Advertise on podcast: 10/3: Canada Covered

Canada’s agriculture industry employs tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers to help pick the produce that winds up on your plate.  While many see this as a lifeline, a way to earn money to send to families back home, there are concerns the system is set up to exploit, and in some cases, abuse them.  Robert Cribb, founder and director of the Investigative Journalism Bureau, joins host Dave Breakenridge to discuss the conditions under which these migrants work, and how the system designed to help bring them here for employment may actually be setting them up for harm.  Further reading: 'This is the new slavery': Migrant farm workers underpaid, abused and injured Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you really know how safe your restaurant meal is? MacEwan University Associate Professor Steve Lillebuen joins Dave Breakenridge to uncover what an investigation found in Edmonton kitchens and what needs to change in food safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Vice Canada scandal resurfaces — new details about a former staffer accused of helping run an international cocaine ring. Adrian Humphreys joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the “deputy” at the centre of the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opioid poisonings have killed tens of thousands across Canada, the vast majority of them adults. But, in a heartbreaking group of cases, babies and toddlers have fallen victim to fentanyl or its more toxic cousin carfentanil. Sharon Kirkey joins the show to discuss how many young children have died from opioid overdoses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Iranian government is viewed by Canada and others as a human rights violator and sponsor of terrorism. Many in Canada’s Iranian diaspora oppose the regime, but some fear spying and intimidation. Reporter Tom Blackwell joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss these concerns and the federal government's response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canada’s drug crisis has some policy makers looking away from measures such as harm reduction and toward expansion of treatment beds. And along with that has come discussion of measures to compel addicts into treatment. Vancouver Sun reporter Lori Culbert joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss how involuntary treatment works, the legal questions around the practice, and the stories of some patients who have been forced into treatment. Background reading: Does involuntary care work? Three B.C. residents share their personal stories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MPs returned to Ottawa this week for what’s expected to be a busy legislative session, as Mark Carney’s Liberals look to make headway on its lofty agenda. But with big ideas can come issues around execution, politics, and how to pay for it all. National Post politics writer Simon Tuck joins me to discuss Carney’s priorities for the fall, how the government hopes to implement some of its agenda, and whether there could be any surprises. Read more: From a big deficit budget to cracks in the coalition: The next 100 days for Mark Carney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canadian women are changing the conversation around when and how they want to have babies, with many of them opting to freeze their eggs. And more and more, led by Gen Z, they’re having the conversation online. Calgary Herald reporter Devika Desai joins Dave Breakenridge to explore why, and how social media is shaping the conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Modern brain surgery for mental health, like OCD, is far more precise than past methods like lobotomies—but is it safer or more ethical? Reporter Sharon Kirkey joins Dave Breakenridge to explore the history, new tech, and lingering concerns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

King Charles delivered Canada’s throne speech, emphasizing sovereignty after U.S. annexation comments. Catherine Levesque breaks down his message, the Carney government’s priorities, and what’s ahead in the short spring session. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal government are charting a new course after a surprise election win, but his cabinet choices and decision not to table a budget have raised questions. National Post columnist Tasha Kheiriddin joins the show to discuss the key challenges ahead, Carney’s cabinet, and what the lack of a budget means for Canadians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Canada really getting it right? Tristin Hopper joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss his new book on where the country may be falling short—and what it means for the federal election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With election day nearing, party leaders gear up for debates. Chris Nardi joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss how Carney and Poilievre differ, debate expectations, and the NDP's position. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Montreal Gazette investigation shows a program meant for Francophone cooperation has been funding tuition for non-French-speaking foreign students, while Quebec raises fees for out-of-province English students. Reporter Andy Riga discusses the program’s purpose, the students' origins, and its cost to taxpayers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A college in Tennessee is set to become the first historically Black institution to ice an NCAA Division 1 hockey team.  Tennessee State University, which counts among its alum TV icon Oprah Winfrey and Olympian Wilma Rudolph, has more than a dozen players committed to the program, including a number of Canadians.  National Post contributor Allen Abel joins host Dave Breakenridge to discuss the challenges TSU faces in getting the program off the ground, what’s significant about this push to grow hockey at the collegiate level, and the former Maple Leafs coaching staffer leading the charge.  Background reading: One man's audacious dream to import Canada's game to Black America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices