The Big Story

Just days after Canada's official unofficial border crossing at Roxham Road was shut down, eight bodies were recovered from the waters of the St. Lawrence River near the Canada-US border. The bodies belong to migrants believed to be travelling from Canada to the United States, but without the Roxham crossing, advocates say we should expect to see more dangerous attempts to cross the border that could end in tragedy.

What changed to close Roxham Road, and was it the right call? What comes next for the border, and those seeking to cross it? Could the tragedy on the St. Lawrence have been avoided and how should Canada balance the needs of border security and a migrant crisis that is only going to accelerate in the years to come?

GUEST: Nicholas Keung, Immigration Reporter, Toronto Star

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At the end of January, British Columbia began a pilot program that decriminalized small amounts of drugs, including heroin, cocaine and opioids. It's the first province-wide program of its kind in Canada and it comes amidst a spiralling overdose crisis. Already, opinions on the program are polarizing and some municipalities in BC are trying to find ways around it.

But will the program work? It's been tried elsewhere in the world and results have been positive, but there's simply not enough data yet in the province to tell. Meanwhile, other critics say the program doesn't go far enough to make a real impact, and risks further stigmatizing those who need the most help.

GUEST: Dr. Lindsey Richardson, Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of British Columbia; Canada Research Chair in Social Inclusion and Health Equity

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Tight elections don't seem to be Alberta's thing. After decades of Conservative blowouts, the NDP's unlikely 2015 win was ... also a blowout, and then the United Conservative Party returned the favour during the next contest. But now, with two months to go before Albertans vote on a new premier, polls indicate that the UCP and the NDP are basically tied. This might actually be a close race. 

So how did we get here? Have Rachel Notley and the NDP been able to capitalize on Danielle Smith's many gaffes and scandals? Are voters simply immune to weird Covid stuff from the UCP by now? And could this maybe, possibly, be an election actually decided by policy and not partisanship?

GUEST: Courtney Theriault, CityNews Edmonton

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When a leader sticks around a long time, it's natural that his popularity declines. That's how politics goes. But as Justin Trudeau heads towards a decade in power, there's a big chunk of Canadians who do more than just disapprove of him. They loathe the man. 

Meanwhile, Trudeau's top challenger, Pierre Poilievre, hasn't led the Conservative party very long, but he's still managed to rack up  impressive unfavourability numbers in a short amount of time.

What's fascinating is what the data reveals about who dislikes Poilievre, and who really hates Trudeau, and why. And what those numbers can tell us about the next election, and the political makeup of Canada in 2023.

GUEST: David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data

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The five-day work week has been the standard for decades. But not forever. Once upon a time, it was a six-day week. So why can't it go from five to four?

This isn't an idle question. Pilot projects and studies in countries around the world, including some in Canada, have proven that a four-day week can make employees more productive, as well as cause them to miss less time leaving work for appointments. Companies that have experimented with a four-day work have mostly decided to keep it. If at one time, it seems a crazy idea that just might work, by now there's enough data to show us that it does.

So ... why are you working today? Why am I?

GUEST: Jared Lindzon, writing in The Globe and Mail

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With $432 billion in spending, it's safe to say not everything included in Tuesday's federal budget got its share of headlines. And for top-line items, that makes sense. Health care and the cost of living are things that impact every Canadian. 

But it can sometimes take a day or two to sort out all the rest—smaller line items that might matter a lot to some people, or long-awaited promises that have finally made it into the document. Or, on the flip side, to get through the entire document and realize what's not in there at all...

So what do you need to know about this budget that can't be summed up by a headline? And what will its real impact be down the road?

GUEST: Cormac Mac Sweeney, Parliament Hill reporter, CityNews

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It's a sport well over a century old. It has historically resisted change. It has also, however, been losing relevance by the year, as it gets slower and slower and the action becomes rarer and rarer. Baseball has been withering on the vine. Until (allegedly) this year!

For the first time in decades, Major League Baseball has made substantial and fundamental changes to its rules, including a previously unthinkable addition — a clock for the timeless game. So why now? What will these changes do to the sport, and its audience? Is this enough to finally fix baseball?

GUEST: Shi Davidi, senior baseball columnist, Sportsnet

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Almost five years ago, one of the very first episodes of this podcast was about how baseball was a sport in decline. Games were too long, and too boring. The fan base was getting older and older, and younger generations didn't care. The game was less diverse and had less action, and attendance and ratings were declining.

In the years to follow, this problem grew worse and worse—until finally even the traditionalists at the heart of the sport realized the game they loved, and profited from, was becoming increasingly irrelevant.

So today, we visit the past, and the problem with baseball. Tomorrow, the solution ... if it works.

GUEST: Stephen Brunt, sportswriter

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First it was a campaign promise. Then a key plank of the Liberal-NDP supply and confidence agreement. Then it morphed into drug pricing reforms, which were delayed, and changed and delayed and ... well, we're still waiting. Meanwhile, the organization that helped devise the plan has seen resignations, amid accusations that the federal Liberal government has caved to huge pharmaceutical companies.

The promise of pharmacare goes back decades in Canadian politics. For a while it seemed like it might be within reach, or at least we'd get price relief on expensive drugs for those without insurance. Instead, we're still in limbo. What happened?

GUEST: Dr. Danyaal Raza, family physician; Assistant Professor, University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine

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It's the most ambitious offshore mining project in Canadian history, and the fight for approvals has been long and arduous. That's because of both its scope, its dangers and the potential windfall to a province that badly needs it.

So what is Bay du Nord? What does it promise and what, exactly, are the risks? And how do you balance the need to phase out fossil fuels with the future of an entire province's economy?

GUEST: Lyndsie Bourgon, writing in Maclean's magazine

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