WestJet warning, NDP’s big weekend, conservation concerns, and more

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This is a CBC podcast.

It was not safe for him to be sitting in that seat.

He had to sit in a slightly V shape, which caused his knees to be pressed up against the metal armrest pieces.

It's been two months since WestJet reversed course on controversial changes to its seating plans.

Now CBC News has learned the lack of leg room, also made a WestJet staffer uncomfortable,

and Transport Canada was warned about a potential safety hazard.

This is your world tonight.

I'm Stephanie Schenderest.

It's Friday, March 27th just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast.

The party's been in a bit of a slump.

But to be voting for a new leader feels like renewal, a chance for us to discuss the things that we believe in again.

What's left?

At a historic low point, the federal NDP gathers to choose a new leader and a new direction,

hoping to recapture progressive energy and reboot a party still recovering from its worst election ever.

Also, three, two, one.

Hey, let's go to the moon!

After a series of setbacks, the Artemis Moon mission prepares for liftoff.

First, there was a viral video, a passenger squeezed into his seat.

Then, an announcement from WestJet, it would revert to its old seating plan.

But CBC News has learned weeks before that, a flight attendant warned the airline and regulators,

reduced leg room, could be dangerous.

Julia Wong has the exclusive details, and why Transport Canada's response is leaving some passengers concerned about safety.

How's your seat, honey?

It wasn't the way Lindsay Noble and her husband Rob wanted to wrap up their early January trip to Cancun.

When the couple sat down on their roughly five-hour WestJet flight back to Regina,

it was a squeeze for six-foot-three-inch tall Rob.

It was not safe for him to be sitting in that seat.

His knees wouldn't sit parallel in the chair, had to sit in a slightly V-shape,

which caused his knees to be pressed up against the metal armrest pieces.

Last fall, WestJet announced it was slashing leg room for some passengers,

to make way for an extra row of seats.

The airline reversed course mid-January after outcry.

Now, documents obtained by CBC News, through an access to information request,

show weeks before Noble's flight, a WestJet flight attendant alerted Transport Canada to the seating layout,

calling it an imminent safety risk.

In a five-page report, the employee outlined how a tall passenger became physically trapped in a seat,

blaming the new seat configuration, writing it put the guests and those beside him at risk in case of emergency.

Only after the man's legs were pushed to the side,

and an armrest lifted to give him extra space was he able to get out.

The warning also shared with WestJet.

Transport Canada later responded, saying it had followed up with the airline,

and says it was satisfied WestJet was assessing the hazard.

I'm disappointed. I'm frustrated.

That doesn't satisfy Noble.

I can't believe that you ignored something that involves passengers' safety.

That's why you exist.

University of Calgary Law Professor Kamal Zadis has employees usually file a concern internally first.

But...

If they feel that their grievances have not been met,

or that they have been ignored in some fashion,

or that there is no action pending,

then they usually will go to these complaints processes.

He says as for transport Canada's response...

It's a really discretionary matter as to whether they find anything of substance to move forward with it, or not.

In a statement, WestJet reiterates the seating layout went through a safety process.

It says three out of 21 reconfigured airplanes have been converted back.

It's expected the rest will be done by the end of the year.

Transport Canada did not respond to questions about the specific complaint.

In a statement, it says it prioritizes passenger safety and says legroom is not federally regulated.

Julia Wong, CBC News, Edmonton.

The U.S.-led war in Iran is taking its toll on the ground across the Middle East and around the world on financial markets.

That's because the Strait of Hormuz is effectively blocked, and it's a key oil shipping corridor.

Senior Business correspondent Peter Armstrong has been watching this all unfold today.

Peter, what are the markets telling us?

They see what you see. They see an energy shock that's getting worse every day.

They don't see any viable off-ramps, and they know that energy shock is really just starting.

So in a weird way, I think the interesting thing isn't so much that the markets are selling off,

but why are they only down by as much as they're down today?

So why? Why is that?

I think markets have been just generally reluctant to accept that this crisis is as deep and profound as it is.

European Central Bank President Christian Lagarde told the economist that all of these expectations of a swift return to normal

or overly optimistic her quote was,

we're facing a real shock that is probably beyond what we can imagine at the moment end quote.

What does she mean by that?

Look, markets are down by like 8% since the start of the war.

That's not a ton, especially when you think about how big this shock is.

That Lagarde is looking at an unprecedented hole in energy markets.

Something like half a billion barrels of oil are already offline.

We're losing another 10 to 15 million every single day.

Meanwhile, the last of the ships that got out of the Gulf before the war started are still out at sea,

chugging towards their destinations in Korea and Japan.

The problem really hits when the last of those ships docks and unloads

and then there's nothing else coming.

Then we're looking at an actual physical shortage of oil and of energy products.

And poor countries simply won't be able to power their grids.

Rich countries will have a hard time keeping production lines rolling.

What is the timeline here? When does that start to happen?

The last ships that should dock that came out of the Gulf, those should dock by like the end of next week.

But we're already seeing it happening in Pakistan and Bangladesh and the Philippines

countries that are closer to the Gulf, the ships arrived earlier.

They've already had their last shipments and right on cue.

We're seeing panic buying of gasoline, for example.

What about all of that releasing of oil from strategic reserves?

Will that help?

Not really.

You know, the international energy agency, those countries are going to release it's like 400 million barrels.

But the top line of that isn't what matters.

What matters is what they call the flow rate and how quickly and how much of that will be released at a time.

How much per day we're probably looking at it only around like 3 million barrels a day.

So it's a band-aid on that way bigger problem.

Trump says he's pushed the deadline for Iran to reopen the straight again.

Is that helping? Does that seem to help?

Well, not really, because at its heart what that announcement tells us is that this is going to drag on for another 10 days.

So the problems that I'm talking about have 10 more days to just get worse.

Peter, thank you.

You bet.

CBC Senior Business Correspondent Peter Armstrong.

G-7-4 administers were in France to discuss the Iran War and the blockade of the straight.

The U.S. Secretary of State told the group Washington can achieve its goals without putting troops on the ground.

Marco Rubio added he expects the fighting to end in weeks, not months.

Iran was already weak.

When we are done with them here in the next couple weeks there will be weaker than they've been in recent history

and they will not be able to hide behind those weapons to break out and get a nuclear weapon which would be crazy.

Washington is reportedly thinking about sending more soldiers to the Middle East.

The U.S. already has 50,000 in the region.

President Trump has said he's winding down the war and insists peace talks with Iran are going well.

To Iran denies negotiations are happening.

Coming right up with the party at a low point, NDP supporters hope this weekend's national convention can be a political turning point.

And checking in on Canada's gun buyback program with the deadline just days away.

Later it will have this story.

It's unmistakable, recognizable from people all over the world including places where they don't have any snowy hours nearby.

But this charismatic bird is in trouble and that's a problem for more than one country.

I'm Androm in Toronto coming up on your world tonight.

The migratory species that know no borders and the discussions right now to protect them before it's too late.

The Federal NDP will select a new leader this weekend.

The party kicked off its leadership convention today in Winnipeg.

Marina von Stackelberg is there and lays out the challenges ahead for a struggling party looking to rebuild and regain relevancy.

NDP faithful are in this Winnipeg convention center where they'll chart a new path for their party.

The Federal New Democrats may be at rock bottom but feel they have nowhere to go but up.

It feels very invigorating to me.

I think that the party's been in a bit of a slum.

Heather Tufts rejoined the party to vote for leadership candidate Avi Lewis.

The race has helped bring in 40,000 new NDP members.

To be voting for a new leader feels like renewal.

It feels like a chance for us to discuss the things that we believe in again and really become that voice of conscience that we've always been.

NDP youth delegate John Batilly is supporting candidate Heather McPherson.

I'm optimistic for the party's future and I think we'll recover.

Like we definitely will.

Like the only way I think NDP ends is if we decide the party needs to end and like close to building down completely.

Despite the optimism polling this week paints a gloomy picture.

More than half of respondents to an abacus data poll see the NDP as irrelevant in politics today.

Another poll from Angus Reed Institute says nearly half the Canadians who voted for the federal NDP in the past can't name a leadership candidate.

Philip Fornier is a polls analyst with 338 Canada.

The average voter right now is not following this race.

So we don't expect the numbers to change on Monday or even next week or even next month.

The challenges are great.

Specifically the NDP has just six seats in the House of Commons.

Having just lost Nunavut MP Lori Idlout earlier this month to the Liberals.

Financially the new Democrats are 13 million dollars in debt.

Leadership candidate Avi Lewis has helped fundraise the most, bringing in more than 1.2 million.

I feel excited.

There's a kind of a jarring disconnect between the amount of energy and momentum at our base.

And the fact that the country isn't yet aware of it.

And so I think this weekend is our re-coming out party.

His main competition, Edmonton MP Heather McPherson says the rebuild must include the provinces.

New Democrats, we're strong.

We are government in Manitoba. We are government in British Columbia.

You know, we are a official opposition in the Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia.

We need to work together. We need to support the parental parties.

We know the candidates, which also include Rob Ashton, Tineel Johnston and Tony McQuayle

will make their final pitch to voters. The new leader will be announced Sunday.

Marina von Stackelberg, CBC News, Winnipeg.

The window is closing for gun owners to apply for Canada's gun buyback program.

The deadline to get cash in exchange for deactivating or destroying recently banned guns is next Tuesday, March 31st.

But as Sam Samson reports, so far the program is getting more pushback than pick up.

This is a GSG-16.

Edmonton gun owner, Adrienne Micheaux, holds up a black rifle.

It was recently reclassified as illegal, joining more than 2,500 others on a list of banned guns.

In reality, this thing's mostly made of plastic.

The online creator, who teaches safety courses required to get a fire arm license, will deactivate the banned gun,

but won't declare it through Ottawa's buyback program.

A system he believes takes property from law abiding Canadians.

You're asking for me to give up my hobby, give up $10,000 worth of firearms.

Is that worth what we're getting on the other side? Are we really becoming safer?

Since the program started in January, almost every province and territory has been critical,

suggesting it won't improve public safety.

In most regions, local police services decide if they want to collect the guns.

Many won't.

Including Toronto police, the city with Canada's highest rates of gun violence.

Instead, it'll focus on targeting criminals using illegal guns, which mostly come in from the US.

But others say the buyback will make a dent in firearm violence.

Getting firearms out of households can reduce the likelihood of it being used for suicide or accidents.

Joel Negan has studied public policy effects on gun violence at the University of Sydney.

Australia ran a buyback program in the 90s and is planning another after December's bond-dye beach massacre.

But if the only intervention that a jurisdiction proposes is a gun buyback,

I'm not convinced that that by itself is going to lead to a substantial reduction in firearm violence.

We need to address the access, the motivations that lead to firearm violence.

That has amplified in Canada since an 18-year-old killed eight people in Tumblr Ridge BC last month.

She shot family members, then opened fire at a school, then shot herself.

She had an expired gun license, and police removed firearms from her home in the past due to mental health concerns.

Those guns were later returned.

The RCMP has yet to release the types of guns used in the attack.

A live-sert steak, Heidi Rath-Gen with gun control advocacy group Paulisa Souvignon, says that information is crucial to see if the guns were on the federal banned list.

We have a number of gun control measures now that are in the process of being developed.

And yet, you know, when we have a tragic case that could inform the development, the police is not being forthcoming.

The group is concerned about low uptake in the buyback, blaming politicians for weak messaging and failing to address misinformation from pro-gun groups.

Public Safety Canada says Canadians have so far declared 52,000 firearms through the program.

The government set aside enough money for 136,000 guns.

Samsung's CBC News, Edmonton.

NASA's first crude moon mission in decades is ready for a lift-off.

Artemis II astronauts arrived at their launch site in Florida today.

After recurring delays, NASA says the launch will happen in the first week of April, taking a crew that includes one Canadian deeper into space than ever before.

Tanya Fletcher has more.

The launch site is already abuzz as the Artemis II crew touches down on the very same tarmac where they're expected to blast off into space in T minus five days.

Hey, let's go to the moon!

I think the nation and the world has been waiting a long time to do this again.

That's Reed Weisman, commander of the four pioneers as NASA has dubbed them.

They arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Houston, Texas this morning.

It's the closest they've come yet to launching.

Fuel leaks and other issues have caused two months of delays and it double-hanger-to-pad rollouts.

Now, lined up shoulder to shoulder, all smiles standing near the towering rocket that's poised to send them around the moon come Wednesday.

If all continues to go as planned, that is, the anticipation is palpable.

It has been a lot of work. It's been a great journey. It's great to be down here in the in the Florida warm air.

The vehicle looked amazing on the pad on the way in.

That vehicle he's referring to is the Orion capsule atop the rocket that'll carry the four on NASA's first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Stephen Kurner is deputy director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Farther from Earth than any other humans have ever been, even in the Apollo days.

And so, yes, we've been to the moon back in the 60s and 70s, but this is a historic day in that it is the next step in putting boots back on the surface.

And as you've heard this week, we have plans for a moon base soon after that.

Earlier this week, a fresh plan was unveiled for the moon base, that NASA intends to build under the Artemis program.

Next week's moon shot will be followed in 2027 by a lunar land or demo in orbit around Earth.

And in 2028 by one, possibly two lunar landings by astronauts history in the making for outer space and specifically for Canada too.

I feel a great sense of pride for Canada.

One of the four astronauts, Canadian Jeremy Hanson, will be the first non-American to travel into deep space.

You know, it is time to continue to evolve our vision as Canadians, you know, what can we continue to do?

What can we do next? And that's really exciting to me.

NASA has the first six days of April to launch the rocket.

The 10-day flight will end with a Pacific splashdown.

For now, all fingers crossed for an all systems go.

10-year flutcher, CBC News, Vancouver.

They carry no passports, but travel the world.

Crossing borders freely by land, air, and sea.

But migratory species are facing more threats globally.

So the international community is working together in Brazil this week to protect some of the planet's most beautiful and recognizable animals.

Science reporter Anandram has more.

The call of a snowy owl, rare.

And if you're at spray up in the Arctic, those white camouflage wings with sound dampening feathers means you won't see or hear it coming.

And I'm describing all this, even though.

It's a bird that doesn't need a lot of introduction.

At least for Jean-François Serien, senior scientist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania.

He knows owls, knows they're in trouble too.

I've been declining, I've been showing an ongoing decline.

We're lucky here in Canada we still have snowy owl population that is reproducing well.

For those countries at the edge of the range for the species, now they're seeing the species being either not there anymore or barely there.

Yeah, here is more forklift.

Like in Sweden.

The magazine first appeared in 1942.

Where Nicolas Arnson, editor of a popular birding magazine, feels the loss.

They are special among birds, amazing birds in different aspects, not only because of Harry Potter.

Since 2015, it's thought a warming Arctic has affected their food supply, lemmings, meaning snowy owls aren't visiting Sweden anymore, leading Arnson and others to declare it regionally extinct.

They remind us all that natural world is deeply interconnected.

Migratory species are getting their day at a UN conference this week, snowy owls, cheetahs, hyenas, giant otters, all are being considered for greater protections.

After years of tracking these sharks, now we know that they undertake these epic reproductive migrations across the region.

Pelaio Salinas Delio wants hammerhead sharks on that list. A marine ecologist with the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galapagos Islands, he says they're critically endangered.

Because when they're all together in a shiver of hammerheads as it's known, they're vulnerable to overfishing.

Marine protected areas, combined with the sustainable fish and its management in the areas that are open to fish, will be the long term solution.

And if we act decisively?

And while Canada is not part of them, the government told CBC News there are ongoing discussions to add the snowy owl to Canada's species at risk act, protection that could help bring it back to other countries.

It is a bird that is special for northern parts of Sweden. Yeah, it's very sad that it's gone, but hopefully it's not gone forever.

So more of the world can share in these charismatic travelers before it's too late.

Anandram CBC News, Toronto.

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 luck us in.

For the first time in the Junos 55 year history, Latin Canadian musicians will be in a standalone category, not as part of the global music genre.

As Griffin Yeager reports, its recognition of the massive popularity of Latin music around the world and a boost for Latin artists here at home.

For Latin artists Mario Puglia, this year is more than a milestone.

It became like in a dream or in a dream mostly like in a goal. And it's been actually a hard work and not spying off.

Puglia is part of the inaugural group of nominees for the Junos Latin music recording of the year category.

It means a beautiful step. The message is spreading more and more.

A message that took years to send says Ricky Taco head of Latin music at Live Nation.

It all started about two, three years ago when we were like, okay, you know what, it's been 55 years of the Junos.

We feel like we still need to be a part of it.

Taco was part of the team who advocated for the category. Something he says is more timely than ever.

It just means a lot. I mean, coming from someone that's been in the industry for literally 20 years.

I've seen the whole process, you know, we've seen Latin concerts and Latin artists perform at literally nightclubs to bank with halls and now we're, you know, doing arenas and stadiums.

Latin music is having a moment with artists like Bad Bunny performing on the world's biggest stages and topping the charts.

It's no longer, you know, Latin music for Latin people only. It's more of a global sort of a genre.

Was it there?

For producers Jorge Pineda and Josh Polas, known to the industry as just ideas who've worked with names like Shakira and Pitbull,

this presents an opportunity to uplift the next generation of stars.

I feel like a lot of the majority of people don't have as much exposure as I feel like they should be getting in the first place.

So hopefully with this coming out like everyone has a chance to shine properly.

It just puts you in that next conversation, you know, if you're Juno nominated for this or a Juno winner for that, it really opens a different set of doors.

Before this year, Juno nominated Latin artists were grouped into the global music category.

TMU head of music production Charlie Wall Andrews says this change could open doors for other genres too.

By having a separate category that then creates more space for other artists from different backgrounds and cultures.

So as Canada's sound evolves, we have the first piece of the foundation laid.

I think it sends the message of the sky's a limit.

So does the country's biggest stage in music, making room for a scene more popular than ever.

Griffin Yeager CBC News to run it.

We close tonight as much of the country is still shivering in early spring weather with something that has the power to make this big cold country feel a bit smaller and a bit warmer.

It wasn't that long ago when millions of Canadians huddled around their TVs packed into bars or for the lucky ones, the stadium itself, for a legendary season of Toronto Blue Jays baseball.

The team's thrilling run to the world series and it's heartbreaking game seven extra innings loss.

Well, that is now history. Tonight is a new beginning.

I'm feeling pretty stoked. Honestly, it's just nice to be here tonight.

I think they're going to win. They're all excited to be back. They're going to chip on their shoulder. They need a win.

And I think it's going to be a great season. It's been like six months. Our voices are rested. We're ready to cheer again.

Blue Jays fans in downtown Toronto ready for the start of the 2026 season.

The Jays are taking on the Oakland Athletics tonight.

Blue Jays infield or Ernie Clement says last season may have ended in pain, but he thinks the team can build on it.

Yeah, I have a ton of so many positive memories of it. It was just so much fun.

It was kind of a whirlwind and playing in that type of environment. That type of atmosphere is as good as it gets.

And we're going to do our best to get right back there and Clement won't be the only familiar face on the field, even if all star Boba

Shet is gone. Last year's lineup is mostly intact. Superstars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer are back and manager John Schneider is in charge.

And you know, those sounds aren't going anywhere.

As Blue Jays fans try to recapture the magic of last season with one key difference and even greater hope, they win it all this time.

This has been Your World Tonight for Friday, March 27th. I'm Stephanie Skenderas. Thank you for being with us. Good night.

For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.