The Big Story

As Prime Minister Mark Carney heads for the G20 Summit in South Africa, his trip to the United Arab Emirates proved to be one focused on strengthening diplomatic ties and potential foreign investment relations.

However, mention of the UAE's alleged involvement in the war in Sudan was something many Canadians and human rights activists felt was missing from the trip's itinerary.

Amnesty International claims credible sources have found the UAE to be in violation of the United Nations' arms embargo to Sudan's Darfur region, something the UAE repeatedly denies. The Sudanese war broke out in 2023, as its army battles for power against a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces. More than 150,000 lives have been claimed.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Glen McGregor, political correspondent for CityNews to break down the implications of Carney's trip to the Middle East, and how the omission for holding the UAE accountable could have consequences for Canada's humanitarian image.

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November is financial literacy month, and when it comes to finances, ignorance is certainly not bliss.

With all the resources online, whether that be from TikToks or business blogs or even ChatGPT, it may seem intimidating to cut through all the noise to find out what works for you. But the reality is, educating yourself is easier than you think.

All it takes is one conversation.

Host Kris McCusker speaks to Gary Teelucksingh, co-founder of the Money Wise Institute and partner at Electric Mind. He’s also the author of Roots of Prosperity: Building Legacies Beyond Wealth. The two discuss how to build financial habits that work for your personal lifestyle, and how the worst thing you could do for your money is NOT talk about it, regardless of how old you are.

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A recent report by the Canadian Cancer Statistics Advisory Committee found that after more than three decades of steady decline, cases of cervical cancer have plateaued in the past 20 years.

In an effort to make screening less daunting, the Canadian Cancer Society is pushing for all provinces and territories to replace the traditional pap smear examination with the human papillomavirus (HPV) test. So far, only four provinces have made the switch.

But the switch is just a piece of the puzzle. Access to screening, education on reproductive health, and destigmatizing testing all play a role in bringing down cases of cervical cancer - which Canada committed to eliminate by 2040.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Dr. Lucy Gilbert, director of the McGill University Gynecologic Oncology service, and chair of oncology for McGill University’s Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology to discuss the risks related with lack of access to proper screenings, and how Health Canada needs to keep health education top of mind if they want to meet its 2040 goal.

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As the U.S. House aims to vote on a bill this week to force Donald Trump’s Justice Department to make the Jeffrey Epstein files public, the president is now calling for Republicans to vote in favor of the files’ release.

It’s a noticeable change of heart that comes after Trump was named in newly released emails obtained by Congress that are reignited scrutiny of what he knew about Epstein’s conduct.

The dilemma continues to divide both his strongest supporters and his Republican party, and has even led to a falling-out with one of his longtime MAGA allies, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Host Caryn Ceolin is joined by Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University to discuss why the president’s reversal, in the face of all-but-certain defeat on Capitol Hill, is still unlikely to lead to the release of the Epstein files.

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Canada has seen four incidents in just two months of Canadian Border Service Agency primary inspection kiosks going down at some of the country's busiest airports.

CBSA's President Erin O'Gorman admitted they use what it calls 'legacy systems', but besides the security delays at air and land-crossings, these outages highlight the real neglect Ottawa has done to its agencies' technologies.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to David Shipley, CEO and co-founder of Beauceron Security to discuss the reality of Canada's ability to defend itself against National security threats, and whether or not these outages are as bad as they seem.

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Ontario signed a 1-year renewal contract with Ottawa earlier this week, keeping childcare between $19-$22/day.

Instead of a 5-year renewal, Provincial Education Minister Paul Calandra wants the federal government to address Ontario's $2 billion shortfall, or else daily fees for families will increase.

Meantime, Ontario's Auditor General said Ontario wasn't meeting it's ECE staffing targets, nor was it building enough spaces to satisfy the 5.9 : 10 ratio requirement set out by Ottawa.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to David Macdonald, Senior Economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to discuss their recent report on childcare deserts across the country, and how close Ontario is to lowering the average childcare price to $10/day.

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Would you want to know if the food you were eating came from a cloned animal?

New Health Canada regulations set to kick in next year don't require beef and pork manufacturers to label whether or not their products were from cloned animals. After consultations with the general public and stakeholders, Health Canada decided to remove cloned meat from their 'novel foods' category.

Cloned animals are made through assisted reproductive processes such as artificial insemination. Sometimes, the cloned animals' offspring is what makes it to the meat counter.

However, questions have been raised regarding the lack of transparency around the regulation change, and whether or not consumers deserve to know where and how the meat they buy is made.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agr-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University to discuss how important accurate food labels are to Canadian consumers, and whether or not cloned meat is safe for you.

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Quebec doctors and healthcare providers are weighing their options when it comes to the future of their practice.

The province adopted Bill 2 last month, legislation that sets performance targets for healthcare providers with a financial penalty if not met.

The bill is in effort to address long wait times for surgery, emergency rooms, specialist consultations, and for the system overall to provide better care to all residents.

However, the bill's slash to salaries while simultaneously omitting failures from the Province's responsibility, has doctors and healthcare professionals rethinking their future in medicine in the province. Dozens have already resigned, with several applying to Ontario hospitals instead.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Dr. Trevor Hennessey, Chief of the department of anesthesiology for the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais to break down what Bill 2 really means for the future of healthcare in Quebec, and how it's more about an infringement on Charter rights than a new payment model for doctors.

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It’s not a surprise but it is a disappointment.

Canada has lost its measles elimination status after almost 30 years. It comes as the country grapples with what it calls a 'mulit-jurisdictional' outbreak that began in October 2024, resulting in more than 5,100 cases and two infant deaths.

We are not the first country to lose the title - and we probably won’t be the last – but getting back in the 'elimination zone' will not be an easy one, and will be timely.

Host Kris McCusker speaks to Dr. Barry Pakes, Program Director of the Public Health and Preventative Medicine Residency Program at the University of Toronto about what the status change really means, how it happened and what it says about vaccination accessibility across the country.

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After a crumbling loss in the federal election, coupled with Prime Minister Carney's Liberal shift towards the centre, the NDP is grappling with a political identity crisis. What does it stand for? Who do they represent? And does Canada's population in 2025 even resemble what it's fighting for?

Meanwhile to the south, New York City Mayoral-elect Zohran Mamdani is entering his first full week on the job following his bold win over Cuomo and Sliwa. Although there's parallels between his campaign and the Canadian NDP, execution styles couldn't be farther apart.

Host Caryn Ceolin speaks to Saman Tabasinejad to break down the future of Canada's appetite for a political Left, and whether or not the NDP is taking notes from Mamdani's sweeping victory.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

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