Guests: Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada Sharon Kozicki and Star Business Reporter Ana Pereira

Recently, the Bank of Canada announced their latest interest rate decision, holding it at 2.75% - its second pause after seven consecutive cuts. In attempting to explain this decision, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said, ‘The Canadian economy is softer but not sharply weaker.’ And what does that mean exactly, right?

Star Business reporter Ana Pereira sat down with Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki to ask about how the bank came to this decision, how the central bank is handling Trump’s volatile tariffs announcements and, generally, how the Bank plans to take care of Canadians as we teeter on the brink of another recession.

Host Julia De Laurentiis Johnston and Ana analyze Governor Kozicki’s answers and talk about what the Bank of Canada is concentrating on right now and the way it affects Canadians, especially Torontonians, in this economic moment.

PLUS: Is the Bank of Canada in the middle of something of a build back trust outreach tour with young Torontonians in particular, based on how they kind of bungled communication during the last recession?

Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Paulo Marques, Sean Pattendon and Serena Austin.

Guests: Star Reporters Nicholas Keung and Mark Ramzy 

Introduced last week by the federal government—the Strong Borders Act seeks to overhaul how refugee claims are processed, expand powers for border and intelligence officials, and tighten enforcement—all framed as a response to sprawling asylum backlogs and escalating pressure from the U.S. and Donald Trump, including concerns about fentanyl trafficking.

The bill is still in its early stages, but it’s already facing strong political opposition and legal criticism over what many are calling sweeping, unchecked powers and potential human rights concerns.

Two Star reporters covering federal politics and immigration unpack the politics, the policy and the politics behind the policy.

Audio source: CPAC

This Matters is pleased to share a new podcast from the Toronto Star, TVO Podcasts, the Investigative Journalism Bureau and Piz Gloria Productions, Arachnid: Hunting the Web's Darkest Secrets. 

What if the worst thing that ever happened to you plays out countless times on anonymous computer screens all over the world? Every day, tens of millions of images of child sexual abuse circulate on global online platforms. The proliferation of these images is getting worse as AI technology and deep fakes create an ever-expanding epidemic of online child sex exploitation. The children depicted in those criminal images are real. Many are now adults held hostage by these disturbing images despite available technology like Canada's Project Arachnid, which detects these images and sends out removal notices. Platforms often resist action, citing privacy laws. But in response, survivors and a group of motivated supporters are banding together across the globe to protect kids. Confronting their own trauma, they are speaking out, advocating for change internationally, and demanding stronger laws that hold tech giants to account. This six-part podcast series follows survivors' long-shot fight against the most powerful companies in the world to end a massive, global trade in child sex abuse imagery.

Find it wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Guest: Karon Liu, Toronto Star food reporter

When one Toronto restaurant introduced a $25 cauliflower dish more than 10 years ago, it caused a bit of a stir at its eye-popping price. When Star reporter Karon Liu recently noticed the price of the same dish was now $41, it sent him to look at the steeply rising cost of meals out.

It’s a trend driven by food inflation, wage inflation, rent inflation and a host of other factors. And for many diners, it means eating out is becoming less and less of an attractive option. Which doesn’t mean the restauranteurs are suddenly flush—the drop-off in diners means it’s even harder for them to make up in volume what they might lose by cutting prices.

PLUS: Our food writer’s instructions on what to do if $41 is too steep a price for you

Guest: Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie

Ontario just dropped its biggest budget ever — $232.5 billion — and looming over every dollar of it is the shadow of Donald Trump, his tariffs, and an uncertain economic future. This year’s budget also includes a new $5 billion “Protect Ontario” fund to shield businesses and jobs from the escalating trade war with the U.S. But behind the big numbers lie bigger questions like a $14.6 billion deficit, no major new housing initiatives despite a worsening crisis, and a controversial plan to rip out downtown bike lanes in favour of cars. The Star’s Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie breaks it all down and what this budget means for Ontarians. 

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques

Guest: Star National Columnist Susan Delacourt

 Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled his first cabinet. On Tuesday, ministers were sworn in at Rideau Hall to a trimmed down and reorganized cabinet, with 28 full members and 10 second-tier members, known as secretaries of state. Carney’s campaign promise was bold change and a post-Trudeau pivot. 

Now that the lineup is out, the question is how much of it signals real transformation? Is this a true reset or does it look like a strategic rebrand? The Star’s veteran political columnist Susan Delacourt provides insights.

Audio source: CTV News

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques

Guest: Ottawa Bureau Chief Tonda MacCharles 

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Washington this week was his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump since being elected to office. A lot hangs in the balance, at a time when Canada’s relationship with its largest trading partner is being put to the test.

While Carney made headlines with some bold statements and viral moments with Trump, the real story was the critical test of the Liberals political mandate and Canada’s position on trade, tariffs and sovereignty in a rapidly changing global landscape.

Toronto Star Ottawa bureau chief Tonda MacCharles was in the room where the diplomatic tight-rope was being walked and, she gives an inside look at what really happened. 

 Produced by Saba Eitizaz, Paulo Marques and Lance McMillan 

Guests: Star reporters Nicholas Keung and Ghada Alsharif

During the pandemic, they were called essential. Migrant workers who packed our meat, picked our produce, and kept grocery shelves stocked. In return, many were offered a pathway to permanent residency through a federal pilot program. Now, that door has quietly closed. The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is being phased out by the federal government. And with it, thousands of low-wage food workers are once again left in Canada’s continuing cycle of “permanently temporary” immigration. Why was the program shut down? What does this mean for the people who grow and deliver our food and for Canada’s food supply chain with a trade war with the U.S. looming over it all? Two Star immigration and labour reporters break it down. 

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques

Guest: Star city hall reporter Mahdis Habibinia

After the recent devastating vehicle attack at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival, Toronto organizers are raising fresh concerns about soaring security costs and the mounting pressure to keep people safe, especially with the city’s peak festival season around the corner. Toronto has been grappling with these fears for years, particularly after the 2018 van attack on Yonge Street. Since then, efforts to improve safety and crowd control have been underway but serious challenges remain.We look at whether things have actually improved, what risks still exist, and how rising safety demands are testing the limits of festival organizers and the city itself.

Produced by Saba Eitizaz, Paulo Marques and Sean Pattendon

Guest: Shawn Pegg, Director at Community Living Ontario 

A new report by Community Living Ontario exposes a disturbing reality faced by children with disabilities in Ontario schools. Based on interviews with over 500 parents and caregivers, it details how students, some of whom are as young as five, have been locked in rooms, physically restrained, or sent home because schools couldn’t meet their needs. Despite nearly $4 billion in annual special education funding, families and advocates say the system is failing the children. The result is a pattern of trauma, fear, and exclusion playing out in classrooms across the province. We talk to Shawn Pegg, the author of the report about the findings and what needs to be done. 

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques