It remains to be seen if policing in Toronto will really change as a result of the past few weeks, but a tipping point certainly seems to be at hand. First, a total exoneration for a man charged with first-degree murder, in a trial that many said should have never happened at all. Then, just days later, four people, including grandparents and an infant were killed during a high-speed chase that, again, many experts said should have never happened at all. In the aftermath of the first case, police rallied around their own, and ended up charging an innocent man. It was only after the verdict tha ..read more

On the 15th floor, a former US president, flanked by secret service members and the whole nine yards, faces criminal charges, an historical first. On the floors below, the business of a city courthouse tries to continue as usual, with court appearances for things like shoplifting and public urination. It's been two weeks since the trial began, and the former president has been complaining about the temperature. When he isn't appearing to fall asleep. What's it like in the courthouse? What's the bigger picture of a former president running to get his job back while facing jail time? Would Donal ..read more

Norval Morrisseau is among the most iconic Indigenous artists in Canadian history. His instantly-recognizable paintings adorn the walls of institutions across the country, from art galleries to universities and provincial legislatures. Art dealers and auction houses have made millions selling his works. The only problem? A whole lot of them have turned out to be fake. Even in the world of Indigenous art, where artists have been complaining about forgery for years, the scale of the Morrisseau fraud is unprecedented. So how did authorities uncover the deception? Who's behind the fakes? And what ..read more

After an announcement at a Honda plant in Alliston, Ontario that will bring billions in new electric vehicle investment, the Prime Minister sat down with The Big Story to chat in-depth about the climate crisis, the future of electric vehicles and his government’s efforts to find opportunity amid a world on fire. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca  Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemail Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter ..read more

Recently the department of defence announced a plan to pour billions of dollars into Northern security. And there's no doubt that in a changing world the Arctic region has become more important, for Canada and our allies, as well as for our adversaries. But what does 'security' or sovereignty even mean when we're discussing a huge swath of land, sparsely populated and lacking the infrastructure to change that? What does the DoD plan to use that money for, exactly? And how will it work with the Indigenous people who live in the region? GUEST: Andrea Charron, professor and the Director of the Ce ..read more

Most of us had a virtual health care appointment sometime during the pandemic. Those of us that didn't have almost certainly encountered virtual care of some form or another—whether that's a follow-up phone call from your doctor, or post-surgery instructions emailed to you. As we enter the post-pandemic era, there is a push in some quarters for more virtual care—it can improve access, speed things up and give people more control over their own care and medical records. But will it also simply create more visits, encourage unnecessary appointments and further burden an overtaxed system? There's ..read more

Today, evacuation alerts for several communities in BC and Alberta are in effect. You may not have noticed, because there are always evacuation alerts in effect now, and there are always fires burning, some of them out of control. When the whole country takes notice is when the skies over entire provinces go dark, the air turns bad or a blaze like the Fort McMurray fire in 2016 blitzes through a city. All of that will probably happen this year. The conditions are ripe for it, and there's not much we can do to prevent a devastating fire when it comes. But we can evolve our strategies as the fir ..read more

In 2022, the Doug Ford government opened parts of Ontario’s protected Greenbelt for housing development, touching off a massive political scandal. But long before that, tensions over the green space outside of Toronto had been quietly simmering for nearly two decades.  What is the Greenbelt? How did it end up becoming such a flashpoint for fights over the housing crisis and the climate crisis? And who stood to benefit when the Ford government tore it up after 20 years? Presented in partnership with The Narwhal, Paydirt is a three-part miniseries taking you to the heart of Ontario’s Greenb ..read more

On Saturday's we normally drop the newest episode of In this Economy?! in the feed, but this week we wanted to spotlight another Frequency Podcast Network production that we thought you'd enjoy. Here's the first episode of the sixth season of Laura Palmer's acclaimed show, Island Crime, and we think it might be best one yet.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES For three decades, Rhonda has wondered why someone killed her high school friend Kimberly Gallup. Kimberly was a girl who loved the Kansas City Chiefs and Bon Jovi. Her dea ..read more

This is one that even the police say will be a Netflix miniseries someday. On April 17, 2023, more than $20 million in gold was stolen from Pearson airport in Toronto. Nobody was hurt, and the crooks got away. It was one of those kinds of thefts. You can picture the scene in your head. Exactly one year later though, police announced arrests, including those of two Air Canada employees, making clear they believe it was at least partly an inside job. How did the crooks pull off the initial caper? How did the cops catch them? What happened to the gold, and who will play whom in the  adaptati ..read more