This Matters

Guest: Megan Ogilvie, health reporter, and Weronika Drab, mother While a fraction of babies with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are hospitalized each year in Canada, that's still about 12,000 infants and this year's burst of infections have hit an already strained hospital system harder and earlier than usual. Joining "This Matters" to discuss are health reporter Megan Ogilvie to talk about wha...

Guest: Joanna Chiu, staff reporter China saw its largest protests in a generation this week. In more than 20 cities across the country, protesters demanded an end to Beijing's draconian zero-COVID policy, which expanded to dissent against President Xi Jinping's repressive regime. As of this recording, at least six cities across China have since eased COVID restrictions. Some say an end to zero-COV...

Guest: Kieran Leavitt, politics reporter Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith has fulfilled her campaign promise and launched the Alberta Sovereignty in a United Canada act, which aims to allow the province to ignore and potentially alter federal laws it deems harmful to Alberta or its citizens. While Smith says the plan is legal and constitutional, experts are already warning this could be the beginn...

Guest: Nicholas Keung, immigration reporter Will a former refugee's trip to see his dying father cost him his status in Canada? A growing number of ex-refugees have lost protected status in Canada as few know they can be pursued by Canadian border officials and faced with deportation after using an old passport or returning home. It's a little-known process called cessation that for some has grave...

Guest: Wendy Gillis, crime and policing reporter The Toronto police cold case unit has announced the arrest of Joseph George Sutherland, 60, for allegedly committing the murders of local women Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice in 1983. After 2008 testing of evidence confirmed one man was responsible for both murders, advances in genetic sequencing and forensic genealogy would lead police to arrest Suthe...

Guest: Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa Bureau Live testimony at the inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act during the so-called "Freedom Convoy" protests in Ottawa last winter has concluded after six weeks. The final day of hearings saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take the stand to defend his decision. Tonda MacCharles was in the room and joins "This Matters" to discuss. Audio...

Guests: Star reporters Noor Javed and Brendan Kennedy and Emma McIntosh from The Narwhal The Ontario government has decided to change its position and build on the Greenbelt, a series of protected lands around the GTA. It has identified 15 parcels of lands that could potentially be opened up for development, but who owns these lands and who stands to benefit in their change of status? Star reporte...

Guest: Tess Kalinowski, real estate reporter The Ontario government's new housing bill is a massive piece of legislation that changes many of the rules and established practices for development in this province. While there is everything from removing development charges to changing planning and zoning rules to stripping powers from environmental agencies, many are concerned there aren't enough pr...

Guest: Matt Elliott, contributing columnist The City of Toronto is facing a $2.3 billion budget shortfall for this and next year's budget. Mayor John Tory has been sounding the alarm, asking both the provincial and federal governments for a bailout and warning that there will be massive service cut, tax hike or both if one doesn't come soon. There hasn't been much response or cash flow yet, but it...

Guest: David Rider, City Hall Bureau Chief With an eye to an ambitious Ford government housing plan, Toronto Mayor John Tory asked for and received even stronger mayoral powers than he already had been given over the summer. It was a move that caused an uproar in municipal politics. While some councillor called it a power grab, others are calling it an unprecedented, undemocratic move that will si...

Guest: Jennifer Pagliaro, crime reporter There have been several violent incidents, including stabbings and gun-related incidents, around many GTA schools in recent weeks. An 18-year-old was shot and killed outside of Woburn Collegiate on Oct. 31, while last week another shooting in Brampton left an 18-year old seriously injured. With one 17-year old arrested after the Brampton incident, advocates...

Guest: Todd Coleman, epidemiologist and assistant professor of health sciences at Wilfred Laurier University The president and CEO of SickKids begged people last week to wear a mask as pediatric ICUs across Ontario hit a breaking point. She's not alone in that wish. Calls have been growing for the province to bring back mask mandates as health experts warn of a difficult viral season with a "tripl...

Guest: Allan Woods, global and national affairs reporter While facing federal investigations for trying to overthrow the 2020 U.S. election results and inspiring a riot at Capitol Hill, former president Donald Trump has announced he wants to run for president again. His third attempt for power comes in the wake of an underwhelming midterm display for the Republican party and a moment of reckoning...

Guest: Bruce Arthur, sports columnist World Cup fever is hot! So is Qatar. Sweltering temperatures and how the authorities plan to treat exuberant, international football fans are two of the big questions as this tiny nation prepares to welcome soccer fans from all over the world. This World Cup has been controversial since it was awarded in 2010, and only remains so as it gets underway. It is ext...

Guest: Lex Harvey, staff reporter The Arctic town Svalbard is about as remote as you can get. It's an archipelago located on top of the world. Residents carry guns and live alongside polar bears, they can see the northern lights during the day and they're not allowed to give birth or die there. It is also the fastest warming place on Earth and experiencing the worst effects of climate change where...

Guest : Robert Cribb, investigative reporter A joint investigation between the Toronto Star and the Investigative Journalism Bureau followed the life — and death — of Michael Fraser to offer a glimpse into the complexity and ethics of Canada's legislation around medically assistance in dying, and those that believe it is their only option. The Star's Robert Cribb, along with Charlie Buckley, Thea...

Guest: Noor Javed, staff reporter Building on Ontario's Greenbelt has long been a hot-button political issue in this province, and one that many politicians have stayed away from. Now, citing the need for new housing, the Ontario government has backtracked on promises not to develop on it and proposed a land swap that could open up 15 areas and thousands of acres to new development. Advocates are...

Guest: Julia Levin, national climate program manager for Environmental Defence The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — or COP27 — is underway this week in Egypt with more than a hundred world leaders attending. For the first time, climate justice, climate colonialism and reparations are on the agenda. Frontline countries from the Global Sou...

Guest: Dr. Dan Flanders, a pediatrician COVID-19, cold and flu season, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are combining to create a three-headed monster that is making a lot of kids sick and overwhelming children's hospitals across the province. Beyond that, a shortage of over-the-counter medications for children like acetaminophen (Tylenol), and ibuprofen (Advil), as well as the commonly-presc...

Guest: Karim Bardeesy, Toronto Metropolitan University As many Canadians moved from the office to work remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in electronic surveillance by employers and an increased demand for related technologies. The intrusive surveillance has been allowed as workers have limited privacy protections, but things might be changing in Ontario. The provincial g...

Guest : Moira Welsh, investigative reporter The devastation faced by Ontario's long-term care residents during the pandemic may have fuelled a reckoning and a collective question: how do you want to spend the final years of your life? That's the focus of The Third Act, an ongoing series produced by the Star in collaboration with Toronto Metropolitan University and the National Institute on Ageing,...

Guest: Sara Mojtehedzadeh, investigative reporter, Toronto Star Never-before-seen fatality reports filed to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board from the start of the pandemic's to the end of 2021 were accessed by the Star's Sara Mojtehedzadeh. These reports show that the manufacturing sector in Ontario suffered more fatalities than any other industry. Star investigative reporter Sara Mojtehed...

Guest: Deborah Dundas, Toronto Star books editor Once again, it's award season for books in Canada and also a great time to curl up cozily with your favorite book or audiobook over the upcoming holidays. Canada's prestigious literary award, the Scotiabank Giller Prize has announced its shortlist and will be announcing a winner as soon as next week. Some awesome titles have also been released this...

Guest: Kris Rushowy, Queen's Park reporter for the Star. This week has seen some unprecedented action in the labour dispute between CUPE and the provincial government. Ontario is passing back-to-work legislation and invoking the notwithstanding clause to get the bill through, which many feel tramples on workers' rights. CUPE is now planning a walkout on Friday, with their workers facing potentiall...

Guest: Eris Nyx, cofounder of the Drug User Liberation Front Death from drugs has become an epidemic in Vancouver, so the Drug User Liberation Front is a group that has decided to buy, test, package and then sell drugs to people who are at high risk of fatal overdoses. While it's currently being run under the auspices of a health research project, it is illegal, but something that they feel is nec...