The Big Story

According to race-based data released by the Toronto Police Service earlier this month, Black people and other people of colour are disproportionately over-policed compared to white people. The data found that people of colour were 1.2 to 1.6 times more likely to face force when engaging with Toronto police in 2020. Alongside the release of these findings, which the police service was mandated to conduct, was an apology from interim police chief James Ramer… that nobody asked for. For decades, Black and other racialized people have known that systemic racism exists within the police force. So, what will these findings mean for the future of policing in Canada’s largest city? Today, we speak to assistant professor in the department of health and society at the University of Toronto, Notisha Massaquoi who helped develop the framework for the Toronto Police Service’s race-based data policy.  We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

You will no doubt be shocked to learn that the federal liberal government may have tried to politically influence an agency that should be independent. Who would have thought? Evidence released at an inquiry into the Portapique massacre seems to indicate that government officials the RCMP commissioner to release information about a weapon used by the shooter.We don't know yet if the request came from the government, or the commissioner herself. We don't know yet if the Prime Minister or Public Safety Minister were personally involved. But what do we know? What needs to happen next? And will this divert attention away from an incredibly important inquiry into the worst mass shooting in Canadian history?GUEST: Stephen Maher, Nova Scotian journalist and novelist, writing in The Line We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Lately we've been wondering: why are we so distracted all the time? Always on our phones, tracking steps, anxious about the future, angry about politics? It probably has something to do with the leap we made into the digital world in 2020 — a rapid acceleration of what has been a slow process for most of our lives. But we wanted to know — what is it doing to us as a species? Because it feels like we’re evolving… digitally. Starting July 4, join us for a special series called, Interconnected, that looks into what the first 30 years of life online can tell us about humanity’s present and future. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

The City of Ottawa paid millions of dollars for train cars that wouldn't run in the winter. The doors stuck if people tried to open them to get out. One derailment shut down the system for weeks on end. The story of what should have been the crown jewel of Ottawa's transit system is a tragic comedy.But as an inquiry right now is demonstrating, it's also a lesson to other Canadian cities. Because there's nothing as valuable to a city as public transit done right, and nothing more demoralizing than public transit done wrong. So what sent Ottawa's train project so far (sorry) off the rails?GUEST: Fatima Syed, Ontario Reporter, The Narwhal We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

A leaked intelligence document suggests that the vast majority of protesters planning to be at Parliament Hill on Canada Day will be peaceful. Many of the organizers say the same. But not everyone...The document also warns of extremist elements that are trending towards hatred and violence. Will we see these people at what is usually a happy celebration? Are police prepared this time to prevent a situation from escalating? Should members of parliament meet with organizers? And ... with almost all covid restrictions gone, what are these protests about now, anyway?GUEST: Justin Ling, investigative journalist, writing in Vice, newsletter: bugeyedandshameless.com We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

“Don't get into a vehicle with a driver you don't know.” This was the golden rule Don Young taught his daughter, Lisa Marie Young. But twenty years ago, on June 29th 2002, Lisa broke her father's rule. She got into a red Jaguar driven by a charming young man and was never seen alive again.Where is Lisa?: Red Jag Guy marks the 20th anniversary of Young's disappearance with a two-part story of the man behind the wheel. The man is Christopher William Adair, and the myth in Lisa's story is that the driver of the vehicle is a young man of considerable wealth and privilege. But as usual, the truth is more complicated. In part one, host Laura Palmer focuses on Chris's world before he met Lisa in 2002. She examines what is known about the last person to see Lisa alive, and asks what more might he know about what happened the night she vanished?Listen to Island Crime Season 1 Where is Lisa?: Red Jag Guy here.  We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

At some point the "how did we get here?" questions about the current state of inflation become less relevant than "how do I deal with this?" With inflation reaching its highest point since the early 1980's this week, and little relief in sight, that time is now for many of us.We've done episodes about the Why and How and what happens next, but today we're trying to prepare for what we're going to be dealing with for the foreseeable future. So how should you handle your day-to-day expenses? Your savings and your investments, if you're lucky enough to have them? Your future retirement, or your next mortgage? Unless you're squarely in the top half of the 1%, you've probably been worrying about some of that, so let's ask some practical questions.GUEST: Jason Heath (no relation to the host), financial planner and personal finance columnist with The Financial Post and MoneySense We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

By now, you might be familiar with images of RCMP officers using an axe to break down the door of a tiny house built by Indigenous land defenders on Wet'suwet'en territory. The structure was part of a camp that was blocking access to a site run by Coastal GasLink, who is currently building a natural gas pipeline through the territory, without the blessing of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. The raid made headlines across the country, in part because two journalists ended up being detained by the RCMP along with protestors. Why they were arrested, is just one of the questions that remains unanswered about the RCMP and B.C. government's conduct before, during and after the raid.Guest: Matt Simmons, Northwest B.C. Reporter for The NarwhalRead Matt's coverage here We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Canada's Supreme Court said "yes," back in a May ruling. Now the federal government is tabling a bill to say "no," in June. The defence itself is narrow and nuanced, but the idea of allowing intoxicated people to to shirk responsibility in court is highly divisive.So what is the actual definition of "self-induced extreme intoxication"? What happened in the cases that set this precedent? And what would the impact be in the day-to-day operation of our justice system?GUEST: Pam Hrick, Executive Director & General Counsel at LEAF, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

And why isn't it a bigger story? Perhaps it's because the circumstances around their detention — the discovery of $25 million worth of cocaine in bags in a plane's maintenance bay — are so mysterious. But either way five Canadians have spent several weeks first in jail and then essentially under house arrest, without being charged with a crime. And even if they never are, it may still be months before they get home.So what has the Canadian government done for them? What do authorities in the Dominican Republic have to say? What is the airline doing about it? And what happened to the seven people the crew was supposed to fly back to Toronto before the plane flight was halted when the drugs were found?GUEST: Tracey Lindeman, writing in The Guardian We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter