Once upon a time, every Ontario mayor got elected by winning the majority of votes across their municipality. But when it came time to vote at council, they had just one vote like every other councillor. Not so anymore. A little over a year and a half ago, the Ontario government gave the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa so-called strong mayor powers. It meant that under certain circumstances, these mayors could override council votes that they'd actually lost. Today, 46 mayors in total have those extra powers. How's it all working out? Well, we've gathered three of the 46 here to find out: Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath; Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward; and Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The State of Strong Mayor Powers

The Agenda with Steve Paikin is TVO's flagship current affairs program - devoted to exploring the social, political, cultural and economic issues that are changing our world, at home and abroad. The Agenda airs weeknights at 8:00 PM EST on TVO - Canada's largest educational broadcaster.

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Governments across North America keep building and expanding roads. This can have deadly consequences for animals but, potentially, drivers too. One way to manage these risks is by building ecopassages, that help animals get around barriers humans create. This animal overpass near Burwash, Ont., is the first and-for now-only one of its kind in Ontario.

In this episode of Living History, we'll get a close look at the Highway 69 animal bridge, learn about the impact it's been having and see other ecopassage styles that you might never notice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Living History: Burwash Bridge

It is unclear how many undocumented immigrants live in Canada. Estimates range from 20,000 up to 500,000. Many of these are youth who were brought to Canada as young children and had no choice in the matter. Youth with precarious status or no status struggle to access public services like health care and education. Who are these undocumented youth, and does our country do enough to protect them? We ask:  Sarah Pole, Childhood Arrivals Support & Advocacy (CASA) Program, Director at Justice for Children and Youth Legal Clinic; Akil Augustine, producer and host at MLSE and the Toronto Raptors, formerly undocumented; Arlo Kempf associate professor at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto; and Stefan Enrique Joseph Kallikaden Youth and Access to Education Coordinator at FCJ Refugee Centre.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who Are Ontario's Undocumented Youth?

Muraly Srinarayanathas, serial entrepreneur and chair of 369 Global, discusses what supports are needed for immigrants to Canada.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to Support Newcomers to Canada

When Lorena Agolli started learning how to make shoes, she knew she'd found her vocation. Working with her hands came naturally, and she now owns Sole Survivor - a cobbler shop in Toronto that restores and repairs dozens of pairs of shoes every day. Using generations-old equipment, she and her team are part of an old-school movement towards traditional methods and restoration that combines generational knowledge with new technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sole Savers: Repairing and Restoring Old Shoes

Northern Ontario is geographically huge. About the size of France and Italy combined, but with the population of Mississauga. Trying to provide municipal services spread across such a vast expanse runs into facts that many southern cities simply don't face. In one of the key cities of the north, Sault Ste. Marie, at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, we welcome four out of the five members of NOLUM - the Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors.
 Michelle Boileau, mayor of Timmins; Peter Chirico, mayor of North Bay; Paul Lefebrvre, mayor of Sudbury; and Matthew Shoemaker, mayor of Sault Ste. Marie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The State of Strong Mayor Powers

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