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Your World Tonight
Flu soaring, Wiseman as ambassador to U.S., First Nations child welfare, and more
00:26:14
<p>New numbers from Health Canada suggest the country is experiencing a wave of flu cases at a level not seen in years. That means hospitalizations are also on the rise. </p><p><br></p><p>And: Prime Minister Mark Carney has chosen Mark Wiseman as Canada’s new ambassador to the U.S. </p><p><br></p><p>Also: Ottawa’s got a new offer to reform the on-reserve child welfare system. It’s willing to spend more than $35 billion, which is substantially less than the $47.8 billion put forward by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.</p><p><br></p><p>Plus: Canadian pocketbooks lighter this holiday season, a look at potential airline labour disputes in 2026, more detail on how Bondi beach attack unfolded, and more.</p>
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Moving to a new place is terrifying.
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But when you have a community that's welcoming, that makes a big difference. It is fulfilling for me to hear people say, I listen to your song.
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On the radio all the time.
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This message is brought to you by Nova Scotia Gaming Support for Culture.
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This is a CBC podcast.
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We are going to be inside a.
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Lot more, especially a lot of places right now.
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The weather outside, as the song says, is frightful, which is one factor in the frightful numbers for flu cases. Positive tests up, flu outbreaks up, hospitalizations up with symptoms that are knocking people down. Welcome to youo World Tonight. I'm Anand Ram. It is Monday, December 22, coming up on 6pm Eastern. Also on the podcast, things are tighter. Everyone is feeling it. I'm not spending as much as last year, but I think that the gifts are more meaningful. The shopping season is in its final stretch and shoppers are trying to stretch each dollar as the specters of an uncertain present and future economy change the way Canadians spend. If you're noticing more people under the weather this cold and flu season, you're not wrong. Health Canada has confirmed Canada is experiencing the highest flu positivity rate in years, and this year's strain is a particularly nasty one. It's largely responsible for a rise in hospitalizations and even deaths from the flu. Lisa Shing has more it was pretty awful.
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With a curly blonde wig and layers of a purple period costume, Emmeline Edgett did her best to get through the three hour musical into the Woods. A fourth year musical theater student at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Edgett was down with the flu for the last few performances, but never missed a show. I went on every night. I was so fatigued, especially with all the gravel and medication in me.
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It wasn't, you know, making it better.
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So I would find ways to, like close my eyes on stage when I could and get through it that way. Edjet is one of a growing number of Canadians dealing with a particularly brutal flu season. In fact, the country is experiencing the highest positivity rate in the last three seasons. Health Canada reporting 27.7% of tests came back positive for the second week of December. Hospitalizations are increasing too, and this year.
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Is an H3N2 season.
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Toronto infectious disease specialist Isaac Bogosh says the rise in cases is a result of the H3N2 strain of influenza A, known for more severe infections. Tests are showing it makes up the majority of cases this season, and this year's vaccine isn't a perfect match for the strain.
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The component that protects us against H3N2.
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Is not as good as we'd like.
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It to be, and that's because the.
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Virus changes with time.
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There's the virus evolves, the virus mutates.
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It's hitting kids especially hard. Public Health Ontario saw flu positivity rates the highest in children at 73.3%. In fact, last week, Ottawa health officials and a neighboring region announced three children between five and nine died from flu complications this month. Dr. Trevor Arneson is the medical officer of health for Ottawa public health.
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In 20, which is actually the last year we have full complete data, we did not see any pediatric deaths. This represents a more severe season already in terms of pediatric cases.
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That's why it's still important to get the shot to protect yourself and others, says Guelph, Ontario pharmacist Deanna Kang. It could be easily passed on to someone with underlying health conditions or more vulnerable because of their age because they're younger or older. Ultimately, the vaccine is there to help reduce risk of getting the infection, but it is also there to help reduce the severity. As people gather for the holidays, flu cases are expected to peak around Christmas, and experts say if you're sick, mask or better yet, stay home. Lisa Shing, CBC News, Toronto.
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This holiday season may be less festive for many Canadians. A new report shows that one in five faces high levels of financial pressure and economic anxiety. And as Neesha Patel reports, there's growing concern that things won't get better once the calendar flips to January. Telescope dinosaurs trying to get little, little knickknacks, little things that will inspire their inspiration.
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Jason Bogle just finished his Christmas shopping at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto.
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Things are tighter. Everyone is feeling it and I'm not spending as much as last year, but and I think that the gifts are more meaningful.
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From presents to decorations, parties to special meals, spending during the holiday season can add up. One in five Canadians surveyed by Angus Reid said they're feeling high financial pressure this season. Angus Reid research associate John Roe says there's a lot of anxiety about the economy.
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They're worried about maybe they're going to lose their job. They're looking at the cost of groceries.
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And they're saying, yeah, it's very difficult.
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For me to put food on the.
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Table to feed my family.
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Some are feeling it more than others. Tariffs have rocked specific sectors like autos, steel and aluminum, upending businesses and forcing layoffs, while other sectors have emerged from the trade war mostly unscathed. Nearly three in five Canadians surveyed named the cost of living as their top concern heading into 2026, well ahead of health care and housing affordability.
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So it's not like we're dealing the.
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Same sort of high levels of inflation.
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As we are a few years ago. But Canadians are looking at the prices they're paying and they're still saying, okay, yeah, these things are very expensive, and we're not necessarily feeling like we're getting.
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Ahead of it at all.
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And while rents have come down in many cities across the country, housing is still a major expense for mortgage holders like Laura Familietti. I had to renew my mortgage a month ago, but I try to space out my spending as much as possible. She started her holiday shopping in early November and says she'll be spending more this year. Cost of things have gone up, especially with the tariffs and everything, Right. Because you're not just buying products from Canada. So while the latest GDP data shows the economy has started to bounce back from the trade war, it's left a major impact and may be one reason that Angus Reid found almost one in three Canadians say they're worse off this year compared to last. Neesha Patel, CBC News, Toronto.
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Ottawa is making a new offer to reform the on reserve child welfare system. The federal government says it's willing to spend more than $35 billion to set up a series of regional deals the previous Liberal government had offered more money to, but for a shorter time. A plan that a group of first nations chiefs and children's advocates rejected. And they say this new plan won't end discrimination. As Olivia Stefanovic reports, it will now be up to an independent body to decide who's right.
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Today is a historic day for first nations in Canada. After nearly two decades of litigation and one previously rejected plan, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Golmasti is presenting a new one to end the fight over reforming the on reserve child welfare system. Every day that we continue to, you know, try to define what an agreement looks like or trying to determine through legal measures how you're going to stop.
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Discrimination is another day that a child doesn't care.
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The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the federal proposal after it found Ottawa racially discriminated against first nations kids by chronically underfunding first nations child and Family services. I believe that the community needs to drive the decision, decision making. Gulmasti says she's now looking to strike regional deals with first nations so they can decide how to spend more than $35 billion over the next decade. The goal? To keep kids connected to their families and culture. But it's not the only plan under consideration. At the center of our plan is our love for our kids. Cindy Blackstock is the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, a driving force behind a competing reform plan also submitted to the Human Rights Tribunal. Canada systemically discriminated against every first nations shot across the country. So we need systemic solutions to hold it to account, to make sure it stops and it doesn't happen again. That can't happen on a community by community approach. Blackstock says she's also concerned about the sustainability of funding. The last offer by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was touted by the assembly of First Nations, a commitment from the government of Canada to provide $47.8 billion. But Chiefs ultimately voted it down last year over concerns it was only a 10 year plan, subject to annual reviews. When we're looking at the money, it's not just the amount of money, it's how the money is used. Golmasti says the government's plan includes more than $4 billion annually after the initial $35.5 billion runs out in 2034. They were looking for that long term commitment. This is something that we've secured. It's now up to the Human Rights Tribunal to determine which plan to approve based on which approach is the most likely to end discrimination against first nations children once and for all. Olivia Stefanovic, CBC News, Ottawa.
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Coming right up, Ottawa names a new Ambassador to the U.S. mark Wiseman, a businessman and longtime friend of the prime minister, is now tasked with helping restart stalled trade talks. Also, officials in Australia have released more details about the deadly attack on Bondi Beach. And later, we'll have this story.
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Contract disputes at big Canadian airlines have meant big headaches for travelers, from Air Transat pilots this month to Air Canada flight attendants last summer to WestJet mechanics last year. But passengers who want to avoid a strike or lockout might need to keep their seatbelts fastened.
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These rounds of collective bargaining go on.
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All calendar year and whenever it's an.
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Opportune time to ultimately pull the lever.
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In terms of creating some pressure, unions will do that.
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I'm Anis Hedari in Calgary. Later on youn World tonight, how the bargaining table could change your flight plans in 2020.
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Canada's next ambassador to the US Won't be a career diplomat. And that's the point. Prime Minister Mark Carney has named businessman Mark Wiseman to the post. Analysts say this signals a shift in focus for Carney's government, from traditional diplomacy to tough deal making as Canada prepares for key trade talks with the United States, which begin in January. Karen Pauls has more.
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While it was kind of the worst held secret for the past two weeks, the announcement wasn't a huge surprise. Mark Wiseman's name was really the only one mentioned after the current ambassador, Kirsten Hillman, announced she was stepping down in the new year. Jataine da Silva is a former Alberta deputy minister for international relations. I think it's great that the prime minister has appointed someone in whom he has confidence and with whom he obviously has a strong personal relationship, as that will be really key in these negotiations. But in Quebec, there's deep concern over Wiseman's criticism of supply management, something crucial to the province's dairy industry. Bloc Quebecois leader Yves Blanchet saying with a huge economic problem facing Canada, he's not happy with an ambassador he says is openly indifferent or hostile to Quebecers. Wiseman has no diplomatic or government experience. He's a financier, formerly chair of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and a top manager at BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager. There are concerns he's not qualified to serve in Washington, but others disagree. Richard Madden is Manitoba's senior representative to the United States, based in the Canadian Embassy in Washington.
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His finance background is an asset when it comes to dealing with the treasury secretary and the commerce secretary because that's the same world they came from.
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Wiseman also co founded the Century Initiative, an organization calling for a massive increase in Canada's immigration levels with the goal of bringing the country's population to 100 million people by the end of the century.
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Mr. Speaker, who suggested to the liberal.
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That they should open up our borders to out of control immigration. Conservative leader Pierre Poliev speaking through an interpreter in question period earlier this month, well, it was Mark Wiseman. Since taking office for his second term, US President Donald Trump has imposed a range of tariffs on Canada, but talks have stalled. One thing most can agree on, Wiseman has his work cut out for him.
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The most critical issue that Canada's facing is obviously our trade relations, the United States.
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Richard Shimocha is a senior fellow at the macdonald Laurier Institute. He says this will be one of Prime Minister Mark Carney's most important having.
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Some progress in this area I think.
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Is absolutely critical for Carney.
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Wiseman takes up his new post on February 15th. Karen Pauls, CBC News, Washington.
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Denmark is denouncing Washington's appointment of a special envoy to Greenland. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry is the envoy and he says his job is to make Greenland part of the U.S. something U.S. president Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants. Because of national security, the Arctic island is a self governing territory of Denmark. Denmark's foreign minister says it is unacceptable for anyone to challenge the island's sovereignty. Officials in Australia say the Bondi beach mass shooting suspects had been planning their attack for weeks. Police say the two even visited the area just a few days before they opened fire. The cbc, Sasa Petracic has the latest.
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Flowers. Photos and handwritten notes are picked up by workers and volunteers. A week's worth of memorials for those killed here on Bondi Beach. Tributes now headed for the local Jewish museum in a place that's still mourning.
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I think this is a time for.
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All of us to come together in a show of solidarity and in a show, hopefully of peace. The timeline of last Sunday's shooting made public today suggests anything but peace in its submission to Australian courts. Police say the accused gunman, 50 year old Sajid Akram and his 24 year old son Navid spent weeks preparing for the attack. A video shows them training with rifles in an Australian field in late October. Another recording has them sitting in front of an Islamic State flag, police say, condemning Jewish Zionists and justifying their actions with quotes from the Quran. On the day of the shooting, CCTV footage follows them leaving a rented guest house at 2am carrying wrapped rifles, parking near Bondi beach at 6:45pm their car decorated with militant flags, positioning themselves on a pedestrian bridge near the Hanukkah celebration. Then they lobbed four homemade bombs at the crowd. All of these failed, but their high powered rifles shot 15 people dead. The father was killed by police. The son was arrested after being shot. You've seen what the consequences of globalizing the Intifada are. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and other politicians blame Islamic radicalization. His government has introduced new laws limiting gun ownership to Australian citizens and capping the number. They would also ban terror symbols and restrict protests. There's an acknowledgement from me, from everybody, that we can't let preachers of hate unleash demons in our community that we can't control. The federal government plans a buyback program to take hundreds of thousands of guns off the streets. But emotions are still raw, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese found when he was met with boos and insults shouted at a memorial service Sunday night. As Prime Minister, I feel the weight of responsibility. He vows to protect all Australians and I'm sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced many though, are pushing for a commission of inquiry and even tougher national laws. Sasha Petrosik, CBC News, Toronto.
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In Mexico, one of the world's most powerful drug syndicates is involved in a deadly civil war. Factions within the Sinaloa cartel are fighting each other. The violence has left thousands of dead and disappeared and is escalating. Jorge Barrera reports.
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Culiacan, Mexico. A city caught in the crossfire of a war within the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups in the world. Looks like there was an execution. Miguel Angelvega is a journalist from Sinaloa State, where the cartel is based. He knows the hallmarks of this war. Violence openly displayed. He's standing at an intersection now. A yellow taped crime scene where a silver SUV sits parked. Eight bullet holes in a tight pattern across the passenger side window. A man dead inside. Whoever commits this crime, they are professional now. This is an everyday scene. It happens all the time. That's why people in Culiacan are so. The Sinaloa cartel was once run together by Joaquin Guzman and Ismael Sambada, known as El Chapo and El Mayo. Guzman was arrested in 2016, and in July 2024, one of his sons kidnapped Zambada and flew him into the hands of the US this created a rift between Guzman's sons and Zambara loyalists. On September 9, 2024, those tensions snapped. A war began. Our lives literally changed from one day to the next, says Adrian Lopez, the director of the Noreste newspaper. He says the state of Sinaloa may be living through its most violent period ever. More than 2,400 people have been murdered. Del Nueva de Septiembre, Aldia de Ayer casitres and nearly 3,000 reported disappeared. Mexican authorities have increased their presence in response to the cartel war, says Major General Julises Gonzalez Calzada. He leads the National Guard in Sinaloa State. He says authorities are working hard, hoping to bring peace to the city so the local population can return to their daily lives without fear. But a cartel member who spoke to CBC News says this war is far from over. For security reasons, we are not revealing his identity. His voice is also distorted. The war won't end until only one faction remains, he says, and innocent people remain caught between the two sides. Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez says she was forced from the countryside to the city of Culiacan with her three children last October after armed men ordered everyone to leave her village. It's hard, she says, adding, all they can do is wait out the war. Jorge Barrera, CBC News, Culiacan Mexico.
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Canada Post and the Union of Postal Workers have reached tentative deals for both urban and rural mail carriers. The two sides had announced an agreement in principle last month, but they've now worked out the details for five year collective agreements with wage increases and enhanced benefits. It also includes a model for weekend parcel delivery. Union members will vote on the deals early in the new year. Well, contract negotiations made for a bumpy ride for airline passengers this year. Air Transat was the most recent company to cancel flights due to contract disputes and the new year may not be smoother. Air Canada, WestJet and Porter are all heading for negotiations in the coming months. Anees Hadary has more on whether that means turbulent skies are ahead the date.
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The departure time, if it's a non stop or multiple stops, and of course the price.
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Meryl Carmichael has a list of what she checks when she's booking travel from her home in Ancaster, Ontario. She's recently added to that list.
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Now I also go online and I check for the expiry date of the current collective agreements for cabin crew, pilots and airline mechanics. And that gives me an idea of whether the flight that I choose to would be possibly at risk of being cancelled.
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She may not be the only Canadian who feels like she needs a plan in case airlines and their workers get into a dispute. It's not that rare anymore. 2025 saw Air Transat canceling flights before a last minute deal with its pilots. Months earlier, Air Canada flight attendants were on strike. And that doesn't even get into disruptions the year before. Fasten your seatbelt and keep it well fastened because there will be some turbulence in the air. John Graddick lectures on the aviation Industry at McGill University. He points out that many of the deals being renegotiated had been in place for up to 10 years and that length is unusual. We now have gone through a scenario where now these contracts have expired and there is a price to pay. And the price to pay is catch up. And they're all trying to catch up on opportunities that they may have lost in other collective bargaining sessions that may have happened over the years.
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It's impossible to ignore the fact that there was an effort to bring stability to a highly unstable business enterprise.
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In many cases, deals from 2015 or 2016 were signed with airlines that weren't doing as well financially. That's according to Captain Tim Perry, president of the Airline Pilots Association Canada.
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When bargaining doesn't happen, employee groups, they fall behind. It's not just with money. There's all sorts of items in Collective agreements that become old and out of date.
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Hey, before you close the door, just one example. For decades, flight attendants weren't paid for all their time on the ground. And that's become a big point of contention across North American airlines. As for passengers they may not be able to just book Elsewhere in 2026, Air Canada, WestJet and Porter all face more negotiations, and timing is hard to predict. Toronto employment lawyer Sandeep Kaukley.
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These rounds of collective bargaining go on.
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All calendar year, and whenever it's an.
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Opportune time to ultimately, you know, pull.
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The lever in terms of creating some.
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Pressure, unions will do that. All this could mean that come 2026, if airlines and their unions are driving a hard bargain, Canadian passengers might end up driving instead. Enice Haydari, CBC News, Calgary.
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Finally, by this point in the winter, you've probably grown used to or maybe even sick of the crunch, crunch, sound of salt. Millions of tons of it are used across Canada each year. Ottawa might be the saltiest, which is a boon for Mohamed Merhi, one of the last cobblers in the nation's capital.
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This is what I'm talking about, people paving their sidewalks with salt that will kill your shoes. The majority of the repairs that I get, 80% of them is damages from salt, whether it's your zippers or the leather on top, that's another major issue that salt causes.
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Merhi opened his shop almost 25 years ago. One reason he's been able to make it is that his shop is inside a federal government building. And government employees, he says, really like their shoes.
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I like the fact when somebody brings me something that somebody else told them that can be done, to bring it to me and challenge me with it. I like challenges. Sometimes they bring me shoes that they love. They don't want to let go, but they're falling apart. Sometimes I'm able to fix them, and sometimes I tell them it's not worth it.
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Merhi learned the trade from his own father in a less salty environment. Growing up in Lebanon, they came to Canada in the 1980s to escape the civil war there, where he says he worries the shop won't go on after he retires. Not that he has plans to do that anytime soon.
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It is a dying trade. Nobody wants to learn it because everybody wants a government job. So there's only few of us in Ottawa.
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So how long can I do it?
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I'd like to say at least 10.
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Years, you know, until then, if the weather keeps hammering leather, he'll do his best to keep it all glued together. Thanks for being with us. This has been youn World Tonight for Monday, December 22nd. I'm Anand Ram. Good night.
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For more cbc podcasts, go to cbc ca podcasts.