Toronto This Weekend

Lyle Stein, President of Forvest Global Wealth Management Incorporated, breaks down the story of the Silicon Valley Bank and the timeline of events that led to their closing.

Brian Dijkema, Vice President of Communication at Cardus, discusses a recent study by the think tank which shows that hate crimes against religious groups in Canada are on the rise. He talks about the significance of the study, types of hate crimes that are being seen, and what we can do to combat this issue.

Davelle Morrison, broker with Bosley Real Estate Limited, breaks down some real estate news such as the "vacant home" tax vs. the "underused home" tax and how the provincial regulations vary from the federal. Plus, a discussion around Toronto stories such as rental prices and snow clearing.

On today's Coffee Talk, Maggie is joined by Lori Harito, a communications and public relations specialist for boutique PR house, Boulevard of Dreams. She shares her story of growing up in Albania and England before moving to Canada and pursuing a career in journalism, and then entrepreneurship. She and Maggie also chat about some of the city's biggest stories this week.

CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank Neil Hetherington tells Maggie about how he started his career in the non-profit sector and what he sees going on in Toronto from the perspective of the Food Bank. With the number of people relying on food banks continuing to increase, Hetherington goes into detail about who requires help right now, and some misconceptions about vulnerable and low-income population...

Dr. Barbara Perry, Director of the Centre on Hate Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University discusses a recent investigation that has found high rates of hate crimes on university and college campuses. She and Maggie discuss why this may be happening, to whom, and the role of post-secondary institutions when it comes to violent incidents.

Maggie is joined by Daniel Tsai, a lecturer at the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information & Technology at the University of Toronto to talk about updates in the latest stories affecting Torontonians and Canadians - national security regarding Chinese interference, our healthcare system, and grocery prices.

Anne Marie Atkins, Media & Crisis Communications Advisor & Trainer, tells Maggie about her career journey in health care, counselling, communications, journalism and what it is like to be the face of Metrolinx. Atkins also discusses some current issues the city and country are facing, such as the unopened but completed Gardiner ramp, and the banning of Tiktok on government devices.

Maggie speaks with Canadian R&B singer Jully Black to discuss her choice to change the lyrics of "O Canada" and how it has been received on social media. Plus, Black discusses her new album Three Rocks and a Slingshot, the inspiration behind it, and what she hopes the next chapter of her life will bring.

On this week's ByBlacks chat, Maggie is joined by Fiona Raye Clarke who interviewed the director of Fairview, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play on stage at the Obsidian Theatre, March 6-23. Clarke comments on how we consume Black art, some struggles that artists of colour face in Canada, and how these come into play in Fairview.

To talk about the latest art installation at Union Station, Black Joy, Maggie is joined by Trevor Twells, founder of MakeRoom Inc, and artist Jibola Fagbamiye. They discuss the themes of the exhibit, how the pieces were chosen, and why they are significant in the context of Black culture.

Maggie speaks with Rocco Achampong, lawyer and advocate for all things Toronto, to discuss some pressing issues in the city such as the unused Jarvis Gardiner ramp, the Halton District School Board, and whether or not he will run for mayor.

On today's By Blacks Weekly Chat, Maggie John is joined with Marcus Medford,  freelance journalist, editor and poet born and raised in Toronto to talk about Black History month and how institutions can approach Black history education with sensitivity and effectiveness.

Maggie has a health talk with Dr. Nadia Alam, Family Doctor and Past-President of The Ontario Medical Association about the new federal health-care funding deals with Ontario and Atlantic provinces that is aimed to improve outcomes for patients and working conditions for burned-out health care workers. Maggie and Dr. Nadia Alam also touch upon the privatization of health care and how patients can...

On todays coffee talk, Maggie John is joined with Lily Cheng, Willowdale Toronto City Councilor to talk about the power of civic engagement, her thoughts about TTC workers being on the frontlines of a troubled transit system and the news about a delayed by-election to replace Mayor John Tory.

Mary-Margaret McMahon, Liberal MPP for the Beaches-East York, tells Maggie about her experience going into politics and moving from local to provincial politics. McMahon also shares her thoughts on some recent big topics, such as the open letter to Mike Schreiner, concerns around climate change in the Liberals' platform, and police violence.

Maggie is joined by former city councilor Joe Mihevic, to talk about changes happening in the City of Toronto, including what the future of Yonge-Dundas Square could be and whether we are using this space to its potential, and what could happen with the byelection following John Tory's resignation. They also get into some issues such as healthcare privatization, and the Ford stag-and-doe controver...

Riley Allison is co-founder and executive director of Carley's Angels. Riley joined Maggie to talk about the upcoming event Just Move.

John Sikkema is legal counsel for The Association for Reformed Political Action.

Co-founder of ByBlacks.com Camille Dundas joins Maggie for this week's ByBlacks chat. They discuss the National Arts Centre's "Black Out" night which sparked a lot of debate and backlash in Ottawa.

Adrienne Batra, Editor in Chief for the Toronto Sun, joins Maggie for this week's Coffee Talk segment to talk about her career, including her experience of joining the Rob Ford mayoral campaign, and her time spent working at the city.

Daniel Tsai, a lecturer at the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information & Technology at the University of Toronto, looks back on John Tory's work as Mayor of Toronto. He shares some changes that came about during John Tory's time in office, his last budget meeting, and he and Maggie look ahead at the vacant home tax and how this can affect various demographics.

On this Saturday's Coffee Talk segment, Maggie interviews Mike Reid, Co-Founder of Dent Global, who helps entrepreneurs differentiate their brand and scale their services business. He talks about how he started Dent Global, and some goals he wants to help entrepreneurs and small businesses achieve.

Ed Keenan, Toronto Star Columnist, talks about Toronto City Hall history, some of the details of John Tory's resignation, and some notes about passing the budget before stepping down from his post.

Anne Marie Atkins is a Media and Crisis Communications Advisor & Trainer. She joined Maggie John to talk about how Mayor John Tory handled his resignation speech on Friday evening.