Front Burner - The year in news — live!

Episode Date: December 24, 2019

This December, Front Burner hosted a live show at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. In this first part, host Jayme Poisson was joined by CBC personalities Peter Armstrong, Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about the biggest news stories of the year.

This is a CBC Podcast. Hello, I'm Jamie Poisson. So earlier this month we had our first ever live show. It was for Sounds of the Season, a fundraiser here at the CBC in Toronto for the city's food banks. Hundreds of people came down to hear some friends of the Season, a fundraiser here at the CBC in Toronto for the city's food banks. Hundreds of people came down to hear some friends of the pod and I talk about the biggest Canadian news stories of the year. If you were able to make it, thank you so much for coming out. We had the co-host of CBC podcast Party Lines, Elamin Abdel-Mahmoud. Pia Chattopadhyay was there. She hosts Out in the Open on CBC Radio. And, of course, CBC senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong also joined us.

Today on FrontBurner, we bring you an edited version of that live show. I hope you like it. Okay, so, can you guys believe that 2019 is almost over? Nope. Goodness. No. It just felt like a flea buy. Did it?

I don't know. Every day felt like several years, so I don't know what you're talking about. Particularly in the United States. Yes, it did. I feel like this year, like every year is great and every year is not great for everyone, right? right and every year is not great for everyone right but i feel this year for myself and a lot of people i know that we're just really looking forward to turning the page why why do you think i don't know you know i feel like some years there's just like a collective sort of like let's turn that page i feel like this is one of those years new decade yeah yeah i'm actually

really excited about the new decade new decade if because I think Pete is quite right, to put your back to this year. This year has been exhausting. This year has been the kind of year that just wears you down. He's talking about living with me. Yes, as a matter of fact. The kind of year that just wears you down. It's been the kind of year that just wears you down. And I'm kind of keen to put my back to it.

Okay, well, before we move on, let's look backwards, right? And talk about some of those stories that have worn us down. I think that we should probably start with one of the biggest Canadian news stories of the year, the federal election. And here in Canada, of course, we had a federal election, and there were a bunch of controversies leading up to it. Let's have a listen. of controversies leading up to it. Let's have a listen. I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion. Darkening your face regardless of the context or the circumstances is always unacceptable. Well I've always been very

clear nothing has changed. Conservative government will not reopen these divisive social issues. I have heard you, my friends, and we will keep investing in Canadians. Okay, so of course, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won enough seats to form a minority government with the Conservatives acting as the official opposition. Pia, was there a moment that defined this election and this campaign for you? Yeah, I don't want to steal Elamin's thunder, so which one of us is going to talk about blackface? Do you want to or do you

want me to? No, it's all you. Okay. I don't say that only because you're a person of colour, it's also because you've talked a lot about this. So for me, yeah, I think for a lot of us, there was a lot to all of that. I guess the shock for most Canadians, no matter what your partisan stripes are. I like to kind of always say that there are gifts in all kinds of things, even the bad stuff. So, you know, one of the gifts arguably is that we talked about our country, the good, bad and the ugly. I would argue that maybe we talked about the real issues for about a hot second. Yeah. And I think it deserves more. But I think we live in a wonderful,

wonderful country with wonderful, wonderful humans, and we can do better. Elamin, can you chime in there? Do you think this idea that we talked about the real issues for a hot second, did that disappoint you? Did you think that people might have spent a little bit longer talking about them? You know, I keep rewinding to the moment right after the photo, the first blackface photo kind of came out. And Andrew Scheer was standing in front of an airplane and he was so angry, you know, he was so angry on behalf of Canadians. And I thought maybe this is the time for us to have a national conversation about race. And then we went on to have a very intelligent conversation about race. No, wait a minute. No, we did not.

None of that happened. It didn't really come to pass. We sort of began this conversation, and then I think by the next weekend, it was like, well, what else is there to talk about? Because people seemed kind of eager to move on from that story. Right. You know, another big story, Peter, that came out of the election was the Liberals being shut out of Alberta and Saskatchewan, regional divisions, even in Quebec, the surge of the bloc.

And so what has stuck with you about that conversation? What are you thinking about, you know, in the aftermath? We see this more divided country now. Well, right. And I began my career reporting and writing in Quebec. I went to school in Quebec City. I started as a journalist in Quebec City in, like, 97, so right after the referendum there.

So I'm so familiar with these themes and ideas and language that's coming out of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and frankly, it scares the whatever out of me because I've seen where that goes. I've seen what that does not just to a country and to a people but to a society and to an economy i mean look at the economy of quebec and of quebec city and of montreal that got hollowed out at the at the the sort of peak moments of that debate over nationhood and over identity and over anger about their role in confederation

and and where did it get them like where what what was the end result it wasn't i don't think what any of the nationalists wanted and it wasn't what any of the federalists wanted it it never really found a common ground and i really worry about saskatchewan and alberta using that same kind of language and that same kind of thinking. Pia, let's get you in here because you're from Saskatchewan. Yeah, so look, I promised I'd air some of our marital dirty laundry. Here's the first tidbit.

When Peter and I first started dating centuries ago, decades ago, whenever it was, one of the first big fights we had, he's from Oakville, Ontario, I'm born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, my folks still live there, was about Western alienation. Like, that'll tell you something about who we are. That was our first

big fight. And I remember it clearly, because it was just such a thing that I felt so that I understood being from there. And he understood, but in a different way. And when I was home earlier this year, I think it was June or July, I was surprised once again, not only amongst my friends who come from all different kinds of partisan stripes and aren't all political, just regular people, and just kind of in the wider people I'd run into at the coffee shop, because it's a friendly city, Saskatoon,

people just kind of saying that, right? Saying how they're feeling, whatever the words are, left out, alienated, separate. And I put it on Twitter and I got yelled at by millions of people from central Canada who said, it's not true. You're playing into this politics and this partisanship. And my only point is I'm not trying to score political points for anyone. All I was saying is I went home and I heard people talking about how they feel. I'm not using it in a political way, but alienated and left out. And I think it's always legitimate to look at how someone's feeling.

Okay, great. I was just in Calgary myself and, you know, there was a great crowd. We were talking with like a lot of people in Calgary, a lot of young people. And there was a sentiment that came up over and over again that they feel like there is a sense, particularly in the media too, that Toronto is the center of the universe. And I think that that's something for us to remember in the coming year that this is a very big country. There's lots of different views right across it.

Elmi? I will say that my big takeaway from the election is that we just have broader sort of literacy in one another's languages here in this country. Sort of problems like when the Quebec secularism bill was kind of passing through, a lot of people in Ontario didn't really understand where that was coming from. I think a lot of people in the prairies might not understand the sort of environmental focus that is happening in BC. So we just, we don't understand each other. Like in this country, there's a lot of sort of regional fragmentation.

And so there's not a lot of sort of national literacy. And that's something that this election, like the map of the election kind of showed physically. And that's our job, right? In the media. So yes, people in this room and the people who are listening to this podcast hold us accountable. But that's a part of our job too, right? Understanding this country,

reflecting it, teasing out the difficult issues, all those things. I think that's a good New Year's resolution, which I think for our podcast in particular we're going to take very seriously. I think, let's talk about something that brought the country together. And I think you know what I'm going to say.

The Raptors. Yeah. Yeah. We are world champions now, guys. Let's give it up. Okay, so this was the greatest night of my year, I will say. I was out on the streets of Toronto. I saw a Toronto that was incredibly multicultural

and just so jazzed to be there. I had so much fun. Pia, what was that like for you? I know you're a big fan. June 13th was the greatest day of this year, of 2019, for the country. That was Game 7 of the championship. And just kind of reflecting back, June 13th, did I say the wrong date wrong? No, Game six.

Game six. Pardon me. Thank you, Peter. That was pretty good. I did not catch that. I was like, yeah, game seven. Thank you for correcting me, Peter. I'm kidding.

Look, I think the last thing we were just talking about, this is what we need to remind ourselves. That moment. That moment where no matter who you were, where you lived, what your economic status was, what your look, you know, all of those things.

We just loved it. We felt good. We loved our country. And we always do, but we showed it and we showed it to the world. And we hugged each other. We went and sat at bars

and hugged strangers and said hi. And all those kind of, you know, Canadianisms that we say we do all the time, but we really don't. Like, we're so friendly stuff, and sometimes we're not as friendly as we think we are. So, yeah. That's the moment. What was it like, you know, experiencing that with your kids? Peter and Pia have three kids. And my dad's in the audience today.

And I watched the Blue Jays win the World Series with him, like, way back that that's a moment that sort of etched in my mind well I mean I watched it at home with and let the kids stay up uh and like I clearly remember lying on the floor of our living room with my head in my hands for that last sequence like you're that stressed out was because remember it was like we were we were up two or three and Clay had possession. And then there was that whole weird thing with Kawhi swatted the ball away. And through all of that, it was just like, it's not going to happen. We're going to Raptor it. And then we won it.

And it was this glorious moment. And Pia was out at our local with a bunch of our friends and came home and said, just take Jasmine, our nine-year-old. And it's like 12.30 at night. She's like, go drive around. It's crazy out there. So we hopped in the car and we drove up and down our local strip and parked and stood out in front of our bar with all our buddies.

And it's a moment, like you say, that you remember with the Js. She'll remember for the rest of her life that night that her dad took her out and everybody was out driving around and honking and hugging and partying in the streets at like one in the morning and and i that that means a ton to me that she had that experience with us and and that was able to share in kind of the lunacy of how amazing that moment was i mean what what uh what was your big takeaway from the Raptors win? Well, so actually, I remember the parade really well. We are so good at throwing parades here.

We really, really are. The parade was such a beautiful experience. And I remember you could barely move an inch in the parade. Yeah, smelled like marijuana. And so everywhere, in every corner. And so the corner where I was trapped, which was not that far from here um there was there was a there was a bunch of school kids maybe like five or six of them who were all maybe in grade five or six and and they they got separated from their teacher and I remember everyone in my segment just being like okay we are here to celebrate but let's pause

for a moment let's like figure out how to get these kids back to their teacher they ended up like one person ended up standing on a very tall box to like call the school and then they called the teacher then the teacher came and got got the kids and then everyone went back to celebrating it was just like a beautiful everyone taking care of each other kind of moment right right yeah that was lovely a reminder of what a great country we are. In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization.

Empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. Okay, so, you know, we're kind of zooming through these big stories, but, you know, I want to hear from each of you one big story this year that you think didn't get enough attention, Peter. So, your producers told me you're going to ask this, and I looked through it, and I tried to think, what is it? And I thought, like, the opioid crisis never gets enough coverage, and we should do more on that, and all of these various stories. And actually, the thing that I landed on that I think doesn't get enough coverage is a lot of good news happened this year a lot of really good things happen we are a healthier society we are we're doing like as a as a globe we've dragged children out of poverty we we're doing great things we've made amazing breakthroughs on on technological advances and health advances and and we lose sight of that in all of this disaster of politics and impeachment and blackface and just the the awfulness of it uh that i thought that

was what we missed perfect pia so now i'm gonna be a downer good i set that up for me uh it was really uh the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls report. And I think it got, I'm going to use a hot second again, got coverage for about three days focusing on the word genocide. Was it a genocide? Is it a genocide? Was it not a genocide? Is it not a genocide? Which is important to discuss and debate. But really, we're talking about thousands of Canadians who have disappeared or have been killed,

and there were recommendations. I know it's radio, but show of hands, and I'm not trying to call anyone out here, who in this audience has actually read the report? There's probably, I don't know, 150 people here? Okay, and I see like three hands. So I know this is very anecdotal, but if that's emblematic of this

country and who's paid attention to it, I think it's really vital. You know, we spent a lot of money also. I'm not trying to implore people to do it because of that. I think it's a very big issue. But again, kind of thematically going back to all the things we've been talking about during

this taping, it is us. We better read that thing or at least follow through and hold people's feet to the fire who are accountable to do things. We owe it to one another. Right. I mean, I agree. I found it a bit frustrating that there was a debate over whether or not that word should have been used when really, like the report itself, there was so much in there about the systemic issues that got us to this point. Elamin, one of the biggest stories this year that you don't think got enough coverage?

I was born in Sudan. I moved here when I was 12. And this year, Sudan toppled a dictator. Omar Bashir has been in power since I was literally one. So I've never known Sudan without Bashir. And just the idea that this man is no longer in power there has gotten very little play. But for me, it's a story that I've been following so closely. there just like has gotten very little play but for me like it's a story that i've been following so closely last week there was this new development where um this law that has been in place since i was three years old uh where this moral police would walk around and sort of police the way that

women were dressed or police like the way that people were behaving in public um they got disbanded uh it's like a societal change that is happening in kind of an instant. And it's just like, it's a very difficult story to not sort of see in the news every day, because I'm like hungry for as much content about it as possible. But I guess if you were to zoom out of that, just like the idea of people banding together in collective action this year has really been like that's been the story. Before we end this segment of the show, one news story that brought to you an enormous amount of joy this year, Peter. So I talked about that where I was lying on the living room, holding my head in my hands, waiting for the Raptors to finally win the title. The other time that happened this year, and again, I watched with our kids,

was when Bianca Andreescu won the US Open. And it was just incredible to watch. But it's also just one moment of an absolutely spectacular year for Canadian tennis. The guys just at the Davis Cup went to the finals and did incredibly well. Dennis and Felix and Vasek Pospisil. I was at the U.S. Open. I saw Bianca play in her first round match on this tiny little outer court. I was in the front row of three rows of bleachers the last time she's

going to play in one of those in a really long time. And, and just the rise of what Tennis Canada has done and what they've developed here is nothing short of remarkable. And that crowning achievement of her winning the US Open. I mean, it was just, it was insane to watch and it was such a crowning achievement

of an absolutely spectacular year. I'm a big tennis fan. I love playing tennis, and I play here, and so to watch all that happen was really... I'm also such a huge Bianca fan. This young woman has swagger for days. I like her so much. Elamin, a story that brought you joy?

I will also pick a sports story, but not Bianca or the Raptors. I'm a lifelong Liverpool fan, also a lifelong suffering Liverpool fan. Liverpool Soccer Club, thank you. I did not know that about you. You'll never walk away. And this year we... One person has put up their hand.

Yeah, me. Yes, I see you. There's a lot of loss there, so they can really ball over it. Years, and they've never won the Premier League in my lifetime. However, this year they won the European Championship, and it just felt like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I was here. Like, I didn't play, right? But it just felt like a very personal sort of win for me.

And so I've been coasting. Like, nothing bad can happen this year because of that. So that's your shared moment that your team. That's great. I shared it with many Liverpool fans. And Elamin and this person in the audience are going to go up to the pub after this, I think. Today, we're going to do it. And okay, final, final, final of this segment. Wait, don't I get to do my moment?

What has brought you joy? Because I know it's coming and it's fabulous. Her name is Lizzo okay this is really interesting because some people the audience like what the heck is she talking about Lizzo is an American singer and she has brought joy so she sort of like was propelled on the music scene this year in popular music. Good as hell. Toss my hair back. Check my nails. You guys want?

Baby, how you feeling? Feeling good as hell? Eight diamond nominations. Anyway, Lizzo is joyous in every which way. Please go watch her perform on NPR's Tiny Desk concert, even if you don't like her music

This woman will just bring you joy Lizzo is 2019 We've got some of this queued up Oh, here we go So let's take a listen See? It's very happy So much fun

Of course, always I put this on every time I'm having a bad day Just like walking to the subway Living my best life. Go dancing, baby. Yeah. Okay. Well, I think that is the perfect place for us

to end this first half of our show. I'm Jamie Poisson, you're listening to a special holiday edition of Front Burner featuring Peter Armstrong, Elamin Abdel-Mamoud, and Pia Chattopadhyay. Thank, I'm gold. I was born like this, don't even gotta try. You heard me mention that that was just the first half of the show. Coming up on Thursday, you'll hear part two, featuring the first annual FrontBurner News Quiz.

You don't want to miss this. In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all, and see you on Thursday. and see you on Thursday.