view.

That was kind of the hard time in life for me. The Alzheimer's Society of Canada, estimates that almost 800,000 Canadians are living with dementia. It estimates that by 2030, that number will reach 1 million. The town of Brom Lake in southern Quebec is preparing for that future. The local Alzheimer's Society of Brom, Missisquois, and O'Dyamaska has secured federal funding to turn the town into a dementia-friendly community. Vernique Pruillet is with that non-profit and is one of the organizers responsible for the project.

That person has to live with Alzheimer's disease, but they still have their own personality, their own values, their own history. So we want to make sure with the dementia-friendly community that all of this is put to the front, to the center, and that the disease takes the backseat. This fall, the organization will train city employees, emergency services, and local merchants. The goal is to teach them how to accommodate and better serve people with dementia. I think it's the best way to do it. Business owners like Jennifer Goudar have already signed up. She owns SkinCare Line, J.B. Skin Savvy. Her store is right in the middle of town.

I think of myself if that was to happen to me. That's how I'd want to be perceived as a contributing person of society and not just all of a sudden I'm alienated in a fake world. I think that the more we're educated as a whole in the town, we can all do something. Cities like Waterloo, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta have taken similar steps. The Alzheimer's Society also hopes to implement other measures in Brom Lake, like clearer signage and public spaces designed for people with dementia. It says those decisions will include people like Patrick Quinlan and his wife and caregiver, Pauline Quinlan.

We should be very open about it and be able to understand and welcome, you know, the people and give them a hand. Measures that she hopes are only the beginning of a broader societal change. Sharon Yonan Reynolds, CBC News, Brom Lake. And finally, Living in a Fog, that's Living in a Fog, the title track on the 1981 album of Newfoundland Band and Comedy Group,

The Wonderful Grand Band. Paul Boomer Stamp is at the drums. A few weeks ago, the longtime musician revealed a cancer diagnosis that affects his voice. Paul Kinsman is performed with Stamp in various projects for nearly four decades.

He taught me a lot. He taught me how to be in a I mean, there's nothing that he actively said, listen, you should know this. It was more like being an example and how to be in an ensemble and how to sit back on the beat. Guitarist Sandy Morris has played with Stamp for more than 50 years. He continues to be a bandmate on the Wonderful Grand Band,

even starring together on the 1980s CBC Variety Show of the same name. Morris praises Stan. for his rock star stage presence, as well as his comedic chops. When you think of laughter as a currency, boomers supplied an awful lot of that to people, to everybody, you know, like to the whole, to the culture. I mean, he's affected comedians, no doubt about it, you know what I mean? So he's really contributed an awful lot to our whole Zittgeist.

The pair plan to hold a concert to fundraise for stamp and have already collected money for him online. You know, for starters, he's going to need help. When he starts treatment, he's probably not going to be able to work. So just to be able to afford to live. But he may also need extra support in terms of, you know, maybe medications or maybe even food or diet, whatever he comes up against. You know, he's been generous enough to everybody that I'm aware of that he needs some support and I think he deserves it. For now, Stamp continues to play gigs as his health allows, performing songs like the fan favorite, Go for Love. Thanks for being with us.

This has been Your World Tonight for third. Thursday, August 13th. I'm Colin Butler. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.