Front Burner

In 2014, Belleville, Ont. native Matt Ashcroft decided to attend a conversion therapy camp in the U.S. He says his father was homphobic and he wanted to mend their relationship. Now he’s a fierce advocate for a nationwide ban on the practice in Canada. Matt Ashcroft speaks to host Jayme Poisson about his experience and why he thinks conversion therapy should be scrapped.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Democracy versus dictatorship” in Venezuela. Why Canada should not release Meng Wanzhou. These are just some of the topics we cover in a feature interview with Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. She tells us about how she formed her political worldview, and how that worldview shapes Canada’s foreign policy: “Small-l liberalism … does also requir...

You may not have heard of political third parties like Engage Canada or Canada Proud, but you’ve likely already encountered their messaging through a traditional television ad, a Facebook meme, or maybe even a person in a banana costume. Today on Front Burner, we talk to iPolitics reporter Marieke Walsh about who’s behind these groups, what kind of influence they may have, and the new rules govern...

For the last four years, Vice reporter Ben Makuch has been fighting to keep communications he had with a suspected ISIS fighter from the RCMP. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and last week, Makuch and Vice lost their final appeal on this case. Ben Makuch talks to host Jayme Poisson about that journey, and what it might mean for press freedom in Canada.

This week a new government report outlined the most pressing threats facing Canada due to climate change. The report warned of infrastructure failures, flooding and storm surges on the coasts, and melting shorelines and permafrost in the North. Global warming is a massive problem for Canada and the world. But some big solutions are being debated. One idea is the Green New Deal, an ambitious and co...

CBC News has learned about an alleged massive immigration scheme involving illicit job offers, hundreds of Chinese nationals, and dozens of business people in Saskatchewan. The story follows an investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency and court documents relating to a criminal trial for a married couple from the province. CBC investigative reporter Geoff Leo unravels the story.

This weekend, pop superstar Taylor Swift penned a distraught Tumblr post in which she took the news of a business deal very, very personally. Her former record label, Big Machine, was sold to music mogul Scooter Braun's company for a reported $300 million U.S. The acquisition essentially hands Braun control of Swift's masters from her entire back catalogue. She claims this is her "worst case scena...

On Monday, news broke that Iran violated a key part of the 2015 nuclear agreement. This comes about a year after the U.S. unilaterally pulled out of the deal. Iran says it breached the agreement because Europe hasn’t done enough to counter the heavy U.S. sanctions imposed on the country. Today on Front Burner, The Independent’s Negar Mortazavi explains how the heavy sanctions are affecting regular...

This March, a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board. 18 of them were Canadian, and several more were permanent residents. Now, six families from Canada who lost relatives are suing Boeing for alleged negligence in the Ethiopia Airlines crash. The CBC’s Susan Ormiston spoke to three of them, and brings us their reflections and lingering questions about what hap...

There has been renewed attention on the treatment of migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border over the last two weeks. First, accounts of inadequate food, water and sanitation at U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities where unaccompanied children are held awaiting shelter space sparked outrage. Then, a horrible photograph of the drowned bodies of a father and his young daughter in the Rio...

Today on Front Burner, we speak to Toronto Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, who says he disagrees with his party’s stance to rule against a handgun ban. Is the fight to ban handguns in Canada over?

The death of 30 horses at the famed Santa Anita racetrack in California this season has sparked a public outcry over animal welfare. The facility is owned by The Stronach Group, a wealthy Canadian company. Today on Front Burner, L.A. Times contributor John Cherwa explains what it all means for the future of horse racing, and the Stronach family business.

After 18 months of consultation, Google sister company Sidewalk Labs has released its master draft proposal to develop a portion of Toronto’s waterfront. The proposal includes everything from an affordable housing plan, to sensored pneumatic garbage shoots, to a data privacy framework in the form of an independent urban data trust. Today on Front Burner, we talk to The Logic’s editor-in-chief Davi...

With the House of Commons adjourned and the federal election just months away, summertime hours mean Members of Parliament and hopeful candidates will be out campaigning on the BBQ circuit. The writ drop is expected for September and voting day is slated for on or before October 21. So what issues are shaping the election so far? Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos j...

According to a new report from the Canada Revenue Agency, in just one year - 2014 - Canadian corporations did not pay up to $11-billion in taxes. That amount is part of the “tax gap”. It’s the difference between the taxes Canada knows it's owed and the taxes that are actually collected. Today on Front Burner, Toronto Star investigative reporter Marco Chown Oved explains how corporations get away w...

This week, Facebook announced it will launch a cryptocurrency in 2020. A new global currency, available to billions of people - is something like that legal? Or a good idea? Jon Porter from The Verge breaks it down.

The federal Liberal government has now approved the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline for the second time. This is a key step for the much-delayed pipeline project that’s meant to carry nearly a million barrels of oil from Alberta to B.C each day. But will approval actually mean construction? CBC Vancouver reporter Angela Sterritt and CBC Calgary business reporter Tony Seskus explain.

The Canadian government has already admitted that it probably won’t be able to meet its Paris climate targets, the international agreement Canada signed promising to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. As part of a new CBC News project called In Our Backyard, reporter Connie Walker has been using climate modelling to investigate different policy options to find out what it would ac...

The Canadian government has introduced rules around the sale of edibles and other weed products, like topicals. Sol Israel from The Leaf News walks us through what these new regulations look like, and why the new rules around edibles may have unexpected consequences.

Throughout the week hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets to protest a proposed extradition bill. Many fear it will be used to target dissidents who speak out against the Chinese state. Protests escalated to violent clashes between police and young demonstrators. Today on Front Burner, Hong Kong Free Press reporter Jennifer Creery on what this means for the region’s figh...

For the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championships. They beat the Golden State Warriors Thursday night in game six of the championship, 114-110. It was a remarkably tense game, with sixteen lead changes throughout. Today on Front Burner, CBC reporter Devin Heroux from Oakland, California on what it was like to witness the incredible game, and sports writer Alex...

Far-right group Soldiers of Odin has been developing chapters across Canada and popping up at anti-immigration protests throughout the country. It’s a group that Canadian border security officials have said is not afraid to use violence and Facebook has recently banned in Canada for being engaged in “organized hate” online. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Raffy Boudjikanian explains what the Soldiers...

Author David Wallace-Wells on his matter-of-fact book, “The Uninhabitable Earth,” and what happens if we don’t slow the pace of climate change.

In a rare move, the Ontario legislature will take a break until October 28th, one week after the federal election. So why the extended break? Political watchers say that might have to do with Premier Doug Ford’s dismal poll numbers, and how they might affect federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer’s chances this coming election. Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos explains.

Over the course of decades, dozens of students were sexually abused by three different teachers at one Ottawa high school. Some students spoke up and told other teachers. But it wasn't until 2016 that any criminal charges were laid. Senior reporter Julie Ireton has been investigating this story of historical sexual abuse for more than a year, for the new CBC podcast, 'The Band Played On.' Today on...