Show Notes
Guest: Toronto Star court reporter Jacques Gallant All five former members of Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team accused of sexual assault have been found not guilty, ending one of the most closely watched trials in Canadian sports. The case centred on a woman known publicly only as "E.M." due to a publication ban. Her allegations against the players shook the sport, triggered years of scrutiny, reopened a police investigation, and fueled a national reckoning over Hockey Canada's handling of sexual misconduct. After eight weeks of testimony, Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled the Crown failed to meet the burden of proof, raising doubts about the reliability of key evidence. But while the players were acquitted, key questions remain. How do we define consent? Can the justice system support those who come forward while also meeting such a high legal threshold? And what does this outcome say about how society grapples with power and accountability? Star reporter Jacques Gallant covered this trial from the beginning, and he joins This Matters to explain what we learned inside the courtroom and what might happen next. Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques
More from This Matters
Guest: Calvi Leon, Staff Reporter In 2002, Ryan Wedding represented Canada an Olympic snowboarder. Today, the FBI describes him as a modern-day Pablo Escobar. Alleged to be the mastermind behind a massive, violent drug trafficking empire, Wedding is now the target of a global manhunt with a $15 million bounty on his head. Star reporter Calvi Leon has been reporting on this case for years, likely longer than any other reporter. In this episode, she takes us through the chilling transformation of an elite athlete into "El Jefe."; from allegedly engineering narco-terrorism programs to orchestrating targeted murders and moving record-breaking amounts of cocaine into Canada. Calvi also brings us up to speed on the latest news of the case. Plus: We've been sitting on a secret. At the end of this episode, we can finally let you in on it. Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston and Sean Pattendon
Guests: Toronto Star journalists Sheila Wang and Emma McIntosh A major joint investigation involving the Toronto Star, CBC/Radio-Canada, La Presse and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has uncovered more than 100 crypto-to-cash operations running across Canada, with many of them unregistered, unregulated, and openly violating anti–money laundering laws. As part of this collaboration, Star reporters went undercover to see just how easy it is to turn anonymous cryptocurrency into hard cash with no ID and no record of the transaction. In this episode, we break down how these crypto-to-cash services actually work, why experts say they pose a serious risk for money laundering, organized crime and other illicit activity, and why Canadian regulators have struggled to stop a parallel financial system that's operating in plain sight. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz and Sean Pattendon.
Guest: Ghada Alsharif, immigration and work reporter Canada's immigration system is often praised for attracting top global talent, but a new report shows the country is losing many of the highly skilled workers it says it needs most. One in five immigrants are leaving within 25 years of arriving, with the highest exit rates among those with PhDs and professional backgrounds in health care, science, and senior management. Today on This Matters, immigration and work reporter Ghada Alsharif unpacks the findings of a major new study by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada and what it reveals about a growing crisis Canada isn't fully reckoning with: why the people we worked hardest to bring here are now walking away. This episode was produced by Sean Pattendon
Guests: Toronto Star journalists Ben Mussett and Omar Mosleh A Toronto Star investigation uncovered a troubling loophole inside Meta's advertising system. Reporters Ben Mussett and Omar Mosleh found illegal drugs being advertised and sold to Canadians through paid Meta ads on Facebook and Instagram. With one click, the Star was linked to online shops offering cocaine, Oxycodone, MDMA, Xanax, ketamine and more, and discovered how easily these drugs could be ordered and shipped. The investigation raises urgent questions about Meta's ad moderation, platform safety and how drug traffickers are exploiting automated tools to reach users. Meta, the tech giant that owns Facebook and Instagram, says it has "zero tolerance" for the ads and works to find and remove the illegal drug posts. In this episode, we unpack what happened when Star journalists tested the system themselves, why Meta's detection tools aren't stopping illicit drug ads, and who these ads are targeting the most. This episode is produced by Sean Pattendon
Guest: Megan Ogilvie, Toronto Star health reporter A new study has found that over a million Ontarians — that's more than one in ten people with a family doctor — live far outside their physician's region, often more than 30 kilometres away. Some are driving hours just to get a check-up. Others may be skipping care altogether because of the logistics. And it's leading to worsening health outcomes; more ER visits, missed diagnoses, and care that falls through the cracks. It's a hidden layer of Ontario's primary care crisis, and one we don't talk about enough. This episode was mixed by Paulo Marques