Guest: Chay Ornthanalai, associate professor at the Rotman School of Management Silicon Valley Bank was the 16th largest bank in the United States yet, in less than two days, it collapsed and marked the single largest American banking failure since the financial crisis of 2008. Ripple effects from SVB’s collapse continue to hit similar institutions, have reached Credit Suisse Group (itself moving to sell) and ignited a political blame game. Chay Ornthanalai, an associate professor at the Rotman School of Management, joins “This Matters” to explain what went wrong and explore why it is unlikely for such failures to happen in Canada. This episode was produced by Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Allan Woods, staff reporter Just as Roxham Road in Quebec became a crossing point for thousands of migrants hoping to enter Canada to avoid deportation in the United States, a new northern border phenomenon has people from countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and India using Canada as an entry point to the U.S., often making a perilous journey. Called “southbounders” by the RCMP, officials on both sides of the border say there has been a sharp spike in the number of people attempting this dangerous crossing. Republicans are leveraging the issue as political fuel and now cross-border issues are expected to feature heavily in the U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to Canada next week. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Caitlin Chin, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC The social media app TikTok has attracted billions of users but concerns have grown over its roots in China and countries around the world, including Canada, have banned TikTok from government devices. Now, in the last 24 hours, the Biden administration has escalated a heated debate on TikTok’s security implications by issuing an ultimatum to the company: sell TikTok or be banned. We look at how the trendiest social platform of this generation ended up at the centre of an uproar involving national security, political panic and a serious ultimatum by the American president. Audio sources: CNN, CNBC, NBC This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Alexis Green and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Rob Cribb, investigative reporter and director of the Investigative Journalism Bureau Hate is on the rise on university and college campuses across the country. Wanting data, The Star and the University of Toronto’s Investigative Journalism Bureau sent requests to over 80 schools across Canada to find out how they track and deal with racist, homophobic and other hate-motivated incidents. The picture that came back is troubling but also incomplete, as both students and some administrations look for answers to this growing problem. This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar. Audio sources: Global News

Guest: Matt Juniper, associate partner at PRAXIS Last year, the largest ever global trial of a four-day work week began in the midst of a work culture reckoning and a pandemic. Companies across the world, including dozens across the U.S and Canada, signed up and now, the results are in. Companies are commiting to the four-day work week model. Matt Juniper, associate partner at full service marketing communications agency PRAXIS, shares some compelling insights. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Today, we're bringing you an episode of It's Political with Althia Raj. Althia takes stock of the supply and confidence agreement the Liberals and NDP agreed to last March. In exchange for supporting the Liberal government on confidence matters until June 2025, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh received assurances Ottawa would enact a dental care program for low and middle income Canadians, as well as move ahead on a number of shared priorities, such as pharmacare, housing, climate change and reconciliation with Canada's Indigenous Peoples. One year later, how have things panned out? In this episode: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, former MP David Christopherson, former NDP director of issues management Ian Wayne, former NDP national director Karl Bélanger, Abacus Data CEO David Coletto, long-time New Democrat Dennis Van Meer, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan. Hosted by Althia Raj. Some of the clips this week were sourced from the CPAC, the House of Commons, CBC and CTV. “It’s Political” is produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Kevin Sexton mixed the program. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Guest: Robyn Paul, Retool the Ring At the end of their education, engineers receive a coveted ring in a ceremony full of symbolism, steeped in secrecy. It is called The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer and it has come under fire for failing to reflect the contemporary views and face of engineering in Canada.Retool the Ring, an informal organization, is part of the drive for that change, claiming the ritual contains “outdated and harmful world views, including colonialism, racism and sexism.” Robyn Paul, a co-facilitator, joins “This Matters” to explain. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Alex Boyd, staff reporter The 15-minute city has long been an urban planning ideal, where people lived close to everything they need. It has recently become twisted by those who feel it might be something that could lead to the next lockdown, sparking protests online and in cities across the world, including in Canada. How did a seemingly benign planning theory become so controversial? This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar. Audio sources: CityNews, @T_seaward on Twitter and @andrewknack on TikTok.

Guest: Victoria Gibson, Affordable Housing reporter Sometimes even beloved neighbours and friends can slip away unnoticed at life’s end, with their memory frozen in time. That’s what happened to Charles Parris, 81, of Henry Street in Grange Park. He died at home, remains quietly buried, but worldly belongings remained. For 10 months, his Toronto Community Housing Corp. apartment sat uninhabited despite a raging housing crisis. Such vacancy limbo seems to be connected to another growing problem — an increasing number of unclaimed bodies. Victoria Gibson tells a haunting story on “This Matters.” This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Kris Rushowy and Isabel Teotonio, reporters Administrators, teachers and students connected to Oakville Trafalgar High School have been subject to bomb threats (as recently as February), death threats and police activity in recent months after photos of educator Kayla Lemieux made international headlines and left parents unnerved by action from the Halton District School Board. As the situation escalates, sudents say they feel unsafe and their learning environment is disrupted while the board scrambles to get support for a new “professionalism policy” and hire an outside adviser to help manage the uproar. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques. Audio Sources: CHCH News, Twitter

Guest: Megan Ogilvie and Kenyon Wallace, reporters A group of orthopedic surgeons is leasing operating rooms from Ottawa’s biggest hospital. It’s a controversial move that the company says will help alleviate surgery wait-times in the province. But health care advocates are concerned and want more information about the arrangement. Why is a private corporation operating inside a public hospital? And will we see more of this in the future? This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar. Audio sources: Global News and CPAC

Guest: Peter Edwards, crime reporter Canada’s list of most wanted fugitives lives at Boloprogram.org (“bolo” meaning “be on the lookout”). These criminals are being hunted by authorities, both here and around the world. Currently, there is a $250,000 bounty for information leading to the capture of Rabih Alkhalil, a convicted multi-murderer who walked away from a British Columbia prison last July in a dramatic and daring escape. Peter Edwards has written a book about these criminals and joins “This Matters” to share his expertise. This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Guest: Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa Bureau Chief Ottawa is buzzing over news about the possibility of foreign interference in the last two federal elections. While government officials say those elections were free and fair, several reports and specific allegations of such attempts has Parliament looking at the issue. As top security officials testify, Canada’s election watchdog confirmed it is launching an investigation, while others call for a public inquiry. This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar. Audio sources: Canadian Press, CPAC, CBC, Global News

Guest: Megan Ogilvie, Health Reporter Last year, a group of doctors anonymously made serious allegations of abuse of power by hospital leadership at Trillium Health Partners. It triggered an independent investigation and the findings have finally been made public a year later. While the report said there wasn’t enough information to substantiate some of the more serious claims, it did lay out a series of recommendations on how to improve the workplace culture. Trillium Health Partners has always strongly disputed these allegations and repeatedly said it welcomed the third-party investigation. We take a look at the timeline of events and what has happened since. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Raisa Patel is a reporter in the Star’s Ottawa Bureau Google has been conducting a secret test that filters out online news results for a small percentage of Canadians as a result of their concerns over Bill C-18, the Online News Act. This has raised the ire of several government officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and now the company’s top executives have been summoned to appear before a Parliamentary Committee to discuss the search engine giant’s actions. This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar

Guest: Jim Rankin, Toronto Star reporter There finally might be a way to track a long-standing dark side of Canada’s criminal justice system — the issue of wrongful convictions — through a new database. It’s hard to put a number to just how many people are languishing behind bars for something they did not do. The launch of a new database by the Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions could help pave the way for reforms just as the government introduces long awaited legislation that aims to make it easier and quicker for people who may have been wrongfully convicted to have their cases reviewed. Star reporter Jim Rankin talks joins to discuss. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Alex Boyd is a reporter in the Star's Calgary Bureau. It has been almost two years since Justin Trudeau committed to sharing Canada’s vaccines with the world. Two years later, the results are in. By New Years day 2023, Canada had donated the equivalent of 196 million doses. That’s four million shy of its 200 million target. Government officials have celebrated the milestone, but there are many asking, could Canada have done more? Audio Sources: Global News This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Raju Mudhar and Paolo Marques.

Guest: Patrick O'Rourke, Mobilesyrup.com Editor-in-Chief Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing arrived in Canada this week, with the streaming service warning users who let others mooch off their accounts that they could be paying more for sharing. There are still lots of questions about how this will all work, and whether consumers will pay up or cancel the service in retaliation. This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar. Audio sources: CTV

Guest: Bruce Arthur, sports writer and Star columnist Canada’s national women’s soccer team is playing in the SheBelieves Cup in Orlando, Fla. this week, an important warm-up event in the lead-up to the World Cup five months from now. Instead of wearing red and white jerseys during our national anthem, the team has been wearing purple T-shirts, emblazoned with the words “Enough is Enough.” The protest is the latest in an ongoing and increasingly tense labour dispute with Canada Soccer, the team’s governing body. The colour purple symbolizes gender equality and is a nod to the team’s fight to be paid and treated equally to the men’s national team. Audio Sources: ESPN, Sportsnet and TSN This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Raju Mudhar and Paolo Marques.

Guest: Charles Burton, Senior Fellow from Macdonald-Laurier Institute When the alleged Chinese spy balloon floated across the United States earlier this month, it ignited a firestorm of concern about Beijing’s surveillance program. U.S. President Joe Biden called it a violation of U.S. sovereignty while, after other unidentified objects over North American airspace became of interest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged “a very serious situation.” The reaction spoke volumes about U.S. and Canadian concerns, while Beijing insisted the initial white orb was an errant civilian airship. Charles Burton, a Senior Fellow from Macdonald-Laurier Institute and expert in China-Canada relations, joins “This Matters” to discuss what we’ve seen in the skies, surveillance technology and the state of our relationships with China. Audio sources: Warner Bros. Television