Monday, September 13th 2021

We asked our listeners what their key issues were in this election, and this week we'll tackle the top five. Every day we'll go deep on the major party platforms with an expert immersed in that field. Today, the housing crisis. By now it's more than a bubble, and the lack of affordable of housing has spread from cities to small towns and everywhere in between. Each of the parties claims they can solve this. Can they? How do they propose to do it? And does anyone have a real solution?

GUEST: Mike Moffat, Senior Director, Smart Prosperity; Assistant Professor, Ivey Business School

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

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Friday, September 10th 2021

Hate crimes have risen. Racialized Canadians have been attacked and killed. Angry protests follow the Prime Minister around the country and have come close to turning violent. Protesters scream at healthcare workers outside hospitals and, as if to quantify this anecdotal evidence, Maxime Bernier's People's Party rises in the polls—with one recent survey putting the PPC at nine percent support.

Where did this anger and hate come from? How has it grown? And what is there in the platforms of the major parties that could do something about it?

GUEST: Evan Balgord, investigative journalist, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network

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

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Thursday, September 9th 2021

What agents are selling around the world is the value of a Canadian education—and people are buying in droves, especially in places like Punjab, India. But they're not buying it for the value of the degree. Many international students have families who sacrifice everything to get their children into a Canadian post-secondary institution because it is seen as a pathway to permanent residency and a better life. And for some students it is—but only for some of them.

Is this an ethical system? Is it regulated—and by whom? Who helps these young people and makes sure they don’t fall through the cracks? What happens to them when they do?

GUEST: Nicholas Hune-Brown

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

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Wednesday, September 8th 2021

It's no secret that our elders were the people hit hardest by COVID-19, but all the pandemic did was shine a deadly light on a system that has been broken for years. Canada's population is aging. Our long-term care facilities are passable at best, and we don't have enough of them. And we're staring down a critical labour shortage among caregivers. So does any party have a plan for this? And are any of them realistic?

GUEST: André Picard, Health Reporter, The Globe and Mail

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

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Tuesday, September 7th 2021

You thought you were helping someone  when you put that bag of old clothes in a donation bin. But you probably didn't. A striking number of clothes donated in Canada and other wealthy countries end up clogging landfills in African nations. While a good suit or jacket might make a real difference to someone who needs one, the vast majority of donated clothes are cheap, fast fashion — and often totally unwearable. And the rise of disposable clothes has swamped the system, turning a process once intended to help into one fraught with inequality and pollution.

GUEST: Linton Besser, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter