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Soon, Biden To Address Canadian Parliament, To Hold News Conference With Trudeau; Workers End 3-Day Strike, 500K Students Return To School In L.A.; CDC Recalled Eye Drops Linked To More Deaths, Infections; Gwyneth Paltrow Expected To Testify Today In Utah Trial On Ski Collision; Biden Addresses Canadian Parliament. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 24, 2023 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[14:30:14]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: And you are looking live at the Canadian parliament where, any moment now, we're expecting to see the president in Ottawa, where he will address the Canadian parliament.

And next hour, the president and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will speak to reporters. Of course, we will bring that to you as it happens.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: CNN's Paula Newton is live for us in Ottawa.

And, Paula, this is a chance for President Biden to repair some of the strain and the fractures that were festering during the Trump administration.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And yet, Canadian officials will make a fine point of saying that, even during the Trump administration, that they were able to get things done.

So then if you fast forward here to 2023, I mean, these guys, Boris, Jessica, go by Justin and joe. And given that personal report - as we can see right now, in fact, Joe Biden coming out and he is about to deliver an address to parliament.

I want to say that this address to parliament will be historic. In many ways, it's going to follow in the footsteps of Kennedy and Clinton and Obama and Reagan.

And these will be the historic remarks, again, underscoring really what is a unique relationship around the world in terms of how close these allies are.

But getting back to your point, Boris, about disagreements. Look, these two administrations have disagreements as well. And they will get to the hard facts of that after this address to parliament in that press conference.

In that press conference, in fact, they will be able to address the thorny issue with the United States for many years, and that's Canada's defense spending.

Given the new geopolitical reality, we are told that Canada is coming to the table with certainly billions more.

The issue is the timeline and that involves things like defense spending, whether it's NORAD or NATO or Arctic security. And we expect to hear more on that force - Boris, Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Paula Newton, for us in Ottawa.

And we'll, of course, bring you that address from President Biden. We will bring it to you live as soon as it happens.

The nation's second-largest school district reopened today following a massive three-day strike over wages and better working conditions, but still no deal in sight. What comes next?

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[14:36:48]

DEAN: And you are looking live at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is addressing Canadian parliament. We are waiting to hear - you see him there - President Joe Biden, who is there in Canada. Of course, we will bring that to you live as soon as it happens.

But again, momentarily, we're expecting the president will address the parliament and then will take reporter's questions a little bit later in the day.

We will be bringing both of those events to you live. We're keeping our eye on that.

But first, we're going to turn to California, where more than a half million students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are back in the classroom following three days of strikes.

The union representing school support workers ended their standoff Thursday, but the contract disputes still hasn't been resolved despite negotiations going on for nearly a year.

SANCHEZ: Now CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles for us.

Camila, the strike is over. But again, there's no resolution. So what happens next?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Boris, Jessica. Well, what happens next is that there will be conversations behind closed doors. And now we know that L.A. County or the L.A. City Mayor Karen Bass is also involved in these conversations.

Last we heard, the union is still asking for 30 percent of an increase in salaries plus $2 an hour. And the last offer we heard from the district is an increase of 23 percent plus a 3 percent bonus in cash.

Now, the question is, are they getting any close to an agreement? We do not know. Again, these conversations are taking place, but they're not doing it publicly.

And as we mentioned, this strike, in particular, the one that took place this week was about workers, saying that they felt that they were being mistreated after they started asking for more money. So this strike that just happened was not necessarily about the salary.

So when I talked to the union, what they told me was, look, as these negotiations continue, if we do not come to an agreement, you could see a no other strike. Of course, that's not something they necessarily want.

And of course, a lot of the parents here do not want another strike. They were already suffering this week and are very thankful to have these children back in school.

Here are some of those moms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PARENT: I'm really excited. They're back. I Struggled. I struggled bad. But you know, we got through. We pulled through so over being gone. Now we're back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Now both sides say that this is going to be historic if and when they come to an agreement.

The superintendent saying that this is going to be an example for many across the country when it comes to these contract negotiations.

And the union saying that this should be a wakeup call for many others to invest in education because they say that once you invest in these workers, you are going to have better schools and better education - Jessica, Boris?

DEAN: Right. More to come.

Camila Bernal, in Los Angeles for us, thanks so much for that update.

SANCHEZ: And we're still monitoring these live images from the Canadian parliament, where President Biden is set to speak at any moment. He's actually being introduced right now by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

[14:39:51]

Of course, we'll bring you President Biden's address in moments. Stay with us.

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DEAN: The CDC reports two more deaths have been linked to a rare bacteria found in eyedrops that were voluntarily recalled last month. That brings the total number of deaths to three.

All in connection with eyedrops distributed by EzraCare and Delsam Pharma. Some eyeballs have even had to be surgically removed.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with the very latest.

And, Elizabeth, CNN spoke exclusively with people who said that they were injured by these eyedrops. What did they share?

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Boris, these eye drops that you can just get over the counter and many drugstores - I mean, not now, but at the time.

And these ladies, they just had dry eyes. It was nothing terribly complicated. And they said that they had pain that evolved and got worse.

[14:45:03]

I want to introduce you to two of them, to the three of them, rather. The first one is Nancy Moss. She lives in Ohio. She had an ulcer on her cornea. After using drops, she was hospitalized and she lost vision in her eye.

And then the second one is Clara Olivia. She had her right eyeball removed and is now legally blind.

And then, thirdly, Renee Martray (ph). She does have her vision. But she says that now it feels like she is looking through eyeglasses covered in oil. That's how she described what her vision is.

So these three ladies are not the only people who have had issues. Let's talk about what the CDC says.

They said 68 people have had infections in 16 states, eight people have lost their vision for people, including the one we just mentioned, have had eyeballs surgically removed and there have been three deaths.

EzraCare, which is the company that makes these drops, said, "As of today, we are not aware of any testing that definitively links the student suit among us original PSA outbreak to EzraCare, artificial tears."

"Nonetheless, we immediately took action to stop any further distribution or sale of EzraCare artificial tears. To the greatest extent possible, we have been contacting customers to advise them against continued use of the product."

Now obviously, if you have this product in your cabinet, you should not be using it. And if you did use it, and you have symptoms, you should be seeing your eye doctor - Boris, Jessica?

DEAN: Yes, see the doctor immediately.

All right Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much for bringing that to us.

Any moment now, President Joe Biden will address the Canadian parliament. You're looking now at Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada. He's being introduced by Trudeau.

We're going to bring the president's address to you, live. Stay with us.

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[14:51:16]

SANCHEZ: As we await President Biden's speech to the Canadian parliament, we are also watching a courtroom in Park City, Utah, today where Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, seen here entering the courthouse this morning, could potentially take the stand today in a trial over a skiing accident that happened in 2016.

DEAN: And 76-year-old Terry Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000, claiming she skied recklessly into him at a Utah resort, causing him lasting injuries and brain damage. Paltrow is countersuing, claiming Sanderson skied into her.

Let's bring in CNN's Chloe Melas.

And, Chloe, this seems like a consequential day in this trial.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, it is, because this has been seven years in the making. And we are supposed to hear from Gwyneth Paltrow herself finally because we know that she denies skiing into Terry Sanderson, who claims that he had four broken ribs and brain injuries.

His children, two of his daughters, one today, crying on the stand saying, you know how that her father was impacted cognitively and that he was never the same.

Gwyneth denies that this happened. He says that he skied into her and that she was downhill.

No cameras of what happened that day. This is only based on eyewitness testimony.

And we're going to hear from Gwyneth, potentially from Terry Sanderson. They're on a lunch break right now.

And there you see Gwyneth from the other day. The camera is not on Gwyneth Paltrow anymore. She's asked for the camera to not be focused on her.

So really, we only see the lawyers, whoever is on the stand. So when we see Gwyneth it's going to be a big moment.

And this has become quite the trial that social media is paying attention to especially TikTok. And it's become one that has been full of memes as well.

So a whole younger generation is closely following this civil trial.

SANCHEZ: We will keep our eyes on it. Please, Chloe, keep us up to breast on what happens next?

Chloe Melas, thank you so much.

Let's actually go to Ottawa right now, where President Biden is set to address the Canadian parliament.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon, Canada.

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BIDEN: I must tell you, I took four years of French in school.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: First time I attempted to make a speech in French I was laughed at.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: So it's good as I can get right now.

And seriously, thank you very, very much.

Speaker of the House of Commons, speaker of the Senate, members of the parliament, thank you for the very kind welcome my wife and I.

Prime Minister Trudeau, you were my first meeting with a foreign leader just one month after my presidency during the hardest days of Covid 19.

We had to make a visit virtual, but, since then, we've been all over the world talking to start taking on some of the toughest issues our nations have faced in a very long time.

I want to thank you for your partnership and for your personal friendship. I thank you very much.

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BIDEN: Jill and I are grateful for the hospitality you and Sophie have shown us.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm honored to have the opportunity to uphold the tradition carried out by so many of my predecessors addressing the hallowed halls of the Canadian democracy, although this is a different hall.

(LAUGHTER)

[14:55:02]

You've done a hell of a job.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: This is really beautiful, really, very beautiful. This is accustomed to speech to the closest of our relationship.

Americans and Canadians are two people, two countries, in my view, sharing one heart. It's for personal connection.

No two nations on earth are bound by such close ties, friendship, family, commerce and culture. Our labor unions cross borders, so do our sports leagues. Baseball. Basketball hockey. I have to say, except hockey.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: I have to say, except the Leafs.

(CHEERING)

BIDEN: Tell you what.

(CHEERING)

BIDEN: They beat the Flyers back in January. That's why.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: And if I didn't say that - I married a Philly girl. If I didn't say that, I'd be sleeping alone, fellas. I like you, but not that much.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: Yes, it can be easy to take a partnership between Canada, the United States as a given. And - but when you stop and think about it, it's really a wonder, 5552 mile long border, more than 8800 kilometers defined by peaceful commerce, trading relationships that measure more than $2.5 billion a day.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of people cross the borders and going in north and south to work or just to visit knowing they'll find a warm welcome on the other side of the border.

Americans love Canadians, and that's not hyperbole. It's a data-driven fact.

Earlier this week, the Gallup Poll did a new poll showing American opinions on different countries in the world. This is a fact. Canada ranked at the very top, 88 percent favorable rating among Americans.

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BIDEN: Up from 87 the year before. I take credit for that one point.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: I suspect every politician in this this room would do a hell of a lot to get those kind of numbers.

(LAUGHTER) BIDEN: But there's a reason for it. The same fundamental aspiration of reverberated across both our nations, from the Atlantic to the Pacific to live in freedom. Not just freedom, to live in freedom with dignity with dignity.

To relentlessly pursue the possibilities of tomorrow, to leave - leave our children and our grandchildren future that's better because of our efforts, the people in this room and similar rooms in United States.

President Kennedy said, and when he spoke here in 1961, and I quote:

He said, "Ours is the unity of equal and independent nations, co- tenants on the same continent. Heirs of the same legacy. And fully sovereign associates in the same historic endeavor, to preserve freedom for ourselves and for all who wish it.

For all who wishes it. More than a century of that historic endeavor, Canada, the United States have had each other's backs in war and in peace.

We have been the stronghold of liberty. Safeguards for the fundamental freedoms that give us our lives. Literally. You give our lives.

Meaning, we have gladly stepped into the responsibilities of global leadership because we understand all that is at risk for Canadians and Americans alike when freedom is under attack anywhere in the world.

Today, our destinies are intertwined. And they're inseparable. Not because of inevitability of geography. But because it's a choice, a choice we've made again and again.

The United States chooses to link our future with Canada because we know that we'll find no better partner. That means, to the bottom of my heart, no more reliable ally, no more steady friend.

[14:59:36]

And today I say to you and to all the people of Canada that you will always, always be able to count on the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)