The Decibel

On May 5th the World Health Organization declared the end of the COVID-19 emergency. But what does that mean for the pandemic? How should we be thinking about the COVID virus now and what kind of risk are we still exposed to? It’s taken three years of social distancing, mask mandates, and varying degrees of lockdown to get to this stage, but what comes next is still a bit of a mystery. Today, Lisa...

BlackBerry changed our lives when it created the world’s first commercially successful smartphone. But its dominance was disrupted and the Canadian tech giant lost nearly everything. BlackBerry’s dramatic fall from grace is now the topic of a film that is in theaters May 12. The Globe’s technology reporter, Sean Silcoff , who co-authored the book that film is based on, is on the show to discuss ho...

On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Canada’s expulsion of Chinese diplomat, Zhao Wei for allegations of foreign interference. In response, China expelled a Canadian diplomat in Shanghai. While headlines about Chinese interference have been front and centre in Canada ever since the Globe first reported on China’s interference attempts back in February , this latest row has a...

On May 8, Canada expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei in response to China’s interference in Canadian politics. The extraordinary move is the first expulsion of a Chinese diplomat in decades and could  carry substantial consequences given the size of Canada’s economic and social ties with China . This is the latest development in an ongoing saga around Chinese interference in Canada which broke afte...

In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to help millennials hoping to buy a first home with a new program, called the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive . It was supposed to help 100,000 Canadians buy their first home but, according to real estate professionals, the program was doomed from the start . To understand what has gone wrong, economics reporter Matt Lundy crunched the numbers. He ex...

Economic predictions can be incredibly important for companies and governments trying to plan for the months and year ahead – and that ripples down to individuals trying to budget as well. But some experts worry that the forecasts are becoming less and less accurate . Todd Hirsch has been an economist for around three decades. Today, he tells us why forecasts aren’t working as well as they used to...

On Saturday, King Charles III will be crowned in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London. This is the first coronation of a British monarch in 70 years and it’s brought up questions from Canadians about why a democratic country like Canada still maintains ties with the monarchy. A recent Angus Reid Poll found that 52 per cent of respondents do not want to continue as a constitutional monarchy ....

When Ontario Place first opened in 1971, it was a jewel on Toronto’s waterfront showcasing modern architecture and Ontario culture. But in the 50 years that followed, Ontario Place faced an identity crisis. The space hosted a water park and a night club to name a few. And while a few venues have stayed open much of the park closed in 2012. The Provincial government cited dwindling attendance and s...

In 2021, the federal government began a project to plant two billion trees by 2031. The goal of this project was to use these trees to help Canada reach its climate goal. However, a recent audit shows that the government is not on track to hit those numbers. The Globe’s energy and environment reporter Matt McClearn is on the show to walk us through the difficulties of the 2 Billion Trees program,...

The Online Streaming Act is officially law. Now, online streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify have to promote and invest in Canadian content . But there are still questions and concerns – from content creators themselves – over how this law will actually work. Kate Taylor is the arts critic for The Globe and Mail. Today, she tells us about this new law, and how it might change the landsca...

The Alberta election starts today – and one group in particular is ready for it. It’s called Take Back Alberta and it’s a network of people who share the same values: no vaccine mandates, no pandemic lockdowns – and Christian faith. Together, its members are trying to reshape politics in the province from the ground up. Reporter Carrie Tait spent months going to the group’s meetings and talking to...

Back in September, we told you about some Afghans trying to flee the Taliban in 2021 who had been given Canadian travel documents – but they were not authentic . We now know that a Canadian Senator sent approximately 640 of these documents to Afghans, who are now stranded. Today, The Globe’s senior parliamentary reporter Marieke Walsh tells us what we know about who’s involved in this bureaucratic...

School food programs in Canada are struggling to make ends meet right now. With the high price of food, it’s costing some programs as much as 25 percent more than previous years to keep running. And they’re seeing higher demand too – more children in need of a balanced meal. Caroline Alphonso spoke with programs across the country that are worried their funding won’t make it to the end of the scho...

Vietnam is in the midst of a dramatic shift caused by climate change. Some of the country’s most fertile land along the Mekong Delta has been devastated by flooding from rising ocean levels . Doug Saunders , a columnist at The Globe, is on the show today to talk about climate migration in Vietnam and what really happens when climate change forces someone from their home. This episode is part two o...

Sudan is on the brink of civil war, after fighting broke out between the country’s military and a paramilitary group , the RSF. Hundreds of people have been killed, and thousands more injured. This, on top of an existing humanitarian crisis that is now expected to get much worse. Today, we hear from two Sudanese-Canadians, Esraa Fadul and Ahmed Osman, who are stranded in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum,...

Since the pandemic, confidence in childhood vaccines has decreased around the world, according to a new report by UNICEF . Before COVID hit, 91 per cent of Canadians believed vaccines are important during childhood. That number is now 82 per cent . So what has caused this drop in the faith in children’s vaccines? The Globe’s health reporter, Carly Weeks explains to us how this happened, how it cou...

The federal government has restored its funding to Hockey Canada after removing it following the revelation that it settled a lawsuit accusing eight members of the 2018 world juniors hockey team of sexual assault. Since the scandal broke a year ago, Hockey Canada has endured audits , board resignations , and investigations . Its executives and board members have been called to Parliament Hill to t...

The largest public sector union in Canada went on strike on Wednesday after talks broke down with the government over better wages and remote working rules. This strike is expected to cause serious administrative delays for Canadians, from passport processing to filing your taxes. It’s the most recent event in a long string of labour disputes from all over the country in the last two years. The Gl...

Last month, Tennessee became the first state to pass-anti drag law and thirteen other U.S. states also have bills looking to ban or restrict drag performances. Over the past decade, drag has become more mainstream with the popularity of shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race, but this past year, drag shows have become the target of a U.S. political culture war. The Globe’s U.S. correspondent, Adrian Morrow...

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation has been coming under fire in the past few weeks over a controversial donation it received back in 2016. The Globe and Mail learned back in February that the donation – which was initially said to be from two Chinese billionaires – was allegedly tied to the Chinese government. Now, there’s even more to the story. Today, The Globe’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert F...

What happens when a Canadian company is accused of wrongdoing abroad? Well, in 2018, Ottawa announced the creation of a new ombudsperson to investigate these kinds of claims. But since then, the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise – also known as CORE – has yet to complete a single investigation of a complaint . Investigative reporter Tavia Grant – who went to Peru to see the effects...

Since 1951, 24 Sussex Drive has been the Prime Minister’s official residence. Recently, It’s been making international headlines, but for the wrong reasons . The mansion is in such bad shape that rodent carcasses line the walls and are affecting the air quality. There’s a laundry list of problems including mould, asbestos, leaks and a cold winter draft. In the eight years Prime Minister Justin Tru...

Canadian officials have been warning since the war in Ukraine began of potential cyber attacks from Russia as retribution for Canada helping Ukraine. This week, at least two Canadian government websites were down , courtesy of Russian hackers, and claims surfaced that Russian hackers had compromised a Canadian gas company . Steven Chase is The Globe’s senior parliamentary reporter. He’s seen the d...

For months now, Canada’s unemployment rate has been hovering around 5 per cent – a near historic low. It’s a number that economists are watching closely because they expect it to rise now that the Bank of Canada has hiked interest rates. But it hasn’t. And businesses are still complaining about a shortage of workers . So what’s going on? Economics reporter Matt Lundy explains. Questions? Comments?...

On April 4, the body of Linda Mary Beardy, a woman from Lake St. Martin First Nation, was discovered at a Winnipeg landfill . It’s the same landfill where, less than a year ago, the victim of an alleged serial killer was found. Police say Ms. Beardy’s death is not being considered a homicide, but it has brought renewed attention and outrage over the deaths of First Nations women in the area. In th...