Front Burner

Last week, Parks Canada confirmed a dead goose in a Scarborough park tested positive for bird flu, raising concerns that with more birds flying north for spring, the virus will spread. 

Canada saw its first and only domestically-acquired human case in November, but in the U.S., at least 68 people have been reported infected in the last year, according to CDC data. One person has died from the illness. 

The poultry industries on both sides of the border have been grappling with the virus for years, and outbreaks have led to the culling of millions of birds in the last year. Now, the U.S. dairy industry is being impacted as herds of cattle in several states have fallen ill. 

Nicholas Florko, a staff writer with The Atlantic, joins the show to talk about the virus, how it’s spreading in the U.S. and why some people are worried that it could be the beginning of the next pandemic.

Following years of disillusionment with the federal Liberal party, some of Canada’s most high profile tech CEOs are leading a movement to bring their industry in line with the Conservative Party of Canada. 

According to new reporting, a collection of Canada’s tech CEOs have been discussing plans to influence Canada’s future in a WhatsApp group called ‘Build Canada’. Canada’s tech sector was once closely bound to the Liberals and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but many feel slighted by a government they feel failed to take their concerns seriously.

Catherine McIntyre is a reporter with The Logic, and joins us to discuss Canadian Tech’s rightward drift, whether it is a product of similar trends in the United States, and the implications for Canada’s future.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Even with the tariffs on U.S. goods mostly on pause for the rest of the month, many are still doing what they can to “Buy Canadian” and switch their buying habits away from anything American-made. But how do you actually go about doing that? And should it extend into our digital and media habits too?

Vass Bednar, executive director of McMaster University's Master of Public Policy and Digital Society program and author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians, joins us to wade through the murky waters of navigating a trade war in a country that’s so intertwined with its neighbour to the south.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

 Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau promised U.S. President Donald Trump a crackdown on fentanyl and tougher border measures in exchange for a pause on tariffs. 

But what could that fentanyl crackdown actually look like — and will it make things better, or worse? And as the cultural and political backlash against harm reduction increases in Canada, how could this factor into an upcoming election?

Today, we’re joined by Manisha Krishnan, an Emmy award-winning journalist covering North American drug policy, for a look at what this crackdown could mean for Canada.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

In the latest whiplash from the White House, U.S. President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he would announce 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported to the U.S. – including from Canada – on Monday.

This, of course, comes a week after he decided to give Canada a 30-day reprieve from blanket and crippling tariffs on all exports to the U.S.

This is an incredibly tense and chilling time for two countries that have been allies and trade partners for a long time. But the current fear and anger over the tariffs, and annexation talk aren’t new.

Asa McKercher has been studying the Canada-U.S. relationship for years. He is the Hudson Chair in Canada-U.S. relations at the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, and teaches at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The Super Bowl is North America's biggest sports event, and sports betting's biggest weekend. U.S. legal sportsbooks are expected to generate over a billion dollars in bets as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Sports betting has exploded in the seven years since it was effectively legalized. Now, the industry has taken over, inundating fans with advertisements and partnering with star athletes, sports media companies and the leagues themselves.

On today's show, we speak with Danny Funt, a Washington Post contributor and the author of Everybody Loses, to chart the real winners and losers in the rise of sports betting.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Elon Musk, head of the so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ has gained access to the U.S. government’s federal payment system — the system responsible for the flow of over $6-trillion in payments to American families and businesses each year. 

This is a level of access into government apparatus that is unprecedented for a private citizen. Musk has used this power to declare war on, and interfere with, state agencies and organizations across the federal government. This includes USAID, the Department of Education, the Office of Personnel Management, and the General Services Administration, among others. 

What are the implications of giving the richest man in the world — unelected by the public, unappointed by the President and the Senate, and unanswerable to Congress — this kind of authority and access to government? 

Waleed Shahid is a democratic strategist and former senior advisor and staffer for the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, and he joins the show to discuss Musk’s power grab, and whether it can be fairly characterized as a ‘coup.’

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Many Canadians breathed a sigh of relief on Monday, after Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump agreed to pause tariffs for at least 30 days. But how permanent is this solution? And with the clock ticking on the Liberal leadership race, a prorogued parliament, and a looming federal election, will Canada’s domestic political chaos hamper our ability to respond if the fragile tariff peace doesn’t hold?

Today Rosemary Barton, CBC’s Chief Political Correspondent, joins us to break down the government’s response so far, and the rocky road ahead.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Monday, after a long phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump put a pause on the tariffs that were supposed to come into effect the next day.

The tariffs, 25 per cent on Canadian goods, and 10 per cent on Canadian energy products, have been delayed for at least 30 days. In return, Canada is implementing a billion dollar border plan, including 10,000 frontline personnel, and committing to appointing a fentanyl czar.

Despite the reprieve, Trump has said little about what it would take to avoid the tariffs for good.

CBC Washington correspondent Alex Panetta talks to guest host Jonathan Montpetit about why Trump keeps coming back to tariffs, and what his endgame might be with them.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government would hit back against the U.S. after President Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada.

Starting Tuesday, the U.S. is imposing 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods and 10 per cent on energy products in particular. In response, Trudeau said that the federal government would levy retaliatory 25 per cent tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods.

CBC senior business reporter Peter Armstrong on the consequences of a Canada-U.S. trade war, and what these tariffs might mean for the average Canadian.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts