Today on Front Burner, the first installment of a two part series exploring the growing political anger in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Part one: deja vu. Jayme Poisson and political science professor Loleen Berdahl guide you through the history of western alienation. They explore how Trudeau senior, set the stage for the deep schisms Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is dealing with today.

Western Alienation, Part One: Now and Then

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Whether it’s a complex network of fake online designer shops set up to get your credit card details, a scammer impersonating your bank’s fraud department to get more personal information, or a simple “How are you today?” text that might lead to asking you to invest in a crypto scheme…scams are on the rise. And they are getting more sophisticated. 
 Today on the show, David Reevely, who covers cybersecurity for The Logic, on the evolution of scamming and what you can do to guard against it. 
 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.

Think you’re too smart to be scammed? Think again.

On Friday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre published an op-ed criticizing Canadian businesses’ use of lobbyists. He’s also called out the Liberals for high-priced fundraisers and "undue handouts” to the business lobby. 
 But since Poilievre became leader, dozens of federal lobbyists have also paid to attend the roughly 50 private fundraising events he’s spoken at. 
 So despite all the critiques of big money and lobbying in politics, why do they still seem to be everywhere? How has lobbying shifted power in our democracy? And if parties are concerned, why haven’t any of them made bigger efforts to reform it?  
 Duff Conacher has been pushing for MPs to close lobbying loopholes for almost three decades. He’s a co-founder of Democracy Watch, a non-profit advocating for government accountability.  
 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.

Is lobbying corrupting Canadian governments?

In June of 2023, Sikh activist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down outside a gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., after evening prayers. Three men have now been arrested and charged with his murder, and all three are affiliated with a gang with ties to Punjab. But sources close to the investigation believe these men were just hired guns, acting on orders from the top levels of the Indian government's intelligence service. 
 CBC senior reporter Evan Dyer breaks down his exclusive reporting on this story and the increasingly blurring lines between organized crime and Indian foreign policy. 
 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.

Is India hiring gangs to kill political enemies in Canada?

Unless it was dismantled last night after we put this podcast to bed, the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University is now entering into its 11th day. It's just one of several across Canada, and one of many more across North America. 
 So last Tuesday, we headed to Montreal to check out the McGill encampment for ourselves.  
 We went to speak to students there about their central demand: divestment. We wanted to learn more about what it means, why the students are calling for it, and why the broader push that “divestment” is part of — the movement known as BDS — is so controversial. 
 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.

At the McGill encampment: Calls to divest from Israel

On May 1st, the people behind a subreddit called r/loblawsisoutofcontrol launched a nationwide boycott of Loblaw-owned stores for the month. 
 The very same day the boycott began, Loblaw Companies Limited released its first quarter earnings numbers. Its profits went up by almost 10%, and its revenue by over $13-billion. 
 Today on Front Burner, why did Loblaw become the primary target of Canadians’ grocery anger? Can something like a boycott or more competition really keep it in check? And should we think of Loblaw less like a retailer, and more like Amazon? 
 Vass Bednar is our guest. She's the executive director of McMaster University's Master of Public Policy and Digital Society program.

Western Alienation, Part One: Now and Then

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