Your World Tonight - Trump-Putin, drugs and guns smuggled into Canada, winter wallop and more

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

The call heard around the world… European leaders stand by Ukraine – one day after U.S. president Donald Trump calls Russian president Vladimir Putin about the war. Trump says Russia wants peace, and they agreed negotiations should start now. THEN he called Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Moscow is rejoicing at having Trump’s ear, while Kyiv is left to insist on having its voice heard.And: Drugs and guns coming into Canada from the U.S.Also: It’s cold. It’s snowy. A winter storm has walloped a good portion of central and eastern Canada. And the snow is still falling. We find out what people are doing to get through it all.Plus: Car ramming attack in Munich, Trump’s reciprocal tariffs announced, northern premiers meet Washington officials, and more.

When a body is discovered 10 miles out to sea, it sparks a mind-blowing police investigation. There's a man living in this address in the name of a deceased. He's one of the most wanted men in the world. This isn't really happening. Officers are finding large sums of money. It's a tale of murder, skullduggery and international intrigue. So who really is he? I'm Sam Mullins and this is Sea of Lies from CBC's Uncovered, available now.

This is a CBC Podcast. What we are clearly united about is that first of all we have to make sure that when talks start, Ukraine is in the best possible position. Obviously this is about Ukraine, so Ukraine will be involved in any way and whatsoever. European leaders rushing to the defense of Ukraine, not in response to a flare-up in Russia's war, but because of a plan to end it. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin trying to settle the conflict themselves. Sudden sympathy from Washington that could be a win for Moscow as critical as any on the battlefield.

Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Tuesday, February 13th coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast. Well, when I saw it this morning it didn't look like too much until I got outside. Then it was a lot more than I expected. There was nobody on the podcast. Well when I saw it this morning it didn't look like too much until I got outside. Then it was a lot more than I expected. There was nobody on the streets, all the schools are closed, very hard driving conditions.

Digging out and bundling up a major blast of winter weather rips through Central and Atlantic Canada shutting down schools, transportation impacting millions and there's more coming this weekend. Ukraine's president has made it clear he will not be left out of talks to end the war in his country. European leaders backed Volodymyr Zelensky today demanding a seat at the table after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin pledged to start negotiations on their own. Chris Brown reports. It was a telephone call the whole world is talking about, gushed Russian news channels, casting it as a big win for Vladimir Putin that Donald Trump phoned him before Vladimir Zelensky.

With Trump saying he trusted Putin and even thanking him for wanting to end the war he started in the first place. The Russian leader's long-standing goal has been to make Ukraine a puppet state. So for many Ukrainians, Trump's plan smelled of betrayal. Zelensky, who will meet face-to-face with US Vice President J.D. Vance tomorrow, said as a sovereign country we simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us.

It's still not clear what role Zelensky will take in these negotiations. Same for the European countries that would guarantee Ukraine security afterward, prompting this warning from the EU's top diplomat, Kaya Callis. It is clear that any deal behind our backs will not work. Any agreement will need also Ukraine and Europe being part of it. And this is clear that appeasement also always always fails. NATO is a great alliance. In Brussels for a NATO meeting, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth underscored Trump does see Russia as the aggressor in the war and he insisted Ukraine is not being cut out.

There is no betrayal there. There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace, a negotiated peace. Putin has said he expects to keep all of the Ukrainian land Russia has conquered and for Ukraine to disband most of its army. It is somewhat worrying, but it's not like catastrophic. Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merzheko says it's unclear what leverage Trump plans to use against Putin to push back. You know, he put it in very abstract terms, which to me signifies that he doesn't have yet a clear picture of a peace plan or what should be done. After three years of continual war, Ukrainians are exhausted. This wounded infantryman who goes by the moniker Sevastopol after his hometown, spoke to our CBC producer in Kyiv and said hopefully the diplomacy will be successful.

I have a lot of friends in captivity, he said. When all the guys come back home, then it will be a victory for me. Chris Brown, CBC News, London. The U.S. president also voiced support for Russia joining the G7 during a lengthy press conference at the White House. The event was meant to announce new tariffs on allies and adversaries beyond North America. But Donald Trump had a lot to say on a wide range of issues

and it included more trash talk about Canada. Katie Simpson has the details. This is an amazing day. Sitting behind the Resolute Desk, Donald Trump held up his latest presidential memo for news cameras in the Oval Office, unveiling a new plan that could result in tariffs imposed on every single country that exports goods into the U.S. Reciprocal tariffs, those two words, reciprocal makes tariffs really fair.

Officials are being asked to determine tariff rates for individual countries based on a wide range of reasons, including if a country imposes tariffs on U.S. goods, whether the U.S. thinks the country has unfair trading practices, or if it has a value-added tax or VAT, which is widely used in Europe. Howard Lutnick, Trump's incoming Commerce Secretary, is leading the effort. Our studies should be all complete by April 1st. So we'll hand the President the opportunity to start on April 2nd. How this could affect Canada remains unclear. But Canada and the U.S. already have 99% tariff-free trade thanks to the renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement.

Canada does impose tariffs on some US dairy products and Canada's GST is considered a value-added tax. All of this comes after Trump already threatened 25% blanket tariffs on all Canadian goods starting March 4th, additional 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum starting March 12th, and even more tariffs based on long-standing trade irritants that could also start April 1st. Canada has been very bad to us on trade but now Canada is gonna have to start paying up. Without any prompting at this event Trump repeatedly attacked Canada and the Prime Minister.

I spoke to Governor Trudeau on numerous occasions. Airing his now familiar grievances about the trade deficit, about Canada's defence spending, claiming Canada would not be viable as a country without US support. I think Canada is going to be a very serious contender to be our 51st state. It truly was yet another remarkable day at the White House, with the President taking nearly 60 minutes of questions from reporters and in the process making all kinds of unrelated news. Just one example Trump saying he'd like to invite Russia back into the G7

group of nations. It still would be helpful to have Russia be a part of that mix. This is a reversal of a long-standing US position. Back in 2014 leaders including Canada's then Prime Minister Stephen Harper kicked Russia out of the group over its illegal annexation of Crimea. It's another example of Trump's flood the zone strategy, a flurry of announcements and changes happening at such a quick pace it's hard for the American people to keep up, meaning a lot goes ahead without the kind of scrutiny significant change typically brings. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington.

Coming up on the podcast, liberals aren't feeling quite as bleak about their future, even as the next leader will face an uncertain economic future for the country. And about the border, we look at the illegal guns and drugs crossing into Canada from the U.S. Plus a winter storm slams into Ontario and Quebec before heading east. Canada's Northern Premiers continued their anti-tariff tour of Washington speaking to influential figures, saying Canada's North has a lot to offer in a trade relationship, strong Arctic defense and critical minerals.

Kate McKenna reports from Washington. There's so much potential in the North. That's the message Canada's three territorial Premier shared, speaking to American academics and policy experts. Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson says the Arctic has what the U.S. needs, critical minerals. If companies don't want to get them from the Northwest Territories, from the Yukon, from Nunavut, they're going to have to get them from China.

The Northern Premiers continued their anti-tariff push in Washington, holding a panel at an influential think tank, the Wilson Center, talking about Arctic minerals and defense. Nunavut Premier P.J. Akiyaguk says people in the Arctic are key to protecting Canada's interests. The people of the north are the ones actually asserting Canada's sovereignty. The premieres told Americans they want Ottawa to increase military spending and hit the 2% NATO defense spending target ASAP as Donald Trump continues to criticize Canada's armed forces.

They don't have any military protection. You have Russian ships, you have Chinese ships. You know people are endangered. They need our protection, yes. Simpson told the American audience they want to get more mining projects going and build up Arctic defense. There's definitely a desire in the territory to see more military infrastructure which is, you know, that doesn't go without saying we've heard from indigenous governments from communities who've seen investments in the past and who want to see investments again in the future. All Canadian premier spent time in Washington this week holding dozens of

meetings with one goal dissuading Donald Trump from levying tariffs on Canadian goods. Ronch Pellay is the premier of the Yukon. Donald Trump's not gonna own the Arctic and he's not going to own Canada but he will own inflation if this tariffs come in the way they possibly can and that's not something he wants to do because his commitment to Americans was to make life more affordable and we know that this will not do that. After speaking at the Wilson Centre, Northern Premiers met with an Alaskan senator and spoke with the ambassador of neighboring Denmark. Donald Trump has said he wants to absorb

Canada and Greenland. Simpson says the discussion was about unity. I think everyone's talking about what's going on in the world right now and you know we're facing similar situations and so you know we had a good conversation about our relationship, how we can work together. A move to keep friends close in a period of upheaval. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Washington. B.C.'s finance minister says the tariff threat against Canada is already having an effect. Brenda Bailey is blaming that for her decision to cancel a $1,000 grocery rebate.

Her party promised the rebate during last fall's provincial election. But Bailey says Trump's tariffs are reckless and destabilizing and it's impossible to predict their effect on government coffers. Bailey also announced a government hiring freeze. Relations with the U.S. is also dominating talk in the liberal leadership race. The federal Liberal Party will choose a replacement for Justin Trudeau in less than a month on March 9th. And as Tom Perry reports, the candidates are laying out their plans on how to protect this country from Donald Trump. Our social safety net doesn't work for 2025.

Liberal leadership contender Karina Gould in New Brunswick promising to bolster Canada's social safety net. A priority, she says, at a time when Canadians are worried about a possible economic downturn that could be brought on by a trade war with the U.S. We should be having a system that can handle the shocks that are coming from outside of Canada, the shocks that could be facing our economy. Donald Trump and his near constant threat of tariffs have cast a shadow over the liberal race. Former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has taken a hard line in her leadership bid. In an article published in the New York Times, Freeland again calls for reciprocal tariffs against the US,

including a 100% levy on Tesla vehicles to target Elon Musk. Freeland took that message to American Cable TV this week in an interview with CNN. Dollar for dollar retaliation. Any tariff imposed on Canada, Canada will respond to. And our response is going to be smart and targeted. Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said he too would support dollar-for-dollar tariffs. Carney was in BC today to talk housing but was asked yet again about Trump's tariffs. Carney says his focus is on making the Canadian economy more resilient and better able to withstand pressure from the US. Canadians have a strong sense of resolve.

We're going to stand up collectively for Canada, and we're going to build our economy here in Canada first and foremost. Trump and his tariff threats have had one positive impact for the Liberals. The party has seen its poll numbers rise steadily since the U.S. president put Canada in the crosshairs. Eric Grenier, who analyzes polls at therit.ca, says Canadians are, for

now at least, looking at Carney as a solid bet to counter Trump. We do see that there is definitely a closer competitive race between Mark Carney and Pierre Poilier on the issue of Donald Trump and the tariffs. Christy Freeland does not poll as well as Mark Carney on being able to handle Donald Trump and the tariff threat. Polls can change and this race isn't over. Candidates will square off in debates this month before liberals choose a new leader. That will be followed by a general election sometime this year. A campaign that could hinge on US threats, the candidate's economy and sovereignty and who's best to defend them.

Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Donald Trump's finger pointing over Fentanyl has put Canada on the defensive, even though the facts don't support his claims. And new data from Canada's Border Services Agency actually shows a spike in drugs and guns coming here from the US. JP Tasker has details. Canada is a very bad abuser. President Donald Trump says Canada is fueling America's drug problem. Vast numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in.

But a CBC News analysis of new border data shows Canada has more reason to worry about what's pouring in from the U.S. There's been an eye-popping increase in the number of drugs seized by the Canada Border Services Agency coming from the US. Aaron McCrory is responsible for CBSA's intelligence and enforcement. It is a public safety and security emergency, not just in the United States. It's killing people here in Canada. The amount of drugs seized has doubled since 2022, spiking from roughly 4,000 kilograms to 8,000 in 2024. Cannabis, hashish, heroin, cocaine and crack, it's all up. And there's a lot more than the 5,000 grams of drugs the Americans nabbed on their side

of the 49th parallel last year. We live next door to the largest weapons market in the world. Christian Luprecht is a professor at the Royal Military College and an expert on border security. He says Mexican drug cartels moved some of their production to the U.S. during the pandemic. Now it's easier than ever to smuggle illicit goods over the border into Canada. It's worked really well for transnational organized crime. And it's not just drugs. CBSA pulled in 839 firearms at the border last year, a 30 percent increase over the

year before. Nine in 10 crime guns taken by police in Toronto now come from the U.S. It's not just a matter of checking what's going out, but it's checking what's coming in. The border goes both ways. Vincent Rigby is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's former National Security Advisor. He says the government's border strategy can't just be about appeasing Trump's fentanyl concerns. We've got issues of our own.

The message to Canadians should be that what the government is doing right now is not just to satisfy the United States. Public safety minister David McGinty says Canada has raised the issue of guns and drugs with the White House. This is not just a Canadian challenge. This is a Canadian and an American challenge. We are connected at the hip. He's clear about Canada's immediate concern, though.

It's fentanyl. There's more going to the U.S. than there is coming into this country. It's about satisfying Trump to avoid economic ruin. That's why Ottawa just appointed a czar, Kevin Brousseau. We should be focused on eliminating the scourge that is fentanyl in this country and in the United States. The CBSA says it hasn't lost focus on Canadian priorities. It just got a $1.3 billion cash infusion to take on the flow of fentanyl.

But it promises some of that money will be set aside to rein in the flood of American drugs and guns. JP Tasker, CBC News, Ottawa. Hamas now says it will release three Israeli hostages this weekend after all. Earlier the group said it was delaying the release because Israel violated the Gaza ceasefire. In response Israel threatened to unleash a new war. The two sides are still taking part in talks in Cairo. They're focusing on the flow of aid into Gaza, including mobile homes, tents, medical and fuel supplies, and heavy machinery needed to remove rubble. At least 28 people are injured, including children, after a driver rammed a car into

a crowd of people in Munich. It happened during a labor union demonstration, and as senior international correspondent Margaret Evans reports from Germany, authorities believe it was a deliberate attack. A heavy police presence still on the streets in the hours after the apparent attack. A small white car driving into a trade union rally during a public sector strike in the centre of Munich, sowing fear and chaos. Working nearby, eyewitness Alexa Greif says it looked like the car accelerated into the crowd. There were some injured people on the bench right next to our office, she says. Some of them were carried into the entrance hall, treated by paramedics. Police arrested the driver reportedly after firing one shot.

He's been identified as a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who reportedly came to Germany as a minor in 2016. His claim rejected, according to the Interior Ministry. The incident comes just a day before the Munich security conference attended by world dignitaries is expected to begin. Police don't believe there's a link. Bavaria's premier Markus Soder says he does believe it was a deliberate attack of some sort. There are many indications of that he says. We react prudently to any such attack, but

I can also tell you that our resolve is growing. Security and immigration issues have dominated the current federal election campaign in Germany in the wake of a string of similar attacks in recent months. The far-right Alternative for Germany party accused of using them to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment with rights groups pointing to a spike in attacks on asylum seekers. The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expected to place third behind the AFD said the attacker should be expelled. He must be punished and he must leave the country, he said. With the election now just over a week away, you can expect that immigration will continue to dominate the debate at the expense of other issues, say critics, including foreign policy,

with Washington so at odds with its NATO partners over Ukraine. Margaret Evans, CBC News, Berlin. The U.S. Senate has confirmed Trump's pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services. On this vote, the A's are 52, the A's are 48. The confirmation is confirmed. Robert F. Kennedy is now in charge of several federal health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has a large following for his views and sometimes extreme views on food, chemicals

and vaccines. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy was part of a non-profit that sued vaccine makers and worked to erode trust in vaccines. Former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was the only Republican to vote against Kennedy. This is Your World Tonight from CBC News. If you want to make sure you stay up to date and never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. There is snow and then there's snow. The season's biggest storm hit hard today

across much of central and eastern Canada causing widespread school closures, hundreds of flight cancellations and delays and endless commuter chaos. Jamie Strachan reports. A massive dump of snow across much of eastern Ontario and Quebec brought some quintessential Canadian sights and sounds. In Ottawa, a bus hopelessly stuck spinning its wheels. So I saw the bus coming and I was like, I probably should not get on the bus,

I should probably just keep walking. But I said, you know what, don't be negative, just get on the bus, try your best to be positive. I didn't want to get stuck. I was like, I told myself, I knew what was going to happen. A few blocks away, Aaron Smale made the commute on skis. The office is open and because I don't want to drive my car this morning, I thought this might be a bit faster than walking, but I don't know if it's going to be. It's more fun though.

In Toronto, the snow was good news for students. The Toronto District School Board declared a snow day combined with a PA day tomorrow and a holiday Monday for a super long weekend. Those trudging through the downtown core on their way to work weren't so lucky. This is the biggest snowfall I've seen in a while, but it's typical typical typical Canadian weather.

The City of Toronto's Vince Sparanza says it's all hands on deck. We have over 1400 pieces of equipment they've all been deployed. Every piece of equipment is out there. The hardest job? Those who have to shovel the white stuff. It'll take probably another two hours maybe. Make it a good 20 hour shift. Why not? All right, keep moving. At the airport numerous flights were cancelled, Canada Post suspended service, and roads were treacherous, says the OPP's Kerry Schmidt. Not a lot of crashes in the overnight hours, but dozens of vehicles that were either stuck or

stranded in the snow banks. In Montreal heavy snow continued this afternoon about 40 centimeters a heavy dump even for a city accustomed to snow. We're full deployed with thousand workers thousand trucks on the road it's a middle of the snowstorm we will continue to plow the snow away. Atlantic Canada also getting hit hard a potent mix of high winds heavy snow and ice pellets. In New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia, many schools were closed. As for Ontario and Quebec, more snow in the forecast for the weekend. Welcome to winter.

Jamie Strachan, CBC News, Toronto. We close tonight with an old breakup song that's getting rekindled 30 years later. New Brunswick singer-songwriter Julie Duaron and her track August 10 written in the early 90s after Duon split with her boyfriend at the time. It was released on her debut album which was well received in indie music circles but not exactly a smash hit. The song had mostly faded into Dwaron's back catalog until last fall when Dwaron's daughter started noticing cover versions popping up on TikTok. You know so every once in a while I think she kind of would just secretly check to see if anyone was using my song or anything.

And then yeah, she had come down to the kitchen one night and was just like, mom, I think maybe one of your songs is starting to go viral. At the time, August 10 had a few thousand streams on Spotify, which was already a big improvement, but that TikTok trend is still going. And currently the song has been streamed more than 40 million times.

That's on par with some of the tragically hip's most popular songs. As for why a decades old deep cut from a Canadian indie singer is all the rage on TikTok, Duaron partially credits the snowball effect of social media, but she says the song's lo-fi production and honest lyrics about being young and vulnerable resonates with a new generation. Like I was 21 when I wrote the song so it makes sense to me that that it would connect with that age group for sure you know I'm honored and it's like really it's really cool to witness it. The TikTok and streaming success has also led to the song getting new life on

another platform. Duaron's label is reissuing her first two records on vinyl. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Thursday, February 13th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again. Fine, fine.