Front Burner

For nearly two weeks, a core group of protesters has refused to leave Ottawa’s downtown core. Police estimate more than 400 trucks remain parked in the so-called “red zone.” Some businesses in the area have had to close their doors and some residents describe feeling intimidated. Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly has called the situation “unprecedented.” The mayor, Jim Watson, has called the situation “out of control,” and said the protesters are “calling the shots.” Today on Front Burner, CBC Ottawa reporter Judy Trinh talks about how police initially responded to the protest in the capital, how the response has changed and where things could go from here.

Just over a week ago, Conservative centrist Erin O’Toole was ousted after just 18 months as party leader. His sudden departure has triggered the third leadership race since Stephen Harper lost in 2015. This upheaval is in line with the party’s long-standing power struggles. For decades, the Conservatives have fought among themselves for the soul of the party. Between populists and elites, town and country, east and west. Today on Front Burner, we’re talking to Macleans writer Paul Wells on the complicated push-pull of the modern Canadian Conservative movement and what’s next for the party.

Since Neil Young stepped away from Spotify over allegations that the platform was peddling COVID-19 misinformation, other artists have begun to speak up about their problems with the platform — problems that go right to the heart of the digital gig economy. Artists on the platform are paid fractions of a penny per stream. And during the pandemic, when touring is near impossible, many are fed up. We hear from Belly’s Gail Greenwood and Polaris Prize-winning artist Cadence Weapon about why there’s so much frustration with Spotify. Then Ben Sisario, music industry reporter for the New York Times, breaks down why artists are speaking up now — and what the alternatives are.

Protesting truckers and their supporters have been communicating via a walkie-talkie app called Zello. On the show today, we bring you the sound of their actual conversations, which reveal a wide gulf between how they see themselves, and how their critics view them.

Erin O’Toole is no longer leader of the Conservative Party after a caucus vote on Wednesday afternoon: 73 members of the 119-member caucus voted for his removal. Candice Bergen will take over leadership of the party in the interim. The ouster comes just 18 months after the last Conservative leadership race brought O’Toole to power. Today, CBC’s John Paul Tasker explains what happened, how the party got to this point, and the challenges ahead

In 2015, Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Since then, COVID-19, deteriorating relations with the West, allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and a resulting diplomatic boycott put a damper on the Games. Yet China plowed forward, promising to put on a spectacular show while keeping out COVID-19, through the use of tight, non-negotiable safety measures. Today, we’re talking to The National’s Adrienne Arsenault from inside the rigid operation created to keep Beijing’s 21 million residents safe from COVID-19 — and to keep the world’s athletes, journalists and Winter Olympics' staff fenced in.

Texas-based scientists Maria Elena Bottazzi and Peter Hotez won't make a cent off the vaccine they developed — and they don't want to. Dubbed "the world's COVID-19 vaccine," Corbevax is cheap and relatively easy to manufacture, and there's no patent on it. After multiple hurdles in the team's efforts to fund and develop the jab, Corbevax was recently approved for emergency use in India. Today, we're speaking to Bottazzi and Hotez about the story behind Corbevax, what the skeptics have to say, and why they believe their shot can be a powerful tool in the fight for vaccine equity.

There were raucous protests in Ottawa this weekend as thousands of protestors converged on the capital calling for an end to vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions. The protest was loud, filling the city's centre with the sounds of honking vehicles, and disruptive: the Rideau Centre shopping mall closed early on Saturday and will remain closed into Monday as crowds of maskless protesters showed up in defiance of public health orders. There were also some displays of disturbing imagery: swastikas and Confederate flags were spotted in the crowd, and Ottawa Police say they're investigating incidents of desecration at the National War Memorial. Today, CBC senior parliamentary reporter Travis Dhanraj is back to break down what he heard and saw on the scene.

How do you forget your favourite person in the world? Alex remembers everything about the day a speeding police car killed his brother. But his brother, alive? Those memories are lost. And now, 30 years later, Alex wants them back. In this emotional four-part series, Alex unearths his childhood grief — with help from family, friends, and a therapist who witnessed his brother’s death. What happens when trauma and memory collide? Sorry About The Kid is a deeply personal meditation on the losses that define us. Hosted by Alex McKinnon. Produced with Mira Burt-Wintonick (WireTap, Love Me). More episodes are available at hyperurl.co/sorryaboutthekid

Across Canada this week, groups of truckers opposed to a vaccination mandate for cross-border truck drivers have been making their way to Ottawa to protest. But as the convoy has gained momentum, others — some with violent messages — have latched onto the movement. Today, we'll first hear from Harold Jonker, a trucker leading one of the convoys to Ottawa. Then, we'll speak to CBC senior parliamentary reporter Travis Dhanraj about the broader context around this story, and how it's playing out politically.

Neil Young's music is being pulled from the streaming platform Spotify. That's after he told the platform to either remove his music, or take action on vaccine misinformation — specifically from podcast host Joe Rogan. Spotify ultimately sided with Rogan, saying Wednesday it would begin removing Young's catalogue but that it hoped he would come back soon. "We want all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users," the company said in a statement. "With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators." The Joe Rogan Experience is the world's biggest podcast, famous for its long-format, wide-range interviews with eccentric and sometimes controversial guests. But its host has come under fire for his relentless questioning of widely shared scientific agreement about COVID-19. Nicholas Quah, podcast critic for Vulture and New York Magazine, joins us to explain the rise of vaccine skepticism on Rogan's show — and the reasons why Spotify may have taken this side.

They looked like a family. Four people, including a baby, were found dead in a snowy Manitoba field last Wednesday, just metres from the North Dakota border, where they were believed to be heading. Authorities believe they had been part of a larger group travelling to the United States, in temperatures that felt like –35 C. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called their deaths "mind-blowing” and "tragic," and said he was working with the United States to crack down on people who facilitate undocumented travel over the border. But two people who’ve travelled the route — in the opposite direction — say what the system really needs is more compassion for people who are out of options. Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed, two former refugees from Ghana who now have the right to stay in Canada permanently, share their stories of making it to Canada from the United States in 2017. And CBC Manitoba reporter Ian Froese tells us what questions we’re still trying to answer about the four people who died last week.

For over a month now, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been embroiled in a scandal involving gatherings at 10 Downing Street while the country was under lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19. One Conservative MP has crossed the floor to the Labour Party, while another has called for his resignation, saying to Johnson in Parliament, "In the name of God, go." Senior civil servant Sue Gray has been conducting an inquiry into the alleged rule-breaking, and that report looms. Today, CBC's Europe correspondent Margaret Evans explains what's led up to this point, and whether it could cost Johnson his job.

A Halifax committee tasked with defining what it means to defund the police has released its final report: a 219-page document that recommends numerous reforms and reimagines our communities' relationship with law enforcement. Last week, committee chairperson El Jones presented the report to Halifax's Board of Police Commissioners. While the document doesn't recommend a specific amount of money to be cut, it takes an in-depth look at shifting some responsibilities away from police — namely sexual assault reporting and responses to mental health crises. Today, Jones walks us through the report's rethink of how to keep our communities safe and examines the common ground between supporters and opponents of defunding.

Today, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after a week of escalation over the future of Ukraine. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly was in Ukraine earlier this week, expressing Canada's support for the country. But Ottawa Citizen defence reporter David Pugliese says Canada's military actions paint a different picture. In fact — Canada's moves on the ground reveal a limit to the government's willingness to help in Ukraine's looming fight. We're also joined by Eilish Hart, the English-language news editor for the Latvia-based news site Meduza, who explains why that means Ukraine is getting ready to go it alone — and how regular Russians may curtail the Kremlin's actions.

If you've played Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, or even Candy Crush, you're among the 400 million people who play a game from Activision-Blizzard every month. On Tuesday, the company was purchased by Microsoft for $68.7 billion US. It's the biggest tech deal in history, over 15 times what Disney paid for the Star Wars franchise and LucasFilm. And the cost for Microsoft could be more than just cash. Activision-Blizzard has become notorious for allegations of discrimination and abuse. Last year, the company got hit with lawsuits from state and U.S. federal employment watchdogs, over its "frat house" culture. Today on Front Burner, we're talking to Polygon's Nicole Carpenter about how this unprecedented mega-deal will change the gaming landscape as we know it, and how the video game giant itself is trying to outrun its own toxic history.

A study last week from two Oregon universities has generated a lot of buzz, after findings suggested that some cannabis compounds may be able to block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering human cells. It adds to a growing body of research on cannabis and the coronavirus, as studies from around the world — including from Canada — have found that the cannabis compound CBD may be effective in helping treat some of the virus’s most deadly symptoms. Today, Katie MacBride, a health science reporter at the online magazine Inverse, joins us for a deep dive into what the research says — and doesn’t say — about cannabis and COVID-19. CORRECTION: This episode misstated that mRNA vaccines are designed to attach to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. To be clear, mRNA vaccines instruct the body's cells to make harmless copies of the spike protein, causing the body to produce antibodies which then attach to the proteins.

As a U.S. judge has ruled a sex abuse lawsuit can proceed against Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, who last week was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages. The lawsuit is being brought by Virginia Giuffre, who has long claimed she was sex-trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and that she was raped by Andrew as a teenager. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking late last year. The prince denies the allegations against him. Today, ITV royal news editor and host of the Royal Rota podcast Chris Ship explains what's led up to this moment, what can be expected as the case moves forward, and what it means for the legacy of the Royal Family during the Platinum Jubilee year.

On Thursday, a former Syrian colonel in Bashar al-Assad’s forces was convicted in a court in Germany for crimes against humanity. Anwar Raslan was sentenced to life in prison for overseeing the murder of at least 27 people and the torture of at least 4000 in a Damascus prison. The case marks the world’s first criminal prosecution of state-sponsored torture in Syria. Today, we hear from Wafa Mustafa, the daughter of one man believed to be forcibly disappeared by the Syrian regime, and Sara Kayyali, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch who has been investigating human rights abuses in Syria, who says while this conviction is important, “justice doesn’t start and end in European courts.”

This week, Quebec Premier François Legault announced a new reason for people to get their jabs: His government would place a significant tax on the unvaccinated. The announcement came a day after Legault accepted the resignation of the province's public health director, Dr. Horacio Arruda — leading some to ask if this bold plan was merely a distraction from the political strife within the province. CBC Montreal’s Sarah Leavitt explains what exactly has been going on in Quebec under the Omicron wave. We then talk about the tax and if it’s even a good idea. For some frustrated with people who won’t get the shot, the controversial proposal was welcome news. But bioethics scholar Bryn Williams-Jones at Université de Montréal disagrees. He tells us why, in his view, this kind of tax is a legal and moral minefield.

On Monday, world tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic won a legal battle to stay in Australia and defend his title at the Australian Open — for now. The unvaccinated player's visa was revoked when he arrived at the border despite a vaccine exemption granted by Tennis Australia. His visa was ultimately reinstated but Australia’s immigration minister reserves the power to overturn that decision, revoke his visa and kick him out. If deported, Djokovic could be banned from Australia for up to three years. Djokovic’s personal stance as “anti-vaccine” isn’t winning him any friends in a country hit hard by the pandemic, with strict vaccine protocols and seemingly endless COVID-19 lockdowns. Today on Front Burner, we’re talking to Canberra-based journalist Kishor Napier-Raman on how the tennis star’s decision to stay unvaccinated has turned into a massive political headache for the Australian government and has triggered a fierce debate about whether he should be allowed to stay.

When an anti-fascist infiltrator left The Base in 2020, he took 80 gigabytes of files with him. Those screengrabs, videos and audio detail the neo-Nazi organization from its beginnings, including around 100 hours of vetting calls with white supremacists hoping to join. Today, The Fifth Estate host Gillian Findlay guides us through that audio, the first-ever interview with the infiltrator who calls himself Tradian and what the recordings all tell us about "accelerationist" ideology. Plus, FBI recordings of Base member and former Canadian Armed Forces reservist Patrik Mathews after he fled to the U.S.

After working as a nurse — in a job she loved — for more than 20 years, Nancy Halupa says she now thinks about quitting every day. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated nursing shortages, and at the Toronto hospital emergency department where Halupa works, she says experienced nurses like herself are being stretched too thin. And there's more. Patients swear at her. She's been called a Nazi. Sometimes, tears come when she doesn't expect them, and other times, she finds her emotions walled off. Today, Jayme Poisson hears Halupa's perspective on the difficulties of being a nurse in a Toronto emergency department now. "I just don't know how much longer I can work like a robot," Halupa says. "And I feel like that's what we're doing, we're just robots and we're doing an assembly line of patients."

The NFT market is booming in early 2022, with estimates easily surpassing a billion dollars in transactions. But hype from a die-hard community is colliding with concern for the tech’s impact. Celebrities are both boosting digital tokens and laughing at the very concept of NFTs. Projects are providing access to exclusive clubs and selling virtual land, but also scamming buyers and disappearing. Meanwhile, concerns about energy usage by blockchains are causing groups such as BTS fans to erupt in protest. As investors speculate over JPEGs while some struggle for necessities, social media discussions are devolving into class warfare. Today on Front Burner, we look at what's driving the hype and the hate. Andrew Hayward, senior writer for crypto-focused news site Decrypt, explains how NFT culture has grown and changed, and why we can expect the tech to have a more mundane — but more useful — future.

For decades, First Nations children on reserves had to live with less child welfare funding than other kids in Canada. And that led to kids being taken from their communities at higher rates, often for problems that could have been solved with better supports. This week, after years of court battles, the federal government made a $40 billion promise to First Nations leaders. $20 billion of that will go to compensate kids who were unnecessarily removed from their homes on reserve or in the Yukon. The other $20 billion will go to long-term reform of the on-reserve child welfare system. Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and a professor at McGill University's School of Social Work, has made it her mission to make sure First Nations kids get care that matches up with care received by other kids in Canada. Today, she talks about the long fight for this agreement, and why she’s still waiting to celebrate.

“Alcoholism is an illness, it’s not a crime and it certainly shouldn't be punishable by death.” That’s a message from Jeannette Rogers, whose son, Corey, died in police custody in Halifax in 2016. He is one of 61 people that a CBC investigation found had died after being detained for public intoxication or a related offence since 2010. In many cases, the investigation found that those arrested weren’t properly monitored, or their deteriorating health conditions were not addressed. Today, CBC investigative reporter Kristin Annable shares some of the stories of those who died, and talks about how deaths like these might be prevented.

On Jan. 6, 2021 — the same day Joe Biden’s presidential win was to be certified — an angry mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. At least four people died, dozens were injured and the country's worsening political divisions were exposed. In the days and months that followed, the events of Jan. 6 have been debated, disputed and broadly characterized as a threat to American democracy. To get to the bottom of how it happened and who was responsible, a bipartisan committee made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans was established to investigate. Today on Front Burner we’re talking to longtime Washington correspondent Paul Hunter about what that investigation hopes to accomplish and to take the pulse of American democracy one year later.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 appears to be less severe than previous variants. But it's wildly contagious, so many more people are getting it, meaning hospitalizations are going up. It was in this context on Monday that Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a series of new measures, including shutting down indoor dining, cinemas and gyms. Social gatherings will be limited to five people indoors and 10 outside. Ontario schools are also moving online until at least Jan. 17. Quebec had already announced a similar measure. Today, host of CBC's White Coat, Black Art and The Dose, and emergency room physician Dr. Brian Goldman on Omicron, school closures and what such restrictions might actually accomplish.

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.