Cross Country Checkup

Idols and heroes can have a huge influence in your life as you follow their lives from afar.

But what happens when you actually meet them? Have you had a celebrity encounter? What happened when you met your hero?  

2024 has been full of non-stop headlines that hit home for Canadians and their families around the world.

From the fall of the Assad regime to the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza to the situations in Haiti and Sudan.

Here at home it's been a tumultuous year in Canadian politics with calls for Prime Minister Trudeau to resign as Canada prepares to negotiate with the incoming Trump administration. We're joined by a panel of CBC journalists to reflect on this year's news cycle and why these stories matter.

It’s been a tumultuous week for the Liberals. On Friday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Parliament should reconvene just after the NDP vowed to vote down Liberal government. On the same day, Justin Trudeau announced a cabinet shuffle with eight new faces joining cabinet. This chain of events was set in motion after Chrystia Freeland resigned from cabinet in dramatic fashion last Monday. A total of 21 Liberal MPs have publicly urged the Prime Minister to resign. And on Saturday, over 50 Liberal MPs from the Ontario caucus met and collectively decided that Justin Trudeau needs to step down as party leader. Those calls have not been answered. Our question: Do you have confidence in the Trudeau government? Where do we go from here?

For many, the unbridled joy of the holiday season awaits at the other side of a long flight. It's a time when millions of strangers gather inside airports and airplanes to jump cues at security, fall asleep in aisle seats, and possibly to remove their shoes mid flight. Whether you're travelling solo or with family, it's hard to know all the unwritten rules of flying from reclining chairs, to pre-boarding calls we spoke with two experts, one to answer your questions about holiday travel, and another to help counsel us all on flight etiquette.

Last month Prime Minister Trudeau traveled o Mar-A-Lago to talk about the threat of U.S. tarrifs with President-elect Donald Trump. At that meeting Trump apparently joked about Canada becoming the so-called "51st state." It wasn't the first time. Then last week Trump appeared to take another jab at Trudeau calling him the "Governor" of the "Great State of Canada." According to a recent Leger poll 13 per cent of Canadians said they would support Canada becoming the 51st State. The majority surveyed rejected the idea. What do you make of all the Trump jokes? Should Canada be America’s 51st state?

A recent study from Brock University in St. Catharines found that kids and teachers in Ontario saw a rise in rude behaviour in the classroom since the pandemic. Those findings echo the results of a poll in Quebec where the majority of teachers reported a rise in rudeness and incivility over the past two years among their students. Are kids getting ruder in the classroom and beyond? How do you deal with a child who misbehaves?

Tipping used to be pretty straightforward, 15 per cent at a restaurant, a couple extra dollars for a cab driver.  

But expectations have changed and a lot of us are struggling to figure out who to tip, how much, and who gets the money? 

Which services deserve a tip and which ones don’t? Is it a fair way to pay workers?

The rebel offensive in Syria has been incredibly quick and effective, recently taking the last of the country's major cities, the capital, Damascus. According to Russian state media, the overthrown Syrian leader Bash-ar al-Assad has been granted asylum in Moscow. The main rebel group leading the offensive, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham says former Prime Minister Mahammed Gha-zee al-Ja-la-lee will oversee state institutions for now. The sweeping change comes after nearly 14 years of civil war. The conflict has seen more than 500-thousand Syrians killed, while millions have fled the country. What questions do you have about Syria and the fall of Bashar al-Assad?

And in our second hour: Tipping. Expectations have changed about who to tip and how much. Which services deserve a tip and which ones don’t? Is it a fair way to pay workers?

Whether at groceries stores, gas stations or online banking, self-service is a nearly unavoidable aspect of daily life. For many, using apps to order food and book flights is efficient and cheap. But the there is no shortage to the frustrations that come along with automated phone calls or trying to find the right produce code at the grocery checkout. Has self check-out made your life better or worse?

And in the second hour, whether it's Canada Post, Donald Trump or working out screen time with your kids, life is a negotiation. We spoke to an expert on negotiating to help you resolve conflicts and get the deal done.

Whether it's Canada Post, Donald Trump or working out screen time with your kids, life is a negotiation. We spoke to an expert on negotiating to help you resolve conflicts and get the deal done.