Context Beyond The Headlines

Where was God? Canada's Deadliest Mass Shooting

April 18th, 2020, the residents of the small town of Portapique, Nova Scotia, went to sleep that night, not knowing they would wake up to complete mayhem in the middle of the night. Many heard gunshots and saw flames billowing in the night sky. An anonymous alert by the RCMP left many not knowing what was going on. By 11:26 a.m. on April 19th, 23 people were dead, and three people were injured. The man responsible for it all was shot and killed by the police. So many questions remain. How did th...

The Great Relocation: The Migration to Eastern Canada

This week on Context: Canadians are on the move. In the past five years inter-provincial migration has grown exponentially. Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia have seen an influx of people moving from neighbouring provinces to start a new life. Most interprovincial migrants come from Ontario. Between July 1st, 2021, and June 30th, 2022 over 14,000 more people came to Nova Scotia from other provinces or territories than left the area itself. A report from Scotiabank says pandemic restrict...

Canada’s Forgotten Pioneers : How African Nova Scotians have contributed to the history of Canada

This week on Context we tell the story of African Nova Scotians and how they’ve contributed to the history of Canada. They’ve been in Canada for almost 300 years and yet some of us don’t know their stories and all that they have given us. Context is on the road as Maggie John travels to Nova Scotia to speak with Isaac Saney, a historian in African Studies at Dalhousie University. We’ll also get a tour of the historic Africville Museum . The original community of Africville was established in the...

Mental Health: A Nation in Crisis

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is calling it a crisis in our country. After years of campaigns dispelling the stigma around mental health, we are now facing a shortage of mental health care support, with some wait lists a year-long leaving many Canadians with nowhere to turn for help. Fewer than 1 in 3 Canadians with mental illness can access care. The pandemic has put pressure on a system that was already fragile. In a poll conducted by Angus Reid in partnership with the CBC, 54 per...

Syria : 11 Years Later

Eleven years of war in Syria -- with devastating consequences. What began as the Arab spring- pro-democracy demonstrations erupting all over the Middle East in 2011 soon turned into war when the Syrian government had enough. Crackdowns intensified; Syrians were killed, as protestors demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. Then, a civil war erupted, accompanied by the factions of fighting also carried out by Isis and Kurdish forces in the region. The number of lives lost will never...

Rage : Why Are Canadians So Angry?

Anger: we see it in traffic. We hear it on the radio, and we read it online. It’s all around us. But are Canadians angry? For many years we have been depicted as one of the nicest- happiest people in the world. Something has changed. According to the “Rage Index”- a new way to measure our crankiness in this country- unvaccinated Canadians seem more perturbed than the rest- upset with things like their financial situation; the government; societal changes and the economy. But all of us seem to ha...

Medical Assistance in Dying - Easy Access to Death?

Canada is among the 12 countries in the world that have made assisted death legal. Brought into law 6 years ago, MAID continues to be a point of contention in this country. Last year alone, 10,000 Canadians died by the procedure, with numbers expected to increase this year. When Bill C-7 was initially passed the caveat to accessing the procedure was that one’s death had to be reasonably foreseeable. Since then the law has changed and allows those with a serious and incurable illness disease or d...

Gendercide: The Dangers of Being a Girl

The cost of being a woman in the world can be deadly as we saw recently with the death of Mahsa Amini – a 22-year-old Iranian woman, detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly. She died after falling into a coma while in police custody. It is the most recent case that has resurfaced the debate around gender equality everywhere. But as the protests in favour of gender rights continue - the silent death of millions of unborn girls worldwide including in Canada hasn't...

Racial Awakening: Where Are We Now

Two and a half years ago the world stopped as we all watched George Floyd die before our eyes. After years of hearing about the racial injustice experienced by people of colour - the world seemed ready to finally listen. But according to statistics Canada the number of reported hate crimes went up. Anti-black hate crimes went up 92% in 2020; hate crimes against indigenous people increased 152% but the most startling were crimes against east and southeast Asian Canadians which saw a 301% rise -ma...

Migrant Work: The True Cost of Labour

A tragic death on an Ontario farm has led to calls for more rights and safety requirements for migrant workers working under Temporary Foreign Worker permits. The workers fill vital positions - primarily in agriculture, food and beverage manufacturing, and home care. But are migrant workers being treated humanely? An open letter from Jamaican farm workers to their country's Ministry of Labour describes the program as "systemic slavery" - listing poor housing, abusive bosses, and exposure to dang...

Explicit Content: Pornography and Underage Access

As 97% of teens spend most of their time online, there is a dark layer to many of the social media platforms and sites they find themselves on. A recent study by the City University of London found that almost two-thirds of 16-17 year-olds had seen sexually explicit content on messaging and social networking apps, not to mention online games. In November 2021, Canadian Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne presented a new bill that would restrict online access to sexually explicit material to young peop...

The Queen: Defender of the Faith

As Britain's longest-reigning monarch, she lived through wars, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and family loss. While Queen Elizabeth II's life was focused on public service, she did that with great devotion to her faith in Jesus. From the beginning of her reign, the Queen professed a deep belief in prayer, and the church played a pivotal role in her life and her death. Defender of the Faith was one of the many titles she held as Monarch and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. And as th...

Checking in on Mental Health

Grammy award-winning singer Michelle Williams was planning her own funeral when she realized she needed immediate help. Michelle had been sweeping her depression and anxiety under the rug, even while in the spotlight with R&B group Destiny’s Child. The singer and actress has written a book called Checking In: How Getting Real About Depression Saved My Life and Can Save Yours. We check in with Michelle for some real talk about what may be under that proverbial "rug" for all of us and what we ...

Racism in Canada

In June of this year, the Toronto Police released a report finding officers in Canada's largest police force used more force against Black people than any other group or demographic. The findings are what the BIPOC community in the city has been claiming for far too long. Then the Environics Institute released a study entitled "Canadian Social Norms and Racism." The national study looked into the different types of racial microaggressions directed at Black and Indigenous people in this country a...

Decriminalize Drugs?

A government taskforce report says Canada has the "fastest growing rate of overdose mortality in the world.” So jurisdictions are turning to harm reduction. Hamilton, Ontario, is requesting to decriminalize illicit drug possession. The city, along with Toronto, is looking to join B.C.’s 3-year pilot project to decriminalize the small possession of drugs which begins in January. Is this the way out of the opioid crisis? Or does it go too far? And can the Church play a more active role in helping ...

The Price of Addiction

The statistics are shocking, and yet year after year, they only get worse . The opioid crisis has gripped Canada for the past five years. Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, opioid-poisoning fatalities have skyrocketed to an average of 20 deaths per day. But behind the person struggling with an addiction is often a family desperately trying to do whatever they can to get their loved one clean. As a firefighter in Brantford Ontario, Jeff Walsh has saved countless lives from opioid overdoses. But...

Ending Human Trafficking

According to the International Labour Organization, there are 40.3 million human trafficking victims in the world. 71% of trafficking victims are women and girls. The numbers are overwhelming. But authors Kimberly McOwen Yim, Sandra Morgan, and Shane Moore believe the Church can help - with the right guidance. That’s why they wrote the book Ending Human Trafficking: A Handbook of Strategies for the Church Today. They join Maggie John to explain how the Church can most effectively protect vulnera...

The Art of a Genuine Apology

The Pope has officially apologized to Indigenous People for the atrocities, including abuse, taking away of culture, and even death, committed at Residential Schools - most of which were run by the Catholic Church. But what makes an apology meaningful? And how can the Pope's apology be a meaningful step to reconciliation? Maggie John sits down with Andrew Blackwood, author of The Art of a Genuine Apology , to discuss how we can all learn to apologize better....

The Pope's Apology

Pope Francis is set to visit Canada for a journey of healing, reconciliation, and hope with Indigenous people across the country. This visit comes months after the historic apology to a delegation of residential school survivors, elders, and youth at the Vatican in March. Cassidy Caron, President of the Metis National Council, was at that apology. She sits down with Maggie John to discuss what the apology meant for her community and how the Pope's visit to Canada can further reconciliation....

On the front lines of pregnancy and abortion care

With the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade in the United States, the abortion debate has heated up, even in Canada. While Canada does not have any abortion laws, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed into the decision south of the border saying it was “ an attack on women’s freedoms” and adding, “in Canada we will always defend women’s rights to choose.” But unplanned pregnancy - and the decisions that follow - are complex. Wrought with emotion, many pregnant women feel isol...

Context Beyond The Headlines (Trailer)

The verdict

A nation and a world exhale together in a deep healing breath in the name of George Floyd. The poison of racism diluted a bit more in the guilty verdict of former police officer Derek Chauvin as a 9-year-old child stood witness to a murder in broad daylight in the streets of her hometown. A modern-day lynching caught on 17-year-old Darnella Frazier’s cell phone changed the course of history. In light of the guilty verdict, we take another look at our “realities of anti-indigenous and anti-black ...

Stop Asian Hate

Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Three simple words ignited evil, hateful acts of violence against innocent Asian people around the world. Pandemics can happen anywhere, anytime, and in any country. COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China, and Asian people are now being demonized, causing long-standing and deep psychological impacts in Asian communities. This week on Context: Asian hate must stop.

Realities of Racism

How will history record the years 2020 and 2021? We thought we had seen it all, but has anything really changed? The hate-filled killings of unarmed Black people in the U.S. sparked international outrage from every race under the sun. Here in Canada, Indigenous people faced inexplicable pain when police answered wellness checks by families who called for their loved ones in distress but were met with death. Still, if anything is under-reported in all this outrage, pain, and anxiety, it’s not the...

Is Church Essential

Gathering at churches, synagogue and temples is a sacred right, but these days, worshipping and gathering is inside,outside, zooming, face timing, skyping, even drive-in movie theatres. During the last year, Christians along with people of other faiths enduring lockdowns, unable to father, leave some people feeling that it’s an infringement on their religious freedom. While others say we’ve got to listen to health authorities. We look at all sides of the debate. And Maggie visits an inner-city m...

Abuse of power

When power causes leaders and others in positions of influence to lose their moral compasses, the trail of pain and destruction is devastating – How do we heal? This week on Context – abuse in the halls of power and influence. From preachers to politicians, even inside the church. The immoral behaviors by some of the leaders in positions of power continues to erode the trust of the institutions that many people once embraced. In fact, Time Magazine reports that the year 2020 ushered in “an epide...

Caring for God's Creation

Although there’s been a pause amid COVID-19, caring for God’s earth is essential. A snowstorm in Texas, floods in Fort Mac, forest fires in L.A. and Australia, increased hurricanes around the world: it’s clear climate change is changing mother earth. Internationally renowned Christian scientist Katharine Hayhoe joins context to explain what is happening to the planet. Plus: Context correspondent Cheridan Sanders talks with us from Rome, where the lockdowns and fewer tourists have given the canal...

Loneliness in a pandemic

It was one year ago this month that the world as we knew it changed forever. We were in shock and disbelief…and then the confusion began. For the grace of God we go. Adversity, hardship and challenges aren’t new in our lives, many of us feel like we’re in the dark. For most of us, COVID has ushered in a loneliness that is difficult to describe. Most affected are our children, students, our elders, and disabled. Coming out of the dark will require a steadfast faith and as we see in retrospect – G...

COVID-19 Report Card: How is the government doing?

What went wrong with Canada’s early warning pandemic system? We find out from a specialist in international affairs and intelligence gathering. A Mississauga newspaper reports that international travelers arriving at Pearson airport are taking fines instead of quarantining or providing COVID-19 tests. And are quarantine hotels legal? We hear from a lawyer from the justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms in Calgary. And the global CEO of Ipsos public affairs, Darrell Bricker gives us an update...

United we stand: International Women’s Day 2021

Context dedicates our program to International Women’s Day, and honours women of every age, stage, race, and religion – and the men who love us! Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker, Maryam Ebra-Himi speaks with Faten Al Faraj. See Hear Love host and new author – Melinda Estabrooks and 100 HS host Cheryl Weber talk women in Christian media with Maggie. And, Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson of Empowered in My Skin, and TD Bank speaks about Black women in tech and corporate leadership. And an inspiring ...