The Decibel

Florida has brought in several policies recently that critics say target LGBTQ people, like the controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which prevents teachers from telling kids in Grade 3 or younger about sexual orientation or gender identity. Similar policies are being taken up across the US.Brandon Wolf is with the LGBTQ civil rights group Equality Florida. He tells us about the impact of the “Don’t Say Gay” law, and what it means when so many Republican candidates for the upcoming midterms are using at a model for what they’ll do in their home states.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The labour dispute between educational workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government has escalated this week. The union issued its strike notice on Sunday and the government responded with back-to-work legislation that included the controversial notwithstanding clause on Monday.Talks broke down on Thursday afternoon after the mediator decided the two sides were still too far apart. The union has decided to proceed with a protest that the province’s legislation has made illegal. The Globe’s future of work reporter Vanmala Subramaniam explains why many union leaders across the country are keeping a close eye on what happens next.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, the Emergencies Act inquiry is hearing from convoy leaders who took over Ottawa’s downtown core earlier this year while they were protesting vaccine mandates. On Wednesday, a lawyer who represented key convoy organizers during the protests told the inquiry that organizers received leaked information from police.Parliamentary reporter Marieke Walsh tells us what else we’ve learned from convoy leaders who have testified so far.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Neuroscientists are trying to figure out how the COVID virus, SARS-COV-2, is affecting the brain. Many people who have gotten COVID end up having lingering cognitive impairments of some kind, whether that’s brain fog, forgetting vocabulary, difficulty remembering or general sluggishness in trying to think.Dr. Adrian Owen, who has a PhD in cognitive assessments in brain disorders, is a professor of neuroscience and imaging at Western University. His recent study looked at what kinds of cognitive issues people face and how it’s impacting them.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There are a surprising number of Canadians involved in far-right politics in the U.S. Think Jordan Peterson, Steven Crowder, Gavin McInnes, Lauren Southern.So why are there so many? And why do Americans care about what a group of Canadians have to say? International correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe discusses the power of Canadian commentators in America’s far-right movement.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Electronic monitoring of employees has been going on for years, but it’s seen a serious boost during the pandemic. It can consist of tracking anything from location, online activity status, keyboard and mouse movements, URLs – some even take photos of employees from their computer cameras and take screenshots to ensure they are working. Ontario has legislation that now makes it mandatory for companies with more than 25 people to tell employees how they’re monitoring them and why.Nita Chhinzer, professor in the department of management at the University of Guelph, explains the extent of this kind of monitoring in Canada, and how this Ontario law might change things.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

New census data from Statistics Canada shows that immigrants now represent 23 per cent of the Canadian population, a new high. But these numbers only tell half the story. The challenges that immigrants face in getting into the country are numerous and complex.Dakshana Bascaramurty digs into the new numbers and explains why some people will risk their lives to move to North America.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Bank of Canada announced a 0.5 percentage point rate hike on Wednesday. It’s the sixth consecutive increase in the past year alone. These increases have made borrowing more expensive and saving more difficult for Canadians.With all this economic uncertainty, The Decibel hosted a conversation live on Twitter with three personal finance experts to talk about how young people should prepare to weather this storm. Rob Carrick, Erica Alina and Melissa Leong talk mortgages, savings and their key piece of personal finance advice for young people who may be feeling anxious.You can listen to the full Twitter space conversation here.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Indigenous people are over-represented in Canada’s federal prisons. One in three men in federal prisons identify as Indigenous, and the number is 50 per cent for women prisoners.Officials have long said that healing lodges – minimum-security rehabilitation centres for Indigenous people – work, but there are only 10 in Canada. And while politicians pledge to build more, they haven’t in recent years. Reporter Patrick White discusses what’s behind the delay.Join host Menaka Raman-Wilms for a conversation live on Twitter this Wednesday, October 26th, at 2pm ET. She’ll be chatting with the Globe’s personal finance reporter Erica Alini, Globe columnist Rob Carrick and money expert Melissa Leong about the latest interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada and what it means for young people’s money. We’ll cover rent, saving, debt and investing with practical tips you can use.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rishi Sunak is set to become the UK’s next Prime Minister. This comes after Liz Truss resigned from the job after a tumultuous six weeks. Truss is the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history. Now, Sunak must try to repair the very shaky economic situation that the country currently finds itself in.Tom Rachman is a novelist and contributing columnist for The Globe based in London. He tells us why he thinks the problems in the UK all stem back to Brexit, about the mess Rishi Sunak is set to take on and what he could possibly do to fix the British economy.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.