The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Audio‪)‬ TVO

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected low-income neighbourhoods and essential workers. Vulnerable neighbourhoods are densely populated, are comprised of crowded housing arrangements, and bursting bus routes. Essential work is not the type of job that allows for telecommuting, and many workers are disproportionately Black, Indigenous and people of colour. How does this reality affect the collective economic recovery so that it's equal for all?

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While Canada lags in the international vaccination effort and is dealing with outbreaks of COVID-19 variants, Steve Paikin speaks to Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam. They discuss what must still be done in the next stage of virus containment in the country.

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Pipelines were once considered to be a barometer for Canada-U.S. energy relations and energy security. But it seems times are changing. What is the future of Canada's oil and gas sector, largely dependent on pipelines? We look at the economic and political implications of President Joe Biden's cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, and the uncertainty surrounding Enbridge's Line 5, supplier of much of Ontario's crude oil.

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Canada's equalization program has been in place for six decades, yet few people understand how it works. To discuss "the glue that keeps Canada together," we welcome journalist Mary Janigan; Massey College principal Nathalie Des Rosiers; and University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe.

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When people look for great design in a city, they're often looking up, and while some skyscrapers involve incredible designs, the wonder can really be found everywhere, according to podcast host and author Roman Mars. He describes how design affects behaviour, and why urban dwellers should appreciate the mundane but brilliant designs in the city.

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When SSRI medications were introduced in the 1980s, there were hopes they could forever change mental-health treatment. Since then, many are still not as effective as they could be. Now, attention is focusing on psychedelics, such as magic mushrooms and LSD. In December, Health Canada approved some exemptions to the ban on these drugs. We look at the promise of these drugs, and what the science really says about them.

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