Front Burner

From drownings to suicides in broad daylight, a new CBC investigation reveals a horrific picture of what life was like at the Kamloops Indian Residential school. Today on Front Burner, the stories of some who lived and died there.

As much of Canada begins easing pandemic restrictions, we look into the delta variant. It’s a COVID-19 strain that’s concerning experts and emerging all over the country, from a hospital in Calgary, hotspots in Ontario and a mine in Nunavut. Global health epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan weighs in on the latest.

As Canada’s housing prices continue to rise we take a closer look at the political and economic tools that could be used to help cool it down with the help of Bloomberg News reporter, Ari Altstedter.

The calls for Pope Francis to fully apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential schools, including the one in Kamloops, B.C., where what are believed to be the unmarked burial sites of children's remains have been found, continue to grow. Why won’t he? Columnist Michael Coren, who’s covered the Catholic Church for decades, explains.

In the wake of the hateful attack that left four Muslim family members dead and a young boy in hospital: voices from the grief-filled London, Ont., Muslim community.

Today, Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright joins us to talk about The Plague Year, his new account of the biggest failures and successes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A doctor and a mayor describe COVID-19 denial and anti-vaccine attitudes they’re seeing up close in their small southern Manitoba communities.

After the revelation of unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, former Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson speaks to us about what needs to happen next.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka announced last week that she wouldn’t go to postmatch news conferences over mental health concerns and this week she dropped out of the tournament altogether. Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine walks us through how this led to controversy in the tennis world and highlights broader problems surrounding the media culture in the sport.

Last year, a video of Atikamekw woman Joyce Echaquan being taunted by nursing staff in a Quebec hospital, shortly before she died, sparked global outrage. Now, a dramatic coroner’s inquest is shedding more light on what happened — and why generations of Atikamekw people have feared that hospital.

An outpouring of grief and demands for accountability are following in the wake of a horrific discovery of unmarked graves of children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. CBC’s Angela Sterritt reports.

In the last year, there has been a tremendous uptick in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes across North America. In Vancouver, police in February reported a 717 per cent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes over the past year. Today on Front Burner, producer Elaine Chau’s documentary shows how these incidents have changed one neighbourhood in the city: Chinatown.

When the young CEO of Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is reported to have died while honeymooning in India, it sets off a cataclysmic chain of events that would leave about 76,000 people out of a quarter of a billion dollars and a trail of conspiracy theories around whether Gerald Cotten is dead or alive. A Death in Cryptoland is an original podcast series about a crypto-tycoon, his secret past, his sudden demise, and an online sleuth’s obsession to unravel the truth behind QuadrigaCX. More episodes are available at smarturl.it/cryptoland

Rocky, Legally Blonde, The Hobbit and even part of the James Bond franchise could soon be under the ownership of Amazon. Film critic John Semley joins host Jayme Poisson for a closer look at what the tech giant's bid to buy MGM Studios could mean for the shows and films that end up on your screens.

Filmmaker and activist Avi Lewis has just announced he’ll be running to be an NDP MP in the next federal election. He speaks to Jayme about why he’s decided to enter the political ring, and whether the NDP — and Canadians — are ready for his ambitious vision of a Green New Deal.

After the shocking interception of a commercial flight to arrest a dissident journalist, CBC’s Moscow correspondent explains Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko’s escalating crackdown on opposition.

As Canada’s military continues to fail victims of sexual misconduct in its ranks, the U.S. may be on the cusp of reform. CBC reporters Murray Brewster and Alex Panetta discuss a just-introduced U.S. Senate bill that says it will address the “sexual harassment epidemic” in the military, and what that might mean for Canada.

As the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs face off in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1979, CBC Montreal reporters Jonathon Montpetit and Antoni Nerestant break down the historic rivalry between the two teams.

As pressure mounts to address global warming, some financial institutions are grappling with whether or not to divest from the Canadian oilsands. CBC’s Kyle Bakx explains.

Najla Shawa is getting her young daughters to count the sounds of bombs at night — turning it into a game to try to soothe their fears. Dr. Mohammed Abu Mughaiseeb is navigating rubble-strewn streets to deliver medical aid — made harder now that one of his clinics was damaged in an airstrike. Today, a view from the ground in Gaza.

Would Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole support a union at Amazon? Why isn’t he resonating with younger Canadians? Ahead of a looming federal election, hear more in part two of a wide-ranging interview.

Erin O’Toole says he supports a ban on conversion therapy, but that doesn’t mean everyone in his party has to share his beliefs. Ahead of a looming federal election, hear more in part one of a wide-ranging interview with the federal Conservative party leader.

Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney’s scathing new documentary, The Crime of the Century, looks into how Big Pharma created and profited from the opioid crisis.

How do a treasure hunter, claims of bamboo fibres in ballots and QAnon-related conspiracies all come into play in the official “audit” of the 2020 U.S. election currently underway in Maricopa County, Ariz.? The Daily Beast’s politics reporter Will Sommer explains.

As violence escalates between Israel and Hamas, we’re joined by journalist Irris Makler for a run-down of some of the major events of the past few days, as well as some context on the last month of tensions that led to this week’s eruption.

Gang violence is on the rise again in Metro Vancouver, fueling worries about recruitment in the region’s South Asian community. Today on Front Burner, host Jayme Poisson talks to two people working in anti-gang intervention, with a focus on South Asian youth and families.

The prime minister’s most senior adviser has been called to task about who knew what when regarding allegations of sexual misconduct against the former head of the Canadian Forces. CBC senior defence writer Murray Brewster shares his analysis.

Canada's vaccine rollout is speeding up, raising the possibility of COVID-19 restrictions loosening in the next few months. Today on Front Burner, infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Lynora Saxinger talks about the kind of summer we could expect to have.

As European countries make plans to reopen tourism, this week the federal government promised certification to get Canadians travelling again. We look at the massive practical and ethical implications of vaccine passports with help from Maclean’s writer Marie-Danielle Smith.

Some of the best-known names in music are selling the rights to their entire catalogues of songs, netting tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, why so many artists are cashing in now, and why investors are betting billions on music.

Could your YouTube videos be subject to government regulation? A change to a bill designed to bring online streaming services under the purview of the Broadcasting Act has sparked controversy. The Logic’s Murad Hemmadi explains.

Today, an inside look at a COVID-19 outbreak that tore through an Alberta slaughterhouse, as seen through the eyes of the plant’s employees — and what their stories reveal about the situation facing essential workers across Canada.

As multiple websites, crowded waiting lists and lines hundreds of people long impede some Canadians' attempts to get COVID-19 vaccine appointments, a community of volunteers is stepping in to help. Today, Vaccine Hunters Canada co-founders Andrew Young and Josh Kalpin on guiding thousands through the rollout.

Life Jolt - prison slang for a life sentence - examines the lives of women navigating Canada’s correctional system. The team gained unprecedented access to the Grand Valley Institution prison, the federal pen for women in Ontario, for a full year. They followed women going into prison for the first time, spoke with lifers who have been there for years, and parolees as they left. Hosted by Rosemary Green, a former inmate herself, Life Jolt focuses on individual women’s stories and the realities of prison life, and explores a wide range of issues including parenting behind bars, segregation, the over-representation of Indigenous women, addiction, trauma and the many obstacles of reintegration. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/lifejolt

With the news that a woman in Quebec died of a rare blood clot after receiving the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, some people may feel concerned about the vaccine. Epidemiologist Maria Sundaram unpacks what you need to know about these extremely rare blood clots and the COVID-19 vaccines.

As the third wave dominates ICU across the country, this week Ontario and B.C. each finally buckled to pressure and announced the introduction of, at least some, mandated paid sick leave. But the urgent call remains in other provinces. So why is it such a fight to get it? CBC senior writer Aaron Wherry explains.

Alberta leads Canada with a COVID-19 case rate nearly twice that of Ontario, and doctors warn Alberta is headed for a similar crisis in its ICUs. Today, what’s keeping Premier Jason Kenney from imposing tougher restrictions.

Led by South Africa and India, more than 100 mostly developing countries are calling on the World Trade Organization to temporarily waive vaccine makers’ intellectual property protections. Today, science writer Stephen Buranyi on why he believes this could boost global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and save lives.

In India, COVID-19 has reached catastrophic levels. The health-care system is so overwhelmed that the sick are lying on the ground outside hospitals, and doctors are begging online for oxygen. Amy Kazmin, the New Delhi-based South Asia bureau chief for the Financial Times, joins us for a view from the ground, and explains how things got this bad.

For weeks, tens of thousands of Russian troops have been within striking distance of Ukraine’s border. And then on Thursday came a sudden announcement of a partial de-escalation. Today on Front Burner, Moscow correspondent Chris Brown on the politics behind these moves.

Advocates have been calling for a national child care program for decades. Governments have even gotten close to enacting it a few times. Is this finally the moment the idea becomes reality? We’re joined by Martha Friendly, executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, for a look at the long, winding road toward universal child care in Canada.

Today we cover the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict in the killing of George Floyd and hear from a civil rights lawyer, who represented Rodney King, about the long history of police violence in America against Black people.

After two long years, the Liberals have finally delivered a federal budget and boy is it a big one. Today we dissect the biggest ticket items, from a national childcare plan to a bucket full of green future promises with help from CBC’s Vassy Kapelos.

Military-style field hospitals in the middle of Toronto. A children’s ICU filling up with dying adults. Medical advisers at the end of their rope. Today, host Jayme Poisson looks at the choices Premier Doug Ford made in recent months and how they led Ontario down the path to what many doctors are calling a catastrophe.

A parliamentary investigation into sexual misconduct in the military has been shut down, despite three high-ranking members of the Canadian Forces having allegations against them. Today on Front Burner, NDP defence critic Randall Garrison on why he thinks this lets the government off the hook.

Many Canadians' lives are being stretched really thin in this third wave of the coronavirus pandemic — it can be hard not to buckle under the strain and fatigue. In this episode, Front Burner checked in with people across the country to see how Canadians are holding up, and what's keeping them going.

Dr. Shelly Dev and Dr. Alex Wong, two physicians in two different provinces, describe the desperate situation unfolding inside Canada's hospitals where a record number of COVID-19 patients are being admitted into intensive care.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has seen the city through major change and shifted the world’s perceptions about the city he loves. He talks with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about why he’s leaving office after more than a decade.

As a federal election looms, two parties mustered over the weekend. Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos joins Jayme Poisson to break down what happened at the Liberal and NDP policy conventions.

George Floyd’s death under police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee sparked global protests over race and policing. Now, the world is watching Chauvin’s murder trial. Minneapolis Public Radio’s Brandt Williams breaks down the key moments so far.