Gun buy back program, 'Hands off Greenland' protests, Drift logs threatening ocean species, and more

Summary

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Your World Tonight – CBC Podcast

Episode Date: January 17, 2026
Hosts: Susan Bonner & Stephanie Skenderis

Episode Overview

This episode dives into several of the most pressing global and national stories of the day. Primary coverage centers on the Canadian government's controversial gun buyback program rollout, escalating "Hands off Greenland" protests in response to U.S. attempts to annex the island, environmental threats from drift logs in British Columbia, legal battles over oil exploration in the Arctic Refuge, and Canada’s evolving immigration struggles. The episode also highlights lighter moments, including music's impact on child development and a special release from Dolly Parton.

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Main Story: Canada’s Gun Buyback Program Rollout

[00:40–04:33]

Key Discussion Points

• Overview & Intent:

  • Ottawa has banned ~2,500 models of “assault-style” firearms since 2020.
  • The new buyback program offers compensation to Canadians who voluntarily surrender or deactivate their prohibited guns.
  • The government has allocated nearly $250 million with a target to collect around 136,000 firearms.

• Practicalities & Challenges:

  • Public Safety Minister Gary Ananda Sangaree emphasizes public safety over property rights.
  • The process is first-come, first-serve, and early declaration doesn’t guarantee compensation.
  • The initial pilot in Cape Breton yielded fewer turn-ins than expected (25 out of a goal of 200).
  • Rollout improved: easier registration, longer window for declaration.

• Provincial Pushback:

  • Manitoba and Ontario refuse to allocate provincial resources, arguing for better spending on frontline policing. RCMP will fill in federally.
  • Saskatchewan and Alberta have legal measures in place to block the rollout, and Ottawa is currently not running the program there.

• Resistance & Criticisms:

  • Some gun owners resent what they see as an unfair seizure of valuable property from law-abiding citizens.
  • There is skepticism about the program's effectiveness in improving community safety.

Notable Quotes

• On Banned Firearms' Purpose:
  “These are firearms designed for war, for killing people. They have no place in our communities.”
  — Public Safety Official / Gun Buyback Advocate [01:52]

• On Property Rights:
  “You are taking personal property that they have worked hard to buy and just said to them, you can't have that anymore. We live in a country that is supposed to be freedom of choice.”
  — Diane Harnois, Edmonton gun store owner [03:53]

• On the Urgency:
  “I urge you to declare as early as you can because submitting a declaration does not guarantee compensation. Declarations will be processed on a first come, first serve basis.”
  — Public Safety Official [02:25]

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International Focus: “Hands Off Greenland” Protests

[07:19–10:48]

Key Discussion Points

• Escalating U.S. Pressure:

  • President Trump is pushing to annex Greenland, threatening tariffs on European countries that oppose the U.S. move.
  • Trump claims the U.S. needs Greenland for “safety, security and the survival of our planet.”

• Greenlander & Indigenous Resistance:

  • Protestors in Nuuk, Denmark, and Iqaluit mobilize with the unified message: “Hands off Greenland.”
  • Deep solidarity expressed by Inuit and indigenous communities across the Arctic.

• International Response:

  • NATO and EU underline their commitment to international law.
  • U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Coons signals Arctic security as a shared NATO priority, not a unilateral U.S. concern.
  • European Council coordinates responses to U.S. tariff threats.

Notable Quotes

• On Greenland’s Resolve:
  “We are only 57,000 people against the biggest power in the world.”
  — Protest Organizer, Nuuk [08:19]

• On Solidarity:
  “My entire maternal family is Greenlandic and it's all one homeland. It's important for us to show up for our homeland and understand that this is a part of an international situation, an international struggle.”
  — Lakulak Williamson, Iqaluit Protestor [08:49]

• On Security Rhetoric:
  “I haven't seen any Russian or Chinese combat ships up here.”
  — Major General Soren Andersen, Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command [09:47]

---

Environmental Justice: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Lawsuit

[10:48–13:48]

Key Discussion Points

• The Gwich’in Lawsuit:

  • The Gwich’in First Nation and allied groups are suing the Trump administration to stop oil and gas development in ANWR’s coastal plain.
  • The area is sacred for caribou calving—a linchpin in their way of life.

• Resource Tensions:

  • Some local Alaskan Indigenous voices support development, citing improvements in living standards tied to resource revenues.

• Legal & Economic Uncertainty:

  • Industry analysts are skeptical oil companies will rush in, anticipating prolonged court battles and marginal economics.

Notable Quotes

• On Cultural Threat:
  “Our whole way of life depends on the caribou and the animals, the water, everything that is in the coastal plain.”
  — Kristen Moreland, Gwich’in Steering Committee [11:44]

• On Perpetual Legal Battles:
  “Any company that does win the rights to explore can anticipate that they will need two engineers and 146 lawyers because they will be in court for a very, very long time.”
  — Doug Matthews, Oil and Gas Consultant [13:14]

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Climate & Biodiversity: Drift Logs Threatening Ocean Species

[21:59–24:54]

Key Discussion Points

• Ecological Destruction:

  • Drift logs—many originating from forestry operations—are decimating barnacle and mussel populations on B.C. shores.
  • This disruption is rippling through the food chain, affecting birds, fish, and sea mammals.
  • Logs act as sandpaper, stripping intertidal communities from rocks.

• Degree of Impact:

  • University of Victoria research finds that 20–80% of barnacles on some shorelines have been wiped out.
  • Logs lost from river “booms” and forestry operations are a main source.

• Policy & Industry Change:

  • B.C. is shifting away from booms to barges, reducing the expected scale of the problem.

Notable Quotes

• On Ecosystem Loss:
  “They literally braid like sandpaper. They braid off these sessile organisms... all those small interstitial organisms, which are the primary food for so many species, disappear as well.”
  — Thomas Reinken, University of Victoria [22:34]

• On the Broader Impact:
  “Too much [drift logs] will remove all of those nice habitat forming species and then we lose the food for things like birds and fish and sea stars.”
  — Chris Harley, University of British Columbia [24:15]

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Briefs: Other Major Stories

Canadian PM Mark Carney in Qatar

[04:33–07:11]

• Strengthening trade and investment ties; first Canadian PM visit to Qatar.
• Carney agrees to serve on U.S. “Board of Peace” to oversee Gaza plans.
• Qatar’s diplomatic rising role and $500B sovereign wealth fund attract Canadian attention.
• Human rights concerns noted but Canada taking “the world as it is.”

Quote:
“It is clear that in the world where, you know, the trading relationship is different, where countries are looking to diversify, I think it is in Canada's best interest to really diversify, engage with partners.”
— Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne [06:06]

Canada’s Mounting Temporary Resident Expirations

[14:40–17:50]

• With expiring/expired visas, over 2 million temporary residents face deportation; few expected to leave voluntarily.
• Immigration lawyers predict a surge in undocumented migrants.
• Many, like Indian graduate Abhishek Parmar, have lost pathways to permanent residency due to job loss (often tied to international tariffs).

Quote:
“90% of all my consultations right now are about PR strategy and about ways to extend my status.”
— Amanjit Kaur Varma, Immigration Consultant [16:30]

Uganda Election Fallout

[14:00–14:40]

• Artist-turned-opposition leader Bobi Wine in hiding after election loss and alleged fraud.
• Museveni (81) re-elected amid claims of ballot manipulation and mass protests.

---

Human Interest

Music Education’s Brain-Boosting Power

[24:54–27:36]

• Early childhood music programs, such as RCM Smart Start, shown to benefit cognitive, social-emotional, and linguistic development.
• Hopes to expand access, particularly for vulnerable children, despite shrinking school music budgets.

Quote:
“Probably one of my most, most favorite things about music is that it really connects with our emotions and our memory.”
— Sheila Lee, Music Therapist [26:32]

---

Memorable Moment & Uplifting Close

Dolly Parton’s 80th Birthday Gift

[27:45–28:56+]

• Dolly Parton releases “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” with Reba McEntire, Queen Latifah, Lainey Wilson, and Miley Cyrus.
• Proceeds support Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.
• Parton's message: use blessings to “shine a little light forward.”
• Her hopeful ballad provides a fitting end to a heavy news day.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Gun Buyback Program: 00:40–04:33
• PM Carney in Qatar: 04:33–07:11
• Hands off Greenland Protests: 07:19–10:48
• Arctic Refuge Lawsuit: 10:48–13:48
• Uganda Election Crisis: 14:00–14:40
• Canada Temporary Residency Issues: 14:40–17:50
• Drift Logs & BC Coastal Threat: 21:59–24:54
• Music Education Benefits: 24:54–27:36
• Dolly Parton’s Special Release: 27:45–end

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Signature Quotes

• “We are a free people. We have always been a free people.”
  — Stephanie Skenderis on Greenlandic resistance [01:15]

• “I haven't seen any Russian or Chinese combat ships up here.”
  — Major General Soren Andersen, Denmark [09:47]

• “Our whole way of life depends on the caribou and the animals, the water, everything that is in the coastal plain.”
  — Kristen Moreland, Gwich’in Steering Committee [11:44]

• “You are taking personal property... We live in a country that is supposed to be freedom of choice.”
  — Diane Harnois, Gun Store Owner [03:53]

---

For more in-depth news analysis and diverse Canadian perspectives, subscribe to Your World Tonight from CBC News.

Transcript

[Stephanie Skenderas]

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[Stephanie Skenderas]

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[CBC Reporter/Host]

This is a CBC podcast.

[Public Safety Official / Gun Buyback Advocate]

This program applies to 2500 assault style firearms that are prohibited. If you have a prohibited firearm, declare.

[CBC News Anchor]

It and take the money ready for rollout. The government's aim buying back outlawed guns for cash. But its program is under fire from some gun owners and not all parts of the country are cooperating. This is your WORLD tonight. I'm Stephanie Skenderas. Also on the podcast, Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Qatar trying to strengthen ties and drum up investment in Canada. And of course we are not for sale.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

We are a free people. We have always been a free people.

[CBC News Anchor]

Greenlanders come out in full force to reject Donald Trump's repeated push to take over the island. The federal government has unveiled the next steps in its national gun buyback program. Since 2020, Ottawa has banned about 2500 models of what it calls assault style firearms. Canadians are being offered compensation to hand them in, but as Sam Sampson reports, there are some hitches to the plan.

[Public Safety Official / Gun Buyback Advocate]

These are firearms designed for war, for killing people. They have no place in our communities.

[Gary Ananda Sangaree]

Canada'S Public Safety Minister, Gary Ananda Sangaree stressed Ottawa's gun buyback program is meant.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

To keep Canadians safe.

[Gary Ananda Sangaree]

Starting Monday, gun owners can declare they want to surrender or deactivate their banned firearms to get some cash in return. They'll have until the end of March to start the process. Ottawa says it has almost $250 million set aside, which will cover compensation for about 136,000 collected firearms.

[Public Safety Official / Gun Buyback Advocate]

I urge you to declare as early as you can because submitting a declaration does not guarantee compensation. Declarations will be processed on a first come, first serve basis.

[Gary Ananda Sangaree]

The nationwide rollout comes after a fall pilot project in Cape Breton. Officials expected to collect about 200 guns but only received 25. They've learned lessons and made registration easier and extended the window for gun owners to apply. Still, not everyone is on board.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

We just think there's a lot of.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

Headaches here that are not going to.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Make our community safer.

[Gary Ananda Sangaree]

Manitoba Premier Wab Kanu said Friday his province would not give resources to the program. His province says the money would be better spent on frontline policing. Still, Winnipeg police are federally funded to help out until April. Ontario also doesn't want to give provincial resources like the Ontario Provincial Police, but Ottawa says the RCMP will step in and do the work. Now legal issues come up in Saskatchewan and Alberta, which both passed laws pushing back against the program. Ottawa says they are not running the program in those provinces for now. Still, Canadians there can declare they want to participate and Public Safety Canada plans on presenting those numbers to the provinces afterwards.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

All of the shotguns that you're seeing here are semi automatic shotguns used for shooting clay targets.

[Gary Ananda Sangaree]

Some Canadians aren't happy either. Diane Harnois has owned a gun store in Edmonton for 25 years with her husband. She argues Ottawa is trying to take away property from law abiding citizens.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

There will be people who will just say it doesn't matter. We are not going to do this regardless. You are taking personal property that they have worked hard to buy and just said to them, you can't have that anymore. We live in a country that is supposed to be freedom of choice. Nobody's committing a crime with them, so why do we have to give them up?

[Gary Ananda Sangaree]

Canadians can surrender guns to police at any time, whether they're part of this program or not. Ottawa is reminding people, though, that these banned firearms must be disposed of before the end of October. After that, if you're found with one, you could face criminal charges. Sam Sampson, CBC News, Edmonton.

[CBC News Anchor]

On the heels of his visit to China, Prime Minister Mark Carney is now in Qatar as he continues his mission to try and diversify Canada's trade relations. Carney is the first sitting Canadian prime minister to visit the Middle Eastern country. Tom Perry is in Doha for us. So, Tom, first China, now Qatar. What is Mark Carney hoping to accomplish on this second leg of his trip?

[CBC Reporter/Host]

Well, we did hear from a Canadian official today about what the goals are around this part of the trip. Carney's office is pointing out he's the first Canadian prime minister to make an official visit to Qatar. And there are a number of reasons for this. One is that Qatar has established itself as what this official calls an indispensable nation when it comes to diplomacy and security. We've seen Qatar acting as an intermediary in the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel actually bombed Doha in September trying to target Hamas officials who are here for talks. We learned today that Mark Carney has actually accepted an invitation from US President Donald Trump to serve on Trump's Board of Peace that's supposed to oversee a peace plan for Gaza. So in that way, Qatar is an obvious place for the prime minister to visit. The second reason, of course, is money. Qatar is a small nation, but it's a very wealthy one. Its sovereign wealth fund is worth more than $500 billion. And it's always looking for investment opportunities. So Carney is looking to boost trade and attract more Canada. So again, it makes sense to come to a place that has that kind of money. Now, we did hear today from Finance Minister Francois Philippe Champagne. He's joining Carney here in Qatar and he spoke about some of the opportunities for Canada here.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

It is clear that in the world where, you know, the trading relationship is.

[Sofi Personal Loan Advertiser]

Different, where countries are looking to diversify, I think it is in Canada's best interest to really diversify, engage with partners. And in the Middle east, in Asia.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

And will continue, you'll see us throughout.

[Sofi Personal Loan Advertiser]

The year defining this partnership, engaging more. And there's an appetite for Canada in the world.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

So that was Finance Minister Francois Philippe Champagne, who was here in Doha with the prime minister. Carney is set to meet tomorrow with the Qatari emir, the country's leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Now this trip, of course, is not without controversy. Qatar has been criticized for its treatment of migrant workers and its human rights record. But as we heard from the prime minister in Beijing just, just yesterday, Mark Carney says Canada takes the world as it is, not as it wishes it to be. So the prime minister here in Qatar, he's going to be here for a couple of days. His next step is going to be going to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. That'll be the final stop on this tour before he returns home to Ottawa.

[CBC News Anchor]

The CBC's Tom Perry reporting from Doha. Thank you, Tom.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

Thank you.

[CBC News Anchor]

Still ahead, you might not think of a few barnacles. That's a big deal. But they are very important to people who study oceans. In B.C. they say the barnacles and other ocean species are getting wiped out because of something you might not drift logs. Why it's happening and where the logs are coming from is later on YOUR WORLD tonight. In Greenland, Denmark and Iqaluit, thousands of protesters came together with a unified message and hands off Greenland. US President Donald Trump is escalating his efforts to annex the island by threatening tariffs on European countries that try to stand in his way. Philip Lychenok has more in Nuuk, Greenland's.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

Capital, hundreds of people protest US President Donald Trump's designs on the Arctic island.

[Public Safety Official / Gun Buyback Advocate]

He should respect the Greenlandic people.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

And of course, international law.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

Organizer Jan Kohler says many are planning for the unthinkable.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

We are only 57,000 people against the.

[Public Safety Official / Gun Buyback Advocate]

Biggest power in the world.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

If the US Actually invades, some, like Rika Anderson, plan to escape to isolated areas of the island.

[Gary Ananda Sangaree]

We cannot fight them, and that's the reality.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

Across Baffin Bay in Canada's Arctic, a sympathetic protest. In Iqaluit, Lakulak Williamson says the ties are strong and Greenlanders are not alone.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

My entire maternal family is Greenlandic and it's all one homeland. It's important for us to show up for our homeland and understand that this is a part of an international situation, an international struggle.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

Ayu Peter is a lawyer in a Caluit who defends the rights of Inuit in Canada. She says international allies will not sit by and watch the US Take Greenland.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

The NATO allies have already started coming.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

In to.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Support Greenland and to support Denmark as well.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

Trump posted that starting next month, countries that oppose the purchase of the island, including Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom, will face a 10% tariff. Trump says if there's no deal for the US to own Greenland by June, the tariff will bump up to 25%. He says China and Russia have Greenland in their sights, which the U.S. needs, quote, for safety, security and the survival of our planet.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

I've been commander up here for two.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

And a half years. I haven't seen any Russian or Chinese combat ships up here.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

Major General Soren Andersen, head of Denmark's Joint Arctic Command, agrees that there may be future threats.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

It is our expectation that Russia will move the resources that have been using in Ukraine on other theaters, and that is also including in the Arctic.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

In Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, thousands protested Trump's plans for Greenland. There on a diplomatic mission. Democratic U.S. senator Chris Coons says the U.S. will work with its NATO allies if a threat does appear.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

As the climate changes, as the sea ice retreats, as shipping routes change, there are legitimate reasons for us to explore ways to invest in Arctic security broadly.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

Meanwhile, the European Council says the EU stands firm in defending international law and is coordinating its response to new tariff threats from U.S. president Trump. Philip Ly Chanok, CBC News, Toronto.

[CBC News Anchor]

A Northern First Nation is suing the Trump administration for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development. The Gwichin, who live across Alaska and Yukon, say the plan threatens caribou populations and their way of life. Kate Kyle reports from Yellowknife Our way.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Of life in the park of my.

[CBC News Anchor]

Caribbean herd in the Arctic refuge is threatened right now by the administration.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

In a video from the Gwich' In Steering Committee, a call for help in a more than 40 year fight to keep resource development out of Alaska's pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There would be so much at stake. Gwich' in are leading the charge to protect the sacred calving grounds of the porcupine caribou. Caribou is our life and is meant both literally and spiritually. Kristen Moreland is the executive director of the Gwich' in Steering Committee. It's suing the Trump administration for opening the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain for potential oil and gas development. Twelve allied groups have joined the lawsuit. Our whole way of life depends on the caribou and the animals, the water, everything that is in the coastal plain that is. The Arctic Refuge spans an area roughly the size of South Carolina, home To polar bears, 200 species of birds and the porcupine caribou and an estimated 11.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the coastal plain resources. US President Donald Trump has been clear he wants developed.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

This feels different right now and it is more imminent.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Pauline Frost is the chief of the Vuntat Gwich' in First Nation in Old Crow, Yukon, close to the border with Alaska. The porcupine caribou migrate each year between Canada and the US and recent Alaskan government data shows a marked decline in caribou populations. Frost has spent decades deep in the fight to protect them. The hope is reviving the lawsuit will stall any potential development. There's still concern. What we've seen is that law doesn't apply. It doesn't apply because they seem to.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

Break their own laws all the time.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Oil and gas consultant Doug Matthews doesn't expect to see oil companies lining up to bid on future leases, at least for now.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

The economics don't work.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Politics of it don't really work. Any company that does win the rights.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

To explore can anticipate that they will.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Need two engineers and 146 lawyers because they will be in court for a.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

Very, very long time.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

But there is support for development from Alaska's North Slope. Inupiat Nagaru Kacharak is the president and CEO of Voices of the Arctic Inupiat. He's seen positive impacts from resource development. Life expectancy has improved a lot.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

We have running water and sewer in.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

All of our communities.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

Having an economic opportunity to be able.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

To invest in yourselves, that's self determination.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

For UConn's Van Tuck Gwich'.

[CBC News Anchor]

In.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

The plan now is to watch and strategize how to garner more, including from American citizens. Kate Kyle, CBC News, Yellowknife.

[CBC News Anchor]

After a controversial election loss, Ugandan opposition leader Bobby Wine says he's on the run from local authorities. The former singer turned politician says he fled when the military and police raided his home Friday night. He posted a message on social media from an unknown location accusing the Electoral Commission of committing election fraud.

[Sofi Personal Loan Advertiser]

We want to firmly call upon the people of Uganda to reject these fake results and want to call upon the people of Uganda to non violently protest and reject any effort to subvert their voice and demand that the rightful results are announced.

[CBC News Anchor]

The election was held on Thursday during an Internet blackout that authorities say was needed to stop misinformation from spreading. On Saturday, 81 year old incumbent President Yoweri Museveni was officially declared the winner, taking more than 70% of the vote. More than 2 million temporary residents will have expired or expiring visas this year and only a small few may be eligible for permanent residency. The government says they must leave at the end of their visas. But as Prates Dayal reports from Windsor, some immigration lawyers say many of those people may choose to stay in Canada undocumented.

[Sofi Personal Loan Advertiser]

Things are coming to an end. It is, it is not a good feeling. Abhishek Parmar came from India to Windsor in 2019 to study at St. Clair College. He eventually landed a job at an automotive company. Then came the news of tariffs and he was laid off. He got job in another automotive company but again was laid off. While he has found work again, his dreams of getting permanent residency fell through as it was linked to his previous employment. Because of the tariffs, the layoffs happened and then I lost completely. Like everything regarding the permanent residency, like in a whim. So it was heartbreaking. Parmar is improving his English scores pour terr and he's learning French to bolster his chances at pr. But Parmar's work permit is expiring in March and he may have to go back to India. He isn't alone. According to federal government data, at least 2.1 million temporary residents will have expired or expiring permits this year. The maths isn't mathing right now. The numbers do not add up. Immigration consultant Amanjit Kaur Varma says she is seeing a humongous need from people with expiring permits.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

90% of all my consultations right now are about PR strategy and about ways to extend my status.

[Sofi Personal Loan Advertiser]

Ottawa says temporary residents must leave Canada at the end of this day. But immigration lawyer Lou Jansen Dungzalan says the government is working with a false assumption that everyone will leave.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

It assumes too much of a good faith behavior from everyone, that everyone's going to simply follow the rules, as is.

[Sofi Personal Loan Advertiser]

Canada Border Services Agency numbers show Canada removed more than 18,000 people in 20242025 at the cost of $78 million. The majority were asylum seekers who were denied refugee status.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Is it realistic to do that for 2.1 million? I don't think so.

[Sofi Personal Loan Advertiser]

For Parmar, if nothing works out, he says like many of his friends, he will go back to India, but regrets his years of living in Windsor were in vain. I've never even thought of leaving this place because of that. The federal immigration department says there may be as many as 500,000 undocumented migrants in Canada, but experts worry that number could increase as many with expiring permits might choose to stay. Even if it's underground. Pretty shrial. CBC News, Windsor.

[CBC News Anchor]

You're listening to youo World Tonight from CBC News. And if you want to make sure you never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts, just find the follow button and lock us in. The NASA spacecraft that'll soon carry astronauts around the moon is making its first big journey. The Artemis 2 rocket is slowly and carefully moving from a storage facility at the Kennedy Space center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to the launch pad. It has to travel 6.5 kilometers. It's expected to take 12 hours. Four astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, will go on the historic lunar mission. Traveling beyond the far side of the moon, it could set a new record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. NASA says liftoff on the Artemis II mission can happen as early as February 6th. The City of Cartagena, Colombia, is famous for its colorful plazas and its horse drawn carriages that carry tourists through the old city. But the city has recently chosen to replace horsepower with battery power, freelance reporter Manuel Rueda explains.

[Public Safety Official / Gun Buyback Advocate]

Cartagena's historical center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its colonial era mansions and its walls space in the Caribbean Sea. For decades, tourists had been able to get around the city on horse drawn buggies with big wheels and open tops. But as the year came to a close, the city banned those buggies and started replacing them with electric carriages. Cartagena's mayor Domek Turbai, says many residents and visitors had been asking for this transition. People were tired of seeing these horses suffer. Our city will gain a lot from being more animal friendly. Comedian and animal rights activist Alejandro Riano first proposed the idea of using these electric carriages. He says that horses pulling tourists around the city were in poor health and sometimes even collapsed from the heat. Horses are not meant to be in a city with cars around them, he says. The pavement is bad for their knees, and the cars can stress them out. The City is investing US$2 million in a fleet of 62 electric carriages that will replace the traditional horse buggies. The new vehicles look like 19th century carriages, but they're battery powered and have steering wheels instead of reins and yokes. If technology is available, you have to make use of it, riano says. But the city's traditional coach owners have resisted the move, holding protests outside the mayor's office. The coach owners say that working conditions for horses have been improving thanks to regulations that were put in place 10 years ago. They argue the city's pushing them out of a business that they had built up with decades of hard labor. We're nervous about our future, says Miguel Bustamante, the owner of a horse carriage that has now been banned. Someone else is going to get the contract now to run these sightseeing tours. She says coach owners want the municipal government to compensate them for their losses, but so far they haven't signed a deal with the city's mayor. As he presented the new electric carriages at a highly publicized event, Mayor Turbai said he's still exploring ways to compensate the coach owners. Turbai said that tourists will be able to ride on the city's electric carriages for free for the next three months while the city tests the new vehicles and figures out a business model for its new attraction. Manuel Reda for CBC News, Cartagena it's.

[CBC News Anchor]

Almost considered a classic thing to see in British Columbia drift logs scattered along beaches and waterways. What many people may not realize is those logs are destroying critical ecosystems that keep the ocean healthy. Caroline Bargut has that story.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

All of this stuff would have been.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Covered in barticles before.

[Thomas Reinken]

That stuff that Thomas Reinken is talking about is large rocks along the shore of Clover Point on Vancouver Island. The University of Victoria adjunct professor says decades ago, the rocks would have been covered in barnacles and other ocean species. But over time, drift logs have wiped them away.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

They literally braid like sandpaper. They braid off these sessile organisms that are attached to the substrates, et cetera. And basically with that, all those small interstitial organisms, which are the primary food for so many species, disappear as well.

[Thomas Reinken]

On just about every beach in British Columbia, you will find drip logs, piles of them. Some are trees that have fallen and ended up in the Pacific Ocean, while others were cut down by the forestry industry. When the tide goes out, the logs go with it. When it comes in, they crash onto shore, causing widespread destruction of intertidal ecosystems. According to a study published by Rymkin and two of his students. They found that over time, drift logs have removed 20 to 80% of barnacles on surfaces along the shore. The fewer the barnacles, the less food there is for birds and other marine mammals.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

When you sort of basically compromise their food source, which is essential during the migration, you compromise even more sort of the abundance and the health of these species.

[Thomas Reinken]

He believes that has contributed to the reduction of certain species in North America. The drift logs mainly come from log booms used by the forestry industry to store and transport timber. They look like a raft of logs bound together by chains. Boats pull these booms to processing bills or export points. But along the way, some of that cargo falls off and eventually washes onto shore.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

I have often shaken my fist at drift logs which float by and destroy my precious experiments on the shore.

[Thomas Reinken]

Chris Harley is a University of British Columbia zoology professor. He says there are more logs in the ocean now than ever before.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

Drifting logs are a form of disturbance. So they'll knock off mussels and barnacles and other marine life and a little bit of disturbance is actually good. That promotes diversity. A lot of other species will then come in, but too much will remove all of those nice habitat forming species and then we lose the food for things like birds and fish and sea stars.

[Thomas Reinken]

The B.C. government says the forestry sector is moving away from using booms in favor of barges, decreasing the likelihood of loose logs falling off. Reimkin says he's noticed some improvements, but hopes to see a dramatic reduction in the accumulation of drift logs in the years to come. Caroline Bargut, CBC News, Vancouver.

[CBC News Anchor]

Music can do more than just bring joy. Research shows it can help develop all areas of the brain, especially when you introduce music education at an early age. Nazima Walji reports.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

I can't find her.

[CBC News Anchor]

Where can she go?

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

The sounds of music and laughter fill a small room at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

It's one of the few concerts classes.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

He'S very engaged with. He just soaks it up like a sponge.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

It's where Sid Healy and his son Charlie attend weekly parent and toddler classes.

[Field Reporter / Correspondent]

This class is very structured.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

You can tell there's something different going on here.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

That's Because RCM Smart Start, the conservatory's early childhood music education curriculum, is grounded in research. It was developed in the conservatory's neuroscience laboratory. Shawn Hutchins is the director of research.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

While children are doing a musical activity, they might also be working on attention or working on memory or working on the sounds of their language.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

Hutchins specialty is early childhood education. The play based curriculum he helped develop focuses on kids ages 0 to 6. He says it doesn't just build musical skills, but strengthens key areas in the brain.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

When children are very young, they're in the classes with their parents and they're learning about the the very fundamentals of things like beat and rhythm and also starting to memorize things, also starting to switch between different tasks to engage that side of the brain.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

The brain lights up.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

Sheila Lee is a certified music therapist in British Columbia and an instructor at Capilano University's music therapy program. Lisa's music can also help regulate emotions.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Probably one of my most, most favorite things about music is that it really connects with our emotions and our memory. So when kids hear a favorite song, they might remember a time when they were with their caregiver. Maybe they say, like, mommy used to sing that song to me before I went to bed. Or I'd listen to that song with daddy in the car and we'd sing out together.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

In Toronto, years of research has led to the global launch of RCM Smart Start in Western Canada. A version of the program combining singing with structured play is being taught in some daycares and music schools, in part through donor support. The hope is to spread it much more widely, with an emphasis on reaching underserved communities and at risk children. But with some music budgets in many schools across the country being reduced, even without access to the RCM curriculum, Hutchins reminds educators they can still expose kids to the benefits of music.

[CBC Reporter/Host]

The voice is such a powerful impact, he says.

[Music Therapist / Researcher]

Singing aloud, even if you're shy, is an easy way for educators to help kids develop those early neural connections. Nazima Walshi, CBC News, Toronto.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

It's been a long, dark night and I've been waiting for the morning.

[CBC News Anchor]

Just when you might be thinking the world is feeling a little heavy, here's Dolly Parton to offer a bit of hope. The country Queen is turning 80 on Monday, and to celebrate, she's giving us a gift, a new version of her song Light of a Clear Blue Morning, featuring a superstar group, Queen Latifah, Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, and Miley Cyrus. Her goddaughter.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

I can see the light of a clear blue moon.

[CBC News Anchor]

The song was first released on Parton's 1977 album New First Gathering. The new version came out on Friday, and in true Dolly fashion, it benefits a bigger cause. The proceeds go to a Nashville Chance Children's Hospital, which is part of the Vanderbilt Medical center, where she had treatment a few months ago after postponing her Las Vegas residency. Nothing major, she says.

[Stephanie Skenderas]

Phew.

[CBC News Anchor]

Parton says the new song is her way of using what she's been blessed with to shine a little light forward. So here's some more of Dolly Parton and some of her famous friends with Light of a Clear Blue Morning on YOUR WORLD Tonight. I'm Stephanie Skenderas. Thank you for listening. I can see the light of a brand new. I can see the light of a clear blue. For more cbc podcasts, go to cbc ca podcasts.