Front Burner

Canadians have loaded up on personal debt through more than half a century of financial crises — and it’s happening again. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, cash from federal benefits allowed many people to pay down their credit card balances. Last year, however, huge mortgages pushed Canada’s household debt-to-income ratio back toward its all-time high, rising above 177 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. Economist Michael Hudson says this kind of debt buildup chokes economic growth and gives undue power to creditors like banks. He also says it demands a reset: cancelling our debts. Today, Hudson explains the millennia-old practice of debt cancellation and how it could help modern economies.

We all know what pro wrestling is: scripted stories, exploding barbed wire death matches, and very real athleticism and danger. And for the last four decades, WWE has stayed in the cultural lexicon as the biggest name in the pro wrestling world. But now, a new contender is rising. All Elite Wrestling, founded in 2018 by 38-year-old Tony Khan, is gaining serious momentum — thanks to the help of the new generation of Canadian wrestlers like Winnipeg’s own Kenny Omega. Today on Front Burner, managing editor at Fightful.com Sean Ross Sapp on the legacy of WWE and the changing face of wrestling with the rise of its adversary, All Elite.

Why are lonely, young men a growing threat to our safety? In 2018, a Toronto man drove a van down a busy sidewalk, killing 11 people and injuring many more. He was linked to the "incel" movement, a dark online world fueled by violent misogyny, extreme isolation and perceived rejection. In the wake of the attack, Evan Mead discovers a disturbing connection to the perpetrator. They were former high school classmates; both outcasts, existing together on the fringes of social acceptance. How did two young men who started in similar circumstances, end up on such drastically different paths? More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/boyslikeme

This episode originally aired Oct 4, 2021. Journalist Matthew Remski explains why new age spirituality is such fertile ground for anti-vaccine movements.

This episode originally aired Oct 18, 2021. Cryptocurrency traders are relying on a stablecoin — a digital cryptocurrency backed with real-world assets — with ties to a Mighty Ducks star and the co-creator of Inspector Gadget. Today, we look at the search for the supposed billions of dollars backing its value, and what a shortfall could mean for the entire financial system.

This episode originally aired April 5, 2021. Today on Front Burner, Anne Helen Petersen explains the forces behind burnout and why more and more Canadians are struggling with it one year into a global pandemic that has altered the way many of us work and live.

For those using drugs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Thomus Donaghy was a lifeline, committed to saving those on the brink of overdose. On the night of July 27, 2020, Donaghy, a volunteer at the Overdose Prevention Society, had just saved another life. Moments later, he lost his own. Today, the stories of two men whose lives were shaped by a city in the grips of an overdose epidemic, the tragic circumstances that brought them together that night, and why Maximus Roland Hayes, the man who killed Donaghy, wants to make sure his life wasn't lost for nothing. Our guests are CBC Vancouver reporter Jason Proctor, and Sara Blyth, the executive director of Vancouver’s Overdose Prevention Society.

Omicron is spreading rapidly in Canada. Barely two weeks after the first cases of the coronavirus variant were identified in Ontario, it became the dominant strain in the province, and experts say that will soon be the case across the country. Even as Canada is reporting some of the highest daily case counts seen throughout the whole pandemic, some doctors say the real numbers could be several times higher because of the difficulties many people face in accessing tests. Today, Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, explains the latest research on Omicron from around the world — and how that research can help inform your choices around holiday gatherings.

The Matrix was a blockbuster hit when it came out in 1999. Now, more than 20 years later, the film still feels relevant — whether it’s people talking about “taking the red pill” or theorizing that we’re all really living in a computer simulation — the movie starring Keanu Reeves as Neo and Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus permeated the culture. With the Matrix Resurrections opening in Canada on Wednesday, Jayme Poisson speaks with John Semley about why the film made such an impact then, and how its influence is still felt today. Plus, Charley Archer explains why the original movie, made by two trans women Lilly and Lana Wachowski, is an iconic piece of trans art.

Longtime Jeffrey Epstein companion Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial in New York City this month, facing decades in prison over allegations of sex trafficking and conspiracy, all related to her relationship with the convicted sex offender and financier. Maxwell maintains that she is innocent. Victoria Bekiempis is reporting on the trial for the Guardian. As the trial approaches its conclusion, she explains the prosecution’s case, the accuser’s testimony, and how the defence pushed back.

Extracting bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands requires water — lots of it. And for decades, oilsands companies in Canada were banned from releasing the used water back into the environment. So as the industry skyrocketed, the reservoirs of water grew. There are now more than 1.4 trillion litres of toxic wastewater stored in these tailings ponds. Experts say that could be a disaster waiting to happen. The federal government is working on regulations that would eventually allow companies to treat and release the water back into rivers and lakes. Business reporter Kyle Bakx explains why some are questioning the safety of that plan — while others say it’s absolutely necessary.

With the holidays approaching and the Omicron variant spreading rapidly in Canada, people are reconsidering their response. In a busy week of Omicron warnings, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said cases are expected to “rapidly escalate”; in her fiscal and economic update, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland committed a $4.5 billion “variant response” contingency; and Canada advised against all non-essential international travel. Provinces are expanding testing and booster access. Today on Front Burner, a discussion with Globe and Mail health columnist André Picard about our pandemic cycle of delay and panic, and the lessons and tools that still might make us better prepared for Omicron.

HBO’s Succession came out of the gate quietly back in 2018. And even as critics raved over its stylish production, intricate plotting and viciously sharp humour, it took a while to catch on. Now, it’s easily one of the most influential and discussed TV shows in a long time. Structured like a chamber drama set in the corridors of elite power and influence, it revolves around the highly successful but highly dysfunctional Roy clan and their sprawling right wing media empire. The central conflict is between the brilliant and ruthless patriarch Logan Roy and his ambitious but flawed children, each vying for his love and attention while at the same time plotting to dethrone him. This week, its third season came to a dramatic end so today on Front Burner we talk to writer and showrunner of CBC’s Pop Chat podcast, Amil Niazi and Vulture’s Jackson McHenry on what makes Succession so compelling, and how it’s become a cultural institution. Warning: this episode contains major spoilers.

The debate over Quebec’s controversial secularism law, known as Bill 21, has been reignited after a teacher was told she can no longer teach her Grade 3 class, because she wears a hijab. Fatemeh Anvari was hired this fall at Chelsea Elementary School, during a period of confusion over whether English school boards had to enforce the religious symbols ban. Now, in the wake of a recent court decision on the ban, Anvari has been forced out of classroom teaching. Today, we’re speaking to Montreal teacher Maha Kassef about the far-reaching consequences of Bill 21 for both teachers and students. Then, CBC reporter Jonathan Montpetit gives us the latest on the court and political battles surrounding the law — and how they call into question our understanding of how much Canada’s constitution really protects individual rights and freedoms.

For a year, a 49-year-old woman in B.C. posed as a nurse at a Vancouver hospital, even assisting in gynecological surgeries, despite not actually being a nurse. Brigitte Cleroux has since been criminally charged, but it turns out she has a long history of impersonations dating back decades and spanning multiple provinces. Now, former patients are left with serious questions about the care they received, and how she was able to even get the job in the first place. Today, CBC Vancouver’s Bethany Lindsay tells us more about those patients, and CBC Ottawa’s Shaamani Yogaretnam explains Cleroux’s decades of impersonations.

On Monday, as the Recording Academy began its final round of voting for the 2022 Grammy winners, people learned Drake was off the ballot. Drake and his management had asked the Academy to pull his two nominations. He still hasn’t offered an explanation, but this is the latest in a series of tensions between Drake and the Grammys: he’s questioned their relevance in his lyrics, defended The Weeknd after a snub and even criticized the Academy while accepting a trophy. Today on Front Burner, music journalist and host of Marvin’s Room A. Harmony joins us to explain why so many Hip Hop artists are expressing frustration with the Grammys, and whether a show with limited recognition of Black talent can remain relevant.

Russia has sent almost 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border in recent weeks. Observers believe the state is trying to extract certain concessions from Europe, particularly assurances from NATO that Ukraine will never be able to join the security group. Janice Gross Stein was a founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto. She argues that NATO’s "strategic ambiguity" toward Ukraine gave the country false hope we had its back — so now, we’re partly seeing the fallout of promises we couldn’t keep.

Just when Europe thought it had beat COVID-19, it’s once again an epicentre of the pandemic. As countries struggle to fight off yet another wave of the virus many governments in the E.U. are bringing in strict new lockdowns, and in some cases contemplating vaccine mandates. But these efforts are meeting fierce — and sometimes violent — resistance. Today, the host of the Berlin podcast Common Ground Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson walks us through what’s fuelling this latest surge across Western European countries — vaccine hesitancy, a more aggressive variant, general distrust in government, or all of the above?

You’ve probably noticed that prices of practically everything — food, gas, haircuts, housing — have been going up lately. Canada’s inflation rate is now the highest it’s been in 18 years. In Parliament, the Conservative party has been pointing fingers at Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, and calling on them to quit racking up deficits. They’ve even come up with a nickname for the problem: #Justinflation. But economists say this isn’t a normal inflation problem and warn normal solutions may not work.

For months, a B.C.-based QAnon conspiracy influencer named Romana Didulo has been amassing followers online, declaring herself the “Queen of Canada.” In the summer, her audience began distributing cease-and-desist letters across North America on her behalf, demanding a stop to COVID-19 restrictions. Recently, her rhetoric escalated when she urged her followers to “shoot to kill” anyone who administers vaccines to children. The RCMP have visited her since, and one of her followers in Laval, Que., was arrested after allegedly posting threats about his daughter’s school. Today on Front Burner, Vice World News reporter Mack Lamoureux discusses this influential QAnon figure, her active base of followers and law enforcement’s response.

$210-million dollars went out the door and into the pockets of businesses who shouldn’t have received it. That was the assessment of Ontario’s auditor general in an annual report this week that looked, in part, at the pandemic support of Doug Ford’s Conservative government. And it definitely got the opposition parties in Queen’s Park talking. The audit comes as each party stakes out their pre-election ground and try to build a narrative that will lead to a win in June. To help us take a bite of the pre-election stew bubbling in Ontario politics, we’re joined by CBC News’ Mike Crawley.

Canada and a growing list of more than 20 countries have confirmed cases of omicron, the latest version of the COVID-19 virus to be labelled a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization. Despite omicron's global reach, dozens of nations are enforcing travel bans on mainly southern Africa, where the variant was originally detected. Some countries have celebrated South Africa's identification of the variant mere moments before announcing restrictions. Meanwhile, vaccine stockpiling by outside nations has contributed to spotty supply and high hesitancy on the continent. Africa faces a looming wave of omicron, with a full vaccination rate in the single digits. Today on Front Burner, infectious diseases physician Dr. Zain Chagla explains how measures by countries like Canada have put Africa into this precarious position with omicron, and why vaccines are more important in regions that are currently seeing far fewer doses.

In the spring of 2020, the Cargill meat-packing plant in southern Alberta became the site of the largest COVID-19 outbreak tied to a single facility in all of North America. Approximately 950 workers were infected, and three died. A year and a half later, COVID-19 appears to be under control at the slaughterhouse. But workers say the underlying working conditions that were laid bare by the pandemic are still there. And now, they’re demanding changes. Workers are currently negotiating a new contract with management, and if their demands aren’t met by Dec. 6, they’re prepared to strike. And since this one facility is responsible for 40 per cent of the beef processing in Canada, that’s put a lot of people on edge. Today, CBC reporter Joel Dryden on what Cargill workers want, and what it could mean beyond this one facility.

British Columbia is still struggling with the fallout from record-breaking rains that caused floods and mudslides that killed six people and displaced thousands more. This, after the fatal heat dome of the summer, and the third worst fire season on record. While experts say it’s impossible to determine whether this year’s extreme weather resulted directly from climate change, they will say climate change made these events worse. Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan agreed to strike a joint provincial-federal committee to address disaster response and climate resilience. Today, environmental journalist Arno Kopecky on how B.C. is experiencing so many of the big climate change issues of our time.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in one of the most important cases on reproductive rights in decades. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi, has challenged a state law that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court case could determine not just the fate of the clinic, but of the monumental 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. Today, legal historian Mary Ziegler breaks down the Mississippi case, and explains what its potential impacts could be for reproductive rights across the United States.

Throughout its reign, the British Empire stole a lot of stuff. Today those objects are housed in genteel institutions across the U.K. and the world. They usually come with polite plaques. This is a series about the not-so-polite history behind those objects. Hosted by Marc Fennell. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/stuffthebritishstole

Since the first pediatric Pfizer vaccines landed in Canada last weekend, provinces have been moving fast to get them into arms. Children got their first jabs in Ontario on Tuesday; more kids started being vaccinated in Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan on Wednesday; and the rollout continues to expand. Today we’re joined by Dr. Fatima Kakkar, an infectious diseases pediatrician at the research centre of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine and an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Université de Montréal. She breaks down what’s happening with these shots, how they work on kids and what to expect from the rollout.

After Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai posted a sexual assault allegation against a former top Communist Party official on social media, the post — and Peng — disappeared. In the weeks that followed, the Women's Tennis Association and the sport's top athletes joined the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai, including Naomi Osaka, Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Even the UN called for proof of her safety. Now, Chinese state-run broadcasters have tweeted a supposed email along with photos and videos as evidence of her safety. The International Olympic committee says it had an interview with Peng where she reassured them of her wellbeing. Today on Front Burner, Racquet publisher and co-founder Caitlin Thompson explains why China's moves have done little to calm fears for Peng's autonomy, and why this is a crucial moment for sports to re-examine their relationship with China.

Marc and Craig Kielburger's WE Charity routinely misled school-aged children and wealthy philanthropists across North America for years as it solicited millions for schoolhouses in Kenya in its Adopt-A-Village program, an investigation by CBC's The Fifth Estate has found. WE denies it has misled donors. Today, Mark Kelley explains what the team found over the course of the investigation, and the obstacles they faced while reporting the story.

Yesterday, demonstrators and journalists appeared in a northern B.C. court after spending the weekend in jail for their presence at a resistance camp in Wet’suwet’en territory. The RCMP arrested dozens of people and cleared the camp last week. It had been blockading a key work site for the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. Hundreds of workers had been stranded after the blockade was erected. The police were enforcing an injunction from a civil court that said Coastal GasLink should be able to continue its work. Today, attorney Kris Statnyk explains that the legal battle happening over the land is incredibly complex, because even the Canadian legal system holds contradictory positions on this issue. And the Tyee’s northern B.C. reporter Amanda Follett Hosgood explains what’s been happening on the front lines.

The Conservative Party is objecting to Parliament’s new mandatory vaccination policy. Its leader, Erin O’Toole, is fending off attacks on his leadership. And the Liberals are being accused of benefiting from unfair advantages in the House. This is just some of what’s playing out as Parliament returns for the first time since June and the federal election. CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton breaks down the new political season for us.

Canada’s men’s soccer team is closer to going to the World Cup tournament than it has been in decades, after a historic win against heavyweight team Mexico. The last time they qualified was in 1986. They didn’t score a single goal. But now with coaching from John Herdman and star players like Alphonso Davies, the team has started to believe in itself — and this week, won an important qualifying event against Mexico. After scoring their second goal, team members leaped into a snowbank in the –10 C Edmonton weather to celebrate. This iconic moment comes only a few months after Canada’s women won their first Olympic gold for soccer in Tokyo. Shireen Ahmed is a regular contributor to TSN, and a co-host of the Burn It All Down podcast. Today, she takes us through the game, what it means for Canada, and what comes next for soccer in this country.

British Columbia declared a state of emergency Wednesday after days of extreme flooding and mudslides destroyed major highways and cut off entire communities in parts of the Lower Mainland. Mass evacuations were ordered in places like Merritt, Princeton and parts of Abbotsford, a city of nearly 100,000 people, but the full scale of the devastation still isn't known. These kinds of climate events are becoming all too familiar in B.C. It was just four and a half months ago that a crushing heat dome killed nearly 600 people in the province, and a wildfire burned the town of Lytton to the ground. Today on Front Burner, how this week's weather event, known as an atmospheric river, unfolded, and how other recent extreme climate events may have made it worse. If this is the new normal for B.C., what does the future look like for the people in the province? Finally, a conversation with CBC Vancouver reporter Justin McElroy about how the B.C. government responded and what needs to change moving forward.

Since the end of October, a cyberattack on the health-care system in Newfoundland and Labrador has caused thousands of delays and cancellations for services. Patients have missed appointments and procedures, including chemotherapy. With their IT networks knocked out, facilities resorted to pen and paper. The CEO of a cybersecurity firm in Fredericton, David Shipley, called it “the worst cyberattack in Canadian history.” Disruptions to health services are easing. But while the province has now confirmed that both patient and employee data was stolen, it is still offering little information on the attack. Today on Front Burner, St. John’s-based CBC reporter Peter Cowan joins us to explain what this attack was, why the province isn’t saying more, and why health breaches like this are happening so often.

A crisis is unfolding at the border of Poland and Belarus, where thousands of migrants are stranded in freezing temperatures, hoping to reach Europe. Belarus, under authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, is accused of deliberately creating this crisis by shepherding migrants from the Middle East to the Polish border as revenge for sanctions imposed on his regime. Poland, with the support of the European Union, has responded by fortifying its border in a massive show of force. Almost 20,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to the area, and there are claims that they have illegally pushed people back across the border into Belarus. Today, Guardian correspondent Lorenzo Tondo on the geopolitical standoff and the people trapped in the middle of what is increasingly looking like a humanitarian disaster.

COP26, the UN’s annual climate summit in Glasgow, was touted by many as the “last best chance” for the world to come together and make a plan to stave off the worst of climate change. Today, Time magazine senior correspondent Justin Worland delves into what the summit did and didn’t achieve.

From David Ridgen, the creator of Someone Knows Something, comes the new investigative podcast The Next Call. Tackling unsolved cases through strategic phone calls. In the case of Terrie Dauphinais, a 24-year-old Metis woman is found dead in her Calgary home in the spring of 2002. New investigative efforts have held out promise, but the case still remains cold almost two decades later. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/thenextcall

In Ontario, COVID-19 cases are rising again — but unlike before, the Greater Toronto Area isn’t bearing the brunt of this wave. Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti explains why.

As lawsuits, a criminal investigation and social media try to assign blame for the fatal crowd surge at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, a look at the warning signs before the concert, and the long history of festival disasters.

Ethiopia’s deadly war in Tigray province is now threatening to engulf the entire country as rebels move toward the capital and a humanitarian crisis intensifies. Reporter Zecharias Zelalem explains how the conflict got to this point and where it could go from here.

Less than 10 months into his presidency, Joe Biden’s popularity is plummeting, Democratic in-fighting has put some of the most ambitious parts of his agenda on life support, and recent elections in several states are spelling even more bad news for his party. Susan Ormiston joins us to take the pulse of the Democratic party.

As the international climate change conference COP26 continues, we take a look at Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target, and whether or not we’re actually on track to hit it.

A CBC News investigation into a prominent University of Saskatchewan professor found no evidence to support her claims to Indigeneity. Reporter Geoff Leo breaks down the story, and Veldon Coburn tells us how to address the issue.

At Kyle Rittenhouse’s homicide trial, which began this week, there are two very different versions on display of what happened in Kenosha, Wis., on the night of Aug. 25, 2020.

Over 50 nations arrived at COP26 with net-zero emissions targets, but many rely on high hopes for carbon capture tech. Today, a reality check — will carbon capture help us, or provide excuses for more pollution?

The fallout and the calls for accountability continue in the NHL's Chicago sexual assault scandal. Lawyer and abuse survivor Greg Gilhooly on how the league needs to change so its players are protected.

Suspected neurological illness is debilitating and even killing patients in New Brunswick, but provincial health officials are questioning whether a mysterious brain disease is really behind it.

The new investigative series White Hot Hate follows the extraordinary case of young Canadian journalist Ryan Thorpe who infiltrated an international neo-Nazi extremist network. While host Michelle Shephard explores the rise of white supremacist accelerationism: the ultra-violent ideology that drives believers to create chaos, in order to seize ultimate control. More episodes are available at: hyperurl.co/whitehothate

Jean Chrétien says he never heard about abuse in residential schools when he was minister of Indian affairs. As Jorge Barrera and Cindy Blackstock explain, documents suggest otherwise.

Canada’s worker shortage in industries like retail, food and tourism is more complex than it’s been chalked up to be. We hear from those fighting their way back from unemployment and from economist David Macdonald.