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A reporter’s long, failed fight to keep his work on ISIS from the RCMP Jul 08, 2019

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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.

A primer on the Green New Deal in the U.S. and Canada Jul 05, 2019

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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 controversial plan in the U.S. Today on Front Burner, Geoff Dembicki explains the Green New Deal and how the movement is translating here in Canada. He’s a Vancouver-based journalist who writes for The Tyee and Vice, and the author of "Are We Screwed? How a New Generation is Fighting to Survive Climate Change".

Dumpster diving, forged signatures, and alleged immigration fraud Jul 04, 2019

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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.

What the Taylor Swift controversy tells us about who really profits from recording artists' work Jul 03, 2019

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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 scenario," as she accuses Scooter Braun of "incessant, manipulative bullying." Today on Front Burner, Emily Yahr, pop culture reporter with the Washington Post, breaks down the origin of this feud, and explains why some of the most successful recording artists in the world are powerless when it comes to owning their own music.

What’s the toll of tough U.S. sanctions on Iranians? Jul 02, 2019

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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 Iranians and shares her opinion on the strategy of the United States.

Families grieve, seek justice, after Ethiopian Air plane crash Jul 01, 2019

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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 happened.

“The place is a jail”: How kids are treated at the U.S.-Mexico border Jun 28, 2019

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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 Grande river offered a stark reminder of the perils of crossing into the United States. Today on Front Burner, Bob Moore has reported on immigration and the border from El Paso, Texas for more than 30 years. He walks us through what kids go through on their way to the border and how they’re treated once they get into the country: “These are human beings who are paying the price of all this political failure.”

The fight to make handguns illegal in Canada Jun 27, 2019

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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?

After thirty horses die, questions about racing’s future Jun 26, 2019

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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.

Sidewalk Labs offers a futuristic vision for Toronto, but at what cost? Jun 25, 2019

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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 David Skok about what’s in the report, and what questions we need to ask ourselves when we consider building smart cities.

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