It seems talks between the U.S. and Canada have managed to delay – and perhaps even halt – the new wave of tariffs threatened by U.S. president Trump. Within a couple hours of when Trump had said 50 per cent tariffs on many Canadian goods would come into effect, he posted to social media saying there would be a three-day pause due as some sort of deal is set to be finalized. This trade uncertainty comes at a troubling time for B.C. wine producers, much of whom are based in the Okanagan and are already grappling with the lasting effects of wildfires. Wine Growers of BC president and CEO Jeff Guignard is joins. 

We’re seeing a new commercialization effort here in B.C. for the manufacture of wood foam – a biodegradable material made from forestry waste. This is happening through a partnership between UBC and the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, with a pilot plant operated by DicinFoam. UBC wood science associate professor Feng Jiang (PhD) first developed the material in a lab setting, and he’s joining us to talk about the science behind wood foam.

Plus, after the latest trade trouble got down to the wire yesterday evening, when suddenly Trump posted to social media saying the new tariffs would not come into effect today, Victoria's MP Will Greaves joins us to help us understand what happened and what comes next.

If the new wave of U.S. threatened levies ultimately do kick in, they are expected to pack a bad punch for many B.C. industries, including forestry, dairy and alcohol. What’s the assessment of how Canada has tried to navigate this, and where do we go from here? Conservative MP for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford Jeff Kibble also weighs in. 

We also get into a tragic local story, after a 27-year-old man died of drowning at Goldstream Falls near the campground on Monday. This comes amid an overall spike in these fatalities in B.C., with the coroner office recording 40 accidental drowning deaths from May 1 to July 16 – that’s 14 more than the same period last year. In this latest case, although bystanders pulled the man from the water and attempted life-saving measures before emergency services arrived, the incident proved fatal. Langford Fire Chief Chris Aubrey is joining us to discuss.