This Matters

This is a rebroadcast from June 9, 2020. Desmond Cole, activist, journalist and author, offers his opinion in a conversation with Adrian Cheung, on the movement to defund policing and why he thinks the system of policing, as we understand it, should be abolished.

This is a rebroadcast from September 3, 2020. Brain computer technology is at a point where the potential medical implications are so exciting many players are pursuing different approaches to the field. The potential ethics of using this technology are sometimes best explained in science fiction like "Black Mirror" and "The Matrix." Neurotechnologist Graeme Moffat joins This Matters to discuss the latest in brain computer interface technology. He explains what's important about Elon Musk's recent Neuralink presentation where he revealed "Cyber Pigs."

This is a rebroadcast from July 13, 2020. Full transcription available here (thanks to Access Now for transcribing). A lot of us haven't thought about the fact that the way we're experiencing the world in the midst of a deadly virus, might actually just be every day in the life of a disabled person, even before a pandemic. Maayan Ziv, disability rights activist and the founder and CEO of AccessNow, a digital accessibility platform for the disabled, talks about the struggles and rights of Canada's disabled community – and what we need to do to make inclusive and safe spaces for everyone in our collective experience.

This episode is a rebroadcast from December 1. While Toronto transforms in the summer, it seems to go into hiding in the winter. But now with COVID considered, it may be wise to embrace the season as cities like Montreal, Quebec City and Winnipeg do. Can Toronto remake this city as a place that embraces winter (and finally shake that embarrassing incident about calling in the army to help clear the snow)? Columnist Shawn Micallef joins Adrian Cheung to talk about winterizing Toronto and how we can make the most of it in the long, cold months ahead.

Food writer and editor Suresh Doss specializes in highlighting the culinary gems in Toronto's strip malls and plazas. He joins the Star's food reporter Karon Liu on "This Matters" to talk about the particular challenges of food businesses in the suburbs, how younger generations are keeping their parents' businesses alive and, of course, where he's been getting takeout.

On this feel good episode of "This Matters," host Saba Eitizaz talks to Toronto Star digital producer Andy Macdonald, who started our very own good news section, about some news stories that got us to smile this year. There is no doubt we really needed them!

Is it time to reset our relationship with digital technology and social media? Tech expert and director of Citizen Lab, Ron Deibert explores that question in "Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society." Deibert talks to Adrian Cheung about the true cost of our reliance on technology, the social dilemma we find ourselves in and how we can reclaim power in a world that keeps moving online.

From houses, condos and commercial, to apartment rentals and affordable housing, 2020 was a wild ride for real estate when many markets in the GTA managed to defy the pandemic's ability to crush anything in its path. Tess Kalinowksi covers real estate for the Star and joins "This Matters" to discuss the real estate market and the year that was.

Four Indigenous skulls were gifted from one famous doctor to another almost 150 years ago. Could they still exist? From a letter found written by Dr. William Osler, two current day doctors picked up the thread and undertook an investigation that lasted over two years, crossed continents and brought a man to come out of retirement to pick up the case. David Bruser, investigations editor at The Star, joins "This Matters" to discuss the fascinating story.

We wouldn't have COVID-19 vaccines or know what we know about them without the people who went in blind — those who participated in the clinical trials to check for safety and efficacy. Ian Haydon from Seattle, WA, was one of the earliest volunteers for the Moderna vaccine. In today's episode, he shares with us what it was like to be a test subject and be part of shaping what we know about the much-anticipated vaccine.

A Star investigation has revealed the incredible toll on Amazon warehouse workers, based on internal company records. Worker injuries have spiked during COVID-19 with injury rates doubling in Toronto area sites since 2016. That is a significant rise. The injury rate is 15 per cent higher in Canada than in the U.S. The Star's work and wealth reporter Sara Mojtehedzadeh joins Saba Eitizaz to talk about the plight of low wage, temporary, warehouse workers whose rights have not been well protected even before a deadly global pandemic.

Facebook is facing an antitrust lawsuit brought forth by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 U.S. Attorney Generals accusing it of monopolistic behaviour. This may lead to unwinding its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, two other popular social networks. John Biggs, editor-of-chief of Gizmodo, joins "This Matters" to discuss whether or not this could be the beginning of regulation and consequences for big tech companies.

Ontario marked the first recipient of the Health Canada-approved Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, with at least 96,000 more to follow by year's end. Distribution will be the next challenge. Who gets the vaccine first? What "high priority" regions will be reached? What can we expect over the next 12 months? Toronto Star reporter Rob Ferguson joins "This Matters" to talk about the vaccine plans, the timeline on when you can expect to get vaccinated and why "immunity passports" are being considered.

Premier Doug Ford seemed to strike a different tone in the first half of the pandemic, but now some critics think he's back to business as usual. His recent move to grant degrees at controversial religious school and repeated use of a strong-arm development tactic has conservationists concerned. Martin Regg Cohn is the Star's Ontario Politics columnists and he joins "This Matters" to discuss the Ford Government's controversial moves.

Crime is like a virus in a pandemic. Just this week, news broke a hacker gained access to documents related to Pfizer and Biontech's vaccine and in another case, $11 million was stolen from pandemic relief funds in Ontario. The Star's Peter Edwards and Robert Benzie joins "This Matters" to discuss how organized crime is at play in these uncertain times and how the authorities are trying to track down Ontario's missing money.

Kaavan, once dubbed the world's loneliest elephant, captured worldwide attention last month when he was rescued from miserable conditions at a zoo in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad where he was held for 35 years and sent to an animal sanctuary in Cambodia. There was one key person behind the effort to move him: pop star Cher. Secunder Kermani reports on Pakistan for the BBC, and he joins Saba Eitizaz to tell the story of how it took several animal rights organizations, a court order and a pop star to win the freedom of one lonely elephant.

In the second wave of COVID-19, just as The Star reported in the first, Toronto Public Health data shows the inequality of the virus and who is impacted most. High positivity rates reveal racialized people and poor people — who often working essential but low-paying jobs — are more likely to be exposed to the virus and yet often have fewer options and resources. Toronto Star reporters Jennifer Yang and Kate Allen join "This Matters" to discuss how in pandemic times, all is not equal.

A vaccine has been a hope for many locked in, exhausted people grappling with the pandemic and today we learned an option for vaccination is a lot closer for Canadians than we thought. There has been a lot of buzz, curiosity and questions around vaccines, so we have asked one of Health Canada's top doctors to shed light. Dr. Supriya Sharma is chief medical advisor at Health Canada and she joins "This Matters" to talk about how COVID-19 vaccines are being assessed and what it will be like to take one.

Christopher Lau and his 10-year-old son join Raju Mudhar to discuss their father-son investigation into why the odds of getting prized Tim Hortons NHL cards did not appear to be in their favour. After getting ankle deep into the card collecting world, there appeared to be possible answers to why prized cards seemed to be missing, fuelled by high resale values and collectors who weigh the risks, and the cards. After being reached for comment, Tim Hortons provided "This Matters" the following response: "In response to feedback we received from our guests during past years of this program, we proactively updated security measures in place for our hockey card program, and developed clear training materials for restaurant owners and team members to ensure everyone can have equal odds of receiving any one of the cards in our Tim Hortons NHL Trading Card sets. Restaurant owners work hard to ensure these rules and security measures are being followed and to date in 2020, we have not directly received a complaint about this issue from any of our more than 4,000 locations across Canada. However, if any guests are concerned about sales of hockey cards at a restaurant, we ask them to visit https://www.timhortons.ca/contact-us and share details about their experience so we can investigate further."

"This Matters" heads back to the ER with Dr. David Carr, an emergency room physician in Toronto, to share the experiences of frontline health care workers, the health care lessons that have been learned, and what his best day of the pandemic means for everyone else.

Social media harassment is about more than words. It is violence and it is dangerous. We've witnessed a lot of ugliness during these polarizing and pandemic times, and a lot of it has been directed at women, particularly women of colour. As cyber misogyny has increased steadily, so have challenges to the notion that women's online harassment is a matter of specific and particular concern. But in fact, ramifications impact everyone and the facts are black and white. Women are harassed more than men and the violence carries discriminatory harm that becomes rooted in our history. Shree Paradkar, The Star's race and gender columnist, joins "This Matters" to discuss.

While Toronto transforms in the summer, it seems to go into hiding in the winter. But now with COVID considered, it may be wise to embrace the season as cities like Montreal, Quebec City and Winnipeg do. Can Toronto remake this city as a place that embraces winter (and finally shake that embarrassing incident about calling in the army to help clear the snow)? Columnist Shawn Micallef joins Adrian Cheung to talk about winterizing Toronto and how we can make the most of it in the long, cold months ahead.

Despite the name, access to rapid tests for COVID-19 in Canada is moving at a glacial pace. The federal government has purchased 38 million tests and rolled out 5.5 million to the provinces, where they are used in a limit capacity or just stockpiled for future use. What is the hold up? Star reporter Jacques Gallant joins This Matters to discuss why the drive for rapid testing isn't moving faster.

The COVID-19 pandemic stirred the greatest shift in our workplaces in a generation when 3.4 million Canadians moved from their offices to work from home. That is not going to change anytime soon. Now what happens to the thousands of offices and retail spaces that used be filled up? Is there a way we can re-purpose these spaces and buildings to meet the needs of a post-pandemic life? City Hall columnist Matt Elliott joins This Matters to talk about the future of our office spaces.

Whatever you want to call it, the only way to characterize Trump's post-election actions are extraordinary. From court challenges to pressuring state electors, the U.S. President took steps to stay in power despite how the vote turned out. With the transition underway, the Star's Washington Bureau chief Edward Keenan joins This Matters to discuss what's next for the Republican Party and the "Celebrity President."

Until yesterday, despite cases rising and out-numbering bigger provinces, Albertans were free to dine out, shop and gather in groups even as Ontario went into lockdown and other provinces tightened restrictions. Alex Boyd, a Toronto Star reporter in Calgary, joins This Matters to explain what's going on in Alberta, what the new measures mean and what the consequences might be for Albertans as the provincial government tries to balance public opinion, politics and a pandemic.

WARNING: This podcast contains sensitive subject matter, including suicide and self-harm, that could be triggering for some readers. Young people are in crisis more than ever, often asking for help, with many having trouble accessing. The Star's Generation Distress series looks at the many issues surrounding mental health, youth and the barriers they face. Robert Cribb is an investigative reporter at the Star, and director of the Investigative Journalism Bureau at the University of Toronto. He joins This Matters to talk about this massive and important subject. If you are thinking of suicide or know someone who is, there is help. Resources are available online at crisisservicescanada.ca or you can connect to the national suicide prevention helpline at 1-833-456-4566, or the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.

Governments have been criticized for confusing, and at times, contradictory messaging and policies on COVID-19 restrictions. Roxanne Khamsi, science journalist and contributor to WIRED Magazine, joins This Matters to talk about the muddied waters of public health messaging and why that makes controlling COVID in the second wave that much harder.

Nearly two million school-age children in the UK, who qualify for government-subsidized school meals, were facing hunger due to schools closing during pandemic lockdowns, until Manchester United's Marcus Rashford stepped in. Shireen Ahmed, writer and co-host of the 'Burn It All Down' podcast joins Adrian Cheung to talk about Rashford, how he represents a new generation of athletes refusing to 'shut up and dribble' and who are using their voices to drive social and political change.

As concert halls and live music venues sit empty during this pandemic, the Canadian Live Music Coalition says 90 per cent of them are at risk of closing forever. Can they be saved through government support, some crazy scheme or is the hope of a vaccine their best bet? Jonny Dovercourt, co-founder and artistic director of Wavelength Music Series and author of "Any Night of the Week: A D.I.Y. History of Toronto Music (1957-2001)," joins us to discuss if the bands will play on.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, about 15 per cent of Canadians experience a wave of low emotions during the upcoming cold and dark days, or as we know it, the winter blues. Some experience a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder, known as SAD. It can actually impair daily life and lead to medical treatment. Dr. JianLi Wang, the Director of the Work and Mental Health Research Unit at the Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research in Ottawa, explains the ways we can assess ourselves, make sure we are okay and how fight back those pandemic winter blues.

The Toronto Star's business reporter Rosa Saba joins Saba Eitizaz on This Matters to talk about the government's dangling promise of nationalized child-care, what will it look like and how it can help regain lost ground and equal participation in an economy that will really need it now more than ever.

Since mid-March, Ottawa has imposed strict travel restrictions against foreign nationals, including holders of permanent resident visas. Meanwhile the clock is ticking for many whose permanent visas have expired or are near expiry. In today's episode, the Star's immigration reporter Nicholas Keung explains what is going on. Fatima Camara, a teacher from Belarus, also joins to share her family's story of being stuck in limbo after getting their permanent resident visas and packing up their old lives.

Karon Liu, Toronto Star's food and culture reporter, talks to Adrian Cheung about the inventive ways restaurants are changing for the long-term and how many small business owners are refusing to give up in an unprecedented crisis for their industry.

As many people have been forced to work from home and conduct their business remotely, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of high-speed internet for all Canadians. Access to fast, reliable internet in pandemic times and the digital age is not just about downloading files or streaming Netflix. It is about getting access to education, health and equal opportunities. Alex Boutilier, a national politics reporter with the Toronto Star, joins This Matters to talk about the digital inequality resulting from high speed internet access, what the digital divide means for Canadians and what it will take to end it.

People are calling Pfizer's announcement of a potential COVID-19 vaccine a light at the end of the tunnel. But right now, it's just an announcement that some say is "science by press release" and there are a lot of logistical hurdles to be passed before we get this particular shot in the arm. Alex Boyd is a Star Reporter who's been following the Road to a Vaccine. She returns to This Matters to discuss the latest vaccine development news.

Ontario's COVID-19 case counts are reaching record numbers, but some health officials say they might be stabilizing. The Star's Ed Tubb has been focusing on the data and takes This Matters through what the numbers are telling us, where things are looking up and where there's cause for concern.

Edward Keenan, Toronto Star's Washington bureau chief, returns to 'This Matters' to talk about the election win, the fallout for the US and what a Biden presidency means for the Canada-US relationship, for the next four years.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This version was originally broadcast on September 24, but much of what Geoffrey Skelley, of FiveThirtyEight, predicted could happen, happened. The presidency is settled. But Skelley discusses what could come next. --- Joe Biden is the President-Elect, capturing more than 270 electoral college votes, with more than 4 million votes cast in his favour over Donald Trump. But like so much of his one-term presidency, Trump isn't following convention. Before, and now after the election, he has claimed voter fraud, with no evidence. He claimed he won on election night, even though he didn't. He and his campaign refuse to concede the presidency. Does that refusal mean anything? Geoffrey Skelley, elections analyst for FiveThirtyEight, breaks down how Trump can dispute the results, why it could turn into an ugly fight at the Supreme Court level and what the legal checks and balances are to ensure the election winner serves as president.

This week in the U.S. Electoral vote, in Washington, D.C., and Oregon, voters chose to get on the path to decriminalize psilocybin for therapeutic use. This past August in Canada, four terminally ill cancer patients were given approval to use psilocybin as part of their end of life treatment. Psilocybin is the main psychoactive ingredient in "magic mushrooms." Mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs have long been considered party drugs, but movements are afoot to study and use them for therapeutic purposes. Omar Mosleh is an Edmonton-based Star Reporter who joins This Matters to discusses the latest in research and attempts to find new uses for certain mood altering substances.

April 23, 2018, marks one of the darkest days in Toronto's history. On a sunny afternoon, 25-year-old Alek Minassian drove a full-size van down Yonge Street and onto the sidewalk, hitting pedestrians. 10 people were killed and another 16 people were seriously injured in the attack. Toronto fell into a state of mourning, struggling to understand the violence. Minassian told police officers that his motivation stemmed from the so-called 'incel' subculture. More than two years after the incident, Minassian will be on trial next week, by judge only and done entirely over Zoom. He has admitted to planning and carrying out the attack in a court of law and the Crown says it believes he acted alone in the attack. Whether he committed the act isn't up for legal debate. Alyshah Hasham, Toronto Star's courts and justice reporter, breaks down what the trial will focus on, what Minassian is being tried for, and the complexity of handling a difficult court case over video conferencing.

Joe Biden told his supporters, "it ain't over until every vote is counted." But incumbent Donald Trump falsely claimed he won the election and with no evidence, claimed electoral fraud was afoot. In a year like no other, an election like no other, in a haze of disinformation and bogus claims, 'This Matters' parses through the facts of the US election. Edward Keenan, Toronto Star's Washington bureau chief, joins Adrian Cheung to break down what we know after election night, what we're still waiting to find out, the fallibility of the polls, and what Canadians should make of an election they have no hand in.

It's now officially the day after the U.S. election. As many expected, the race is still too close to call. "Everybody was really eager to vote. Those who support Donald Trump really support him and those who want to be rid of him, really were eager to vote to be rid of him." That was the Star's Washington Bureau Chief Edward Keenan who was a block away from the White House, speaking to Saba Eitizaz, in the early hours following the U.S. election, as part of the Star's live coverage, rebroadcasted here. This Matters will have more to come but as a nation and a world sit doing hypothetical electoral college math, Keenan talks about where this election is at right now. Trump? Biden? Courts? Chaos? This Matters will have more to come but as a nation and a world sit doing hypothetical electoral college math, Keenan talks about where this election is at right now. Trump or Biden? Courts or Chaos?

Experts are warning people watching the U.S. election to be prepared for a deluge of disinformation. Today, This Matters looks at two perspectives that Star reporters have recently covered regarding this huge problem. Alex McKeen joins to talk about the surprising role Canadian's play in creating and sharing disinformation, and then, Douglas Quans tells us what online platforms like Facebook and Twitter are doing to fight misinformation.

Jared Yates Sexton, host of 'The Muckrake Political Podcast' and the author of 'American Rule' says America is built on what he calls "foundational myths," and how stories the United States tells itself, about itself, have often been used as justification for violence and abuse, for generations. Adrian Cheung talks to Sexton about how the doctrine of 'American exceptionalism' has led to this moment of reckoning and where the US is headed next, heading into a pivotal election.

Edward Keenan, The Star's Washington Bureau Chief, joins This Matters to discuss the upcoming U.S. election — in particular the view from up here and what Canadians are looking and hoping for after the big day in November.

Edward Keenan, Toronto Star's Washington bureau chief, talks to Adrian Cheung about the state of the Canada/U.S. economic relationship. Together they parse through the promises and policies to figure out if Trump or Biden is better for the Canadian economy.

Donald Trump's aggressive immigration policies have had blow back effects on Canada. Will that change depending on who wins the U.S. election on Nov. 3? Today, The Star's Washington Bureau Chief Ed Keenan joins us on This Matters to discuss the upcoming U.S. elections through the lens of immigration policy and how Canada could be impacted.

The environmental protections (or lack of) that are proposed and acted on by the next U.S. president will have serious consequences for Canada and the rest of the world. Edward Keenan, Toronto Star's Washington bureau chief, talks to Adrian Cheung about how the two presidential candidates view the threat of climate change, their promises on renewable energy and what it all means for Canada.

For Donald Trump, sewing confusion and chaos is part of the plan. As the election nears, the question is if this will work, and if he wins, what that could mean for Canada's future in the world. Edward Keenan is the Star's Washington Bureau Chief and he joins This Matters to discuss.