The Rundown

Housing, and access to it, is an issue that municipal government has some jurisdiction over. We ask experts what questions can voters ask candidates about their concerns.

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Getting to and from home, work, and activities can be a challenge. What are some of the biggest transit issues? Two experts provide advice about what to ask local candidates to prepare to vote in the municipal elections on Oct. 24th.

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Our review of the week begins with how human health is harmed by plastic. Then, does Generation Z have a different approach to work? And what exactly are heritage designations and how do they affect city planning?

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Our everyday lives are affected most by local policies and decisions, such as housing, transit and roads, and access to food. Ontario Hubs affordability journalist Kat Eschner discusses her reporting on the Ontario municipal elections.

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Why do Gen Z-ers have a bad reputation for how they behave in the workplace? Four experts explore the assets this generation brings to the job market, and the ideologies they live by, such as work-life balance a.k.a. "quiet quitting." How does their approach compare to earlier generations of workers?

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Four Ontario teenagers tell us about their innovation research. Toronto's Sri Anumakonda, 15, is one of the youngest certified self-driving car engineers in the world. Ottawa's Naila Moloo, 16, is developing transparent and flexible solar cells. Hamilton's Aneka Mulgund, 15, vkmis leveraging machine learning to uncover design principles for mechanically-strong ion-exchange membranes. And Waterloo's Pavan Jayasinha, 18, is a research engineer at the intersection of quantum computing and machine learning.

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We explore the debate around heritage designations. What and who are they for? Is the system being abused to prohibit urban density?

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Two years ago, in the midst of a pandemic, the Ford government warned of a whopping $38.5 billion deficit. Last month, it announced the province would, in fact, have a surplus of $2.1 billion, surprising many. What's behind this first revenue surplus in 15 years and what role did inflation and economic growth have to play? And with such a windfall, how can the PCs now justify not greatly increasing public servant salaries? Steve Paikin speaks to Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy.

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Toronto planning and environmental lawyer Phil Pothen discusses the environmental assessment process and how that system is sometimes manipulated to delay or thwart increased density.

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Microplastics. They are in our beer, salt, fresh fruit and vegetables, and drinking water. We eat, according to one estimate, a credit card's worth every week. They can also rain down upon us, and we can breathe them in. They have been found in our blood and embedded in our lungs. How dangerous are they? Do we enough to say they are harmful to us? The Agenda examines the microplastics inside us.

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