CBC News: The National | Deal to open Gordie Howe bridge

Breaking tonight, Ottawa says a deal to open the Gordie Howe Bridge is finally done.On pause since June at the request of the U .S., the long -awaited bridge is now set to open this month.Wildfires tear through southern Spain, trapping some trying to flee.

My friends and family live down there and they've had to leave their house.

The fear it could get even worse.And CRA frustration.The Ontario man still waiting for two years of tax refunds.

I've been going back and forth with calling agents and being on hold for many hours.

The persistent problems despite a government plan to improve service.

From CBC News, this is The National with Lindsay Duncombe.

Thanks for joining us.After weeks of political drama and years of construction and anticipation, there is now a new opening day for the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario to Detroit.The federal government now says it will open July 27th, more than a month after the last scheduled date.Donald Trump has taken issue with the ownership, but Ottawa says the U .S.is on side now.

That Windsor -Detroit link is a key economic and tourism route, and the hope is it will ease congestion in the bridge and tunnel that already exist.Let's bring in Michelle Song now.Michelle, walk us through the details that are emerging.

Well, Lindsay, after a series of media reports, including from CBC News, the federal government confirmed the Gordie Howe Bridge will open July 2021.It says the deal was reached between Canada and Michigan with the support of the U .S.government.Sources say the agreement was finalized Thursday.Negotiations have been ongoing for a month.

The bridge was set to open in June.Then the day before the scheduled ribbon -cutting ceremony, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced The opening was delayed upon the request of the U .S.so that they could have the necessary time to resolve outstanding issues.

And Michelle, the U .S.president has threatened to block this bridge opening.

That's right, Lindsay.The bridge is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan.It was initially proposed to ease a projected increase in traffic between Windsor and Detroit, and specifically to help the flow of trade.Canada financed the entire $6 .4 billion project and plans to recoup the money through tolls.But in February, Trump threatened to stop the opening unless the U .S.

was, quote, fully compensated.Then, just last week, the U .S.ambassador to Canada said on a podcast, for the project.He emphasized that the bridge generates revenue through tolls, and so it will actually be paid by those who use it.Ottawa says tonight it would work with the U .

S.on toll rate adjustments.So what is the reaction tonight?Well, the Republican candidate for Senate in Michigan tweeted tonight that he's spoken with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who says the U .S.will get a better financial deal.

Windsor's mayor saying tonight the bridge needs to open for the good of both countries, Lindsay.Thanks, Michelle.Michelle Song in Toronto.One of the deadliest wildfires in Spain's history continues to rage tonight through the country's south.At least 23 people missing, a dozen people confirmed dead.Margaret Evans now on the victims who fled the flames but couldn't outrun them.

Another corner of the world on fire.This time in southeast Spain.Rescue agencies struggling to put out the blaze.By Friday morning, at least 11 bodies were discovered.Four of the dead were found in the charred remains of their vehicle, say local authorities.Others apparently died on foot trying to escape the path of the flames.

It may be the escape routes weren't suitable said the regional emergencies minister Antonio Sanz.A trap or a path from which there was practically no way out.Most of those killed are thought to be foreign nationals.DNA testing will be needed for identification.Officials say the fire may have been sparked by a downed power line connecting with dry brush.Spain, like other parts of Europe, has been experiencing a severe heat wave with temperatures regularly topping 30 degrees Celsius.

Authorities began evacuating areas in Andalucía's Almería province on Thursday.The situation is terrifying, said Francisco Reyes, the mayor of Los Gallardos village, because there's a lot of wind.The fire started and spread very quickly, he said.On Friday, Jose Antonio Flores watched from a distance as firefighters battled flames near the village where he once had 600 orange trees.It rips your soul out, he said.This is what you're left with.

Homeowners say shifting winds are feeding the fires, including Madeleine from Britain.

But my friends and family live there.there and they've had to leave their house so it's quite scary.

Authorities say they expect a difficult summer not just in southern Spain but across the country and the rest of Europe.Margaret Evans, CBC News, London.

As Margaret mentioned, Western Europe is boiling in a historic heat wave.Temperatures across the region far above what is normal for this time of year.Here in southwestern France, it hit 36 degrees.That's 13 degrees above the historical norm.This bridge over Loire River, almost a formality, most of the riverbed dry.And it comes on the heels of Western Europe's hottest month of June on record.

Severe weather is wreaking havoc in Manitoba too.Thousands of residents in Brandon are poised to evacuate because of rising water.While in the flood -ravaged Parkland region, Karen Pauls shows us there are mounting questions about government aid.

The Valley River flood waters may have receded but the damage and difficult choices they leave behind are as stark as ever.Jackie and Jean Morin's house in Grandview, Manitoba was swamped.They're salvaging what they can but wondering if it's even worth it.Western Manitoba has been hit by a series of storms since early June.Some parts got more than a month's worth of rain last week alone.The frustration is growing as people wait for help.

The floods washed out highways, bridges and train tracks and is expected to shut down the regional hospital for 9 to 12 months.It took only 45 minutes for floodwaters to breach dikes built for a 200 -year flood.and inundate this greenhouse just outside of Dauphin, wiping out 40 ,000 kilograms of tomatoes bound for grocery stores in Western Canada.

Basically carnage, like silty water everywhere, there was tomatoes floating.in our packing line area devastating to see.

It's premier Wab canoe visited t drawing criticism from pe The money's gone instantly the next day but I don't see anything happen here yet.The response from the province's incident command.

What I will say, hand on heart, I guarantee they have not been forgotten about.Today we're announcing that help is here.More help is coming.

Friday, Premier Waub Canoe announced a joint fundraising campaign with the Canadian Red Cross.Anyone who's applied for disaster financial assistance will get their first check of $500.Meanwhile, nearly $8 million has already been sent to communities for urgent repairs.

Our focus is on helping families to recover as quickly as possible.

As one part of Manitoba cleans up, that flood water is on the move.The Assiniboine River in Brandon is expected to crest early next week.Already, 4 ,000 people have been told to prepare to evacuate as a precaution.Karen Pauls, CBC News, Winnipeg.

An arrest has been made in connection to a racist tirade caught on video at a Halifax Costco.And a warning, it can be disturbing to watch.A man was seen shouting at two women wearing hijabs before it appears he hit the person recording.A 37 -year -old man now faces 10 charges, including publicincitement of hatred and assault.Police say officers had to use a stun gun to subdue the suspect.

And a British man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for his role in the death of an Ontario restaurant owner over an unpaid bill.Robert Evans Jr. pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2023 death of Sharif Rahman.He admitted to punching Rahman, who fell, struck his head and died in hospital.Evans was extradited to Canada from the UK along with his dad and uncle.Both pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.All three faced deportation after serving their sentences.

Now to Washington and the mysterious case of Mitch McConnell.The high -profile senator was hospitalized nearly a month ago, and he's been missing in action since.As Paul Hunter reports, with so much secrecy around his health, there is frustration and wild speculation.

And a string of...That's Republican Senator Mitch McConnell in front of reporters almost three years ago.Excruciatingly, freezing, mid -sentence.Then helped away.Now, three years later, it's clear McConnell at age 84 has worsened.Taken to hospital last month, the powerful lawmaker has not been publicly heard from since.

But this being a take -no -prisoners time in U .S.politics, whatever his condition, dark jokes and conspiracy theorieshave exploded, mainly that McConnell's secretly on life support, kept alive so as to benefit Republicans in the U .S. Senate.S.Senate.

Remember the dead guy in the comedy Weekend at Bernie's?In memes of McConnell from his many critics, he's the new Bernie.

He called me this morning before I did my radio show.We talked for about 17 minutes.

But even when this former advisor to McConnell said he knows he's not dead.

It was good to hear his voice.Voice sounded strong and sounded like he was keeping up with the news to me.

All kinds of Americans just didn't believe him.All of it infuriating even some fellow party members.

Shame on the Republican Party for just basically staying silent while such a powerful Republican senator is basically laying in a hospital like a vegetable.

They need to communicate.And now in this open letter the state's Democratic governor wants McConnell to fully update Kentuckians on his health.Agreed.say some Kentuckians.

If these are people that are going to be making decisions that affect everyone within the state or within the world, they should be transparent about what's going on.My own personal opinion, I think he needs to leave.

Underlining, if nothing else, voter frustration is alive and well.Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington.

Tensions among Canadian Conservatives are boiling over in public.The runner -up in the recent BC Conservative leadership race is calling out Pierre Polyev for comments he made at the Calgary Stampede.And as Olivia Stefanovic explains, others are now weighing in.

Thank you very much, Calgary.

It's great to be home.Conservative leader Pierre Poliev's stampede speech started off with a routine shout out to special guests including the new leader of the BC Conservatives.Conservatives.

The future premier of British Columbia, Carolyn Finlay.

But then he seemed to take aim at her opponent.That suggestion sparked a backlash amongst some conservatives online.The runner -up in that BC race interpreted Polyev's comments as a swipe against her and hit back.

The race is over and it's time to unite not divide.

That call echoed by her campaign team made up of big -name conservative organizers including some of Polyev's former staff and others who worked with Ontario Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford who've criticized Polyev in the past.

When conservatives from a position of genuine care consideration and desire to see the party succeed express what could be perceived as critical opinions of the current direction that things have been going, that they shouldn't be treated like traitors.

The leader should be spending their time leading and building bridges.

The public infighting a distraction says this former conservative political organizer.

I think it's unnecessary and unhelpful in terms of increasing the party's numbers in the polls, increasing support.It also takes him off of his own message on affordability, on crime.

CBC News asked Polyev for a response but didn't hear back.

People are united behind the goal.They're united behind Pierre.

Some of his MPs though are coming to his defense.

I think he has a very strong standing in our party but I think at the end of the day what people are focused on are trying to get results out of the Liberals here federally.

Polyev passed a leadership review earlier this year handily.Conservative MPs reserve the right to trigger another one at any time.So far, there's no sign of that happening.

What are you hearing from inside the House?camp, Olivia?

Well, some Conservatives, even those critical of Polyev's remarks, say now is not the time for change at the top, but they say more discipline is needed within the party and unity so they can focus on winning.And while they regroup for the next federal election, they're also bracing for the Alberta fall referendum and preparing for several upcoming by -elections.

Thanks Olivia.That's Olivia Stefanovic in Ottawa.Officials in Ottawa are facing backlash after a major unannounced fireworks show over the city's downtown.It scared me. I was pretty startled and my cat like ran across the street.

It was right outside my house and so I ran everyone right out on the street and was very confused as to why it was happening.

That reaction to this surprise display around 11 p .m.last night, the opening night of Ottawa's Blues Fest music festival.The fireworks were reportedly left over from the rained out Canada Day celebrations.The city says it gave no notice to the public for safety reasons because it didn't want large crowds gathering.It has since received dozens of complaints.

An Ontario man is sharing his frustrating story tonight about a CRA mistake he tried to fix only to have it backfire.It started when he noticed a large tax refund in his bank account.

Philippe de Montigny explains what happened next.

Alex Pilon was stunned when he saw a $24 ,000 tax refund deposited into his bank account in March of last year.He hadn't even filed his tax return yet.So it was clearly a mistake.He contacted the Canada Revenue Agency and returned the full amount within days.But then his account was closed.blocked.

And now, a year and a half later, he still hasn't received his tax refunds, totaling $3 ,300.

I've been going back and forth with calling agents and being on hold for many hours.For, at the end, nothing.

He's just one of thousands of Canadians frustrated with the CRA.Last fall, Ottawa ordered the federal agency to reduce delays and improve its service.Despite hiring 2 ,500 employees in its call centres, the union representing CRA workers says it didn't clear the backlog.Our members are feeling the pressure.They are short -staffed, especially in the taxation centres when they're processing the taxpayers' files, and there are delays.In the past year, Canada's taxpayer's watchdog reported a 27 % spike in complaints received by the CRA.

It's currently investigating how the agency operates and what options are available to Canadians who experience issues.

It's something that is becoming pressing when it's two years.It may not seem important, but for those people, it is.It's very important.

The CRA would not comment on Pilon's case citing privacy reasons.In an email a spokesperson told CBC News the agency is committed to resolving reported incidents.

I feel as a citizen there's not much we can do.

Pilon has turned to his local MP's office for help.He says he's feeling frustrated and powerless as he waits for the CRA to resolve the problem.Philippe de Montigny, CBC News, Toronto.

Transport Canada has seized a boat belonging to the same BC fishing charter company whose other boat sank two years ago.leaving seven people dead or presumed drowned.The order says the boat, operated by Top Vancouver Fishing Charter, was not registered or marked properly and that it is a pleasure craft being used as a commercial passenger vessel.The company's other boat hasn't yet been recovered from where it sank.Some terrifying moments on board a morning Ryanair flight from Greece after a window broke and the passenger was reportedly partially sucked out.Some on board told local media fellow passengers had to pull the man back into the plane.

A Greek hospital official says a 61 -year -old was treated for neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns.Ryanair says the flight returned to the airport shortly after takeoff.The Toronto Tempo are making history tonight in Montreal.Canada's only WNBA team set a league attendance record.Nearly 21 ,000 fans took in the first ever game at the Bell Centre.Alexander Silverman shows us what this moment means for women's basketball.

The hype around Canada's first WNBA team.

It's my first time being to like a WNBA game, so I'm very excited to see them.

Catching on in Montreal.

It's so great to see them doing so well in their first season.Yeah, it's really awesome to see everyone show up.Fan support's great.

The Toronto Tempo.Visiting the city for a pair of games this weekend.Putting live WNBA basketball before a whole new audience.

We have the opportunity as a Tempo to be Canada's team from the very beginning.

The Tempo set a new league attendance record.Dream, surreal, gratitude.It's so unexpected, so I'm just trying to soak it all in.

The Montreal Games come at a golden moment for the WNBA.The league has seen a big spike in viewership and attendance and has expanded, bringing teams to new markets, including the tempo.And its players are some of the highest paid women athletes in the world.31 now earn more than a million dollars per year, including three on the tempo.

It was a huge movement for not just the WNBA but for women's sports.I think it's absolutely special to see.

The league's success fuelled by stars like the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark drawing in new fans, a massive audience on social media and a $3 .1 billion media rights deal.Truly this is a global movement.

It enhances the role models that girls and young people have access to in this country.

Having someone like Toronto Tempo Helps women's sports, girls sports, inspires them to do better.

The new fans joining the pride around Canada's first team and a soaring excitement for women's sports.Alexander Silverman, CBC News, Montreal.

A French cemetery was the site of a final farewell this week for the Canadian family of a long -lost First World War soldier.

Seeing what everybody has put in effort to identify the remains has been phenomenal.

how history, genealogy, and DNA analysis revealed family ties after more than a century.And he's the most powerful and polarizing figure in the world of soccer.

He's controversial, cozying up to Donald Trump, and throwing his weight around the beautiful game.

Love him or hate him, FIFA president Gianni Infantileis making a big impact off the pitch.And later, a Norwegian soccer fan clings to history and pushes back against his fellow supporters Viking Rove.

When they were sailing across the Atlantic, they sailed.They didn't row.

That's later in our moment.We're back in two.A Canadian soldier killed during the First World War has been laid to rest in France.The ceremony honouring Private Albert Henry Detmold was held in front of his relatives.Briar Stewart now on how his remains were found and identified.

It's a burial ceremony more than a century delayed.A service for a Canadian soldier who was killed in the First World War, watching on relatives who never knew anything about him.

Seeing what everybody has put in effort to identify the remains has been phenomenal.

The remains are of Private Albert Henry Detmold.A farmer who was living in Manitoba when he enlisted in 1916.He was killed on the first day of the Battle of Hill 70.A pivotal operation where Canadian divisions fought together under a Canadian commander for the first time.Private Detmold was one of several thousand Canadian soldiers listed as missing and presumed dead after the First World War.Now the vast majority of them will likely never be identified, but each year across France, dozens of sets of remains are discovered in areas that were once battlefields.

During the construction of a nearby hospital, around 120 sets of remains were found alongwith battlefield artifacts.Everything from a canteen to pieces of uniform.

You have what we call the Canadian button.

In Private Detmold's case he was found with a number of his belongings and there's a reason for that.

His body was lying on his back.He had his hands joined.So we knew he was buried at the time but he was probably forgotten.

That was until 2020.It took six years to get to this moment.His identity was confirmed through DNA testing.

It was far more emotional than I expected.Representing the family, it's just been such an honour.

Two chaplains presided over the service including a rabbi as Detmold came from a prominent Jewish family in Britain.But on his enlistment papers he said he was Presbyterian.which could have been done to avoid discrimination.

We don't know how he was raised.We don't know what his personal religious beliefs were.And so it's a good example of the complexities of people's stories and how the historical records don't always complete.

But in a cemetery of more than 3 ,000 graves a newly etched headstone.A tribute to a life lost and an identity rediscovered.Briar Stewart, CBC News, Lausanne -Gowel, France.

FIFA's president is a controversial figure but he's scoring big off the pitch.

He's made FIFA much, much richer and some of that money flows back to member nations.

Still, he's in no danger of losing his job.And a battle is brewing in an Ontario town with a long history of dealing with nuclear waste.And now we're being asked to host the largest nuclear power plantin the world.We revisit why residents are banding together to push back.The National breaks down the stories shaping our world next.

That is pure joy in Madrid tonight as Spain booked their ticket to the World Cup semi -finals.They knocked out Belgium with a 2 -1 victory.Next up, what is expected to be a tough battle for a spot in the final.They play tournament favourite France on Tuesday.Present at many of this year's World Cup matches, FIFA President Gianni Infantino.He is one of the most polarizing figures in soccer, but also hugely financially successful.

Jonathan Gatehouse shows us how he has transformed FIFA's bottom line.

Lots of people don't like this guy.FIFA president Gianni Infantino.He's controversial, cosying up to Donald Trump and throwing his weight around the beautiful game.But he's made FIFA much, much richer.And some of that money flows back to member nations, Canada included.How did he do it?

The biggest change has been the expansion of the Men's World Cup tournament from 32 to 48 teams.More games means more ticket sales, larger TV deals and more commercial sponsors.You can see it in FIFA's financials, which go by four year cycles, each ending with the men's tournament.In 2018, after the Russia World Cup, the organization brought in 5 .4 billion U .S.For the cycle ending with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the take was 7 .6 billion.

This time around, within Fantino's expanded tournament,FIFA expects to make almost $14 billion.So he's more than doubled and is getting close to tripling FIFA's revenues since taking over as president a decade ago.With all that money on hand, FIFA is reinvesting a portion back into the game through what's called the FIFA Forward Program.Each of the 211 member countries gets a slice of the pie, up to $8 million each per year.A steady flow of money that makes Infantino popular with smaller soccer nations, no matter what he says or does.

And the 48 teams that now qualify for the men's tournament share a prize pool worth $871 million.The further a team goes, the bigger the payday.Canada's run has brought in a windfall.$12 .5 million just for qualifying for the World Cup, plus another $2 million for making it out of the group stage.and $4 million more when it beat South Africa to make it to the round of 16.That's a total reward of $18 .5 million, split between the players and Soccer Canada.

That additional cash will help with a host of needs, like a national training facility and a proper development pipeline for youth players and coaches.When the final whistle blows on this World Cup on July 19, FIFA will enter its next cycle, expecting to make even more money.They're already predicting $2 billion more in TV and marketing payments.All of which helps explain why a guy that few people like is in little danger of losing his job.

Still ahead, a troubled past with nuclear waste has residents of an Ontario town worried about a plan to build a nuclear power plant.

Fort Hope right now has the Canada's largest low -level nuclear waste dump.

Nick Pruden goes to Port Hope, Ontario, where history...a push for more energy sovereignty.The federal government has released its ambitious new nuclear strategy.It wants to build up to 10 nuclear reactors in Canada.This comes as the Ontario government proposes to build a nuclear power plant in Port Hope, Ontario.But as Nick Purdon explains, that town has its own troubled history with nuclear waste.

We finally have an opportunity to stand up and ask you questions, and you're going to shut us down?That's not right.

And I know this is an emotional topic.It should be for everybody.I know, I know.

The pushback works and the meeting keeps going.

Port Hope right now has the Canada's largest low -level nuclear waste dump and now we're being asked to host the largest nuclear plant in the world.

That's what the Ontario government is proposing here in Port Hope just about an hour east of Toronto.A new nuclear power plant.But what you need to know is around here, nuclear has a long history.Let me explain.It was here in Port Hope, Ontario in the 1940s where uranium was refined and used in the atomic bombs the U .S.

dropped on Japan during World War II.In the years after, as uranium continued to be refined here, the radioactive waste, much of it sand and soil, and which wasn't really considered hazardous at the time, got spread all over town.People used it in construction projects and in their gardens.Then in 1975, an elementary school, which was built on the fill, was suddenly closed because of the flood.health concerns.After an initial cleanup of the most radioactive material, in 2001, the federal government decided to remove all low -level radioactive waste from Port Hope.

25 years later, with a budget of more than $2 billion, that work is still going on.

I just want to know why you guys say that nuclear power is like green energy or clean.Like, I mean, the people that live here know that is so far from the truth.You've come into a very hostile environment, I guess I'll say.

I guess I can't really speak to the history in Port Hope.Obviously, you've lived that history, not me, so I'm not going to try to speak to that.I can speak to experience in nuclear power.One of the reasons it is an environmental asset is that the waste that it produces is contained.

That's Paul Sagan, the man in charge of the proposed nuclear plant.And we'll come back to this meeting later.But for now, I asked Paul to show me where the nuclear power plant could be built.And we meet just outside Port Hope in the village of Wesleyville.

So what we're looking at here is an area of the site where we're exploring the potential to build one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world, up to 10 ,000 megawatts.

That's enough power for 10 million homes.The building you see there, that's an old oil power plant that will be demolished.Why build it here?

For 50 years, Ontario Hydro and now Ontario Power Generation have maintained this site.It's zoned for power generation.It's close to transmission corridor, close to the demand base for the province in terms of industrial demand.So a lot of good reasons to build a plant here on the site.

But why nuclear?And why build what might be the biggest plant in the world?

Yeah.

Why do you think nuclear is the way to go and not go all in on renewables, for example?

Nuclear definitely has advantages over renewables and an example might be the Wesleyville site itself.Up to 10 ,000 megawatts potentially of nuclear power on site.If you covered the entire site with solar panels the most you could get on a sunny day would be 250 to 400 megawatts.The density of the electricity you can generate with nuclear is huge.

There's also an economic impact.When nuclear comes to town, there's money.The proposed power plant will cost billions.And Port Hope has already received $5 .5 million to help with the assessment process.And then there are the public information meetings.Paul Sagan makes the case for the project.

by explaining that demand for energy in Ontario will more than double in the next 25 years.But many of the people here are more concerned with the issue of radioactive waste in town today.

could end up potentially dealing with what's being dealt with now in another 80 years when there's leaks.

That's Autumn Woolsey.I meet up with her to find out what it's like to live with radioactive waste in your town.What's the situation here?

So they've pulled radioactive waste low -level radioactive waste out of the ground here.It's just down the road from our home and then it's backfilled and restored as close to natural state as possible.

It's not just here.This kind of work has been happening all over town for years.When you stand here, we're just up the street from your house and you look at this, what do you think about?

A lot.Concerns, angry, mad, scared.It's a lot of stuff to deal with and now there's consideration for me.nuclear power plant, the world's largest, just in our back door.And we're still going through the cleanup of low -level radioactive waste here in our town.

Autumn wants me to know what the cleanup looked like at her house.

It's been eight years of dump trucks, machines, Monday to Friday, seven to five.house vibrating when they're packing dirt, when they're compacting.There was times that we would make sure stuff wasn't going to fall off the shelves.

Most of the time people stay in their homes as the work is being done.Autumn says she would have moved her family out but she couldn't afford it.What do you worry about for you and your family?

I worry about the health impacts that could potentially come down the line.I can't change what's happened and what we've been exposed to but it will always linger in the back of my mind of you know if health issues arise has it been contributed to what we've been exposed to.

Who wouldn't have questions if they live with radioactive waste even if it's low level.Tell me what's happening here.

So private property remediation is taking place here.

So I meet with the people in charge of removing it.Bree Nixon is a public communications officer for the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.How many houses have you removed?worked on, remediated in the city.

So they've cleaned up over 300 right now.We're still working on the last 800 of them.

What are the health risks to people in town?

There are no risks to human health or safety based on the level of contamination in the soil that we're cleaning up.

You know, you say there's no health risks, but it costs $2 .6 billion to clean this up.Make that make sense for me.

The cleanup was requested by the community because there is a stigma that Port Hope was an unsafe place to live.I was often asked if I glow in the dark because I live in Port Hope growing up here.

But you see what I'm saying, $2 .6 billion and yet there's no problem.It makes you wonder why.

Fair enough.The $2 .6 billion budget includes also the long -term management and safe storage of the waste.It's not just for the cleanup portion of the project.

So far 130 ,000 truckloads of low -level radioactive waste have been dumped here in the long -term storage.And with a plan to collect the rest maybe you'd think problem solved.

There should be an independent technical peer review team.

But for some people at this public meeting aimed at challenging the proposed nuclear project, it seems trust is broken.

So one of the things that we want to do to get people's awareness of what's happening is to have these signs which simply say Wesleyville question mark.

The issue here is that people can't get over how careless the nuclear industry was here in the past, spreading radioactive waste all over town.and they fear contamination could happen again.Faye Moore is the meeting's organizer.

We're calling for a national public inquiry into the historical and current management of radioactive waste in Canada starting with Port Hope.But what we're trying to do right out of the gate is say withdraw this.This is a mistake.We don't want it.We don't need it.And let them try to go somewhere else.

For Port Hope, a town of fewer than 20 ,000 people, saying no to a nuclear plant would be saying no to tax revenue.as much as 10 .5 million dollars a year.

It's no doubt a once -in -a -generation opportunity.

But Mayor Olena Hankivsky thinks there's even more at stake.

The idea that we could be part of creating energy sovereignty and independence for Canada that does evoke a sense of pride I think in all of us.

The mayor says the project promises $1 ,700 millionskilled jobs.

So many young people have said to me, Mayor, we love Port Hope.We love it here.Give us a reason to come back to our community.And this is an opportunity for me to say to them, you can live here.You can raise a family here.You can have amazing quality of life.

and you can have a wonderful job.

At the public information meeting, the mayor gets a taste of what some people think of the project.

Plume analysis shows that it's going to float right by us if we do have a major accident.So we're all going to be living under this potential risk.

I'm happy to keep answering your questions.If you ask me a question that I can answer, then maybe I can demonstrate accountability.I'd like that.

Then Paul Sagan, the man in charge, gets the question everybody here wants answered.

You're coming into a town where we're struggling with accountability and transparency.How do you anticipate addressing that very serious issue in Port Hope?

That is part of why we're here tonight.To me, first and foremost, that is what it is about.It's to be transparent.I'm not up here trying to convince you.I'm just trying to give you information as best as I understand it.

For some people here in Port Hope, there's stigma around nuclear.There's fear around nuclear.Did you consider that when you picked the place?

We're certainly aware that there's a history with nuclear here in Port Hope.The nuclear industry has learned a lot over the decades and is a very different industry than it was in the 60s, 70s, 80s.How we're able to manage all of the waste that comes out of nuclear power very precisely in a way that contamination doesn't spread, it doesn't contaminate lands around our sites.First I'll say thank you for bringing that forward.

As the meeting winds down, I think about how everyonelarge -scale project has people for and against it.Perhaps it's how we deal with that that will ultimately shape our future.

Thank you very much.Thank you.

You know, if you're looking to the future, what would you see here?

You'll see nuclear reactors, four nuclear reactors sitting in front of us.

What do you think about when you look at that?

I recognize the career opportunities that come with come with developing new power plants so I definitely think about future opportunities.

If everything gets approved site preparation could start in about five years.Autumn Woolsey thinks there's just too much risk.

If we can get anything out of this it's to protect the future and that nobody ever is faced with this stuff to have to go through these things be faced with these challenges or health concerns.It's giving our future a better chance because I won't be alive to deal with the repercussions of what happens tomorrow.

Coming up, a Norwegian fan takes aim at the team's World Cup celebration.

But when they were sailing across the Atlantic, they sailed, they didn't row.

Why he refuses to join in on the team's celebratory row next.Norway has been making some noise this World Cup, most notably for their signature celebratory row to honor the country's ancient Vikings.But not all fans are getting on board.One in particular was caught on TV refusing to join in the row.His reasoning makes our moment.

I was at the Norway -Senegal game.Then I didn't row, and I got caught on TV.In Norway, they're doing the row because the Vikings, they rowed up rivers and things like that.But when they were sailing across the Atlantic, they sailed.They didn't row.I thought that the idea was stupid.

The Norwegian supporter group, they came up with a type of a song.That said, they were going to row across the Atlantic.It's just, I got to hang up on it.Contrary to other Norwegian people, I did not warm up to it.There were also supposed to be more people than just me.The ones that I was there with were also supposed to not row, but they buckled under the pressure, you could say.

I like watching them.I wasn't alive the last time Norway was in the World Cup.It's been amazing to watch them.I will not row.

Norway plays England tomorrow in the quarterfinals.He tells us he will be watching the game at home, and if they win, he says he will celebrate on his couch with a beer and no rowing will occur.From all of us here at The National, thank you for being with us.I'm Lindsay Duncombe.Take care.