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CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Trump asked Norwegian minister about Nobel Prize, newspaper says
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Kennedy Center, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) OSLO - When U.S. President Donald Trump called Norway's finance minister last month to discuss trade tariffs, he also asked about the Nobel Peace Prize, Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported on Thursday. Several countries including Israel, Pakistan and Cambodia have nominated Trump for brokering peace agreements or ceasefires, and he has said he deserves the Norwegian-bestowed accolade that four White House predecessors received. 'Out of the blue, while Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called,' Dagens Naeringsliv reported, citing unnamed sources. 'He wanted the Nobel Prize - and to discuss tariffs.' The White House, Norway's finance ministry and the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not immediately reply to requests for comment. With hundreds of candidates nominated each year, laureates are chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose five members are appointed by Norway's parliament according to the will of Swedish 19th century industrialist Alfred Nobel. The announcement comes in October in Oslo. The Norwegian newspaper said it was not the first time Trump had brought up the prize in conversation with Stoltenberg, a former secretary general of the NATO military alliance. It quoted Stoltenberg as saying the call was to discuss trade tariffs and economic cooperation ahead of Trump's call with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Stoere. Asked if Trump made the Nobel prize an issue, Stoltenberg said: 'I will not go further into the content of the conversation.' Several White House officials, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were on the call, Stoltenberg said. The White House on July 31 announced a 15 per cent tariff on imports from Norway, the same as the European Union. Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that Norway and the United States were still in talks regarding the tariffs. Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Reuters
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Alleged illegal jet ski crossing into U.S. exposes 'holes' in border security: CBSA's union
While the search for a man who allegedly crossed the border illegally on a rented jet ski continues, some officials say the incident is exposing holes in Canada's border security. Sarnia police and its American counterparts are investigating after a Sea-Doo was recovered on the Michigan shore, after being rented by a Toronto man from a southwestern Ontario border city business. When the jet ski was not returned, a search was mounted and the jet ski found a few hours later. The man has still not been found. In a statement, Sarnia police said he remains outstanding in both Canada and the U.S. but " work is underway to apprehend him," and that the investigation is ongoing. Sarnia—Lambton— Bkejwanong MP Marilyn Gladu says more needs to be done to combat "porosity," at the border — noting that Sarnia does not have an RCMP office. "Really it's not ... patrolled formally," Gladu said. "You have the Coast Guard available if there's a concern expressed, but otherwise … we have to call London or Windsor to get any support from the RCMP. "We've had this concern for a while and both myself and [Sarnia mayor] Mayor Bradley have been calling on the government to address the porosity of the border here." In a Windsor stop on Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the border is short "thousands" of patrol officers and placed the blame on the previous federal government. In January, Ford's government launched Operation Deterrence, which saw hundreds of officers assigned to the borders. The province has also committed to buying the Windsor Police Service, among others, a helicopter for further surveillance. However, the premier added border patrol shouldn't be the responsibility of municipal or provincial police. Instead, he said it should rest with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). "We cannot have Windsor Police Service patrolling our borders, they have enough issues to take care of on the land," said Ford. Windsor harbourmaster says money, action needed to combat illegal border crossings 2 days ago While Gladu said she agrees with Ford, she also maintained any and all resources are needed. "All help that we can get is appreciated and more needs to be done." Border security has become a top issue since the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made repeated comments about Canada's borders letting drugs and crime into his country — while also indicating a desire to annex Canada. In a bid to stave off tariffs in February, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to moving forward with a previously approved $1.3 billion border plan on border security and appointing Kevin Brosseau as the country's new fentanyl czar. The current federal government has also introduced the Strong Borders Act, which expands the powers of intelligence and security agencies. "This is essential to maintaining the safety and security of our country … it is also a priority that we share with our neighbours," said Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree when the bill was unveiled. But the president of the union representing CBSA workers says while they've been promised resources, they haven't seen much yet. Mark Weber of the Customs and Immigration Union says he wasn't surprised to hear about the Sarnia jet ski incident. "It is very commonly known," he said. "I think the issue of who takes care of things between ports of entry is a kind of a big blind spot right now that's completely left to the RCMP." Weber says if CBSA agents witness someone crossing the border illegally, they have to call the RCMP, despite having the same legal authority. "It makes no sense at all that we're not part of doing that work," Weber said. "We're not saying, we want to replace the RCMP or do all of that work. "It's a big border. It takes a lot of people and a lot of manpower to get that work done, but we want to be part of that solution." Staffing is a major concern, he said, with ports of crossings racking up virtually "unlimited" amounts of overtime. Weber says CBSA officers should be encouraged to tackle the issue of illegal crossings. Ride along with the RCMP to see how they're patrolling the Canada-U.S. border in new ways 5 months ago RCMP officers in the Windsor, Ont. detachment are patrolling the Canada-U.S. border in ways they've never done before ever since Donald Trump pushed for an increase in security between the neighbouring countries. In a statement, the RCMP said patrolling the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers is a joint effort between their officers and "federal, provincial and municipal" law enforcement partners. In Windsor, the RCMP maintains a Shiprider unit that does cross-border law enforcement alongside the U.S. coast Guard, OPP, Windsor police and Walpole Island First Nations police. That unit, a spokesperson said, works on activities including the illegal drug trade, migrant smuggling, firearms trafficking and terrorism — while also relying on its American partners for enforcement on the water.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Social Security's 90th anniversary is marked by funding threats and privatization talk
WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law 90 years ago this week, he vowed it would provide economic stability to older people while giving the U.S. 'an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.' Today, the program provides benefits to almost 69 million Americans monthly. It's a major source of income for people over 65 and is popular across the country and political lines. It also looks more threatened than ever. Just as it has for decades, Social Security faces a looming shortfall in money to pay full benefits. Since President Donald Trump took office the program has faced more tumult. Agency staffing has been slashed. Unions and advocacy groups concerned about sharing sensitive information have sued. Trump administration officials including the president for months falsely claimed millions of dead people were receiving Social Security benefits. Former top adviser Elon Musk called the program a potential 'Ponzi scheme.' Trump and other Republicans have said they will not cut Social Security benefits. Yet the program remains far from the sound economic system that FDR envisioned 90 years ago, due to changes made — and not made — under both Democratic and Republican presidents. Here's a look at past and current challenges to Social Security, the proposed solutions and what it could take to shore up the program. The go-broke date has been moved up The so-called go-broke date — or the date at which Social Security will no longer have enough funds to pay full benefits — has been moved up to 2034, instead of last year's estimate of 2035. After that point, Social Security would only be able to pay 81% of benefits, according to an annual report released in June. The earlier date came as new legislation affecting Social Security benefits have contributed to earlier projected depletion dates, the report concluded. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law by former President Joe Biden and enacted in January, had an impact. It repealed the Windfall Elimination and Government Pension Offset provisions, increasing Social Security benefit levels for former public workers. Republicans' new tax legislation signed into law in July will accelerate the insolvency of Social Security, said Brendan Duke at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 'They haven't laid out an idea to fix it yet,' he said. The privatization conversation has been revived The notion of privatizing Social Security surfaced most recently when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this month said new tax-deferred investment accounts dubbed ' Trump accounts ' may serve as a ' backdoor to privatization,' though Treasury has walked back those comments. The public has been widely against the idea of privatizing Social Security since former President George W. Bush embarked on a campaign to pitch privatization of the program in 2005, through voluntary personal retirement accounts. The plan was not well-received by the public. Glenn Hubbard, a Columbia University professor and top economist in Bush's White House, told The Associated Press that Social Security needs to be reduced in size in order to maintain benefits for generations to come. He supports limiting benefits for wealthy retirees. 'We will have to make a choice,' Hubbard said. 'If you want Social Security benefits to look like they are today, we're going to have to raise everyone's taxes a lot. And if that's what people want, that's a menu, and you pay the high price and you move on.' Another option would be to increase minimum benefits and slow down benefit growth for everyone else, which Hubbard said would right the ship without requiring big tax increases, if it's done over time. 'It's really a political choice,' he said, adding 'Neither one of those is pain free.' Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the preservation of Social Security benefits, is more worried that the administration of benefits could be privatized under Trump, rather than a move toward privatized accounts. The agency cut more than 7,000 from its workforce this year as part of the Department of Government Efficiency's effort to reduce the size of the government. Martin O'Malley, who was Social Security agency commissioner under Biden, said he thinks the problems go deeper. 'There is no openness and there is no transparency' at the agency, he said. 'And we hear about field offices teetering on the brink of collapse.' A Social Security Administration representative didn't respond to a request for comment. Concerns persist An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in April found that an increasing share of older Americans — particularly Democrats — support the program but aren't confident the benefit will be available to them when they retire. 'So much of what we hear is that its running out of money,' said Becky Boober, 70, from Rockport, Maine, who recently retired after decades in public service. She relies on Social Security to keep her finances afloat, is grateful for the program and thinks it should be expanded. 'In my mind there are several easy fixes that are not a political stretch,' she said. They include raising the income tax cap on high-income earners and possibly raising the retirement age, which is currently 67 for people born after 1960, though she is less inclined to support that change. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Some call for shrinking the program Rachel Greszler is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, the group behind the Project 2025 blueprint for Trump's second term. It called for an increase in the retirement age. Greszler says Social Security no longer serves its intended purpose of being a social safety net for low-income seniors and is far too large. She supports pursuing privatization, which includes allowing retirees to put their Social Security taxes into a personal investment account. She also argues for shrinking the program to a point where every retiree would receive the same Social Security benefit so long as they worked the same number of years, which she argues would increase benefits for the bottom one-third of earners. How this would impact middle-class earners is unclear. 'When talking about needing to reform the system, we need to reform it so that we don't have indiscriminate 23% across the board cuts for everybody,' Greszler said. 'We need to reform the system in a more thoughtful way, so that we are protecting those who are most vulnerable and reliant on Social Security.'
