Your World Tonight - Who’s in and out of Liberal leadership, border politics, ceasefire talks, and more

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

More Liberals are declaring their intentions in relation to the party’s leadership race. Christy Clark and François-Philippe Champagne say they are out. Karina Gould is rumoured to be in. One big name — Mark Carney — flirted with the idea on The Daily Show with John Stewart. He’s expected to make an announcement on Thursday.And: Premiers say they want to know the federal plans for border security and economic stability ahead of Trump’s administration taking power on Monday. Trump announced his own plan: The External Revenue Service. He says it will be created on January 20th, to collect tariffs.Also: “On the edge”, “on the brink”, “on the verge” — all the “almost there” phrases are being trotted out to describe the state of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza. Families on both sides are watching… and hoping.Plus: Los Angeles fires still not contained, intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia, dismantling DEI, and more.

Hey there, I'm David Common. If you're like me, there are things you love about living in the GTA... and things that drive you absolutely crazy. Every day on This Is Toronto, we connect you to what matters most about life in the GTA, the news you gotta know, and the conversations your friends will be talking about. Whether you listen on a run through your neighbourhood, or while sitting in the parking lot that is the 401, check out This Is Toronto, wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC podcast. I will have more to say in the coming days,

but I think it is extremely important that we have a younger voice in the race who can relate to people where they are and the struggles that they're facing today. It's a bit like the hokey pokey in Ottawa. Some liberal contenders are putting their feet in, some are taking them out, some might be in but are still shaking it all about. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Tuesday, January 14th, coming up on 6pm Eastern, also on the podcast. Just pray and ask you, the whole world, to sign, to do it, just to do it.

We have to make sure this tragedy is finished. Cautious optimism that an end to the fighting might actually be close in the Middle East. Some details have leaked out about the timing of a ceasefire and a hostage release, plans for reconstruction, but as has happened before, it could all still fall apart. it could all still fall apart. The Liberal leadership race is beginning to narrow. Two of the anticipated candidates say they're not running, while another two are hinting they soon will be. Tom Perry has the latest on the bid to replace the Prime Minister. Former Governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England,

please welcome to the program Mark Carney. Sir! Not an official campaign launch, but pretty close. Mark Carney appearing on the popular U.S. cable program, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, To Talk Canadian Politics, and the Liberal Party post Justin Trudeau. Are they looking for a new leader? to talk Canadian politics, and the Liberal Party post Justin Trudeau.

Are they looking for a new leader? I think they might be, John. Sir, may I recommend to you, with your charm and debonair wit, yet strong financial backbone, that you offer yourself as... have you offered yourself as as leader I just started thinking about it

Carney who told Stewart he considers himself a political outsider is expected to officially announce his bid to succeed Trudeau this week but while he's in others are out I've been touched by the number of Canadians who have reached out across the country. Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne today told a business audience in Toronto that after considering a leadership run, he's decided to sit out this race. It was probably one of the most difficult decision in my life, but I think it's the right one at the right time. Champagne's absence leaves the Liberals without a high-profile Quebec candidate,

but Champagne was not the only contender to bow out today. Former BC Premier Christy Clark says she's made the difficult decision to step back, saying there's not enough time to mount a successful campaign, while acknowledging her French isn't good enough to effectively communicate with francophone voters. Other would-be contenders are still weighing their options. Will you be running for the leadership? I will have more to say in the coming days. Government House leader Karina Gould is expected to run at 37 years old.

She would be the youngest candidate in the race. I think it is extremely important that we have a younger voice in the race who can relate to people where they are and the struggles that they're facing today. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is also thinking about running, as is former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is expected to enter the race as a top contender sometime before next Monday, when Donald Trump takes over as U.S. President and turns American and Canadian politics upside down.

Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Justin Trudeau will not be at the inauguration. Instead, he has announced a cabinet retreat where the focus will be Trump's new administration and threats to impose steep tariffs on Canadian goods during his first day back in office. Canada's political leaders have been talking about strengthening the border in the hopes of changing Trump's mind. The premiers will meet with the Prime Minister tomorrow in Ottawa. Olivia Stefanowicz reports. When our largest trading partner identifies some challenges in his mind

around border security at the 49th parallel, we pay attention. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, the latest provincial leader to unveil a border plan. Just days before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House and as one of his first orders of business expected to make his tariff threat a reality. We export 65 percent about 30 billion dollars of Saskatchewan products go to the US and so we pay attention. Moe says Saskatchewan will redeploy 16 provincial police officers to surveil a shared border with Montana and North Dakota. We have to be ready.

Meanwhile, Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnerdel says more Surretaidu Quebec officers are being sent to the U.S. in a plan to fight organized crime near the border. We have to be prepared. We have to be prepared for the new administration after the 21st of January and see after that what will happen. With the clock ticking ever closer to Trump's inauguration, none of the provinces appear to be convinced their collective response will prevent the inevitable. The federal government, I have to say, they're going to be blunt. they need to get their act together. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his province is at risk of losing up to half a million jobs.

He railed against Ottawa and its border plan this morning. We heard a number thrown out there 1.3 billion dollars for our border protection. I've yet to see anything. But after meeting face to face with federal finance and intergovernmental affairs minister Dominic LeBlanc, Ford changed his tune dramatically. We just had a really really positive meeting. The federal plan includes helicopters, drones and mobile surveillance towers for enhanced 24-7 surveillance at the Canada-US border. More money for the RCMP and more boots on the ground as well as more canine units to search for fentanyl at the border.

LeBlanc already presented the details to the incoming Trump administration and says he emphasized tariffs will hurt American consumers more than Canadians. This sort of race to the basement doesn't help anybody. So far the tariff threat continues to loom large, with Trump taking to social media today to announce he will create a new government agency, the External Revenue Service, to collect tariffs as his team plans to slowly ramp up taxes on its trading partners month by month. Olivia Stefanovic, CBC News, Ottawa. Donald Trump's controversial pick for defense secretary faced tough questions at a Senate

confirmation hearing today. Pete Hegseth is a military veteran with an Ivy League education. But much of his professional experience is as a TV host, and there are allegations of sexual assault and heavy drinking. Paul Hunter has more from Washington. You are a misogynist. Not only that. You are a misogynist. Not only that. Pete Hegseth had barely begun his opening statement when demonstrators in the hearing room shouted in protest multiple times, highlighting the divide in this country over Donald Trump's choice

to be the next U.S. Secretary of Defense. I joined the military because I love my country. The one-time soldier turned Fox News presenter has faced allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking, and he's suggested women have no place in combat roles. Hegseth is now in line to run the biggest, most powerful military on the planet. On the past allegation of sexual assault, a media smear campaign, he said, though adding, I'm not a perfect person, but redemption is real.

For many, part of the appeal of Hegseth is that he is not a Washington insider. But Democrats attacked relentlessly on multiple fronts. Here's Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat from New York. I have many concerns about your record and particularly your public statements because they are so hurtful to the men and women who are currently serving in the US military. I've never disparaged women serving in the military. I respect every single female service member that is put on the uniform past and present. And here's Maisie Hirono, Democrat from Hawaii.

I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work. Senator, those are multiple false anonymous reports. And on that past accusation of sexual assault. I was falsely accused in October of 2017. It was fully investigated and I was completely cleared. That your own lawyer said that you entered into an NDA and paid a person who accused you of raping her some money to make sure that she did not file a complaint. Republican senators were having none of it.

Rising to Hegseth's defense throughout the hearing, Senator Markwayne Mullen is from Oklahoma. The senator from Virginia starts bringing up the fact that what if you showed up drunk to your job? How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Indeed, despite the expected fierce pushback from Democrats, Republicans with the majority on the committee stood firm. With that, Hegseth is now all but certain to be confirmed.

Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. Coming up on the podcast, the nerve-wracking watch for a ceasefire in Israel and in Gaza. People wait to see if negotiations will lead to a deal, bracing for more fires in LA and diversity programs under threat in the U.S. A look at what's happening here. There are dueling demonstrations in Israel tonight as a ceasefire agreement with Hamas appears close. Thousands in Tel Aviv are pushing the Israeli government to get it done while people opposed to a truce blocked traffic in Jerusalem. This as negotiators

continue to hammer out the details of a deal that could end more than 15 months of suffering for the people of Gaza and finally bring Israeli hostages home. Senior international correspondent Margaret Evans has more. More smoke rising above Gaza today. The path towards a ceasefire still clouded for now, even though diplomats are still insisting it's closer than ever. Hard to be optimistic for Palestinians in Gaza, trying to survive Israeli bombs still raining down. At least nine people were killed in a house hit by an Israeli airstrike in Hanunis in the early hours of this morning,

including two small children and a pregnant woman. Our hope hinges on this truce, says Basil al-Masri. We urge all parties to implement what's been agreed so we can go back to our homes. And in Israel, hard too for the families of hostages who've now been held in Gaza for over a year to dare to hope, disappointed time and again. We know that the next few hours are critical a year to dare to hope, disappointed time and again.

We know that the next few hours are critical and time is of the essence. In Jerusalem, some met with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, angry that the deal being negotiated now would see only a phased release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. They want all 94 hostages, including the bodies of 34 believed to be deceased, released at once. Gil Dickman's cousin Carmel Gatt was killed in Hamas captivity. And we are demanding to agree upon all the stages of negotiation and get all the hostages back. We don't want more hostages left behind.

And we don't want to hear about more hostages being killed in captivity like my cousin. In the United States, as the clock ticks down towards the end of Joe Biden's administration and the start of Donald Trump's, officials from both sides of the presidential coin are claiming credit for the progress they believe is being made now. This was US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier today. And whether we get there in the remaining days of our administration or after January 20th, I believe the deal will follow closely the terms of the agreement that President Biden put forward last May and our administration rally the world behind.

An anguishing thought for all those who have lost loved ones in the interim and a reminder of the potential for any agreement being talked up just as it was back then to fail at the last hurdle. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. Dangerously high winds have picked up again in Los Angeles. They're expected to stay that way for the next 24 hours. The winds coupled with severely dry conditions are threatening to ignite new wildfires as firefighters battle to contain the existing ones. Cameron McIntosh has the latest from California. wildfires as firefighters battle to contain the existing ones. Cameron McIntosh has the latest from California. High in the hills over Malibu, Kim Bubbs is clearing brush from around her home.

I haven't even had a chance to really feel any emotion yet because you're just on high alert all the time. What's going to happen now? Originally from Oakville, she's just outside the evacuation area, but well within an area authorities warn could be in danger next if the winds really pick up. So it's been very, uh, harrowing, um, very difficult. My daughter's school burned down, so it's hard on the on the kids. Add to that there have been two recent arrests here for arson. It's unbelievable to me.

Massive wildfires stubbornly continue to burn around Los Angeles. A recent calming of winds has allowed firefighters to shore up their lines, but the fires are not contained. The fickle Santa Ana wind has authorities worried. The worst winds are predicted today for the late afternoon and into Wednesday. The National Weather Service's warning of a particularly dangerous situation gusts up to 100 km an hour from the northeast that could fan the flames back up. Along the Pacific Coast Highway, hundreds of fire trucks sent from across North America

are on standby in beach parking lots as thousands of firefighters including Canadians brace for what may come next all while the extent of the damage so far is coming into focus with entire neighborhoods destroyed. I just put my hands in there and grabbed this burning piece of wood and ripped it off the house. In the Pacific Palisades Robert Trinkeller managed to save his home once most of the other homes here have burned to their foundations. He's defying a mandatory evacuation order in case he has to save it again. And I could not handle it being destroyed so I don't know how I would have dealt with that. That comes with real risk. At least 24 people are dead with others missing.

Search and rescue workers with cadaver dogs are conducting grid searches. It's active, not easy work. The good news was that no other remains were found yesterday. Back in Malibu, Bub's neighbour, Jonathan Toker, originally from Montreal, has been through this before. How many feet of hose do you have? I have about 650 feet right now available. Six years ago, he lost a shed but kept a wildfire from taking his home.

He has some light firefighting equipment and is prepared to do it again. So you're not going to save the valley here but you are maybe going to be able to get a little bit of a jump on a hot spot. Exactly. Not going to save the valley but could save structures. Everyone now just waiting on the wind. Cameron McIntosh, CBC News, Malibu. NATO countries are deploying frigates, aircraft and naval drones in the Baltic Sea. Russia has been accused of multiple acts of sabotage in the sea since the invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. Last month Finnish police seized a tanker carrying Russian oil. They say the

vessel damaged a power line and four telecom cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Safeguarding our infrastructure is of utmost importance. Not only is this crucial for energy supply, better from power cables or pipelines, but more than 95 percent of internet traffic is secured via undersea cables. And 1.3 million kilometers of cables guarantee an estimated $10 trillion worth of financial transactions every day. NATO members are also considering using sanctions against what they call Russia's Shadow Fleet.

The murders are unrelated, but they share one disturbing similarity. Six Nova Scotia women killed by their male partners all within the past three months. The latest just this past weekend. Advocates are calling for immediate action and took their demands to the province today. Kayla Hounsell reports on what they say is needed to prevent intimate partner violence. In North Preston, Nova Scotia a church overflows as an entire community gathers to remember a 40 year old woman and her father both shot and killed by her boyfriend on New Year's Eve. I'll stay sweet tight, my cousin.

Even as they remember Coralie Smith who went by Alicia and Bradford Downey, family and friends share a critical message. We need to do everything we can to eliminate domestic violence from our behavioural responses and species. Smith is one of six women killed by their partners in Nova Scotia within just three months. In October, Brenda Tatlock-Burke was killed by her husband, a retired RCMP officer. Two weeks later, Nicole Murphy was killed by her partner in their home. Six days after that, another woman was killed also at home. Then there was Smith, found dead inside a car on New Year's Eve. Last week, Elaine Moser was killed in Mahone Bay.

And just three days ago, a 22-year-old woman was killed in Kings County. David Corkham is the mayor. Almost everybody knows everybody and certainly everyone in that subdivision would have been probably touched by these people. In the latest case, a man has been charged with second-degree murder and arson with disregard to human life. In all of the other cases, the men died by suicide. The motion is carried.

In September, the Nova Scotia legislature passed a bill declaring domestic violence an epidemic. Domestic violence was also a focus for the Mass Casualty Commission examining the mass shooting in the province in 2020. The MCC heard the gunman had a history of domestic violence and had seriously assaulted his spouse moments before he began his 13-hour rampage and killed 22 people. We can't wait for another tragedy to act. And a St. Croix is with the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia. Members signed a letter last week calling for a meeting with government that took place today.

I think without tangible action coming out of that legislation and coming out of the Mass Casualty Commission recommendations, they remain largely symbolic. The government says it is committed to implementing solutions. As another woman is laid to rest, advocates say more mental health supports, safe and affordable housing and poverty reduction are all necessary to prevent even one more death at the hands of an intimate partner. Rest in peace, love and peace, I love you forever.

Kayla Hounsell, CBC News, Halifax. Discussions of human resource policies can be pretty bland, rarely generating news headlines. But there's one big exception, diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI. It's become a major front in America's culture wars and a source of controversy in this country too. But as some employers move to drop DEI following Donald Trump's re-election, one of the largest companies in the world is pushing back. Business reporter Anis Hadari explains. I feel so great about what we're delivering.

That's Apple CEO Tim Cook launching the iPhone 16 back in September, one of the many products generating billions of dollars for the tech giant. But despite high revenues, a demand for change was submitted to the company's annual general meeting. A U.S.-based conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, is asking the company's shareholders to abolish its inclusion and diversity program. But Apple's board recommends they stick to it. Costco's board of directors in the U.S. got a similar request to Apple, also from a conservative think tank. Costco is also sticking behind its DEI policies. I hear organizations like Apple say no this is

actually really important to us this is a lens that we use to ensure that we have the best people. Erin Davis is an inclusion strategist and consultant based in Edmonton. She says she thinks it's courageous for companies like Apple to stand behind their diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the face of political wins in the U.S. She also says it could come to Canada. And while a federal election does loom here, for the most part, many Canadian businesses haven't changed much. The University of Alberta recently rebranded its DEI office.

It's hard to say yet what actual actions might change. I think those companies are going to continue making decisions in the best interest of their corporate interests. Colin Druin is the executive director of Pride at Work Canada. They're a non-profit group that helps companies, including CBC Radio Canada, develop policies for 2SLGBTQ plus workers. He says he understands why programs like DEI may not feel as popular these days. I think a lot of people think of the worst training that they've ever sat through. And that is how DEI is represented in their mind. However, switching back to the before times and older practices, employment experts say

that might not bring the improvements expected by opponents of DEI. They weren't always as meritocratic as people might think. There's a lot of nepotism in hiring and one of the things that DEI has done very well is helped eliminate some of that nepotism. Nina Gupta is a lawyer focusing on employment, labor and equalities. She's with Gowling WLG in Waterloo. The reason programs have so much support over the years is because they are proving to attract and keep really good candidates. And there's a lot of research showing that diverse boards,

diverse management teams actually come up with better results. So smart businesses don't want to walk away from that. As for Apple, shareholders will officially decide whether to keep or dump DEI at their annual general meeting next month. Annie Sadari, CBC News, Calgary. Finally, you're about to hear something incredibly rare. Finally, you're about to hear something incredibly rare. That is the sound of a meteorite crashing into the patio of a home in Marshfield, Prince Edward Island. Captured on the security camera of the home's owner, Joe Valladam.

He'd just come back from walking his dogs and discovered his walkway was covered with tiny dark bits of rock. So he checked the camera and saw a cloud of smoke and heard that sound. But the shocking thing for me is that you know I was standing right there a couple of minutes right before this impact. If I would have seen it I would have been standing literally right there so it probably would have ripped me in half but... Valedem gathered up as many bits as he could and contacted a meteorite specialist, the University of Alberta's Chris Hurd, who as though it was faded in the stars was in PEI on vacation. Hurd says he couldn't believe his ears.

As far as I know and I've asked around, it's probably the first time that the sound of an impact of a meteorite hitting something at the surface has ever been recorded. It's not anything we've ever heard before. So from a science perspective, it's just, it's new. It's actually the first and only meteorite ever found on the island and what a way to make that discovery. It's now been dubbed the Charlottetown meteorite and now that you know just how rare it is, we want to bring you that sound one more time.

Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for January 14th. I'm Susan Boner. Talk to you again. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.