This Matters

Guest: Kris Rushowy, Toronto Star reporter

It's back-to-school season and Ontario universities are packed like never before. A record number of more than 84,000 first-year students are starting this fall. But even with record enrolment, schools are facing an $80 million shortfall. For years, international students have been the financial safety net, paying up to six times the tuition of Ontario students. Now, with Ottawa tightening immigration rules and visas harder to get, those numbers are dropping. Universities say the system is already in distress. Programs are being cut, staff laid off, and almost half are running deficits. And now, with higher demand from local students, there is even less money to teach them.

Produced by Saba Eitizaz, Sean Pattenden and Paulo Marques

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Guest: Nathan Bawaan, Toronto Star reporter

Youth unemployment in Toronto is at its highest level in decades outside of the pandemic and it's not just a tough job market. A new report reveals that discrimination based on race, age, gender, language, and even postal code is one of the biggest barriers keeping young people from getting hired. Some recent grads are giving up on job hunting altogether and turning to grad school, not out of ambition, but because they feel stuck. We break down what's behind the crisis.

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques

Guest: Kevin Jiang, Toronto Star reporter

Nearly one in five Canadians who had COVID—more than more than 3 million people—went on to develop long COVID, also called post COVID 19 Condition (PCC). Symptoms can include fatigue, brain fog, breathing problems and heart damage, sometimes lasting for years. In Ontario there is still no coordinated plan for care. Funding for specialized clinics has disappeared, rehab services often have to be paid for out of pocket and most patients report getting little to no treatment. Toronto Star's Kevin Jiang takes a look at what it is like to live with the long tail of a pandemic that is far from over for those still living with it.

Produced by Sean Pattendon, Paulo Marques and Saba Eitizaz

Guest: Andy Takagi, Toronto Star transportation reporter

Premier Ford says he's pitching an unprecedented plan to tackle one of the GTA's biggest headaches; gridlock on Highway 401, the busiest road in North America. His vision is a single three-level tunnel running under the highway, which could stretch from Brampton to Scarborough. He outlined the concept at an unrelated press conference this week, but he's been talking about it for nearly a year. Ford says this will serve people for decades to come, but a two-year feasibility study has just begun, and experts are raising questions about the costs, the timelines and whether this would actually ease traffic congestion.

We take a look at what Ford is proposing, why experts say it might not work and what it could mean for commuters and communities along the 401.

Audio sources: CP24

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Sean Pattenden

Guest: Dr. David Barber, Chair OMA's General and Family Practice

Two million people in Ontario do not have access to a family physician, and that number is expected to more than double by 2026. At the same time, many doctors are stepping away from comprehensive care, citing burnout, bureaucracy, and financial strain.

In this episode, Dr. David Barber shares what is happening inside the system through his own lived experience. He is a family physician in Kingston and chair of the Ontario Medical Association's Section on General and Family Practice. He explains what it looks like to stay in the profession as the pressures mount, why so many of his colleagues are walking away, and what it means for patients who are being left behind.

Produced by Saba Eitizaz, Paulo Marques and Sean Pattendon

Guest: Star Queen's Park Bureau Chief, Robert Benzie

Last week, Canada's premiers wrapped up their annual Council of the Federation meeting in Ontario's cottage country, against the backdrop of serious political and economic pressure. With Trump's threat of tariffs on August 1 looming large, and Prime Minister Mark Carney facing his first major leadership test, the summit was framed as a show of strength and unity. But was that solidarity real behind the scenes? And how prepared are the provinces for an unpredictable trade fight with Trump?

Toronto Star Queen's Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie joins This Matters to break it all down.

Guest: Toronto Star court reporter Jacques Gallant

All five former members of Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team accused of sexual assault have been found not guilty, ending one of the most closely watched trials in Canadian sports. The case centred on a woman known publicly only as "E.M." due to a publication ban. Her allegations against the players shook the sport, triggered years of scrutiny, reopened a police investigation, and fueled a national reckoning over Hockey Canada's handling of sexual misconduct. After eight weeks of testimony, Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled the Crown failed to meet the burden of proof, raising doubts about the reliability of key evidence.

But while the players were acquitted, key questions remain. How do we define consent? Can the justice system support those who come forward while also meeting such a high legal threshold? And what does this outcome say about how society grapples with power and accountability?

Star reporter Jacques Gallant covered this trial from the beginning, and he joins This Matters to explain what we learned inside the courtroom and what might happen next.

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques

Guest: Toronto Star reporter Abby O'Brien

A bike ride to the local pool. A perfect dive off the board. A backyard trampoline showdown with the kids next door. Childhood can be full of fun but also dangers.

Parents often think about the obvious dangers, like unsupervised swimming or biking without a helmet. But some of the biggest hazards may surprise you.

We spoke with Toronto's top pediatric emergency doctors about the activities they would never let their own kids do and why. From bouncy castles to shopping carts, they've seen it all in the ER.

So if you to keep your kids safe this summer, start here.

Guest: Morgan Sevareid-Bocknek, investigative reporter

Imagine you want a biological kid and you need the help of a fertility clinic. But then imagine they implant the wrong embryo inside of you. Or half the wrong embryo - right egg but wrong sperm. Or the child is a race you weren't expecting.

These scenarios and more have happened at Ontario fertility clinics, which remain under regulated. That means it's a challenge to hold them to account when things like that happen and hard data for those trying to figure out which clinic to choose is hard to come by.

How could something so important, so medically invasive and psychologically delicate remain under regulated in Ontario? And though the government got close to closing gaps in regulation, it was never completed. Tune in to find out why.

PLUS: We speak with a lawyer who specializes in fertility negligence law who details some of the worst cases she's seen - and how the province might be able to forge a path forward.

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

Guests: Toronto Star reporters Isabel Teotonio and Kristin Rushowy

With the summer break, Ontario is wrapping up the first full school year under new cellphone restrictions. Last September, the Ford government introduced restrictions on personal mobile devices in schools, with boards required to update their own policies and ban social media sites, such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, from networks and devices. Other provinces have followed suit. But the results have been mixed, and students can still access those sites using personal data. Some teachers did see students more focused and present. Others are still in a constant battle for their attention.

So, did the cellphone ban really change anything?

This Matters speaks to Toronto Star reporters Isabel Teotonio and Kristin Rushowy. One's been hearing from teachers and students in classrooms. The other's been tracking the political story behind the policy.

Audio sources: CBC News, Isabel Teotonio

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques