Global National: June 9, 2023 | David Johnston resigns as special rapporteur

We begin with breaking news tonight out of Ottawa: David Johnston, the former governor general and special rapporteur on foreign interference has resigned. For weeks now he’s faced numerous calls from opposition parties to step down over his recommendation not to hold a public inquiry into Chinese efforts to influence Canadian elections. Mercedes Stephenson has more.

A week into Pride Month 2023, the clock seems to be ticking backward. It wasn’t that long ago that the fear and vulnerability that was being felt for generations in the LGBTQ2S community seemed to be slowly easing. Yet, tonight we have another sobering reminder of the hate and open aggression that still exists. Touria Izri reports.

And the same issue is causing division within the New Brunswick government. Premier Blaine Higgs is defending changes made to the province’s policy on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. He says the changes are designed to protect LGBTQ2S students and take a strong position for families. But he’s facing a revolt within government ranks. And as Eric Sorensen reports, he might even be willing to call an election over it.

The Toronto Blue Jays are moving on from pitcher Anthony Bass after he made headlines last week for sharing anti-LGBTQ2S posts on social media. It was quite the turnaround as Bass was set to help the team kick off Pride weekend celebrations at the Rogers Centre Friday night. As Mike Drolet reports, the pitcher’s symbolic gesture was too little, too late for an organization that prides itself on inclusion.

Air quality has improved on the U.S. east coast, where wildfire smoke from Ontario and Quebec choked several cities like New York and Washington, D.C. this week. In Quebec, the wildfire situation still isn’t great but it has stabilized. What’s really needed there is rain. As Mike Armstrong reports, that could still be days away.

And if there was ever a glimmer of hope that British Columbia would be spared from a devastating wildfire season – well, that has disappeared. This week, fire officials warned that dry, hot conditions throughout the month of May have made conditions challenging. And an early snow-pack could add to the trouble. Neetu Garcha reports.

Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing his most serious legal trouble yet. He’s the first former president to be charged with federal crimes over how he allegedly mishandled classified documents. More than 100 documents were found at his Mar-a-Lago estate last August. Jackson Proskow has the much-anticipated details of those charges.

Today, nearly two weeks after some of the worst wildfires Nova Scotians have ever seen, some were finally allowed back home. Meaghan King has a first-hand look at their return.

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