The Big Story

The new threshold, included in an amendment to the Customs Act, is a "reasonable general concern". What's the legal definition of that? Here's the thing: There isn't one.

In an attempt to create a higher barrier to opening Canadians' devices on entry, the Alberta Court of Appeals struck down the previous threshold, but left it to the government to create a new one. That's where "reasonable general concern" comes into play—and privacy advocates as well as a Canadian Senator are very concerned about the implications.

GUEST: Senator Paula Simons

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In short? That it was a huge mess. But that's not enough. An inquiry is trying to get to the bottom of the police response to the worst mass shooting in Canadian history, and around every corner seems to lurk a new detail about delays, misinformation, too many commanding officers and, above all, inaction.

As Canadians learned in horror how police in Uvalde, Texas stood by while a shooter was murdering children in a school, they didn't have to look hard for a Canadian example of how utterly a response to a gunman can be botched. So what are the details? What do we still have to learn? And will there be any change, consequences or closure?

GUEST: Greg Mercer, Atlantic Canada reporter, The Globe and Mail

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For those who have been paying attention to Canadian politics for the past 3-4 decades, Jean Charest will be a familiar figure. 
Charest was first elected to the House of Commons in 1984, he lead the Progressive Conservative Party from 1993-1998, he also served as the 29th premier of Quebec... as a Liberal. 

After a 10-year political hiatus, Charest is running for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. His past affiliations, and some of his policies, have been touted by his rivals as proof that he's a Liberal in disguise. His chances at winning may hinge on his ability to convince party members otherwise.  

So what is Jean Charest's pitch? How do his politics stack up to the likely frontrunner, Pierre Poilievre? And does he actually stand a chance?  

GUEST: Catherine Cullen, Senior Reporter on Parliament Hill for CBC News.

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Almost five years have passed since the start of the #MeToo movement, and just a few days ago, a verdict was reached in the trial of a famous Canadian musician accused of sexual assault. The Hoggard trial serves as a sort of litmus test for how far Canada has (and hasn't) come in terms of its approach to cases involving allegations of sexual violence. The results were decidedly mixed, and quite revealing.

Today, we'll take an in-depth look at the trial, and explore some of the evidence the jury never heard.

GUEST: Alyshah Hasham, crime and courts reporter, The Toronto Star

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On its surface, "long-Covid" might seem self-explanatory — symptoms that linger following a COVID-19 infection. But beyond the prevalence of symptoms like extreme fatigue, chest pain, and loss of smell and taste, not much is known about what exactly causes the condition, or the best way to treat it.

So how are health care professionals helping Covid long-haulers regain their quality of life? Can an already over-burdened healthcare system deal with the disturbingly high number of people struggling with this chronic illness? And what is day to day life actually like when you're living with long-Covid?

Guests: Susie Goulding, COVID Long-Haulers Canada, and Dr. Marina Wasilewski, Sunnybrook Research Institute.

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Patrick Brown's career has been marked by ups and downs. In 2015, at just 36 years old, he was elected leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party. Then, three years later he resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct from two women — allegations that he denies. That same year, he was elected mayor of Brampton, an extremely diverse city in the Greater Toronto Area. Now he's trying to leverage that success in his current bid to become leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). 

At this point, Brown is not the frontrunner, but if we've learned one thing from his political career thus far, it's that we should be careful not to write him off entirely. So what is his strategy for winning this race? And what might the CPC look like under his leadership? 

GUEST: Stephanie Taylor, Reporter at The Canadian Press

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By now, most of us know how to recognize the signs that our credit or debit card information has been compromised. Maybe you see some strange activity in your banking app, or an emailed receipt from Amazon for a heinous chaise longue you didn't order.

The scam we're talking about today can be much more insidious. It can go on for years while you remain completely unaware, until one day, you get a phone call asking why you haven't made any payments on a mortgage you never signed up for. Welcome to the world of 'synthetic identity fraud'. 

So how does this scheme work? How can you tell if someone has used your information to take out a fraudulent car loan or mortgage? And what should you do once you've uncovered the scam? 

GUEST: Jennifer Fiddian-Green, leader of the National Risk and Forensic Advisory Practice at Grant-Thornton LLP

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Almost 100 days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russian forces now control one-fifth of Ukraine. That is both a scary number and also a far better outcome thus far than most of the world predicted.

This was a war that was supposed to be brutal and short, and it may drag on for months to come as Ukrainians fight courageously against their aggressors—but in the end, somehow, this war will end. What are the possible scenarios for how, and which is likely to play out in the coming months?

GUEST: Balkan Devlen, senior fellow at McDonald Laurier Institute, Superforecaster for Good Judgment, Inc.

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The overdose crisis is a tragedy, and in the past couple of years the number of deaths has been staggering. Harm-reduction advocates are looking for any way possible to save lives, and decriminalization is a strategy that has been used elsewhere to great effect.

So starting next January, British Columbia will try it with some drugs, at low amounts. Is this a huge step towards progressive drug policy, or too-little-too-late? Could it be both?

GUEST: Manisha Krishnan, senior editor, Vice News

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Canada's governments are very good at commissioning reports, listening to recommendations and then ... not doing much. It's a pattern we've perfected over the years. In fact, a damning report delivered this week on sexual assault and harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces was actually the second on the same subject in seven years.

But advocates have hope that this report, and the government's reaction, will be different. The report is comprehensive and the recommendations demand large-scale systemic change. Many of them are recommendations the government can put into effect in short order if they have the will to do so. So... do they?

GUEST: Julie Lalonde, advocate and educator, author of Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death of Julie S. Lalonde

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