Hour 2 of Ottawa Now for Thurs. May 29th, 2025

Ontario is preparing to equip its Education Minister with additional powers, making it easier to put the province’s school boards under supervision if required. With this increased muscle, more school boards will also be required to staff police officers within their schools. These new measures were introduced by Paul Calandra earlier today. Kristy Cameron gathers instant reaction from Lyra Evans, the Chair of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. In recent months, the school board’s financial troubles have drawn Calandra’s frustration, and he is promising to take action if things don’t change. Shifting gears to the Canada-US trade war, American President Donald Trump received a rude awakening from the U.S. Trade Court last night. A federal judge has struck down the U.S. President’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, specifically the fentanyl-fueled levies against Canada, Mexico, and China. It argues that Trump doesn’t have the authority to impose these worldwide tariffs, ruling that they have breached the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. The tariffs on steel, aluminum, and auto parts remain intact. However, after the Trump administration appealed Wednesday’s ruling, the Appeals Court has temporarily reinstated those suspended tariffs until the legal process has played out. Here to tackle the never-ending twists and turns is Joseph Steinberg, an Economics Professor at the University of Toronto.