National News

TORONTO — This week, for the first time in its history, the Toronto Zoo's animals were under serious threat from smoky skies.

Environment Canada has been advising people to check the Air Quality Health Index as wildfire smoke blanketed large swaths of Canada in recent days.

Quebec's human rights commission has criticized the provincial government for blocking a religious gathering at a publicly owned convention centre after a cabinet minister said the event would have promoted anti-abortion views.

MONTREAL — The arrival of firefighters from France and New Brunswick is expected to bolster efforts to contain and control the large number of fires burning across Quebec in what's expected to be a marathon wildfire season, officials said Friday.

TROUT LAKE, N.W.T. — An out-of-control wildfire burning near Sambaa K'e, a small Dene community in the Northwest Territories, has destroyed two cabins.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Police in Newfoundland and Labrador say three people are facing charges following the alleged abduction of a 14-year-old girl. Const.

OTTAWA — Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis is not your typical 12-year-old. She is a child prodigy who's about to become the youngest Canadian to ever graduate from university.

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of June 9... What we are watching in Canada ...

Raging wildfires and smoky skies across much of Canada have put a damper on travel this summer, resulting in cancelled plans and closed businesses.

MONTREAL — The techniques used to put out the wildfires that are burning across Canada vary somewhat depending on geography, but ultimately they depend on people on the ground with hoses and shovels digging out hot spots one by one, experts say.