NOW and NEXT

This week on Now and Next: The NATO Summit has wrapped up in Washington D.C. and Canada’s defence spending was a more than touchy subject.  House Majority Leader Mike Johnson called Canada's lack of commitment "shameful". The minimum contribution for NATO members is 2% of GDP. Canada spends less than 1.4%. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadian spending will not be driven by some "nominal" ta...

This week on Now and Next: Lindsay Broadhead, Brad Ross, Anne Marie Aikins and Bob Reid join the roundtable. Calls for US President Joe Biden haven't slowed down. In fact, they're heating up a week after his disastrous debate performance. Justin Trudeau says he's "listening" to Canadians after his party's devastating defeat in the Toronto-St. Paul's by-election. But is he listening to his MPs? So,...

This week on Now and Next: David Coletto, CEO and Founder of Abacus Data, joins the podcast to analyze the results from the By-election in the federal riding of St. Paul's. He says there's no way to consider this outcome as anything other than a crushing, if not shocking result from the Trudeau government. The Conservatives won the mid-town Toronto seat by 600 votes this week. And St. Paul's might...

This week on Now and Next - Story Studio Network's flagship podcast Our comms crew assembles! Lindsay Broadhead, Brad Ross, Anne Marie Aikins and Bob Reid join Dave Trafford at the Now and Next table to go hard and deep on stories that need more than just headlines. Calgary's water main break was predictable and preventable. But city council's wilfful ignorance created an H2O OMG crisis on the eve...

This week on Now and Next: The Russian Navy is parked mere miles off the coast of Florida. A frigate, a nuclear-powered submarine, an oil tanker and a rescue tug arrived in Havana harbour on June 12.  RCAF veteran, retired Major General Scott Clancy - Leader, Author, Speaker, Mentor, Coach has a unique perspective on this. He served as Director of Operations for NORAD. He says the frigate "Gorshko...

This week on Now and Next: Our Comms Crew is assembled.  Brad Ross spent a good portion of his comms career working for the TTC. Anne Marie Aikins has just recently retired from the provincial transit overlord - Metrolinx. And Lindsay Broadhead is the former Comms Chief at the City of Toronto. They all agree, a TTC strike would be sheer chaos for commuters but, longer term, it would be a  reputati...

This week on Now and Next: We explore Music, Recovery, and Community with musician, singer, songwriter Quisha Wint . Quisha is "one of Toronto’s sought-after session vocalists, currently living in the GTA, Quisha is a rising star in the tight-knit music industry thanks to her bright personality and strong emotive vocal abilities." But she's also a live organ donor. Quisha tells us her story - how...

This week on Now and Next: Our veteran comms crew is back at the table! Lindsay Broadhead, Bob Reid, Anne Marie Aikins and Brad Ross join SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford. The series finale of The Good Doctor sparked a spirited conversation about the commoditization of cancer by big network, prime time television dramas. We've culturally normalized cancer as a means of growing audiences....

This week on Now and Next: Rocco Rossi is the inaugural President and CEO of Shift 25 - a new movement "cultivate a BOLD and thriving Canada - teaching our kids "every failure is just feedback on the way to success." And Keith Currie, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture joins us to talk about the challenge of balancig the need for farmland, housing, and food production in Canada. A...

This week on NOW and NEXT: We're excited to introduce an All-Star Roundtable including Lindsay Broadhead , Brad Ross , Anne Marie Aikins , and Bob Reid . They're all veteran Comms pros and they bring their considerable collective experience in war rooms, boardrooms, behind private and public sector podiums. In our inaugural sitdown: The Toronto Police Service is in a rolling boil integrity crisis....

This week on NOW and NEXT: We're joined by Sheila Regehr, Chair of Basic Income Network Canada and Jessie Golem, who is part of a class action lawsuit seeking $200 million in damages from the Ontario government. The lawsuit claims the government breached terms and conditions of a contract it entered with 4,000 low income Ontarians who qualified for a basic income pilot project. The program was can...

This week on Now and Next: Abacus Data CEO David Coletto joins us to talk about his latest research. He wanted to know what Canadians are looking for in a prime minister. David says, "In our survey, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reigns as the premier party host, which might not come as a surprise given his charismatic and sociable public persona. However, in scenarios that required quick thinking...

This week on NOW and NEXT: We go deep on two line items in the the federal budget. Legislated poverty is now a nationally funded program. The 2024 Trudeau budget threw pocket change at the Canada Disability Benefit and, in so doing, managed to add to the $80 billion annual cost of poverty in this country. The government's refusal to fully fund the Canada Disability Benefit leaves more than a milli...

This week on Now and Next: The Ford government in Ontario is patting itself on the back for forcing the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to reversing a ban on paper bags. The LCBO made the move in August 2023, claiming it was an environmental initiative aimed at saving our forests. Premier Ford says it's a matter of affordability for Ontarians. But both the LCBO and premier either misunderstand or...

We are seven months from election day in the United States and its outcome could prove to be the most significant since Abraham Lincoln was elected with less than 40% of the popular vote in 1860. Lincoln’s election is cited as the primary cause that triggered the US Civil War. With that in mind we ask the question: Will the United States be a safer place if Donald Trump wins or if he loses?  In th...

In this episode of NOW and NEXT: A funeral was held this week for Roy McMurtry, the former Chief Justice of Ontario and Ontario's Attorney General in Bill Davis' government at Queen's Park. McMurtry at the age of 91 on March 18, 2024. I had the chance to interview the Chief Justice when he retired from the bench in 2007. We replay that sit down for you in this episode of the podcast. You can watch...

This week on NOW and NEXT: We explore truth and reconciliation in the mining industry. It's a critical issue, especially when you consider how much mining in Canada is done on the traditional lands and territories of First Nations right across the country. Brandon Ringham, from Creative Fire, sat down with us at the PDAC confernece in Toronto. We're also excited for a new season of Popping the Bub...

Today on NOW and NEXT: It's been a LONG TIME coming but the feds have finally tabled their legislation aimed at curbing online harm. That includes new measures to deal with hate speech and puts a major onus on the big tech companies to take responsibility for content posted on their platforms. Owen Charters is the President and CEO at BGC Canada. He says it's a good first step. "We do think the go...

This week on NOW and NEXT We talk to Neil Hetherington , CEO at Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto. Those of you who follow us here at Story Studio Network will know we've been working closely with Neil and his team producing The 2030 Project podcast series. The latest instalment was a limited series focussed on the Canada Disability Benefit . The long and the short of it is, the CDB is aimed at lif...

Welcome to NOW and NEXT - the flagship podcast at Story Studio Network.. It’s our weekly offering - the newest episodes will drop Thursdays! Stories, issues, problems and solutions that just don’t make the cut in the assignment meetings… But they’re stories, issues, problems and solutions that affect you, your family, your home, your job and your community. This week…. Now that city hall in Toront...

Today on NOW and NEXT: We want to know what good thing happened to you this week? You can let us know via email (hello@storystudionetwork.com), on socials @davetrafford or, better yet, leave us a recorded message. You can leave us a RECORDED or TEXT message about anything you hear on the show. It's EASY. Click RECORD YOUR MESSAGE. Hit the RECORD button. Enter your name and email address so we can...

Today on NOW and NEXT: A new UNICEF report that ranks the UK as having the highest rate of child poverty among developed countries. Canada has made progress in reducing child poverty, but UNICEF Canada notes one in five children Canadian kids are living in poverty. The Canada Child Benefit is recognized as a successful program in reducing poverty, but there are challenges faced by families where a...

Today on NOW and NEXT: The Global Tipping Points Report was released today at COP28 . It suggests the planet we call home is on the verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points. Professor Tim Lenton, from the University of Exeter's Global Systems Instiute, led the research team. Lenton says these tipping points "can trigger devastating domino effects, including the loss of whole ecosystems an...

Today on NOW and NEXT: We introduce you to a Toronto mom who had to teach her kids how to react to daylight shootings. Karen and her kids were living in Toronto Community Housing when she turned to Habitat for Humanity to get her family into a safe and stable community. We'll also meet Habitat volunteer and supporter Scott McGillivray. The HGTV personality was directly involved in building Karen's...

Today on NOW and NEXT: The Federal Fall Economic Statement was a collection of broad stroke promises including a commitment to invest billions into housing. It comes in the form of loans to support the construction of rental housing and support for non-profit, co-op, and public housing builds. Is it enough? REMINDER: You can now leave us a RECORDED or TEXT message about anything you hear on the sh...