The Decibel

As long as there have been cities, there have been pest problems. Beneath our feet, rats scurry about and feed off our garbage. They breed quickly and plentifully. Above our heads, pigeons flock and dive, crowding around park benches and generally making a mess. The prairies have been contending with feral swine. Pest control has always been a delicate dance for cities, but now, they’re turning to new methods.

Oliver Moore is the Globe’s urban affairs reporter. He’s on the show to talk about why rats and pigeons have such a hold on our cities, and what some cities are doing to curb the populations. The Globe’s Alanna Smith also joins to talk about the truth behind Alberta’s claims that they’re rat-free. 

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This week, most kids across the country are headed back to school. That transition can bring a lot of feelings – excitement, but also nervousness and anxiety. And this year, along with the usual transition, some students can expect another big change – provinces across the country are bringing in stricter regulations around cellphone use.

Psychologist and children’s book author Dr. Jillian Roberts is on the show to talk about how parents can help their children navigate back-to-school anxiety. But first, Caroline Alphonso, the Globe’s education reporter, joins the show to talk about the state of youth mental health, and the impact students and educators think phone restrictions will have.

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Buying and owning a home in Canada is an endless source of frustration. Many have been priced out, while competition is high as a lack of housing stock runs up against a rapidly growing population. While more homes are needed to alleviate the stress, getting shovels into the ground isn’t as simple as it sounds.

The Globe’s Jason Kirby, Matt Lundy and Mark Rendell recently broke down the reasons behind why most Canadians can’t afford a home right now. Jason Kirby is on the show to explain the not-so-obvious reasons why housing affordability and opportunity is at an all-time low – and whether we’ll be stuck in this expensive loop for generations to come.

This episode originally aired on April 2, 2024.

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The government has announced that they are cutting down on the numbers of low-wage temporary foreign workers being admitted into the country. The new rules will reverse pandemic-era changes to the program, which led to a sharp rise in numbers. The announcement also comes on the heels of a UN report calling the program a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.”

The Globe’s economics reporter Matt Lundy breaks down what’s driving the change, and how it will impact businesses and workers.

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Last week, TD Bank released its quarterly earnings. For the first time in 21 years, they reported a quarterly loss – largely because they set aside US$2.6-billion to cover penalties in the United States related to failures in their anti-money-laundering program. All of this has people wondering … what is exactly going on at TD? How did a bank with a once-sterling reputation begin facing all these problems?

Tim Kiladze is a financial reporter and columnist for the Globe. He’s on the show to talk about what he and his colleagues have learned about TD’s culture shift that contributed to the company’s anti-money-laundering troubles, a leadership exodus, and questions around the company’s future.

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Labour negotiations between Canada’s two major railways – CN and CPKC – and the train workers’ union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, have been going on for months. Last week, they hit a wall and freight service shut down across the country. Less than 24 hours later, the federal government intervened, ordering workers back. But the dispute still hasn’t been resolved.

Bruce Curran, associate professor in the faculty of law at the University of Manitoba, explains where things stand in the labour dispute, what it’s ultimately about, and how the federal government might have prevented it from happening in the first place.

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We often think about how food prices and income struggle to keep up with inflation, but what about things like pensions and benefits? Are they keeping pace with inflation? The Globe’s Erica Alini and Matt Lundy crunched the numbers, and found that pensions and benefits often aren’t stretching as far as they used to – and it has to do with something called indexation.

Today, personal finance reporter Erica Alini joins us to explain inflation indexing, where we’re seeing it and where we’re not, and what impact that’s having on your finances.

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Distance running, once a relatively niche sport, has exploded in popularity. The trend has been ongoing for at least a decade, but 2024′s running season may be the biggest one yet. Marathon race organizers are expecting record participation in races this year, both in Canada and in cities around the world.

Today, Ben Kaplan, general manager of iRun Magazine, Allison Hill, co-founder of Hill Run Club, and members of The Decibel’s own running club explain how the sport has grown more inclusive and diverse, drawing in a whole new generation of runners.

This episode originally aired on May 1, 2024.

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On June 17, police were called to a shooting in a neighbourhood of Toronto. Three people were killed, two victims and the shooter. We learned as the days went on that one of the victims – Arash Missaghi – was a notorious serial fraudster, and the shooter – Alan Kats – was one of his alleged victims.

Globe reporters Mariya Postelnyak and Colin Freeze have spent months untangling the web of criminal charges and lawsuits against Missaghi. Today, Mariya tells us how Missaghi apparently got tens of millions of dollars out of people, why he was never convicted, and what led to his killing in June.

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Going to the movies is getting more complicated. When you want to pick a showing, you now have a growing list of premium options, from IMAX, to 3D, to ScreenX, all offering different experiences at different price points.

The Globe and Mail’s film editor Barry Hertz joins us to talk about what these developments tell us about the state of the movie industry and the future of a trip to the cinema.

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