The Big Story

Christmas trees won't vanish in this country, but the people who farm them are facing some tough decisions in the coming years. As the climate changes, trees grown apart, in neat little rows, simply can't take it as well as trees that make up a natural forest. As this worsens, the cost of farmed trees will continue to rise, and farmers may have to look at non-native species.

How does the tree farm industry work? Where does your perfect little triangle tree come from and why is it so difficult to grow? And ten years from now will more Canadians be heading out to the woods with axes, as our grandparents might have done?

GUEST: Richard Hamelin, head of Forest Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia

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We asked different Frequency staff members which TBS episodes resonated most with them in 2022. As we take a break from releasing new episodes over the holidays, we felt this was the perfect time to revisit these staff picks, and give you a bit of a glimpse into all the work that goes into making your favourite shows. 

Up first we have Stefanie Phillips, the show runner at Frequency Pods, telling us why she chose an episode from back in May, about rising food prices. 

—ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES— 

New numbers show Canada's rate of food inflation has hit a 40-year high, even passing the rate of the United States. Millions of Canadians are trying to balance their grocery bill with their budget and having to make difficult choices. So, where can you look for relief? What's less expensive even as other products are skyrocketing? How can you make sure you get the most for your money when there's little relief in sight?

And finally, much of the world is facing a compounding food crisis, how can we make sure Canadians continue to have store shelves full of goods, even if they do cost more than in the past?

GUEST: Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, co-host of The Food Professor podcast

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It's a cliche to say the holidays can be a tough time for some people, but the truth is that almost everyone will spend some time this month exhausted, worried, lonely or just generally trying to make it through.

If you're not one of those people, congratulations! For everyone else, or even for those with friends or family who may need some extra care, this is the prep session for you.

GUEST: Erica Djossa, registered psychotherapist, host of Happy As A Mother

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Most Ontario rifle hunters get less than two weeks a year to bag their deer. On Griffith Island they got 11 weeks—until the provincial government recently raised it to 13. Why such a long season? Nobody wants to talk about it. Not the government, and definitely not the exclusive hunting club on the island with its secretive membership list.

On the surface, Griffith Island is an interesting curiosity that can spark discussion of privilege. More than that, however, it raises questions about who sets hunting laws, who those laws are designed to benefit, and whether those decisions are driven by the best interests of conservation, or the best interests of the wealthy few.

GUEST: Emma McIntosh, Ontario reporter, The Narwhal

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At the time of year when we should be trying to help others, those struggling with homelessness might not be feeling the love. In some Canadian cities, encampment communities have been taken down, sometimes violently. Temporary hotel shelters created during the pandemic are being shut down. And all just in time for winter.

Why has homelessness spiked in Canada? What's the root cause, and why aren't governments addressing it? We know we're not creating enough affordable housing, but what good does affordable housing do if you still can't afford it? What do those living outside, in the shelter system or in community encampments actually need—from governments, and from us?

GUEST: Jen St. Denis, housing and civic issues reporter, The Tyee

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You've heard parts of this story in every report of a teacher preying on a vulnerable student. What makes this case different is the sheer scale of the abuse. Nearly twenty years, dozens of students ... how did it go on for so long?

Michael Gregory could have been stopped before most of this happened. But he wasn't. What can this horrific case teach us about protecting children from systematic abuse in the school system?

GUEST: Omar Mouallem, writer, editor, and filmmaker. (You can read Omar's piece in Maclean's right here.)

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Trials will begin in Uganda this week for three vaccines that could combat the Ebola outbreak—and one of those vaccines was created here in Canada. But it was created years ago, and simply sat there, waiting for someone, anyone, to move it to trial and manufacture. And this is something of a pattern.

Why is Canada among the world leaders in finding vaccines, and never doing anything with them? Why does it take for-profit companies or dozens of deaths before these projects move forward? How many lives could be saved from how many viruses if Canada, and the world, were just a little more proactive?

GUEST: Jason Nickerson, humanitarian representative to Canada for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières

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For the first time ever, snow crab season has been cancelled. A survey of the population revealed thousands of tons of crabs, more than eleven billion animals estimates had said were on the Pacific Ocean floor, simply weren't there. The reason for their absence is a mystery, with many possible solutions—disease, migration, cannibalism and more.

In the days after the discovery however, most narratives focused on climate change's role in their absence. And while it surely played some part, what does it say about our rapidly changing world that this has become the first and simplest answer to any mystery in the natural world?

GUEST: Spencer Roberts, writing in Nautilus

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Bill C-21 would change Canada's approach to gun control. A little bit. But an amendment to Bill C-21 would radically alter it, and it seems that the party pushing the legislation may not even realize it. In theory, the bill is intended to ban "assault-style" weapons. In practice it could ban hundreds of guns that have been legal to own for decades.

As you might imagine, this is not going over well with military gun owners, hunters and others who have used firearms safely and legally for many years. And the Liberals may now walk back to proposed amendment. But the big question here is this: How did a party that has made a ton of political hay on gun policy walk right into this mess with its eyes closed?

GUEST: Matt Gurney, print and broadcast journalist, co-founder of The Line

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Has anyone in your family ever gotten away with murder? Are you sure? Because a new investigative DNA technique allows police to search a database for DNA linked to samples obtained in cold case investigations. Companies like 23andMe won't share your DNA with police, but many people who use those services choose to upload their results to other databases, in hopes of finding a match, or medical information, or many other things ... and they either allow, or forget to opt out of, police searching that data.

Recently Toronto Police cracked two decades-old cold cases this way, and the process is gaining popularity with police forces everywhere. So how does it work? Is it legal, or ethical? And are we about to see a flood of cold cases coming off the books, thanks to curious but innocent people who don't realize there's a killer in their family tree?

GUEST: Jennifer Pagliaro, crime reporter, Toronto Star

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