Your World Tonight - Consulate shooting a national security incident, intense strikes in Iran, blood pearls, and more

Episode Date: March 10, 2026

The RCMP has declared a national security incident over shots fired at the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto this morning. Police are looking for two suspects they say drove up to the building and took shots.Politicians have denounced the shooting, with Prime Minister Mark Carney calling it “reprehensible”. He and others suggested there has been an increase in violence in Canada connected to the war in the Middle East.And: The U.S. and Israel pledge what they called the biggest day of strikes in Iran. Iranian leaders are threatening “an eye for eye” and showing no sign of tiring or backing down.Also: A company with Canadian directors funneled valuable pearls to Myanmar's brutal military regime despite sanctions imposed by Canada and its allies. A CBC investigation has revealed a human rights group asked the RCMP to look at the activities of the company almost two years ago, but authorities won't say whether they have taken up the case.Plus: Five First Nation sacred artifacts unveiled in Quebec, oil and stock markets bounce in response to the war, and more.

It's becoming pretty clear that U.S. President Donald Trump is ripping up the political playbook. And when it comes to what it all means for Canada, well, as they say, it's complicated. But our podcast, two blocks from the White House, is a way to make sense of it all. Join me, Willie Lowry and senior Washington correspondence Paul Hunter and Katie Simpson every week as we break down the headlines from Capitol Hill with a Canadian spin. Find and follow two blocks from the White House on your favorite podcast app, including YouTube. This is a CBC podcast. Officers arrived on scene and immediately found evidence of a firearm discharge, shell casings, as well as damage to the building. Shots fired at a time when tensions are inflamed and the Middle East is engulfed in war.

The U.S. consulate in Toronto is targeted. With some officials calling for better domestic security fearing a foreign conflict is causing violence at home. the most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes. Intelligence, more refined and better than ever. A day after Donald Trump suggested he could wind down the war, the United States and Israel push full speed ahead, unleashing more attacks on Iran. As questions about the cost of the conflict get louder,

the U.S. president is not ruling out putting soldiers on the ground. Welcome to your world tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Tuesday, March 10th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. The government of Canada has already decided it's a crime to transact with Myanmar Pearl Enterprise, full stop. A CBC investigation into the Canadian connection to precious pearls stained by their links to a brutal regime. A shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto early this morning is intensifying concern. the war in the Middle East could be leading to violence in Canada. Police have not confirmed a motive, but the shooting follows other incidents in the city.

Jennifer Yoon reports. This is a national security incident. An early morning shooting at the U.S. conflict in downtown Toronto that RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather says police are now investigating as a possible act of terrorism. Officers say two gunmen fired several rounds at the building at around 4.4. 30 a.m. before driving away in a white SUV. The most serious, the utmost serious type of event. Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barreto says there were people inside the consulate. However, this building is highly secure, highly fortified and there were no injuries.

The consulate has been the site of several protests for and against the war in Iran. But leather insists it's too early to say why the gunmen shot at the consulate. That is obviously part of the act of investigation and we're just simply not in a position to comment on that any further. This shooting is only the latest this past week in and around Toronto that some people worry may have been sparked by the Middle East violence, including at three different synagogues. Police don't have anyone in custody related to those shootings.

Officers are still investigating if they are related to what happened today. Extremely concerning. Prime Minister Mark Carney says over the weekend he gathered a group of ministers and senior officials to respond to the developments in the Middle East and on Canadian soil. Also to ensure that all forces and resources of the federal government are cooperating with local police and provincial police. Ontario Premier Doug Ford going further in linking the war in Iran and the shootings. I believe there's sleeper cells all over the world, as we know.

We're in the U.S. They're in Canada here. And we have to weed these people out. Canada's spy agency has warned in the past about Iranian death threats against Canadians. Ford says Ontario will not spare a penny in finding those responsible for the shooting today and holding them accountable. But that's not going to be enough, so security expert Christian Leoprecht. What authorities really need to do, he says, is try and prevent incidents like this. We need intelligence capacity that is able to identify individuals who are planning to conduct themselves in an illegal or criminal matter. The RCMP is beefing up security around American and Israeli embassies and consulates in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

As they hunt for the two alleged gunmen, Canadian law enforcement say they're working with their American counterparts, including the FBI. Jennifer Yun, CBC News, Toronto. The consulate shooting and the synagogue attacks were both raised inside the House of Commons today. Prime Minister Mark Carney was questioned about the incidents, as well as this country's stance on the U.S. Israel. war with Iran. Catherine Cullen reports from Ottawa. More applause than usual from the liberal benches as the Prime Minister stood up to weigh in for the first time in Parliament on the war in Iran. The first U.S. and Israeli strikes came as Mark Carney was starting a 10-day international trip, and yesterday the Prime Minister skipped

a House of Commons debate on the conflict. Block leader I. Francois Blanchet says Carney should have been there. It was very important because in the last 10 days, the positions of the Canadian government have been anything but clear, anything but coherent. Blanchet accused Carney of not living up to the principles of his much-aclaimed Davos speech on a changing world. Conservative Foreign Affairs critic Michael Chong was even more forceful. I think it's a complete abdication of leadership. The government has been utterly incoherent and inconsistent on its policy toward Iran. Carney first announced support for the initial U.S. and Israeli strikes, later saying,

that support came with regret because the strikes were a violation of international law. The Prime Minister called for a de-escalation of the conflict. In question period, Carney insisted Canada's position is clear. Canada, he says, supports the necessity of stopping Iran's nuclear program and the export of terrorism. Adding Canada would never participate in the offensive operations of the U.S. and Israel. Conservative leader Pierre Pollyev took the Prime Minister to task for violence in Canada and the presence of agents of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, or IRGC. They're shooting up synagogues, killing dissidents and threatening our people.

Will he reverse the liberal agenda that unleashed this violence in our streets? Despite Pauliev's words, the police have not tied the recent synagogue shootings to Iranian agents. In fact, they've not identified any suspects. The Prime Minister used the moment to push for his party's proposed law to combat hate. On this side of the House, we want to protect synagogues, we want to protect community centers, we want to protect places of worship, which is why C9 is before this House today. Polyev retorted the bill would censor religious texts rather than protect religious institutions. Pressed again about what he was doing to respond to Iran,

Carney said the G7 countries, which include the United States, would find common ground. And the Prime Minister added, there would be a de-escalation on Iran, though we offered no word on how long that would take. Catherine Cullen, CBC News, Ottawa. Coming right up, the United States is not letting up on its war with Iran, promising intense attacks coordinated with Israel, and warning Iran not to retaliate. And in Lebanon, Israeli strikes on Hezbollah's strongholds are forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. homes. Later, we'll have this story. What I felt was love, joy, and I think relief that they are finally home.

Poignant moments at the Canadian Museum of History, years in the making, the unveiling of some of the First Nations artifacts repatriated to Canada from the Vatican. These items represent our history that we've always been here, that we are always going to be here. I'm Sarah Levin in Montreal. Coming up on Your World Tonight, more on the ongoing process of reconciliation in Canada and how an upcoming visit to the Vatican will continue the work. In Washington, the Trump administration says it is pushing Iran to the brink of surrender, framing today as its most powerful wave of strikes yet. As Katie Nicholson reports, the Iranian regime is vowing not to back down.

Today will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran. Pentagon head Pete Hagsath kicked off the day promising more punishing strikes on Iran. The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes, intelligence, more refined and better than ever. And reiterated whenever and however this war ends, it will be on the U.S.'s terms. We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated. But we do so. We do so on our timeline. at our choosing. In Iran, as diggers scoop up debris, Iran's leaders say it is they who will decide when the war ends.

Parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Baguer Ghalibaf, posting on X that Iran believed, quote, we must strike the aggressor in the mouth, and that it doesn't want a ceasefire and invoked the rule of eye for an eye. Iran continues to choke the flow of the 20% of the world's oil supply, that transits through the Strait of Hormuz, vowing not to let one liter of oil leave the Middle East until the U.S. and Israel stop firing. Markets continue to roller coaster as the price of gas remains high.

Rest assured to the American people, the recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt again defended the decision to strike Iran, the length of the entanglement and how involved the U.S. becomes that, she says, was entirely up to the president. As for boots on the ground, the president has talked about this repeatedly. Wisely, he does not rule options out as commander-in-chief. The Pentagon confirms 140 service members have been injured in the war so far,

108 of them already back on duty. The cost of the non-stop barrage of munitions, potent ammunition for Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren. While there is no money for 15 million Americans who lost their health care, there's a billion dollars a day to spend on bombing Iran. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also zeroed in on the tomahawk missile that hit a girls' school in southern Iran, killing more than 165 people, mostly children.

And he demanded an investigation. To get to the bottom of what happened at this school and why so many innocent civilians were tragically killed, there needs to be accountability. Tomahawks are made for the U.S. military by an American manufacturer. Despite reporting from multiple news agencies that implicated the U.S. in the strike, President Donald Trump has so far pushed back on any American responsibility.

Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington. The conflict's other major front is in Lebanon, where Israel is targeting the Iran-funded military. militant group Hezbollah. Fighting today reached a dangerous new level, forcing more residents from their homes. Susan Ormiston has more from Beirut. Rabia couldn't leave her birds at home in Nabatia in southern Lebanon. Pounded again this week by Israeli airstrikes. Fleeing, she brought the two budgies and her family to a tent, part of a Beirut shelter. We wait for the government to act, don't, she says. I support this war because the resistance, she means Hezbollah, is protecting us.

Without the resistance, we'd be finished. But the escalating war between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel has now forced over 760,000 out of their homes. According to the Lebanese government, 200,000 of those are kids, many confined to Beirut shelters with no school, no structure, no home. Cascading hits on Beirut's Southern suburbs late Tuesday signal, Israel is in no way de-escalating, striking what it says are Hezbollah infrastructure and command centers. IDF tanks are built up at the border and Israeli soldiers moving across into southern Lebanon in targeted missions to stop still incoming missiles and drones from Hezbollah. Today, a group of 83 Christian Lebanese finally gave into pressure to evacuate a town, the border. They'd been sheltering for days in a church.

I didn't leave. They pushed me to leave. Shadi Say, the mayor of Al-Mashab, say they were warned by the IDF to get out. They put me with two choices. Either you die or you leave. When I closed everything, I turned back, looked to the church, and it was the goodbye for our village. I don't know if I can see it or not. They left in a 50-car convoy for Beirut, escorted by Unifil, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, under shelling, they say.

Beirut is struggling to support these new wave of internal refugees. Medsin, Saint-Frontier, has set up eight mobile medical units, says Logistics Manager Mohamed El-Jondi. The people, like, were not ready at all with no notice, not taking with them any of their materials. Like, they need the basic needs like magic. Hygiene kits, blankets, and, you know, like, we are still in the winter season. Lebanon is a second front in a bigger war, but it threatens to continue regardless of what happens in Iran.

Lebanon's president wants Hezbollah to disarm an international help to negotiate a ceasefire. So far, there's no progress on that. Susan Ormiston, CBC News, Beirut. The longer the war goes on, the more chaos. causing on global energy markets. Even though stock markets closed higher today, senior business reporter Peter Armstrong is here to help us understand what's going on. Peter's stock markets are still enthusiastic.

Why are energy markets still unsure? Stock markets are fundamentally betting on what they think is going to happen in the next couple of weeks. You know, they see these statements, they see the airstrikes aren't quite as frequent. They see some signs that the situation just might be stabilizing. energy markets, they're not even weighing in on any of that yet. They're still really focused on what has happened this week.

And a lot of focus on the Strait of Hormuz and the fact that oil is not passing through there. And that's just the first thing. But it's, you know, the effective closing of the strait sets off almost like a chain of events, right? 20-some million barrels of oil normally pass through there every day. As the storage tanks filled up, producers were starting to use the oil tankers to use as like floating storage. The Saudis have one small pipeline to the Red Sea, but that only relieves so much pressure. So producers have now started to cut back on production. Millions of barrels a day have been cut.

And that's not super easy to just turn back on. But Susan, there's another issue here. It's been nine days now. So by tomorrow, we're looking at, what, 200 million barrels of oil that's just not moving. It's not getting delivered. One energy analyst has likened that to something like an air bubble in a hose. Even once you start pumping oil again, Peter, how long might it take to get that air bubble out of the system? And one of the guys I turn to is Rory Johnston from commodity context.

And he says it's going to take months. Months? Yeah. Remember, these huge tankers, they're not very fast. So it takes weeks for them to get anywhere. So imagine, let's say you're a jet fuel refinery in Singapore, right? That air bubble we were talking about, it hasn't even arrived there yet. They're still getting oil from last week and the week before.

but knowing that disruption is coming, that there's this like 10-day stretch in which nothing's going to come at all, that's driven up jet fuel prices there by 150%. Oil's like the lifeblood of the economy, Susan. It's not just the price that you and I are paying at the pump. It's the cost of doing business, it's powering your factory,

it's shipping your cargoes, air travel, oils everywhere. And all of this, Peter, is based on the assumption that the war will wrap up soon. What if it doesn't? I think that's the bigger concern that we're seeing in oil markets today, they just don't see much to be enthused about on that front. Sure, the U.S. President has said the operation's almost complete,

but airstrikes continue. Iran continues to hit targets in the Gulf. And this afternoon, we had reporting that there are signs Iran might be placing minds in that straight of horror moves. So for all the talk that they're looking at wrapping operations up by the U.S., it sure doesn't look like that from the ground. Thank you, Peter. You bet.

Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong, here in Toronto. They are some of the most coveted jewels on the market. Golden pearls are native to tropical waters, but they have a dark side. A CBC News investigation is exposing how a pearl company linked to Canadians is helping finance Myanmar's brutal military regime. Murray Brewster brings us this exclusive story.

Burmese or Myanmar pearls, golden, exquisite, and expensive, as vendors in Hong Kong are finding out. I'm very happy about what's happened here with Bell Pearl. One of the significant players in the market, Bell Pearl, with offices in Toronto, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Myanmar, where two Canadians, Pierre and Marie Hajar, were directors. Belperl, Myanmar has, since 2014, owned a Pearl Farm in the war-torn country. It divides its harvest with the military junta through a government-run agency,

Myanmar Pearl Enterprises. The government of Canada has already decided it's a crime to transact with Myanmar Pearl Enterprise full stop. William Pellarin is an Ottawa-based lawyer representing the Human Rights Group Justice for Myanmar. Two years ago, he put a dossier down in front of the RCMP, alleging possible sanctions violations involving the Hajars, Bell Pearl, and Myanmar Pearl Enterprises. The government of Canada has an obligation to uphold the law. and we pass these laws specifically because it's in our international interests to make sure that the military junta in Myanmar is not funded and continuing to commit the atrocities that they've been committing.

The UN has accused Myanmar's military regime of committing atrocities in the civil war that's ongoing. CBC News and CBC's digital investigation team have spent months reviewing corporate registrations and shipping records, following the trail of pearls from the watery farms off Myanmar, through Hong Kong and to markets around the world, including Canada. Neither Pierre nor Marie Hajar responded to CBC's repeated request for comment, and the company, Bell Pearl, denies it has violated sanctions. Errol Mendez is a University of Ottawa law professor

who's followed the atrocities in Myanmar. I think this should be not just a further examination by the RCMP, but I think the government, the onus is on the government. If we get the facts out as to what actually is happening right now, with this company. The RCMP will not confirm or deny an investigation is underway. Global Affairs Canada, which is responsible for sanctions, ignored more than a dozen questions posed by CBC News. Andrea Sharon, a sanctions expert, says the government has enforcement responsibility, but the onus is also on Canadian companies doing business in questionable

places. Whenever an entity is sanctioned by Canada and you are a Canadian doing business with them, It should give you pause. Bell Pearl was asked if he'd notify the RCMP or requested a sanction's exemption from global affairs. The company did not respond. Marie Brewster, CBC News, Ottawa. This is Your World Tonight from CBC News. If you want to make sure you stay up to date

and never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. A citizen-led petitioner, petition to oust Alberta Premier Daniel Smith has failed. The bid needed about 12,000 signatures to succeed, but garnered about 2,300. 24 members of Smith's United Conservative Party Caucus have had petitions launched against them. So far none has reached the required number of signatures. The Nova Scotia government is changing elements of its budget after public backlash.

Premier Tim Houston says some cuts will not happen. Houston says the government moved too quickly on cuts to programs for the elderly people with disabilities and education opportunities for African Nova Scotians and indigenous people. Nova Scotians have spoken clearly. Many people told us that they were worried about certain parts of the budget. And I want to start by saying this. On some of the decisions, we got it wrong. And for that, I'm sorry. The Premier says restoring $53.6 million in funding will increase the size of the provincial deficit. It was a grand reveal, a century in the making.

Five First Nation artifacts were unveiled in Gatno, Quebec today. They are among dozens of items returned from the Vatican late last year. Sarah Levitt explains what this moment means and why the work of reconciliation is far from over. An emotional moment at the Canadian Museum of History as five First Nations say, sacred artifacts repatriated from the Vatican are delicately placed on a table for all to see. What I felt was love. I felt joy and I think relief that they are finally home. Linda DeBasaghi is the Grand Council Chief of the Anish-Nabek Nation in Ontario. I am a direct descendant of two of the artifacts that are being repatriated.

items that were very beautifully crafted by my great, great, great, great, great-grand uncle. Those artifacts are wooden bowl and spoon from Manitoulan Island in Lake Huron. Other items include a pair of embroidered leather gloves from the Athabaska Chippewa and First Nation in Alberta, a birch bark sap collector from Akwasasne, as well as a baby carrier from Ontario. In December 62, First Nations, Métis and Inuit items were repaid. Patriated to Canada, previously held in Vatican museums and vaults for a century, the accumulation of more than three years of negotiations. Some of these sacred items were not actually gifts,

and they were taken from people across this country. Today we celebrate the return of these ancestors to their homelands, to where they belong. Those thoughts echoed by Cindy Woodhouse Nipanak, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. We don't view these items as simply artifacts. Many are sacred, living items central to our spirituality and ceremonies. They must be respected and care for in the proper way. While some Inuit and Miti items have been unveiled as well,

experts continue to work to determine where dozens of the remaining items originate before the communities decide what to do with them. But Woodhouse Niebuke, also had a rebupe, specifically to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who she says were unhelpful, and didn't send anybody to attend the unveiling today. It shouldn't have to be like that. It shouldn't have had to be so difficult.

A spokesperson for the bishops refutes those claims and says no invitation was sent their way. Meanwhile, the work of reconciliation continues. I have accepted an invitation from the Vatican for a private audience with His Holiness, Pope Leo, later this year. And of course, this is an important opportunity to advance the work of reconciliation we started under Pope Francis.

Woodhouse Niebuenak says on that visit, she plans to issue a formal invitation to Pope Leo to come to Canada. Sarah Levitt's CBC News, Montreal. We end tonight with a Canadian rock band creating a lot of buzz in the music world while looking, sounding and claiming to be from another planet. Angine de Poitrin is an instrumental duo

from Saginae, Quebec. They describe their musical style loosely as microtonal rock, performed with a custom-made double-necked guitar capable of microtonal scales that are rare in Western music. On stage, the band's appearance? Even harder to pin down. They wear elaborate masks and polka dot costumes. Ken on guitar and bass, Cleck on drums. Since their first album in 2024, Angine de Poitrin has played the Montreal Jazz Festival,

and other music festivals in Europe. But last month, their popularity exploded with a performance on the hugely influential YouTube channel of the Seattle radio station, K-E-X-P. Ladies and Monsieur, Arjun, de Poitrine. On Sunday, they were guests on the popular Radio Canada talk show, All The Monde en Palle, appearing in character,

and responding to questions in their own alien dialect. Klek, is it difficult to to get this new popularity and all the rumors that circulate on who's got to get that?

Got that? Their true Their true identities may be closely guarded secrets, but it's been revealed. in their 30s. Following the K-E-X-P performance, the band's schedule quickly filled up. They're fully booked through November on a tour that includes their first gigs in Toronto and New York City.

Thank you for joining us on your world tonight for Tuesday, March 10th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca.com.