The Big Story

It was only ever barely about vaccine mandates. As thousands of Canadians took their grievances to Ottawa, some of the ugliest parts of the far-right joined them, distorting a message that was never that clear to begin with. After a weekend of blockades and plenty of bad behaviour, lots of legitimate protesters went home. Those who remain have vowed to occupy Canada's capital, and demand the end of the Liberal government. Who are these people? What happens next? And why are leaders from both sides pouring gas on the fire?GUEST: Elizabeth Simons, deputy director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network 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 four-year-old boy, who went missing in 1991, might be Canada's most famous missing person. Thirty years after he vanished from a Victoria, BC playground, a new podcast retraces the investigation, connects with his family and tries to figure out both what happened, and why the case matters so much to so many.GUEST: Laura Palmer, investigative reporter and host of Island Crime: Missing Michael 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

Some critics have declared Harry Potter "over", or Lin-Manuel Miranda "cringe". In the real world, both Potter and Miranda remain enormously popular with people of all ages. Do critics become irrelevant when their views fall out of step with the vast majority of the audience? Or is shifting people's views towards a differing viewpoint part of a critic's job? How do we explain the vast gap between what an elite corner of social media feels is worthy, and what the sales numbers tell us?GUEST: Yair Rosenberg, Deep Shtetl, The Atlantic 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 could hear it as far away as Alaska and the West coast. It was many, many more times powerful than an atomic bomb and the largest volcanic eruption in more than 25 years. What was so unique about the underground volcano that shook the Pacific nation last week? And what can it tell us about the climate and what's to come?GUEST:  Shane Cronin, volcanologist at the University of Auckland 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

Every province and territory except Ontario has made a deal with the federal government on its affordable child care plan. And with an election looming most think Doug Ford will fall into line soon. National, affordable child care has been decades in the making, and it couldn't come at a more critical time.Research shows that women have borne the brunt of the pandemic's impact on careers, often due to a lack of child care. Can this help them make up for lost time? What do we stand to gain as a country with a plan that makes it affordable for everyone?GUEST:  Carolyn Ferns, Public Policy and Government Relations Coordinator, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. 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 first summer and fall of the pandemic, foreign migrant workers who come to pick Canada's fruits and vegetables were experiencing some of the toughest working conditions around. In response, more inspections were promised, and the government vowed to make Covid-19 protocols safer for these vulnerable workers. Since then, what has actually happened to help protect them? What's it actually like on the farms where they work? And despite their necessity to Canada's agriculture industry, why don't many of us seem to care?GUEST: Hilary Beaumont, investigative journalist, writing for The Narwhal. Hilary worked with photographer, Chris Katsarov Luna on the project.   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

British Columbia has put regulations in place to protect its dwindling salmon stocks, as fewer and fewer fish are returning to spawn. But those regulations don't apply in Alaska, and fish don't respect borders. Meanwhile Alaskan fishers are catching fish bound for BC rivers, depleting the stocks further.What should Canada do? Rely on diplomacy? Start taking fish bound for Washington State in retaliation? Is there any hope of cooperation as the industry on both sides of the border faces a supply crunch that will only get worse?GUEST: Stefan Labbe, climate and environment solutions journalist, Glacier Media. 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

Investors — a lot of them — were told there was gold in the Cordova mine, and that's what they believed. But there wasn't. All that was there was a rundown office inhabited by bats. So begins the long fight to reclaim a lifetime of savings. Who sold them on the mine? Why did they buy-in? How were they bilked? And what could have prevented them from losing their shirts?GUEST: Grant LaFleche, investigative reporter, St. Catharines Standard 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

Almost since the day the pandemic began, provincial leaders have promised more hospital and ICU capacity. They've promised hundreds of beds, thousands of beds...and two years later, only a fraction of the promised amount are available, and our hospitals are still at the breaking point during every wave. How was Canada's health care system set up to fail? Why haven't we been able to meaningfully fix it?Like it or not, at some point there will be a discussion about letting the private sector pick up some slack, if only because it's necessary to keep Canadians alive. If Canadians don't want to go down that road, then something has to change, and quickly.GUEST: Justin Ling, writing for Maclean's 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

If Keegan Mitchell had just kept his head down and played hockey, none of this would have happened. And we'd all be worse off for it. But when the junior player stood up for a teammate who was called a racial slur, and then broke the league's social media policy by condemning the matching suspensions the two players received, an otherwise ugly part of the game was dragged into the spotlight. Now Hockey PEI is promising to do better, and players from the Hockey Diversity Alliance are reaching out to Mitchell to thank him for demonstrating how the culture can change. And where it starts.GUEST: Keegan Mitchell, Sherwood Metros 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