On Thursday, Justin Trudeau kicked off Canada's 43rd parliamentary session with his government's speech from the throne, delivered by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette. Today, on Front Burner, Vassy Kapelos, host of CBC's Power & Politics, joins Jayme Poisson to discuss the speech, how it was received by the other party leaders and how likely the prime minister will be able to fulfil his promises considering his government's minority status.

Throne speech signals priorities, problems for minority government

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Lubna Al Rayyes, was in the third trimester of a high risk pregnancy when the war in Gaza started. She was frightened of what that meant for her and her baby. How do you plan for your delivery, when you’re living with airstrikes and having to uproot your life?  
 That’s when she connected with reporter Gabrielle Berbey, who documented Lubna’s journey…from attempting to get medical care in a warzone, to trying to make her way to Canada, where she has family. Gabrielle’s reporting is featured in the most recent episode of the critically-acclaimed podcast Reveal, from the Centre of Investigative Reporting.

A pregnant woman’s perilous journey out of Gaza

If you're pregnant but not sure who the father of your baby is, you might turn to a DNA testing company for a prenatal paternity test for some certainty — a company like Viaguard Accu-Metrics, based in the Toronto area. But for years, Viaguard was selling tests that sometimes identified the wrong fathers — and the company's owner knew. 
 CBC investigative reporter Jorge Barrera walks us through his team's investigation into the company, and some of the expectant parents whose lives were upended by incorrect paternity test results.

Were years of Canadian paternity tests just guesswork?

Today, the government unveiled their federal budget. And they are spending big on housing. 
 They pledged billions of dollars for low-cost loans to increase rental construction, 30-year mortgages for first-time home buyers, and programs to spur non-profit housing. 
 All in all, they’re promising to build 3.87 million homes by 2031. 
 But will it fix the affordability crisis? We ask Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser.

The Liberals' plan to fix the housing crisis

On Saturday night, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack into Israel, firing off some 300 drones and missiles. While Israel says it intercepted some 99 per cent of them, shrapnel from one drone hit a seven-year-old girl, who as of this writing is in critical condition.  
 Iran’s attack follows a major escalation by Israel earlier this month, when a strike at Iran’s consulate in Syria killed 16 people, including a top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 
 Today, the Guardian’s Julian Borger joins us to explain how these latest events have ratcheted up a long-simmering shadow war between the two powers — and the risk that they could bring the region into a much broader, and even more dangerous, conflict.

Israeli-Iranian shadow war breaks into the open

Politicians, staffers and intelligence officials have been testifying in Ottawa over the last several weeks in a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021. While many details remain classified, it appears from the testimony that China, India and even Pakistan made attempts. But did those attempts have meaningful impacts? 
 CBC senior parliamentary reporter Janyce McGregor explains what the inquiry has shown about Canada's ability to recognize and repel foreign interference in its elections — and what that could mean for the next one. 
 For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts  
 Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Throne speech signals priorities, problems for minority government

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