The Decibel

Truckers are now subject to the same rules as other travellers at the border, which means they can be refused entry or required to quarantine if they are unvaccinated. Even though, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance, there’s no reason to think truckers are less vaccinated than average, the new vaccination mandate has become the subject of vigorous political debate. It even spurred a protest in the form of a group of truckers and their supporters headed to Ottawa, calling themselves “the Freedom Convoy.”But as parliamentary reporter Kristy Kirkup explains, what’s driving the delay and shortages of some products in stores across the country is more complex than any one policy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sending a loved one to an assisted-living home is never an easy choice. For the people of Nunavut, the majority of whom are Inuit, it’s even harder. The territory has 36 beds for elders in four different communities. That means 21 of its 25 fly-in communities are without any options for elder care that don’t involve sending a family member away. And some families – whose elders need more intensive care – must choose between providing all of the care themselves, or sending their loved ones to Ottawa, where there is a long-term care home that houses Inuit elders.Kelly Grant, the Globe’s national health care reporter, went to Nunavut to provide an in-depth look at health care in Nunavut and the challenges its residents face accessing it. While there, she found that the lack of elder care in the territory was one of the most common complaints and one of the hardest issues to solve. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who have “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” stuck in their head, and those who don’t … yet. The Disney song is a viral sensation and unexpected hit from the 2021 film, Encanto.Michael Birenbaum Quintero is an ethnomusicologist and Associate Professor at Boston University. Even he agrees it’s a catchy tune, and explores its musical influences along with the movie’s wider representation of Colombian and Latin American music and culture. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the Before Times, millions of white collar workers would get up every weekday morning, get dressed, commute into the office and work at their desk for the day. Since the pandemic, working from home has become more common. That’s resulted in a lot of unused office space across the country.As companies start to think about what work will look like as pandemic restrictions ease, one trend seems to be emerging: Hot-desking. This is the idea that there are no assigned seats in an office. Instead, an employee books their spot before coming in through an app.While the idea saves companies’ money, the question of whether employees will be happy in this environment is up for debate. Vanmala Subramaniam is the Globe’s Future of Work reporter. She tells us why this trend is gaining traction now, what workers told her about their experience with it and how hot-desking will transform post-pandemic office life. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Senior international correspondent Mark MacKinnon is back in Ukraine, as officials from Canada and the U.S. — as well as military equipment from Britain — fly in to show support for Ukraine and try to dissuade Russia from invading.There’s not much indication it’s working, and as Mark explains, while there are more talks scheduled for later in the week, hope of a peaceful solution seems to be fading fast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most widely read first-person accounts of the Holocaust. The question of how Anne and her family were discovered has haunted readers for decades. In a new book, The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation, author Rosemary Sullivan details what an investigative team found when they set out to answer: who tipped off the authorities to Anne’s hiding spot?Turns out, it’s more complicated than you’d think. Marsha Lederman, the Globe’s Western Arts Correspondent, interviewed Sullivan about her book, and explains what they found, and what we can learn from this story today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The pandemic promised a gold mine for companies like Zoom, Shopify, and Peloton. And at first, these companies did see a boost in their stock value. But the ground started to shift at the end of 2021 and now these stocks, which are often darlings of retail investors, are seeing substantial drops.Report on Business reporter and columnist Tim Kiladze explains what has led to this investor whiplash and how a lot of trading on the stock market has become detached from the actual value of some companies. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Gerald Cotten died suddenly in 2018, he was only 30 years old, but fabulously wealthy thanks to founding Quadriga, one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges. Or at least, that’s how it seemed. His death coincided with growing concerns about the legitimacy of Quadriga.After investigating, the Ontario Securities Commission said Quadriga was run like a Ponzi scheme. More than Quadriga clients collectively lost more than $200 million.Jennifer Kathleen Margaret Roberston was Cotten’s wife, and was there when he died. And despite being at the centre of a huge scandal, she’s never spoken publicly about her husband’s fraud or death – or the suspicion it cast on her – until now.Telecom reporter Alexandra Posadzki and ROB reporter Joe Castaldo interviewed Robertson about her memoir, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions. They bring us that interview, and their expertise as journalists who’ve been covering this story from the beginning. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Quebec is the first jurisdiction in Canada to propose a ‘health contribution’ tax for people who choose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This has sparked a debate about whether some government pandemic measures are going too far into the realm of being punitive.Dr. Devon Greyson, an assistant professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, has been studying vaccine hesitancy since 2015. They break down the ethical considerations of this controversial piece of proposed public health policy.Editor’s note: An earlier version of this text misidentified Dr. Greyson as an associate professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With kids heading back to classrooms and daycares after the holiday break, there’s plenty of anxiety in the air. Omicron has proven to be highly transmissible and that means these communal settings are at high risk for spread of the virus.We hear from parents and teachers about how they’re feeling. Plus Dr. Janine McCready, an infectious diseases physician at Michael Garron hospital in Toronto tells us what we know about Omicron and kids so far, and the tools that are needed to keep transmission down in both schools and in the wider community. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.