Front Burner

Economist correspondent Sophie Pedder says the 'yellow vest' protests in Canadian cities are different in some ways from the movement that inspired them in Paris.

"People are frustrated and they're upset and frankly, they're scared," says CBC business correspondent Peter Armstrong about workers in the oil and gas industry following months of record-low oil prices. On Tuesday the Canadian government announced a $1.6 billion support package for the struggling energy sector. Today on Front Burner, Armstrong explains what's at stake for Canada's oil patch and breaks down how far the funds will really go.

"In the vast majority of circumstances, families and care providers in the intensive care unit are on the same page," says Dr. Brian Goldman on Taquisha McKitty's case. The 27-year old woman has been declared brain dead by five doctors, but is breathing with the assistance of a ventilator at the request of her family. Their fight to keep her alive is now before the Ontario Court of Appeal. Dr. Goldman, emergency physician and host of CBC Radio's White Coat Black Art, explains how the case sheds light on the complications of defining death.

CBC Queen's Park reporter Mike Crawley says there's been pushback against the recent appointment of Ron Taverner, a friend of Ontario premier Doug Ford, to take over the provincial police force. Many worry Taverner's appointment could hurt the OPP's independence from political influence.

"When the agency that's supposed to protect you is also an agency that you fear, there is really little place for you to find shelter," says Jorge Barrera, a reporter with CBC's Indigenous Unit, in relation to a disturbing new report about the Thunder Bay Police Service. Ontario's police watchdog Gerry McNeilly says "systemic racism" exists at an institutional level inside the police force. And the consequences of this racism are so severe that he's recommending nine cases involving the deaths of Indigenous people be re-opened and re-investigated. Today on Front Burner, we look at how Thunder Bay Police failed Indigenous people.

CBC reporter Catharine Tunney says the reality TV show starring Canada's Border Services Agency was controversial. The show included footage of drug busts and interviews at ports of entry. It was not renewed after three seasons, but could come back.

Correction: No additional lights were used during airport scenes of Border Security and the program aired for three seasons, not four and the name of the program in the introduction was corrected. This episode has been changed to reflect that.

"The tone here is that this is an an innocent woman. So why would you treat her like a criminal? And the idea is, if you have handcuffed someone you have presumed their guilt," says Nathan VanderKlippe, the Globe and Mail's Asia correspondent. Tensions between Canada and China are high after the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou and the subsequent detention of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig. Today on Front Burner, Nathan explains China's side of the diplomatic dispute and breaks down how this story is playing out in Beijing.

"If a few white people were being killed at the rate that we are being killed...we wouldn't be having this conversation today," says Desmond Cole, in response to an Ontario Human Rights commission report on policing and race in Toronto. The report's findings include that a black person in Toronto is nearly 20 times more likely than a white person to be shot and killed by police. Cole is a writer and activist who focuses on race and policing.

"This really is the beginning of a cultural shift," says Solomon Israel, cannabis reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Nearly two months into cannabis legalization he breaks down the complaints - from low quality to short supplies - and the positives - including the benefits that legal weed provides for medical research.

"It's incredibly hard to overstate the significance of this arrest." CBC's economics reporter Peter Armstrong breaks down why Canada's arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou for extradition to the U.S. is such a big deal.