CBC News: The National | WestJet strike ends with tentative deal

Tonight, WestJet and its flight attendants have reached a tentative deal, ending a strike that grounded Canada's second largest airline.

I'm going to be honest, it's been several days of very little sleep.

Planes are back in the air, but cancellations won't end overnight.How the days ahead could play out.He's the next Canadian astronaut heading to the International Space Station and potentially the last.

2026, I think, is a big year for human spaceflight.It's an important one.

Joshua Kutryk on his mission and the future of space travel.Are the Blue Jays rebuilding or retooling?

We have added some pieces that will allow them to still compete.How Trade Deadline Day could shape the team's path forward.

From CBC News, this is The National with Paul Hunter.

Thanks for joining us.Adrian is away.WestJet flights are resuming tonight, but not yet back to normal after a one -day strike by flight attendants plunged travel plans for thousands of people into chaos.The airline and the union have reached a tentative agreement.They're being tight -lipped about what's in it, but flight attendants had been pushing for better pay.WestJet is now working to get its schedule back on track.

That will take time.And as Peter Cowan lays out, for passengers, fixing the damage done to their plans won't be easy either.

The picket lines are down and the first customers are lining up as WestJet flights take off again.

I'm going to be honest, it's been several days of very little sleep.

After a day on strike, flight attendants and WestJet reached a tentative agreement.

It improves on the long -standing flight credit system by recognizing more of the work that cabin crew are required to perform and increasing the compensation for that work.

Neither CUPE nor WestJet is saying exactly what's in the agreement and flight attendants still have to approve it.But getting paid more for ground work done before flights take off and after they land was a key union demand.Last year Air Canada flight attendants went on strike for a similar reason.

This will be spread to smaller airlines in Canada.The big two now have a version of it.And then going forward, the language on ground pay will be improved and it'll be pushed forward in future rounds of bargaining.

But even with the strike over, the disruption continues.Kenny Mackay and his fiancee are getting married on Wednesday in Nova Scotia.WestJet cancelled their flights from Glasgow and their families from Calgary.

heartbroken because it's looking like none of her family are going to be able to make it.Her parents wouldn't have been there, her brother, her maid of honor, her gran, and it was heartbreaking.

They book new flights for hundreds of dollars more, but still not everyone will make it.It'll take time to get parked planes back where they're needed and for people who are stranded to find seats on future flights.

Problem is, they're full.They're all sold.Been sold for months.So there's no seats available.

Some travellers were told that the earliest WestJet can find them a flight is five days from now.Here in St. John's, the first flight is due in from Toronto tonight, but other destinations, like Europe, are already cancelled through Tuesday.WestJet wouldn't tell me how many more flights it expects to have to cancel, only that it's in what it calls the recovery phase.

And so, Peter, what's the advice for travellers over the next few days?

Well, if you have a WestJet flight between now and Thursday, the company will let you make a change or cancel it without a fee, but you'll want to try and do that online.Passengers I was talking to today spent six hours just trying to get through to an agent, and some couldn't even get through.at all.

Yeesh.Thanks, Peter.Peter Cowan at the St. John's International Airport.Some of the thousands fleeing wildfires in B .C.are starting to find out if they still have a home to return to.

Caroline Bargute shows us how evacuees are coping and what firefighters are still up against.

As word of destroyed properties begins surfacing, those battling B .C.'s Bradley Creek Fire now have a fighting chance.The out -of -control blaze that forced thousands to evacuate this weekend hasn't gotten any bigger, giving crews a chance to hit it head -on.

It's not super active.

It's not getting up into the tree canopy which is a good thing.So crews are able to get in closer to the fire perimeter and work a little more tightly in there.The other fire threatening communities in the Okanagan is the Quilpitik fire.Now at 550 hectares and still out of control.More than 100 Mexican firefighters have arrived to join the firefight.Another 200 expected later this week.

But it's too late for Amber Cardenas.On Sunday she was told her house on the main Okanagan Indian Reserve burned down.

I was very optimistic that our house was going to make it and to find out that it didn't.It's pretty devastating and it's a roller coaster of emotions.

She shared a water song praying for her people.

We don't know the full impact on families, infrastructure or our community.Those answers will come, but they will take time.

In B .C., more than 8 ,000 people have been ordered to evacuate or put on notice that they may need to.Widespread power outages are making that more difficult.

So not even time to grab a change of clothes?No, we had very little.We had no time at all.Because we weren't notified until somebody comes to the door and says, you got to get out.No time and nowhere to go.It's the first time in my life I've had to sleep in my car.

Kerry Innes and Terry Chan are grateful for the kindness of strangers.They're being sheltered in a one -bedroom basement with three other neighbors, eight dogs and two cats.

We just wanted to kind of be together and it just worked out that we all managed to find each other.and this couple agreed to let us all stay there because we'd have been in the cars.

Overnight, yeah.

Everyone here trying to do their part to ease the stress of those impacted by wildfires.But as the hot weather returns this week, more evacuations could follow.Caroline Barku, CBC News, West Kelowna.

Officials in Washington state say wildfires spreading in the Spokane area could burn for weeks.This new video shows some of the frantic efforts to save neighborhoods, but with three separate fires burning out of control, at least 700 homes have been lost and more than 60 ,000 people are taking shelter tonight after being told to flee.The searing heat driving Europe's wildfire crisis has now spawned a new threat.Drought conditions in Hungary and Romania mean there's little water to keep nuclear power plants safe and running.on the danger that creates and how that same heat is wreaking havoc throughout the continent.

For a fourth day, Greece is fighting against flames that flirt with the outskirts of Athens, reaching nearby farmlands and prized olive groves.Locals try to fight back however they can.It's not a good situation.This is extremely sad, said Yorgos Mavroudis.The wind is very strong.It's difficult to deal with.

The vast devastation, but a symptom of an even wider crisis unfolding on multiple fronts.Europe is the world's fastest warming continent.That's left many regions demonstrably more flammable, especially in Southern Europe.This shouldn't be happening, says local resident Leonidas Bakrinos.We're on our own.Whatever is being done, we're doing it ourselves.

And scientists say humans have also done this to ourselves.A group of international scientists using a Canadian formula calculated that the warmer temperatures this year made wildfires 20 times more likely in Spain twice as likely in France.

We've still got another month of peak summer left to come and we don't know what's going to come for us in those remaining weeks.Even for those of us that work in this area it's been quite shocking.

High temperatures have also raised alarms about power cuts.In Romania, lower levels in the Danube River prompted the Navy to use explosives to increase water flow to help cool a nuclear power plant.And Hungary is on the verge of completely shutting down its only plant, which provides electricity to nearly half of the country.We're facing the most critical five days ahead, said Prime Minister Peter Magyar.The power grid, our public services and ourselves will all come under enormous strain.That strain is showing and it's becoming harder to look away.

Nala Ayed, CBC News, London.

Health officials in the U .S.are confirming the first two deaths linked to the ongoing cyclospora outbreak.Both cases were reported in Michigan and involved patients who had significant underlying health conditions.The U .S.

Centers for Disease Control has identified more than 18 ,000 confirmed or probable cases of cyclospora across 45 states.since the current outbreak began.But the CDC is stressing the illness is not usually life -threatening.The search for potentially dozens of missing people continues off Indonesia after a ferry caught fire and people leapt for their lives.The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but one passenger said it appeared to start in a truck on the lower deck, then grew quickly.At least five people are confirmed to have died, and 231 survivors were plucked from the water.

The ship's manifest showed it was carrying 271 people, but authorities believe the real number is higher.And Russia says a drone strike at a popular beach in the country's south has killed at least seven people, including three children.Russia is accusing Ukraine of carrying out the strike, calling it a deliberate attack on civilians.Kiev has not commented on the incident.Thousands of female soldiers are seeing combat on Ukraine's front lines, but most are wearing body armor that doesn't fit, which could put their lives at greater risk.Ashley Burke shows us a Canadian company that's trying to change that.

This Ukrainian soldier was in combat the night of Russia's full -scale invasion of Ukraine.She's risked her life on the front lines in body armor designed for men.

It was hard to do something in the front line when your uniform and your armor are not for you.

She's only being identified by her call sign Kudryava in accordance with Ukrainian military rules.Over the years she's bought her own gear and armor so it would fit.

In operation, you shouldn't think about your uniform, you should think

Officials say more than 10 ,000 women are serving in combat in Ukraine.Like many countries around the world, including Canada, most have been issued men's ballistic protection.It's not designed for a woman's chest, which creates a gap at the top.threats especially from above during a war now dominated by drone strikes.

You are much more exposed to the risk of being struck with top -down munitions.

To address that a Canadian company created this at their factory in the UK.It's a ballistic plate curved to fit women's chests so it's tight.

If a woman's wearing a curved plate, she is 48 % more protected than wearing a flat plate.

The UK bought 2 ,000 sets of body armour for women which include this curved ballistic plate and sent them to Ukraine in June.It matters a lot.This Ukrainian MP runs an NGO providing free gear to service women on the battlefield that actually fits.She's been pushing for change and now Ukraine is starting to give soldiers in combat body armour designed for women.

It's a respect to women's dignity.

She left her home, her family, sometimes in majority cases, children.She sacrificed a lot.She says it's time for militaries to adapt to women, not the other way around.Ashley Burke, CBC News, London.

Well, another Canadian astronaut is preparing to blast off into space just months after Artemis 2's successful lunar flyby.As Sarah Levitt explains, this mission will be to the International Space Station and could make Joshua Kutryk the last Canadian ever on board.

Pretty much perfect.timing.That's sarcasm.

Just over a month before he's expected to launch into space, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk is cracking jokes about a little hitch with the game plan.

Yes, we're expecting a newborn when I'm in space.

Kutryk is a member of NASA's SpaceX Crew 13, a team of four bound for the International Space Station.The program is part of an ongoing partnership between NASA and SpaceX, but Kutryk is the first Canadian to participate in one of their flights.

2026, I think, is a big year for human spaceflight.It's an important one, certainly here at NASA, certainly for us in Canada.It's our second crewed mission this year after Artemis II.

That lunar mission saw Jeremy Hansen become the first Canadian to travel beyond Earth's lower orbit.Kutryk's upcoming mission will see him join the ranks of other Canadian astronauts like David Saint -Jacques and Julie Payette, who've travelled to the ISS.Once on board for about six months, the new crew will do scientific research and maintenance on the aging station, one that has outlived its initial lifespan of 15 years by more than a decade.

The thought in the back of my mind is that this might be the last time that a Canadian Space Agency astronaut would live long term on the ISS.

The plan is for the ISS to be decommissioned in 2030 with NASA saying it wants a replacement station by that time.Several private companies are working on their own versions for commercial use by astronauts, researchers and tourists.Kutryk says the station has been vital and he hopes not to be the last Canadian on it.

We have this laboratory that pays to us so many dividends in terms of scientific discovery but that can continue going and so we'll see where the policy ends up.

If all goes well in the lead -up testing, NASA says Crew 13 will be launching on Monday.September 12th.Sarah Levitt, CBC News, Longueuil, Quebec.

Well caught in a disappointing season, the Toronto Blue Jays have made a series of moves in an attempt to shake up their roster ahead of tonight's MLB trade deadline.She and Desjardins now on the fan favourites lost and the expectations for the team moving forward.

It's enough.double -take.Toronto Blue Jays fan -favorite Dalton Varshow in a Houston Astros jersey traded at the MLB deadline Monday evening just hours before game time.And the bat gets the first out against his former team.Also gone, Kevin Gosman.This was his final moment as a Blue Jay on Saturday, walking off the mound to an ovation from fans before becoming a Chicago Cub.

So I don't love the Gaussman trade, but we got some pieces for him.I think it's a good thing, but we're sad to see him go.

And closer, Jeff Hoffman is off to the Minnesota Twins.All of those moves happening mere months after this.A team clearly united and so close to winning it all.Now slipping to last place in their division, trying to find their grip following the trade deadline.

So it's a sell here, but a buy there.Nobody needs to really worry about, you know.stripping it down to the studs and starting again.But they're doing this little push and pull so far that doesn't take them out of a race.

The team did hold on to several core guys, but one of their top prospects, Arjun Nimala, was part of a surprising deal in exchange for star Angels pitcher Jose Soriano.

This group is still going to compete, and we have added some pieces that will allow them to still compete.and think about each day as they come.

The decision not to fully rebuild has some fanson the bright side.

Personally, I feel like they're not out of it yet.They're only four and a half games like out of playoff spot.

So far, they're on a bad start this year.But they could still come back.

Others setting their sights on 2027.

Hopefully we'll look back at this next year and say, hey, it was a step back.But next year, let's hope we make three steps forward.

run like the one that captivated the country not too long ago.Sian Desjardins, CBC News, Toronto.

A young Quebec man has created an app prioritizing connections over mindless scrolling.

Social media that we are using right now aren't social anymore.

How the platform is designed to avoid addiction.Plus, China is an electric vehicle powerhouse with batteries swapped out in minutes.

It's better than charging my battery because it saves more time for me.

How renewed ties could impact Canada's auto industry.And a dramatic rescue after a seaplane crashes into a dock in the Bahamas.

I'll never forget pulling up to the boat and hearing the glug, glug, glug and all the water coming into it.And I said, oh man, this plane's going down, guys.

We're back in two.Well, there's a new Canadian designed app aimed at putting a stop to all that endless scrolling we all do on social media.Alexander Silberman spoke to its creator about how it's meant to help users cut down on screen time.

You can add some friends.A new social media app designed to limit social media to small doses.There's no algorithm, no advertising, even messages encouraging users to disconnect.So you've seen it all, the rest is offline.Alexey Bussy created the app Livio.The 21 -year -old wanted a way to connect with friends, but not be glued to his phone.

I could reach six to eight hours a day.

Why replace social media with another app?Social media that we are using right now aren't social anymore.I'm trying to keep the social part that we used to like.

A possible solution.as mental health advocates continue to draw attention to the harms of social media.A Canadian survey found young people who report seven plus hours of screen time are significantly more likely to experience severe anxiety, depression and psychological distress.

What we do know is that what we are doing right now doesn't seem to be working.

The push to curb social media use is now before Parliament.Bill C -34 would ban children under 16 from opening accounts.Researchers say apps like Livio could help people effectively decrease their time on screens.People tend to say that they spend more time on it than they would like.This teen content creator understands the motivation but is advocating for a different approach.Better protect young people by teaching them about the harms of doom scrolling.

rather than an overall ban.

Setting young people up with the resources that they need to go into the online world more informed.I'm Inara.

Inara Allen promotes diversity in children's books on social media.The 17 -year -old found a large audience for her work on Instagram, leading to speaking gigs, a TV show and awards.

Social media is a place where so many young people have the space to express themselves.

A powerful tool with a growing debate over its limits.Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Montreal.

Earlier this year, Canada cracked open the door to Chinese -made electric vehicles.So our Chris Brown traveled to Beijing to examine how China became the world's EV leader and what it could mean for the North American auto industry.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit here to start 2026 was an attempt to reset strained relations with China and it's led to a significant thaw in bilateral ties.Canada agreed to let China sell a small number of electric vehicles into the Canadian market.And China agreed to lower tariffs on Canadian agricultural products such as canola seeds, peas, as well as seafood.It's part of what Carney and China's leader Xi Jinping referred to as a new strategic partnership.We're going to be diving into what that could mean for Canada in the months and in the years ahead.We're going to start in the Hongqiao Bay area, that's south of Shanghai.

It's one of the hubs of China's electric vehicle industry and it's also the home of Geely.Geely is China's number two electric car maker.They're one of 10 or 12 major Chinese EV companies that have really transformed the global automotive industry.We visited its Zeker plant which also makes brands that Canadians might be more familiar with such as Volvo and Polestar.We're going to look at how these vehicles are made and how China has been able to leverage these incredible volumes into much lower production costs.We're also going to look at how China has built up a vast infrastructure to support the EVs, which has helped propel

growth and their popularity.At this Shanghai service station the attendants are robots.English teacher Tony Cao doesn't plug in his EV to charge its battery but trades his empty battery for a full one in the time it takes to grab a coffee.

Almost like three minutes because you can see that on on the screen, right?It shows the process of the battery swap process.I think it's getting shorter and shorter.

With Chinese EV maker NIO, you own the car but rent the battery.

It's better than charging my battery because it saves more time for me.

Not only is China dominating the global market for electric vehicles, it's developed an entire ecosystem of battery swapping and charging stations to support them.

China's strengths in electric vehicle sector are undeniable.And in order for Canada to build our own competitive EV sector, we need to learn from innovative partners.

After Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China Canada opened the door just a bit to Chinese EVs by allowing 49 ,000 to be sold into Canada's domestic market.It's part of a bigger play allowing Canadian agricultural products to regain access to China.That's not a lot of cars but the implications of giving Chinese companies such as Geely, BYD, Xiaomi and Cherry a Canadian footprint could be transformational.It could mean confronting the kind of industrial change that North America hasn't seen in decades and embracing Chinese design tech that makes many people feel uneasy.CBC News was given rare access to a Geely factory that makes the Zeker line in Ningbo, south of Shanghai.Well, Zeker is a new name to Canadians.

Geely also owns Volvo and its electric performance brand Polestar.It means the Chinese giant isn't starting from zero.It already has an in with Canadian consumers.And inside this plant we saw exactly what the rest of the Canadian auto industry could soon be facing.

The formula for China's electric vehicle success is straightforward.

Massive automation leads to massive scale.And that scale is now pointed directly at Canada's markets.The welding area alone uses 850 robots to do precision work.It's known as a dark factory.The robotics rely on sensors and there are so few workers that the lights don't even need to be turned on.A rhythmic unceasing automated assembly line like a pulse produces a finished vehicle every 60 seconds.

All of it's accomplished with just 1 ,600 employees on the floor.It's a level of human -to -robot efficiency that dwarfs North America.

What do our customers care about?They care about whetherthe vehicle is reliable, whether the body is solid, and whether the whole car is safe.Through automated production, we've greatly enhanced our quality control.

Nearby, the company has just opened an enormous safety center.It was built explicitly so that Chinese cars can be engineered to meet high North American safety standards.By matching Western safety with a price tag often under $35 ,000 the attraction for Canadian consumers is obvious.But that low price isn't just a bargain.It's an alarm bell for the Canadian auto industry.With Chinese electric vehicles Canadians aren't just getting extra choices in cars.

They're getting a product from an AI -driven ecosystem that's already automated away many of the traditional costs of manufacturing.

Look, there's no sugarcoating this.We are in the fight of our lives here.

In Canada's auto heartland the fear is of an extinction level event.Unions warn that letting in Chinese EVs built by a workforce of robots that don't collect pensions or pay taxes will jeopardize tens of thousands of Canadian jobs.Other critics allege some components are made with child or forced labor.Concerns the Kearney government says it's alert to but China denies.In China, the industrial disruption caused by extreme automation is already reality.Professor Zhang Sheng says

while his country loves its new AI -driven technology the human cost has been high.

Now in Chinese universities internal combustion engine majors are disappearing.The main reason is they simply can't recruit students anymore.Everyone knows fuel -powered cars will gradually be replaced by new energy vehicles.It's also a shock to China too.

But the disruption headed for Canada isn't just the cars.It's the digital grid backstopping them.Chinese giants like Teld have built a national nervous system.An immense energy web with a Chinese AI brain.that moves a nation.

In this sense, EV charging infrastructure and electric vehicles are like two legs walking together.For EVs to develop, charging infrastructure must move forward first.Once the infrastructure is well built, the EV industry will thrive even more.This is a mutually reinforcing, complementary process.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has dubbed the Chinese EVs surveillance operations on wheels.

I'm not making this stuff up.They're going to be listening to your telephone conversation.

But in the boardrooms of China's tech giants that's dismissed as nonsense.Sun Xiao Hong is with the automobile branch of China's Chamber of Commerce.

We don't think the car can send some information to China.We don't need China to lean that because we have the regulations from the United Nations.The data will stay in Canada when we come back here.

Yes, yes, yes.

For now the door to Canada for Chinese electric vehicles is only a jar.

I'm actually a huge fan of this kind of technology.

But Tony Tsao was convinced by what he's hearing.and believes Canadians will overcome their concerns too.The unending rhythm of China's lightless factories poses a final dilemma for Canada.Is this an innovative partnership to embrace or a system that will eventually leave our own industrial heartland in the rearview mirror?

China is also betting on its AI technology to power future renewable energy grids including in Canada.Definitely, we can replicate in Canada.But is such an energy alliance really attainable?China is aggressively pitching its green tech to global markets including Canada.Let's head back to Chris Brown in Beijing with what that proposal looks like and how China became such an energy powerhouse.

The development of China's electric vehicle industry wasn't a fluke.It was carefully thought out and heavily supported by China's government with subsidies at every step of the production process, both for consumers as well as for the EV makers.Those decisions are made by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.Every year the top officials and their advisors meet in Beijing at what's known as the two sessions where they plot out the economic plans for the year ahead.And this year we were there.The so -called two sessions, China's most important political gathering brought delegates from across the nation to hear the leadership's priorities for the year.

It comes against a backdrop of war in the Middle East and slowing domestic consumer spending.Still, Premier Li Cheng announced the growth target for China's immense economy will be just under 5 % only a little less than last year.He says China plans to aggressively adopt artificial intelligence continue decarbonizing its economy and that it intends to dominate emerging fields such as humanoid robots like the kind Germany's Chancellor appeared impressed by on his recent visit here.China's achievements in electric vehicles, renewables and robotics didn't happen by accident.They came about because of events like this and because the world's second largest economy focused the efforts of 1 .4 billion people.Legislators will essentially rubber stamp President Xi Jinping's blueprint and delegate Nick Chan told us he believes China's on the right track.

It's a huge market and we're buying a lot from Canada and we love to work closer together and you see a recent pouring of you know previous maybe slower relationship but now now it's a great time.

The war against Iran, though, has already sent oil prices soaring and China uses a lot of it.Meaning geopolitical risks remain a huge source of concern, says this analyst.President Xi's blueprint again contained a vow to reunify democratic Taiwan which China sees as a breakaway province that also includes a seven percent hike in defense spending to modernize China's military.China's vast industrial complex produces the world's largest amount of greenhouse gas emissions.27 % of the planet's CO2 emissions come from China.It's an amount that's more than the United States and Europe combined.

However, China has hit an important milestone.Its overall emissions have started to fall and per capita already its emissions are significantly lower than Western countries.That's because China is now a world leader in green tech with a mission to export that technology around the world.For decades the engine of China's economic miracle was fueled by one thing, coal.But in 2025, a critical threshold was crossed.For the first time, the combined capacity of wind and solar in China surpassed coal.

In almost every part of this country, building a new wind or solar farm is now cheaper than running a coal plant.

I think it means a lot.So we are able to tap into the infinite renewable energy and to power our planet with extremely low cost.

Lei Chang is one of China's renewable energy visionaries.His company Envision is the second largest maker of wind turbines in the world.He sees this not as a business but as a civilizational shift.

low cost.And then everyone is able to share the knowledge.But there's a catch.

The wind is finicky.It comes and it goes.So, to build a superpower,on breeze, well, you need a brain.A smart grid needs more than just a weather forecast.As the network grows to include massive battery storage and millions of homes, the brain has to manage a level of complexity that no human could track.

AI has become very important to shaping up the system.

Envision's cutting -edge project is in China's Gobi Desert where they aren't just making electricity they're making green hydrogen.It's an off -grid loop where industries can plug directly into the source and for the rest of the country rather than using an aging power grid that clean energy hydrogen is shipped out via a pipeline providing a low -cost fuel.So what does this mean for Canada?Lai Chiang has been talking to Canadian figures like Prime Minister Mark Carney.He wants to take his Gobi Desert model, huge AI managed wind hubs in remote areas and drop it right into the Canadian wilderness.On a recent visit to Beijing, Carney said Canada will double its energy grid in the next 15 years.

That creates tremendous opportunities for Chinese partnerships in these investments.

Chang says he's having those discussions with potential Canadian partners now.But if you look at the horizon, you'll see the contradiction.While China builds more wind farms than the rest of the world combined, it's also still approving new coal plants.Greenpeace China says Beijing remains addicted to coal as a security blanket against power shortages.

I think this is just like China's energy policy today is running on two parallel tracks.So on one track we can see the rapid deployment and expansion of renewable energy.On the other track we can still see the coal is getting approved still.

For potential collaborators like Canada there are other concerns.If Canada adopts this AI -driven tech we aren't just buying turbines.We're buying a Chinese operating system for our energy grid.We've got to protect ourselves against the communist Chinese.Ontario Premier Doug Ford is among those who argue giving a geopolitical rival a potential kill switch over our energy is a bad idea.How do you give people confidence that this information and this control is going to be not exploited or used for purposes it wasn't intended to?

Right.So, of course, we need to work with local partners.We're working with local regulators.We're working with, you know, fully transparency.

How many wind farms have you seen lately in China?They make the windmills.They sell them to the suckers over in Europe.

Donald Trump may be blowing against renewables, but to Cheng, the transition isn't a political debate.It's an inevitability.

It's hard facts.It's not fashion.It will not change by these political win directions.

The reward is clear.Cheaper, cleaner energy that could power Canada for a century.The risk is becoming dependent on Arrival's AI to keep our lights on.

After the break, a first -hand experience inside a robo -taxi operating in one of China's biggest cities.

You wouldn't necessarily know, like if your eyes were closed, for example, that there wasn't a driver there.It feels the same.

It feels the same.

Chris Brown and Lisa Xing bring us along on their trip.Next.Well, Canada continues to navigate regulations around driverless vehicles.China is hitting the gas on its robo taxis, fully self -driving cabs operating in major cities like Shanghai, which is where Lisa Xing and Chris Brown hopped into one back in the spring.

It is a strange sensation.You know, it's one thing to be in the back of a taxi, but when there's no driver, the wheel just it just turns on its own uh and we just went around a car that was you know its its rear was stuck out and we just very easily went around it um we're probably also going just below the speed limit too 55 kilometers an hour it says 58 now 50 we're speeding up right so there's no actual difference in the ride in the sense that you wouldn't necessarily know like if your eyes were closed for example that there wasn't a driver there it feels the same it feels the same but psychologically chris yeah it is it is strange um so the whole idea behind this is that this is supposed to create better cities right supposed to mean that fewer cars on the road because these are just constantly in motionYou don't you don't have to deal with parking and so forth and they're also Programmed to be safer than people.

Yep to avoid kind of those, you know, if you're sleepy To avoid human error, I guess So these taxis are only found in specific areas of a city and you can't catch them everywhere look sorry to interrupt there's a man with a child in a stroller and and the car slowed right down about 30 or 40 feet in front of it so it clearly it clearly saw that coming and anticipated it so they are found in several u .s cities already like san francisco so they are in the u .s but There's a lot of regulatory issues to be worked through in Canada, so they're not there yet.

But we've parked.

OK, we're getting out.No driver to thank, but thanks, taxi.

Coming up, a seaplane crashes into a dock in the Bahamas.

I knew it was a race against the clock to get everybody off that airplane.

How bystanders jumped into action next in our moment.All right, so this was the scene near Bimini, Bahamas, after a seaplane collided with a dock jolting the passengers inside.Now, luckily, nearby boaters saw the crash and jumped in to help just before the plane capsized.And that rescue makes our moment.

I noticed a plane had frantic people on it, which is kind of drifting.I grabbed the four closest guys I could to me.hopped on the boat.In about 30 seconds, we started our rescue.I did not know that it had crashed.All I saw was a seaplane floating.

I'll never forget pulling up to the boat and hearing the glug, glug, glug, and all the water coming into it.And I said, oh, man, this plane's going down, guys.I knew it was a race against the clock to get everybody off that airplane.I pull up to the side of the boat, and we start getting people and luggage on.I saw the wing go up, and the only person left on the plane at that point was the pilot.I said, let the plane go, and I scream at the pilot, jump, jump, get off that plane.

He dives into the water as it rolls.It looked like it hit pretty hard.I saw the shock setting in.I saw people crying.It got pretty emotional.Really was the best case scenario.

You can replace a plane pretty easy, and you can't replace lives.

Kind of incredible, but also the fact that inside, while that's happening, someone has the wherewithal to pull out their phone and take video.I would not be able to, I'd just be panicking and wanting to get out.Anyway, from all of us here at The National, thanks for hanging out with us.I'm Paul Hunter.Take care.