The Rundown

Steve Paikin asks guests: Which is harder for Canada to re-set relations with: China or India? Then, Nam Kiwanuka explores why some parents don't vaccinate their kids.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opposition critics Chandra Pasma, NDP MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean; Stephanie Bowman, Liberal MPP for Don Valley West; and Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario and the MPP for Guelph react to the Ontario government's 2025 budget.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ontario's Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy joins Steve Paikin to discuss the government's budget for 2025.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Maplehurst Correctional Complex is known as Ontario's deadliest and most overcrowded jail. In recent weeks, it's come under increased scrutiny after video footage from 2023 was released showing inmates facing collective punishment from guards in an incident one judge called a "gross display of power." Is Maplehurst an aberration or a sign of system-wide challenges? What kind of action could and should the province take? To discuss, we're joined by Demar Kemar Hewitt Executive director and general counsel at the Black Legal Action Centre Lee Chapelle Former inmate and president of Canadian Prison Consulting Brendan Kennedy Reporter on the Toronto Star's investigative team and Andrea Monteiro Founder of Ethical Correctional Consulting Inc., former director of corrections in the Yukon, and former manager of the Independent Review of Ontario Corrections

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Premier Doug Ford recently declared that he thought it was time for Ontario to start electing judges, ranting against "bleeding heart" jurists and suggesting that all appointments are political. Could tougher judges indeed help fix our system? What's the best way to ensure judicial independence, and who gets to define it? To discuss, we're joined by Donna Kellway President of the Ontario Crown Attorneys' Association Boris Bytensky President of the Criminal Lawyers' Association of Ontario Peter Copeland Deputy director of domestic policy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and former director of policy to the solicitor general of Ontario and Shakir Rahim Director of the criminal justice program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While headlines about migration might make it seem like a relatively new phenomenon, the movement of people spans hundreds of thousands of years, and according to our guest, has been essential to the survival of the human species. Ian Goldin is professor of globalization and development at the University of Oxford, and author of "The Shortest History of Migration: When, Why, and How Humans Move-From the Prehistoric Peopling of the Planet to Today and Tomorrow's Migrants".

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Mark Carney went to Washington to try and reset relations with Donald Trump. Should he do the same with China and India? Ties with them have been strained in recent years, so can the new PM find a way to work with the world's two most populous countries? Host Steve Paikin asks: Rohinton Medhora, Professor of Practice at McGill University, and a Distinguished Fellow at CIGI, the Centre for International Governance Innovation; Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President of Research & Strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada; And Jeff Mahon, Director of Geopolitical & International Business Advisory at StrategyCorp and Executive in Residence at the Canada West Foundation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Public Health Ontario's measles report has been rapidly rising since the outbreak began in October. With this highly contagious disease spanning to new parts of the country, why are some parents still reluctant to get their children vaccinated? The Agenda invites André Picard, health reporter and columnist for The Globe and Mail; Dr. Jeffrey Pernica, pediatrics infectious disease position at McMaster Children's Hospital; Dr. Dawn Bowdish, professor of medicine at McMaster University and Jill Promoli, public health advocate to discuss.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert Francis Prevost – now Pope Leo XIV – is the first American elected to lead 1.4 billion Catholics around the world. He spent much of his time in Peru as a missionary before Pope Francis in 2023 made him a Cardinal, and therefore eligible to become Pope. To help us learn more about the new Pontiff and the direction he may lead the Catholic Church, we welcome: Megan Armstrong, professor of history at McMaster University in Hamilton, and a specialist on Early Modern Catholicism; and Michael Higgins, Basilian Distinguished Fellow of Contemporary Catholic Thought at the University of St. Michael's College, and author of "The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis."

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From mommy bloggers and hyper-organized TikTok moms, to feminist manifestos on the value of domestic labour, motherhood is a hot topic. And in her new book, "Story of Your Mother," – partially written directly to her first-born son – Chantal Braganza looks for fresh ways to define the life-altering experience, both intellectually and very personally. She's also a senior editor at Chatelaine Magazine.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.