This Matters

Whether it's Trump or Biden, whoever claims the Oval Office will be able to affect just how and when the border reopens —something which will have an impact on Canadian economy and community and Canada's traditional role as a close ally of the U.S. The Star's Washington Bureau Chief Edward Keenan joins Saba Eitizaz on This Matters to discuss the US elections just around the corner —and what the outcome could look like at the border.

The Ontario Government has upended the government by increasing the use of Minister's Zoning Order, a legislative tool that serves as the ultimate trump card in the development planning process. It's supposed to be a way to cut red tape, but is starting to raise red flags. Star reporters Noor Javed and Jennifer Pagliaro join This Matters to explain.

Halloween is going to be different this year, but let's not forget that the paranormal denizens of this city will also be missing out. Historian Bruce Bell takes a through some of Toronto's spookiest ghost stories, and explains the history behind them.

"Mr. Vice President, I am speaking." In a way, hearing Senator Kamala Harris call it out put every woman triumphantly in her shoes — and started a conversation. Toronto Star journalists Evy Kwong, Jenn Moon and Angelyn Francis reached out to women across professional and cultural spectrums and they're on This Matters to share those experiences and ask: Why do men interrupt women, why is it inappropriate and what can we do about it?

The first wave of this deadly pandemic shone a glaring spotlight on how under-resourced and ill prepared Ontario's nursing homes were to cope with a situation like this. The Star's investigative reporter Moira Welsh covered this and she is on This Matters today to explain what's going on, what might be next —and, pandemic aside, are long term care homes making any systemic changes for the future?

The violence against Mi'kmaq fishers and community members stems from the interference of non-Indigenous fishers on the First Nations treaty right to fish for lobster in Nova Scotia waters. Pam Palmater, Mi'kmaq lawyer, professor and Chair of Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University, breaks down what the recent Supreme Court ruling means for the Mi'kmaq people, how this case is the latest example of systemic violence against Indigenous peoples and why the terms of "moderate livelihood" is a distraction from the real problems of racial injustice.

COVID-19 control measures, size of city council, road tolls: who gets to call the shots? The city or the province? Jennifer Pagliaro, city hall reporter for the Toronto Star, talks to Adrian Cheung about the push-and-pull relationship between City Hall and Queen's Park, the powers Toronto has in controlling its fate and the case for "charter city" status for the economic recovery ahead.

How the Christine Jessop cold case was solved and keeps changing the justice system, from wrongful convictions to genetic genealogy. After over 35 years, Toronto Police say they have found the killer of Christine Jessop, a nine-year-old girl who cold case was one of most notorious in Canada. The Star's Alyshah Hasham explains how a new forensic technique helped break this case, and why it may offer hope for others.

Deborah Dundas, the Star's Books Editor joins Saba Eitizaz on This Matters to talk about some of the top contenders in Canadian literature, how the pandemic is affecting the business and gives some excellent book recommendations that are absolute must reads.

Toronto Star reporter May Warren had COVID-19 in March, but at the time, she was not eligible for a test to confirm the diagnosis. A recent antibody test finally confirmed that. Today she joins This Matters to tell us about how that test went, what the results mean and what the importance of antibodies are in the fight against the pandemic.

This episode is a rebroadcast from Monday, September 21. From bread baking to meal kits to everyone cooking at home more, The Star's Karon Liu, a culture & food reporter, joins This Matters to talk about COVID-19 pandemic trends in food buying habits and how the industry is adapting.

COVID-19 has already taken out a few holidays, but now Thanksgiving, Halloween and even Christmas are lined up in its sights. Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist, talks to This Matters about how to navigate the festivities, pandemic style.

Ontario allows for doctors to bill for up to eight nerve blocks per patient, per day, without a limit on a frequency of those visits, an exclusive Toronto Star investigation looking into how chronic pain management has become big business in Ontario reveals. The tax-funded health system has paid more than $420 million for these kinds of nerve blocks since 2011. Star reporters Theresa Boyle and Jesse McLean were part of the investigating team who covered this and they join Saba Eitizaz on This Matters.

According to leaked data, positive coronavirus test result rates for over two-thirds of the neighbourhoods in Toronto are far above the threshold established by Public Health officials. Star reporters Kate Allen and Jennifer Yang join This Matters to discuss these alarming numbers.

When borders do reopen, what should that look like? Who should be allowed in? What public health protocols and benchmarks should Canada meet before we even consider it? Dr. Vivek Goel, professor at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and member of the federal government's COVID Immunity Task Force, talks to Adrian Cheung about the research of reopening borders and why a "blanket ban" on all visitors might not be a long-term answer.

Kevin Donovan, chief investigative reporter at the Star, has been covering the murders of Barry and Honey Sherman since it occurred. This week, his investigation takes him to the Supreme Court of Canada, in an effort to get court documents that are pertinent to the case. He joins This Matters to discuss.

'This Matters' breaks down the second wave of the coronavirus on two fronts — with Ed Tubb, Toronto Star editor, on the meaning of the latest numbers and Joanna Chiu, Toronto Star reporter, on what mental stress we are about to face and how we can beat the blues.

TikTok is embroiled in controversy over the U.S.-planned ban and forced sale. What does this mean for users in Canada? Emma Buchanan, a writer and researcher at Rogers CyberSecure Catalyst and a Ryerson Journalism student, joins This Matters to explain what's happening with the social video app.

Assistant Editor of Chatelaine magazine, Radiyah Chowdhury, speaks to This Matters about the urgent need for the country's mental health care to be more adaptive towards different races, cultures and communities.

Is a Chief Coroner the right man to lead Ontario's COVID-19 response? Dr. Dirk Huyer is the top man in Ontario to oversee and help minimize spread of the virus but some public health experts and doctors are questioning his appointment. In addition, his office has been under fire for, among several points, inadequate analysis of mortality data. Rachel Mendleson, investigative reporter for the Toronto Star, talks to This Matters about her and Hamilton Spectator reporter Joanna Frketich's deep look into Huyer's role.

The University of Toronto's law school has been accused of blocking the hiring of an international candidate as Director of the prestigious International Human Rights Program. Shree Paradkar, the Star's Race and Gender columnist covered the story and is here to talk about what happened and how a university's internal hiring process has become a matter of national and international controversy.

Two of the world's biggest tech companies are about to face off in court. Epic Games picked a fight with Apple in August with a new feature on the popular game "Fortnite." Epic says what's at stake is how you download apps and pay on your device. Apple says this is about following the rules on the devices they make. Kyle Orland, senior gaming editor at Ars Technica, breaks down this business Battle Royale.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on whether he would accept the results of election day in November. What if Trump loses the election but refuses to leave the White House? Today on This Matters, 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. For the political nerds listening (respect!), Geoffrey gets deep into the different simulations, at a state level, at an Electoral College level, how the Constitution gets wrapped up in what could a full-blown legal battle. A lot of that has been edited out of this version but you can find all of that in the What if Trump won't leave? (FiveThirtyEight extended cut for political junkies) version of this episode on the "This Matters" podcast feed. Trust us, it's fascinating stuff. But if you want to skip all of that, just keep listening right here.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This version is for you political nerds listening (respect!). This double-length episode goes deep into the different simulations, at a state level, at an Electoral College level, and how the Constitution gets wrapped up in what could a full-blown legal battle. If you want to skip all of that, go to the 'This Matters' feed and just listen to the condensed What if Trump won't leave? version. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on whether he would accept the results of election day in November. What if Trump loses the election but refuses to leave the White House? Today on This Matters, 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.

COVID-19 case numbers are spiking in Ontario and across Canada. We talk with Ed Tubb, who has been following COVID-19 data for The Star. He tells us what the numbers mean, what they are pointing too and what information we still don't know.

From bread baking to meal kits to everyone cooking at home more, The Star's Karon Liu, a culture & food reporter, joins This Matters to talk about COVID-19 pandemic trends in food buying habits and how the industry is adapting.

This Matters lifts the veil on what QAnon is, how it's spread like a virus in mainstream discourse, what responsibilities social media companies have in cracking down on it and why internet-fuelled (and false) beliefs carry real consequences. Six months ago, QAnon was a little-known conspiracy theory on the fringes of the internet. Today it has hit the mainstream. QAnon is a big-tent conspiracy theory, falsely alleging the world is run by a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles. Their ideas have resulted in real-world violence and supporters have won legislative races in the U.S. Amarnath Amarasingham, associate professor at Queen's University and associate fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization, explains how QAnon has pushed believers to act out in violence and why the conspiracy theory carries a particular "religious" tone.

There is a global race on to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, and at the same time, nations are jockeying to make sure they will have enough when it arrives. The Star's Alex Boyd has been following this and joins This Matters to talk about the road to a vaccine.

New data shows not only is women's participation in the workforce is at a historical low, but racialized, low-income and immigrant women have been especially hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic's economic impacts. In today's This Matters, the Star's business reporter Rosa Saba talks about how the pandemic has been another setback for women and what can be done to regain lost ground.

Think of it as very early version of the movie Minority Report. Many police forces are using big data to automate surveillance and predict where crimes might occur. From facial recognition to social media analysis and more, technology and human rights lawyer Cynthia Khoo explains what we need to know about algorithmic policing and what it means for your rights.

How does racial trauma impact lives and careers? Can you get PTSD from your workplace? In today's episode, Dr. Monnica Williams explains. Dr. Williams is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa's School of Psychology. She has extensively studied the impact of racial trauma on people of colour.

WE Charity announced this week that it is ending all Canadian operations, a development set against the backdrop of a national political scandal. Jaren Kerr, a journalist who broke many stories about the inner workings of the WE organization, takes us inside and looks back at the charity that seemingly couldn't falter, but now finds itself in a tailspin.

With many people facing the possibility of working remotely permanently, this pandemic is the right time to move out of the big city. The urban exodus is happening, at least for some, and today on This Matters, we speak with someone who has made the choice to leave the province, as well as a real estate agent who looks at the numbers.

The move to cashless business has a big cost. A 2019 study showed that 17 percent of the UK's population would "struggle to cope in a cashless society." Many in Canada will also be at a disadvantage. Brendan Kennedy, Toronto Star's social justice reporter, joins Adrian Cheung to talk about how quickly Canada has embraced the cashless evolution, who is getting quickly left out and why a story often told in technological and economic terms is — at heart — a story about inequality.

Usually, a day after Labour Day, many kids, parents and teachers are ready and eager — and a bit nervours — to go back to school. But this year, during a pandemic, that nervousness is at a new high. What will this school year be like? What happends if a child or teacher in school tests positive for COVID-19? What about bussing? Or playing? Kids are kids, after all. The Star's Kristin Rushowy sat down with Evy Kwong from the Star's audience team to answer questions about back to school sent by readers and listeners in a Q&A last week.

This Labour Day, This Matters is rebroadcasting the first episode of the Toronto Star's six-part podcast Hustled, where the Star's labour reporter Sara Mojtehedzadeh takes us behind the scenes of a David vs. Goliath battle between a scrappy group of Toronto food couriers and the app company they work for. Listen to all six episodes at thestar.com/hustled or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Toronto Police Constable Heather McWilliam was sexually harassed for years by her supervisors, including a sexual assault in the form of a forced kiss, and six years after she decided to fight back — the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has ruled in her favour. Constable Heather McWilliam shares her story with the Toronto Star. Former Chief of Police Mark Saunders said at the time of the decision "The findings by the Human Rights Tribunal are serious and concerning to me as Chief of Police." The department has also issued a statement saying that an external law firm has been contracted to provide mandatory sexual harassment training for all members of the Division — which will eventually be expanded to every member of the Toronto Police Force. There are also plans to address procedural issues in cases like these — as ordered by the Tribunal.

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."

The multibillion-dollar skin whitening cream industry has until recently bombarded people with images of white skin being more desirable. As the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction in calling out racism around the world, it also pressured top brands to rethink their products. Some experts are worried nothing has really changed. Amina Mire, author of the book "Wellness in Whiteness: Biomedicalization and promotion of Whiteness and Youth Among Women" and an associate professor at Carleton University talks to This Matters about what we need to know about "rebranded" skin whitening creams.

With COVID-19 quarantine, the air has been cleaner and the streets have an eerie stillness, but the light has never shone brighter on longstanding social, economic and racial inequality in our lives. The concept of noise in a city — and who gets the worst of it — is a direct reflection of those inequities. Matthew Braga, freelance writer on technology, science and culture, recently reported on this very concept: can it be this quiet for good? And quiet for whom? The answers to those questions are tied up in Toronto's decades-long war against noise and the way it interweaves with class, privilege, race and power in this, and essentially, every city.

The Law Society of Ontario, which represents more than 55,000 lawyers says only 3.2 percent of Ontario's lawyers are Black. This is no different from so many industries (including news media) but it still led Ryan Watkins — one of the city's leading employment law experts — to conduct an analysis of 12 leading law firms of Toronto. He found the firms have more than 1,500 partners listed in Ontario and only 16 — or 1 percent — of them are Black. He speaks to Saba Eitizaz about why there are not enough Black lawyers, what that means for Canada and how we look at justice and the lack of Black representation in civic spaces.

After the SIU report cleared Toronto police officers of any criminal action, the police oversight organization remains dogged with criticisms by community members, lawyers and academics alike. Justice reporter Alyshah Hasham on the case, police accountability and the informal code of silence among officers known as the "blue wall of silence."

To discuss the state of the movie industry, streaming, TIFF, drive ins, blockbusters, indies and, of course, a quick review of "Tenet," Raju Mudhar talks with Peter Howell, former film critic at the Star, who now publishes his reviews at nightviz.ca.

Erin O'Toole is the new leader of the Conserative Party of Canada. National politics reporter Alex Boutilier joins Adrian Cheung to talk about the meaning of O'Toole's win and what the future will look like for the Conservative Party as they aim to challenge the minority government Liberals.

In today's episode, we will get a first-hand account from a military frontline worker about how the force's responded to the pandemic and to the care and well-being of Canadians, and what can be done so that we don't need to call in the military — for either a rescue or reconnaissance. Corporal Laila Ahmed is a CAF Medical Assistant who worked in Ontario long-term care homes and was part of what was called Operation LASER and she left her full time job at that time, as a registered practical nurse on the civilian COVID-19 frontline — to be a part of this operation.

A second wave of COVID-19 could be devastating for the economy already reeling under deficits. In today's episode, Dr. Steven Hoffman, a professor of legal epidemiology, global health, law and political science at York, breaks down that potential scenario and what we need to learn now, to be prepared for the future.

Proponents of body cameras say they add accountability and transparency. Critics say they are expensive and simply do not work in terms of improving of changing police behaviour. To discuss this, we are joined by Kevin Walby, associate criminal justice professor at the University of Winnipeg. He studies policing and surveillance.

Are constant deep-cleans necessary? And is 'hygiene theatre' taking away time and resources from methods that are proven to slow down transmission, namely: mask wearing, physical distancing, hand washing and moving activities outdoors? Dr. Isaac Bogoch, infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital and University Health Network talks to Adrian Cheung about 'hygiene theatre', the new details we're learning about infection and the best practices we can all adopt to keep safe.

Like all generations, there are 'Covidiots' and 'Novidiots.' Everyone is not the same. The Star's culture reporter Karon Liu went digging and talked to many young people who are fighting the stigma of covidiocy.

The WE Charity controversy continues to rage on for the Liberal government and this week, the first victim has been claimed. Finance Minister Bill Morneau and MP of Toronto-Centre resigned from his post on Monday. And less than 24 hours after Morneau's resignation, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is brought into the fold with a cabinet shuffle, becoming Canada's first female finance minister. Tonda MacCharles, senior reporter on federal politics for the Toronto Star, talks to Adrian Cheung about Morneau's resignation, the controversy Trudeau finds himself engulfed in (again), and the emerging image of a federal government sliding into crisis.