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PODCAST

This Matters

The world is changing every day. Now, more than ever, these questions matter. What’s happening? And why should you care? This Matters, a daily news podcast from the Toronto Star, aims to answer those questions, on important stories and ideas, every day, Monday to Friday. Hosts Saba Eitizaz and Ed Keenan talk to their fellow journalists, experts and newsmakers about the social, cultural, political and economic stories that shape your life.

news documentary

All Episodes

16:04

Could Doug Ford's 401 tunnel fix gridlock or is it...

This Matters ·

2025/08/12

Guest: Andy Takagi, Toronto Star transportation reporter Premier Ford says he’s pitching an unprecedented plan to tackle one of the GTA’s biggest headaches; gridlock on Highway 401, the busiest road in North America. His vision is a single three-level tunnel running under the highway, which could stretch from Brampton to Scarborough. He outlined the concept at an unrelated press conference this week, but he’s been talking about it for nearly a year. Ford says this will serve people for decades to

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22:04

What this family doctor wants you to know about...

This Matters ·

2025/08/08

Guest: Dr. David Barber, Chair OMA’s General and Family Practice Two million people in Ontario do not have access to a family physician, and that number is expected to more than double by 2026. At the same time, many doctors are stepping away from comprehensive care, citing burnout, bureaucracy, and financial strain. In this episode, Dr. David Barber shares what is happening inside the system through his own lived experience. He is a family physician in Kingston and chair of the Ontario Medical

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26:00

Inside the Premiers summit as Trump's tariff deadline...

This Matters ·

2025/07/29

Guest: Star Queen’s Park Bureau Chief, Robert Benzie Last week, Canada’s premiers wrapped up their annual Council of the Federation meeting in Ontario’s cottage country, against the backdrop of serious political and economic pressure. With Trump’s threat of tariffs on August 1 looming large, and Prime Minister Mark Carney facing his first major leadership test, the summit was framed as a show of strength and unity. But was that solidarity real behind the scenes? And how prepared are the provinces

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23:06

Reflecting on the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial

This Matters ·

2025/07/25

Guest: Toronto Star court reporter Jacques Gallant All five former members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior hockey team accused of sexual assault have been found not guilty, ending one of the most closely watched trials in Canadian sports. The case centred on a woman known publicly only as “E.M.” due to a publication ban. Her allegations against the players shook the sport, triggered years of scrutiny, reopened a police investigation, and fueled a national reckoning over Hockey Canada’s handling of

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28:31

What ER doctors would never let their kids do

This Matters ·

2025/07/20

Guest: Toronto Star reporter Abby O'Brien A bike ride to the local pool. A perfect dive off the board. A backyard trampoline showdown with the kids next door. Childhood can be full of fun but also dangers. Parents often think about the obvious dangers, like unsupervised swimming or biking without a helmet. But some of the biggest hazards may surprise you. We spoke with Toronto’s top pediatric emergency doctors about the activities they would never let their own kids do and why. From bouncy castles

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24:58

Disturbing errors at Ontario fertility clinics...

This Matters ·

2025/07/11

Guest: Morgan Sevareid-Bocknek, investigative reporter Imagine you want a biological kid and you need the help of a fertility clinic. But then imagine they implant the wrong embryo inside of you. Or half the wrong embryo - right egg but wrong sperm. Or the child is a race you weren't expecting. These scenarios and more have happened at Ontario fertility clinics, which remain under regulated. That means it’s a challenge to hold them to account when things like that happen and hard data for those

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22:20

How Ontario's cellphone ban played in classrooms and...

This Matters ·

2025/07/04

Guests: Toronto Star reporters Isabel Teotonio and Kristin Rushowy With the summer break, Ontario is wrapping up the first full school year under new cellphone restrictions. Last September, the Ford government introduced restrictions on personal mobile devices in schools, with boards required to update their own policies and ban social media sites, such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, from networks and devices. Other provinces have followed suit. But the results have been mixed, and students can

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16:57

Who's to blame when Toronto pools close during a...

This Matters ·

2025/06/27

GUEST: Star climate change reporter Kate Allen Toronto just sweltered its way through one of the most intense heatwaves on record. Many Torontonians seeking relief from the heat were met with disappointment and locked doors at more than a dozen public pools as they ended up being closed because of heat safety protocols for the lifeguards. What followed was a political showdown between Mayor Olivia Chow and Premier Doug Ford, with both sides pointing fingers over who was responsible. And amid the

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27:26

Are wildfires moving faster than Ontario can fight them?

This Matters ·

2025/06/20

Guest: Star climate change reporter Marco Chown Oved Wildfire season started early this year, with states of emergency declared in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and intense fire activity across Alberta. But while much of the national attention has focused on the west, Ontario is quietly facing a growing crisis of its own. One of the largest fires in the province’s north—recently described by officials as a “sleeping giant”—has now scorched more than 175,000 hectares, triggering the evacuation of

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26:26

This economic moment, according to the Bank of Canada

This Matters ·

2025/06/12

Guests: Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada Sharon Kozicki and Star Business Reporter Ana Pereira Recently, the Bank of Canada announced their latest interest rate decision, holding it at 2.75% - its second pause after seven consecutive cuts. In attempting to explain this decision, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said, ‘The Canadian economy is softer but not sharply weaker.’ And what does that mean exactly, right? Star Business reporter Ana Pereira sat down with Bank of Canada Deputy Governor

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23:39

What Carney's big border bill could mean for refugees...

This Matters ·

2025/06/10

Guests: Star Reporters Nicholas Keung and Mark Ramzy Introduced last week by the federal government—the Strong Borders Act seeks to overhaul how refugee claims are processed, expand powers for border and intelligence officials, and tighten enforcement—all framed as a response to sprawling asylum backlogs and escalating pressure from the U.S. and Donald Trump, including concerns about fentanyl trafficking. The bill is still in its early stages, but it’s already facing strong political opposition and

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03:16

Introducing the podcast, Arachnid: Hunting the Web's...

This Matters ·

2025/05/28

This Matters is pleased to share a new podcast from the Toronto Star, TVO Podcasts, the Investigative Journalism Bureau and Piz Gloria Productions, Arachnid: Hunting the Web's Darkest Secrets. What if the worst thing that ever happened to you plays out countless times on anonymous computer screens all over the world? Every day, tens of millions of images of child sexual abuse circulate on global online platforms. The proliferation of these images is getting worse as AI technology and deep fakes

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23:04

Sticker shock in the restaurant seats

This Matters ·

2025/05/20

Guest: Karon Liu, Toronto Star food reporter When one Toronto restaurant introduced a $25 cauliflower dish more than 10 years ago, it caused a bit of a stir at its eye-popping price. When Star reporter Karon Liu recently noticed the price of the same dish was now $41, it sent him to look at the steeply rising cost of meals out. It’s a trend driven by food inflation, wage inflation, rent inflation and a host of other factors. And for many diners, it means eating out is becoming less and less of an

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19:03

Breaking down Ontario's big spend budget as Trump's...

This Matters ·

2025/05/16

Guest: Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie Ontario just dropped its biggest budget ever — $232.5 billion — and looming over every dollar of it is the shadow of Donald Trump, his tariffs, and an uncertain economic future. This year’s budget also includes a new $5 billion “Protect Ontario” fund to shield businesses and jobs from the escalating trade war with the U.S. But behind the big numbers lie bigger questions like a $14.6 billion deficit, no major new housing initiatives despite a worsening

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19:16

What Mark Carney’s new cabinet reveals about his...

This Matters ·

2025/05/14

Guest: Star National Columnist Susan Delacourt Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled his first cabinet. On Tuesday, ministers were sworn in at Rideau Hall to a trimmed down and reorganized cabinet, with 28 full members and 10 second-tier members, known as secretaries of state. Carney’s campaign promise was bold change and a post-Trudeau pivot. Now that the lineup is out, the question is how much of it signals real transformation? Is this a true reset or does it look like a strategic rebrand? The

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14:20

Inside Mark Carney's high stakes visit to Washington

This Matters ·

2025/05/07

Guest: Ottawa Bureau Chief Tonda MacCharles Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Washington this week was his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump since being elected to office. A lot hangs in the balance, at a time when Canada’s relationship with its largest trading partner is being put to the test. While Carney made headlines with some bold statements and viral moments with Trump, the real story was the critical test of the Liberals political mandate and Canada’s position

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21:01

How the end of a pilot program for migrant food...

This Matters ·

2025/05/05

Guests: Star reporters Nicholas Keung and Ghada Alsharif During the pandemic, they were called essential. Migrant workers who packed our meat, picked our produce, and kept grocery shelves stocked. In return, many were offered a pathway to permanent residency through a federal pilot program. Now, that door has quietly closed. The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is being phased out by the federal government. And with it, thousands of low-wage food workers are once again left in Canada’s continuing cycle

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16:37

The growing price of keeping Toronto festivals safe

This Matters ·

2025/05/02

Guest: Star city hall reporter Mahdis Habibinia After the recent devastating vehicle attack at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival, Toronto organizers are raising fresh concerns about soaring security costs and the mounting pressure to keep people safe, especially with the city’s peak festival season around the corner. Toronto has been grappling with these fears for years, particularly after the 2018 van attack on Yonge Street. Since then, efforts to improve safety and crowd control have been

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20:27

New report reveals how Ontario schools restrain and...

This Matters ·

2025/04/30

Guest: Shawn Pegg, Director at Community Living Ontario A new report by Community Living Ontario exposes a disturbing reality faced by children with disabilities in Ontario schools. Based on interviews with over 500 parents and caregivers, it details how students, some of whom are as young as five, have been locked in rooms, physically restrained, or sent home because schools couldn’t meet their needs. Despite nearly $4 billion in annual special education funding, families and advocates say the

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19:17

What we learned in the final days of the 2025...

This Matters ·

2025/04/25

Guest: Ottawa bureau chief Tonda MacCharles We’re heading into the final stretch of a charged federal election campaign that’s shaped not just by a critical point in affordability, housing and healthcare but also by global events and Trump’s looming shadow. With election results just around the corner, on Monday; the political mood seems restless.The Star’s Ottawa bureau chief Tonda MacCharles unpacks the political climate, key turning points shaping this campaign and what might come next as the

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1,092 results

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