Hi, it's Therese Kehler and David Michael Lamb.

Murray Brewster's story about Canada's current state of readiness for war is quite the eye-opening read. And it seems like it's equally surprising to federal officials after NATO tasked all its members to create national plans to bolster their domestic offences.

We're also taking a look at the new restrictions on hiring temporary foreign workers that go into effect today. And for those who make it to the very end, you'll get to meet Big Sam — or, at any rate, this dino's very big head. 

Hopes for a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah are dashed, for now

There will be no immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. 

The United States, Canada and other allies called late yesterday for a 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border.

But this morning, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that won't happen. "We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," he said in a statement on the social media platform X.

Israeli airstrikes overnight hit around 75 Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and ready-to-fire launchers, the Israeli military said on Thursday.

For the first time since the end of the Cold War, Canada needs to start thinking about gearing up for war

Canadian soldiers take part in the Arrowhead Guardian exercise at Camp Grayling in Michigan in August. (Canadian Forces Combat Camera, DND 2024)

NATO is urging its member nations to create national plans to bolster their domestic defences, signifying a major shift for Canada, which has historically struggled with this approach. 

The strategy was agreed to at the NATO leaders summit in July, but the policy got little attention at the time, being overshadowed by topics like defence spending and Ukraine support. Now Canadian officials are starting to get their heads around the ramifications. And the discussions are not particularly comfortable. 

Why it matters: It emphasizes the need for Canada to reassess its defence strategies and industrial capabilities amidst rising global tensions, particularly with Russia and China.

Where are we at: For decades, the Canadian government has lacked an across-the-board plan to fully mobilize the country, federal institutions and the economy to fight a conventional war — the kind Ukraine is fighting now.

Where do we need to be: One expert says it's understandable for Canada to happily ignore the issue since the Cold War ended. But given Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the odds of Canada being dragged into a major war are much higher, says Vincent Rigby, a former national security and intelligence adviser. "The next big war ... it will be a big regional war, or a series of regional wars ... We better have our plans in place."

Some related stories:

• A Canadian couple was killed in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli military this week has mounted its heaviest airstrikes in nearly a year of conflict. Speaking from Bahrain, Kamal Tabaja told CBC News that the victims were his parents, Hussein Tabaja, 74, and Daad Tabaja, 69. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have fled their homes and hospitals have filled with the wounded since an intensification of bombing on Monday, when more than 550 people were killed in Lebanon's deadliest day since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
• A truck carrying 88 unidentified bodies of Palestinians killed in Israel's military campaign in Gaza arrived in Khan Younis on Wednesday, but the Palestinian Ministry of Health has paused the process of accepting the bodies because Israel has not provided any information on their identities or how they were killed.

As of today, employers are going to have to look closer to home for workers. Here's why

Restaurants have become a major employer of workers through the temporary foreign worker program. Changes to the program, in effect as of Sept. 26, are aimed at shrinking the program and pushing employers to invest more in local employees. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Starting today, new restrictions are in effect around hiring temporary foreign workers, aimed at encouraging employers to prioritize hiring people already in Canada.

Key changes include limiting employers from hiring more than 10 per cent of the workforce through the program's low-wage stream; restricting TFW hires in communities with unemployment rates above six per cent; and limiting contracts for most low-wage positions to a maximum of one year.

The changes follow a significant increase in TFW positions — the low-wage stream in particular has grown from 21,394 in 2018 to 83,654 in 2023. 
We talked to an economics professor who says the changes make sense (and added, "I actually think we should probably be phasing this program out as soon as possible.") But business owners who have tried and failed to find local workers are worried this will put them out of business. 

According to Statistics Canada, the country's unemployment rate hit 6.6 per cent in August, up 1.1 percentage points year over year. 

Some other stories that might interest you:

• Population growth in Canada slowed slightly in the second quarter of this year as the federal government made efforts to reduce temporary migration into the country, Statistics Canada revealed Wednesday. The slower growth in temporary migrants was mainly due to changes to student visas. As of July 1, Canada's population reached an estimated 41,288,599.
• Increased Indigenous participation in Alberta's labour market could boost the province's GDP by between two and three percentage points, the equivalent of $8 billion to $11 billion annually, according to the findings of a new report.

Those swathes of blackened, burnt forest? A new study says they have a widespread warming effect that can last years

These trees were scorched by B.C.'s Donnie Creek massive wildfire last July. At its peak, the fire was larger than Prince Edward Island. A new study found that larger fires flatten and blacken the ground, leaving it measurably warmer for more than a decade. (Noah Berger/The Associated Press)

This summer's wildfire in Jasper National Park burned roughly 33,000 hectares and spanned almost 300 kilometres. Although the fire is now under control, the impact will last for years.

According to a new study published in Nature, massive climate-driven wildfires are leaving swathes of blackened ground, which absorbs more heat instead of reflecting it. 

That creates a potentially frightening circle, researchers say. Larger fires lead to prolonged temperature increases, contributing to a cycle where climate change fuels more wildfires, further exacerbating warming.

"This effect actually lasts quite long," says Xianli Wang, one of the study's co-authors and a fire research scientist at the Canadian Forest Service. "We have 14 years of data and we do see the residual effects even lasts that long."

Interestingly, the study suggests that increasing deciduous or broad-leafed trees, which retain more moisture than coniferous trees and can slow fire spread, may help mitigate these effects.

With wildfires becoming increasingly severe due to climate change, experts stress the importance of preparation and adaptive forest management strategies.

That need was underscored during a Wednesday update from federal officials about the 2024 wildfire season in Canada.

So far, about 5.3 million hectares burned this year. That's a significant drop from last year's 15 million hectares, but it still puts 2024 on track to be the second-largest wildfire season in over 20 years.

Notes Yan Boulanger, a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada, "It's become increasingly evident that we need to shift away from viewing wildland fires simply as seasonal events and move toward the concept of a continuous fire year."

In case you missed it

• On Wednesday, the Liberal government survived the first of what is expected to be a series of non-confidence votes during the fall sitting. The final tally was 211 MPs voting against the motion and 120 in favour. The Bloc Québécois, meanwhile, provided the Trudeau government with a list of demands it wants dealt with by the end of October — or else it will join the push for an early election. 
• Hurricane Helene is barrelling toward the U.S., prompting residents to evacuate, schools to close and officials to declare emergencies in Florida and Georgia. The storm is so large that areas roughly 145 kilometres north of the Georgia-Florida line could expect hurricane conditions.
• Their house is four years old, but a Fort Erie, Ont., couple say it was so badly constructed that they have no choice but to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to tear it down. Now they're suing the builder. 
  Callout: Have you had problems with a new home? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca
• Costco is recalling yogurt again, for the second time in a month. Manufacturer Danone Canada said the product may contain a type of yeast that could lead to illness in immunocompromised people.

And, in today's science-y cool news of the day...

Meet Big Sam, an Alberta dinosaur with a head the size of a baby elephant

The giant skull of Big Sam, a Pachyrhinosaurus that only lived near Grande Prairie, Alta., was excavated on Wednesday. (Submitted by Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum)

It's a dinosaur that roamed Alberta's badlands more than 70 million years ago.

And on Wednesday, paleontologists pulled its 272-kilogram skull out of the ground near Grande Prairie, about 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, 

Nicknamed Big Sam, this adult Pachyrhinosaurus is a herbivore with a bumpy, bony head the size of a baby elephant. It's endemic to the Grande Prairie area, meaning it’s found nowhere else on Earth.

A full-grown adult would be about the size of a rhino, says Emily Bamforth, a paleontologist with the nearby Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.

It's the second plant-eating dinosaur to be unearthed from a dense bonebed belonging to a herd that died together on the edge of a valley. 

Bamforth said the extraction was difficult because Big Sam was intertwined in a cluster of about 300 other bones.

"I have extracted skulls in the past. This is probably the biggest one I've ever done though," she says. "It's pretty exciting."