The Rundown

How well is the province doing at ensuring students with disabilities get the kind of education they deserve? For insight, we welcome David Lepofsky, the volunteer chair of the AODA Alliance.

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Anxiety Canada estimates that at least 25 per cent of elementary and secondary school students will avoid school at some point. And the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened this issue. What's going on when students chronically refuse to go to school? How can parents and schools support the mental health and academic needs of students. We ask a mental health expert, a parenting expert, a social worker, and an education expert for insights and solutions. With guests: Sheryl Boswell, executive director, Youth Mental Health Canada; Alyson Schafer, family counsellor; Nathan Core, president, Ontario Teachers' Federation; Deepy Sur, CEO, Ontario Association of Social Workers.

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The alleged Chinese interference in elections has been the hot topic in Canada for the past while. Now the federal government has started laying ground for a foreign agent registry. How does this affect diasporas when political tension arises? How can foreign interference be distinguished from healthy homeland engagement? What will Canada's democracy and approach to multiculturalism evolve to in the future?

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Not every regime achieves democracy through its collapse, some do so through strength. And in his book, "From Development to Democracy: The Transformation of Modern Asia," Joseph Wong argues that the latter might be more likely for regimes like China. He discusses what the West gets wrong about democratization in Asia, and what the transition to democracy could look like in modern authoritarian regimes.

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Our week in review begins with a look at the Ontario government's budget. Then, does Ontario need more land to build on and should that land be in the Greenbelt? Will a new road help bring mineral-rich Ring of Fire closer to being productive? And, understanding Pakistan's financial crisis.

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Have you ever wondered what happens to ships once they've reached the end of their lives? For many in the Great Lakes, that place in Marine Recycling Corporation in Port Colborne, Ontario. Marine Recycling has recycled more than 100 vessels for their steel. Field producer Jeyan Jeganathan talks to the founder Wayne Elliott about how long it takes to recycle a ship, why shipbreaking is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and how his company competes with shipbreakers around the world.

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The city of London has a bold new plan to address its worsening homelessness and housing crisis. It calls for a "whole of community" system response that involves building more than a dozen 24/7 shelter hubs and 600 high-support housing units in the next three years. Under the new plan, unhoused people will have "low-barrier" access to housing, basic necessities (such as food, showers, laundry facilities), acute and primary health care and other supports. But for plan to work London will need financial backing and political will from the provincial government. Mayor Josh Morgan joins Nam Kiwanuka to discuss the feasibility of the plan, how the city will combat NIMBY-ism, and the governance model for the system.

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As the Ford government reveals its provincial budget, opposition parties give their reaction to its spending plans. Guests: Catherine Fife, NDP MPP, Kitchener-Waterloo and NDP Finance and Treasury Board Critic; Stephanie Bowman, Liberal MPP, Don Valley West, Liberal Finance Critic; and Mike Schreiner, Green Party of Ontario Leader, Green MPP, Guelph.

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The Ford government has laid out its plans for Ontario's finances. But do the numbers really add up? We ask Peter Weltman, who heads up the independent, non-partisan financial accountability office of Ontario.

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Ontario has been confronting 40-year-high inflation, understaffed hospitals, sizable household debt, and a housing crisis. How is the Ford government responding? Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy unpacks the provincial budget and the PC party's plan for Ontario's finances.

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