Afghans who helped Americans could face “certain death”

Hi, this is Elise Hugh from TED Talks Daily, and this episode is brought to you by Ambetter Health. For many employers and brokers, group health insurance means unpredictable costs and plans that try to fit everyone but end up fitting no one. A model called ICRA is changing that. Employers set a fixed contribution. Employees pick the health plan that works for them, their family, their doctors, their budget. Predictable for the business, personal for the people. That's a better kind of coverage. Get coverage you control. Find out if an ICRA is right for you at ambetterhealth.com. This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Nora Young, in for Neil Cuxall.

Good evening. I'm Chris Howden. This is as it happens. Tonight. Left behind, hundreds of Afghans risked their lives to help U.S. forces fight the Taliban. Now they're being told the U.S. may send them back to Afghanistan or to Congo. An American vet tells us that's a grave injustice. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. In the face of a crackdown on protest, young activists in Madagascar worry that the new regime they fought for is as bad as the old one or worse.

Testing the waters. It's not the first time flooding has forced the people of Pegu's First Nation out of their homes, but one resident tells us that this year the community is newly prepared. Spike for themselves. A Nunavut man got stranded in a blizzard on the way to a volleyball tournament, walked through the snow for days, and still managed to go home with the trophy. Canadian born and bred. We unpack the culinary mystery that is the steak Canadian sandwich. A British delicacy that one Yorkshire restaurant owner tells us is the absolute best thing few Canadians have ever tasted.

I don't know. And no camdo. An investigation of a collision between two South Korean fighter jets, reveals the likely cause each fortunately uninjured pilot was taking a picture of the other pilot's aircraft. As it happens, the Wednesday edition, radio that knows what it's like to regret a snap decision.

They risked their lives to help U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But now more than a thousand Afghans who were evacuated from the country after the Taliban took over are facing a grim choice. According to the NGO Afghan Evac, the Trump administration is in talks to send the Afghans from their current temporary home in Qatar to Congo or back to Afghanistan. The group includes some 400 children. Advocates say that returning them to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan would be a death sentence. Sean Van Diver is a military veteran and the president of the aid group, Afghan Evac. We reached him in San Diego.

Sean, how did the Afghan families you spoke to react when you told them this news? Well, listen, Afghan families at Camp Osaliyah are devastated and terrified. Now, I need to be so clear. This plan is not a complete plan yet. They're not going to DRC as of now. The State Department would like to send them there. Okay.

But hopefully news coverage, on this issue is going to prevent them from being able to do that. So what could this mean for people in this group who are known to have helped U.S. forces to have to go back to Taliban control Afghanistan? I mean, they face certain death. That's why we have the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghans and Iraqis. That's why we have the P1P2 refugee referral program. That's why we have enduring welcome and all of these other programs that are meant to keep the

promise of America, to be the very embodiment of the idea of America and the promise of America. And what about this other option, the Democratic Republic of the Congo? I mean, look, we've seen the Trump administration send deportees to the Democratic Republic of Congo. It sounds like they're getting a visa for a few weeks, and then they're sort of being compelled to go back to their country of origin. It's not a real option. They have 600,000 refugees that they're dealing with right now in Congo, and they're at war with Rwanda. There's massive conflict happening. And, and they're It's a level three travel warning for the State Department the whole country is, and then many provinces are level four, which is the highest level.

There's nothing smart about this. There's nothing sound about this strategy. And in fact, it's going to cause great harm to our national security long term because how is anyone ever going to believe that the United States will stand with them if they stand with us in future conflict? For those of us who aren't familiar, can you give us some examples of the kind of work that these Afghans did to help U.S. forces in Afghanistan over the years? Sure. Some were interpreters or translators who went out on missions with these folks.

Some were like targeting officers, so they helped fight our war for us. Some were Afghan military pilots or special forces officers. There's a lot of women who were special forces officers and they're stuck at Cass. There were lawyers and prosecutors who put the Taliban away. And then I'm going to tell you, there are 150 of these folks at that camp who are family. of active duty U.S. military service members. So it is not unlikely at all. In fact, it is definitely true

that there are U.S. military service members on bases around the world who are now worried that their family members are going to be sent to certain death in the DRC or Afghanistan. What kind of risks were these people taking to support U.S. forces? I mean, the first risk was they betrayed the Taliban, right?

Constitution and like barbecues and like all of the things that are uniquely American and we sold them this idea of America that frankly doesn't exist anymore and it doesn't exist anymore because President Trump has now decimated the honor of every single American service member who made these promises and the diplomats and the frontline civilians it's really egregious what has happened with these folks and And it's a great American injustice. More than 190,000 Afghans who aided the U.S. effort were already allowed to resettle in the U.S. before President Trump ended the program. Why do you think the administration is taking this hardline tack for the remaining thousands or so people?

Well, I'm really glad you asked me about that. Of those 100,000, it's actually like 205,000 at this point. Of those 200 plus,000, they're trying to kick a lot of them out. They're ISIS snatching them up. They're trying to find ways to undo that resettlement for people who don't have durable status yet. And then it's not just these 1,100 that are at Cass, right, which, by the way, are 42% children and then 50, 50 men and women. So about 800 women and children. It's also about 260 some odd thousand around the world, 178,000 of which are chief of mission approved, which means they or their family member,

has been validated as having worked for the United States. The other balance of that are refugees. We got about half the job done. But this administration, I mean, the whole thing is they just don't want new people to come here. It's certainly not Muslims, right? And that's just not how we have to operate. In order for people to believe in the idea of America, they've got to be able to trust our word.

And so the promises that were made have got to be followed through on. Now, if President Trump wants to change policy or change promises going forward, they can do that, but they've got to have the respect for the service members. They can disrespect previous administrations if they want, but they've got to have the respect for the American people that all of us who went down range with a flag patch on our shoulder and made promises or commitments on our behalf, they've got to be followed through. What message does this send to other people who might be called on to help the U.S. in future conflicts?

It sends the message that the United States government's promises are temporary and conditional and based upon who sits behind the resolute desk. And that cannot be true about our country. We are supposed to be different, right? We have this concept of American exceptionalism, and Donald Trump is taking a sledgehammer to the idea of American exceptionalism. Sean, thanks so much for talking to us.

Thank you so much. I hope to see you soon. Sean Van Diver is a U.S. military veteran and the president of the aid group Afghan Evac. We reached him in San Diego.

Evacuations are underway in Peguus First Nation as floodwaters continue to rise in Manitoba's interlake region. The First Nation, which is about 160 kilometers north of Winnipeg, has been relocating people with certain medical needs before anticipated spring flooding that could wash out roads and put more than 200 homes at risk. As of today, the First Nation says eight people have evacuated from the community. Another 27 have been identified for preemptive evacuation, but so far are choosing to stay behind. The most recent flood there in 2022 forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate as the banks of the Fisher River overflowed. Many still have not been able to return to their homes due to severe flood damage.

Earl Stevenson will be staying put in Peguus First Nation. That's where we reached him. Earl, tell us what you're seeing outside right now. What do conditions look like today? Well, it's warmed up significantly today, and the water is starting to run now, so the rivers and the ditches are starting to fill up, so we see the water running and heading north along the Fisher River. Now, this is a community that knows flooding all too well, and so do you. What feels different this time? Well, this time, I acknowledge our leadership and our council members have brought in members from the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as other organizations and nations,

the nations and communities from outside of Pegwis that come in and to provide support in terms of helping with the flood preparation process. So that was very, very helpful to have external support. We see a lot of more homes that have been sandbagged and being prepped for to hold back to water from invading the homes. There is overland flooding in my home area there so that I've had to clear away the snow to make sure that it doesn't build up around my home. And we need to get more drainage improvements around my home as well because overland flooding is definitely a concern.

There is a number of drains that were created in the late 60s and early 70s south of the reserve in the Aram Fisher, and that has certainly exacerbated the overland flooding that we have to deal with now on an annual basis. The province said more than half a million sandbags and 11,000 super-sized sandbags have been provided to help Pegwis ahead of the runoff. Are you seeing evidence of those and are any of them around your home? Not around my home personally, but I mean, I visited friends and they have super sandbags and my brother's home has super bags. Yeah, and are friends and family feeling confident that those sandbags will do the job? Yes, yes, they do.

They're, you know, they feel well, well protected. So, you know, there's always a concern about breach or any sandbag that can be breached. So there's always a concern about that as well. As people are weighing the possibility of a. evacuating, what's the mood like among members of your community right now? All there's definitely a concern, right, because there's uncertainty as to what the level or the extent of flood will be, right? There's no 100% accuracy in flood predictions.

So it runs the scale from, oh, we're not going to flood too bad to our, oh, we're going to get worse than 2022. One of our producers spoke with another member of Pegas William Sutherland, who used to be the emergency coordinator there. he actually told her he's afraid that some of this year's preparations might be unwarranted and over the top and could end up costing the ban money that it didn't need to spend. What do you make of that? Well, there's an old adage, you know, that says it's better to be over-prepared and under-prepared.

So I think I'm going to probably follow that advice, right? Because, yeah, there may be over-preparation, but at the same time, we do have to be prepared, right, to deal with whatever situation that may arise. And if we're over-prepared, then that's fine because it means we're in a situation that we're trying to do our best to protect our homes. But I understand William Dan Sullivan's position for sure. After the devastating flood back in 2022, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Liberal Cabinet Ministers committed to plan for permanent flood protections for Peguas.

Have you seen those permanent protections yet? I'll be honest and say no. We've heard the talk and we've heard the talk for. generations and nothing has been produced. So I don't know what level of substance the federal and provincial governments are prepared to commit at this time, but we need a firm commitment. Other communities in Manitoba have received flood protection. We haven't. What would permanent flood protection look like? Well, there's been a number of studies that have been undertaken. In 1982, there was a Treasury

Board submission that talked about a diversion around the community going through the south and east side of the community, draining ultimately towards Lake Winnipeg. There could be retention ponds that could be created as well. So there are some studies that are out there that kind of lay out some options from terms of flood prevention and flood protection. So, I mean, a diversion would be one of those. We request a comment from Indigenous Services Canada, and in a statement they confirmed that they're part of the flood response you were describing alongside Peguus and Fisher River

Green Nation, including sandbagging, building. dikes, stitch clearing, snow removal, and so on. Is this enough in your view? Not necessarily not. What they provide is a band-aid solution, right? And like I said earlier, we need something with a level of permanency that protects our community. I mean, the city of Winnipeg is a perfect example. They've got the Winnipeg floodway, and it's saved billions and billions and dollars in terms of the potential for flood devastation, right? And if we had something similar in place, I think that would alleviate a lot of the concerns and a lot of the annual costs that the nation has to deal with, right? And the province and the federal government

have to make this continual commitment to the annual flood costs and they're not keeping up, right? There's still outstanding costs that the nation has to bear as a result of the federal government and the provincial government, not living up to their financial expectations. I know you've witnessed numerous flooding events during your lifetime. Is there one that sticks out besides the one in 2022? Well, my very first flood experience was in 1974. I was a seven-year-old young child at that time, and it was a very devastating flood because we had to get flown out by helicopter in the community

and ultimately housed at the former Air Force Base in Gimley, Manitoba. So it's over an hour away from Penguus. But, I mean, there's other devastating floods, too. In 79, there was several in the 80s, and again, in the 90s. So, you know, since 74, after the drainage systems were introduced in South of the Reserve and the Army Fisher, that's when we started to experience continual on an annual basis flood events. Given all that, have you ever contemplated leaving altogether or moving away? Never. Never. Peggwish is our home. That's where it's born and raised.

Why should we have to leave when this was generally the cause of both the federal government and the provincial government. We forcibly had to leave the St. Peter Reserve back in 1907. You know, that created disruption and trauma in our community. And this annual flood events create trauma and disruption on our community every year. But we've got nowhere else to go. Earl, thanks so much for telling us about it. And I hope you and your community stay safe.

All right. Thank you so much for hosting me. Earl Stevenson is from Peguist First Nation. That's where we reached him.

It's the most Canadian thing most Canadians have never heard of. It is called the steak Canadian and it's apparently a popular sandwich in Northern England, significantly more popular even than it is in its ostensible birthplace, Canada, where no one knows what it tastes like because no one knows what it is. Jaws Wooten is the owner of Corner Kitchen, a breakfast place in Rotherham, England. He makes a lot of steak Canadians and has been posting all about them to the mass confusion of human Canadians. We reached Mr. Wooten in Rotherham.

Jaws, what the heck is a steak Canadian sandwich? A steak Canadian sandwich is essentially cheap cuts of beef with some sort of binding agent and fats that is thinly pressed into very thin slices of steak and it's fried for a minute or so each side. and that is a state Canadian it's as simple as that and it is absolutely delicious what about the toppings and the bread and such

the bread I suppose the classic British version is in the part of England that I'm from a bread roll is known as a bread cake so you've got a bread cake which is sliced in half buttered you then usually get three slices of state Canadian

you get some fried onions some fried mushrooms and some tomato ketchup. Is it good? It's fantastic. Really? It's phenomenal. I've, um, the sandwich shop that I own,

which is obviously where I create all the videos, my dad used to take me there as a child 30 odd years ago. And even then, I used to eat a state Canadian. And then when I purchased the business and started going viral online and creating content, um, again, state Canadians was so popular. and as I started filming the state Canadian videos that enticed a lot of Canadian people into the comments and we have got quite a large following in Canada now

thanks to the infamous State Canadian sandwich. I want to ask you about the actual history of this thing but first let's listen to a little bit of one of your videos. Now a State Canadian were developed in 1970s and 80s in a place called Ontario in Canada. my mate and ice hockey player Wayne has told me all about it. And the Wayne that you mentioned there is? My friend, Wayne Gretzky.

Oh, Wayne Gretzky. Yeah, he's a good mate to mine is Wayne. Yeah. So just how many Canadians have you been hearing from about this? The recent one that I posted, which I believe is the clip you've just played, that was a YouTube short. And I think that's surpassed something like 7 or 800,000 or 800,000 views. And I think every one of those views is from somebody in Canada.

Bewildered Canadians, not having a clue what a state Canadian is. And they really like to let me know that they have no clue what it is and they do not claim this sandwich. I was just going to say the same thing to you. But that's why the last video that I put out in the clip that you've just played, that's the sort of the reason why I sort of played it a little bit about the whole Ontario Wayne Gretzky thing. That's me just having a little.

bit of fun with our Canadian followers. Please tell our listeners about the real history behind a state Canadian. Right. The real history or the history that's on Google is there was a man, an English man from the north of England, a county called Lancashire, which isn't too far from Manchester. He used to go on his annual holiday vacation to Canada every year. And whilst he was in Canada, he dreamt up the idea of cuts of beef and fat rolled and pressed into steaks. And because of his affiliation or obsession with Canada, he decided to call them a steak Canadian. And 45 years later, I'm making videos about it. I'm continuing his legacy. So in that same video that we heard earlier, you also claim people in Canada put maple syrup

on their steak Canadians, obviously not true. But have you actually tried that? Yes. Really? Yeah. Another variation of state Canadian because we're a breakfast sandwich shop. So every sandwich that we create is a breakfast-based sandwich.

So another popular variation of state Canadian is a state Canadian cheese and bacon with maple syrup, believe it or not. And it is stunning. It is fantastic. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but it does. It genuinely does. And we also invented the Poutine as well. Chips, cheese and gravy in Yorkshire where I'm from. That's been around for donkeys years.

So I think my next set of videos is going to be about the Poutine. You know, Canadians, they've happily claimed that. I want to reclaim that myself. You're going to get a earful, my friend. I know I am. If you hear enough outrage from Canadians in the comments, will you consider changing the name? Absolutely not.

No. You see, a lot of the Canadians that leave us comments, they believe that I'm the person that's created this. This was around before I was born. So it's not my creation. I've just sort of like tried to continue the legacy of Derek, who created it 45 years ago.

It's going to be around forever. Before we let you go, anything you'd like to say to Canadians while they're listening? Do you know what? All jokes aside, and you know, I do purposely rage bait quite a lot of Canadian people. just because it's fun. You know, we have, honestly, I do have a lot of fun back and forth with our Canadian viewers. And we have got quite a decent following in Canada and America and whatnot. But genuinely, I really do love Canada.

I love Pacific FC, my favourite ever football team. My favourite musicians are from Canada, Sun 41, Simple Plam, which are like from the French side of Canada. Billy Tallon, absolutely love Billy Tallon. I love maple syrup. Avril Levine is a stunner. I just love your country. And one day, I would, I genuinely love to visit Canada. And I love John Candy.

I love John Candy as well. Cool Runnings is a fantastic movie. Jaws, thanks so much for telling us about it and enjoy your state Canadian. I certainly shall. And I hope at some point you guys get to sample it. I don't know. Jos Wooten is a state Canadian maker and the owner of Corner Kitchen. We reached him in Rotherham, England.

Yeah, so that's our, that's our wall of postcards over there. That dripping hole in the ceiling, that's where the raccoons live. And that is our priceless collection of decorative teapots. You know, hold on, NARA. Let me just get a photo of it. Whoa!

Sorry. Oh. Sorry, just a sec. That was clumsy. Nora was just taking a few pictures here in the studio. I was taking a picture of her taking the pictures, and I fell down.

And I startled a raccoon. Proof that no one should ever do two things at once, be it using a camera while co-hosting a radio program, or using a camera while piloting a plane near another plane in which a pilot is also using a camera. In 2021, two South Korean fighter jets collided in mid-air. And the pilots were fine, but their aircraft were not. They required repairs costing the equivalent of $800,000 Canadian. This was a matter of great concern for the South Korean Air Force,

which has a strict policy against jets smashing into each other. So it launched an investigation. And it concluded that the pilots had made crucial errors. One was on his last flight with that particular unit. So to commemorate that occasion, he started taking some photos. The second pilot noticed that the first pilot was taking photos. so he asked a co-pilot to take video of the first pilot. The first pilot then tried to position his plane in a more photogenic position,

at which point they smashed their planes together. Now, you would think that even amateur photographers, especially ones traveling at high speeds through the air, would understand the importance of focus. And for anyone in a fighter jet taking pictures of someone else in a fighter jet, careful with the zooming.

We're going to take a short break now. When we return, we reach one of Madagascar's Gen Z protesters who's in hiding. Now that activists are being targeted by a new regime, they helped install. And Anunavutman tells us how he survived three days alone in a blizzard after getting separated from his group on the way to a volleyball tournament and how he managed not only to play in the tournament, once he made it to town, but to win. Stay tuned.

I'm Chris Howden. And I'm Nora Young. Hi, this is Elise Hugh from TED Talks Daily, and this episode is brought to you by Ambetter Health. For many employers and brokers, group health insurance means unpredictable costs and plans that try to fit everyone, but end up fitting no one. A model called ICRA is changing that. Employers set a fixed contribution. Employees pick the health plan that works for them, their family, their doctors, their budget. Predictable for the business, personal for the people. That's a better kind of coverage. Get coverage you control. Find out if an ICRA is right for you at ambetterhealth.com. I am an actor, fresh out of theater school with big dreams and an even bigger drug habit. But things are pretty good. That is, a

until my best friend is set up on a date with David Lee Roth. Yeah, from Van Halen. If you know, you know. From CBC's personally, this is Discount Dave and the Fix. The truish story about how a fake rock star led me to a real trial that held up a mirror to me. And okay, let's just say that not everyone in this story is who you think they are. Personally, Discount Dave and the Fix. Available now on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

In many ways, the island of Madagascar is a place of abundance, boasting natural beauty and sought after natural resources. But a lot of people who live there don't feel much abundance themselves. Last September, Madagascar's youth took to the streets by the thousands to protest poor governance and poor living conditions, and soon after the Gen Z movement had cause for hope. Madagascar's then leader fled and the military took over. But now President Michael Rondriani Rina's new regime is arresting protesters.

And those young activists are worried, nothing has really changed after all. Arimami Tudisua is a founding member of the activist organization Gen Z-261, 261 being the country's dialing code. We reached him in Madagascar where he's currently in hiding. Aramami, when you heard these arrests were happening now after the celebrations last October, how did you react? I'm disappointed because that was the practice that has been done by the previous administration. They're supposed to be a revolution. And now we got the same pattern, same routine.

And we've got a dictatorship back with just a new face. The arrest came after a protester movement held a couple of weeks ago on April the 10th. How many people from your group have been arrested since then? There has been six people arrested. And actually five are still being held, two in the hospital. three at the Criminal Brigade of the National Police. And one has been released. So what of those who have since been arrested been accused of?

Freight to state security, international security, and criminal conspiracy. That's the charges. and the purpose of evidence in there are kind of fabricated, not kind of, but they are fabricated. It's a way to silence us, to criticize the practices of this in the regime. You were there at the protests. Can you tell our listeners what your movement is asking for? Clearly, the movement is asking for the dissolution of the institutions, the National Assembly, the High Constitutional Court, the Independent Electoral Commission, everything that has caused the perpetual cyclic crisis in this country. So what would you like to see happen?

Actually, we want a whole system exchange, a radical system exchange. We need to change the system because it no longer serves the people. It serves the politicians and their families and those oligarchs who are getting richer and richer and the majority of the population getting poorer and poorer. They're fed up of it. Why is it that younger people in particular are being drawn to these protests? because a lot of time we've been told that getting out of this country is the only option as if we're not native to this country as if this country is not ours

so we decided it has to stop at some point because we are my legacy of row and madagascar's our heritage so why do we have to live or home country to get a brighter future. Why do our parents have to tell us to study hard, work hard, so that you can leave your country? That's not normal. That's why as young people have decided to take matters into our hands and drive out those corrupt politicians and hold their accolades. A spokesperson for Madagascar's president responded to the arrest saying, this is a quote, Here in Madagascar, there's what we call the separation of powers,

so the presidency has nothing to do with cases dealt with by the national police, unquote. Is that your understanding, too, that the current presidency has nothing to do with these arrests? Oh, those people are so good at lying. They're so good at lying? Exactly. Because it's actually an order from the president himself that got those people. It's a direct order. So this is a crackdown against protest.

Against the leaders, not just any protesters, the leaders. What makes you so sure? What makes me so sure is actually that spokesperson of the president have already spoken to me about it. That's why I'm telling you it's a crackdown. What did they say? When he literally threatened us, like, if you want to continue down that way, then we'll meet you there in the streets. So, you know, that's the threat.

And even though we asked for freedom of expression during the protests in October, the same people we put in power is not respecting that freedom of speech. That's a basic right. So from where you sit, how does the new regime compare to the one you and other activists sought to remove last year? Oh, the previous regime was better. These guys are doing ten times worse than the previous. If the previous regime was bad, these guys are worse. We didn't expect what they are doing. They've been in power for six months now.

and they're already wearing expensive clothes. They got really filthy rich. Like, how? We're even wondering how they got reached so fast. You're currently in hiding, as I understand it, and you face the threat of possible arrest yourself. How are you coping? Well, I'm coping by organizing the resistance.

Because, you know, I'm not going to hide forever. And those people are not going to remain for too long. What do you expect these arrests to mean for your movement? Where do you go from here? From here on, we, first of all, we want to let the world know what is really happening. Actually, we're covering evidences of this regime's corruption, while letting the common. folk know that

this current regime is corrupt. It has not followed the ideologies of the revolution. And it's just a new face that the same mafia, the same

oligarchs and the same people who held the economy down, where the country down, are still there holding power and giving orders to those who are in power. Thank you for talking to us and stay safe, okay? Okay, thank you too.

Arimami Tudu Sua is a founding member of the activist organization Gen Z-261. We reached him in Madagascar. Peter Coyoteinac Jr. had one goal to win a volleyball trophy. But on his way to compete, that turned into a district. different goal, survive long enough to even reach the tournament. He had been traveling by snowmobile to Joe Haven Nunavut when he was separated from his group. He was forced to walk for three days to reach safety through a blizzard. We reached Peter Coyoteinac Jr. back at home in Talloyok.

Peter, I understand the journey back home yesterday was much smoother than the one to Joe Haven. How were you greeted by your family and community when you came back? As I got closer, I noticed there's a few. people waiting outside of town. And just before reaching to town, there was some fireworks. And I was told to stop at the quapon. And when I got to the quapon, there was a lot of people waiting for me and cheering. Oh, that's so nice.

Spending three days in a blizzard is a challenging situation to say the least. How are you feeling today? I'm doing good. I was much warmer when I was, and I made it to Joe Haven than going here. I bet. So take us back to the day you were separated from your group. What happened? I got stuck on the snow.

My snowmobile got stuck, and it could. and get out of the snow. And no one in your group noticed you were missing? Yeah, not until they were really far from me. And they were much closer to Joiehaven than to me. Mm-hmm. So they made a decision to get to town and tell search and rescue. Because there was a blizzard, right?

Yeah. And so you started walking. What were you doing to try to keep yourself safe? When I started walking, I stayed warm by keep moving my hands and my feet, like rubbing them together all the way to stay warm to avoid getting cold. I was taught that by my late grandmother, so she told me it really helped me because there are very smart elders that help you teach you out on the land to do stuff and to survive out there.

I mean, there must have been very poor visibility with the blizzard. How did you know how to navigate to Joe Haven? I couldn't see anything around. And the only thing I could see at night was stars. So I used the stars to walk one way and keep following the stars. I understand that after a while you started walking at night to look for the lights of the town. Is that right? Yes.

On Thursday, sometime in the morning, it was buried out, and I want to sleep. for very long. I want to sleep until it was dark out so I could try see the sky try see if I can see Joy Haven light. But when I got to Joy Haven, I found out that most of the part of the town was power outage.

Wow. So tell us about the moment you were finally rescued. cute. How did you react? I was very happy. I thought I was having one of my dreams that I had because it felt so unreal. And it was just my last nap I took

and I heard a skidoo not too far from me. So I immediately walked up and started walking towards where I heard the skidoo. there was nothing. Mm-hmm. And I checked the right side of me, there is nothing. And I check on the left side of me, that's when I saw snowmobiles and sleds.

Just when I turned on my left and saw them, and they turned around, and I thought I was having one of those gyms I had being found. And when they got closer, I noticed I was in dreams. anymore so I started jumping and clapping and full of joy. Yeah, you'd been dreaming about being rescued. Yes, I dream twice about being found.

Right. Was there ever a moment when you doubted you'd be rescued or make it back alive? At one point, yeah. I felt like there's probably no one that knows where I am or what I'm doing. that's when I lost space but I just kept moving forward and every time I felt a little tired even just a little bit I would rest

and just to have more chance of moving further and being found. Yeah. What kept you going? Like emotionally, I mean, mentally. My family and my friends. Yeah. And people back home, I get along very well with everyone.

But my kids, my two kids and my spouse kept me going. I kept thinking of them all the time. And I thought about my mom and my siblings, my nieces and my nephews. And my friends, my close friends, They kept me all going. I didn't give up because of them. Yeah. And after all that, Peter, unbelievably, you competed in the volleyball tournament.

How did you do? I did good. I came in first place. Wow. The team won. Yes. And my team, when we were playing gold medal game, I had the last, and I made the game-winning serve.

Wow. And it felt so emotional. Yeah. Wow. What an incredible story, Peter. Thank you so much for telling us. Yes, thank you. We reached Peter Coyoteinok Jr. in Taliyok Nunavut.

The state of Virginia has a new electoral map today, thanks to a special election yesterday. In a referendum, voters chose to approve a state-level constitutional amendment to move the lines on the electoral map in a way that will almost certainly deliver four more congressional seats to the Democrats. It's a temporary measure set to expire in 2030. And unlike stealthier gerrymandering efforts in the past, this is an out-in-the-open move, explicitly designed to shift the balance of power. not unlike a vote in California last November that's projected to flip five Republican seats. The argument made to voters was that this was gerrymandering to combat gerrymandering,

fighting fire with fire, after Republican moves to build themselves a structural advantage. Kyle Condick is the author of the long red thread, a history of how Republicans built that advantage. We reached him in Washington, D.C. Kyle, if this holds, how seismic a change could this be for the balance of power in the American Congress, at least until 2030. Are you going to have to write a new chapter for your book?

So this redistricting fight that we've had since last summer, which really kicked off with President Trump going to Texas to try to get even more seats out of Texas, which already had a Republican-drawn map. It's very unusual in American history. I wouldn't necessarily say it's unprecedented, but I think it's probably unprecedented in our lifetimes. And ultimately, the effect so far,

has been pretty minimal, and in fact, in aggregate, Democrats have benefited, I would say, more than Republicans have. Democrats were favored to win the House, I think probably as soon as President Trump won in 2024 based on how, you know, off-year midterm elections work here in the United States. And while the redistricting fight kind of added a little bit of a cloud over that, particularly last summer, Democrats have generally remained favored the whole time. I think Trump and Republicans hope that they could kind of build a front of. firewall through gerrymandering and really improve the overall House map for themselves. But again, the process is not complete yet.

But overall, Democrats have actually benefited a little bit more than Republicans. And this Virginia Democratic map is a big part of that. Right. Why do you think the yes side prevailed here? What was it about their message that got out the vote? I think it was basically it's Trump. And, you know, given how Virginia voted in its statewide elections last November, I wouldn't say this was a particularly good performance. And I think Republicans probably had a Republican-leaning areas had, I think, better turnout for this.

And I think Republicans are more motivated in that it was, it's kind of an existential threat to them in Virginia. I mean, Democrats already have come to dominate state government. They've dominated federal elections for a long time. But, you know, Virginia does have five Republican members of the U.S. House out of an 11 member delegation, and this is going to knock them down to one. And so Republicans showed up, more so the Democrats. I think also there was a little bit of a split with the Democratic Party, at least in terms of, you know, I don't think Democrats had maximum party unity the way the Republicans did. And yet, despite all that, it looks like the issue

is going to pass by, you know, looks like something like three or four points once all the votes are tabulated. So I would describe it as a close but clear victory for the yes side. You know, Virginia is also a Democratic-leaning state these days. You know, I think Democrats also were really aggressive in pushing this gerrymander, and I think Republicans responded in kind, but again, this is not a 50-50 state, and so you didn't get a 50-50 result. Right. In your story on these new electoral maps, you refer to District VA7 as the lobster.

What do you mean by that? I mean, if you look at it, it visually looks like a lobster. That's two big claws that kind of. of extend out into rural Republican, you know, western and central Virginia, and then it extends all the way to the heavily Democratic, you know, northern Virginia area. And that's what, you know, that's what gerrymandering can do is you, you know, you draw these, what we, you call almost like bacon strips, you know, you tie, you know, blue, urban and suburban areas with red Republican, rural and small town areas. Now, when Republicans do that sort of gerrymandering, they put more

rural Republicans in there to outweigh the, you know, the urban Democrats, which is what you see in like a Republican gerrymander like Texas, or in Virginia, it's the opposite. You know, the blue areas outvote, the red areas in that district. And so that's what this map did. Instead of having, you know, a few compact, very blue Democratic districts in Northern Virginia, the Democratic voters spread out across the state from Virginia in order to, in order to maximize the number of Democratic seats. You know, is it visually egregious? Absolutely. Is it partisan? Absolutely. Do both sides do it? Absolutely. Yeah. The Virginia Supreme Court, as I understand it, allowed this vote to go ahead, but the legal battles are far from settled. So what kind of a fight is in store?

It's possible that the Supreme Court of Virginia will rule that the, you know, Democrats did not follow the proper procedure for putting, you know, presenting this, this ballot issue to voters. And so it's possible that they could, they could, you know, basically go back to the old map and invalidate this. You know, I don't, I don't have a sense as to whether, whether they will or won't do that, but it's just something we're going to have to watch over the next several weeks. Right. So where do things go from here? Do you see the, the potential for more openly partisan? redistricting with maybe retaliatory action from red states to answer the Virginia and California votes?

Sort of the last remaining big state domino is Florida. Florida already has a, you know, a favorable Republican map. Republicans may try to squeeze out a few more seats in a special session that's starting, a special legislative session that's starting next week. But, you know, Republicans have to be, I think, more careful than Democrats in this cycle, just because it's probably going to be a Democratic-leaning election. And so a district that you might draw for yourself that would have been safe for Republicans in 2024 may not be safe in 2026. So the maps that are drawn are going to be stress tested by Republicans.

You know, for this Virginia Democratic map, it's probably not going to be stress tested in 2026 and probably will produce that 10 to 1 Democratic advantage. But maybe 2028 or 2030 comes around. And maybe those aren't as good at Democratic years. or maybe they're Republican years. But Florida is the state to watch here. You know, Florida also has, you know, language in a state constitution that says you're not supposed to, you know, do partisan gerrymandering. But will the Supreme Court of Florida, which is pretty conservative and is still the

allies of Republican governor on Ron DeSantis, would they actually push back against them? It's an open question. Kyle, thanks so much for your insights on this. Yep. Thank you. Kyle Condick is the managing editor of the Sabato's Crystal Ball Politics newsletter at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. We reached him in Washington, D.C.

Multiple rivers across Quebec are overflowing, and some neighborhoods are basically underwater. Heavy spring rain combined with fast melting snow are making a terrible mess. Dozens of homes have flooded and people across the province. have been forced to evacuate. In Montresne Blanc, around 65 homes are flooded, including Paul Goulet's cottage. His floor was covered in about 10 inches of water. He posted a picture of the now pool-like room with this caption.

Quote, Great news, everyone. We have now added a full spa experience to our home in Montresne Blancé, Quebec. Mother Nature helped with the design and filtration of our new indoor pool, and she went with a cold tub experience. We have also added a TV in the water and sleep in the water option, where our sofas and beds are just a few inches over the surface of the water, taking reservations now for spring slash summer 2026, unquote.

We reached Paul Goulet in Montres-Bron-Blan. Paul, you were away in Newfoundland when this happened, and you just got back today. What does your home look like right now? Well, right now it looks good. I had a friend come up when I realized that we could have an issue with flooding at our place, and he came up. He was able to get our second sum pump working. Only one of the two sum pumps in the basement were working.

One of them had been inadvertently unplugged. And he was able to come up, move some stuff, and get the second sum pump on to clear any of the water that had been coming into the house. Okay. So what went through your mind, though, when you walked through the door? Well, I literally just walked in here a minute ago. I just got back from Newfoundland to see it when Fadi, who is from my team, walked downstairs.

He was the one that, you know, sent me the picture. He knows I have a pretty good sense of humor. And he went and sat on the sofa. He had his girlfriend was with him and took a picture with him sitting on the sofa with, you know, his legs in the water with a big smile on his face. So he knows me well enough to know that I was going to try to make the best of a bad situation. And they sent me the picture. And of course, you know, you have the moment. I first found out my neighbor was the one who was able to come in.

And he was worried because he saw that the, he could tell that the stump was on and the water was constantly coming out. Like it was just running nonstop. So he could see that he was the one who let me know initially. He came in to say, I'm really sorry. only one of your some pumps are on and there's water in your basement. So and then one of my staff came up. My friend who works for me, Fadi came up and that's when the picture that you might have seen was shared. Yeah.

So why did you decide to write that post? Well, I knew that I was going to let my friends know. You know, we have friends that come up here. It's a place that we use with our family and we always have friends that come up. People knew that there was, you know, some flooding in rivers. and people had asked me, hey, how are things going? I know that you're on a river. And, you know, when you first find out, you have that, oh, smurf moment where you're like,

you know, it's pain in the body. It is what it is. But I'm very quick to be like, you know, you control the things you can. You accept the things you can. If I get really upset in that situation, it really doesn't make a difference. So I guess it was a way for me to let people know that we're about to find out. It's okay. I'm okay.

we're going to deal with this. It's going to be fine. It's not a good situation. Nobody wants to have to make an insurance claim or have to repair damage like that. So I think I just meant to just to kind of make it. It's a bad situation. It's stressful. It's not ideal. But if you can make people smile, I think it makes it a little bit better. And apparently people thought it was pretty funny. Well, lots of people in the comments were laughing as well. Yeah. Oh, yes. Do you have a sense at this moment about the extent of the damage? Well, I mean, there ended up being about, it actually the water came up about 10 inches inside the house. So for sure, all the drywall, there's a washing machine or dryer that's down there that, that did try to put the dryer on. The dryer's not working. There's a speaker.

Some plays drums. There's electric drum set down there. You know, there's a lot of stuff. It's, you know, it's clean groundwater that was coming. in. It wasn't a sewer backup, so that's good. Any of the linens and stuff that were down there that was below the water line, I think, just take them home and wash them. But we're definitely going to have to replace the bottom of the drywall. And there was a baseboard heaters down there. I'm quite certain they're done. And they were underwater. So there's going to be a little bit

of electrical work, drywall work and things that have to be done. It doesn't take very long for those things to add up. There might be, if I had to be, if I had to, guess there's probably $35,000 worth of damage. Ouch. Have you ever seen the water levels get this high in trauma? I, you know, we're not always here this time of the year. Last year it got super high with a big rainstorm and I'm just actually just looking out the front window. I'm walking to look and I would say this is probably as high as I've ever seen it. I would say that. Yeah, looking across, I can see there's some fields across from us that, I mean, there's a ton of snow up here this year.

So it's been a wonderful year for snow. And if you like skiing, it's been amazing. If you're not so great when it melts, apparently. So I think for us, it's just unfortunate that the second somehow, we, our kids have friends here. And it's in a bedroom and maybe somebody unplugged it to plug in a device or something. too sure would happen, but one of the sump pumps weren't plugged in. Yeah. The last we checked, it seemed like the rain in Montreuxneblanc is easing up and the river levels

across the province are starting to normalize. But after all this, are you worried at all about continuing to have property right on the river? I don't think so. I mean, if anything, like the water's a long ways down from where the actual house is. I think it would have to be pretty extreme. and even then the ground floor of the house is, is, it must be, I must be eight feet above the water now. And the water's really high right now.

So on the ground floor at the house, the basement would definitely be at that water line. So I think, I think it's more about when we know that it's going to be melting and stuff. I mean, if, if power goes out, some pumps don't work. And the river does go up. I mean, there's two some pumps in the basement for, reason. We know that at times groundwater, we're on the river. We do know that groundwater changes

in the river, and especially in this time of year. So it's more about us having to make a decision on what we do with that basement space for the kids moving forward. Right. Well, glad to see you, we're able to have a sense of humor about it. Thanks so much for talking to us, Paul. Hey, thanks for calling. We reached Paul Goulet in Montchamblain.

You've been listening to the As It Happens podcast. Our show can be heard Monday to Friday on CBC Radio 1 following your world tonight. You can also listen to the show online at cbc.ca.ca slash AIH or on the CBC Listen app. Thanks for listening. I'm Nora Young. And I'm Chris Howden.

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