After months of mounting pressure from opposition parties, scientific advisers, labour groups and local medical officers of health across the province, the Ontario government has unveiled a plan to provide three paid sick days by reimbursing employers through a temporary pandemic program that will run through to September. Does it meet what many have been calling for? Rosie and Elamin take a close look at the proposal and how Doug Ford’s government handled the highly anticipated announcement on Wednesday.

The two also reflect on a story that held the attention of many people this week: the death of 13-year-old Emily Viegas in Brampton, Ontario, one of the youngest Canadians to die of COVID-19. Elamin and Rosie examine whether enough messaging is getting through about the severity of this variant-driven third wave of the pandemic.

Elamin and Rosie turn their attention south to reflect on Tuesday’s verdict in the Derek Chauvin case. The former Minneapolis police officer was convicted on all three counts including murder and manslaughter for killing George Floyd in May of last year. What — if anything — does this verdict change, when it comes to policing in the U.S. and Canada, where charges and convictions are rare in cases of fatal encounters with police?

The two also focus on the COVID crisis unfolding in Ontario, where a chorus of experts from many fields say Doug Ford’s government has led the province into chaos. But what happens if Ontario can’t or won’t take further necessary action to combat this third wave of COVID-19? What options are on the table then?

The pandemic isn't over but many people are over it. They're fed up with COVID-19, fed up with the lockdowns, and fed up with how governments have handled this whole pandemic. So today, Rosie and Elamin talk about the various ways people are expressing their anger, and whether there's anything governments can do to address the reasons for that anger.

Plus, the two check in about the upcoming federal budget. It's the government's first in two years and — in the context of the pandemic and the economic crisis — it may be one of the most important budgets in decades. Will the government take on big, ambitious social issues at this juncture, or will they lay out a path to curb stimulus spending?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed on Wednesday that Canada’s most populous province would be heading into its second stay-at-home order and third state of emergency as COVID-19 variants of concern continue to spread. Catherine Cullen, senior reporter for CBC News, sits in for Rosie this week and joins Elamin in examining how efforts in several provinces still tend to be reactive versus proactive, and may not reach the “middle ground” that premiers like Alberta’s Jason Kenney often strive to find.

The two also turn their attention to the NDP as the party prepares for its policy convention this weekend. After a year in which the Liberals served up some big policy responses to the pandemic, which would normally be considered the territory of the left — take the CERB, for example — where can the NDP stake their claim as an election looms on the horizon?

Elamin has turned to a simultaneously fun and frustrating way to pass the time during the pandemic: scrolling through real estate listings. He’s just one of an endless number of millennials hoping to somehow grab onto the real estate ladder and buy their first home — but when? And how? The national average home price in February was up 25 per cent from the year before (jumping from just under $542,500 to just over $678,000, if you’re curious) and there’s research out there that suggests a young Canadian would have to log more than two decades of full-time work just to afford a decent down payment in certain markets. Rosie points out the grim reality that her cohort of first-time buyers who got in the door some 15 or 20 years ago simply had luck on their side; but it’s going to take a whole lot more than luck to cool Canada’s hot housing market in 2021. The two examine how the government could step in to help, as the federal budget is set to land in just a few weeks’ time; they also take a close look this week at the third wave of COVID-19 hitting several provinces where variants of concern are driving an increase in daily case counts.

It’s our last episode! And what a wild ride it has been.

Party in the U.S.A. was originally meant to cover the 2020 U.S. election, but then EVERYTHING happened. Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, Trump got COVID-19, Biden won, and a deadly riot on Capitol Hill led to Trump’s second impeachment.

In this episode, we take stock of the last few months and what’s next for the U.S. But first, a deep dive into what’s happening in Bessemer, Alabama where a group of Amazon workers are trying to make history by becoming the company’s first U.S. union.

Elamin is joined by Barry Eidlin, a professor at McGill University who looks at U.S. labour relations, as well as journalist and author Sarah Kendzior.

This week, an independent report found the RCMP racially discriminated against the family of Colten Boushie, the young Indigenous man whose shooting death in Saskatchewan was investigated by the national police force in 2016. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki accepted the report’s finding, the Saskatchewan RCMP is implementing the report’s recommendations, the Prime Minister has once again acknowledged the presence of systemic racism in the RCMP and other institutions — but what happens next? Rosie and Elamin take a close look at the independent report and what options could be on the table for a police force that continues to come under fire for its treatment of Indigenous people.

Plus: as the Supreme Court is set to hand down a decision on whether Ottawa’s carbon tax is constitutional, and after Conservative Party members last weekend voted down a policy resolution to officially recognize climate change, the two look at where Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole may venture next when it comes to climate change policy.

The Atlanta shooting attack on March 16 marked a culmination of a year of increased racism, discrimination and violence directed against Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S.

In this episode, we look at the long history of discrimination against Asians in America, the complications of "Asian-American" as a political term, and what this moment means for mainstream politics and grassroots organizing.

Elamin is joined by Kim Tran, an anti-racist researcher and consultant based in Oakland, and Arissa Oh, a professor of history at Boston College.

Maybe Elamin’s situation hits home for you, too: he’s been getting WhatsApp messages from his mom with questions about COVID-19 vaccines, and some of those concerns appear to be based on misinformation floating around the internet. On a week that saw plenty of headlines about the AstraZeneca vaccine in particular, Rosie and Elamin lay out the need-to-know facts about the updated recommendation for seniors getting the shot here in Canada, and why some European countries have chosen to temporarily pause their rollout.

The two also look ahead to this week's Conservative Party convention — happening virtually, of course — and break down why the pressure is on Conservative leader Erin O'Toole to prove he can lead the party to power.

President Joe Biden has his biggest moment yet — the passage of his $1.9 trillion dollar COVID-19 relief bill.

It’s one of the largest expansions of federal social support in the U.S. in decades, bringing aid to tens of millions of people.

But another area where President Biden had promised to distinguish himself from his predecessor — the immigration file — is proving more difficult.

He’s promised to usher in a new, more humane system and erase Trump’s controversial legacy on immigration policy.

But with a burgeoning border crisis and no consensus even within the party, the reform he’s promised could be out of reach.

Elamin is joined by Kadia Goba, a Congress reporter for Axios, and freelance journalist Tanvi Misra who covers immigration in Washington D.C.