Breaking the silence: Dancers accuse choreographers of sexual harassment and grooming
Guest: Star journalist Morgan Bocknek
The world continues to witness the ripple-effects of the MeToo movement, that has led to scores of people opening up about their experiences with sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and sexual assault. It has sparked conversations, controversy and, in many cases, cultural change within industries. A similar story has emerged at prominent dance company, Break the Floor, a big part of the dance community of North America. An exclusive Star investigation has found allegations of widespread sexual harassment and predatory behaviour by BTF coaches over their younger students.
Break the Floor CEO Gil Stroming did not respond to specific questions, though told the Star that the dance company did not have “fully thought out policies and procedures regarding this” and, “over the last year and a half we have worked very hard to make BTF a better and safer environment for everyone,” and, “we could have and should have done better.” BTF has undergone training and revised its code of conduct, the company said in a statement. “We are truly heartbroken that anyone has been subject to inappropriate behaviour by any person associated with Break The Floor,” the statement read. “We remain committed to these initiatives and will continue to learn and be better.”
October 21, 2021
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Are Ontario’s new election laws being used to muzzle dissent?
Guests: Star reporters Noor Javed, who covers 905 municipal politics, and Kris Rushowy, Queen’s Park reporter
Earlier this year, the Ontario government controversially used the notwithstanding clause to push through a new election advertising law which, despite being found to be unconstitutional, added new restrictions on third-party advertising to curb large scale, American-style special interest political fundraising in the election process. Now, exclusive Star reporting has found that a sitting minister contacted Elections Ontario and asked it to look into at least three small community groups to see if they were in violation of the new laws. Critics say it could lead a muzzling of political dissent in the province and change the rules for political advocacy.
October 20, 2021
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Can you get fired for refusing to get vaccinated?
Guest: Rosa Saba, Business Reporter at The Star
With vaccine mandates now being enforced in many establishments, workplace mandates are now proliferating across many businesses as they try to return to normal. This raises questions about employer and workers rights if an employee chooses to remain unvaccinated. It’s something we are seeing play out on large stages, like the NBA, where star player Kyrie Irving has been told to stay away from his team until he decides to get vaccinated. But we are seeing it all across North America, as health care workers and police officers and others choose to remain unvaccinated. In Canada, the question is, can people be fired with cause? Do accommodations need to made? Is the employee eligible for Employment Insurance? These are all questions that need to be worked through and dealt with by all kinds of organizations and their personnel.
October 19, 2021
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What you need to know about the Canada-U.S. land border reopening
Guest: Edward Keenan, Toronto Star’s Washington Bureau Chief
More than 18 months it closed due to the pandemic, the world’s largest undefended border will reopen in November. The closure has resulted in long delays and frustration, and fraught with clear-as-mud guidance around the air travel and policies around mixed doses and vaccination. As Canadians get ready to cross the land border once again, we sort through the many questions that still remain on how the reopening will work amidst the politics of the pandemic.
October 18, 2021
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Why won't City Hall move forward on rooming houses and renters' rights?
Guest: Shawn Micallef, contributing columnist for the Star
This summer, the city of Toronto spent almost $2 million on private security guards and police to forcefully clear encampments in public parks. Despite the obvious need for housing, council has once again delayed a decision on legalizing rooming houses citywide, a debate that's been ongoing for ten years at City Hall. Rooming houses, also called multi-tenant homes, are currently illegal in most of Toronto, yet they are said to be an accessible and affordable living option for students, newcomers, and individuals with low income in a city where the cost of living is among the highest in Canada. Columnist Shawn Micallef joins "This Matters" to explain the significance of rooming houses, renters' rights and why encampment clearing should not have taken place the way it did in the middle of a pandemic and an escalating housing crisis.
October 15, 2021
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Supply chain reaction: Product delays, stock shortages and higher prices
Guest: David Johnston of the Schulich School of Business at York University
With the holiday season fast approaching, many retailers have been ramping up their efforts to make sure there is enough stock on the shelves for consumers to buy, but experts warn that disruptions in the global supply chain are already resulting in product shortages, delays in delivery and higher prices. There are container ships lined up outside of U.S. ports waiting to off-load their freight, and there aren’t enough docks or truck drivers to move the goods through. While COVID-19 has exposed some of the weak links in our global supply chain infrastructure, many issues were already there and experts are warning it might be some time before things return to normal.
October 14, 2021
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Can a computer glitch dash immigration dreams?
Guest: Nicholas Keung, immigration reporter
The pandemic, travel restrictions and the recent refugee crisis in Afghanistan have created some serious issues within Canada’s immigration system. From refugees, to permanent residency holders trying to make their landing in Canada, to those already living in the country waiting for citizenship, everyone has been in limbo as the backlog piles up. To try and address some of this, the federal government announced a special one-time immigration program in April, as a potential pathway to permanent residency for those already in Canada who might be eligible. To qualify, applicants needed to jump through a lot of hoops and navigate a tricky new system, all within a limited time window for limited slots. For thousands of students and workers, this was their only chance to make a life in Canada. Now those who made it that far are in danger of having their dreams dashed, all potentially because of a computer glitch. The Star’s Immigration Reporter Nicholas Keung joins “This Matters” to explain.
October 13, 2021
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New Zealand abandons COVID-Zero. Is hope of elimination over?
Guest: Alex McKeen, Toronto Star reporter
For much of the pandemic, New Zealand has avoided mass outbreaks, a large number of deaths and high case counts, and in doing so has been heralded by COVID-Zero supporters as the poster-child of the strategy to eliminate the virus. But that’s all come to an end as New Zealand, like a number of other nations, has all but abandoned the official strategy. The goal now is low rates of transmission, rather than total elimination. The COVID-Zero movement has drawn a number of supporters from epidemiologists and public health experts as well its share of criticism from people who compare the approach to the anti-vax movement. Where does the goal of eliminating COVID spread go now? Is it even possible to achieve? Why is the dream of eliminating COVID spread such a controversial one?
October 12, 2021
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How far will new long-term-care legislation go?
COVID-19 showed how under-resourced and ill-equipped many Canadian nursing homes were to cope with a crisis. It also opened up an important conversation on structural and systemic issues within the long-term care industry — and the right of senior citizens to a better quality of living. Ontario has now opened up legislation on this front for the first time in more than ten years. Star investigative reporter Moira Welsh explains what the current state of Ontario’s long-term care is and what those changes could look like.
October 08, 2021
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A look at the GTA real estate market now
Guest: Tess Kalinowski, real estate reporter at The Star
The real estate market has been one of the few things that this pandemic has not really disrupted. After an initial lockdown, the Greater Toronto Area market has been soaring to new heights in terms of prices and sales. After 21 months of the pandemic, there is cautious optimism that the market might return closer to normal — at least in terms of a sense timing — but there will remain challenges, mostly exacerbated by a lack of houses for sales.
October 07, 2021
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TSO Double Basses Timothy Dawson and Paul Rogers perform at the Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and Toronto Zoo have teamed up to offer a new creative collaboration called “Zoophony” which will explore the musical side of animal sounds, and the animal side of musical sounds for young audiences. This digital concert will be released to schools on November 22 through the TSO website.
TSO Double Basses Timothy Dawson and Paul Rogers took a break from filming to present their piece written especially for “Zoophony” called Double
Bass No. 10, “Mother and Calf”. Shaun Rogers (Paul’s son and a bass player
himself), wrote “Mother and Calf” especially for the Toronto Zoo’s Masai Giraffes. The three short sections of the piece depict giraffes walking and reaching with their necks towards food, the sounds of a baby giraffe, and, the low humming sounds giraffes make at night. The piece finishes with a cheery ending.
Featuring 21 musicians from the TSO and a host of animals from the Toronto Zoo, “Zoophony” is a unique opportunity to connect young people with wildlife and music, and hopes to ignite the imaginations and curiosity of children everywhere.
October 06, 2021
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Transit ‘death spiral’: Will post-pandemic Toronto be led by cars?
Guest: Ben Spurr, the Star’s transportation reporter
The pandemic has been near catastrophic for public transit. Ridership dropped for the TTC, costing the transit service millions in fare revenue and the Ontario government more than $140 a ride as the province covered the cost of near-empty GO Transit and UP Express trips. But the worst could still be to come and the fear of the "death spiral" remains a real possibility. Today on "This Matters," we explain the pain and drain of the "transit death spiral" and whether how we move in a city post-pandemic will be led by cars instead of buses and subways.
October 06, 2021
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How Alberta and Saskatchewan lost control of COVID’s fourth wave
Guest: Kieran Leavitt, politics reporter for the Star
The fourth wave in western Canada has become a crisis. COVID-19 patients in Alberta are dying at four times the rate of the national average as the province leads Canada in active cases and deaths. After a sharp uptake when vaccines were first available, Saskatchewan’s vaccination rate has stalled and now ranks as the lowest of all provinces. We look at the political decisions in Alberta and Saskatchewan that brought them to this moment and whether they can control the fourth wave.
October 05, 2021
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Opening the Pandora Papers and what they reveal
Guests: Robert Cribb & Marco Chown Oved, investigative reporters at the Star
In what is being called the largest collaborative journalism project in history, hundreds of journalists around the world have released their findings from The Pandora Papers, which detail the financial details of how the ultra-rich move and hide money around the world in tax havens and through other mechanisms. The findings include some well-known world leaders as well as other wealthy and famous people. There were several revelations about prominent Canadians, and by shining a light on these dealings it opens up questions about what can and should be done about it.
NOTE: The following people are discussed in this episode and, when reached for comment, provided these statements.
David Tassillo’s wrote a statement saying the offshore structure the Star “was the first and only I have ever set up on behalf of MindGeek, and the transactions and structure were entirely appropriate.” Elvis Stojko told Pandora Papers partner the CBC he did this on advice of his longtime lawyer and he was that the trust was closed in 2012. Lawrence Stroll’s personal financial adviser, Jonathan Dudman, responded to the Star saying Superwit Profits was a “small business” originated by Stroll’s friend Tang in 1998. The King’s of Jordan’s lawyers, in written correspondence, said there is nothing improper in the king’s ownership of properties through offshore companies and that he has not misused public money or aid.
October 04, 2021
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Candice holds her son for the first time
Candice Cruise was just 22 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with a rare condition and told she'd need new lungs. Doctors put her on life support until her son could be safely delivered. Here Candice holds her son Cameron for the first time with husband Collin close by.
Read the story: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/10/02/pregnant-woman-lung-transplant-toronto-doctors-hospital-world-first.html
October 01, 2021
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Many businesses are refusing the new vaccine certificate rules. What now?
Guest: Jacob Lorinc, Toronto Star business reporter
Ontario's anti-vaccine movement has expanded. Hundreds of businesses have formed a network to refuse the new vaccine certificate rules, and take a pass on screening for unvaccinated customers. Mayor John Tory says the city has received more than 500 complaints of these violations, but there doesn't seem to be any clarity on implementing Ontario's mandatory vaccine rules. Business reporter Jacob Lorinc joins "This Matters" to explain why hundreds of businesses are going back to business as usual and ponder Ontario will flatten the curve of the fourth wave and end a pandemic if vaccine rules are actually just suggestions for some.
October 01, 2021
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Annamie Paul and the Green Party: what it reveals about Canada’s misogynoir problem
Guest: Erica Ifill, columnist for the Hill Times
Green party leader Annamie Paul's resignation came after a defeat in her own Toronto Centre riding but it was a long time coming. After the party's own internal report leaked earlier this year and revealed the extent of systemic racism within, many said that she was set up to fail and the outcome was built into the system from the onset. A study of Paul's journey as leader of the Green Party of Canada has also been considered by many as a microcosm of misogynoir, and the systemic failures reserved only for the Black and racialized women. Erica Ifill, columnist for the Hill Times, co-host of the "Bad + Bitchy" podcast and founder of equity and inclusion consultancy Not in My Colour, joins "This Matters" to help unpack whether it's "just politics" when a strong, outspoken Black Jewish woman steps away from her platform and potential, or was this a sinister reflection of Canada's real problem with racial double standards.
September 30, 2021
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Residential school survivors recall haunting memories from Mohawk Institute
TRIGGER WARNING: This video contains references to residential schools and sexual abuse.
Former students of Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford Geronimo Henry and Sherlene Bomberry share difficult memories of their time at the school.
Read their stories:
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2020/09/24/i-still-had-my-trauma-inside-residential-school-survivors-honoured-on-orange-shirt-day.html
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2021/05/31/grim-discovery-in-bc-a-stark-reminder-for-residential-school-survivors-in-brantford-hamilton.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=spec_web_ymbii
Video edited by Kelsey Wilson
Video courtesy of The Hamilton Spectator.
September 30, 2021
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How should Canada handle former residential school sites? Ask the Indigenous community
As Canada reflects on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Star reporter Olivia Bowden wrote a piece titled: How do you teach children about residential schools? Mix history with kindness. Olivia was on the show in August and we are rebroadcasting her episode, as it is as relevant today as it was then.
Guest: Olivia Bowden, Toronto Star reporter
As Canada goes through the painful process of identifying hundreds of Indigenous children’s remains who were buried in unmarked graves outside the sites of former residential schools, conversations have turned to what to do next with the locations, how to commemorate the children lost and how to honour those victimized. For some in Indigenous communities, those discussions have actually been taking place for decades. Olivia Bowden visited the site of the former Mohawk Institute residential school, now a part of the Woodland Centre under the ownership of the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve, to listen and try to understand how Canada should move forward in addressing the horrific legacy of the residential school system and honour the Indigenous children that were its victims.
September 30, 2021
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It’s a travesty that the Raptor isn’t in the Mascot Hall of Fame. Let’s vote him in now
Of all the egregious wrongs in the world of sports — too much video replay to take the human element out of games and extend them unnecessarily comes quickly to mind — one stands out above all others and it’s time to fix it.
The Raptor, a close personal friend for more than a quarter century and unquestionably one of the best stuffed animals in all of sports, is not yet in the Mascot Hall of Fame and we need to get that fixed.
Read more: https://www.thestar.com/sports/doug_smiths_sports_blog/2021/09/29/its-a-travesty-that-the-raptor-isnt-in-the-mascot-hall-of-fame-lets-vote-him-in-now.html
September 29, 2021
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