The Decibel

Emergency rooms across Canada are in a dire state. Wait times in many ERs remain stubbornly high . And in some provinces, the full understanding of how bad the situation has become isn’t even clear – with inconsistent or little data to rely on. For many Canadians, that lack of clarity in emergency situations is a life or death matter.   Globe investigative reporter Tu Thanh Ha joins The Decibel to...

If you were to spend an afternoon wandering around an art museum, you’d see hundreds of pieces, if not thousands. But the reality is, what you see on display is only a small percentage of a museum’s holdings. Depending on the institution, anywhere from 95 to 99 per cent of the artwork it owns is in storage – and according to a 2019 report , many of those storage spaces are so full that experts say...

Amber Tuccaro was 20 years old when she disappeared in Edmonton in August 2010. She was never seen alive again. But she left an important clue: a chilling recording of what appears to be the final moments of her life, and the voice of the man who may be her killer. Hosted by The Globe and Mail’s Jana Pruden , ‘In Her Defence: 50th Street’ retraces the final days of Amber’s life, explore her home,...

What does it mean to be connected in the world today? Gen Z – the cohort born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s – has been inundated by social media and smartphones, but they’ve also been hampered by years of social distancing in the pandemic. So, what effect has that had on them in terms of their social connections ?  The Decibel spoke to several Gen Zers, including Globe reporter Pippa...

At all but a handful of publications, restaurant critics are a relic of bygone days. In their place, the food influencer has risen up in popularity . Seen mostly on platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok, influencers take their audience along for the ride at all sorts of restaurants, from high-end to casual dining… but unlike old school critics, they don’t necessarily adhere to standards like paying...

This is the second part of a two-episode special looking at the rippling effects of a year of war in Israel, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.  In this episode, Mark MacKinnon , The Globe and Mail’s senior international correspondent, talks about the scale of destruction in Gaza, how people are surviving there and what future Palestinians see for themselves .  Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at the...

The Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and saw 250 people kidnapped. It also sparked one of the largest wars in the Middle East in a generation. A year of Israel’s ground attack and air strikes on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, causing mass displacement as fears of a wider war continue to develop. In the first of a two-episode feat...

Justin Trudeau’s poll numbers have been bad for a while. The Liberals have lost two crucial by-elections and are trailing behind the Conservatives in seat projections. They just lost the support of the NDP. The shine seems to have completely come off the nine-year-old government. And yet Trudeau remains defiant . Why? The Globe’s Shannon Proudfoot set out to determine why, in the face of increasin...

Canada’s Navy has been expanding its presence in the Pacific , as tensions with China rise, leaving vital trade routes in potential danger. At the same time as they recommit their efforts to the region, the military as a whole faces issues around funding and recruitment, raising questions about its future direction.  The Globe’s Asia correspondent James Griffiths spent a week aboard The HMCS Vanco...

On Tuesday, Iran fired hundreds of missiles into Israel following weeks of increasing Israeli aggression on Hezbollah. This week, Israel began ground raids and hit central Beirut in a strike . These attacks have killed hundreds in Lebanon and driven millions from their homes .  Thomas Juneau is an associate professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa who specializes i...

The Canada Infrastructure Bank has been around since 2017 , and originally it was meant to help build huge infrastructure across the country. In fact, one person involved in its launch promised you’d be able to see some of the infrastructure from space.  But those massive projects never materialized and that put the whole bank at peril until it changed course recently. Adam Radwanski , who covers...

Canada has joined three other countries in a legal process to hold the Taliban accountable for discriminating against women by enacting increasingly oppressive laws . These range from barring them from education beyond the sixth grade, to a ban on women’s voices being heard in public.  Globe reporter Janice Dickson talks about what life is like for women in Afghanistan now, how this legal challeng...

Follow In Her Defence: 50th Street to listen to the first two episodes on Monday Amber Tuccaro was 20 years old when she left her infant son with a friend at a motel on the outskirts of Edmonton, and got into a vehicle with an unknown man.  She was never seen alive again.  But Amber left an important clue: A chilling recording of what appear to be the final moments of her life, and the voice of th...

Back in June, there was a massive accident at the Eagle gold mine in central Yukon, on traditional Na-Cho Nyak Dun territory — 4 million tonnes of cyanide-laced rock collapsed. Surrounding surface and groundwater soon had elevated cyanide levels, and dozens of fish died. Cleanup efforts are underway , but now, the storage ponds are nearly full of cyanide solution and are at risk of another cyanide...

On Wednesday, a Conservative non-confidence motion was voted down by the other parties in the House of Commons. But it’s just the first of many to come this fall. And most of them will land on special parliamentary days, called opposition days.  Campbell Clark is the chief political writer at The Globe and Mail. He explains how opposition days work, how the different parties will use them strategi...

Last week, days before the British Columbia election was called, Premier David Eby announced a new plan for mental health and addictions care. B.C. already has involuntary care as part of the Mental Health Act — but this would allow it for people with concurrent addictions, mental illness, and brain injuries. This move has wide support among British Columbia’s political leadership — but civil righ...

A set of rivals came to an unexpected agreement recently. Rogers Communications Inc. bought BCE Inc.’s 37.5-per-cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment – the umbrella company that owns the Maple Leafs, the Raptors, the Argos and Toronto FC – for $4.7-billion . The deal makes Rogers the majority owner of all of Toronto’s major professional sports teams.  Andrew Willis a columnist and report...

Last week, the Liberal government announced they’re bringing in new mortgage rules to help first-time buyers get into the market. The changes would help buyers to get into the market with lower down payments and lower monthly payments , but can mean more interest in the long run .  Rachelle Younglai is the Globe’s real estate reporter. She’s on the show to talk about what these changes mean for bu...

On September 18, the Canadian Medical Association issued an apology to Indigenous peoples. The group represents Canadian doctors and President Joss Reimer said that upon examining the organization’s history , they were ashamed by its record towards First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities.  Dr. Alika Lafontaine was the first Indigenous president of the CMA, when he held the post in 2022 and 2023....

Back in March of this year, authorities in British Columbia filed an “unexplained wealth order” to seize a safety deposit box that belonged to Michael Patryn, the co-founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange, Quadriga. That box contained over $250,000 in cash, 45 gold bars, luxury watches and jewellery. The unexplained wealth order compels Mr. Patryn to prove that he obtained those assets...

On Monday, voters in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood-Transcona and Montreal’s LaSalle-Émard-Verdun went to the polls. The results saw the Liberals lose another safe seat and the NDP narrowly beat out the Conservatives .  Marieke Walsh , The Globe’s senior political reporter, explains exactly how much the opposition parties gained on the Liberals in Montreal, and how the battle between Blue and Oran...

Drug development has always been a long and arduous process, taking years of research and costing millions of dollars. When some biotech companies started to use artificial intelligence as part of that process, it was seen as a tool that had the potential to revolutionize drug discovery. Ten years on, those companies are faced with a reality check .  Globe business reporters Joe Castaldo , who cov...

Fishing equipment like nets, traps and lines that have been lost or abandoned are a serious problem for marine wildlife. They’re designed to trap sea creatures, and to last a long time. It’s called ghost gear , and Canada is leading the charge in efforts to clean it up. But it is challenging and often dangerous work. Today, The Globe’s BC reporter Justine Hunter explains how all this fishing gear...

It’s been just over a month since the Ukrainian military launched an incursion into the Russian region of Kursk. It was a surprising move, and Ukrainian officials say it was a success. But it has meant a barrage of Russian attacks against Ukrainian cities, especially ones along the frontlines. The Globe’s Senior International Correspondent Mark MacKinnon has spent the last two weeks near the front...

The Liberal Party is in a ‘dire state’. From questions over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s continued leadership to the collapse of the supply and confidence deal with the NDP, to their poor polling numbers compared to the Conservatives – the ruling party appears to be at the weakest in years. What, if anything, can they do to win back Canadian voters with a federal election on the horizon? The Gl...