- Inside the wild, star-studded sale of the Ottawa Senators
Wednesday, May 17th 2023
Nobody who covers the business of sports can remember a bidding process quite like this one. For one thing, everybody's talking! Normally this is a behind-the-scenes process that only goes public when a winner is chosen, or a final bid or two is being examined. But this time, ever since actor Ryan Reynolds threw his hat into the ring early, the whole saga has largely played out in public.
And not just in public, in Hollywood and beyond. After Reynolds got involved, other bidders added Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd, respectively, to their bids, and Snoop has been doing media interviews talking up his love for hockey, and the city of Ottawa in general. It's safe to say that nobody expected the sale of the NHL's smallest Canadian-market team to make international headlines like this. So ... what's going on here?
GUEST: Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet insider, Hockey Night In Canada panelist, co-host of the 32 Thoughts podcast
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- As tensions rise, what comes next for China-Canada relations?
Tuesday, May 16th 2023
Last week's exchange that saw each country expel a diplomat was called a "spat"—but really it was the latest volley in a low-heat diplomatic conflict that's been simmering for years. Every new twist, from takeovers to arrests, from allegations of election interference and threats of retaliation, only makes the next more likely.
How did China and Canada end up here? What have we learned in the past few months about just what China is trying to do in this country? What steps has our government taken to protect our democracy from outside interference? And what should we expect if China decides to retaliate?
GUEST: Stephanie Carvin, former national security analyst, Associate Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, author of Stand on Guard: Reassessing threats to Canada's National Security
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
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- The Canadian massacre you've never heard of
Monday, May 15th 2023
On Halloween night in 2020, a mass shooting took place near the resort community of Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island. Three people are found dead in a make-shift encampment deep in the woods. Beside them, four dead dogs and a burned-out trailer. Now, more than two years on, the case is at a standstill.
This week, a new podcast, Island Crime Season 5: Whiskey Creek explores the secrecy and fear surrounding the shootings. And asks the question: Who deserves to have their story told?
GUEST: Laura Palmer, host and producer of Island Crime
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
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- The Gravy Train, Episode 2: City Hall
Saturday, May 13th 2023
If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know aboutThe Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic downfall of Toronto's most notorious mayor, Rob Ford.
With Toronto in the midst of its first wide-open mayoral race since 2010, we thought now would be an opportune time to revisit this narrative, which captures a moment in politics with some striking similarities to what we're seeing in the city today.
We'll be dropping an episode in this feed every Saturday for the next two months leading up to election day, but they're all available in The Gravy Train feed if you prefer to binge them.
Enjoy!
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ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES:
Rob Ford’s colleagues laughed off his campaign for mayor. They shouldn’t have. They assumed the numerous scandals he’d already suffered through, and the fresh ones that would dominate his campaign, would crush his chances. They shouldn’t have. They ran traditional campaigns and counted on Torontonians to make a relatively traditional choice, the kind they’d always made. They really, really shouldn’t have.
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
- Is Ontario's new law the future of Canadian health care?
Friday, May 12th 2023
Whether or not you think it's "becoming more efficient" or "being dismantled piece by piece", it's pretty clear Universal Health Care in Canada is changing. This week, Ontario passed Bill 60, which allows private clinics to perform some surgeries and procedures—theoretically at no additional cost to the patient. This is already happening in Quebec and British Columbia, and Alberta's election is currently partly a debate about how involved the private system should be with public care.
So what exactly is in Bill 60? What language protects the patient, if any? What are medical groups so concerned about? What are the upsides and the downsides? And how will we know if this is working or not?
GUEST: Richard Southern, Queen's Park reporter, CityNews Toronto
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
