World Report - May 06: Tuesday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: May 6, 2025

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump about to meet in the midst of a trade war. Conservative MPs regroup in Ottawa to discuss who could replace Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons.Federal NDP taps Don Davies to take over as interim party leader. Friedrich Merz becomes German Chancellor, after second round of voting. Alleged sexual assault victim E.M. faces more cross examination at trial of 5 former World Junior hockey players. Southwestern Ontario a hotspot for studying avian flu. 

The election may be over, but that certainly doesn't mean things are settled on Parliament Hill, and that gives At Issue a lot to talk about. I'm Rosemary Barton, CBC's Chief Political Correspondent, and every week I'm joined by three of Canada's top political journalists, Chantelle Baer, Andrew Coyne, and Althea Raj, to help you understand what's at stake as the Liberals settled in for another minority and the Conservatives try to hold them to account. Follow At Issue as we break down the biggest stories in Canadian politics. New podcasts every Friday. This is a CBC Podcast.

This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Marcia Young. Canada's relationship with the United States will be front and centre today. Prime Minister Mark Carney is about to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House. It is the first official sit down for the two leaders since last week's federal election. Tariffs and Trump's comments about annexing Canada will likely add to the intensity of this meeting.

The CBC's Richard Madden joins me now from Washington. And Richard, what are we expecting today? Yeah, the White House agenda says the Prime Minister will arrive at the White House around 1130 Eastern time. There'll be an official greeting in the Oval Office before the two leaders hold a working lunch behind closed doors.

Now, there are, of course, a lot of items on the agenda for this high stakes meeting from trade to tariffs to economic partnership, but with all that, there are the optics and unpredictability from President Trump when the cameras are rolling. Now this is a president who's mused about annexing Canada, turning it into the 51st state, who will be sitting beside a prime minister who built his campaign against the Trump administration. Now Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lecknick sounded skeptical the two leaders will reach a deal or consensus on trade while hurling more insults at Canada during an interview

on Fox Business News. They have their socialist regime and it's basically feeding off of America. I mean the president calls that out all the time. Why do we make cars in Canada? Why do we do our films in Canada? Come on. Now, it's worth noting Trump has sounded less hostile to Canada and its prime minister since his election. And some journalists here say Trump appears to have taken credit for

holding the liberal government to a minority. Richard, what impact could this have on Canada-U.S. relations? Yeah, it is a high stakes meeting, but the Prime Minister has already been downplaying expectations ahead of it, saying, don't expect a breakthrough. This is the first step to lower tensions and reset the strained relationship between the two countries. Now, from Trump's perspective, he says he's ready to make a deal on trade and tariffs, but the challenge appears to be the goalposts keep

changing and Trump's on again, off again tariff policy has left many industry and political leaders guessing. Thank you, Richard. Thank you. The CBC's Richard Madden in Washington. While Carney focuses on trade and tariffs, conservative MPs are looking ahead to the return of parliament. Under Pierre Poliev, the party increased its votes

and increased its seat count, but it didn't win. And Conservative MPs are regrouping at a caucus meeting today in Ottawa. Let's bring in Janice McGregor from our Parliamentary Bureau. Janice Poliev is leading a party that was defeated in the election. So what does he need to do today? Marcia, Pierre Poliev has to find a way to snatch victory from the jaws of this electoral defeat. And so on his way in today, he emphasized how the party seats went up, the share of their vote went up, that there was much to be thankful for, while also acknowledging

conservative disappointment, that he has more listening to do, that he needs to figure out how to push just a bit further into government. He says stuff like this to keep his MPs and this party's rank and file hopeful and motivated. But when pushed to be accountable for this loss, when asked whether campaign manager Jenny Byrne, for example, should be blamed or replaced, he pivoted and said, you don't grow the party to include more people by excluding people. They said we've expanded our support, we've broadened our team, we've got 25 new members of parliament, but we have to go further.

So we're going to be enlarging our team. And that's one of the things we'll be talking about today in our caucus. When cameras are rolling, MPs seem to support this approach. The question is in, behind closed doors, do serious concerns remain? If no one takes accountability, could that set off a slower burn that could make the future of his leadership less secure?

But in the meantime, Janice, the caucus has some decisions to make. Walk us through those. Yeah, behind closed doors, they vote today on how much power MPs want to hold independent of Pierre Poliev, which could include the ability to launch a leadership review against him.

By the end of the day, MPs are going to pick someone who won a seat to lead their caucus in the House for at least the next couple of months. If that person is close and loyal to Poliev, that avoids the potentially awkward situation of having two people speaking for this party at once, one who's officially the opposition leader, and the other who's out campaigning so he can get that job back as quickly as possible. Thank you, Janice. You're welcome. The CBC is Janice McGregor in Ottawa.

The federal NDP meanwhile have chosen an interim leader Jagmeet Singh resigned on election night after the party's worst showing in its history. For now, Vancouver MP Dawn Davies will be filling that role. But already there is some criticism of how the party is operating. Former Winnipeg MP Leah Gazan says she was surprised she learned about Davies' selection from the news and not her party. This has been a roller coaster day for Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz. Members of the German parliament applaud his victory in the Bundestag and perhaps breathe a sigh of relief. Earlier this morning in the first round of voting, Merz failed to win an absolute majority. That sent MPs to an unprecedented second vote. It is something that has not happened in Germany since the

Second World War. Lawyers for five former World Junior hockey players accused of sexual assault will again today cross-examine the alleged victim known as EM. They are questioning her cross-examine the alleged victim known as EM. They're questioning her about her account of the alleged sexual assault in a London, Ontario hotel room in 2018. As the CBC's Katie Nicholson reports, this trial is being watched closely by advocates and legal experts alike. What do we want?

Justice! When do we want it? Now! experts alike. What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! Ever since her first day in court, supporters of EM have gathered outside the courthouse. Those who work to end gender-based violence have taken a keen interest in the trial, even sitting in for her testimony, and especially her cross-examination. On Monday, that meant probing for inconsistencies

between statements EM gave to Hockey Canada and London police. But also questions about how much she used to drink and whether she was really as intoxicated as she has testified. Today we probably got a little bit of a taste of the cross-examination that's going to be happening. Jesse Roger is with ANOVA, which among other things works with sexual assault victims.

I think that those of us who work in the field of sexual violence are going to be listening closely to how rape myths come into the courtroom. We have to remember that this case is going to get tried in the courtroom and not on the courthouse steps. London-based defence attorney Nick Cake, who isn't involved in the case but is watching it closely, says the accused's lawyers have to walk a fine line. Ultimately, the Supreme Court has reminded defence counsel a number of times that we are to treat complainants in sexual assault matters with dignity and with respect.

But Cake says they also have to ask tough questions to properly represent their clients. When you're in front of a jury, you know, you want to be mindful of how you appear, but you cannot sacrifice personal appearance for the function of seeking the truth. Lawyers for the five accused are expected to do just that as they continue their first full day of cross-examination of EM. Katie Nicholson, CBC News, London, Ontario.

Millions of birds are migrating north. There are worries avian flu may be coming with them. During the spring, birds flock to northern Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. But many take a rest in Essex County. As Jennifer LaGrasse tells us, the region in southwestern Ontario has become a hotspot for studying bird flu. I'm going to reach down into the water. Research student Cam Chevalier fills a bottle with water from the nearby lake. He collects samples once a week at 10 spots along the northern shore of Lake Erie, a key region for migrating birds.

So we see a passage of millions of migratory birds come through annually in the spring and the fall. And that makes it an important area to track the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu. The Canadian government estimates that more than 14 million birds have been impacted by the virus, but the U.S. has seen 10 times that number. With spring migration, infected birds could be traveling north of the virus. But the U.S. has seen 10 times that number. With spring migration, infected birds could be traveling north of the border.

This makes Essex County a hotspot for understanding which species of birds move into our region, whether they carry the virus. Dan Menel is an ornithologist at the University of Windsor. His colleague, chemistry professor Kenneth Ng, tests the water samples, checking for the virus and any changes to its structure. What we are definitely concerned about are changes in the virus that allow it to infect people more easily and then to spread among people more easily. Of the handful of cases in Canada and dozens in the United States, there's been no reported spread of the virus between people. Ing points to research like this as being essential to help officials prepare in the case that the disease takes flight.

Jennifer LaGrasa, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario. And that is the latest national and international news from World Report News Anytime, cbcnews.ca. I'm Marcia Young. I'm Marcia Young.