This Matters The Star

Guest: Emma Teitel, columnist
Columnist Emma Teitel joins again for a Toronto politics chat after an extended absence with lots of fresh news to talk about, including the election of a new councillor to replace Gary Crawford in Scarborough. It was a race that will affect council’s ideological composition, with a winner who wants to emphasize transit and child care. Meanwhile, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a new financial deal for Toronto. We get into the nuts and bolts of it, what it means, what it doesn’t and evaluate the trade-offs for the city.
Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Paulo Marques and Edward Keenan

Guests: Toronto Star hockey reporter Kevin McGran, basketball reporter Doug Smith and Deputy Sports Editor Patrick Ho
Our sports department spent much of a year compiling historical information and debating tough questions on a simple, maybe even silly, question: when you look at jersey numbers, who is the ultimate Toronto pro athlete to have worn each one? It’s a fun assignment, but more difficult that it might seem. At #27 forever, you have at least two bone fide Toronto Maple Leafs legends and a potential Blue Jays legend in the making. Kyle Lowry would seem to be a shoe-in at #7 for Raptors fans, but he’s up against a Leafs defender who is a household name across Canada. Meanwhile, the eccentricities of the project mean for some numbers, we’re left with an athlete who may leave even seasoned sports fans asking, “who’s that?” Our panel goes over some of the most interesting and contentious numbers on the list, including the only one we know of that was retired in honour and then unretired in disgrace. It’s the most fun kind of sports conversation, the kind where you remember some players and debate the most interesting and exciting moments from the history of the Raptors, Argos, Toronto FC, The 6, Furies, Blue Jays and Leafs.
Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Paulo Marques and Edward Keenan
Audio Sources: Toronto Blue Jays, Heritage Hockey, NBA, CBC, Global News

Guest: Mark Ramzy, reporter
Canada is home to thousands of diaspora communities. It’s known as the hub of multiculturalism and diversity, which is sown into the social fabric and even its legislation Data shows that out of the 1.3 million immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2016 and 2021, more than 900,000 had a mother tongue that was neither English nor French. There are almost 400 nonofficial mother tongues in the country today, but why are the younger generations of these diaspora communities losing their first languages?
Special thanks to: Manuela Vega, Akrit Michael, Sheila Wang, Annette Ejiofor, Ghada Alsharif
This episode was produced by Paulo Marques and Saba Eitizaz.
 

Guests: Matt Elliott and Shawn Micallef, contributing columnists
So much has been happening in Toronto this week. As encampments are cleared, the mayor and the federal government are fighting over shelter and housing dollars and the city is cancelling plans for public washrooms even as it opens all of its ice rinks. Joined by Shawn Micallef, Matt Elliott issues his first look at how Mayor Olivia Chow’s council support has lined up in her first months (and the dynamic duo of consistent oppositions to her). Plus, a little sliver of good news for GTA transit riders.
This episode was produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Edward Keenan and Paolo Marques.
Audio Sources: CP24

Guests: Nicholas Keung and Andy Takagi, staff reporters
For years, Canada has been a dream destination for young people around the world with a record number of international students arriving in 2023. But that dream is unaffordable for many. As the cost of living keeps rising and tuition remains high for students from out of country, many international students have limited resources and turn to strained food banks for support. Yet, one Brampton food bank banned international students and puzzlingly cites abuse. That made headlines and brought attention to what these students have been grappling with.
This episode was produced by Paulo Marques, Brian Bradley and Saba Eitizaz.

Guest: Wendy Gillis, crime and policing reporter
Over the past nine weeks, a Canadian courtroom heard disturbing testimonies of how and why 22-year-old Nathaniel Veltman murdered three generations of a Muslim family in 2021. Now guilty for the deaths of Salman Afzaal, his wife Madiha, 15-year-old daughter Yumna and 74-year-old mother Talat, and for the attempted murder of Salman’s nine-year-old son, the upcoming sentencing will be a significant litmus test for Canada’s anti-terror laws. What is also critical is the need to unravel how a small-town factory worker just out of his teens became a deadly mass murderer. Veltman’s descent down the rabbit-hole of far-right extremism has exposed a deadly threat in Canada, as hate is once again on the rise. We retrace the digital footsteps of Veltman’s radicalization.
This episode was produced by Paulo Marques and Saba Eitizaz.