Storylines

Over more than half a century, Canada welcomed close to 3,000 South Korean children, orphans, to be adopted by Canadian families. But new information is emerging that those adoptions aren’t all that the Canadian government – or adoptive families – thought they were. Journalist Priscilla Ki-Sun Hwang investigates the stories of adoptees Kelly Foston and Kim McKay.

Andrew Anderson never told his family the whole story of what happened during the years he spent as a spy in the Norwegian resistance during WWII. Nor did he share all the details about what happened next, as he fought to survive for nine months – held prisoner by the Nazis. But growing up in rural Saskatchewan in the 1970’s, Andrew’s son Gary could always feel the echoes of his father’s past. On this week's Storylines, 77 years after the end of the war, reporter Eric Anderson is heading to Norway with his dad to learn everything they can about their family lore. But following in Andrew's tracks, uncovers some uncomfortable secrets...

About a hundred years ago you could take passenger trains all over Canada. Rail was king… until the automobile and planes came on the scene, making the train look antiquated. Alongside a shift in federal spending and political attitudes, trains were pushed into the past. But if we’re serious about fighting climate change, then getting people out of cars and planes, and onto a fast, affordable and plentiful electric train service could really help. On this week's Storylines, Craig Desson takes us on a journey to uncover what happened to Canada’s once-glorious passenger rail service, and explore whether getting it back could be a climate solution.

In 1987, the remains of a sailor were discovered on the coast of Labrador. A skeleton, wrapped in a shroud, buried with an overcoat, a loose key, and a knife with the initials “W.H.” He is believed to have been buried in the 1800s. There are many questions about the man now known as W.H. Who was he? Where was he from? And what brought him to the coast of Labrador 200 years ago? Because W.H.’s remains may be more than a surprising archaeological find. They may point to an untold chapter in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Black history. On this week's Storylines, documentary producer Alisa Siegel weaves together the voices of scientists, historians, and an artist who are trying to unravel the mystery of W.H. To uncover what they can and — in the case of Bushra Junaid, author of “The Possible Lives of W.H., Sailor” — imagine what she can’t.

In small hamlets, First Nations and Inuit communities across Canada’s north, many pregnant women have little choice but to travel south, far away from home, to give birth. Local care for mothers and babies simply isn’t available. For decades, Inuit women in the vast area of northern Quebec known as Nunavik faced similar pressures. That was until one pregnant woman refused to get on a plane and go south to deliver her baby. Her act of resistance ignited a sea-change, and in 1986 the community of Puvirnituq opened the first midwifery clinic in the North. On this week's Storylines, Duncan McCue takes us to Puvirnituq, to bring us the story behind that clinic, and meet the midwives who serve their own community.

In 1961, Canada and the U.S. signed a treaty to co-manage the Columbia — a cross-border river that flows from B.C. through to the Oregon coast. Entire valleys were flooded and more than 2,000 people relocated to accommodate the fourteen new dams along the river’s main course. The Columbia River Treaty has generated billions of dollars for the governments of both countries and the hydroelectric industry. It has also meant lost farmland, lost homes, and lost ways of life… And critics argue it's given Americans unfair control over Canadian waters. Now, for the first time in more than half a century, the treaty is being renegotiated. Veteran journalist and Okanagan local Bob Keating is there.

When the Scotty Creek Research Station in N.W.T. burnt down in an unusually late-season wildfire -- Thanksgiving weekend, exactly one year ago -- internationally recognized climate research was put on hold. Now, reporter Liny Lamberink is heading north as the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation and a group of scientists from across Canada are racing to rebuild it, and get the very research that might slow climate change, and stop future fires, back in action

All Sonali Sharma wanted was to go to school in Canada and become a nurse. It was everybody’s dream for her. So much so, that when she was accepted to a private college in Vancouver, Sonali’s entire village turned out to celebrate. Her dad took out a loan against their small farm in India to make it happen. But when Sonali arrived in Canada, everything she imagined her education would be evaporated...Every year, thousands of international students come to Canada from over 185 countries, adding upwards of 21 billion dollars to the economy, and contributing about forty percent of tuition fees earned by Canadian colleges and universities. And every year, countless international students are preyed upon by schools and systems set up to take advantage of them. On this week's Storylines, Kiran Singh follows two international students on a mission to get the education they paid for.

Discover the battle between phonics and three-cueing in teaching kids to read. A mom and teacher shares her experience during COVID lockdowns. Explore the origins of whole language and Reading Recovery, and the debate over their effectiveness. Learn how phonics and science improve reading skills. Dive into the controversy surrounding Reading Recovery, and hear about a teacher's positive experience with phonics. Explore structured literacy versus balanced literacy and gain tips for parents of struggling readers.

In tiny towns and massive cities across Canada, it can be typical—and legal—to have a vegetable patch or a few chickens. But Newfoundland and Labrador has what many see as strict and outdated rules when it comes to growing your own food. Ironically, or perhaps relatedly, the province also has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in Canada. It's all part of why Frank Brown, a small town farmer, was appalled when he was told that his farm is a bylaw infraction, and that his animals have got to go. And he's not alone—some of Frank's neighbours were given the same notice. Caroline Hillier heads out to Summerford, Newfoundland to meet people who think producing their own food is plain common sense. And to find out what impact rules like these have on communities, beyond what we eat?