Guest: Alex Boyd, staff reporter

The 15-minute city has long been an urban planning ideal, where people lived close to everything they need. It has recently become twisted by those who feel it might be something that could lead to the next lockdown, sparking protests online and in cities across the world, including in Canada. How did a seemingly benign planning theory become so controversial?

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: CityNews, @T_seaward on Twitter and @andrewknack on TikTok.

Guest: Victoria Gibson, Affordable Housing reporter

Sometimes even beloved neighbours and friends can slip away  unnoticed at life’s end, with their memory frozen in time. That’s what happened to Charles Parris, 81, of Henry Street in Grange Park. He died at home, remains quietly buried, but worldly belongings remained. For 10 months, his Toronto Community Housing Corp. apartment sat uninhabited despite a raging housing crisis. Such vacancy limbo seems to be connected to another growing problem — an increasing number of unclaimed bodies. Victoria Gibson tells a haunting story on “This Matters.”

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Kris Rushowy and Isabel Teotonio, reporters

Administrators, teachers and students connected to Oakville Trafalgar High School have been subject to bomb threats (as recently as February), death threats and police activity in recent months after photos of educator Kayla Lemieux made international headlines and left parents unnerved by action from the Halton District School Board. As the situation escalates, sudents say they feel unsafe and their learning environment is disrupted while the board scrambles to get support for a new “professionalism policy” and hire an outside adviser to help manage the uproar.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Audio Sources: CHCH News, Twitter

Guest: Megan Ogilvie and Kenyon Wallace, reporters

A group of orthopedic surgeons is leasing operating rooms from Ottawa’s biggest hospital. It’s a controversial move that the company says will help alleviate surgery wait-times in the province. But health care advocates are concerned and want more information about the arrangement. Why is a private corporation operating inside a public hospital? And will we see more of this in the future?

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: Global News and CPAC

Guest: Peter Edwards, crime reporter

Canada’s list of most wanted fugitives lives at Boloprogram.org (“bolo” meaning “be on the lookout”). These criminals are being hunted by authorities, both here and around the world. Currently, there is a $250,000 bounty for information leading to the capture of Rabih Alkhalil, a convicted multi-murderer who walked away from a British Columbia prison last July in a dramatic and daring escape. Peter Edwards has written a book about these criminals and joins “This Matters” to share his expertise.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Guest: Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa Bureau Chief

Ottawa is buzzing over news about the possibility of foreign interference in the last two federal elections. While government officials say those elections were free and fair, several reports and specific allegations of such attempts has Parliament looking at the issue. As top security officials testify, Canada’s election watchdog confirmed it is launching an investigation, while others call for a public inquiry.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: Canadian Press, CPAC, CBC, Global News

Guest: Megan Ogilvie, Health Reporter

Last year, a group of doctors anonymously made serious allegations of abuse of power by hospital leadership at Trillium Health Partners. It triggered an independent investigation and the findings have finally been made public a year later. While the report said there wasn’t enough information to substantiate some of the more serious claims, it did lay out a series of recommendations on how to improve the workplace culture. Trillium Health Partners has always strongly disputed these allegations and repeatedly said it welcomed the third-party investigation. We take a look at the timeline of events and what has happened since.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Raisa Patel is a reporter in the Star’s Ottawa Bureau

Google has been conducting a secret test that filters out online news results for a small percentage of Canadians as a result of their concerns over Bill C-18, the Online News Act. This has raised the ire of several government officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and now the company’s top executives have been summoned to appear before a Parliamentary Committee to discuss the search engine giant’s actions.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar

Guest: Jim Rankin, Toronto Star reporter

There finally might be a way to track a long-standing dark side of Canada’s criminal justice system — the issue of wrongful convictions — through a new database. It’s hard to put a number to just how many people are languishing behind bars for something they did not do. The launch of a new database by the Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions could help pave the way for reforms just as the government introduces long awaited legislation that aims to make it easier and quicker for people who may have been wrongfully convicted to have their cases reviewed. Star reporter Jim Rankin talks joins to discuss.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Alex Boyd is a reporter in the Star's Calgary Bureau.

It has been almost two years since Justin Trudeau committed to sharing Canada’s vaccines with the world. Two years later, the results are in. By New Years day 2023, Canada had donated the equivalent of 196 million doses. That’s four million shy of its 200 million target. Government officials have celebrated the milestone, but there are many asking, could Canada have done more?

Audio Sources: Global News

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Raju Mudhar and Paolo Marques.