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Your World Tonight
Hate crime bill, Canadians turn away from U.S., women’s rugby team off to the finals, and more
00:27:27
<p>The federal government wants to make intimidating people at places of worship — and displaying hate symbols in public — criminal offences. They’re part of legislation intended to crack down on the rising number of hate-related incidents.</p><p><br></p><p>And: Canadians are taking a big step back from the U.S., and the American ambassador is unimpressed. Pete Hoekstra claims Canadians aren’t passionate about the relationship in the same way Americans are.</p><p><br></p><p>Also: They had to sell t-shirts just to make it to England to play... but now Canada’s women’s rugby team is going farther than it ever has before.</p><p><br></p><p>Plus: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz says FCC head is acting like a mafia boss in Kimmel suspension, how CDC vaccination advisory panel affects Canadians, speed camera crime spree, and more.</p>
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Did you know that it was once illegal to shop on Sundays? That's true for when I was born. I remember this. And I'm not that old.
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I'm not.
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Okay, Leave me alone. Anyway, I'm Faelan Johnson and I host CU In Court, a new podcast about the cases that changed Canada and the ordinary people who drove that change. From the drugstore owner who defied the Lord's day to the Mi' Kmaq man who defended his treaty right to fish, to the gay teacher who got fired and fought back. Find and follow See youe in Court wherever you get your podcasts.
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This is a CBC podcast. Hate is not limited to the doorsteps of our religious institutions, but is prevalent throughout the entire entirety of our communities. We see it in our streets, we see it in our parks. We see it in our grocery stores. Frankly, we see it almost everywhere.
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To combat that hate, the federal government is introducing a new law targeting what it calls symbols of hate. Ottawa says it goes further than existing laws with a wider definition of what hate looks like and where it must be stopped. This is yous World Tonight. I'm Stephanie skenderas. It's Friday, September 19, coming up on 6pm Eastern. Also on the podcast, well, when you.
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Kick the dog, you can't blame it for snarling back Woof.
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The U.S. ambassador to Canada has certainly stirred up controversy with comments this week about how disappointed he is with Canadians, calling them dispassionate about U.S. canada relations, sparking some very passionate responses. And speaking of Canadian passion, a huge win for Canada's women's rugby team, making history and sending them into the World cup gold medal final. Nice, good, safe words people use to describe Canada. But hate crimes have been on the rise, threatening many people's sense of safety. Now the federal government has tabled a bill that aims to clarify the definition of hatred, protect people as they access their places of worship, and make it a crime to display certain symbols in public. Kate McKenna reports.
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We see it in our streets. We see it in our parks. We see it in our grocery stores. Frankly, we see it almost everywhere.
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Justice Minister Sean Frazier shared his government's response to a massive surge in hate. Since 2022, police reported hate crimes targeting Canadian Jews and Muslims have skyrocketed by more than 80%, according to statistics Canada.
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This behavior is not just morally culpable. The impact has reverberations through the entirety of a community and, I would argue, tears at the seams of the social fabric of the nation.
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The bill seeks to make it a crime to intimidate and obstruct people from accessing places of worship and other community buildings like schools used by identifiable groups. It would also create a separate hate offense to be layered on top of other crimes. Richard Marceau speaks for the center for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
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It certainly is a step in the right direction and as it sends a right message to a community that has been under siege in the last, certainly last two years.
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The bill would also make it a crime to promote hate through the use of symbols, including symbols used during the Holocaust and those used by recognized terror groups.
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The Muslim community has seen a massive upsurge in hate crimes over the past decade.
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Stephen Brown is the CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims. He says he supports aspects of this bill but has some concerns about what exactly will be considered a hate symbol.
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We just want to make sure that they're able that in this legislation we're able to make sure that people can make the distinction between what a hate symbol actually is and what it isn't.
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Those concerns are echoed by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. NIA's Bussier McNicol is the director of their Fundamental Freedoms Program.
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We are concerned that the government might.
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Move away from a strict public safety.
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Agenda and instead use the bill to.
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Criminalize unpopular dissenting and offensive speech. But the justice minister says the bill was designed to protect the right to protest peacefully.
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Where it crosses into a criminal context is when your motivation is not to share information or to communicate an idea, but instead to specifically incite fear within the person who may be attending their institution.
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The governing Liberals will need support to pass this bill through Parliament, where no government has had an easy time legislating the limits of free speech. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Ottawa, Canada has barred Irish hip hop trio NICAP from entering the country. NCAP had been scheduled to perform in Toronto and Vancouver next month. The group has faced criticism for political statements that appear to support groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, which Canada has listed as terror organizations. NCAP member Mochara is facing terrorism charges in the UK after allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag on stage. Canadian Parliamentary Secretary for Combating Crime Vince Kasparo posted a video saying the group amplifies violence.
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Criticism of foreign governments is protected under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, advocating for political violence, glorifying terrorist organizations, and displaying hate symbols that directly target the Jewish community are not protected forms of expression and will not be tolerated by our government.
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NI CAP has said they don't support Hezbollah and Hamas. They support Palestinians and oppose Israel's war and actions in Gaza the group responded to Gasparo's video with a post saying his comments are untrue and they will start legal action against him. And the calls for action are getting louder in the US over ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. Canadian actor Tatiana Maslany is the latest name on a growing list of celebrities who are outraged by the network' decision accusing ABC and the Trump administration of censoring free speech. As Paul Hunter explains, the anger is also crossing the political aisle.
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The chanting is to return to the air late night comedy talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. The demonstration outside the offices of ABC in New York, the network that took Kimmel off the air this week. The move has brought widespread outrage in this country. And last night from Kimmel's fellow late night comedians, we have another fun hilarious administration compliant show. That's Jon Stewart mocking the Donald Trump administration and the view that it's clamping down on free speech in America. Here's Stephen Colbert on his show last night. That is blatant censorship. Jimmy, just let me say I stand with you and your staff 100%. He's a decent, funny and loving guy and I hope he comes back. And from Jimmy Fallon, this take on perceived government pressure for networks to now not offend Donald Trump. Well, guys, President Trump just wrapped up his three day trip to the UK and he looked incredibly handsome. All of it on the continued fallout of comments made by Kimmel on his show earlier in the week on the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it. Soon after that, the Donald Trump appointed chair of the US Broadcast regulator, the FCC made public comments disparaging Kimmel and seeming to pressure ABC to take action against him. And the owners of some 200 US TV stations said they'd pull the show. Then ABC made its move. But now even staunch conservative Ted Cruz is speaking out against what's happened. Jimmy Kimmel has mocked me so many times I cannot count. The Republican senator from Texas on his podcast said he personally can't stand Kimmel's show. But I think it is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying we're going to decide what speech we like and what we don't and we're going to threaten to take you off air if we don't like what you're saying. And, and it might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel. Yeah, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it. With protests continuing, says the fcc, it will continue to, quote, hold broadcasters accountable to the public interest. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington.
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Coming right up, getting cross about not crossing the border. Canadians are staying away from the U.S. and the U.S. ambassador isn't happy about it. Plus, battles over vaccines in the US have health experts in Canada shaking their heads and worrying about future supplies. And the Fast and the Furious someone is vandalizing speed cameras across Ontario. Later, we'll have this story.
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Canada's women's rugby team has made history. Can you believe it? Canada 34, New Zealand 19 Canada are going to the gold medal rugby World cup final. A call on TSN as Canada upsets the defending champions and qualifies for the gold medal game. An incredible win after an improbable journey to even make it to the tournament. I'm Jamie Strashen and I'll have the details on the game and the journey later on YOUR WORLD Tonight.
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Some Canadians are firing back at comments from the U.S. ambassador to Canada. Pete Hoekstra told a business crowd in Halifax yesterday he's disappointed, disappointed in the anti American sentiment in this country and he's frustrated over some of the rhetoric coming from politicians here. Tom Perry reports on what he said and the reaction.
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Please welcome Ambassador Hoekstra. A friendly chat between neighbors. U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra in Halifax yesterday for a talk with local business leaders. We have a phenomenal trade relationship with Canada, talking up a partnership that's lately been under strain, the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and auto parts. U.S. president Donald Trump for a while talking menacingly about Canada becoming America's 51st state, though Hoekstra doesn't see why Canadians are upset. I'm disappointed that I came to Canada, a Canada that it is very, very difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the American Canadian relationship. What really gets under Hoekstra's skin is Canadian politicians and media outlets talking about a trade war between Canada and the U.S. when in his mind, Canada has it pretty good. Not only do you have the lowest tariff rate in the world right yet, according to your prime minister, but relative to other people who are trying to sell into the United States, your competitors, you're roughly now 10% at a minimum 10% better than any of them versus when Donald Trump came in, became president. But before Donald Trump became president, trade between Canada and the U.S. was virtually tariff free under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump renegotiated that deal in his first term. It's now back up for review by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. As for the ambassador's bewilderment over why Canadians might harbor some hard feelings toward the U.S. flavio Volpe, the president of Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers association, has some thoughts. Well, when you kick the dog, you can't blame it for snarling back. Volpe's industry has been hit hard by US Tariffs, but he says there are plenty of other reasons Canadians are upset. When you talk about annexation and you talk about 51st state and you treat your partner like a second class standing and then say, well, you know what? I think that when you say things like elbows up, it's anti American. I mean, it's gaslighting one on one. There are, however, real consequences. New figures from Statistics Canada show Canadian travelers are continuing to avoid the states. Canadian exports to the US have dropped, while exports to Europe and the UK Are up. The US And Canada are still tightly bound together. But despite the ambassador's frustration, those bonds are loosening. Many Canadians still hold a grudge. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa.
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As Tom mentioned, the Kuzma trade deal is up for review. Canada U.S. trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says it's time for Canadians to share their thoughts on the deal.
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It's a domestic process that our partners in Mexico and the United States are also undertaking. So you'll see over the coming weeks activities and opportunities for Canadians and for those that are affected by the recent turbulence in the trading relationship to offer us Views on how we should approach the review conversations with the United States and with Mexico.
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Formal negotiations for a new deal are planned for next year. And it's not just economic ties to the US that are in the spotlight. Health care experts in Canada are closely watching a key meeting taking place in Atlanta that could have a global impact. An advisory council is making recommendations about vaccines, but there are concerns about some of its members and their expertise. Jennifer Legrassa explains why.
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We are rookies and there are many technical issues that we might not grasp as of yet.
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That's how Martin Koldorff, chair of a US Vaccine advisory committee, started a second day of talks in Atlanta focused on recommendations for childhood vaccinations and the COVID 19 shot. This is the panel's second ever meeting with its current members.
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This committee has enormous depth and knowledge about vaccines, about science.
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The panel advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fired all 17 committee members in June, replacing many of them with vaccine skeptics. That has led to concern from scientific experts who worry changes to vaccine rules will further destroy trust in public health and reduce uptake.
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I'm a little worked up because this has been a long couple of days.
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Dr. Sean O' Leary chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was monitoring the meetings and expressed deep concern after they wrapped.
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Today, what we're seeing is what happens when individuals who don't have a basic understanding about how vaccines are delivered are making these crucial policy decisions for the American public. They don't know what they're doing. It also seems to be a bit.
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Of a chaotic meeting overall. Lenora Saxinger is an infectious disease doctor at the University of Alberta Hospital. While CDC decisions don't directly impact Canadians, recommendations from the leading global public health institute are usually echoed by Canadian health officials. But now Saxinger says there are too many red flags. Most people that I know, like in my field, infectious diseases and in public health, would no longer regard decisions coming from the CDC as being robust decisions. So it really does kind of depose the CDC as a leader in public health. Outbreaks of communicable diseases don't stay within national borders. Angela Rasmussen is a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan. She worries that vaccination changes in the United States could mean diseases will spread more easily here in Canada. But she's also concerned with what it means for drug supply. Canada does not have significant vaccine manufacturing capacity. If demand for a certain vaccine drops, that could lower production from US based manufacturers, which Canadians rely on. I believe that this is going to continue to escalate. The committee today voted to recommend doctors disclose all risks with the COVID 19 vaccine, but left it up to the public to decide whether they need the shot. Jennifer LeGrassa, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario. There is growing concern over Alberta's plan to preserve its controversial transgender laws. The strategy includes a rarely used provision that overrides charter rights. The province says it's about protecting children. Critics argue it's a blatant example of state sponsored transphobia. Ann Marie Trickey has the details.
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The shockwaves are really permeating right now.
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Helen Kennedy is the executive director of two SLGBTQ advocacy group Egal Canada. She calls the potential use of the notwithstanding clause an attack because it would allow the Alberta government to override certain sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for up to five years when it comes to laws affecting transgender people.
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It reduces access to gender affirming care. It reduces access to women and girls playing sports, pronoun use in schools. I mean, it disenfranchises a large number of people.
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The three laws set rules around students changing their names or pronouns in schools, ban transgender girls from amateur female sports and limit gender affirming health care. According to an Alberta Justice Department internal memo obtained by CBC News, the premier's office is preparing to invoke the charter provision. Advocacy groups like IGAL Canada are actively challenging two of the laws in court.
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It's really, really important to proceed because I think these discussions, conversations need to be in the public realm. I think the courts have to make decisions regardless of whether the clause has been invoked or not.
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Premier Daniel Smith had said that the use of the notwithstanding clause was on the table as a last resort regarding the government's transgender policies, adding she was confident the laws would withstand a charter challenge. Eric Adams is a law professor at the University of Alberta specializing in constitutional law.
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In the case of Alberta, saying we want to use the notwithstanding clause in this instance, it's effectively saying it doesn't really matter to us that a court may find that there's a rights infringement.
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Adams says more provinces have been finding ways to use the clause, like Saskatchewan. In 2023, it enacted a similar law in schools requiring parental consent for children under 16 to use different pronouns. One Alberta parents group backs the move to use the notwithstanding clause. Jeff park is the president of the Alberta Parents Union.
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We would see that as appropriate use of the notwithstanding clause to make sure that this wildly popular and necessary law protecting the rights of parents stay in effect in Alberta. It signals to me that the province is vigorous in its defence of parental rights, and we would applaud that.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that he opposes preemptive use of the notwithstanding clause, as Ottawa is currently asking the Supreme Court to set limits on how it can be invoked by the provinces. Annmarie Trickey, CBC News, Calgary. They're set up across the country to target drivers who break the speed limit. But in Canada's biggest city, they're increasingly the target for vandals. Three more speed cameras were cut down in Toronto over the weekend. That brings the total to 20 in just a week. The cameras have the support of the police, but not the premier. Philip Lee Shannock explains why we heard.
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Like what we thought was like a power drill. Dylan Stavonior lives across the street from a speed camera in Toronto's West End that's been chopped down seven times, including one night in May. When he saw it happen, we were all like, no way, no way. No.
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We rushed to get our phones out.
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Try to record him. Since then, there's been an uptick in speed camera vandalism across the city. Stavanore understands the backlash. I think it's a fight against, like, you know, government bureaucracy and like, like people getting taxed and, and getting tickets. Like, I think it's a symbol. The city of Toronto says so far this year, there have been 47 cases of vandalism to permanent pole mounted speed cameras. But there's no cost to the city or taxpayers. The company with the contract to operate them, Arizona based Vera Mobility, confirmed to CBC News it is their responsibility to replace, repair and replace the cameras at no additional cost. Still, some Ontario municipalities have paused or ended their speed camera programs, like the city of Vaughan, just north of Toronto. Stephen Del Duca is its mayor. When an overwhelming majority of your residents, the people who've hired you to do a job, are letting you know they are not comfortable supporting a particular approach, I think it does require you to go back to the drawing board. Yeah, they're terrible. It's nothing but a tax grab. And I'm proud of Mayor Del Duca. Ontario Premier Doug Ford agrees. They're raising hundreds of millions of dollars off the taxpayers. It's not fair. Ford says he favors other traffic calming methods like speed bumps and enforcement by police officers. Mark Campbell is the president of the Ontario association of Chiefs of Police. He says the Automatic Speed Enforcement cameras, or ases, make roads safer. We're not asking and looking for ases to be posted in areas that don't and aren't supported by data so that.
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It'S not seen as a fishing hole.
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Or as a cash grab. A study by Sickkids Hospital in Toronto Metropolitan University found the cameras reduced incidence of speeding by 45%. Average speeds were reduced by 11 kilometers per hour. Linda Rothman is with TMU School of Occupational and Public Health.
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These are not attacks.
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These are for people who are speeding.
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And breaking the law. If people don't want to pay these fines, they just have to slow down a bit.
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While Vaughan has removed its 10 cameras, other Ontario municipalities like Windsor have given them the green light. Philip Ly Shanock, CBC News, Toronto.
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You're listening to your 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. Team Canada is on its way to the Women's Rugby World cup final in England. Canada got there by beating the defending champions, New Zealand in the semifinals. It's a sweet victory for the Canadian women, but getting there has come with challenges. Jamie Strashen has that story.
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The rugby world is upside down with this score as we're ticking toward halftime. On the field, or pitch, as the British call it, the Canadian women's rugby team has become a force. Ranked number two in the world, the Canadian side steamrolled New Zealand to earn a place in the World cup final next week. Can you believe it? Canada 34, New Zealand 19. Canada are going. Gabby Sempt, a key member of the team says they've earned respect for on the field. Offit is another story.
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There's still like some moments that people are like, oh, Canadians play rugby? And we're like, yeah, we're number two in the world. So it's just a funny joke.
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Sometimes their success is remarkable. The circumstances they have overcome even more so.
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We're never the home crowd. That's to say the least. We always are booed against like, it's always like if the other team gets the try, it's like the loudest thing in the stadium. And then when we get a try, it's like, did we actually get a try?
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Because no one's cheering Fanfare aside, compared to most other nations in this 16 team tournament, Canada is operating on a shoestring budget. The team's head coach said it would take about $3.5 million to be successful at this tournament. But with only about 2.5 million from rugby Canada, the team had to fundraise the rest. I believe that donations have come in to about the tune of about a million dollars. John Holmes is the chair of the Canadian Rugby foundation that helped raise the extra money through corporate and individual donations. He spoke to CBC from a England Ahead of today's game. France, England and New Zealand, they're all on professional contract. Their players are paid to play. Essentially some of our players have professional contracts overseas, but many of them don't. So they have to pay to play, essentially. The team has gotten some celebrity help. The Tragically Hip contributed their name to a limited edition rugby shirt that quickly sold out. All proceeds going to the team and it's paying off on the field, said Justine Peltier after today's huge win.
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It's not just one game.
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It's three years of hustle in the.
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Dark and now we're in the light.
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Next up in the finals, either England or France, both teams with millions of dollars in support. But for Canada right now, it's about more than money. It's about the will and drive to be the best in the world. Jamie Strashen, CBC News, Toronto finally, we.
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End with a story about always taking a closer look. The Coleman family loves boating on the Alabama river and searching for fossils. Dad Adam Coleman says usually what they find is pretty small.
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Every time we're on the river, we like to stop on the riverbank and take a break for fishing and walk around, see what we can find. Sharks teeth and shark vertebrae.
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But one day a couple years back, daughter Tala saw something a little bigger. I was the one that pointed it out because I was like, that rock looks a little weird. And me and my dad went and checked it out because we thought it was just mud. And we got up closer to it, we were like, that's not mud, that's something. Not a muddy boulder, but a huge intact shell of an ancient leatherback turtle. But how ancient and how special took some digging, literally. Adam and Adrian Coleman approached a local research center and together they started extracting the shell from the rocky shoreline.
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It would drill around it and then hammer spikes into it and hammer and hammer.
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Yeah, they were out there with the.
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Sledgehammers and I was actually the one that made it move and built. Busted it free.
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Yeah, right. When you saw it actually shift, you knew it was free and everyone was just.
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It was just.
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Cheers. The fossil weighed so much, it almost capsized the researchers boat. Dr. Andrew Gentry is with the Gulf Coast Learning Campus. He says tests now show the fossil is more than 30 million years old and is from a never before discovered species.
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It is such an absolutely extraordinarily rare occurrence to get an intact fossil leatherback shell like this. It is beyond one in a million.
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The spot where the Colemans found the shell is on Creek ancestral homeland. Members of the Porch Creek tribe helped name the species Weloja Colmanorum from the words for water and turtle in the Muscogee language. And you may have also noticed the name Coleman in there as well. This has been your world Tonight for Friday, September 19th. I'm Stephanie Skenderas. Thank you for listening.
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For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC CA podcasts.