Juno News - June 23, 2025


Trump strikes Iran

Topics
Trump Started Iran
Hosted by
Noah Jarvis
Mentioned
Mark Carney Donald Trump Nicolas Cohen Pierre Poilievre Conservative MPs Raquel Dancho Shelby Kramp-Nyman Valerie Plante Ishmael Beah Adam Chambers Keir Starmer Anita Anand Houthis Obama Biden
United Conservative stronghold at risk？ Local candidate weighs in Alberta Conservatives BEAT separatists in by-election, Carney wants a “new world order”

Episode Stats


Length

17 minutes

Words per minute

151.09

Word count

2,644

Sentence count

135

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Toxicity

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

5

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

The United States has conducted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. For the second consecutive year, Montreal s annual Canada Day Parade has been cancelled. Critics are blasting Prime Minister Mark Carney over how he's handling the US's imposition of tariffs on Canadian steel.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 The United States has conducted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
00:00:09.000 For the second consecutive year, Montreal's annual Canada Day Parade has been cancelled.
00:00:14.000 Critics are blasting Prime Minister Mark Carney over how he's handling the US's imposition of 50% tariffs on Canadian steel.
00:00:23.000 Hello Canada, it's Monday June 23rd and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Cosmin Georgia.
00:00:30.000 And I'm Noah Jarvis.
00:00:32.000 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
00:00:40.000 The United States conducted airstrikes on Iran targeting three nuclear sites within the country, marking the first direct American strike since the Israel-Iran conflict broke out last week.
00:00:56.000 President Donald Trump announced the attacks on True Social before addressing the nation in a short televised announcement.
00:01:03.000 The sites were known to be facilities where the Iranian regime was enriching uranium.
00:01:09.000 Trump spoke at 10 p.m. Eastern Time from the White House discussing the military operation in Iran.
00:01:16.000 He characterized the moment as a, quote, historic moment for the United States of America, Israel, and the world, and demanded that Iran must now agree to end this war.
00:01:26.000 Iran's leadership had previously warned the United States on Wednesday that strikes targeting the regime would, quote, result in irreparable damage for them.
00:01:35.000 Ishmael Baghe, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, noted that, quote, any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.
00:01:46.000 The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen who reached a deal with the United States in May have indicated they would resume attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea if the U.S. joined Israel's military campaign.
00:01:59.000 This is obviously the most significant news to come out of the presidency of Donald Trump.
00:02:07.000 And in terms of how it affects Canada, it might be the most significant next to the actual trade tariffs that are still ongoing.
00:02:18.000 How has Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to this?
00:02:23.000 I mean, this is a huge escalation in international affairs, but it's also something that will have wide-reaching geopolitical effects, not only on Canada, but foreign policy abroad.
00:02:39.000 So what has the response been from the Canadian government, but also Prime Minister Mark Carney himself?
00:02:45.000 Well, there has been no endorsement of these strikes thus far when Israel began striking key facilities, especially nuclear facilities in Iran.
00:02:55.000 Prime Minister Carney and the Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand did not endorse the strikes.
00:03:01.000 However, they did say, then reiterate, that it is of the Canadian government's view that Iran should not possess any nuclear weapons
00:03:09.000 and that they ought to cease enriching uranium to the level that they are currently.
00:03:16.000 And they have also called for de-escalation and a return to negotiations and talks.
00:03:21.000 However, these negotiations have been going on for over a decade.
00:03:25.000 If you recall, in 2015, President Obama signed an agreement with Iran that was then subsequently ripped up by President Trump in his first term.
00:03:36.000 And since then, the Biden administration, they attempted to negotiate with Iran unsuccessfully.
00:03:42.000 And now that Trump is back in office, Iran has continued to enrich uranium to very high levels.
00:03:50.000 They are developing intercontinental ballistic missiles.
00:03:54.000 I believe they have already successfully developed those missiles.
00:03:58.000 And a nuclear warhead could be outfitted on top of those missiles.
00:04:03.000 So Iran is getting dangerously close to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
00:04:07.000 And it seems as if Prime Minister Carney and his government recognizes that the severity of Iran attaining a nuclear weapon have come out clearly against this being a possibility.
00:04:20.000 And while they have not condemned the military action against Iran's three nuclear facilities, they did not explicitly endorse it.
00:04:29.000 This was a similar statement that Keir Starmer had also put out.
00:04:33.000 With that being said, Conservative leader Pierre Polyev, he had been a bit more supportive of the strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
00:04:43.000 Pierre Polyev made it very clear that the regime in Iran is a genocidal regime and that the, quote, American and Israeli actions to stop it from getting one, one being a nuclear bomb, are 100 percent justified. 0.98
00:04:59.000 So Pierre Polyev is just coming out and endorsing the strikes against these nuclear facilities.
00:05:06.000 I think that many people in the West are thankful that the United States and Israel had the backbone, had the will to strike those facilities. 0.50
00:05:16.000 I know that the German Chancellor said something similar to that effect.
00:05:20.000 But if Canada is not going to be supportive of these strikes, it really begs the question, what sort of military action can the Carney government support?
00:05:31.000 I mean, they're not supporting Israel's war against Hamas.
00:05:34.000 They are not coming out and, you know, giving a strong statement of support for the Israel and the United States striking these nuclear facilities.
00:05:42.000 So it really begs the question what they are going to support.
00:05:46.000 This is a strike that is clearly in the best interest of the Western world, Iran. 1.00
00:05:51.000 Some of their mottos include death to Israel and death to America. 0.68
00:05:55.000 And if they're chanting death to America, I mean, we're neighbors with the United States.
00:05:59.000 A vast majority of Canada's population lives very close to the American border.
00:06:04.000 So if Iran, you know, God forbid they ever did attempt to strike the United States with nuclear weapons, Canada would also be on the chopping block.
00:06:12.000 So I think it's a very good thing that Israel and the United States have conducted these strikes to ensure that Iran does not obtain these weapons. 0.98
00:06:21.000 Although I believe that a lot of Canadians would have liked to seen Prime Minister Carney give a stronger statement in support to that effect.
00:06:29.000 For the second consecutive year, Montreal's annual Canada Day Parade has been cancelled with organizers citing ongoing labor disruptions and strained relations with the city government.
00:06:42.000 Nicolas Cohen, the longtime organizer of the parade, announced the cancellation in a media release Wednesday calling it a difficult situation caused by persistent planning disruptions.
00:06:52.000 Cohen said, quote, safety is our number one priority when it comes to large events such as the Montreal Canada Day Parade.
00:06:59.000 When different city departments of workers cause disruptions, you no longer just have to focus on the safety of the public, but the functional aspect of the event.
00:07:07.000 Cohen pointed to deteriorating condition with the city government as a challenge, saying relations with city officials have worsened in recent years after the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:07:16.000 He accused the city of failing to provide meaningful solutions despite assurances from the mayor's office that his concerns would be addressed.
00:07:23.000 First held in 1977, the Canada Day Parade has traditionally drawn thousands of spectators to downtown Montreal each year.
00:07:31.000 The event's future has since become uncertain, with Cohen cancelling last year's edition as well, citing excessive bureaucratic red tape.
00:07:39.000 At the time, the city said no permit requests had been submitted.
00:07:42.000 City officials issued a similar response this week, stating that Cohen, again, failed to submit a project application for this year's parade, despite repeated invitations from municipal staff.
00:07:52.000 Meanwhile, the city confirmed that a different Canada Day celebration, La Marche en Marche, organized by Production EGP, will proceed on July 1.
00:08:01.000 In addition, the city of Montreal will host its official Canada Day event at the Croix de la Rouge in the Old Port.
00:08:08.000 Cohen acknowledged the impact of rising costs and labour negotiations on city workers, saying he understands their grievances, but emphasized that the lack of cooperation makes it nearly impossible to stage a public event of this size.
00:08:20.000 So, Cosmin, it's really ironic that Montreal, one of the biggest supporters of the Liberal Party in the last election, the Elbows Up Liberal Party, is having a hard time organizing a simple Canada Day event.
00:08:33.000 A Canada Day event that has been going on for decades now, since 1977.
00:08:38.000 And this is an event that you would think would draw a bunch of Canada-loving, patriotic Canadians who are opposed to Canada becoming the 51st state.
00:08:48.000 Yet, there's not enough enthusiasm for actually getting this Canada Day celebration up and going.
00:08:55.000 So, why are the Elbows Up Liberals enthusiastic about celebrating Canada Day?
00:09:00.000 Well, it does seem to be a repeat of 2024.
00:09:04.000 If you recall back then, the same issue reared its head.
00:09:08.000 But you're absolutely right.
00:09:09.000 There is a different climate or rather context to this year's celebration because of all of the showboating, you might add, that the Liberals and Montreal being a heavily Liberal voting region did during the last federal election.
00:09:27.000 But I would blame this on local municipal government.
00:09:32.000 And we know that Mayor Valérie Plante is on her way out.
00:09:37.000 She's actually not seeking a third term. 0.97
00:09:40.000 And her term is going to finish up this year in November. 0.78
00:09:45.000 And she won't be running up for re-election.
00:09:48.000 So, Montreal is set to get a new mayor at least.
00:09:52.000 But she's also not very popular.
00:09:54.000 Most of the polls suggest that she's down.
00:09:57.000 And a majority of Montrealers do not want to see four more years of her being in the head office for municipal affairs.
00:10:09.000 But it makes you question.
00:10:10.000 There are smaller towns, smaller cities than Montreal that are perfectly fine with having a Canada Day parade.
00:10:19.000 There's no issues to do that.
00:10:23.000 But for somehow, Montreal, one of Canada's largest and most successful metropolitan areas, simply can't get it together.
00:10:34.000 Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is facing strong criticism from political opposition and industry groups over its handling of the United States' decision to impose a 50% tariff on Canadian steel.
00:10:49.000 On Thursday, Carney announced that the government would be imposing new tariff measures to counteract the elevated tariff rate U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on Canadian steel imports.
00:10:59.000 In March, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian steel, to which the Canadian government almost immediately responded with its own 25% tariff.
00:11:08.000 However, industry groups are disappointed with the government's response to Trump's new tariff hike.
00:11:15.000 A joint statement issued on Thursday, the Canadian Steel Producers Association and the United Steel Workers Union slammed the Carney government for their retaliatory measures against American tariffs.
00:11:27.000 The Carney government imposed a new tariff rate quota on steel products at 100% of 2024 levels applied retroactively to steel imports for the entire year.
00:11:38.000 The government also announced that it would be adopting additional tariff measures in the coming weeks to protect Canada's steel and aluminum sectors on the basis of country of melt and pour for steel and country of smelt and cast for aluminum.
00:11:53.000 The Conservative Party joined the chorus in slamming the Liberal government for its failure in responding to Trump's tariff hike on Canadian steel, claiming the Prime Minister dragged his feet.
00:12:04.000 In a joint statement between Conservative MPs Raquel Dancho, Shelby Cramp Newman and Adam Chambers, they said that under Carney's leadership, tariffs on Canadian steel have only gotten worse, devastating Canadian businesses.
00:12:18.000 The MPs said, quote, despite the Prime Minister having had months to act, he has dragged his feet.
00:12:24.000 Now Canadian steel is facing an existential threat and the plan he announced falls short, according to steel industry and steel workers.
00:12:33.000 Their futures are uncertain as thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity are at risk because this government, which ran on standing up to President Trump, has failed in its foremost objective.
00:12:45.000 The MPs added that losing Canada steel industry not only means the loss of thousands of jobs and economic harm, but is also a threat to Canada's national security.
00:12:54.000 There doesn't seem to be consistency from the Carney government when it comes to its position on retaliation.
00:13:02.000 If you recall back, they initially went into retaliatory dollar for dollar tariffs.
00:13:09.000 That was the original pitch to Canadians during the election.
00:13:13.000 But then we've discovered because of Oxford economics that the Carney government actually exempted a vast majority of the goods under its own retaliatory tariffs during the election.
00:13:29.000 At least the decision was made by cabinet while Prime Minister Mark Carney was campaigning and it was pretty much hidden up.
00:13:38.000 And then now they increase these quotas for a 30 day period until presumably a trade deal gets signed with the United States.
00:13:48.000 But why hasn't Carney been decisive in his approach to combatting American tariffs?
00:13:55.000 I think it's unclear as to the direct reasoning as to why Prime Minister Carney and his government has been so wishy-washy on tariffs.
00:14:02.000 But I think it's pretty concerning that the Prime Minister in his first few months in the role feel so comfortable saying one thing to the Canadian public and taking a completely different approach when it comes to actually implementing policy.
00:14:17.000 We saw on the campaign trail, as you mentioned, that the Liberals, they campaigned on dollar for dollar tariffs.
00:14:23.000 That was the entire objective to ensure that the United States they don't annex us or something like that or at the very least they don't commit severe economic harm against workers in, say, the steel industry or the aluminum industry.
00:14:38.000 However, as you mentioned, the exemptions really shows that the Canadian government, the Carney government, is not actually serious in implementing these dollar for dollar tariffs.
00:14:47.000 Now, quite frankly, I don't think that retaliatory tariffs is necessarily a good idea.
00:14:52.000 You're still committing economic harm against yourself when you impose tariffs in that manner.
00:14:58.000 But at the end of the day, this was the approach that Prime Minister Carney campaigned on.
00:15:03.000 It is the one that his government got a mandate for and he is not taking that approach whatsoever.
00:15:10.000 It is really concerning that he would go to a steel plant or he would just tell people in the automotive sector, in the steel sector, in the aluminum sector,
00:15:20.000 that their jobs will be protected by the Canadian government in the imposition of tariffs against the United States.
00:15:27.000 But he would say those those nice platitudes to those workers and then turn around and take his time, drag his feet in conducting a response to the increase of tariffs on Canadian steel from 25 percent to 50 percent.
00:15:44.000 But it also seems as if the Carney government isn't really making any progress in getting President Trump to back down on his tariffs.
00:15:52.000 In fact, all Prime Minister Carney has managed to do is get a photo op with the president in Kananaskis and at the White House,
00:16:00.000 whereas President Trump has continued to increase tariffs as we already mentioned on June 3rd.
00:16:06.000 He increased tariffs on Canadian steel to 50 percent.
00:16:12.000 So it doesn't seem as if he is making progress on those key objectives.
00:16:16.000 And how long will the Canadian public wait to give the Prime Minister in order to tangibly see results?
00:16:23.000 Prime Minister Carney and President Trump, they committed to getting a trade deal done within a month after the conclusion of the G7.
00:16:32.000 So I think that will in due time be seeing the fruits of the Canadian government's labor.
00:16:39.000 But if an agreement is shown to the Canadian public that still has massively high tariffs on Canadian goods going into the United States and the Americans are able to carve out exemptions favorable to them in a new trade agreement,
00:16:56.000 I think the Canadian public, they're going to start to turn on Prime Minister Carney.
00:17:01.000 Instead of viewing him as a competent, technocratic elite, they're going to view him as an incompetent, arrogant person who lied to the Canadian public in an election campaign.
00:17:13.000 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. 0.74
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