- Is the “heat dome” in B.C. a sign of summers to come?
Wednesday, June 30th 2021
First of all, what is a heat dome? How rare is it? How deadly? Are the all-time high temperatures the Pacific Northwest experienced this week an anomaly, or a terrifying glimpse of the new normal?
Can we pin this all on a warming climate? Or is some of it an unlucky combination of weather systems? And if this is a sign of things to come, what do Canadians, and governments across the country, need to do to prepare for summers to come?
GUEST: Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
- What does the future of money look like?
Tuesday, June 29th 2021
Right now, the Bank of Canada is working on a "digital loonie" that will replace cash at some point in the future. Governments around the world are either following suit or way ahead of us. While banks have been giving their customers access to digital wallets for years, cryptocurrencies are attempting to corner the market on the next generation of money.
The only thing that's clear to everyone is that actual cold, hard cash is not long for this world—with all the benefits and inequalities that will include. So in the race to become the next go-to source of currency ... who's winning?
GUEST: Michael Doyle, freelance journalist and reporter
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
- When a developer becomes a landlord to thousands of Canadians, what happens?
Monday, June 28th 2021
Last week, Core Development Group announced its intention to spend a billion dollars buying family homes in hot markets across Canada and converting them to rental units. On the surface, this would seem to bring badly needed family rentals into markets that are in desperate need of them—but there's a lot more going on here than just that.
What does a billion dollars in corporate money do to an already overheated housing market? Will these rental units be affordable for families that have been priced out of home ownership? How does a condo developer plan to become a landlord at a cross-Canada scale? And why do so many housing advocates warn this will set a dangerous precedent?
GUEST: Rachelle Younglai, Real Estate 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]
- QAnon’s “Queen of Canada” is organizing harassment on streets across the country
Friday, June 25th 2021
Her real name is Romana Didulo, and over the past few months her following has grown to tens of thousands. And she's putting them to use in real life—handing out cease and desist "orders" to authorities and businesses across the country. The penalty she promises for not complying and removing all Covid-19 restrictions is death.
Obviously, Didulo's claims are ridiculous, and completely false. There's zero truth to anything associated with her. But when organizations that work to combat extremism see a new figure rise to prominence and begin to immediately take their goals off the internet and into the streets ... they get very worried.
GUEST: Peter Smith, journalist, 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]
- Are you ready for a late summer federal election?
Thursday, June 24th 2021
Too bad, you're likely getting one anyway! Over the past few weeks there have been unmistakeable signs that the governing Liberals as well as opposition parties are getting ready to send Canadians to the polls—whether they want to go or not. From fundraising to renting rooms, passing bills that will look great in campaign literature and reminding voters how long they waited for their vaccines, it's pretty clear that the machines are revving up.
So why now? What will a federal election in a country still recovering from Covid look like? Are the Liberals planning this because they think they can come back with a majority? And will there be room for any issues beyond the pandemic?
GUEST: Cormac Mac Sweeney, Parliament Hill Reporter
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
