Your World Tonight - Trudeau on 51st state, Congo atrocities, money laundering in Canada, and more

Episode Date: February 7, 2025

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says U.S. President Donald Trump is serious about making Canada the 51st state. Trudeau was speaking to business leaders at the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit. Cabinet minister Steven MacKinnon says the country is united by one thing: pride in being Canadian. The problem – it’s hard to predict what Trump might do next. And: The United Nations Human Rights Council is investigating what’s going on in Congo. Rebels have seized the city of Goma and there are reports of spiralling violence, rape and sexual slavery.Also: Canada’s promise to take action on illegal fentanyl played a role in getting a month-long reprieve from the tariffs. But a complete crackdown would have to change how Canada deals with money laundering. Plus: Kanye West’s hate, Super Bowl security, pipelines and more.

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Don't screw with us. We will come out ahead. It's gone from a little dig to a big deal, an existential and economic threat to Canadian sovereignty. The idea of Canada becoming the 51st state was just Donald Trump being flippant, but not serious. Now Justin Trudeau says he means it and that the president has his eyes

trained on something we have and he needs. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Tom Harrington. It is Friday, February 7th, coming up on 6pm Eastern Time. Also on the podcast. There is a real danger here, but the danger is what is inciting others to do, normalizing the hate. It's saying that this is okay in 2025. Anti-social messages. The rapper, formerly as Kanye West is mired in controversy again. On a platform where he was once banned, he posts a series of racist and anti-Semitic comments, provoking widespread backlash against an artist who's increasingly isolated. Oh, say can you see? He's not joking.

The Prime Minister says Donald Trump actually does want to make Canada the 51st state. Justin Trudeau says the Americans are after our critical minerals. Government officials previously said the President was kidding around about the statemanship, just trolling us. Not anymore. Tom Perry has our top story tonight. That's a welcome of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It began as one more effort by Justin Trudeau to rally the troops. The Prime Minister meeting with business leaders in Toronto,

hashing out ways for Canada to navigate its now much more complicated relationship with the United States under Donald Trump. We need to both start thinking tactically and strategically. When Trudeau wrapped up his prepared remarks. So as much as I know the media would love to stick around for the Q&A, they're not going to be able to do that. Reporters were ushered out. The Prime Minister kept talking.

But his words could still be heard outside the meeting room. The sound is faint but the message is clear. Trudeau tells his audience when Trump talks about taking over Canada and making it the 51st state he's not kidding. Absorbing this country,udeau says is the real thing. There will be no messing with the 49th parallel period. Cabinet members attending the meeting like internal trade minister Anita Anand and Labour Minister Steve McKinnon were quick to declare Canada will never join the US.

Canada will choose its own destiny. Thank you very much. But Canada is forever. Trump has spoken openly and repeatedly about his desire to control Canada, along with Greenland, the Panama Canal, and now the Gaza Strip. It all sounds far-fetched and may well be, but Laurie Turnbull, who teaches political science

at Dalhousie University University says Canadians need to listen. This is the line of argument and this is the line of discussion that we're on. The relationship has turned completely hostile where the Americans are talking, or should say the Americans, Donald Trump is talking about not respecting the sovereignty of the country,

not respecting our independent path, our autonomy, and talking about some kind of a takeover. Federal conservatives say if Trump is such a threat the government needs to recall Parliament and pass measures to protect the country. They point out however when Trump first talked about Canada becoming a 51st state back in December before his inauguration the Liberals brushed it off as a joke. But since then, Trump's tone has become more menacing. And right now, nobody's laughing. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa.

That change in tone has been having another side effect. Brainstorming sessions at the highest levels. We've seen several First Ministers' meetings on shaping tariff strategy. And as you heard in Tom's report, an summit in Toronto today bringing together business leaders from across the country. The goal is to increase investment and get rid of trade barriers within Canada. Thomas Dagla has the story. This is Team Canada at its very best. With 150 business, trade and labour leaders in the room, the Prime Minister

laid out his hope that Canada can readjust its trading relationships, refocus on other countries and rethink commerce with the US. But what drew the loudest applause... It's about time we had genuine free trade within Canada. For business people across the country it's a long-held gripe. When selling goods are doing work across provincial and territorial borders the red tape can really add up and internal trade minister Anita Onand points to a looming deadline for cutting through all of it. For us to eliminate barriers

to trade and for us to build a domestic economy without going through Donald Trump. The US president has given Canada until early March before crushing tariffs could come into effect. In the meantime, Justin Trudeau is listing costly barriers between jurisdictions that he says don't make sense, like teaching certifications and even truck tire requirements that can vary from one province to another.

Will we get rid of everything? Don't be silly. Former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is part of Trudeau's Council on Canada-US Relations. She acknowledges despite the urgency, decades-old hurdles won't all be eliminated within 30 days. What I do think is that there's a renewed commitment to letting go of some of maybe some of the historic rationales for some of them. This is an actual, and I hope people understand this all across the country, like inflection point for us. Candice Lange, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says the goal should be for self-reliance in the face of Trump's America First strategy. This is so much more than just getting through a tariff threat.

This is about positioning ourselves against a much broader agenda. Ryan Minuccia wrote a book on inter-provincial trade and sees this as a potentially historic moment. These windows don't come around very often. I think the last time we had this window was in 1867 when we introduced the free trade clause into the Constitution. Since then, I don't think we've ever seen

the whole country so united. Canada sends more than $3.6 billion worth of goods and services stateside every day. That's more than the value crossing provincial and territorial borders combined. Thomas Daigle, CBC News, Toronto. Another deadline for liberal leadership candidates to pay for their bid has passed. All five candidates have done so. That means Mark Carney, Christia Freeland, Carina Gould,

Ruby Dalla and Frank Bayless are all still in the running to become party leader and the next prime minister. There is one more installment of $125,000 due in 10 days. Coming up on the podcast, the brutality of war. Fighting in the Congo is descending into what the UN is calling a human rights catastrophe. Plus, oh yay, oh yay, the rapper formerly known known as Kanye West, unleashes a racist anti-Semitic rant on social media. Later, uneasy in the big easy. Security is super tight in New Orleans as the city prepares for Sunday's Super Bowl. The United Nations delivered a clear message today to rebel forces in the Democratic Republic

of Congo, immediately halt violations of human rights. It was a response to reports of blocked aid, gang rape, and sexual slavery. The UN Human Rights Council condemned the Rwandan-backed rebels called M23 and ordered a UN team to go into eastern Congo. Senior international correspondent Margaret Evans reports. More warnings today that the situation in eastern Congo is escalating despite a ceasefire declared on Monday by the rebels who seized control of the city of Goma last week.

This is the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaking at an emergency session in Geneva. If nothing is done, he says, it's possible that the worst has yet to come for the people of the eastern part of DRC but also beyond its borders. Turk said nearly 2,000 people have been killed just over the past two weeks, also referencing the widespread use of sexual violence. Earlier this week a senior US official based in Goma said hundreds of female prisoners had been raped and burned alive after a major prison break as the rebels known as M23 and backed by Rwanda entered the city.

Turk's comments come on the eve of another effort by regional neighbors to bring DRC president Felix Cisikedi and the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, together. Eastern Congo and its mineral riches have long been fought over by rival militias. The UN accuses Rwanda of backing M23 with both troops and equipment. Kagame denies it. There have been reports this week

that the M23 rebels are now moving south towards Bukavu, capital of Congo's South Kivu province. Agency footage shows streets still crowded and bustling today but locals say fear of what might be on the way isn't far below the surface. You can feel that schools are closing, markets are shutting down, and merchants are beginning to move their goods, says resident Christian Wanduma. But a spokesman for the Congolese army insisted that what he called the Rwandan army and its M23 proxies had not occupied parts of South Kivu.

We call on the entire population of South Kivu province, especially that of Bukavu, to remain calm, he's saying. DRC's government is asking the international community to impose sanctions on Rwanda. M23 rebels captured Goma once before in 2012, pulling back after international donors threatened to withhold aid from Rwanda. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. UNICEF says sexual violence against children in Haiti has surged in the past year. The UN's Children's Agency says the increase has been staggering. A report says there was a 1000% rise from 2023 to 2024. Powerful gangs have united in Port-au-Prince and now control the vast majority of the capital. An international police force in the

country has been unable to stem the rising violence And the future of that force is now in question since the US froze nearly $20 million in funding earlier this week. Kanye West went on a disturbing social media rant today. Sound familiar? This time, the rapper who now goes by Ye called himself a Nazi and praised Hitler. He also made a long list of racist, misogynistic,

anti-Semitic comments to his more than 32 million followers on X. Macta Gaber-Solase has the reaction. You can't control what I'm saying on Twitter. This is Kanye West, also known as Ye, recently on the podcast The Download with Justin Leboy. Overnight and throughout the day today, he went on an online tirade Overnight and throughout the day today, he went on an online tirade, posting a wave of hateful messages on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The tweets spew homophobic, anti-feminist, anti-black, anti-semitic statements to name a few.

He's got the money, he's got the following, he's got his audience, and he sees the ability to attack others as a sign of power. Dr. Andre Obler is with Australia's online hate prevention institute. He worries that this is another example of hate being normalized online. It's saying that this is okay in 2025 and that's going to lead to a whole lot more hate from others. Back in 2022, Ye was banned from Twitter after making anti-Semitic comments. Clothing brands cut ties, with Adidas ending its long-standing partnership with the artist. All the while, many questioned the artist's state of mind.

Previously, Ye said he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now he says he was misdiagnosed, making the claim he's on the autism spectrum. We have to be really responsible, I think, in how we engage in a dialogue around mental health and these vulnerable communities. California psychologist Dr. Bedford Palmer warns against making correlations between any alleged diagnosis and the behaviors that the artist is exhibiting online.

Racism, sexism, misogyny, you know, any of these really negative behaviors and belief sets, they're not connected to mental health, they're connected to people's choices and people's philosophies and people learning that they learned as kids or through media and what they're allowed to do. While the tweets have upset many people, music journalist Melissa Vincent says the conversation around the artist is changing. Like the initial shock of Kanye's rhetoric has worn off and I think instead what you've actually seen are audiences who refuse to give him a pass and who refuse to then like

level these arguments in justification of his artist like to justify his artistry. As of this afternoon, Ye's tweets and his account remain online. The platform X owned by Elon Musk flagged some of the posts may violate its rules against hateful conduct. Makda Gebre-Salesi, CBC News, Toronto. We return now to our coverage of Canada's plan to defend against potential tariffs from the US. One change in direction that's gaining attention is a new oil pipeline. As Sam Sampson reports, the strategy would focus less on a north-south dynamic and more east-west.

It took years to build, but the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion is now an inspiration of sorts in Canada. The pipeline takes oil from Alberta to a West Coast terminal near Vancouver without crossing the US border. It then gets shipped to Asian markets. You know, the world is our oyster. Former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is part of the Prime Minister's Canada-US Relations Council. She and other politicians want more Canada-only lines. Part of the conversation is bringing up scrapped pipeline plans as an energy security solution in the face of potential US tariffs. Notley has floated

pipelines and meetings. There's a lot of head nods. People understand that this is a frustrating situation and that we're in. I think, you know, some folks are wondering, oh is this really doable? The United States is by far Canada's biggest oil customer. Most of it comes from Alberta. Now, most pipelines taking crude out of the Prairie province go through or directly to the United States. This system is so intertwined, even with a tariff, Canada would have no choice but to sell to the U.S. The idea now is to build Canadian pipelines so oil can get to the coasts and sell to other countries. Past pipeline projects have been shut down for a lot of reasons, including government

pushback from Ontario and Quebec and environmental concerns. Protests against pipelines have shut down railways, bridges and intersections. The catalyst for many? First Nations communities protecting sacred and territorial lands. It's a bedrock position. Philip Stewart is the Grand Chief of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. He fought against the Northern Gateway Pipeline for years. But last month, he publicly suggested reconsidering those projects

because of changing Canada-U.S. relations. The union quickly walked that back stating it's against destructive fossil fuel projects. You know everybody steps in it once in a while and I think I kind of stepped in it there but we've since clarified our position. Would you support a new pipeline through British Columbia? No, absolutely not. The reason is abundantly clear in regard to the destructive impacts of the intensifying climate crisis. Others seem to be wading deeper into the conversation. The world has changed quite a bit.

After visits in DC this week, Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the switch in political temperature could even affect the Liberal government's decision. A government that shut down pipelines in the past because of environmental concerns. But I think we are all aware now that perhaps there are some vulnerabilities we did not actually believe existed. This doesn't mean Ottawa would immediately approve a pipeline. Wilkinson says the federal government would still follow procedures like duty to consult. So building a pipeline takes a lot of time and money. No private company has shown interest in getting these projects going. Energy adviser Karina Bryson says the federal government could step in,

like it did with the Trans Mountain expansion, to the tune of billions of dollars. But leaders and the public would need to be on board. I think it's unlikely right now, but that could change. Building on the Team Canada approach, if as a nation we decide we want to do this, we can do this, but it's going to take an awful lot of people rowing in the same direction at the same time for a sustained period. It's a long time since we've done that as Canada. Since the relationship with the US is now fractured, all eyes are watching how Canada comes together. Sam Sampson, CBC News, Toronto. The federal government is already responding to Trump's threats. A promise

to take action on illegal fentanyl, complete with naming a border fentanyl czar, played a role in getting a month-long reprieve. But a complete crackdown would include how drug gangs move their money. Nisha Patel reports on how Canada deals with money laundering. The fentanyl coming through Canada is massive. Donald Trump says if Canada doesn't crack down on drugs at the border, he'll invoke tariffs on imports crippling the economy. So Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to act.

We will and have committed to jointly tackling the scourge that is fentanyl. According to a Canadian police intelligence service, nearly 100 organized crime groups are producing fentanyl within the country. All these organizations generate huge amounts of money that ultimately need to be laundered. That could account for $113 billion in dirty money in Canada each year,

says Christian Loeuprecht, a Queen's University professor who has written a book on financial crime. The legislation has simply not kept up with the way this space has evolved over the last 25 years. It's just not been a priority for the government. Loi Precht says criminals may be drawn to Canada where they can more easily hide their illicit cash because oversight here is more lax than the U.S. Even if you get caught, the penalties are relatively minor and your chances of going to jail are next to none.

Even before Trump's threat, Ottawa had proposed larger financial penalties for companies that don't follow anti-money laundering laws. This, after TD Bank, was fined $3 billion by American authorities for failing to stop fentanyl traffickers from laundering millions of dollars through its U.S. branches. Banks, other financial institutions, securities dealers, jewellers, gold dealers, casinos, it's a huge problem in the sense of it's so pervasive and there are so many ways to do it.

Michael Ecclestone helps businesses monitor suspicious financial activity. He says there are big gaps in how Canada deals with money laundering compared to the US. One area constantly called out for a lack of resources and a lack of focus is the amount of prosecution. Lloyd Precht is confident that tackling money laundering will help stop the flow of fentanyl. The significant opportunity for Canada to overhaul its legislative framework when it comes to financial crime. This week, Canada pledged to launch a joint strike force with the U.S.

to combat money laundering. The federal government has also promised to create a new financial crimes agency to investigate complex cases. But that was almost three years ago. Nisha Patel, CBC News, Toronto. 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 or wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in.

The commercials, the halftime show, the television audience, the Super Bowl tends to take things to another level. Security is no different, especially this year. Philip Leishanuk now on the preparations in New Orleans ahead of Sunday's big game. Among the fans in Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs jerseys, camouflage wearing US National Guard troops with bourbon streets enhanced s resident Paula Montz appro seen that before, but yeah

Kirk Cox came from texas like tonight there's more are even people and I've never felt safer down here. Back in January on the same street just before the Sugar Bowl, a college football playoff game, 14 people were killed when they were run down in an attack on New Year's Day. National Football League Chief of Security Cathy Lanier says any security gaps have been addressed. We have reviewed and re-reviewed all the details of what happened on January 1 and we have

reassessed our contingency measures and our emergency response plans multiple times over over the past several weeks. Just steps away from a memorial on Bourbon Street, week US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said there were no specific credible threats against the Super Bowl. The world is a much more dangerous place but here in the homeland we are safe. Noem says at least 700 Homeland Security personnel will be on the ground along with more than 2,700 state, federal and local law enforcement officers, plus 350 from the National Guard and the U.S. Secret Service. President Donald Trump plans to be at Sunday's game, the first for a sitting president.

And it's very hard to predict absolutely everything that could go wrong. Ottawa-based crowd security expert Kevin Kennedy says this is an extremely complex event to plan with many security variables. There's always a potential risk so it's up to the real-time planners organizers managers to continually assess what's going on they can't just sit back and go okay we've planned a really good event we can sit back and do nothing now they have to continually and constantly assess everything that's going on and make adjustments to their plan.

And while the tens of thousands of expected fans won't be able to bring weapons into the football stadium, outside in the French Quarter's enhanced security zone, legally owned guns including concealed weapons will be permitted during Super Bowl festivities. Philip Lee Shannok, CBC News, Toronto. We close with the Super Bowl and this year's Halftime Show, an entertaining time out from the mayhem on the field. Over the years, it's attracted some of the biggest names in music,

Janet Jackson, Prince, Tom Petty and more. But this edition has an unusual edge thanks to the headliner, Kendrick Lamar, the rapper who has a bitter ongoing feud with Canadian superstar Drake, a Canada-US spat that's not about terrorists but is very personal. They not like us, they not like us, they not like us, they not like us, they not like us. As Lamar's smash hit, Not Like Us. There's a chance we'll hear it on Sunday. The unlikely chart-topper won Song of the Year at the Grammys. It is a vicious diss track aimed at Drake, who's attacked in the lyrics.

Lamar labels him a phony and more controversially and with no evidence, a pedophile. As an aside, remember what Super Bowl halftime shows used to sound like? This is not an appeal to bring back up with people, by the way. Just an observation. Anyway, this year Lamar and Not Like Us are now in the middle of a dilemma for the NFL. How to handle a song that is both offensive and a fan favorite. Asked about his game plan for Sunday, Lamar isn't giving anything away.

Storytelling. I think I've always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. Drake has a different take on Lamar's storytelling. He believes the song has crossed a legal yard line, launching an extraordinary lawsuit last month, citing defamation and harassment, as well as a shooting at his Toronto mansion following the song's release. Super Bowl organizers are huddling with lawyers

to determine how far Lamar can go and how much they can show on television. Who knew the halftime show could have as much drama as the game itself? This has been Your World Tonight for Friday, February 7th. I'm Tom Harrington. Thanks for listening. Stay safe and take care of each other.