Your World Tonight - Fire evacuations rising, Trump Administration immigration crackdown, Trade lessons from the EU, and more

Episode Date: June 7, 2025

<p>In Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C. - the number of evacuation orders are climbing higher, just as massive wildfires in western Canada continue to swell. Those flames send smoke into the atmosphere -- prompting warnings to the east, and in parts of the United States.</p><p><br></p><p>Also: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump Administration, is back in the U.S. But he is now facing trafficking charges. It comes as protests break out in Los Angeles - after a series of raids and arrests by federal agents.</p><p><br></p><p>And: The Liberal government is promising all federal barriers to internal trade are coming down. But if that bill passes, barriers may still remain until all the provinces and territories reach agreements with each other. You'll hear how the European Union did just that - and what lessons Canada can take from that experience. </p><p><br></p><p>Plus: The failure to dismantle the Minneapolis police department, Solar power helping India's salt farmers, and more.</p>

1942, Europe. Soldiers find a boy surviving alone in the woods. They make him a member of Hitler's army. But what no one would know for decades, he was Jewish. Could a story so unbelievable be true? I'm Dan Goldberg. I'm from CBC's Personally, Toy Soldier. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Hello, I'm Stephanie Scanderas. This is your World Tonight. I hope that we do get rain on these things so that we can start establishing a line and go more on the offensive. As fires continue to burn in Saskatchewan, more people on the prairies are being forced

from their homes, plus more evacuation orders in BC and northwestern Ontario. Meanwhile, smoke from those fires is choking large parts of the country. Also on the podcast, the US government's immigration crackdown is expanding aggressively, with ICE agents arresting thousands of people this week in a massive drag net, most recently in Los Angeles. Also, take note, Prime Minister Carney. Minister Carney. So, Card said that everything what is legal in one country could be selling in another country. A quick history lesson on how Europe knocked down its trade barriers as Canada looks to do the same between provinces.

In Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC, the number of evacuation orders is climbing higher. And the flames from those massive wildfires in Western Canada are sending smoke into the atmosphere, prompting air quality warnings to the East and in parts of the United States. Sam Sampson has more. His diapers, his wipes, his mainly kids clothes. Cheryl Linklater and her family can only pack the bare minimum before leaving Snow Lake, Manitoba. The mom of three and her partner don't have their own vehicle, so they can only take one bag each when they get a ride out.

That means leaving behind their cat Spock and all their belongings. I'm really actually really scared because this is this is our home like these are our things like you know like would we come home to nothing? I'm gonna have to start all over for my kids. Snow Lake is the latest community under evacuation order in Manitoba under threat from one of the 28 wildfires in that province. Everyone had to be out by noon on Saturday yet another forced move for roommates Linda Smith and Tom Allen. It's been horrible. No income, nothing, don't even know anything. Just chasing ahead of the fire, that's it.

The two first fled Flynn Flon, Manitoba about 10 days ago. They tented in backyards and campgrounds in different communities, each time being forced to leave due to the fires. They thought they could finally settle in Snow Lake, thanks to a stranger offering up his trailer, but now they have to go again. We thought we were going to be awesome, and like we finally got this little trailer to hang out in,

so we're not laying on the ground. In rain. And now all of a sudden, yeah, we're going to go. Wildfires have forced 18,000 people in Manitoba out of their homes, and it's not much better heading west. 33 communities in Saskatchewan have been forced to evacuate due to 24 wildfires. The province has upped the amount of financial help it's giving evacuees, up to $200 a day depending on how many people are in one household.

Next door, a fire that started in BC recently crossed into Alberta forcing people from their homes in both provinces. BC wildfire fire information officer Carly DeRosier says their priority is protecting the Kelly Lake area. We're looking ahead to Sunday and what the winds could do as we have another cold front pass but as it stands right now really good progress has been made and crews have been working really really hard. Coast to coast we're under an air quality warning or statement.

Rebecca Sorey, Canada research chair in global change atmosphere and health says wildfire smoke traveling across Canada is a risk to everyone. For me the real concern with wildfire smoke is that it's the major source of one air pollutant called particulate matter that is associated with over 17,000 early deaths every year in Canada and around $150 billion in economic damages. These fires are acute events, but they contribute to our long-term exposure that leads to this health burden. In the short term, Sory says everyone could feel the effects like itchy eyes and throats, even headaches or coughing. But it's sensitive people like seniors and children

who should take extra precautions, not just in provinces that are burning, but across Canada. Sam Sampson, CBC News, Edmonton. A fire in northwestern Ontario has prompted an evacuation order. Sandy Lake First Nation is near the border with Manitoba. Officials say the fire is spreading close to the community and all residents are ordered to leave. Still ahead, a new ray of light for a centuries old practice. Salt farmers in India have long struggled with harsh conditions and difficult work. Now solar power is offering them a brighter future.

How they're using it is coming up on your World Tonight. Donald Trump says it was the Justice Department and not him who decided to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. He's now back in the U.S. and facing charges. Meanwhile, protests are happening in L.A. as federal agents carry out immigration raids across the city. Chris Reyes has the latest. Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice.

That announcement from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday marked a surprising turnaround in the Trump administration's stance on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident and immigrant with protected status. Garcia's supporters say he was disappeared. His lawyers challenged his deportation and won, though the Trump government first resisted the Supreme Court order to facilitate his release from an El Salvador prison, claiming they had no jurisdiction to demand his return. Now that Garcia is back on American soil, he's facing charges that include trafficking of undocumented immigrants. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made

over a hundred trips. The grand jury found smuggling people throughout our country. Garcia's lawyers are fighting back saying that his return is not justice at all. Garcia has denied all allegations including that he's affiliated with the gang MS-13. Josie Flores-Sapinar is with immigrant advocacy group CASA. What happened is the exact opposite of due process because due process means the opportunity to defend yourself before you're punished, not afterwards. President Trump has continued to distance himself from the case, but has applauded the

work of the Department of Justice. Bring him home! Garcia's case has become a lightning rod of protest against the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policy, one that has deported more than 6,000 people since January, sending some hundreds straight to prison in El Salvador. That's in addition to those who remain in detention centers in the U.S. with no charges. Democrat Congresswoman Laura Friedman echoed what her party has been saying for months. What justice looks like to other Democrats is what justice should look like from everybody,

which is due process, that if you pick someone up and accuse them of a crime, they get a trial. Today in Los Angeles, where immigration raids have rattled communities, another rally in support of those detained. These advocates are chanting, asked to speak with an attorney. Garcia is expected to get that chance finally. Ben Osorio is his immigration attorney. We are just going to be able to speak with him for the first time this weekend. So we've not had an opportunity yet.

Deportation still looms over Garcia's head. The government says he will be sent back to El Salvador whether he's found guilty or not. Chris Reyes, CBC News, New York. World Pride events are wrapping up this weekend in Washington, DC. It's the first time the US Capitol has hosted the international 2SLGBTQ Plus Festival. But organizers say attendance and funding are down this year. And some believe it's because of the Trump administration's moves to limit the rights of transgender people as well as DEI initiatives. It's why attendees like Ella say it was important to show up.

Well, I feel like right now it's more of a protest than it used to be. I felt like I really had to come this year. I've always gone for the past few years, but this year I was like, I feel like I really have to go because of everything going on. So we can't. World Pride will be held in Amsterdam next year. We are here today to begin the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department. the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department. June 7th, 2020, in Minneapolis, nine members of the City Council of veto-proof majority vow to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department in response to the murder of George Floyd.

Here's then Council President Lisa Bender on that day. Our commitment is to end our city's toxic relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department. To end policing as we know it. Five years on. That hasn't happened. When a ballot initiative to transform the MPD was put to voters, they rejected it. And the city's police budget has grown. The current police chief has grown. The current police chief has promised to rebuild trust with the community though as Sarah

Levitt reports his critics say his efforts are moving too slowly. I never imagined that I would be here. Sitting in his office in Minneapolis City Hall Brian O'Hara reminisces about taking on the job of police chief soon after George Floyd was murdered by an officer. A police department in the spotlight. Five years later... Do you think that what happened to George Floyd could happen to a black man in Minneapolis today? Well, I...

O'Hara didn't directly answer the question. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. For nine and a half minutes, Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck. A bystander video showing his final moments sparked a racial reckoning that continues to this day. While it is a very difficult job to be the police in this town, I think it's also an opportunity to try and help shape

the direction of policing in America for the future. Police Chief Brian O'Hara, the New Jersey native, took over the beleaguered Minneapolis Police Department in 2022 with eyes on reform. Use of force issues, stop search and arrest practices, internal affairs and the complaint investigations process, and the disparate impact based upon race. Not everybody is sold on his methods. Nkeema Levy Armstrong is a civil rights lawyer and a former Minneapolis mayoral candidate. Your thoughts on Brian O'Hara. I don't think that he has the executive level experience

that is required to overhaul a department with the type of history that the Minneapolis Police Department has. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye has defended O'Hara saying he's a chief that gets things done. Critics, though, point specifically to the hiring of a former Virginia police officer. Tyler Timberlake was charged with assault and battery after using his stun gun on an unarmed black man in 2021. He was acquitted and went looking for a job elsewhere. You would think he would be the last person that the Minneapolis police would hire.

When the hiring was revealed, Timberlake was terminated. Police chief O'Hara says he wasn't aware of Timberlake's past and was only on his first week of the job when the hiring happened. It's clear to me that definitely appeared to be a setup, a setup by by people who did not want an outsider here. There have been other missteps. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act failed to pass in Congress and the Department of Justice has announced it's ending its police reform agreements with several cities.

Reverend Al Sharpton is a civil rights activist. We want George Floyd to be remembered as the one that changed policing for the rest of the history of this country. That's not easy though, he says, when change seems incremental. But Sharpton says the fight continues in Floyd and other victims' names. Sarah Levitt, CBC News, Montreal. Missiles, bombs and drones rained down on Ukraine's second largest city overnight. The Russian attack killed at least three people, an apparent retaliation to a covert Ukrainian drone attack inside Russia last week which caught Moscow off guard.

Michelle Song reports. Harkiv residents are trying to salvage whatever they can from their apartments amid the destruction. Irina Ivanko's apartment is flooded after a Russian drone hit the building. I didn't even hear an explosion, just a click. When I opened the door, there was dust everywhere. Airstrikes bombarded Harkiv overnight. Its mayor, Ihor Terakov, says it was the most powerful attack the border city has seen since the war began.

It was a horrible morning in Kharkiv, which was hit by 48 Russian drones, four guided bombs and two missiles. Firefighters are hosing down buildings trying to save what they can. Rescuers carried a woman on a stretcher as they continue to search for any more victims. At least three people have died and more than 20 injured from the attack. This comes just a day after Russia launched one of the largest airstrikes against Ukraine, killing at least six people and injuring 80. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded Friday,

saying pressure must be applied to Russia to bring a ceasefire. But the one who Zelensky hopes would apply the most pressure condemned Kiev's prior assault on a fleet of strategic Russian bombers. US President Donald Trump spoke on Air Force One on Friday. Well, they gave Putin a reason to go and bomb the hell out of him last night. Trump says he doesn't know whether he would impose sanctions on Russia, while the US Senate is weighing a bill that would. Ukrainian member of parliament Ina Sovstyn says US pressure is key for any peace talks.

What we have seen over the last couple of months is president of the United States, the biggest democracy in the world, is putting pressure on the country that is the victim of that aggression. Meanwhile, Russia accused Ukraine of delaying a prisoner swap. Both sides would have exchanged wounded prisoners of war and the bodies of slain soldiers today. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky says Ukrainian representatives didn't show up at the exchange point. Ukraine denies those claims and says Russia is playing dirty games.

Kiev says it had prepared a list of POWs. But Moscow's list didn't comply with the agreement. The deal was set to be the largest swap since the war began, but after two days of deadly attacks the two sides remain deeply divided over how to bring a ceasefire. Michelle Song, CBC News, Toronto. In Gaza. Palestinian voices. Palestinians mourn their loved ones outside Nasser Hospital in Rafa.

They were killed, local officials say, by gunmen while trying to get food aid, just the latest in a series of shootings at aid distribution sites in Gaza this week. Gaza's health officials, doctors and eyewitnesses accuse Israeli troops of the shootings. The IDF has repeatedly denied firing on civilians at those sites. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by the US and Israel and is running this aid effort, says it did not hand out aid Saturday because of direct threats from Hamas. Hamas officials told Reuters they have no knowledge of those threats. To India now, where a centuries-old way of life is finally changing and modernizing.

It involves some of the poorest people in that country working under the harshest conditions to harvest a necessary mineral. Our South Asia correspondent Salima Shivji has this feature report on what's giving them a brighter future. With slow sweeping motions, Devabai Sawadia rakes his salt pan under a blistering sun. He's cultivating the only treasure deep in this arid desert in Kutch, in India's western Gujarat state.

Salt. Sawadhiya, who's been working these fields since he was a child, will one day teach the skills to his young grandson. But they now have an edge over previous generations. The ability to harness solar power. We finally make a profit, Sawadhiya says. Before we got our two solar panels, there was barely enough money to eat, and not a rupee more.

The solar panels now power the pumps that dig deep into the bone-dry earth to extract the brine needed to make salt, a big change from the diesel that used to dominate the lives of the salt barbers. The constant smoke made us sick, he says. Now the family only uses the diesel pump as a backup, at night or if it's cloudy. It's a new, quiet piece surrounding Sawadia's wife, Jessiebette, as she washes the dishes. But the main comfort is that they're saving thousands of dollars. We built a bigger home in our village and threw a wedding for our son.

Our family is no longer begging for loans from salt traders, she says. The switch to solar and the extra money that comes with it has also made the season longer, which means the salt is better quality. That's why solar panels have multiplied all across the desert in Kutch. The South Asian country, third largest producer of the staple worldwide, is now taking full advantage of its blaring desert heat. Sawadhiya states it plainly. The farmers here bought their solar panels with help from the government, a hefty subsidy

that cut the price by 80 percent. The goal is to slowly wean the country off its reliance on coal. India still needs coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels, for more than 70% of all the power it generates, even if solar capacity has exploded in the last decade. But for the farmers, it's not really about the positive effect solar energy has on the climate, says Pankti Jog, who's with a local NGO. It's more about building a better life. That entire loop of exploitation and poverty, which was going on for almost generations, they could themselves break it in two to three years.

It's still a life full of hardship and isolation. The farmers move into rickety tents near their salt pans at harvest time and camp out for eight months. There are no clinics in the desert, no family doctors. An abandoned bus parked alone in the middle of the vast arid land is actually a makeshift school. Salt farmer Jerobai Domecha has four school-aged children. He's tending to his salt field with their futures top of mind.

I've been able to buy a tractor, a motorcycle and build a new house, he says, all because I switched to solar panels several years ago. Before that, we couldn't even afford a bicycle. His fellow salt farmer Kalu Bhai Surela chimes in. Our grandfathers had lives filled with sadness in this desert, he says, full of hardship. But now after solar, there's pure joy. Salima Shivji, CBC News, Kutch, India. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. And if you want to make sure you 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. Alberta is buying American alcohol and gambling machines again. Service Alberta Minister Dale Nalley says the move is a renewed commitment to open and fair trade with the United States. In March, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had announced the province would no longer buy US alcohol and video lottery terminals and that it would put signing contracts with American companies on hold. The Liberal government is promising all federal barriers to internal trade are coming down. But if that bill passes, barriers may still remain until all the provinces and territories

reach agreements with each other. Now if you think creating one Canadian economy out of 13 sounds tough, well imagine doing it with 27 countries. Freelance reporter John Last tells us how the European Union did just that, and what lessons Canada can take from that experience. For a hundred years, the Menti family vineyard just east of Verona has produced some of the region's best Garganega wines. But few here get to enjoy them, because almost all of it is destined for export. because almost all of it is destined for export. Stefano Menti is the latest generation of Menti winemakers.

In the last 20 years, he's overseen his company's transformation into a global wine exporter. Not too long ago, a company like this would have been impossible. Wine was one of Europe's most hotly contested commodities, subjected to strict restrictions to protect prized national wine industries. But today, he tells me, there are no barriers. His wines can be sold in Ireland, Sweden, France, with barely any paperwork. How Europe achieved this is one of the great free trade success stories in history. And it all begins with liquor.

Very often the rulings are linked with alcohol. Filip Tereskiewicz is a professor of political science at Poland's University of Opel. Europe's free trade zone goes back to the 1950s, but a treaty, he explained, wasn't enough. Europe needed a powerful and ambitious court to expand the definition of what constituted a barrier to trade. In 1979, that's exactly what happened, with a landmark decision over Creme de Cassis. Under German regulations, the French strength wasn't strong enough to be marketed as a liqueur. But the court said that was an unfair barrier to trade. So the court said that everything that is legal in one country

will be selling in another country. The decision established a principle called mutual recognition. The decision harmonized European standards overnight. In 2017, Canada's provinces agreed to the same principle. But what works in principle doesn't always work in practice. Some provinces continue to maintain provincial regulations and barriers, and removing those barriers to internal trade is currently all the rage in Canada. But experts caution, neutral recognition isn't without its faults.

Is it absolute recipe for a race to the bottom? Stuart True is a senior researcher with the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives. He says unifying standards may actually mean lowering them. So there is some evidence that mutual recognition puts a cap on how strong your environmental and other regulations can be. There are provinces in this country that would welcome that kind of situation competing for investment between each other on the basis of low wages, on the basis of low regulations." It seems the feds are on board too.

While Europe embraces something called the precautionary principle, establishing high standards across Europe to prevent any one nation from undercutting others, Carney's first move, announced Friday, has been to effectively eliminate federal regulations altogether, saying anything that meets provincial standards will be good enough for the feds. But while Canada sorts out its problems, companies like Menti's are more than happy to pick up the slack. For now, he says, Canadians are still paying more for many locally produced wines than

they are for European ones. And that suits him just fine. For CBC News, I'm John Last in Gamalotta, Italy. It's the same old story all over again. If you're a hockey fan, you've probably heard this song once, twice, or a hundred times lately. Lay it on the line by Canadian rockers Triumph. The 1979 hit has had a big comeback since it started being used in a certain ad played during the Stanley Cup playoffs. All of a sudden it's the unofficial anthem of the finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. And that's very fitting for drummer Gil Moore. Here's what he told CBC Edmonton's Lindsay Warner. I wanted to be in the NHL. You know that was my whole dream. I didn't

want to be a drummer. I just failed at hockey to get into this. So this is the closest I'm ever going to get to the Stanley Cup. You know, a comeback's always good in hockey. A comeback's good in music. Same thing. We're in overtime right now. But that comeback wasn't immediate.

Not every fan knew the song by the power trio from Leafs territory. You can tell from how many times people looked it up on Shazam, that app that identifies songs. It hit number one on Shazam's Canadian chart for three weeks and now its appeal isn't going anywhere, at least not for the finals. Triumph just reunited for their first public gig since 2008. A three-song set ahead of game two. Did the Oilers beat the Panthers? No.

But the series is far from over, so maybe another triumph hit can deliver a triumph on the ice. Here's more Triumph with Fight the Good Fight on your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Scanderis. Thank you for listening. You're running out of time. Every day it seems much harder to tell it right from wrong. You've got to read between the lines.