Last week, TD Bank released its quarterly earnings. For the first time in 21 years, they reported a quarterly loss – largely because they set aside US$2.6-billion to cover penalties in the United States related to failures in their anti-money-laundering program. All of this has people wondering … what is exactly going on at TD? How did a bank with a once-sterling reputation begin facing all these problems? Tim Kiladze is a financial reporter and columnist for the Globe. He’s on the show to...

Labour negotiations between Canada’s two major railways – CN and CPKC – and the train workers’ union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, have been going on for months. Last week, they hit a wall and freight service shut down across the country. Less than 24 hours later, the federal government intervened, ordering workers back. But the dispute still hasn’t been resolved. Bruce Curran, associate professor in the faculty of law at the University of Manitoba, explains where things stand in the...

We often think about how food prices and income struggle to keep up with inflation, but what about things like pensions and benefits? Are they keeping pace with inflation? The Globe’s Erica Alini and Matt Lundy crunched the numbers, and found that pensions and benefits often aren’t stretching as far as they used to – and it has to do with something called indexation. Today, personal finance reporter Erica Alini joins us to explain inflation indexing, where we’re seeing it and where we’re...

Distance running, once a relatively niche sport, has exploded in popularity. The trend has been ongoing for at least a decade, but 2024′s running season may be the biggest one yet. Marathon race organizers are expecting record participation in races this year, both in Canada and in cities around the world. Today, Ben Kaplan, general manager of iRun Magazine, Allison Hill, co-founder of Hill Run Club, and members of The Decibel’s own running club explain how the sport has grown more inclusive...

On June 17, police were called to a shooting in a neighbourhood of Toronto. Three people were killed, two victims and the shooter. We learned as the days went on that one of the victims – Arash Missaghi – was a notorious serial fraudster, and the shooter – Alan Kats – was one of his alleged victims. Globe reporters Mariya Postelnyak and Colin Freeze have spent months untangling the web of criminal charges and lawsuits against Missaghi. Today, Mariya tells us how Missaghi apparently got tens...

Going to the movies is getting more complicated. When you want to pick a showing, you now have a growing list of premium options, from IMAX, to 3D, to ScreenX, all offering different experiences at different price points. The Globe and Mail’s film editor Barry Hertz joins us to talk about what these developments tell us about the state of the movie industry and the future of a trip to the cinema.

By now, most people know how to recognize the signs of a phishing e-mail – poor spelling and grammar, strange sender e-mail addresses, and of course, an instruction to click on a link, where you’re asked to put in your banking or login credentials. But these scams are becoming more sophisticated and politically motivated. Last week, Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto uncovered what they’re calling the River of Phish campaign, which uses sophisticated social engineering practices to...

A recent report said that condo sales in Toronto are at a 27-year low. Insolvencies amongst condo developers are rising and set to be 57-per-cent higher than 2023 and 13-per-cent higher than 2009. This means there are a glut of units for sale. And yet, prices aren’t really going down. So what’s happening here? Rachelle Younglai, a real estate reporter for The Globe and Mail, explains why the pre-construction market is in ‘recessionary territory’ and how all of this could make Canada’s...

When nature calls, you have to answer, and quickly. The last thing you’d want is to walk several kilometers to find a public toilet.. And yet, public bathrooms aren’t easy to find in many cities across Canada. Overall, Canada has 18 public toilets per 100,000 people, which puts it in 15th place globally. And for those facing homelessness or a medical condition, public toilets are crucial for their ability to move freely through urban spaces. The Globe’s urban affairs reporter, Oliver Moore,...

A coalition of mayors across Ontario are pleading for help in what they call a “humanitarian crisis” on their streets. They say the issues of homelessness, drug addiction and mental health are beyond their capacity to handle, and they need a more sustained and well-funded support from higher levels of government. Burlington Mayor and Chair of Ontario’s Big City Mayors Marianne Meed Ward joins us to talk about why cities went public with their plea. Then, the Globe and Mail’s Queen’s Park...

Intrauterine devices, or IUDs, have become increasingly accessible and popular over the last few years. The high level of efficacy and added benefits, like improving users’ periods, make it appealing to doctors to recommend for patients of all ages. But there’s a big catch – getting it put in can be excruciating for some patients. Last week, the Center for Disease Control in the United States issued a guidance recommending healthcare providers counsel patients on their pain management...

Boblo Island is situated in the Detroit River, on the border of Canada and the U.S., just outside of Windsor. For almost a century, it was a beloved amusement park visited by both the Canadian and American public. But after a series of bankruptcies, the island wound up under the control of a developer. And now, the island is being marketed as an exclusive residential community, with restricted access to the public. Globe opinion editor Sarah Efron tells the story of Boblo Island and what...

In 2023, more than 6.5 million people across Canada did not have a family doctor. Family doctor deserts are growing so vast that patients will stay with their doctors even after moving hours away. Some provinces have been increasing pharmacists’ capabilities – allowing them to prescribe for common ailments like pink eye. The hope is they can relieve some pressure on already stretched family doctors’ offices and increase accessibility for people without one. After acquiring Shoppers Drug...

Millennial women are feeling burnt out. The responsibilities and pressures of family, work and caregiving are piling up, amidst the lingering fallout of the pandemic and the economic crisis. But what makes this generation’s burnout unique to generations before it? The Globe and Mail’s demographics reporter Ann Hui, explains her own experience with burnout, the reasons why millennial women are feeling it more and how it can be made better.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October, Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in constant military strikes. At the end of July, the violence escalated when 12 Druze children were killed by a rocket hitting a soccer field in the Golan Heights. A string of high profile assassinations followed, raising the already-high tensions in the region. Thomas Juneau is an associate professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa who specializes in security in the Middle...

Expectations were high for 17-year-old Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh coming into the Paris Olympic Games. After all the races were said and done, she won a medal in each of the four individual races she competed in: silver in the 400-metre freestyle, gold in the 400-metre individual medley, gold in the 200-metre butterfly and gold in the 200-metre individual medley. These wins make Summer the first Canadian swimmer to win four individual medals at an Olympics and the first Canadian woman...

Over the last few years, a movement has grown where followers are spending thousands of dollars on rigorous and sometimes extreme health practices with the goal of extending their lives. The leaders of the “longevity” movement reach their mostly male audience largely through YouTube and podcasts. Longevity has become a major wellness industry, with big money involved. But critics say the science behind it is often unfounded and misleading. The Globe’s demographics reporter Ann Hui spoke to...

We’re taking a peek into the TFSAs of regular Canadians to give you ideas of how to better use yours. In this episode, Rob chats with Aravind Sithamparapillai of Ironwood Wealth Management to break down TFSAs, FHSAs and RRSPs. Aravind is not an accredited planner. We’re also joined by two guests with very different investment strategies: a tech entrepreneur in the midst of launching his own business, and a millennial whose investment journey started somewhat unintentionally.

For nearly four years, researchers have been using data collected from wastewater samples to determine when and where COVID infections were rising in the province. Now, Ontario is shutting down its COVID wastewater testing program. The province says they don’t need to continue testing because the federal government does the same thing. But critics disagree and say we could be losing vital information about the spread of viruses in the future. Ivan Semeniuk is the Globe’s science reporter....

One of the biggest stories of the Paris Olympics has centred on the Canadian women’s soccer team, as the reigning gold medal winners have been embroiled in an international spying scandal. Last week, French police arrested a Canada Soccer staffer for flying a drone above opponents’ training sessions before the games began. FIFA have docked the team six points, while head coach Bev Priestman and two assistants have been suspended for a year. The Globe’s Robyn Doolittle joins The Decibel from...

Last week, wildfires tore through the town of Jasper, Alta., and the surrounding national park. Around 30 per cent of the town was destroyed, but some are saying that it could have been much worse. Today, we’re speaking with Globe reporters Carrie Tait and Nancy Macdonald about what’s left of Jasper, how residents are doing, and how the fire became so destructive. Then we’ll speak with Jen Beverly, a wildfire researcher at the University of Alberta, about Jasper’s fire prevention efforts in...

Opponents of Donald Trump have been sounding alarms about Project 2025, a policy plan for a conservative presidency put forward by an influential think tank called the Heritage Foundation. But what exactly is the Heritage Foundation and how much power do they really have? Donald Abelson is a political scientist at McMaster University who has written extensively about think tanks. He joins us to discuss their history and evolving role in American politics.

Plant-based meat has been touted as a way of having our steak and eating it too. The industry had grand plans to remake the way we eat, cut down greenhouse gas emissions in meat and dairy production and address animal welfare concerns. Companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible had a meteoric rise in the late 2010s, with influencers, celebrities and investors backing the companies. But now, it appears the hype over plant-based meat is over. Sales have dropped off and stock prices are worth...

A serial killer in Winnipeg has been convicted in the murders of four Indigenous women – Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman Indigenous elders have named Buffalo Woman. The case and decision garnered significant national attention, due to the graphic nature of the crimes and the families of the women fighting to have a search conducted for the missing remains of the women in city landfills. The Globe and Mail’s national reporter in Manitoba, Temur...

In under two days, the narrative around Kamala Harris has completely shifted. It went from questioning her ability to replace Joe Biden, to a nearly complete coalescing around her presidential candidacy after Biden bowed out. Globe columnist Doug Saunders believes that she is the right presidential candidate for the Democrats as they mount their third campaign against Donald Trump. He explains why her strengths – and even her perceived weaknesses – are suited for the moment. Questions?...