The Decibel

It’s been a month since post-tropical storm Fiona slammed into Atlantic Canada, causing huge amounts of devastation. In Prince Edward Island, thousands of trees came down, houses were destroyed, and people remained without power for weeks. Amidst a labour shortage, recovery efforts in the province are moving slowly.The Globe’s Greg Mercer visited PEI recently and spoke to people picking up the pieces after Fiona about what comes 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.

An anti-loitering noise device under a bridge in the small city of Oshawa, Ontario was put there by municipal officials to dissuade unhoused people from setting up camp. It’s raised questions about how cities should be dealing with homelessness at a time when housing is more out of reach than ever.With municipal voting day coming on Monday across Ontario, Marcus Gee discusses the politics of addressing homelessness.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 public inquiry into whether the use of the Emergencies Act to stop protests in Ottawa this past winter was justified is under way. On Wednesday, we learned that the city of Ottawa and police were warned in advance that the trucker convoy protest was well-resourced and determined to remain on site until COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. But Ottawa police reportedly didn’t receive these warnings from the provincial police.Parliamentary reporter Marieke Walsh joins us to tell us what else we’ve learned in the first week of hearings.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.

In the span of two weeks, Russia has launched two major drone attacks on Ukraine. Scores of so-called “kamikaze drones,” purchased from Iran, have been attacking Ukrainian civilians and devastating power and water infrastructure.Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn is a senior fellow and director of the defence program at the Center for a New American Security. She’s back on the show to tell us how these drones work and what air defence systems from allies might do to help Ukraine.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.

Finding a suspect based on their DNA alone used to be almost impossible: police could only search DNA databases of people who’d already committed crimes and been convicted. But the increase in popularity of online genealogy and DNA databases are changing what’s possible.The Globe’s Colin Freeze has spoken to Canadian detectives who are using the same technique that caught the Golden State Killer to solve cold case crimes here in Canada.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.

If you’ve bought something online recently, you’ve probably seen a payment option to spread out the purchase in installments. This is known as Buy Now, Pay Later and it’s popping up all over Canada with companies like Amazon, Adidas, Samsung and Sleep Country. But why is it all over the place all of a sudden?Finance reporter and columnist Tim Kiladze looked into it, and he explains where it came from, how it affects credit, and how it encourages people to spend more money.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.

Next week, China’s ruling Communist Party is expected to announce an unprecedented third term for its leader, Xi Jinping. Mr. Xi has consolidated his power over the last decade, cracking down on billionaires, movie stars and businesses seen as going against party ideology.Asia correspondent James Griffiths tells us about Mr. Xi’s vision for China and what his grip on the country means for the future of their economy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There’s an experiment under way on the roadways around the Greater Toronto Area. Loblaw Companies Ltd. has partnered with autonomous vehicle company Gatik and is using five driverless delivery trucks to ship products around. And since August, they haven’t had a human ‘safety driver’ on board.The Globe and Mail’s retail reporter Susan Krashinsky Robertson discusses how the technology for these driverless trucks works, why Loblaw is investing in the technology and what this means for shoppers and the grocery industry in Canada.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.

On Tuesday, the CEO of Hockey Canada, Scott Smith, left the organization and the entire board of directors resigned. The organization has been embroiled in controversy for months over its handling of sexual assaults, specifically the fact that Hockey Canada used funds – paid in part by registration fees – to settle sexual assault claims.Globe and Mail columnist Gary Mason has been writing on this for months. He explains the culture problem he sees at Hockey Canada and in hockey more generally, and what it might take to fix it.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.comEditor’s Note: An earlier version of these show notes stated that Scott Smith had resigned. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The company that owns Facebook might be in trouble. Meta’s stock has plunged nearly 60 per cent this year, Facebook has been losing active users, existing users are consistently complaining about the company’s other social media platform Instagram, and fresh upstarts with their own apps are gobbling up the public’s attention.As Meta executives pour billions of dollars into the virtual reality world they call the Metaverse, The Globe’s technology reporter Temur Durrani explains the problems within Facebook, what they say about the state of social media more broadly, and what social media might look like in the future.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.