Your World Tonight - WestJet uncertainty, migrants return from Ceuta, sports equipment libraries, and more

Episode Date: July 31, 2026

WestJet has started parking its jets. There’s been no strike or lockout, but also still no deal. Reporter Nisha Patel has the story of how Canadians are preparing for their travel to be disrupted.Also: Spanish officials say most of the tens of thousands of migrants who crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta have returned to Morocco. But thousands are still there, and some of Spain’s European neighbours say the country should face consequences.And: Imagine walking up to a park locker, tapping your phone, and grabbing a soccer ball or frisbee — for free. The cost of equipment is a barrier to getting kids into sports. But there are options.Plus: Questions about Gaza agreement, Haitians in Canada worry for relatives in the U.S., Anthropic AI hacking, and more.

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We booked a flight the next day with a different airline. We decided we'll just kind of roll the dice and see how it plays out. Travel uncertainty. WestJet begins parking planes ahead of a potential labor dispute. That's leaving customers with difficult choices, like whether to rebook on another airline at a higher price on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. This is your world tonight.

It's Friday, July 31st, just before 6 p.m. Eastern. I'm Kiberley Gail, also on the podcast. I really want to see her, this is our destiny. Heading home, tens of thousands of migrants voluntarily returned to Morocco after forcing their way into Spain's Ceuta enclave by land and sea. The Spanish army says it is regaining control, but shock and division in European politics persist. On the eve of a summer-long weekend,

And relaxation will be a challenge for the hundreds of thousands of air travelers booked with WestJet in the near future. Locked in a labor dispute with its flight attendance, the clock ticking on a 72-hour deadline, the airline is now parking some of its fleet to prepare for a full labor disruption. And travelers are anxiously waiting to see whether their flights will be canceled. Nisha Patel reports. This Canadian Youth Choir is booked for travel to Sweden on Tuesday. 91 kids and their chaperones set to compete in the World Choir games.

But if their WestJet flight is cancelled, they may not make it there. We're quite nervous about this because we've invested $90,000 in airfare through WestJet. Sonia Hindmarsh, director of Pacific Voices Choir based in Abbotsford, B.C., says the group has been planning and practicing for more than a year. We can't ask families to pay another thousand or $2,000 to get their kid on another flight. We looked into alternative routes and other airlines, and it just always came back to the financial reality, and now our hands are tied. They're just some of the thousands of Canadians whose summer vacations are up in the air. Westjet flight attendants could strike after 12.01 a.m. Mountain time on Sunday, or they could be locked out by the airline.

This is an extremely busy weekend for travel in Canada. Travel agent McKenzie McMillan says customers can change or cancel if they're flying now through August 4th, though they may only get a credit. If WestJet grounds planes during a strike, it's required to refund passengers or rebook them on a different airline. As we get into the weekend, options are going to be quite limited. So it's going to be a case of packing your patients. WestJet started parking Boeing 737 aircraft across its network today, preparing its operations for a range of possible outcomes. McMillan says international flights are often the first to be cancelled in this type of situation.

The airline doesn't want to risk having their aircraft and cruise stranded overseas. At Toronto's Pearson International Airport, some travelers seem to be taking it all in stride. We booked a flight the next day with a different airline. We decided we'll just kind of roll the dice and see how it plays out. In the event of a widespread work stoppage, WestJet says it will reach out to affected customers by email.

Negotiations between the airline and the union continue. In a message posted on social media, the union says it hopes to resolve the labor dispute. Issuing strike notice does not mean a strike is inevitable. and both parties remain at the bargaining table. That remains our goal. At the airport in St. John's, these travellers are sympathetic to the flight attendants

who say they aren't compensated for the hours they work before a flight takes off. I would support them in that. I think that people should be paid for the work they do. It's on the workers to have the right to strike, so we'll see what happens. Though they hope a deal gets done with as little disruption as possible.

Nisha Patel, CBC News, Toronto. Donald Trump says Hamas has, agreed to completely disarm if Israel first withdraws from Gaza. The U.S. President is calling it a historic breakthrough. But as Sasha Petrissik reports, major questions remain over whether the plan can be implemented. Nearly 10 months after a deal negotiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, Gazans are still waiting for that promised peace between Hamas militants and Israel. They're skeptical of a new agreement to implement the original conditions. I'm not optimistic, says Marwa Al-Garabli. They tell us a different lie every few days while we suffer.

I want this to be real, says Zahar al-Dawar, because for years Israeli and Palestinian leaders have been lying to us. For most Gazans, it's as if the war never ended. Israeli air strikes, like this one on a mosque and refugee camp this week, have continued regularly, with Israel insisting it's after Hamas. Gaza officials say more than a thousand Palestinians have died since October. Most Gazans still live in tents or rubble, scrambling for food and fuel, squeezed between militants, who have refused to give up weapons, as they promised nine months ago,

and Israeli forces still holding more of Gaza than they promised. Trump says his new plan is a commitment from both sides to keep those promises. So it's a big step for the Middle East, and people are really impressed by it, and they're surprised by you. Under the Trump-appointed Board of Peace, Hamas has agreed to give up weapons, but only if they stay with a new palatislavis. Palestinian administration. As for Israel, it has not publicly committed to withdraw. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government had vowed to stay in Gaza, a popular position among many Israelis, leading into elections this fall. Nadir Hashemi is a Mideast expert at Georgetown University.

And the real question here is how far is the American president willing to go to pressure Netanyahu to agree to the terms of the ceasefire that were negotiated last October, but really haven't been implemented, especially on the Israeli side. Many don't trust either side to carry through on Trump's pronouncement. I'm highly skeptical about the deal. Canada's former ambassador to Israel, John Allen. Lots of promises by the president, but a lot of controversy about what exactly is going to happen.

or how much longer gazes will live in a war zone. Sasha Petrosic, CBC News, Toronto. Coming right up, thousands of migrants make their way home to Morocco after entering Spain's tiny enclave in North Africa. Plus, AI deja vu. Experts are raising the alarm after another incident of artificial intelligence models breaking loose and hacking into other networks.

And later, we'll have this story. I'm Shee and Desailles de Tos in Toronto. New equipment lockers are popping up that let people borrow things like soccer balls, footballs, and frisbys for free. The aim to make sports more accessible. If there wasn't a need, we wouldn't see the astronomical numbers that we're seeing, like literally hundreds of thousands of hours of sport participation because this equipment is now available for free in communities from coast to coast to coast. With plans to keep expanding.

I'll have that story later on your role tonight. The army is slowly reestablishing order in Seuta, the Spanish territory in North Africa. As many as 60,000 people forced their way into the enclave from neighboring Morocco yesterday, many of them swimming in the open sea. Chaos broke out on both sides of the border, but today, after squaring off with police, tens of thousands of would-be job seekers gave up and returned to Morocco. Anna Cunningham has more. They arrived by six.

sea in their tens of thousands. Some Moroccan migrants in wetsuits, some swimming several kilometres to get around the barriers meant to stop them. Others less confident made land in inflatable rings, now littering the small beach of Sauta. Dozens drowned at sea. All the shops are clothes. There's no food. There's nothing, says Isam, who says he crossed in hope of a different life and a job. For those who reached the tiny patch of Spanish land in North Africa, they clambered up rocky cliff faces, sun breaking through border fences. But this was not the welcome many expected. Throughout the day and night, thousands roamed the streets. Spain drafting in the military and police reinforcements. In Morocco

at the border, some vehicles were set alight. Police chased those who tried to cross. For those who made it, Seuta, the message from locals was clear. Residents angered by the sudden influx of migrants. There was confusion too from Moroccans. Karim says he heard the border was open, but he was stopped by Spanish police. We don't understand what's really going on. Fatima from Tangiers says she got the same message

and thought she would try her luck. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived in Ceuta to a chilly reception. Sanchez called what happened an attack, a violation of Spain's territorial integrity, he said. He blamed criminal networks of people smugglers, purposefully spreading misinformation about a recent Supreme Court ruling for their own gains. That court ruling said migrants stopped at sea could not be summarily returned to Morocco. Many of those who entered the Spanish territory were men, but families also crossed. There is concern about the number of children.

We are worried about children who might have crossed by themselves, non-accompanied. Jennifer Zepiroli from Save the Children Spain tells CBC News from Valencia. Soparoli says they estimate some 7,000 children arrived. Children cannot be left alone. She says there is now an urgency to identify and protect. those who remain. By the end of the day, tens of thousands had left the Spanish enclave and returned to Morocco. The crisis has added fresh fuel to Europe's hot debate on immigration. Italy responded harshly to the Spanish incident, the Italian foreign minister announcing it's temporarily suspending the EU's open border free travel arrangement with Spain.

It has reintroduced border checks by air and sea for those arriving from Spain. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney said the scenes in Ceuta was shocking and uncontrolled migration was a security threat to Europe. Denmark and Finland have threatened the same punitive action. The Spanish military and police continue patrolling the coastline off Seutu. Anna Cunningham, CBC News, London. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians across the US are bracing for deportation amid reports of imminent ice crackdowns. Their temporary protected status has expired, a decision made by Donald Trump last year and supported, more recently, by the U.S. Supreme Court. As Natalia Vikesel reports,

that American decision has Canadian implications. It's stressful and really hard, says this woman who's originally from Haiti. CBC is not naming her because of the uncertainty around her immigration status for the past two years, she's been living in the United States. She says she's scared of being deported back to Haiti. So this past weekend, she crossed the border into Canada as an asylum seeker. The Trump administration has scrapped a program that has let Haitians live and work in the U.S. since 2010.

Now, more than 300,000 Haitians are losing their right to stay in the country. She says her dream is to continue her studies in Canada, become a nurse and live a normal life. It's awful. It's awful. I cannot expect it. It's very awful. Ceri Jean-Baptiste is the immigration coordinator at Montreal's Haitian Community Center. He says he's been receiving tons of calls from people in the U.S. who are living in fear of being picked up by ICE agents. They're real on stress. They don't go out. They stay in their apartment. Jean-Baptiste says people are scrambling to find a way to leave.

but seeking refuge north of the border is not easy. Julia Sand is a lawyer with Amnesty International. The problem is that under the safe third country agreement, many people would then be pushed back to the United States. She says that most migrants trying to enter Canada from the U.S. are often not allowed entry into the country. The only way people can stay is if they have a family member in Canada or if they're traveling alone and are under the age of 18.

Sand says it's assumed that asylum seekers can find protection south of the border. It's an extremely alarming situation in the U.S. Gary Srinivasaan is the co-executive director for the Canadian Council for Refugees. She says Canada should revisit its rules. It is long past time for us to reconsider this human rights agreement between Canada and the U.S. that pretends that the U.S. is a safe third place. Srinivasa says, until that happens, thousands of Haitians will inevitably be sent back to a country facing violence and instability.

In a statement, immigration, refugees, and refugees, Citizenship Canada says that it takes its international obligations regarding asylum seekers extremely seriously. The IRCC says it's monitoring the border closely for any increase in crossings and is prepared to respond appropriately. Natalia Vikes-L, CBC News, Montreal. Anthropics says several of its state-of-the-art AI models broke into computer systems at three outside organizations. It comes just days after Open AI disclosed that one of its new models had hacked into an AI online platform. As Tom Perry reports, some technology experts are calling

the incidents a warning. It seems like it has been a bit of a holy crap moment for some people inside the company, which I think is appropriate. Helen Toner, director of the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., says the fact AI models are breaking free and acting on their own to hack into online networks should be setting off alarm bells. AI technology right now, she says, can be reined in, but things are changing fast. The reason to be concerned is that the AI systems in question are getting more and more capable, more and more autonomous, more and more able to persistently and creatively and creatively pursue complex goals. The AI firm Anthropic revealed on Thursday several of its AI models that are

still in testing infiltrated the online systems of three unnamed organizations without the company knowing. Anthropic only found out when it launched a review after another firm. OpenAI recently announced some of its models had broken out of what's known as the sandbox, a closed internal network and onto the internet, where they hacked into an online AI library called Hugging Face. I truly think that, you know, they realized that it was a very unprecedented event. Clement Delang is Hugging Face CEO. Everyone has to remember that the cyber attack is a crime. This is illegal and we have to find a way to make sure these things don't happen more regularly. Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI, says AI firms need to step up security

and slow down the pace at which AI is evolving. This is all moving very fast and this is a very dangerous situation. Steinhauser says governments need to demand greater transparency from AI firms with mandatory testing and evaluation of new and developing AI models. And we want to see the White House have the ability, potentially, to tell the companies they have to pause development of certain models or even stop developing certain models if it is warranted. U.S. President Donald Trump has, by and large, taken a hands-off approach to AI regulation, though, these incidents of AI models breaking loose,

has had him lately talking about greater government control. In an open letter posted this week, more than a thousand employees of several leading AI labs called on the U.S. government to do more and support an international effort to control the pace of AI development before it's too late. Tom Perry, CBC News, Washington. The federal government is given the green light to a new mine in northern Ontario. The Crawford Nickel Project is the first mine approved under Ottawa's major projects office, fast-track process. Canada Nichols says 5,000 jobs will be created during construction and another

1,300 when operating. An impact assessment found the mine would cause several environmental concerns. They include harming bird and fish habitats as well as water quality. But a statement by the Environment Minister says the benefits outweigh the potential effects. Heavy storms and record rainfall in Edmonton have caused a lot of damage this summer. From flooded basements and downed trees to ruined outdoor events. And of course, the summer's not over yet. As Stephanie Kramm reports, the city is already estimating this summer storms could cost up to $30 million in repairs.

After weeks of heavy storms, Edmonton is cleaning up the mess. City manager Eddie Robar says conditions this year are unlike anything he's seen before. I used to live in Halifax. It rains all the time there. Not like this. Been in hurricanes that didn't look like that incident on Saturday. That storm bringing an abrupt end to a post-Malone concert. Now the cleanup and repairs could cost the city upwards of $30 million. From an infrastructure or an impact or a money perspective, we're seeing bigger impact from the rain in the summer here than we had in the winter.

Some of that costs going towards cleaning up downed trees. I'm sure every Edmontonian has noticed all the tree branches and fallen trees as a result of the extreme weather. Our crews are working around the clock to address that. Craig McHughan with the City of Edmonton, he says the amount of rain has saturated the soil, leaving nowhere for any new precipitation to go. But the truth is, even when everything is working perfectly, the amount of rainfall that we've had is really putting a lot of stress on our system. Usually this time of year, Edmonton is dealing with dry, hot conditions.

Not this level of precipitation, says Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor. So far, we've had 533.8 millimeters of precipitation. That's a record amount for a summer. With weekend conditions looking to be just as wet, Edmonton's Heritage Festival is preparing for the worst. Certainly in a site like Horlock Park, it's a large, vast area, and can pose some challenges in clearing it out in time. Executive Director Rob Rohattan says they have a plan. If a storm rolls in, they have buses standing by to rush people out.

And we'll work with the pavilions to ensure that the site is cleared in advance of any inclement or incoming weather activity. Brian Proctor says it's still too early to tell if these wet, windy conditions will become the norm for Edmonton summers. We should probably be expecting more severe weather in the summertime moving forward. But I wouldn't necessarily say it's going to be record-setting every year. We should expect them this every year. Mayor Andrenac says the city is preparing for the ongoing impacts of climate change. We need to continue to invest in the flood mitigation work and why we need to continue to make sure that is part of every decision we make.

As for August, conditions are expected to be less severe, giving the city of the city of bit of time to dry out. Stephanie Cram, CBC News, Edmonton. Hundreds more people have been ordered to evacuate their properties in the BC interior. The Pear Lake Wildfire is still out of control near the village of Clinton. It's burned more than 732 square kilometers, and widespread warming and drying conditions of the weekend are expected to make the situation worse. More than 30 evacuation orders are in place across BC, and more than 100 wildfires are burning. Imagine walking up to a park locker, tapping your phone and grabbing a soccer ball or frisbee to borrow for a quick game.

For many families, the rising cost of equipment is the biggest barrier to getting kids into sports. A growing number of Canadian communities are rolling out sports gear libraries to get more kids playing. The CBC's Cheyenne Desjardin reports. It may seem like a really simple idea, but the impact we know will be significant. By making sports more accessible, says Kitchener Ontario Mayor Barry Vibanovic, unveiling a new sports locker at a local park. Unlocked, there we go. It sort of looks like a vending machine. Select the shelf of which equipment you would like to use.

A soccer ball, football, and a frisbee stacked inside that anyone can borrow for free using an app on your phone. For many families, the cost of sporting equipment can be a barrier to participation. There are now 30 of these lockers. in this city alone. In the two weeks leading up to this week's official launch, early data shows they were opened more than 800 times. That tells us that we are, A, meeting an unmet need by providing free equipment to kids, but B, we have our work cut out for us. Canadian Tire Jumpstart charities partnered with Equip Sport for the initiative.

Jumpstart president, Marco DiBuano, says the very first locker opened in Surrey, BC, back in 2025. Now, hundreds are sprinkled across British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, with more expansions underway. If there wasn't a need, we wouldn't see the astronomical numbers that we're seeing, like literally hundreds of thousands of hours of sport participation because this equipment is now available for free in communities from coast to coast to coast. The items in the lockers are geared to the communities they serve. So some have basketballs, there's volleyball, and ping pong paddles. And Canada's Secretary of Steve for Sport, Adam Vancouverden, is a big fan. It's having a tremendous impact. The federal government is also investing in sport accessibility, just this week announcing millions

towards upgrading the Olympic skating oval in Calgary, ski racing and snowboard facilities in Quebec, Yukon, Alberta, and B.C. And to help build community soccer pitches across the country. I think sports are right. I think physical activity is essential. So investing in swimming lessons today might be, you know, in 12 or 15 years, that might be an Olympic athlete. You never know. But sport marketing professor Sherry Bradish says even if initiatives like free sport lockers don't lead to medals down the road.

It creates opportunities that weren't there that are important for youth at this time. At a park in Brampton, Ontario, the walkers appear to be catching on. It's a good idea. I like it. Yeah, we might probably be using it yet. The Akkad Wahid is here kicking a ball around with a son, and 11-year-old Daniel is sold, saying he'll be back for more soccer soon. She and Aung-A, CBC News, Toronto. And finally, Ottawa band The SEPter rocking out last week, twin guitar shredding, a colorful light show, and hair-blowing fans. The six members are everything you'd expect from a heavy metal show, less so the venue.

They're performing at an Ottawa hospital at their request. of a 27-year-old patient. When we were talking about his illness and, you know, what his life is and what he's missing in his life, and I asked him, how do you want to live? And part of the conversation was I'd really like to see a heavy metal concert. That's the clinical chaplain at Brouillier Health, Rochein Lawson, on her conversation with Tim Berry.

She told CBC Ottawa's All in a Day that the longtime patient had received some bad health news and was dwelling on what he was. he'd missed out on. So Lawson made it her mission to get him to a show. We realized that he was too medically fragile to send out, but not too medically fragile to be at a concert and rock out. She got in touch with a local venue to see if a heavy metal band would play at the hospital. The Scepter gave a quick yes. Josh Collins is a guitarist with the group. Well, I was honored first to definitely warm my heart that they thought of me.

The venue was smaller than the band was used to, and exactly. executive boardroom, a location that wouldn't disturb other patients, but they made it work. There was enough space. We're six guys in there, so sometimes it can be a bit tight, but we had enough space with all the lights and stuff to still move around and, you know, go up to the patients and give them a little taste of our heavy metal mite. The guest of honor, Tim Berry, was in his element taking in the concert from a stretcher in the front row. Chaplin Lawson says for patients like Barry, it's important to consider what they experience, not just their medical treatments.

It was probably one of the best things I've ever experienced as a chaplain. It just blew me away and also to see all these guys, these tough, heavy metal guys with tears in their eyes and recognizing that we humanized that patient. Thanks for being with us. This has been your world tonight for Friday, July 31st. I'm Kimberly Gale. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.