Storylines

Complaints are common. Cormorants kill trees. They eat too many fish. Their colonies stink. Warren Hoselton has had enough. After three years of watching his beloved trees around his Ontario home be decimated by cormorant poop, he wants action. The birds have to go. But not everyone has a hate-on for cormorants. Avian ecologists say it's not fair to fault birds for doing what nature designed them to do. The ones living in a park on the edges of Canada’s largest city, reached 20,000 this year, angering locals worried about their impact. In Toronto, they’re trying to relocate them. Elsewhere, hunters shoot them.  All across North America cormorants make enemies because of the mess  they leave behind. Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit

It was supposed to keep Canada together but a massive 1995 rally nearly did the opposite. In 1995, Canada was on the verge of breaking up. The province of Quebec was about to vote on whether to become a sovereign nation. Just days before a referendum on that very question, tens of thousands of Canadians from across the country poured into Montreal. Travelling by planes and trains - they gathered for what would become known as the Unity Rally. Carrying flags, singing the national anthem and declaring their love for Quebec – they pleaded for Quebecers to say “no” they would not leave.Despite this demonstration – many in the Province viewed the gesture as too little too late. 30 years later Francis Plourde looks at the legacy of the love-in, and the historic vote and what it says about Canada today.Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit

Russian trucks drive across Canada’s arctic. Foreign ships appear along our northern shores. For decades, it’s fallen on Tuktoyaktuk to be Canada’s watchful eyes in the Arctic.But the recent surge of attention about arctic sovereignty and security from politicians in the south raises a host of concerns for residents. Will promised military funding and federal focus on security solve the local problems of high unemployment and rapidly deteriorating infrastructure? CBC documentary producer Julia Pagel traveled to Tuktoyaktuk to see what this conversation about arctic security looks like on the ground.Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit

Stephanie Azzarello was dying. To survive, doctors told her she needed to find someone willing to donate part of their liver. Her story went out on social media and late one night, it reached the phone of a nurse and mother in Portland Oregon. There was something about Stephanie’s story that made Trisha Beard want to help. Liz Hoath brings us this story about two women whose lives became intertwined because of an act of generosity. Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit

As wind energy continues to grow in Canada, so does the body count for migratory bats.Biologist Cori Lausen has spent years advocating to help prevent bats from being killed by wind turbines. She even helped inform the rules around wind energy development and bats in Alberta. But she worries it may have been too little too late to prevent some species from going extinct. Molly Segal travels from Alberta wind farms to BC’s forests to discover if there’s a way to save bats without disrupting getting renewable energy from turbines. Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit 

Indigenous communities in South America say mining threatens their water supply. But the world needs lithium for EVs to fight climate change.In the Salinas Grandes salt flats, which hold significant lithium deposits, some residents are saying no to mining. But towns are divided. Some want the jobs that come with mining while others fear what this lithium extraction will do to the water table.Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit

In Finland, bomb shelters double as playgrounds. 900,000 reservists on standby. In Sweden, millions received war prep pamphlets. Defense spending doubled in four years.These Nordic nations aren’t taking any chances with Russia’s war in Ukraine raging. They remember what happened in 1939 when the Soviet Union invaded Finland. Both countries also joined NATO, so Canada is bound to defend them too. Emma Godmere travels to the Arctic Circle to discover what it means to live next to Russia, and what Canada can learn from its Nordic allies. Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit

At just 46, Jennifer Brady, a Halifax single mother and professor, made the shocking decision to apply to die. She couldn't get surgery in Nova Scotia for a painful condition called lymphedema. After six years of fighting, she saw medical assistance in dying as her only option. But what happened next set off a chain reaction that would take her case to the courts and the premier’s office.Angela MacIvor brings us the story of one woman's battle against the bureaucracy of the healthcare system.Produced by Angela MacIvor and Joan Webber / Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit

When a grizzly bear swam to Texada Island, 5 kilometres off the mainland of BC, it arrived in a place that was known to have no predators. The bear, which soon had the nickname, “Tex,” quickly divided this community of a little more than 1000 people. Some saw a beautiful animal that deserved protection, while others saw a dangerous predator that needed to be removed.In her documentary, “A Bear Called Tex,” Molly Segal visits Texada Island to find out what happened when a community was forced to answer the complicated question of what to do with an unwanted grizzly bear. Produced by Molly Segal and Liz Hoath. This documentary originally aired on The Current. Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit 

Starting when she was two years old, Robin Heald endured years of sexual abuse by her stepfather.  As a young teenager, she told police, child protection services and her mother what was going on, yet little changed. Her mother even chose to stay with the man who was abusing her. In the documentary, “It Ends with Me,” Robin takes us on a road trip to visit her mother and sister - a journey to explore their generational trauma, a system’s failure to protect children and Robin’s determination to break their family’s cycle of abuse. Warning: This episode contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse. Produced and reported by John Chipman with story editing by Julia Pagel and Joan Webber. This doc first aired on The Current in June of 2025.Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit