Tuesday, September 8th 2020

Usually, a day after Labour Day, many kids, parents and teachers are ready and eager — and a bit nervours — to go back to school. But this year, during a pandemic, that nervousness is at a new high. What will this school year be like? What happends if a child or teacher in school tests positive for COVID-19? What about bussing? Or playing? Kids are kids, after all. The Star’s Kristin Rushowy sat down with Evy Kwong from the Star’s audience team to answer questions about back to school sent by readers and listeners in a Q&A last week.

Monday, September 7th 2020

This Labour Day, This Matters is rebroadcasting the first episode of the Toronto Star’s six-part podcast Hustled, where the Star’s labour reporter Sara Mojtehedzadeh takes us behind the scenes of a David vs. Goliath battle between a scrappy group of Toronto food couriers and the app company they work for.

Listen to all six episodes at  thestar.com/hustled or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Friday, September 4th 2020

Toronto Police Constable Heather McWilliam was sexually harassed for years by her supervisors, including a sexual assault in the form of a forced kiss, and six years after she decided to fight back — the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has ruled in her favour. Constable Heather McWilliam shares her story with the Toronto Star. 

Former Chief of Police Mark Saunders said at the time of the decision “The findings by the Human Rights Tribunal are serious and concerning to me as Chief of Police.”

The department has also issued a statement saying that an external law firm has been contracted to provide mandatory sexual harassment training for all members of the Division — which will eventually be expanded to every member of the Toronto Police Force. There are also plans to address procedural issues in cases like these — as ordered by the Tribunal.

Thursday, September 3rd 2020

Brain computer technology is at a point where the potential medical implications are so exciting many players are pursuing different approaches to the field. The potential ethics of using this technology are sometimes best explained in science fiction like “Black Mirror” and “The Matrix.” Neurotechnologist Graeme Moffat joins This Matters to discuss the latest in brain computer interface technology. He explains what’s important about Elon Musk’s recent Neuralink presentation where he revealed “Cyber Pigs.”

Wednesday, September 2nd 2020

The multibillion-dollar skin whitening cream industry has until recently bombarded people with images of white skin being more desirable. As the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction in calling out racism around the world, it also pressured top brands to rethink their products. Some experts are worried nothing has really changed. Amina Mire, author of the book “Wellness in Whiteness: Biomedicalization and promotion of Whiteness and Youth Among Women” and an associate professor at Carleton University talks to This Matters about what we need to know about “rebranded” skin whitening creams.