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

Skyrocketing housing costs, decaying infrastructure, anxiety over public safety and budgets stretched thin. On June 26, Canada’s biggest city goes to the polls to decide who will lead Toronto’s approximately two-and-half-million residents amidst all these issues and more. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts A lot of the problems that the Toronto mayoral candidates are going to have to confront are felt in cities across the country. Today on Front Burner, CBC Toronto municipal affairs reporter, Shawn Jeffords, discusses the problems Toronto’s facing and how the big names in the mayoral race are saying they’ll tackle them.

Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard officials are undertaking a desperate search in a vast swath of the North Atlantic, after five men in a small sub embarked on a risky dive to the wreck of the Titanic, 3,800 metres below the surface. Passengers each paid $250,000 for a spot in the cramped submersible, which has no chairs, one small portal, a consumer-grade gaming controller to operate the vessel, and a limited amount of oxygen to sustain life. On this episode, Timothy Bella, a national reporter with the Washington Post, shares the latest details of the search, the expedition that’s gone awry, and the company offering the pricey opportunity for tourists to see the Titanic for themselves, OceanGate. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

In recent years, Pride Month has seen a flood of corporations using rainbow logos and products to show LGBTQ support. Whether the brands are being helpful or opportunistic has been cause for debate. But this year, amidst a wave of hate against queer and trans people, boycotts and threats are leading some brands to walk back their Pride marketing and merch. Today, Xtra Magazine senior editor Mel Woods discusses whether corporate support for Pride matters, and what brands giving in to homophobic demands could signal about rising hatred. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

To the frustration and hurt of the families of Paul Bernardo’s victims, the notorious rapist and murderer has been moved from a maximum security prison to a medium security one. Conservatives are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene and move Bernardo back to a maximum security facility. They also want Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino to resign over how his office handled information about the transfer. Ashley Burke is a senior reporter at the CBC’s Parliamentary Bureau. She’s been looking into how the Liberals handled Bernardo’s move and the controversy that has followed. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

There’s a growing sense that the internet – or at least the big sites we use all the time like Amazon, Facebook and Google – is becoming worse. Instead of seeing what’s best for us at the top of our searches, we’re seeing more and more of what makes the tech giant the most money pop to the top. Cory Doctorow calls it ‘Enshittification.’ He explains how it works. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts