This week, First Nations, Métis and Inuit delegations from Canada travelled to the Vatican to share stories of the impact of church-run residential schools on their communities with Pope Francis and to call for an official apology from the very top of the Catholic Church for abuses committed at the schools, up to 70 per cent of which were run by the church. They got one. Pope Francis apologized on Friday for the conduct of some members of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada's residential school system. "It's chilling to think of determined efforts to instill a sense of inferiority, to rob people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots," he said. "This is something that unfortunately, and at various levels, still happens today — that is, ideological colonization. "All this has made me feel two things very strongly — indignation and shame." Journalist Brandi Morin joins us from Rome after listening closely this week to Indigenous leaders, youth and religious figures. She explains what delegates hope these meetings will lead to — and why they are only the start of reconciliation with the church.

After years of delays, Canada is upgrading its air force and replacing its fleet of aging CF-18 fighters with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II — a jet the Liberals once vowed they would never buy. The stealth fighter jet has long been touted as the future of aerial warfare, but the debate over buying a fleet has dragged on for more than a decade, starting under the Harper government. On the campaign trail in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the F-35 would be a "nightmare" for Canadian taxpayers. Today on Front Burner, we talk to Ottawa Citizen's Defence Reporter David Pugliese about why, after disavowing the F-35 fighter jet, the Liberals have decided to launch negotiations to buy 88 of them at an expected cost of $19-billion.

Randy Hillier, a longtime member of Ontario’s legislature, is facing nine charges related to his participation in the Ottawa trucker convoy — and they could lead to jail time. Hillier’s protests against public health restrictions and spreading of misinformation about vaccines have also gotten him banned from Twitter and barred from speaking in the legislature. Today, we speak to CBC reporter Mike Crawley about how the long-standing Ontario politician became a high-profile voice in Canada’s anti-vaccine movement, and the trouble he finds himself in now.

Medical workers from across Canada have volunteered and even paid their own way to provide aid to refugees at the Ukrainian border, taking a mission with disaster relief group Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT). The journey to set up a field clinic, however, has met unexpected obstacles from thieves, “disaster tourists” and organizational turf wars. Freelance journalist and former CBC reporter Margo McDiarmid spent five days with the team from CMAT as they persevered to deliver aid and grappled with the decision to enter a country at war. Today, she brings us the stories of the CMAT volunteers and refugees entering Poland.

A nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought,” warned NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last Wednesday. It’s a prospect that many in Canada haven’t had to consider since the end of the Cold War, but experts say the risk hasn't disappeared. A few weeks ago, Front Burner did an episode about no-fly zones, and how some experts argue that the U.S. shouldn’t enforce one in Ukraine because it could lead to an escalation that could put Russia and the United States, two nuclear powers, in direct conflict. Today, guest host Jason D’Souza speaks with nuclear weapons expert Tom Collina about the state of these major powers’ nuclear arsenals and the destruction they could cause. Collina, the director of policy at the Ploughshares Fund, says nuclear weapons are enabling Russia to “take Ukraine hostage and keep other nations out.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has delivered unprecedented success for his team, London's Chelsea Football Club, in the English Premier League. But with sanctions tightening around Abramovich, who is on the list of those deemed to be enabling Russian President Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine, the team's finances and ethics are under the microscope. And that scrutiny levelled at Abramovich has expanded to other Premier League clubs that are owned by countries with questionable human rights records, leaving fans and its millions of viewers around the world asking what team they're really supporting. Does the blinding gleam of trophies cover up bigger, darker and more complicated questions about ethical ownership in sports? This week, Nothing is Foreign looks into how oligarchs and countries have used "sportswashing" to launder their reputations, the tentacles that extend from England into Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and beyond, and the reckoning underway at the highest levels of sports and business. Note, this episode contains explicit language. Featuring: Mayowa Quadri, editorial officer at Versus and Chelsea FC supporter. Ben Jacobs, sports journalist and producer, CBS Sports.

Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered child protective services to investigate parents of transgender youth seeking gender-affirming care. Even going so far as to say that this care should be categorized as “child abuse.” Abbot’s directive, although not actually law, was an alarming consequence of a rise of anti-trans bills being proposed at the state level across the U.S. In Alabama, lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a doctor to provide gender-affirming care to minors. Today on Front Burner, Gillian Branstetter gets into the importance of gender-affirming care, and the impact of blocking trans youth from safely accessing it. We also explore the forces behind this Republican-led movement, and the kind of effort an opposition needs to mount to counter it.

For more than a month, one of the biggest women’s basketball stars in the world has been detained in Russia. Russian officials are alleging that Brittney Griner, a centre for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, brought cannabis oil into the country. Much remains unknown about Griner’s case — including whether there’s any evidence to those charges. But with Russia continuing its war in Ukraine, the timing could hardly be worse. Today, ESPN investigative reporter T.J. Quinn joins us to talk about Griner’s detention, why so many WNBA stars go to Russia and the heated debate over whether talking more about Griner’s case would harm her — or help bring her home.

According to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an unstable world demands a stable Canadian Parliament. Trudeau pointed to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and financial and trade woes yesterday, before announcing a “confidence-and-supply” deal between the Liberals and NDP. Essentially, in exchange for moving forward on NDP policy priorities, the NDP will back the Trudeau government in votes that could defeat it until June of 2025. But the opposition Conservatives are already decrying the deal as a “power grab.” NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says the deal will end if the Liberals don’t hold up their end of the bargain. Questions remain about whether the agreement can create any kind of lasting stability, and whether it safeguards — or jeopardizes — the parties’ future influence. Today, a look at how this deal changes Canada’s political landscape with the reporter who broke the story, Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos

It’s been almost a month since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The UN Human Rights Office says at least 902 civilians have been killed between Feb. 24 and March 19, but warns that the real death toll is actually considerably higher as it has not yet verified numbers from several badly hit cities, including the besieged Mariupol. Still, as the war rages on, the capital Kyiv and much of the rest of the country remains in Ukrainian control. Today, the Wall Street Journal’s European security correspondent James Marson explains the state of Russia’s war in Ukraine now, where Russian forces have advanced, and the strength of the Ukrainian resistance.