For years, some researchers have been sounding the alarm, about the spread of wild boars—called 'super pigs" for reasons that will become clear—on Canada's prairies. A few years ago, the situation was bad. Now it's critical. The pigs are multiplying and becoming harder to hunt or capture. They've now been seen in British Columbia and Ontario. And the US media is now reporting on the threat of Canadian super pigs. So yeah, not good. How did we end up here? How did the pigs become "super" in the f...
Nov 30, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you squint, it could be a trip back to 2017, when cannabis was on the cusp of becoming legal and most cities in Canada were inundated with 'dispensaries'—unlicensed retail storefronts selling pot as if it were already just fine. Mostly, crackdowns on those failed, pot became legal and everyone stopped caring. Until this year, when the cycle began again with a much different drug... Now, stores with names like "Fun Guyz" and "Shroomyz" have opened across the country, and the enforcement, or la...
Nov 29, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rent in large Canadian cities is at ridiculous highs. It's hard to find a decent apartment. and sometimes even harder to keep it. Landlords can afford to neglect their buildings because units are so scarce, and what options do tenants have, exactly? Leave?! Stop paying rent?! Well, yes, there are several rent strikes happening in Canada right now, mostly in Toronto. Some of them are closing in on six months or more. Evictions have been long-threatened, but slow to happen. Nor have the tenants re...
Nov 28, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Picture it: Mosquitoes that don't spread disease. Aphids and potato beetles that stay away from our crops. Biting insects that don't bite humans. There's an awful lot of good in a world where we can make those changes. There's just one catch... In order to do those things, we have to genetically modify those creatures, using cutting-edge technology that allows us to basically rewrite their code. The upside is tremendous, so the work is being done. But there are ethical questions as well as safet...
Nov 27, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly clear: A growing percent of the population can't afford to live basic, comfortable lives — and they want answers. In Frequency's newest show, In This Economy?! Jordan attempts to get to the bottom of how we got to this point, and share tips for how to achieve your goals despite living in a time of extreme economic uncertainty. Enjoy! ----------...
Nov 25, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cameron Ortis was once seen as a fast-rising RCMP intelligence official. This week, he was found guilty of offering up Canadian intelligence to people for cash. How did he fall so far? What was he attempting to sell, and to whom? In the bigger picture, Ortis' trial was a first for Canada, in a year of many unprecedented national security issues. What can we learn from this trial, and from Canada's approach to national security in 2023? Are we finally getting serious about threats and how we tack...
Nov 24, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's one of the world's strangest alcohol sales arrangements. Since the end of prohibition, beer in Ontario has primarily—sometimes nearly exclusively—sold at a signle chain of stores, that sell only beer. Nothing else. And while The Beer Store began as a collection of Canadian brewers, it is now almost totally owned by two megacompanies who hold a huge competitive advantage. A report last week indicated that the agreement that governs the situation will be allowed to expire, and the announcemen...
Nov 23, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you haven't noticed yet, Canada's labour movement is undergoing a bit of a resurgence. Workers are unionizing more, and those that are already unionized are using their newfound leverage to win concessions from employers. Amid this climate comes Bill C58, which will prohibit some employers from using replacement workers (commonly known in unions as "scabs") during strikes or lockouts. How long has this bill been in the works, and exactly what does it cover? What happens if critical workers le...
Nov 22, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In June 2021, Nathaniel Veltman intentionally ran his truck into the Afzaal family, who were simply out for a walk. All but one member of the family was killed, and Veltman later said he did it because he was looking for Muslims to run over. Last week, Veltman was quickly found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. His trial, the first in Canada to officially associate terrorism with white supremacy, offered a glimpse into where he found his hatred, how ...
Nov 21, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants come to Canada, looking for a better future for themselves and their children. The federal government is aiming to keep that number rising—but it's a tough time to be a new Canadian, with affordability and housing crises, an uncertain future and rising numbers of hate crimes. So how do recent Canadian immigrants feel about their decision to make this country their home? What did they expect coming here, and what did they actually get? Do they feel ...
Nov 20, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly clear: A growing percent of the population can't afford to live basic, comfortable lives — and they want answers. In Frequency's newest show, In This Economy?! Jordan attempts to get to the bottom of how we got to this point, and share tips for how to achieve your goals despite living in a time of extreme economic uncertainty. Enjoy! ----------...
Nov 18, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast If there's been one progressive assumption about cities over the past couple of decades, it's that they need to be greener—more trees, more parks, more green projects on top of buildings, all of that. And while the goals are laudable, and the plant life will surely help in the climate era, a new books asks if we're so concerned with making cities green that we're forgetting to make them functional for the people who use them? What exactly makes for a great city? Why does every development projec...
Nov 17, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shots fired at Jewish schools in Montreal. Slurs screamed as Muslims outside a mosque. Clashes of protesters on Canadian campuses and at weekend marches. General demands to pick a side, or be placed on the other one. While every day in Gaza and Israel brings more death and tragedy, and more allegations of atrocities, the fallout from the conflict here is taking its toll on the fabric of Canadian unity. Where is the line between free speech and hate speech? What are police and governments doing t...
Nov 16, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's not the old former players in charge of the NHL—the guys who thought banning pride jerseys and tape was a smart idea—who will determine the future of hockey. It's the kids playing now, with big dreams and bright futures ahead of them, who will ultimately create whatever the game becomes. So how do we make sure hockey really is for everyone? How different is the culture right now among young players? And how are the youngest players in the NHL now bringing a different approach to their locke...
Nov 15, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every week brings more layoffs and closures to local news outlets across the country, especially newspapers. It's a result of a business model that simply doesn't work anymore, say the owners making the decision, and it's tough to argue with that. But there is a business model that has begun to succeed—small, community- or subject-focused digital outlets that survive and even thrive thanks to government grants and funding from a small number of passionate readers. These are the publications that...
Nov 14, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last year, Canadian restaurants took in roughly $100 billion in revenue, more than the pre-pandemic year of 2019. This year it's pegged to be $110 billion. Yet a third of all restaurants report they are losing money, up from just seven percent before the pandemic. Even as lockdowns eased and diners returned, a complex set of problems face restaurants in particular—and now the industry's lobby group says we're beginning to see double the numbers of closing as openings. How did this happen, and ho...
Nov 13, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly clear: A growing percent of the population can't afford to live basic, comfortable lives — and they want answers. In Frequency's newest show, In This Economy?! Jordan attempts to get to the bottom of how we got to this point, and share tips for how to achieve your goals despite living in a time of extreme economic uncertainty. Enjoy! ----------...
Nov 11, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone knows by now about health-care worker burnout. Nurses fleeing the profession. Doctors retiring early. And the absence of so many of both leaving more crucial work for their increasingly strained colleagues, and the system as a whole. What you may not know, is that things are much the same for vets and vet technicians across the country—and it's taking a massive toll on the animal caregivers who remain. Canadians adopted an additional 500,000 pets during the pandemic, and right now there...
Nov 10, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast For months now, recent polls have been terrible for the federal Liberals—and specifically so when it comes to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A recent survey found that a majority of Canadians want him to step down before the next election in favour of a new lIberal leader, and a longtime Liberal senator recently called for him to do the same. Surveys and suggestions are a long way from reality, though, and there's no clear idea if Trudeau will walk away, or if he does if any member of his cabine...
Nov 09, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Airline passengers in Canada have rights. They're called the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, and they determine how much you're owed if your flight is delayed, overbooked or cancelled for various reasons. The problem is, the compensation is often tough to get, and there's very little incentive for the airlines to simply pay it every time. In an effort to simply get what they are owed, some Canadians take the airlines to small claims court. Sometimes they settle, and sometimes they even win...
Nov 08, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Regulating short-term rentals like AirBnB to ease the housing crisis isn't a new idea. It's been tried in plenty of cities in North America and beyond. But British Columbia's new legislation goes much further than most, and though it was just announced two weeks ago, a glance at apartments on sale in Victoria and Vancouver show that it's having an impact already. What's in the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act that makes it a step beyond other North American efforts. Has it gone too far, or n...
Nov 07, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jane Doe was assaulted by a police officer. That's never an easy case to win, but she wasn't without allies. Even still, her case was lost. At least, at first. This is a story of what happens when you don't stop fighting for justice. When you end up at the Supreme Court, with an officer from a 300-year-old police force on the other side, and you don't waver. It's a story about how you change more than just the outcome of your own case... GUEST: Lindsay Jones, Atlantic Canada reporter, The Globe ...
Nov 06, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly clear: A growing percent of the population can't afford to live basic, comfortable lives — and they want answers. In Frequency's newest show, In This Economy?! Jordan attempts to get to the bottom of how we got to this point, and share tips for how to achieve your goals despite living in a time of extreme economic uncertainty. Enjoy! ----------...
Nov 04, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast One hundred years ago, raccoons were so rare in Toronto, that a mysterious creature rummaging in a garbage bin warranted a newspaper report. Today, raccoons are basically the city's mascot—literally, the creatures are on all sorts of Toronto memorabilia. The war Toronto waged on raccoons spanned decades, with no end of amusing skirmishes. But it's abundantly clear that it's over. The raccoons won, the people lost, and now we just try to protect our garbage and hope the mess isn't too bad. This i...
Nov 03, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Quebec's CAQ government has spent years tightening laws around languages in the province, with a stated aim to protect French as its predominant language. Their latest attempt, doubling the tuition paid by out-of-province students attending English universities in Quebec, has led to anger, condemnation and protests in the streets. One of the policy's stated aims is to change the linguistic makeup of downtown Montreal, where thousands of students and others recently marched against it. Why target...
Nov 02, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's a very small piece, to be sure. But it's also a huge precedent. Almost immediately after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement last week, the government was fielding requests for similar carve-outs from across the country. on Tuesday, Saskatchewan made formal plans to stop paying part of the tax entirely, daring the federal government to enforce it. Meanwhile, everyone from the opposition to climate advocates have criticized the message the decision sends. So what, exactly, ar...
Nov 01, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast It can be difficult to sort fact from fiction, or anecdotes from data, when it comes to a subject like assisted dying. The topic itself is so emotional. The stories of those who don't qualify or from family left behind, can be heartbreaking. And the terms and conditions used to assess someone's eligibility for the process are complex and opaque. All of that is an environment ripe for misinformation—or for potential disasters to be imagined. Next year, restrictions on the MAiD law will fall away,...
Oct 31, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Depending on where you live, there's a between one-in-three and one-in-six chance that you don't have a family doctor. And the number of Canadians without one is rising rapidly. Now, at a time when older doctors are leaving the profession, the College of Family Physicians of Canada has announced plans to increase the time would-be family doctors are required to train from two years to three. Even if it's well-intentioned, the move has sparked opposition from experts and health ministers, who say...
Oct 30, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast With the increasingly polarized rhetoric surrounding the terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, and the IDF's continuous bombing of the Gaza strip, we felt it was an opportune time to revisit this episode that outlines a better way to discuss uncomfortable subjects with people you may disagree with. We hope you enjoy this episode, and find it helpful in navigating difficult conversations in your own lives. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORI...
Oct 28, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Depending on your mood, it sounds either terrifying, or like a sweet release from modernity. But solar storms hit the Earth all the time, and it's only a matter of time until a truly gigantic one fries us—it's happened before, and will again. We're more reliant on electricity and connectivity than ever before, obviously, and we don't know how the grid will handle the power of such a storm—but we know it won't be good. The problem is, we can't test for it without, well, turning it all off and the...
Oct 27, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
