The Decibel

This year is off to a bad start for wildfires. To date, more than 40,000 people have had to evacuate their homes, and both Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared provincial states of emergency. Even people in communities thousands of miles from the fires have faced hazardous smoke . Temur Durrani has been covering this year’s wildfires for The Globe. He joins us to talk about how wildfires in the summ...

Every year, some of the world’s most powerful leaders meet to discuss political and economic issues in the G7 summit. This year’s meeting, held in Kananaskis, Alberta, wrapped up on Tuesday. It was also the first G7 summit for Prime Minister Mark Carney . The G7 offered an opportunity for leaders to try to improve relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, whose second term has been marked by ten...

The long shadow war between Israel and Iran is now out in the open, as pressure mounts over a nuclear peace deal pushed by the U.S. and President Donald Trump. The growing conflict reached its fourth day – Israel continued its bombardment of Iranian cities and infrastructure, while Iran’s missiles evaded Israel’s aerial defence system and hit targets in the country. More than 200 Iranians have bee...

Right now, the Canadian job market is tough. Unemployment is the highest it’s been since 2016, excluding the pandemic lockdown years. Young people and new grads are facing especially bleak job prospects. They’re worried not just about their employment, but also their future careers and long-term financial planning. Meera Raman is the retirement and financial reporter for The Globe and Mail. She’s...

Having social media accounts hacked is stressful. Usually, companies have formal channels for users to regain access. But for Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram, some users say the social media giant isn’t responding. Now, a new kind of broker has sprung up, helping people locked out of their accounts connect with a Meta employee or contractor who can expedite their request … for the right...

Is expropriation, or forcing corporations to sell apartments to the government, a way to ease the housing crisis? Berlin seems to think so. In a landmark referendum back in 2021, the majority of Berliners voted ‘yes’ to forced sales, calling for the government to buy 240,000 apartments owned by some of Berlin’s mega landlords - whether they want to sell or not. Some call the strategy “radical” but...

Bill C-2, also known as the Strong Borders Act, is one of the first pieces of legislation by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government . The 140-page bill proposes a series of enhanced powers for law enforcement and major changes to how the government processes some asylum claims and immigration applications . Sara Mojtehedzadeh is an investigative reporter at The Globe who writes about immigration...

More than three years on, the war between Russia and Ukraine shows no signs of slowing. Ceasefire talks have stalled . Last week, Ukraine landed one of its biggest blows against Russia , when it smuggled drones inside Russian territory and destroyed or severely damaged more than 40 Russian warplanes. Russia hit back with some of its heaviest bombardment yet . Ukraine’s demands for a ceasefire deal...

On Monday, closing arguments are set to begin in the trial of five former members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior Hockey Team . Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Carter Hart, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexually assaulting a woman known publicly as E.M. in London, Ont. in June of 2018. Michael McLeod also faces a second charge of being a party to sexual assault. All five men have plead...

Maryam Fatima was born with a condition called hemimegalencephaly , a rare birth defect where one side of the brain is abnormally large. She suffered from severe seizures from the moment she was born. They became so bad that they stopped Maryam from feeding, sleeping and breathing. Her life was at risk. That’s when a team at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto decided to attempt a first-in-C...

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a new executive order that raised tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25 per cent to 50 per cent . One Canadian steel producer said this means that their American business is now ‘unviable’ . Jason Kirby is a staff reporter for The Globe’s Report on Business section. He explains why these higher steel and aluminum tariffs could mean higher prices on ne...

This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Ottawa’s plans to fast-track infrastructure projects . The effort aims to bolster the Canadian economy, as our trade war with the U.S. stretches on. Provinces are also in a rush to expedite project approvals and reviews — the controversial Bill 5 is currently working its way through the Ontario legislature, and B.C. just narrowly passed Bill 15 . Som...

The Canadian Medical Association says that the Alberta government has created a “ moral crisis ” for doctors in the province. The CMA, alongside three Alberta doctors, has filed a constitutional challenge against the Alberta government for legislation limiting access to medical treatment for transgender youth. Bill 26 became law last December, and is part of a suite of laws in Alberta that regulat...

More than 20 years ago, a group of internet users created the online forum 4chan – a mixture of memes, pranks, disinformation and hate speech. Soon, a hacker group on the forum calling themselves Anonymous gained notoriety for their online pranks and disruption. But now, a former member of that hacker group says they regret the role they may have played in driving today’s divisive political enviro...

In 2021, mine workers in Morocco made a huge discovery. They found a fossil that scientists believed to be a new species of mosasaur – a large swimming reptile that lived in the same era as the Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, many scientists, including a group in Alberta, are now questioning whether or not the fossil is real or fake . Ivan Semeniuk is The Globe’s science reporter. He’s on the show tod...

What’s in your drinking water? On Prince Edward Island, the provincial testing program shows potable water in some communities have higher levels of toxic “forever chemicals” than is recommended by Health Canada. To what extent this affects other provinces is unclear – PEI is currently the only province that systematically tests water supplies to make sure they hit federal targets for toxic chemic...

On Tuesday, King Charles III opened the 45th Parliament by delivering Canada’s throne speech . The speech lays out the government’s priorities, and the King is only the second monarch to deliver it – his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did so twice before. The speech affirmed Canada’s sovereignty amid ongoing tensions with the U.S. , and touched on Liberal election promises, including a middle-class t...

It’s been a challenging few months for Canadian businesses. Even though Canada has been largely spared from the worst of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, many Canadian small business owners are finding themselves caught in the crosshairs of the U.S. tariffs targeting China . Mariya Postelnyak is a consumer affairs reporter for The Globe and Mail. She’s on the show today to explain h...

Canada is facing tariffs, a possible recession and an ongoing housing crisis . The country needs millions of new, affordable homes, and Prime Minister Mark Carney wants the federal government to help build them . But how effective was it the last time the federal government built housing? Today, Dr. Carolyn Whitzman , a senior housing researcher with the University of Toronto, will walk us through...

This week, Canada Post received a strike notice from its union representing 55,000 workers. The notice comes just less than a year after the last postal strike back in November. Canada Post is under major financial trouble. A recent report commissioned by the federal government says the postal corporation is in an “existential crisis.” Canada Post has lost $3-billion since 2018 and according to th...

Over the weekend, the Israeli military launched a new operation in Gaza called Gideon’s Chariots. It comes after a two-month long blockade of humanitarian aid that is finally starting to ease as some trucks with food have been allowed to enter the Palestinian enclave. Hamida Ghafour is The Globe’s deputy foreign editor. She talks about the international response to Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent deci...

Generative AI has been taking the world by storm, and Alberta wants in on the action . The province currently has plans to break ground on at least six AI data centres this year. But, more data centres means more electricity usage , and in Alberta, that means more natural gas. Joe Castaldo is a business reporter for The Globe and Mail. He’s on the show to explain why Alberta is trying to become th...

Last week, Justice Maria Carroccia dismissed the jury in the Hockey Canada case for the second time. The trial will continue and be heard by a judge alone, rather than appointing a new jury and starting over – a decision that means the complainant, a woman known only as E.M. due to a publication ban, won’t have to testify again.  Robyn Doolittle has been covering the court case for The Globe. She...

The experiences of Inuit people and scientific data show the impacts of climate change and how it disproportionately affects Canada’s Far North. Arctic sea ice is central to Inuit life – Labrador Inuit communities have more than four dozen Inuttitut terms for sea ice . And the weakening of the ice as a result of climate change poses a tangible threat: stifling access for remote fly-in communities,...

Over the past week, the U.S. has brokered trade deals with Britain , China , and the Middle East, signaling a shift in President Donald Trump’s trade war. What this means for Canada, however, is not yet clear. Mark Rendell is an economics reporter for The Globe’s Report on Business. He joins us today to help break down what these deals mean, how the trade war has been playing out in Canada, and wh...