The Big Story

The Prime Minister said in the closing days of a close campaign that he was "open" to electoral reform. That came as a surprise to the millions of people who watched him break his promise on the issue after the 2015 election. But it's worth asking, as Canada's elections continue to reward parties who win fewer votes with more seats — what would equitable electoral reform look like in Canada? How could it be accomplished? Which systems offer which parties advantages? And is it even a possibility?

GUEST: Max Fawcett, political writer and commentator

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The Canadian government receives more credible information regarding Unidentified Flying Objects than you'd ever imagine. And you don't see much, if any, of it. Instead, it sends reports to a private citizen, in Winnipeg, who has become something of a UFO consultant for sightings across Canada. Why?

GUEST: Daniel Otis, reporting for Vice Canada

(Today's episode is brought to you by CBC's War of the Worlds. You can watch it right here on CBC Gem.)

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UPDATE: On Nov. 23, 2021, Crown Counsel decided not to proceed with sexual assault charges against Steve Wallace. Wallace died within days of that decision.

Steve Wallace claims he's taught more than 25,000 people to drive. Dozens of them say he harassed and abused them while he did so. The allegations which now date back into the 1970s came to light after one young woman, who says he harassed her during a lesson, created a social media account about it—and the victims have been sharing stories since. Now Wallace faces charges and two communities ask themselves the same questions: How did this happen? Why did nobody come forward sooner?

GUEST: Brishti Basu, Capital Daily 

(Read the Capital Daily's coverage of Steve Wallace here and here.)

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Ozy was a digital publisher that claimed to have an audience of tens of millions. Had you ever heard of them before last week? Me neither. A New York Times expose began a flood of reporting that showed us all just how little most of us understand about ad fraud, digital media and the ecosystem that drives this multi-billion-dollar industry. From absurd claims, to impersonations, paid traffic and more, major brands stuck by Ozy and continued to invest with them. Why?
GUEST: Craig Silverman, ProPublica, formerly of Buzzfeed News

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When Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp all vanished for hours on Monday, it wasn't a nefarious plan. It was a mistake. But what it revealed about how much the world has come to depend on Mark Zuckerberg's collection of apps was plain: Millions of people and businesses around the world—and even one nation's government—were completely cut off. 

What Facebook has built has become essential to the functioning of much of global communications. So what are we going to do about that?
GUEST: Jesse Hirsh, Metaviews.ca

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Portpass was recommended to fans by the entity that owns two Calgary sports teams. They weren't alone. According to the company's estimates, more than 500,000 Canadians were using Portpass to show proof of their vaccination status. And then a local app developer got curious about what was under the hood of this supposedly secure application and started digging around. Now the police are investigating and Portpass is no longer in application stores. What happened, and how many people's records may have been exposed?

GUEST: Sarah Rieger, CBC Calgary

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In the early days of the pandemic, a conspiracy theory claimed that the virus was intentionally released from a lab. It was seized upon by the worst people and drove racist scapegoating of Asian people around the world. And if that wasn't horrific enough, it also managed to poison the well for the investigations that must be done now. Not to prove that the virus was released on purpose—that's conspiracy—but to pinpoint as accurately as we can how the virus made its way into humans and what we can learn from understanding that.
 

So: What's the case for Covid-19 having leaked from a laboratory?

GUEST: Elaine Dewar, investigative journalist and author of On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years

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Private-sector union membership has declined significantly in recent decades, in part due to a vast pool of foreign labour that has left many domestic workers in constant fear of being outsourced.

The stresses of the pandemic, and a historically high cost of living is putting the squeeze on North American low-wage workers, but as the current labour shortage worsens and companies become increasingly desperate to hire employees, people in industries like hospitality, or healthcare, or manufacturing find themselves in a much-strengthened bargaining position.

As workers become more empowered, will they be emboldened to organize and advocate for their rights?

GUEST: Stephanie Ross

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If they were, you probably wouldn't know it. Since millions of white-collar workers began working from home during the pandemic, the demand for 'Tattleware' has rapidly increased. What does this software do? How sophisticated is it? How invasive? Is it ethical? And do employees have any option other than to suck it up, or quit? As the office vs. remote battle continues, the amount of privacy workers will part with, in exchange for staying home, will be an important front in the fight...

GUEST: Sandy Milne, writing for The Guardian

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It can be daunting, as a non-Indigenous Canadian to wrestle with the enormity of the crimes committed against Indigenous people by this country.  And when we're asked to reflect upon it, the guilt can be overwhelming. But the same guilt can stop us from taking action, from making progress and from delivering results instead of symbolic gestures. On Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, one of the leading voices from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls shares a vision for reconciliation based on hope, not guilt.

GUEST: Karine Duhamel, Anishinaabe-Métis, Director of Research for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

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