Front Burner

Two months ago, Jerry Martin opened up a shop in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside selling a clean supply of drugs like cocaine and heroin. His store was shut down by B.C. police less than 24 hours later.

Last Friday, Martin himself died from a suspected fentanyl overdose.

For the last several months, safe supply has been the subject of fiery debate in the House of Commons. Conservatives like Pierre Poilievre say that safe supply policies lead to an increase in drug-related deaths. But many experts and B.C. officials disagree.

Today on Front Burner, VICE News reporter Manisha Krishnan discusses the life and legacy of Jerry Martin, as well as the current state of safe supply policies in Canada.

Two months ago, Jerry Martin opened up a shop in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside selling a clean supply of drugs like cocaine and heroin. His store was shut down by B.C. police less than 24 hours later.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

After Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group’s rebellious march towards Moscow was cut short over a week ago, questions have been swirling about how it could happen and what it reveals about Russia’s stability right now.

The Kremlin and Vladimir Putin have been working in overdrive to project an image of calm and control. But behind the scenes, a top general is missing and the military is facing Ukraine’s counteroffensive without Wagner’s crucial support.

Is Putin losing his grip on power? Could what happened with The Wagner Group and its leader Prigozhin end up costing Russia the war? The Financial Times’ Polina Ivanova joins us to discuss the aftermath of the mutiny and what could happen next.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

It's a Canadian media power play unlike any other: Alphabet and Meta are fighting back against the Canadian government's Bill C-18. And caught in the middle is the news media. 

The Online News Act – was supposed to make tech giants pay for posting news stories to their platforms. 

Now Google and Meta say they aren't going to pay. Instead — they'll remove Canadian news from their sites and apps. It's a move that will make it more difficult for Canadians to access news. And may very well plummet news companies further into the red.

This all comes as news companies are cutting back, looking at mergers, trying to get out of obligations of providing local news to Canadians. Chris Waddell joins Tamara Khandaker to sort through this. He's a former professor at  the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University. He's also the publisher at J-Source, a website dedicated to the Canadian media industry.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

As Canada’s top consumer watchdog, CBC Marketplace looks out for your health, your safety and your money. Hosts Asha Tomlinson and David Common bring you inside eight action-packed investigations, uncovering the truth about popular products and services — and pushing hard for accountability. CBC Marketplace has your back. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/PQR2eJr0

There’s been a lot of buzz about the latest show to fill HBO’s prestigious Sunday night slot, The Idol.

Co-created by a team including Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and Canadian pop-icon the Weeknd, the series follows a pop star played by Lily Rose Depp who’s working on her comeback after a mental health crisis.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

But what was initially sold as a sexy satire of the music industry’s dark underbelly has been panned by critics and mocked on the internet.

Today, Vox senior correspondent Alex Abad-Santos and Lucy Ford, a culture writer with British GQ, take us through the series so far and why it’s garnering attention for all the wrong reasons.

This month, New Brunswick’s Department of Education announced changes to a policy meant to protect LGBTQ students. As of Saturday, the minister responsible says staff can’t call kids under 16 by their preferred pronouns or names unless they have parental permission, though the actual text of the changes differs.

Premier Blaine Higgs has added to the controversy with misleading comments about coming out as transgender being “trendy” and the risks of gender-affirming care. For these changes and a number of Higgs’ past moves, two of his cabinet ministers have resigned, and more than half the party’s riding presidents have signed letters that could trigger a vote on his leadership.

Today on Front Burner, CBC New Brunswick reporter Hadeel Ibrahim and provincial affairs reporter Jacques Poitras explain the upheaval amoung LGBTQ advocates and Higgs’ own MLAs, and the fears for backsliding of rights beyond the province.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

When Matthew Michel was 14, he was subject to a device called the Wrap for the first time, while in youth detention in Saskatchewan.

It’s essentially a series of straps that bound his torso, legs and ankles. A shoulder harness would keep his body in a forward-sitting position, with his hands cuffed behind his back and clipped in. According to provincial records, Michel was in the Wrap 12 times.

CBC investigative journalist Joseph Loiero talks about Michel’s story, wider concerns about the Wrap itself, and what its use might say about Canada’s youth detention system.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Gurduwara leader and Khalistani separatist advocate, was gunned down in his car just outside his temple last week after evening prayers.

Now, as investigators search for two suspects and a possible motive, some in the Sikh community are saying they think the Indian government could have been behind it. The killing comes after similar murders of Sikh leaders over the past year in Canada and abroad.

Independent journalist Gurpreet Singh joins us to talk about who Nijjar was, why he was afraid for his life and how this incident could impact the separatist movement and the greater Sikh community.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

After the Wagner Group’s leader made threats against Russian military leadership on Friday, Wagner mercenaries came over the border from Ukraine, captured a military headquarters, and marched toward the capital.

The world discussed whether a coup was unfolding. But after just 36 hours of rebellion, Belarus announced it had brokered a deal for the Wagner Group to turn around, and for its leader to leave the country unscathed.

It was a confusing end to a chaotic insurgency. Today, Washington Post reporter Mary Ilyushina returns to discuss why the Wagner Group stopped, why President Vladimir Putin was so soft on a “mutiny,” and what this could mean for the future of the Kremlin and the conflict in Ukraine.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

From the host that brought you The Band Played On, The Banned Teacher is a new investigation, in a different city. He says it was consensual sex. She says it was rape. He was her music teacher. She was a teen. And it wasn't just once, with one girl. He had sex with students in closets, classrooms, and cars. The Banned Teacher begins with one victim's search for justice but turns into a full investigation by host Julie Ireton. Warning: This series contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/2atEYzri