Thursday, November 2nd 2023

Quebec's CAQ government has spent years tightening laws around languages in the province, with a stated aim to protect French as its predominant language. Their latest attempt, doubling the tuition paid by out-of-province students attending English universities in Quebec, has led to anger, condemnation and protests in the streets.

One of the policy's stated aims is to change the linguistic makeup of downtown Montreal, where thousands of students and others recently marched against it. Why target Canadian students this way? Will it work to achieve the government's aims, or could the new policy have consequences nobody has considered?

GUEST: Alyssia Rubertucci, reporter, CityNews Montreal

(Looking for a new podcast? Have a listen to the team behind The Big Story's newest show, In This Economy?! The first episode is out right now, with new ones arriving each Thursday.)

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Wednesday, November 1st 2023

It's a very small piece, to be sure. But it's also a huge precedent. Almost immediately after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement last week, the government was fielding requests for similar carve-outs from across the country. on Tuesday, Saskatchewan made formal plans to stop paying part of the tax entirely, daring the federal government to enforce it. Meanwhile, everyone from the opposition to climate advocates have criticized the message the decision sends.

So what, exactly, are the Liberals doing to their signature policy? What's the motivation for the move? Is it practical, or panic-induced? And what's coming next?

GUEST: Cormac Mac Sweeney, Parliament Hill reporter, CityNews

(Looking for a new podcast? Have a listen to the team behind The Big Story's newest show, In This Economy?! The first episode is out right now, with new ones arriving each Thursday.)

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

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Tuesday, October 31st 2023

It can be difficult to sort fact from fiction, or anecdotes from data, when it comes to a subject like assisted dying. The topic itself is so emotional. The stories of those who don't qualify or from family left behind, can be heartbreaking. And the terms and conditions used to assess someone's eligibility for the process are complex and opaque.

All of that is an environment ripe for misinformation—or for potential disasters to be imagined. Next year, restrictions on the MAiD law will fall away, allowing mental illness to be a sole condition for MAiD applicants. substance use disorders may qualify under mental illness, so ... yes, drug users may be able to apply for MAiD. But that's a long way from saying their application will be granted. Today, a trip through the subtlety often missing in discussions of this controversial policy.

GUEST: Jocelyn Downie, Professor Emeritus at the Faculties of Law and Medicine, Dalhousie University; works at the intersection of health care ethics, law, and policy

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Monday, October 30th 2023

Depending on where you live, there's a between one-in-three and one-in-six chance that you don't have a family doctor. And the number of Canadians without one is rising rapidly. Now, at a time when older doctors are leaving the profession, the College of Family Physicians of Canada has announced plans to increase the time would-be family doctors are required to train from two years to three.

Even if it's well-intentioned, the move has sparked opposition from experts and health ministers, who say we're in a crisis and desperately need new doctors. So just how rapidly is the problem escalating? What does the research tell us about the health of people with and without family doctors? Why raise the years required to become a family doctor now? And what could we do that would help encourage young students to choose this path?

GUEST: Dr. Cathy Risdon, family doctor and Chair of Family Medicine at McMaster University

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Saturday, October 28th 2023

With the increasingly polarized rhetoric surrounding the terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, and the IDF's continuous bombing of the Gaza strip, we felt it was an opportune time to revisit this episode that outlines a better way to discuss uncomfortable subjects with people you may disagree with. We hope you enjoy this episode, and find it helpful in navigating difficult conversations in your own lives. 

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ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES: 

And how to listen to people you disagree with, so they'll listen to you.

It feels like we're more stubborn than ever before. More likely to dig in our heels, refuse to listen to facts and in general hold tight to our positions no matter what. But is that true, or is that just a function of the new ways of communication that we're still learning to use?

Regardless, if we can't figure out how to find solutions together, we may not have the time to figure it out. So the next time you're inclined to blow up at someone for believing in something dumb, or refusing to listen to reason, ask yourself if there's a better way to convince them.

GUEST: David McRaney, author of How Minds Change

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

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