Your World Tonight - U.S. Canada trade woes, Hurricane Melissa, Alberta to force teachers back to work, and more

Episode Date: October 26, 2025

There's been a wave of reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat on Canada. We have the latest on how both sides of the border are addressing it. Meanwhile, Mark Carney is in Malaysia for the ASEAN summit - trying to make the case that, in the face of global economic uncertainty, Canada remains a dependable trading partner.Also: People in Jamaica are preparing for Hurricane Melissa to make landfall on Monday. The Category 4 storm is gathering strength as it heads for the island's southern coast - bringing fears of powerful floods and storm surge along with it. You'll hear more about the preparations on the ground from Kingston.And: After three weeks of job action, there’s still no deal between Alberta's teachers and the provincial government. But those teachers could soon be forced back to the classroom - as the the province prepares to introduce back-to-work legislation. And other unions are watching closely.Plus: Nunavut election, replacing lead pipes in Ontario, and more.

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Donate at lovescarbro.cairbo. This is a CBC podcast. We do need to get the talks back on track because steel, aluminum, lumber, auto, they're all suffering badly. Canadian officials try to navigate how to get trade negotiations with the U.S. back on track after Donald Trump abruptly ended the talks

and warned Canada the tariff on Canadian goods is going up. This is your word. tonight. I'm Stephanie Scandaris. Also on the podcast, Alberta is set to send striking teachers back to work, but other unions are watching closely to see what's in the government's bill. And Nunavut heads to the polls. This election, like with every other election, I hope the turnout is greater. But what can be done to reverse the trend of low voter turnout in the territory? Prime Minister Mark Carney had few words regarding the latest tariff threat coming from the United States. On Saturday, Donald Trump lashed out at Canada again, threatening to increase the tax on Canadian exports

because of an anti-tariff ad paid for by the Ontario government. J.P. Tasker now with how officials on both sides of the border are reacting to this latest spat. We will be initiating free trade talks with the Philippines. Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Asia to build new trade ties, but it's the relationship with an old ally that's causing problems. So I'm very disappointed in Canada. The U.S. President Donald Trump is lashing out at Canada and threatening another 10% tariff on exports.

A seemingly calm Carney says he has a plan. So building it home, diversifying our trade relationships abroad, and being ready to work with the United States government as and when the time comes. But senior Trump officials say they don't want to work with Canada right now. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant says the administration is focused on other trade partners. This is a kind of propaganda against U.S. citizens. You know, it's Psiop.

Bessent is blaming Ontario Premier Doug Ford for derailing the bilateral trade talks that anti-terifad featuring Ronald Reagan has hit an nerve. I just think it was terrible, terrible judgment by this premier, you know, who has a bit of a reputation for being a hothead. The prime minister should be trying to find Donald Trump in the hallways. Brian Clow is former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's point person on the U.S. He says Carney has to smooth things over with Trump and fast, preferably while they're both at these summits in Asia.

We do need to get the talks back on track because steel, aluminum, lumber, auto, they're all suffering badly. Meanwhile, Frank McKenna, Canada's former ambassador to Washington, says it's time to take a step back from the erratic Americans. It's going to take us time, and we're going to have to go through pain to get there, but we have to use this moment of crisis once and for all to diversify our economy. Canada could get some help from the U.S. Congress. I think this is a little temper tantrum that a toddler will have and it will blow over. Senators will vote on a bill to block Trump's tariffs this week, and the Democrats say they have the votes to get it through. Virginia Senator Tim Cain. The president can be petulant,

but the facts and the economic chaos are sort of closing in on him. And I think that will get the president back to the table with Canada. Canada U.S. Trade Minister Dominic de Blanc was at that table before things went awry. He says the two sides had been making progress and he's ready to re-engage with them at any moment. Insisting in a social media post, it's the feds, not Ontario, who are responsible for this file. J.P. Tasker, CBC News, Ottawa. As you just heard from JP, Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Malaysia, trying to make the case that in the face of global economic uncertainty, Canada remains a dependable trading partner. Murray Brewster now, with more from the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur. Karni's keep calm and carry-on approach was on display as he pitched ASEAN leaders

on closer economic ties with Canada. Even still, there was a subtle edge to his remarks. We value a rules-based system. We respect trade agreements in the rule of law. We value the free exchange of goods, capital, and ideas. Karnie's poker face, however, stands in contrast to some of the leading voices in Canada's business community. In a trade war, you need a general, not 13 of them. And I'm hoping the Prime Minister can recognize that we've got to pull our own act together here if we're going to be able to have an opportunity to make progress. Goldie Hider, the president of the Business Council of Canada. While the Ontario government ad did help, Hyder says it's not entirely to blame for the latest outburst by Trump.

Heider says it's a reflection of deeper American frustration with Canada, some of which on policies that have nothing to do with trade. When we did the, you know, the Palestine announcement, we've done the thing about the ICJ, we're doing things on strategic partnerships with other countries, we're diversifying, but if you're in the United States of America, you're saying, we're your number one customer, but you've been to Europe five times. These are the things that they point out. I'm just the messenger here. Meanwhile, Donald Trump arrived at Ossie into a tumultuous flag-waving welcome.

While there was no intention of meeting Carney, there was time for the victory lap as Cambodia and Thailand signed an expanded ceasefire, adding to the one Trump brokered last summer. And I love doing it. I love, it's like, I shouldn't say it's a hobby because it's so much more serious than a hobby, but it's something that I'm good at, and it's something I love to do. The United Nations should be doing this, but they don't do it. As if to underline the sense of frustration the Canadian delegation may feel, there was word tonight that the U.S. and China have reached an early consensus on a trade deal ahead of a possible meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping. Marie Brewster, CBC News, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

In Jamaica. A group of men haul fishing boats inland in the town of Port Royal. The island is preparing for Hurricane Melissa. The Category 4 storm is gathering strength as it heads for Jamaica's southern coast, bringing fears of powerful floods and storm search along with it. Boat Captain Douglas Butler says he's keeping calm. I don't worry when an hurricane coming on.

I just take things easy, you know. I know I worry myself. I have a lot of family. As long as I have my food can eat, that is the most important thing. For more on the preparations happening now in Jamaica, I spoke to freelance reporter Nick Davis in Kingston. Nick, what's the situation like where you are? At the moment, it is, I know it's a terrible cliche, but it's a calm before the storm. Well, it depends on whether or not you try and get to the supermarkets before they close.

A lot of the shelves are already bare in some places. Basic provisions, bread, water, toilet paper, people are stocking up because they don't know how long the storm is going to last. So going back to what you asked, what is the situation right at the moment? We know that the storm is massive. It's going to be the size of almost this entire country as it sweeps across. It's out to see at the moment. But eventually it's going to make its way inland.

And that's where the force is going to be felt. So not only with record-breaking storm surges, but also as it makes its way in land, to the possibility of the category 5, 150 plus mile an hour storm, sitting over the island for hours. And it's sitting over the island for hours or the slow movement of the storm, which has been so difficult to deal with. It's anxiety-inducing, to say the least,

because it gives you time to second-guess. It gives you time to try and work out. Are you eating all the food you're supposed to be saving? Do you have everything you need? Have you got enough candles? Are all your phones charged? And we also know that it's going to cause significant devastation. That's what we're hearing from the government.

So that's where we are at the moment. It's a sort of holding pattern, but one which is literally, it's got the entire country on 10 times. Hopefully that holding pattern, well, I understand it's anxiety-inducing, gives people a chance to prepare, gives the country a chance to prepare. How prepared do you think Jamaica is for this storm? What are emergency officials telling people ahead of the expected landfill? We just had the government giving an update on where we are. Many of the things you'd expect to hear, they're doing some last-minute emergency cleanup of some of the big drainage areas.

They're making sure that there is people who are homeless are being moved to shelters. They're going into some of the low-line communities because flooding is a major threat to life during this story. that's going into those communities and urging people to leave. The problem is that many times Jamaica's have heard us before. You know, every time there is a big storm, the government says it, and sometimes these storms have literally just blown past us.

But all of the modelling, all of the projections show that this is coming directly to Jamaica. It's literally going to pass through the centre of the country. There's hardly anywhere on the island which is not going to feel the strength of this storm. So because of that, that's one of the reasons. reasons why the government are urging people to get to shelter as quickly as they can. OK, Nick, thank you so much and stay safe. Thank you. That's freelance journalist Nick Davis in Kingston, Jamaica.

In Gaza. A group of Red Cross officials arrives in Han Yunus. The humanitarian group and an Egyptian technical team are now working to recover the bodies of 13 Israeli hostages. Israel is allowing them to go beyond the yellow line, where troops have pulled back under the ceasefire deal. The teams will be using excavator machines and trucks to search through rubble, something Hamas has said was necessary to find the hostages remains. Still ahead, a few Ontario cities are trying to take care of an old problem,

lead in pipes. It can make drinking water unsafe, but some of the ideas of how to fix the issue are going over, well, like a lead balloon. That story is coming up on your world tonight. The BC General Employees Union says a tentative deal has been reached with the provincial government to bring an end to a long-running strike. It has impacted everything from liquor distribution to fighting wildfires. The union's 34,000 members,

will now vote on the deal. If it's ratified, employees would get a wage increase of 3% each year for four years. More than 25,000 workers have been on some sort of job action for eight weeks. There is no deal in Alberta, but teachers could soon be forced back to the classroom. After three weeks of job action, the province is set to introduce back-to-work legislation tomorrow. Sam Sampson explains why it's not just teachers resisting. So long my friends, so long my friends. Edmonton elementary music teacher Tess Owen sings this at the end of every class. While she can't wait to sing for her students again, it'll be under tough circumstances.

It's really disheartening right now because we've been on strike for the last few weeks and we don't know if there's anything to show for it. It's demoralizing in a big way. There's going to be tears. The Alberta government plans to table back-to-work legislation. Monday. The province says it believes in a fair bargaining process, but feels the strike is causing students irreparable harm. The teachers union has said it was looking into legal options to fight back, but it's not just teachers waiting to see Monday's bill. Union leaders from industries

across Alberta worry something extra will be included. Don't you dare press the notwithstanding clause button. The notwithstanding clause is a section of the charter which would preemptively override court challenges. Neither the premier nor any ministers have said they would use the clause in this case. But in a letter to Daniel Smith, unions across the province warn of a, quote, unprecedented response if they do. Gil McGowan is the president of the Alberta Federation of Labor. It's not just bigger than the teacher's strike has the potential to be bigger than Alberta, because if we have a provincial government that uses a notwithstanding clause to crush the rights of workers, especially the right

to strike, then other governments, especially conservative governments and other provinces, will We'll see that as a precedent that they will follow. Labor experts like Christian Cook from Mount Royal University say if the bill passes, any strike action from teachers would be illegal, including work to rule, a tactic where teachers wouldn't do unpaid labor like coach sports or lead clubs. They could fine the association or the union representing the members. They can find individual members. So the consequences are actually very high for noncompliance.

Teachers want what students need. No matter what, it's unclear when teachers or students would go back, adding uncertainty to the mix for Tracy McNish, a teacher near Calgary who helped put up posters of support on Sunday. We're locked out right now, so the normal things that I would be doing to prepare to be in my classroom, I can't really do, I can't log into my accounts, I can't organize my Google classroom or anything like that. But what I want to do is just try, like, I'm really eager to see my students again.

750,000 students are also waiting to get back. They'll find out more tomorrow. Sam Sampson, CBC News, Edmonton. Many schools across the country are trying to shut the door on artificial intelligence in the classroom. But in New Brunswick, they're cautiously rolling out the welcome mat. The province has created guidelines for the responsible use of AI for its seven school districts. Oliver Pearson reports. Go down to the Bay of Funday at the low tide and put our hands up and try to hold the tide back.

It's no different. AI's no different. For Anglophone East School Superintendent Randolph McLean, keeping AI'd of the classroom is the same as holding back the high tides of the Bay of Fundy. Impossible. McLean has been thinking about the incoming tide of AI for a few years now. He started by a question that was asked by our student deck member, and he was a student at one of our high schools who did a presentation to us on artificial intelligence.

Now, McLean's district has built guardrails for the school community, which translates to almost 70 pages of guidelines outlining how administrators, teachers, students, and parents should approach AI. It includes province-approved tools, examples of how to use them, and what to avoid, like inputting personal information into AI tools. Within those guardrails, the district leaves AI application up to the user.

It's not a one-size-fits-all model. It's each teacher has their ideas, their thoughts, the curriculum, what that looks, like in their classroom, their skills, capacities, abilities, wonders, and thoughts, and the students alongside that will leverage that in their own way. Anglophone West in Francophone Northeast schools also have their own guides. John Hoyt Hallett is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Anglophone West. He says concerns that AI will do students work for them are less justifiable as assessment

practices change. Rather than relying solely on the product of learning, the finished product, an essay or a lab reporter or something to that effect, we're now shifting to a formative assessment approach where we focus on the process of learning. And that means redesigning lessons and redesigning learning environments that honor that learning process

and leveraging the power of AI within that. The province says AI should improve students' work, not do it for them. For teachers, classroom expectations should be established and students should get a walkthrough of tools before you. that planning for AI is ongoing, while training is already being offered to teachers. McLean's team is offering their own district training, which has been a hit. We sell out professional development opportunities for Artificial and Sellons Fest and the Taylor Swift concert sells out.

How are his district students and parents feeling? Well, they've been quite forward thinking. The feedback from our parents has been anytime a child comes home excited about school, excited to learn, and is successful. as parents, we're excited about that. Looking to the future as AI advances, District will keep their eye on it. Hoy Hallett says their guidelines will be assessed more frequently than other policies

that are reviewed annually. Oliver Pearson, CBC News, Frederton. Voters in Nunavut will elect their next territorial government on Monday, though few voters will likely determine the results. Nunavut has seen a decline in the number of people voting since the territory was created in 1999. Juanita Taylor looks at the factors behind this voter apathy. Maggie, how are you feeling about this election?

Pretty positive about it because I feel great, knowing that I will vote. Maggie Amarwalik from Senegal says she will go to the polls to make her vote count in Nunavut's seventh general election, and so will Iqaluit's Tina Kakki. She hopes many Nunavu Mute will do the same. This election, like with every other election, I hope the turnout is greater. We're always pressing for more voters to come out and cast their votes. Kaki is not wrong. Voter turnout has been steadily declining since the first Nunavut general election in 1999.

Manitou Thompson was one of Nunavut's first MLAs. Everybody was just so excited to be part of it, and then it started to go down. Thompson says the government's slow progress on important issues, like the high cost of living and a housing crisis is fueling voter apathy. I think they are not seeing any changes that are from their basic needs. Those are the people that go out to vote, but they're not going out anymore because they're not seeing any changes. And there's a lot of uninformed people who really don't care. About half of Nunavut's population is under 25 years old.

But the 2021 territorial election saw that youth had the lowest turnout. One national non-profit, non-partisan organization called New Majority, has been looking at trends around voter apathy in federal elections, including the North. Amanda Monday is the executive director. When a young person is stressed about finding employment, about stable housing, or about thinking of some of the issues they most care about, climate comes up a lot, as does mental health, you can imagine that systemic actions like voting don't rank on the top of your list. And that's reasonable. That's a rational, reasonable reaction to have.

Nunavut-Zibunik-Savut in Ottawa teaches Inuit youth about their land claim and their government. They've also been talking about what issues matter to them this election, like mental health, says 19-year-old Kianna Akpik from Iqaluit. There's a big youth problem going on in Nunavut. In June, the Legislative Assembly declared a suicide crisis. Very heartbreaking. I just think We should choose the candidate that focuses more on the youth. Other issues, Alia Aglucaq, also 19, is from Joe Haven. So one of the priorities that the government need to focus on is housing, because, you know, there's a lot of people in Nunavut that has overcrowding.

Another student, Maria Rose from Iqaluit, has a suggestion on how to get people out to vote. If we teach young people early on about the importance of exercising their right to vote and also teaching them how these organizations work and why their vote matters, I think it would help a lot of people realize that they do have a say in the way that their territory is run. Tina Kakik has some words of advice as Nunavu Mute heads to the polls on October 27th. Get out and vote. Why aren't you voting? Man, we need your votes. Get out there. Anita Taylor, CBC News, Yellowknife. The Canadian Environmental Law Association says on Taylor,

area municipalities should be doing more to remove lead from the water supply. The solution from cities so far? Passing a bylaw to make it mandatory for property owners to replace their old and unsafe lead pipes. But as Sarah Law reports, some people question the fairness and the cost of that approach. Kevin Duke says he didn't know his home had lead pipes until the city of Thunder Bay began handing out special pictures and filters to reduce the toxin in his water supply. The city replaced the main water line on his street a couple years ago, but from there to his water meter, it's all lead pipes. I highly doubt that I would be able to afford to get all that replaced. Before the mid-1950s,

lead service pipes were commonly used to connect people's homes to city water mains. Then research emerged about the dangers of lead to people's health. The National Plumbing Code of Canada banned lead piping in 1975 and lead solder in 1986. Still, the metal remains in many older homes across the country. As years go on, we're learning that lead is even more dangerous than we thought. Julie Mewis is a community outreach worker with the Canadian Environmental Law Association. It's calling on Ontario municipalities to take action because when lead pipes are only replaced on one side of a property line, the toxin comes to the surface. You've disrupted the lead line and there can be big particles coming into your house.

Hamilton is the only Ontario city with a bylaw that requires property owners to replace their lead pipes. It's enforced when the city replaces the publicly owned portion of the service line. Property owners are given financial support to help cover the costs. Several communities in Quebec and Saskatchewan have similar bylaws. One way to reduce lead is through corrosion control, but it's not always affecting. In 2018, the city of Thunder Bay added sodium hydroxide to the water supply to reduce lead levels. Then, people began to complain about pinhole leaks. Hundreds of homeowners experienced flooding and said the chemical was to blame.

The sodium hydroxide was removed, but a $350 million class action lawsuit is going through the courts. To absolutely solve this problem would cost an extraordinary amount of money. Thunder Bay City Councilor Andrew Fold says reducing lead is a top priority. A few years ago, he brought a resolution to council to introduce a loan and grant program to help people pay to replace their lead pipes. In his view, forcing property owners to do this through a bylaw doesn't seem fair. How do we make our financial incentives more accessible? The city offers a $1,500 grant to seniors and low-income earners.

But as a senior on a fixed income, Duke says that might not be enough. I think they should go by the home income and how much it's going to cost to get it done at that home. Thunder Bay has set aside $25 million over 20 years to replace its lead pipes. There are still thousands of lead service lines left to remove. Sarah Law, CBC News, Thunder Bay, Ontario. In Vancouver, plans to build a new home for the city's art gallery have been hitting speed bumps for years. Construction had already begun, but now the site has been repaved and turned back into a parking lot. The city says it's just a temporary measure as the art gallery goes back to the drawing board with new architecture.

attacks. Michelle Gassoub reports. At the site of what was supposed to be Vancouver's new art gallery, construction is back up and running after being paused for months. But instead of building up, the site is being flattened and repaved, turned into a parking lot once again. It just kind of leaves you wondering how will the momentum continue, especially when we kind of see the physicality of it being repaved. Amy Nugent is

the executive director of Urbanarium, a Vancouver nonprofit that studies urban planning and community design. She says seeing the space turned back into paid parking is a loss for the art community and a hit to the project that will be tough to reverse. We're kind of starting from zero again and new designs, you know, have to be created and approved. And in that time, will cost continue to increase? Will the government change? Like, everything is kind of, of anchored off of skyhooks right now. $60 million has been spent on the project with little to show for it. It's been over two decades since it was decided the art gallery needed a new site.

In 2013, Vancouver City Council picked a prime location in downtown Vancouver. A Swiss architecture firm was selected for the design, flashy renderings were released, and ground was broken on the project in March of 2024. But by August of the same year, costs had ballooned by 50%. to $600 million. Construction stalled. And in December, citing a lack of funds,

the plan was scrapped entirely and the Swiss architects removed. Since then, two new Canadian architects have been hired to come up with a brand new design. We're talking a lot about learning from the past and what's different now. Eva Raspini is the interim co-CEO. She says this time around will be different.

And we really spoke in depth to the architects in our interview process about designing to budget. And we feel really confident that with a kind of fiscal sustainability of the current moment that we can bring that forward and really bring this across the finish line, hopefully. Her co-CEO, C-EO, says new renderings could come by mid-20206. The build is expected to be much smaller and not as tall. We're going to say much less this time around, get our heads down, do the work. And when there's a significant and meaningful and accurate information to share, we will. Until shovels can be in the ground once again, Paradise will be paved.

And the site where the new gallery will stand will be parking. Michelle Gassoub, CBC News, Vancouver. I remember doing the time war. We're less than a week out from Halloween. What better way to celebrate spooky season than with a movie that's been in Inspiring fans to dress up and dance it out with a jump to the left and a step to the right for decades. Five decades, to be precise, since young couple Brad and Janet, played by Barry Boswick and a big-eyed Susan Sarandon, got lost after their car broke down. Look, I'm cold, I'm wet, and I'm just playing scared.

And ended up at the castle of Alien Mad Scientist Dr. Frank N. Ferder. Tim Curry, in his movie debut. The film, based on the stage musical, was a total box office flop in 1975. But it became a midnight movie sensation. And decades later, its campy blend of comedy and horror still sells out midnight screenings, where fans dress up, yell jokes, and you. Use props like noisemakers and water pistols during a rainstorm scene. It's still the longest-running theatrical release in film history,

with continuous screenings ever since that disastrous debut. There are plenty of 50th anniversary celebrations in The Works. Special screenings are happening in Winnipeg, Kitchener, and Toronto this week. For now, well, time is full. fleeting, and you can listen closely to your world tonight, but not for very much longer. So let's do the time warp again. Let's do the time war again. I'm Stephanie Scandaris. Good night.

Well, I was walking down the street, just a half of a thing. When a snake in the guy gave me an ego wink, he shooked me up, he took me by surprise, he had a pick up track. For more, eyes, he stared at me in a battle change. Time ain't nothing ever what I can. Let's do the time of again.