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Your World Tonight
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Imperial Oil cuts hundreds of jobs, Trump addresses generals, and more
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<p>Across the country people wear orange shirts to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day is to pause and remember the survivors and children who did not make it home from residential schools.</p><p><br></p><p>And: Imperial Oil plans to pull most of its employees out of Calgary. The energy company is cutting almost 1000 jobs.</p><p><br></p><p>Also: U.S. President Donald Trump revives talk of Canada as a 51st state, in a rambling speech to military generals.</p><p><br></p><p>Plus: The wait for Hamas response to Gaza peace plan, out of control fire in Nova Scotia, new softwood lumber tariffs, and more.</p>
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Also on the podcast, so it's hard to swallow, but this is about a corporation having the lowest possible cost it can have for a barrel of oil. As Alberta tries to get more oil flowing out of the province, it's jobs that are moving out of Calgary. Imperial Oil is cutting its workforce, restructuring and relocating from a city the company's been operating in for more than a century. The day celebrates Indigenous culture while confronting the historical efforts made to destroy it. People across Canada, Indigenous and non indigenous, are marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. And amid the songs, speeches and ceremonies, there are also questions about the federal government's commitment to help the country heal. David Thurton has our top story tonight. And Pisino Watch means to listen. That was our Algonquin name until the missionaries, the priests, they changed it. Or government. Whoever changed it. Jackie Pizzinowach and her brother Eddie were taken to a church run residential school at St. Mary's in Kenora, Ontario. Like so many other Indigenous students forced into the government funded institutions, they returned with painful memories. Talk to my sisters. We're just sitting there. You're traumatized and they're trying to know. You don't know what to say. Think you know. Both siblings were in Ottawa for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Yeah, they cut our hair. They scarred our skin. Way ha way hey hay. A day to honor survivors, students who never made it back. And for others who weren't involved, a day to contemplate their role in reconciliation. I do feel a responsibility, even though I arrived in Canada less than two decades ago. Temreese Khan moved to Canada from Pakistan. One of the issues that I think Canada really needs to grapple with and still hasn't, and I don't know if it will be able to. This year marks nearly a decade since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its calls to action. You know, we have a lot of work to do on the truth and reconciliation. Cindy Woodhouse Knipenack, the national chief of the assembly of first nations, urging follow through on those calls. The commission heard from thousands of residential school survivors and issued 94 action points. You know, how far have we come on each of those calls to make this country a more just society for everyone and to close the infrastructure gap. According to a CBC analysis, about a dozen have been completed on education, language, culture and justice. Though there's still much work left, Canada's new government is moving forward on the Truth and Reconciliations Commission's calls for action. Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's committed to advancing the work of the commission, but through largely an economic lens. But we are building together in health, in education, in economic opportunity, in housing. In an interview with CBC's Power in Politics, Governor General Mary Simon says progress is not about ticking boxes. It's one of those values that, that transcend policy development. According to Simon, Canada has made progress. Still, she called on all to use whatever influence they have, not just in government, but also in schools, workplaces and communities to make a difference. David Thornton, CBC News, Ottawa. Alberta's premier says she's disappointed by Imperial Oil's decision to slash jobs and shift most of its Calgary workforce to Edmonton. Daniel Smith says she's still confident in Alberta's energy sector, but says Ottawa should remove a handful of federal laws to keep the industry strong. The industry for the last 10 years has been hampered by federal government decisions. And if we can realize the aspiration of building our pipelines north, south, east and west, doubling our production, then there's a lot of opportunity for people to be able to get re employed in this sector. Imperial Oil says its decision is about global restructuring and a focus on technology. About 1,000 jobs will be cut. The hit will be especially hard on Calgary. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong is here in Toronto. Peter, before we dig into why Imperial is cutting these jobs, put it in context for us. How big a blow is this? Yeah, Susan, it's really hard to overstate how enormous a presence Imperial Oil has had in, in Canada, in Alberta and maybe most specifically in Calgary. Right. It was founded in the 1800s. It discovered basically the project that launched Western Canada's oil industry as we know it. The company's like an avatar for the oil industry itself. So there's some real symbolism here to such a huge restructuring and it's a real hit to this province at a time when unemployment is rising sharply. Yeah, this means some very real pain for Alberta, for Calgary that were both already struggling. Right. Alberta's unemployment rate was like 8.4% last month, second highest in the country. And remember, these are some high paid, high skilled jobs. This is a tough day. Now let's get into the why, what's really happening here? So Imperial is owned by ExxonMobil and these cuts are part of like a global restructuring within that company. Another, I think thousand jobs are being cut in Norway and in Europe as that company really reckons with these persistently low oil prices. We've seen Charles St Arnault, the chief economist with Alberta Central. He says the industry has been cutting jobs since the price of oil fell back in 2014. The broader oil industry, if you include spillover to specialized construction, manufacturing and kind of all the engineers that design the projects and all that, you're at 85,000 fewer jobs now than back in 2014. So Peter, job decline, production increases over that period, isn't it? It is. And I think that's a really important part of this, right, that this is a story about a company that is becoming more efficient, more, more productive. We called up Heather Exner Perot, the director of Energy, Natural resources and the environment at the McDonald Laurier Institute. Take a listen. What Exxon and Imperial are doing is trying to be the lowest cost barrel in the oil sands and also globally competitive. And so they aren't shutting in production. They have no intention of producing less oil. That means the royalties keep coming in. It means the sector is healthy, means Imperial stays healthy. So it's hard to swallow, but this is about a corporation having the lowest possible cost it can have for a barrel of oil. Peter, Alberta Premier Daniel Smith has blamed Ottawa for this. How does that fit into what you're telling us? Look, these are global cuts by a global company, full stop. But the question is what can be done to boost investment in Alberta? We're seeing money flow into BC around some of these like LNG projects. Will we see a shift to more oil production in Alberta? What about these AI data centers infrastructure there. That's got to be the next step in this. Thank you, Peter. You bet. CBC senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong here in Toronto. Canadian softwood lumber will soon be hit with new tariffs. It's part of A fresh wave of trade attacks by US President Donald Trump. Canadian furniture and kitchen cabinet makers will also be hit. Nisha Patel has more on what it means for an industry already suffering in the cross border trade dispute. At the Glenwood Kitchen factory in Shediac, New Brunswick, production is humming, but it may not be for long. Obviously very upset about it. I don't think it's justified. President James McKenna says new U.S. tariffs will hit his company hard, 25% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities. That could jump to 50% on January 1st. A senior Canadian government source told CBC News. There's no exemption for Kuzma compliant goods. I'm giving it about three months before that business completely dries up for us. McKenna's family business exports about 20% of their products south of the border. He plans to absorb some of the tariff for now to keep his customers, but says that's not a long term option. We definitely have been scrambling the last few days trying to put together a plan on how we're going to recoup that business. US President Donald Trump has also slapped a 10% global tariff on lumber. Combined with US anti dumping duties, total levies on Canadian softwood producers would add up to 45%. Softwood lumber is a long standing source of tension between the two countries, with the U.S. claiming Canadian imports are sold below market value. Brian Menzies is executive director of the Independent Wood Processors association of bc. In fact, I'm getting notes from our people that I represent saying, look, my emails are dead, my phone lines are quiet. I'm. They're really concerned. Menzies says the increased pressure may force some mills to close. Look, we've already been devastated. Business survives uncertainty. There's no certainty anymore. It's just, it's just chaos. Trump is using a national security argument to justify the new tariffs, similar to steel, aluminum and autos. He said major economies like the EU and Japan that have cut separate trade deals will have lower tariff rates. Finn Hampson is a professor of international affairs at Carleton University. He says it's a deliberate escalation. What it tells us is that trade talks between Canada and the United States are clearly stalled. There are no visible signs of progress. Formal negotiations to review Kuzma are expected to begin in early 2026. Nisha Patel, CBC News, Toronto. Coming right up, Hamas is reviewing a US Plan to end the war in Gaza and the White House wants an answer. And Donald Trump tells his top military leaders their next deployment could be in American cities. Later, we'll have this story. A $225 billion power deal has become a charged issue in the Newfoundland and Labrador election. We are on the cusp of finally turning that page. I will not rubber stamp a bad deal that sends the benefits of our resources to Quebec for another 50 years. I'm Peter Cowan in Happy Valley, Goose Bay. Later on youn World Tonight, I'll tell you what voters want politicians to do with this once in a generation opportunity. The clock is ticking for for Hamas to respond to an American proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. It was unveiled yesterday in Washington by the US President and Israel's prime minister. As Hamas reviews the plan, Donald Trump says he wants an answer this week. Senior international correspondent Margaret Evans reports. U.S. president Donald Trump in a media scrum outside the White House, still basking in what he clearly hoped will turn out to be a diplomatic victory. How long do you plan to give Hamas a response? We're going to do about three or four days. We'll see how it is. All of the Arab countries are signed up. Israel's all signed up. We're just waiting for hamas. It's a 20 point plan aimed at ending Israel's assault in Gaza immediately and the release of all the remaining Israeli hostages within 72 hours. A plan that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to agree agree to in public on Monday. Noga Tarnopolski is an Israeli journalist. What we saw yesterday was remarkable. Four days earlier at the UN Netanyahu made it very clear that Israel was going to remain at war. He said the job is. She credits Trump and coordinated international pressure for the shift, but worries the deal won't stick. It mentions the possibility of a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood, not enough for the Palestinians and too far for the hardline coalition partners Netanyahu relies on to stay in power overnight. The Israeli prime minister posted a video in Hebrew on social media saying he'll never agree to it. Absolutely not. He's saying. We said we would resist in force to a Palestinian state. Palestinian critics say the plan waters down the original language demanded by Arab governments on statehood and on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. If it's a blueprint only and that can be improved, that's fine. But if it is final and nobody can even improve it, then we are dealing with a problem long term. Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti says Palestinians have been left out of any discussions about their own future. The most important thing about this deal is that it could stop the war, and that's the war we are suffering from. Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have all reportedly urged Hamas to approve approve the plan which envisages a Hamas free and demilitarized Gaza. Journalist nogatarnopolski Again, what Donald Trump is imposing both on Netanyahu and on Hamas is the possibility of their political end. And I think that that complicates matters. Today, the Israeli military dropped more leaflets over Gaza City saying Palestinians should flee to save their own lives and that the fight against Hamas won't end until it's defeated. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. As Donald Trump tries to stop an overseas war, the US President is making new threats to deploy his own troops on American soil. Together with his defense secretary, who now goes by Secretary of War, Trump addressed senior military officers today, laying out controversial plans to reshape forces while vowing to fight what the president calls the enemy within. Katie Simpson has details. U.S. president Donald Trump stood before hundreds of the most senior American military leaders, admirals and generals flown in from around the world for a rare in person meeting. It was to this audience the president repeatedly advocated to use military force against US Citizens on US Soil. We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military National Guard. There was little response from the crowd as Trump railed against large cities run by Democrats, calling for a crackdown on what he described as civil disturbances. It's the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control. It won't get out of control. And he suggested he's ready to routinely deploy National Guard troops to major cities, as he did in Los Angeles, Washington and most recently Portland. In our inner cities, which we're going to be talking about because it's a big part of war now. It's a big part of war. Trump spoke for more than an hour, rambling at times airing his usual grievances, though he made a bizarre reference to a racial slur when talking about the threat of nuclear war. There are two n words and you can't use either of them. And he rehashed his long standing threat to annex Canada. I said, well, why don't you just join our country? You become 51, become the 51st state. Trump overshadowed his war secretary, Pete Hegseth, who earlier at that meeting unveiled his plan to give members of the military more power and its leaders more autonomy. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement. Just common sense. Maximum lethality and authority for war fighters. Hegseth is removing some of the guardrails to prevent abuse and harassment, curbing certain programs that allow people to file complaints about toxic and inappropriate behavior. It's a key part of his strategy to reshape the military. No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship, no more debris. We are done with that shit. There will be new fitness requirements, no more fat troops or generals, hegseth said. Gender based standards are also being eliminated in order to qualify for combat roles. Women must now meet the highest male standards. If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. Between some of the changes announced by Hegseth and the broader statements from Trump, Americans should be concerned. According to Yvonne Chu, a U S. Based defense and war strategy scholar, there are some parts of the administration that are trying very hard to move in an authoritarian direction. Hegseth had a direct message to anyone feeling uncomfortable with the military's new direction that he would welcome their resignation. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. The United nations and Afghanistan urged the Taliban to immediately restore Internet and telecommunications in the country. The appeal comes 24 hours after a nationwide blackout was imposed. Taliban authorities began shutting down high speed Internet to some provinces earlier this month as part of the crackdown on immorality flights. Banking and health services have been disrupted. The Taliban have yet to give an official reason for the outage, but said it would last indefinitely. This is yous World Tonight from CBC News. If you want to make sure you stay up to date and 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. Summer may be over, but firefighters in Nova Scotia are still battling an out of control wildfire. The Lake George fire grew overnight and now dozens of families have been told to leave their homes. As Brett Ruskin reports, officials say a fire this big, this late in the season is not normal. Chris Levy loads up his truck at his home in Lake George, Nova Scotia, just outside the evacuation zone. Just trying to grab things that I'm dear to, what little that I can take and it's not going to be a lot. So far, 275 homes have been evacuated, but Levy hasn't been told to get out yet. However, with the fire close and conditions worsening, he's not taking any chances. We're getting a storm coming up with high winds and no rain. It's blowing north. I can see the wind is at my back right now and the fire could shift and it might blow right up through here. Officials say the fire now measures around 150 hectares in size. David Corcom is mayor of Kings County. Thankfully we have lots of people, dedicated people, like I said The Red Cross firefighters that are here doing everything that they can. Throughout the day, water bombers rumbled overhead, scooping up from nearby lakes to try to control the fire. Crews are on the ground, too, trying to dig through dirt and chop down trees to create fire breaks that could slow the flames. It's a situation we've seen a lot of in Nova Scotia this year, with a busy wildfire season, including a large fire that burned near long Lake, roughly 40 kilometers from this new one. That fire destroyed 20 homes and damaged many others. Provincial officials said in a briefing today that fires this intense and this late in the season is unprecedented. Here's Nova Scotia's director of fleet and forest protection, Jim Rudderham. Never in my history here have I seen this. It's been quite a year. Tomorrow is October, and most of my experience in this province, the rains start in September, and we're pretty much done. So this is a new one for me. Meanwhile, residents like Chris Levy are packing up and getting out a response that's becoming more common here and in many other parts of the country. There's nothing you can do about it. It's nature at its worst. Brett Ruskin, CBC News, Halifax. It is a deal that could alter the economic landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador. And it's already changing the conversation in the provincial election. $225 billion to sell hydropower to Quebec. The Liberals say the agreement will usher in new prosperity in the province. Progressive Conservatives aren't convinced. Peter Cowan reports. After decades of being shortchanged, we are on the cusp of finally turning that page. Newfoundland and Labrador. Liberal leader John Hogan brings it up every chance he can in this election. A $225 billion deal negotiated by his predecessor to develop hydropower on the Churchill river, money he's already promising to use to hire doctors and cut the tax on electricity. This historic deal will mean funding for health care. It will mean more money in your pockets. Newfoundland and Labrador first signed a hydro deal with Quebec in 1969 to sell power from Churchill Falls for an extremely low price until 2041. The new deal means more money now, half a billion dollars this year alone in exchange for guaranteeing Quebec access to the power for 50 years and new hydro developments on the river. Political science professor Kelly Bleduc says 56 years after the last deal, many people are still upset. So he's not surprised a new deal is getting so much attention. I think that for Newfoundland and Labrador as a small sort of peripheral province, that felt like maybe we were stuck in a bad financial deal for a long time to see some relief from that, to see the province, the government, say, hey, we have more money, we can do more things. Those are really big things here. Some voters are skeptical. I just have this sneaky suspicion that Quebec is out for themselves. At a coffee shop in Gander, Sandy Moss had a chance to chat with the Liberal leader. I really want to see you look out for Newfoundland. I don't want to see another 99 year deal that we're locked into. He has the arrogance to demand that this election must be about his deal with Quebec. The province's Progressive Conservative leader, Tony Wacom, has been telling voters he could get a better deal and he would put it to a referendum on my watch as premier. I will not rubber stamp a bad deal that sends the benefits of our resources to Quebec for another 50 years. Just down the Churchill river in Happy Valley, Goose Bay. It's about more than just revenue. Neve Roach owns more meats. The deal would mean billions in construction, more jobs and she hopes, more customers for her shop. I think that's the biggest project that we'll probably ever see in our lifetime here. And it's really crucial that this Liberal Party in the government get this right. Labrador deserves better. Jamie Felsberg, who stopped in to pick up a pulled pork sandwich, wants whoever wins the election to take their time. Let's not make sure we're rushing into it and make sure that we're doing the proper things. Hogan wants to finalize a deal with Quebec by April, but whether he gets to do that depends on who voters choose on October 14th. Peter Cowan, CBC News, Happy Valley, Goose Bay. Labrador. The Algonquin Anishinaabe Eagle River Singers performing this afternoon in Ottawa on the national Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In the capital and across the country, ceremonies and gatherings marked the national holiday on a grand scale. But on the path to reconciliation, small everyday acts can be just as powerful. We asked several indigenous Canadians what has meant the most to them. We moved here from a small town, Bretonbury, and there wasn't really much aboriginal kids there. And so my kids would dance powwow. And so that was one of the ways and like everybody was so amazed by the dances and how beautiful was. They were just really amazed of how I danced and all that because we are taught that. But it's like you don't really get to see it. Last year I went to Eagle Lake Powwow and I met this young lady and her son and I asked him, you been to a powwow before? And the lady said, no. We welcome all people, no matter what color you are, what race you are, where you're from, even just, like, wearing the orange shirt, it's just showing that you see and you understand and you're acknowledging it. Even something that small, or just attending, we're finally being seen. It's probably hard for them having to, like, reopen themselves to this, reopen all of this, but it's part of the healing process, and I think that's a good step into the right direction. Thank you for joining us. This has been YOUR World Tonight for Tuesday, September 30th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again. For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC CA podcasts.