- How soon is ‘now’ on affordable housing? A big election question
Tuesday, May 16th 2023
Guest: Mark Richardson, technical lead for HousingNowTO
According to polls and the platforms, housing affordability is THE big issue in this mayoral election campaign, especially as the city’s Housing Now program has failed to get shovels in the ground (or people in apartments). Mark Richardson’s citizen-led HousingNowTO organization has monitored the problems and progress all along, and has been taking all the major mayoral candidates on walking tours of proposed sites to show what’s holding things up and what potential is out there. He joins guest host Edward Keenan to outline what all the major candidates are proposing to build on city land (so far) and how.
This episode was produced by Paulo Marques and Edward Keenan.
- Business not as usual: The return to office and downtown Toronto now
Monday, May 15th 2023
Guests: Katie Daubs, senior writer, and Christine Dobby, business reporter
As cities around the world return to the office, Toronto lags behind other global centres as many workers are choosing to continue working from home. That’s having a spillover effect on the downtown core, and in particular, on the PATH, the underground network of shops and stores that support a downtown economy. Are these changes temporary or long lasting? What do they mean for the future of Toronto?
This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.
- After George Floyd: One city’s vow to ‘end’ police
Friday, May 12th 2023
Guest: Wendy Gillis, crime reporter
When George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, protests erupted around the world. Calls to defund the police rang out and, for a moment, it seemed like change was imminent. But three years on, efforts to revolutionize public safety have varied. Star reporter Wendy Gillis recently visited Minneapolis as part of the ongoing “Beyond the Badge” series (made possible with the financial assistance of the R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellowship) looking at what cities around the world are doing to combat violence and redesign public safety. Gillis explains what’s happened to policing since Floyd’s murder and what we can learn from Minneapolis, a city that’s become a case study in the frustratingly slow pace of systemic change.
Audio Sources: CNN, WWCO, NBC, Kare 11, MSNBC, ABC, Newsweek
This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Raju Mudhar and Paulo Marques
- Ontario’s housing plan and how it could lead to sprawl
Thursday, May 11th 2023
Guest: Noor Javed, staff reporter
The Ontario government has made building more housing fast a priority and, to get that done, it wants to throw out planning rules that set guidelines for how municipalities should grow. The proposed changes could upend how Ontario has planned its cities since 2005 and some critics fear that it is a perfect recipe for sprawl.
This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.
- Canada set to name foreign labs, universities that pose national security risk
Wednesday, May 10th 2023
Guest: Joanna Chiu, staff reporter
The Canadian government is creating a list of foreign universities and labs that it says pose a national security risk. The news comes at the same time several Canadian universities are reviewing their research partnerships. Last week, the University of Waterloo announced it is ending its relationship with Chinese telecom giant Huawei amid security concerns. The government list will further impact research funding and possibly, academic freedom.
This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.
