The conversation we had with Calgary-based project manager Ziad Fazel about contact tracing apps went into such detail and went longer than we usually go, so we decided to put the whole conversation into a bonus episode for you. Enjoy!

With the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic raging in Canada, hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units are at all-time highs, and that has a lot of people worried.

On this episode of This Is Why, we find out what the breaking point could be for Canada's public health care system and what the effects could be.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Dr. Barry Pakes, public health physician and assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto

It's not a stretch to say that the coronavirus pandemic is an historic event, but it's not without precedent. Epidemics have been a part of human history for as long as people have gathered together. So it's not uncommon to look back in order to plot a path forward.

On this episode of This Is Why, we look back at how pandemic influenza affected a western Canadian city in 1918.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Suzanna Wagner, health historian

Episode Resources:

The Last Plague: Spanish Influenza and the Politics of Public Health in Canada by Mark Osborne Humphries

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is in Canada, with record numbers of new cases and deaths bearing that out. Except the wave hasn't hit Atlantic Canada in the same manner as the rest of the country, due to a bubble.

On this episode of This Is Why, we find out why the Atlantic travel bubble has been so effective at keeping COVID-19 numbers at bay and what it's like living in the bubble.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Michaela Kaiser, student at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.S.

Alexander Quon, digital producer, Global Halifax

As the coronavirus pandemic wears on, inequalities in society are becoming clearer and clearer, like the inequalities facing women and gender-minorities.

On this episode of This Is Why, we find out why women are facing challenges by the coronavirus and pandemic that are specific to the group.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Andrea Gunraj, Canadian Women's Foundation

Maya Roy, CEO, YWCA Canada

Episode resources:

As global warming continues to melt Arctic ice, the threat to the Inuit of Canada and Greenland is becoming more and more dire. And that melting is leading to one last patch of Arctic ice.

On this episode of This Is Why, we find out why the last ice is important for the lives of people beyond the Arctic and what a National Geographic team found.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Scott Ressler, director and producer of National Geographic documentary The Last Ice

Episode resources:

The need to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic has driven more and more Canadians online, as we found out in an earlier episode of 'This Is Why.' And in October, Canada's privacy commissioner raised the flags around the laws around privacy, saying the laws aren't enough in this new reality.

On this episode of This Is Why, we find out why the acceleration towards a fully digital life is putting the privacy of Canadians at risk.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Paula Minnikin, CTO of Spark Engagement

With the science around the novel coronavirus changing so quickly, it's tough to determine what to follow and what to ignore. And the opportunity some charlatans are trying to seize on don't make things any easier.

In this episode of This Is Why, we look at why this pandemic has given rise to all sorts of bad information.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Timothy Caulfield, Canada research chair in Health Law and Policy

One of the most common arguments anti-mask advocates use is that mandating the use of face coverings is the government running afoul of rights and liberties.

In this episode of This Is Why, we look at how civil liberties could be contravened during a pandemic, and the careful balance legislators have to walk when considering public health orders.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Michael Bryant, executive director, Canadian Civil Liberties Association

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted all areas of life. Early on in the pandemic, economic activity ground to a halt and economists say Canada is in a recession.

In this episode of This Is Why, we look at two areas of the country's economy that could lead the post-pandemic recovery.

Contact:

Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter

Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter

This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter

Email us - [email protected]

Guests:

Laura Jones, executive V.P., Canadian Federation of Independent Business