← Your World Tonight
Your World Tonight
Cross border travel, cost of living, ebooks costing libraries, and more
00:27:07
<p>Data from Statistics Canada shows fewer Canadians travelling to the United States, compared to last year. They’re discouraged by political and economic tensions. But there is a twist. American tourists into Canada seem undeterred. In fact -- their numbers are up.</p><p><br></p><p>And: Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadians need to be prepared for sacrifices. Many are already struggling with affording essentials like groceries. He says he recognizes the pressures Canadians are facing, but there will be no quick fix. </p><p><br></p><p>Also: In Canada's public libraries, e-books are having a moment. Readers are turning to the convenience of digital, and turning the page on print. But this surge in popularity also comes with a price… for the libraries themselves.</p><p><br></p><p>Plus: Ukraine offers compromise for peace, Yukon freeze, a look at Kurt Oatway, one of Canada's top Paralympic medal hopefuls, and more.</p>
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Paid content by Tourism Montreal Bonjour High. I'm Gunnarolla, your guide to the world's best eats and must see destinations. We are not hibernating this winter. We're heading to Montreal, a powerhouse of culture and cuisine. It's one of my favorite places to visit. Every corner of the city is bursting with things to do. The food scene is world class, the neighborhoods are alive with art and music, and there are museums and events ready for you all winter long. Come along as I deep dive into Montreal and show you exactly why you need to visit. To start your planning, visit CBC CAE ExperienceMontre Montreal. This is a CBC podcast. Greetings to Planet Earth. All of our friends and family from Expedition 74 aboard the International Space Station flying high above thinking of you during this holiday season. Even in space, this is a time for traditions with a message from astronauts floating in zero gravity but wearing Santa hats in front of a tiny decorated tree. Of course, down here on Earth, many familiar traditions are being challenged in what's been an unprecedented year. Welcome to youo World Tonight. I'm Tanya Fletcher. It is Wednesday, December 24, coming up on 6pm Eastern. Also on the podcast, one tradition as common as colorful lights and scented candles is last minute shopping. But in 2025, it's not just the time that's tight. So are budgets. Feels like it gets worse, honestly, every time you go to the grocery store. So day by day. But yeah, it's definitely a lot more expensive this year. If you do manage to save a little, you might want to spend it on travel. Perhaps a trip to a common destination for Canadian snow geese just across the border. I don't imagine that America is ever going to be something that I'm going to feel is an aspirational travel destination ever again. Or maybe not. No matter what traditions Canadians are able to hold on to, there are definitely signs that things have changed. It has been a strange year for U.S. canada relations, not just for trade, but travel too. New data from Statistics Canada shows fewer Canadians are traveling to the United States compared to last year, discouraged by tensions over tariffs, confusing border policies and a weak exchange rate. But there is a twist. American tourists into Canada seem undeterred. In fact, their numbers are up, Liam Britton explains. Scan the columns of cars waiting their turn to drive south through Pacific highway border crossing between British Columbia and Washington State and you'd think travel to the US Is at full speed. We are seeing a very, very slow season. We're down about 50% in sales currently this month. Reginald Raju, director of a very quiet peace arch duty free has seen a very different, very unfestive story. Been tough. Even my staff right now I usually would have about six staff working. Today I only have three staff working currently. Stats Canada is seeing it too. The agency's latest figures covering October show Canadian resident return trips to the US are down about a quarter from 12 months ago. I've been in L A a couple times, New York City, Chicago, Colorado for work, family and the desire to see great cities. And I always didn't want to go to New Orleans. Canadian publicist Tracy Lemourie has made plenty of stateside trip, but between Trump's annexation threats, the actions of American immigration authorities and human rights concerns, she doesn't see herself going back anytime soon. I don't imagine that America's ever going to be something that I'm going to feel is an aspirational travel destination ever again. US travelers to Canada are up a modest 3% in October compared to 12 months ago, and other overseas visitors about the same. People will continue to boycott, if I may use that term, the United States in the next months. Toronto Metropolitan University tourism researcher Frederic demanch puts the blame on America's political situation for Canada. I think it's good all over. You know, traffic is likely to increase. We should definitely expect better continuous results in 2020. Six popular US destinations are feeling the heat. Las Vegas Tourism Agency reports international Sin city visitors are down 6% year to date. California has launched a $5 million Canuck targeting ad campaign, and Washington State said in a statement it understands politics may impact travel plans, reporting an overall decline in hotel bookings by 1% for domestic and international visitors. So for that state, Christmas Eve border lineups are likely a very merry sight. Liam Britton, CBC News, Vancouver. If you are traveling by air this season, you won't have the extra protections against delayed or cancelled flights long promised by Ottawa. Canada's air passenger regulations set out rules airlines must, including the compensation they owe passengers when things go wrong, but the federal body that's supposed to rule on customer claims is swamped. Marina von Stackelberg has that story. There's no way to get answers. I've sent emails and you just get a one line response. You're still in the queue. Gerald Van Devan has been waiting two and a half years to find out if he'll get money for his delayed WestJet flight. An issue with the cabin crew changeover on his way home to Vancouver island left him stranded at the airport over and the pilot had said four or five times this is 100% the airline's fault. They could have avoided this. So he says. After the company refused to reimburse him, he filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency. The independent federal body holds airlines responsible under the air passenger protection regulations. It decides if the airline has to compensate a customer for issues like delays or cancellations within its corporate control. But the backlog of complaints is 88,000 cases. It's been very frustrating and it doesn't give me a lot of faith in the systems that we have in place that they're actually there to help us. For two years, Ottawa has promised to improve the regulations, making it clearer for travelers to know their rights and putting the onus on airlines to prove why they shouldn't have to compensate customers. We've been waiting to get these amendments out and they've just been stuck in the swamp in Ottawa for far too long now. Ian Jack is with caa, which runs a travel agency. The original sin on this file really was the government writing an enormously complicated set of regulations, all kinds of gray areas, all kinds of loopholes and exemptions to the point where the average consumer files a complaint with the carrier. The carrier just says nah. Airlines say the proposed changes could impact affordability, regional connections and, and safety. I'm not a person who likes to repeat the same mistake twice. Transport Minister Stephen McKinnon wouldn't say why there's a holdup or if there's a plan to speed up the complaint process. No one wants to be in a backlog for, you know, compensation. It is a state of affairs that I'm not happy with and we want to make it better for Canadians. They've shown zero political will. Dan Elbus, the Conservative's transport critic, says he doesn't think air passenger rights are a priority for the Liberals. Canadians, when they travel, when they think that these so called air passenger bill of rights are actual rights, right now it's a right to wait in line. The transportation agency says just over half the complaints that make it through its process end with passengers getting compensated. But in several cases, airlines then took the customer to court to fight the decision and avoid payment. Further proof, critics say the current system is not fit to fly. Marina Von Stackelberg, CBC News, Ottawa. A common refrain this year from economists and even the Prime Minister is that Canadians will have to sacrifice. Trade relations with the US have deteriorated and the cost of living has spiked. Canadians know prices are rising every time they look at a receipt and food bank usage is also reaching record highs. Michelle Allen has more Scott Eng and Sarah Brown push their cart of food across the supermarket parking lot after stocking up for the holidays. They say these food halls are changing all the time. Yeah, it's definitely a lot more expensive this year. And Ng says he doesn't think prices will ever go back down. Feels like it gets worse honestly, every time you go to grocery store. Pressure of food prices, pressure just literally the cost of living in a year end. Interview with CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton. Prime Minister Mark Carney says he he recognizes the pressures Canadians are facing, but he says there's no quick fix to these problems. First thing we did as a government was to cut taxes, to cut taxes for 22 million Canadians as part of that. The second thing and related that we did and absolutely did in the budget is to preserve those programs that are essential for Canadians who have the biggest challenges with the cost of living. Childcare, pharmacare, dental care. Carney says the government will cut the public service by 10%. He says this will allow them to lower taxes while keeping programs that benefit people under the most pressure. Those tough decisions, we're preserving all the transfers, we're cutting taxes, we're preserving the transfers to individuals, support for individuals and transfers to the provinces, including the increase of the provinces and territories. Valerie Teresuk is with the University of Toronto's Department of Nutritional Sciences. She says tax cuts and social programs won't help many people struggling to afford groceries. That's not a good enough response to this problem. Tarasuk says more Canadians are having a tougher time putting food on the table, including those who work full time. We've got a layer of the population right now, 25.5% who are food insecure. Those are people who already have made the compromises and now are literally struggling to afford to buy the things that they need. Tarasuk says many Canadians aren't able to make more sacrifices. Back at the supermarket like we were debating getting green beans or asparagus and green beans were half the price of asparagus. So green beans it is for sure. Ng and Brown say they're finding ways to make their dollar go further. Michelle Allen, CBC News, Toronto. Coming right up, Russia is expected to say no to a new peace plan worked out with the help of Ukraine's negotiators. Also, Yukoners are being warned to have emergency supplies on hand. Food, water, medications, as extreme cold taxes, the power grid. Later, we'll have this story. Kurt Oakway steams into the lead for Canada, a star Paralympic skier who launched his career after a life changing injury. Determined to medal again at the Paralympic Games at age 41. It's only over when you say it's over. I'm Alexander Silberman in Fort Capell, Saskatchewan. Later on youn World tonight, the story of Kurt Oatway, a Paralympic athlete with a career marked by resilience. Overseas. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says there is progress in the latest round of peace negotiations to end the war with Russia after talks between the US And Ukraine in Miami. Zelensk. He says he is willing to make concessions on a number of key negotiating points, but he says his offer comes with conditions. Karen Pauls reports. As Ukrainians celebrate their fourth Christmas since Russia's full scale invasion, the attacks continue. Four people injured in an early morning attack on Zaporizhzhia and a Russian drone struck a residential high rise building in Chernihiv. This woman in Kyiv saying there is a mood of celebration for Christmas, but they also have to contend with anxiety and fear from the war. In his Christmas address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for peace. We are happy when we hear the music of Christmas, but even happier when we do not hear the music of evil, when we do not hear drones and missiles flying, flying overhead. He said this as Zelensky gave new details about a 20 point plan hammered out with the Americans in the last week. Zelensky expressed willingness to pull his troops back from areas of the eastern Donetsk region still under Kyiv's control. But in exchange, Russia would have to move its forces back, the equivalent to the land ceded by Ukrainian troops, essentially creating a demilitarized zone on the front lines. The new plan also include security guarantees by the U.S. nATO and European states, a non aggression agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and a full ceasefire taking effect immediately once all parties agree to the deal. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, a Kremlin spokesperson said Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev has given Russian President Vladimir Putin a detailed briefing on the results of his trip to Miami last weekend. Moscow says it will decide on its next step steps and respond soon. Putin has previously said Ukraine must give up all of Donetsk for a peace plan to work. In Europe. Pope Leo says he's saddened by Russia's apparent rejection of a Christmas ceasefire. May there be 24 hours a single day of peace throughout the whole world, he said. Depending on Russia's response to the new 20 point agreement, American officials say there may be further trilateral or direct talks to try and resolve some of those outstanding issues. Karen Pauls, CBC news, Washington. The U.S. justice Department has found more than a million more documents potentially tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The department says it may need a few more weeks to review and release them to the public. It was not immediately clear how or when these documents were discovered. The DOJ was supposed to release all available files by December 19th. It missed that deadline. Officials there say they need time to redact information to protect victims. It is bone chilling cold in parts of the north, even by Canadian standards. In the Yukon, temperatures are hovering around minus 40 and this deep freeze has some officials worried about what it could mean for the power grid and public safety. Anees Hadary takes a look. Certainly rolling blackouts is one possibility, but it is a last resort. Stephanie Cunha is a vice president with Yukon Energy, which generates power in the territory. Her weather warning isn't just about the temperature. Power use broke records on Monday because of the extreme cold weathers. Yukonners are using between 80 to 90% of all of the electricity that is available and that we can supply at a given point in time. Jay Massey is the vice president of ATCO Electric Yukon which handles power distribution. He says there are buffers but the power system there is hitting new peaks. To put it bluntly, the grid needs people to use less power and if the public can just understand the large electrical loads in their house, I know, we know people need to eat their Christmas dinner that's not going to be deferred. But the dishwasher, the laundry, electrical heat, if you have baseboards in multiple rooms, there's a number of things that people can do to bring down their electrical load in their homes and defer non essential activities till later in the night off peak hours. Meteorologists say it's not unusual for there to be a cold snap this time of year in the Yukon, but this one is a little bit colder and it's lasting a little bit longer than usual. Derek Lee is with Environment Canada in Vancouver. In the last few days we have seen temperatures in the Yukon drop down to minus 20 degrees or 30 degrees below the seasonal norms which actually brought temperatures down to minus 50 to the minus 55 range for the northern communities. Obviously warm blankets, mitts, toques very important at this time of year. Whitehorse Mayor Kirk Cameron says residents should keep an emergency kit, but if things get worse, the city is available to respond 24, 7 even over the holidays. By the way, it does plan to warm up in a couple of days just in time for heavy snowfall. So you're trading one off for another and there is already snowfall happening in other parts of the country, Edmonton and many parts of northern and central Alberta facing Snowfall warnings that 10 to 15 centimeters could result in a lot of people shoveling on Christmas morning. James Colangelo is an Environment Canada meteorologist based in Winnipeg. He says this snow system is starting just east of the Rockies and it'll keep moving throughout the overnight hours and into Christmas morning. It starts to pivot and make its way eastward across the northern part of the prairies. It is a system that will be affecting multiple areas. However, the worst of it looks to be in and around the Edmonton area. While meteorologists point out this year's winter isn't particularly bad, the timing of this weather could mean Santa needs to fit a shovel down the chimney. Anice Tedari, CBC News, Edmonton. Across Canada's public libraries, ebooks are having a moment. More and more readers are turning to the convenience of digital and turning the page on print. But this surge in popularity also comes with a price for the libraries themselves. Yasmin Renea explains. This first book is called Coors Kiss. In a TikTok video, New Brunswick content creator and book reviewer Lydia White holds up the E reader she uses to read digital books. E reading is really important to me because I can just take that one little device and have hundreds of books at my fingertips. She loves using her local library's ebook collection, but months long wait times have her borrowing less. When I want to read a certain book, I want to read it basically now. Because of convenience and accessibility, eborrowing has soared at public libraries across the country, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. Kay Cahill is the director of IT and collections at the Vancouver Public Library. We're now at a point where digital circulation has for the first time exceeded physical circulation. But ebooks are putting pressure on libraries budgets. They cost up to five times as much as physical copies. Because of licensing agreements with publishers, libraries have to essentially rent the content for a set period of time and pay again once it expires. We do end up with much longer wait lists for the digital content, so we just can't afford to buy as many copies to meet the demand when the prices are that high. American libraries are facing similar challenges, prompting Connecticut to pass a law aimed at reducing the cost of ebooks for libraries. Other states have introduced similar legislation. Andrea Checchetto, the chair of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations, says her organization is exploring the possibility of pushing for a similar solution here. There's a lot of demand for these items that we're trying to meet and at the same time facing some significant barriers, particularly with multinational publishers. The association of Canadian Publishers, which represents about 100 Canadian owned and controlled book publishers, tells CBC News it can't comment on pricing due to legal reasons. Maybe also Canadian publishers are concerned. But Kevin Williams, president of Talon Books, an independent publisher based in Vancouver, says he worries Canadian authors will be less represented if libraries have to keep buying the same popular e books from multinational publishers. Canadian presses have always struggled to have as many of their books represented in the libraries because we obviously have to compete against the hundreds and hundreds of hundreds of thousands of books in the English language. Book reviewer Lydia White hopes changes can be made soon. What we want is to be able to have more people be able to read, saying it shouldn't be this hard to borrow a book. Yasmeen Ghanaia, CBC News, Vancouver. The Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are only a couple of months away. One of Canada's top medal hopefuls in Italy, Kurt Oatwei, the elite Paris skier, raced his way to gold in Pyeongchang in 2018. He missed out on the Beijing Games because of an injury. Now he's determined to make it back atop the podium. Alexander Silberman has his story at his home gym in Calgary. Kurt Oatwe is training for what might be his biggest competition yet, returning to the Paralympic Games at age 41. It's only over when you say it's over. Determined to fight back onto the podium after a devastating crash on the slopes left Oatwei with broken bones, torn ligaments and a punctured lung. I got injured and I decided, you know, right there in the hospital, I was just like, this isn't gonna be the end. He was forced to sit out the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, refusing to give up on his Paralympic dreams. Before I got into an ambulance, before I got to the hospital, before surgeries and everything, I knew I wasn't going to. The start of Oat Way's skiing journey began at age five, growing up in Edmonton. But while studying at the University of Saskatchewan, a rock climbing accident left him with a permanent spinal cord injury. Determined to ski again, Oat Way relearned the sport in a sit ski. He joined the adaptive program at Mission Ridge, a tiny local hill tucked away in a Saskatchewan valley near Regina. Well, the first day was a very, very fast Gord. Poulton was Oat Way's first coach. He says returning to the sport gave him a renewed sense of drive and purpose, and he saw immediate potential for a future in elite competitions. As you come out of an injury, there's a lot of relearning to do what you can accomplish. And Kurt's obviously accomplished a lot by coming out and being a skier. The Saskatchewan ski community rallied behind Oat Way, bringing in an extra coach and helping him purchase his first racing sit ski. They didn't spare any effort of encouragement. Lionel Oatway, Kurt's father, says getting back on the slopes was a turning point after his accident. From a state of despair to a state of triumph. It's been very motivating for him and also for the family as well. Motivation that fueled the start of a competitive racing career with Team Canada. Leading to this moment. Kurt Oatweigh steams into the lead for Canada. An unexpected gold medal win in the sitting Super g at the 2018 Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang. Brilliant run at the top of the world stage. Oatwei remains grateful for his Saskatchewan start. It's been a whirlwind journey, and just knowing where you came from, being grateful for the opportunities goes a long way. The elite skier is now coming off one of the best seasons of his career. An injury behind the start of his journey. Once again, a renewed source of motivation to race his last Paralympic Games to a podium finish. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Fort Capell, Saskatchewan. Finally, Leanna Metcalfe has been raising her grandson, Spencer since he was a baby in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. He's now eight years old. Metcalfe says Spencer has always had big dreams, especially about one thing in particular. During ball games, ball practice, we would be at the ball field. He would hear one from a distance and he would stop. Everybody on the ball field would completely stop until he would watch that plane fly over, until he couldn't see it anymore. Spencer is autistic. Airplanes are his favorite thing to watch. And Metcalf knew the perfect place to visit. So I started taking him to the Sydney airport where he got better view. And as it progressed, he started meeting different crew members, different staff at the Sydney airport. And Spencer knew details about what the process was, when the plane arrived, when the plane was leaving. And he told other family members at the fence, the plane will be leaving. And he knew exactly what time. Spencer is now a staple there, visiting almost every day. The airport even gave him his own ID badge. That recently chief aircraft spotter, he's visited the tower, sat inside the cockpit of a jet. And then this year, he got a surprise. Dimitri Nijonakis is a pilot who runs a program called Dreamwings, taking kids with disabilities into the sky. And so Spencer Metcalfe has now added co pilot to his list of titles. With the earth below his feet, with the sun four inches from the horizon in this most beautiful setting, emerging in the beautiful actual flight, he had never experienced that, and that really dazzled him. It was incredible to watch. So, yeah, it was so great. However, Spencer did not just sit and watch. He also got to handle the throttle and even adjust some of the instruments. Neonakis says it wasn't just a special trip for Spencer, it was special for him, too. I, too, grew up with my grandmother, a wonderful woman who saved me, guided me, and helped me to become the man I am today. So this flight wasn't just a flight with Spencer and his grandmother. I had my own grandmother on board in spirit. So it was beautiful. It was wonderful. So we'll let Spencer have the last word. After the flight, Neonakis was flying back to his home in Halifax. An airport staff helped Spencer record and send him this message over the radio. I hope you have a merry Christmas to you. Thank you for being with us. This has been youn World Tonight for Wednesday, December 24th. I'm Tanya Fletcher. Good night. Foreign. For more cbc podcasts, go to cbc ca podcasts.