Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on reconciliation, respect and her fight against online hate

Guest: Andrea Gunraj, vice president public engagement, Canadian Women’s Foundation In 2022, 184 women were killed violently in Canada. That’s one woman killed every 48 hours. More than four million women, 30 per cent of all women aged 15 and older, report that they have experienced sexual assault. It’s costing Canada almost $8 billion to deal with the aftermath of spousal violence alone. Is a country that in the past was considered a global champion of human rights, failing to effectively protect women at home? In 2022, the federal government launched a National Action Plan to end gender-based violence. The resultant agreement with several provinces will be seeing $162 million distributed over four years in Ontario alone. But advocates say they’re frustrated by the pace of change, if two important pieces of legislation for women currently pending in Ontario is any indication. Over two episodes, we will discuss them both. In today's episode: With more than a thousand cases of sexual assault withdrawn or stayed before trial in 2023, sexual assault survivors are often re-traumatized and victimized by a frustrating reporting process and court system. Seeking to bring more accountability and transparency in the handling of these cases in Ontario, NDP MPP Catherine Fife introduced Bill 180, or Lydia's Law, in the Ontario legislature. But the process hit a snag before summer break when the Ford government sent it back to a committee without debate. The legislation still lingers there now. On "This Matters," we discuss how it could help women experiencing harassment, especially at their workplaces.  This episode was produced by Paulo Marques and Saba Eitizaz

Guest: Mary Simon, governor general of Canada  Gov. Gen. Mary Simon was appointed to her role in 2021, and made history as the first Indigenous person to hold that office. She used her social media to share updates about her work until last year, when the online hate came for her. Her team was forced to close her social media account’s comment section because the incoming hate became vile, racist and relentless. Yet in a powerful move, Gov. Gen. Simon took back her story and publicly shared those very comments to shine a light on the rising tide of abuse and online bullying in Canada. In an exclusive virtual conversation with “This Matters,” the governor general talks about reconciliation, respect and the fight against online hate.  This episode was produced by Sean Pattenden and Saba Eitizaz What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guests: John Degen, novelist, and Peter Gorman, Deputy People's Warden at St. Anne's On June 9, a catastrophic four-alarm fire destroyed St. Anne's Anglican Church in Toronto's Little Portugal neighbourhood. The flames turned valuable paintings that were embedded into the very structure to ashes, including the only know religious artwork made by Canada’s famed Group of Seven. With the loss of St. Anne's, Canada has lost a historic site, but the community that built its life around the church has also lost its emotional and spiritual sanctuary. In this episode, two men deeply connected with St. Anne's church talk about what was lost; not just from a historical and cultural perspective but a deeply human one. Audio sources: Global News This episode was produced by Paulo Marques and Saba Eitizaz

Guest: Satirical conspiracy theory leader Peter McIndoe It all started when Peter McIndoe, a self-described “obnoxious teenager,” went to a women’s march and scrawled the most random phrase he could think of on a sign: “Birds Aren’t Real.” When asked by people around him what he meant, he improvised a whole back story, someone posted a video of him online, and a fake movement was born. He spent a couple of years zigzagging across the U.S. in his van, playing the part of a conspiracy leader, doing interviews and leading crowds of his followers in chants. Many of his fans were in on the joke, while others — including some journalists — did think he was serious. He joins “This Matters” to talk about the challenge of staying in character as a conspiracy leader, how he thinks these movements get sparked, what sustains them. He also talks about why those reasons may not be what you think. What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guest: Ben Spurr, city hall bureau chief  Can you imagine Toronto without its public transit lifeline? A TTC strike might be looming for the first time in almost 16 years as thousands of transit workers might soon walk off the job and on to the picket line this Friday. Despite months of negotiations on job security, wages and benefits, the TTC management and the union representing about 12,000 workers seems to be in a deadlock. City hall bureau chief Ben Spurr explains the stakes on both sides and what this could mean for Torontonian's commute on Friday.  Audio sources: CBC News This episode was produced by Paulo Marques and Saba Eitizaz. What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guest: David Miller, former mayor of Toronto Former Toronto Mayor David Miller was always an advocate for the environment. But in the nearly 14 years since he left office he’s become one of the world’s great networkers for climate solutions, bringing together mayors from 96 cities to share policy ideas, programs and practices. In this episode of “This Matters,” Miller discusses why municipal governments are best positioned to rapidly deploy climate solutions and the ways he’s seen mayors make outsized impacts far beyond the boundaries of their cities by “hacking” their position to reduce emissions. What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guest: Shawn Micallef, contributing columnist and author of “Stroll: Pyschogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto” In 2010, journalist Shawn Micallef first published his book of observations, suggestions and civic history gleaned from years of wandering around the city and paying close attention to what he saw. In the 14-years since, as Micallef became a freelance columnist for The Star, the book has been a perennial local favourite, running through several press runs. This week, a new, updated edition launches, for which he re-walked all of the terrain and revised to note how the city has changed in small and large ways. From the ravines to and entirely new neighbourhood, he talks about what one can learn about a city, and how you can grow to both love it and demand change from it, just by strolling around. What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guests: Journalists Samira Mohyeddin and Christopher Curtis Student protests that first erupted across the United States have now spread northward, igniting across Canada, including campuses at University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia and University of Alberta among others. The students say they want to end a war that’s claimed more than 34,000 Palestinian lives, according to local officials, destroyed or damaged every university in Gaza and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The recent Israeli offensive against Gaza began after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants which killed almost 1,200 Israelis with dozens still held hostage. The students are specifically calling for universities to cut all financial and academic ties with any Israeli company or campus that supports the military or illegal West Bank settlements based on international law. In this episode we take a look at what's going inside the University of Toronto and McGill University campuses through the eyes of two independent journalists, Samira Mohiyeddin and Christopher Curtis, co-founder of The Rover, who have been reporting from within the encampments.  Audio sources: CBC News, Samira Mohyeddin, Christopher Curtis, Lance McMillan This episode was produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Paulo Marques and Saba Eitizaz With files from Marco Chown Oved What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guest: Toronto PWHL season ticket holder and superfan Connie Hamers At the inaugural game of Toronto’s professional women’s hockey team, Connie Hamers had front-row seats, and immediately took a liking to the play of rookie Emma Maltais. By game two, she’d labelled her section “Emma Nation” and began bringing team swag she made (or had made) herself — signs, team roster reference lists, mini-sticks, hockey cards — to games to distribute freely to others sitting around her. She travelled with the team to other cities, founded a social media fan group, and quickly became one of the most well-recognized and liked people in attendance at games. As the team prepares for its first-ever playoffs, she sits down with fellow season ticket holder Edward Keenan to discuss a first-place finish for the team, the astonishing MVP-calibre performance of Natalie Spooner, what she loves about Maltais, why she has put so much time and energy into supporting and helping promote the team, and what she’s looking forward to in the playoffs. Plus, Hamers shares how she left her “Emma Nation” mark in places around the U.S. and Canada. What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guests: Jasmine Eastmond, Tristan Kim and Kristin Rushowy  The Ontario government has announced a crackdown on cellphones and vaping in schools, new regulations that are being seen as some of the toughest in Canada. According to Education Minister Stephen Lecce, the new government policy for cellphones, with some exceptions, is out of sight, out of mind. With this new move to ban cellphone use in classrooms, Ontario has joined a global movement with similar restrictions being imposed in the UK, Australia, France and some Scandinavian countries. There are many questions about enforcement and effectiveness, chief among them: how are teachers going to keep young people away from their phones in an increasingly digital ecosystem? Audio sources: CP24 This episode was produced by Paulo Marques and Saba Eitizaz. With files from Emily Fagan