- Is Florida coming for Canada's cheap drugs?
Monday, January 29th 2024
The state recently asked the US FDA for approval to purchase Canadian pharmaceuticals wholesale, and the US regulator said, "sure." And why not? As many Americans who live near the border know, it can be significantly cheaper to fill prescriptions in Canada. But while we may not mind doing it for a few folks making the trip, supplying a state of 21 million people, when we already have our own drug shortages, is pretty much impossible.
Canada has passed regulations against foreigners buying in bulk, but there are grey areas and loopholes to contend with—not to mention the US-Canada relationship in general to keep in mind. But Florida isn't the only state that wants to try this gambit, so it will be up to Health Canada to say no, and then enforce that no. What happens next?
GUEST: Joelle Walker, Vice President, Public Affairs, Canadian Pharmacists Association
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- Rent an Apartment?! In This Economy?!
Saturday, January 27th 2024
Rachael feels trapped in her Toronto rental because she can't afford to move. She has no plans of ever owning a home and wants to know what, if any, rental protections exist to curb rising rates.
Jordan talks to political economist and author Ricardo Tranjan about how policy can help protect renters in Canada.
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- How Sunrise Records became the last music chain standing
Friday, January 26th 2024
Most of the large record chains of the heyday of physical music are gone now. If the chains haven't vanished entirely, most of their stores have, and the last few are disappearing one by one. But somehow...not Sunrise Records. In recent years the chain has been expanding across Canada, buying up Canadian HMV outlets and now boasts more than 80 stores and hundreds of employees. But ... why? And how?
What made Sunrise the last Canadian music chain standing, even as music industry revenues crashed, streaming services swallowed the market and much of physical retail in general began struggling? The result is a fascinating look at what distressed businesses are worth, and what consumers really want from their retailers...
GUEST: Richard Trapunski, digital editor at Billboard Canada, writing in The Walrus
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- Is the Bank of Canada courting disaster for many Canadians?
Thursday, January 25th 2024
Experts predict the Bank of Canada will begin to lower interest rates later this year—just not Wednesday when it held the rate flat. But as inflation has slowed in many areas, it's created an interesting problem for the bank and a troubling one for many Canadians.
One of the main factors driving inflation right now is the cost of shelter—otherwise known as rising rents and mortgage costs. Those increases are driven by ... the high interest rates the bank is waiting to lower. The BoC wants to follow through on its "soft landing" by taking a cautious approach to lowering rates. But by waiting too long, are they courting disaster for millions of Canadians trying to make their monthly home payments?
GUEST: David Macdonald, senior economist for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ National Office
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- How hard is it to right a wrongful conviction in Canada?
Wednesday, January 24th 2024
You would expect that advances in forensics and genetic technology would lead to fewer and fewer wrongful convictions. The truth is that we have no idea how many people are in prison for crimes they didn't commit—we only know that we keep finding them.
How do wrongful convictions happen in the age of DNA evidence? How hard are they to overturn? And what about all the wrongful convictions that aren't murders? Do we ever try to grapple with those?
GUEST: Kelly Lauzon, PhD student in the department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University; cohost of Real Life Wrongs
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