Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Wed. July 23rd, 2025

Chris Holski is filling in for the vacationing Kristy Cameron. And whenever Kristy heads out for some well-deserved relaxation, it’s either raining at her cottage or it’s a busy news week in Ottawa. We can definitely confirm the latter. Let’s start in Ontario’s Cottage Country, where Canada’s Premiers continue to mingle and talk interprovincial trade. However, the biggest deal still needs to be made with the United States, and Prime Minister Carney warned us last week that a tariff-free agreement with America might not be in the cards. According to David MacNaughton, a former Canadian Ambassador to the United States, a deal ahead of August 1st seems fairly unlikely from his point of view. And according to a new report by the Centre for Future Work, a bad deal with America’s present-day President is probably worse than no deal at all. We dig deeper with Jim Stanford in Hour 1. He is an economist with the organization, and he is the one who authored the report. Plus, some of Ottawa’s city councillors are looking for a payraise. Do they have a fair argument? Should they get it? Why won’t they get it? CTV’s Ted Raymond joins us with the latest developments.