Wednesday, June 22nd 2022

Canada's Supreme Court said "yes," back in a May ruling. Now the federal government is tabling a bill to say "no," in June. The defence itself is narrow and nuanced, but the idea of allowing intoxicated people to to shirk responsibility in court is highly divisive.

So what is the actual definition of "self-induced extreme intoxication"? What happened in the cases that set this precedent? And what would the impact be in the day-to-day operation of our justice system?

GUEST: Pam Hrick, Executive Director & General Counsel at LEAF, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund

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Tuesday, June 21st 2022

And why isn't it a bigger story? Perhaps it's because the circumstances around their detention — the discovery of $25 million worth of cocaine in bags in a plane's maintenance bay — are so mysterious. But either way five Canadians have spent several weeks first in jail and then essentially under house arrest, without being charged with a crime. And even if they never are, it may still be months before they get home.

So what has the Canadian government done for them? What do authorities in the Dominican Republic have to say? What is the airline doing about it? And what happened to the seven people the crew was supposed to fly back to Toronto before the plane flight was halted when the drugs were found?

GUEST: Tracey Lindeman, writing in The Guardian

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Monday, June 20th 2022

Wealthsimple started with the goal of making investing, and long-term wealth building accessible to millennials. Then they became one of the first in Canada to become a regulated cryptocurrency exchange. And it went well for a while. The company made huge profits during the pandemic. But over the last month, cryptocurrencies have seen their value decrease substantially, and many investors saw their wealth evaporate.

Was Wealthsimple wrong to make such a huge bet on crypto? And what does it mean for the future of the company?

Guest: Jacob Lorinc, business reporter at the Toronto Star

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Friday, June 17th 2022

Scrolling through your social media feeds, especially if you work in any sort of public-facing position, can be hazardous to your mental health. A big portion of the blame belongs to the trolls, who capitalize on their online anonymity to hurl misogynistic or racist abuse at strangers. But a big part of the issue is the social media platforms themselves, and the opaque algorithms they employ that populate our feeds with derogatory posts or disinformation.

What if we could wrest control of our online experience back from these media conglomerates and make sure that we're only being shown the things we want to see? How do we do that without reinforcing the filter bubbles that contribute to the social fragmentation of our societies? And could this be the first step towards a safer and more equitable online future?

Guest: Tracy Chou, Founder and CEO of Block Party 

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Thursday, June 16th 2022

Last week, LIV Golf held its first tournament, in London. Under normal circumstances, there would be no reason for anyone who isn't a diehard fan the sport to care. These, however, are anything but normal circumstances.

LIV Golf is backed by a Saudi Arabian fund that invests in projects to help burnish the image of a regime that has a dismal record on human rights. That money has been used to lure away some star golfers, including Phil Mickelson, from the PGA Tour. And when Mickelson found himself defending his decision while asserting publicly that he has "deep, deep empathy" for the survivors of the 9/11 attacks, it became pretty clear something had gone badly wrong somewhere...

GUEST: Donnovan Bennett, Sportsnet

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