Friday, June 27th 2025

For months, the “buy Canadian” movement has inspired Canadians to shift their shopping habits away from American goods. While this has mostly been a patriotic move, some experts say recent cuts at the Food and Drug Administration, the agency responsible for inspecting 80 per cent of American food, might give Canadians another reason to think twice about buying American products at the grocery store.

Kate Helmore is The Globe’s agriculture and food policy reporter. She’s on the show to talk about why the cuts at the FDA have some experts concerned, how intertwined the U.S. and Canadian food systems are, and why it’s so challenging to disentangle them.

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Thursday, June 26th 2025

In the social media age, it’s challenging to know what’s ‘normal’ for your finances. How are others able to afford lavish trips and expensive dinners? Are your friends getting ahead while you’re left behind? Will you be able to afford your long-term goals? This confusion has inspired a new term – money dysmorphia. And for some, this disconnect can mean worry, low self-esteem and a you-only-live-once spending mentality.

Shannon Lee Simmons is a Certified Financial Planner and author. She’s on the show to explain what’s driving all this stress, its effect and what we can all do to have healthier relationships with money.

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Wednesday, June 25th 2025

This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney has been in Europe for a series of meetings that are focused on strengthening ties. On Monday, he was in Brussels, Belgium, to sign a new defence partnership with the European Union. Mr. Carney then went to The Hague, in The Netherlands, to attend the NATO summit. Between the war in Ukraine and U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran, a lot is at stake.

Kerry Buck was Canada’s ambassador to NATO from 2015 to 2018. She’s on the show to talk about why Mr. Carney is trying to move Canada closer to Europe, how the NATO alliance is dealing with growing threats and what’s at stake for Canada.

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Tuesday, June 24th 2025

On Friday, the Liberals’ controversial Bill C-5 was passed by the House of Commons — it’s the only legislation to pass, ahead of Parliament rising for the summer.

Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, aims to remove barriers to interprovincial trade, fulfilling Prime Minister Mark Carney’s promise to do so by Canada Day. But the legislation would also give Carney’s cabinet the power to quickly approve big industrial projects deemed to be ‘in the national interest,’ exempting them from some federal laws.

Carney has said the legislation will not weaken the government’s duty to consult Indigenous rights-holders, but many are worried.

The Decibel is joined by Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak. She represents more than 630 First Nations and has been voicing concern over the bill. She’ll walk us through how First Nations are responding and whether it could spark another Idle No More movement this summer.

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Monday, June 23rd 2025

This weekend, the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, as it warned Iran about its nuclear capabilities and attacks against Israel. U.S. President Donald Trump called the bombing mission “a spectacular military success” and threatened “future attacks” if a nuclear peace deal was not made.

The Globe’s international affairs columnist, Doug Saunders, joins The Decibel. He explains how the U.S. got involved in this conflict, what’s at stake for the leaders of the U.S., Israel and Iran, and why there are concerns this could become a wider war.

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