Just Asking

It seems like the trade war is here to stay for the foreseeable future. That was the message from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after another week of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. What do you want to know about tariffs and how this all affects your personal finances? We put your questions to Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, a political economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and Bruce Sellery, an expert on personal finances.

You can find a bully in many places - in a school yard, at work or maybe even at the highest levels of government. Some have accused U.S. President Donald Trump of being a bully, in a world of international politics, where diplomacy is the norm. Canadians have been forced to respond. When you've got no choice but to take on your bully, how do you do it? Just Asking spoke with Tony Volk, a Brock University professor and scientist who studies bullying as well as parenting, personality and psychopathy and Linda Crockett, the founder of the Canadian Institute of Workplace Bullying Resources.

More adults under the age of 50 are being diagnosed with cancer and doctors aren't sure why exactly. The trend is apparent in specific types of cancers, such as colorectal and breast cancer. And doctors say that an increase in obesity and sedentary lifestyles could be to blame. What questions do you have about early-onset cancer? Just Asking spoke with Tim Caulfield, Law professor and research director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, and an expert in medical misinformation.

After an explosive press conference, a mineral deal between the United States and Ukraine is off the table for now. What does this mean for a war that has been going on for 3 years now? What's next for Ukraine? Just Asking was joined by two guests to answer all of your questions. Paul Goode is an Associate Professor and McMillan Chair of Russian Studies at the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at Carleton University. Ann Fitz-Gerald is the Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs and a Professor in Wilfrid Laurier University’s Political Science Department.

The Liberal government has launched a six-year, multi-billion dollar design and development plan that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says will eventually lead to high-speed rail connecting Quebec City and Toronto. Just Asking was joined by two guests to answer your questions about the new project. Ryan Katz-Rosene is an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa's School of Political Studies, and Jonathan English is a Fellow at the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management (based in Toronto).

Late last month, the Ontario government announced that over $75 million dollars is going to municipalities to help them take down encampments in public spaces. That money would be going towards emergency shelter spaces and affordable housing units. To answer your questions about life in a homeless encampment, Just Asking brought in two guests. Justin Laflamme used to live in an encampment and currently lives in a respite centre. We've also booked Latonya Ludford, the Canada project manager at The Shift.

The threat of tariffs, and the possibility of a trade war, have changed the way some Canadians spend their money - with many boycotting American products. But ‘buying Canadian’ isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. To answer all your questions on how to buy Canadian, we had two guests join Just Asking. Vass Bednar is Executive Director of the Master of Public Policy Program at McMaster University. Grant Packard is a professor of marketing at York University’s Shulich School of Business’. 

Not all relationships are meant to go the distance. With dating apps, texting, IMs and ghosting... breaking up has never been more complicated. So how do you do it? To help explain, Just Asking brought in three guests. Jen Kirsch is a relationship expert and journalist. Andrew Sofin is a couples and family therapist and registered psychotherapist in Quebec. Kaitlyn Rosati is a travel blogger and writer.

More than 6.9 million Canadians are experiencing some level of food insecurity. What got us to this point and what are we up against as we look for the solutions? Just Asking puts Canada's questions to Tyler McMann, Managing director at the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, and Rachel Engler-Stringer, a professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan. We also hear from Demian Lawrenchuk, the executive director for Food Matters Manitoba, on how his community of Fox Lake Cree Nation is returning to traditional practices like hunting to combat high food prices in the region.  

Tech titans are tumbling, US firms are scrambling and a new name in AI has emerged: DeepSeek. This is a Chinese artificial intelligence firm that launched a new chatbot just a month ago. This week - for the second week in a row - it is North America's most downloaded app. But what does this all mean for you? What can DeepSeek do? Data scientist Nikita Roy and computer science professor Maura Grossman take our questions.