Guests: Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada Sharon Kozicki and Star Business Reporter Ana Pereira

Recently, the Bank of Canada announced their latest interest rate decision, holding it at 2.75% - its second pause after seven consecutive cuts. In attempting to explain this decision, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said, ‘The Canadian economy is softer but not sharply weaker.’ And what does that mean exactly, right?

Star Business reporter Ana Pereira sat down with Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki to ask about how the bank came to this decision, how the central bank is handling Trump’s volatile tariffs announcements and, generally, how the Bank plans to take care of Canadians as we teeter on the brink of another recession.

Host Julia De Laurentiis Johnston and Ana analyze Governor Kozicki’s answers and talk about what the Bank of Canada is concentrating on right now and the way it affects Canadians, especially Torontonians, in this economic moment.

PLUS: Is the Bank of Canada in the middle of something of a build back trust outreach tour with young Torontonians in particular, based on how they kind of bungled communication during the last recession?

Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Paulo Marques, Sean Pattendon and Serena Austin.

Guests: Star Reporters Nicholas Keung and Mark Ramzy

Introduced last week by the federal government—the Strong Borders Act seeks to overhaul how refugee claims are processed, expand powers for border and intelligence officials, and tighten enforcement—all framed as a response to sprawling asylum backlogs and escalating pressure from the U.S. and Donald Trump, including concerns about fentanyl trafficking.

The bill is still in its early stages, but it’s already facing strong political opposition and legal criticism over what many are calling sweeping, unchecked powers and potential human rights concerns.

Two Star reporters covering federal politics and immigration unpack the politics, the policy and the politics behind the policy.

Audio source: CPAC

This Matters is pleased to share a new podcast from the Toronto Star, TVO Podcasts, the Investigative Journalism Bureau and Piz Gloria Productions, Arachnid: Hunting the Web's Darkest Secrets.

What if the worst thing that ever happened to you plays out countless times on anonymous computer screens all over the world? Every day, tens of millions of images of child sexual abuse circulate on global online platforms. The proliferation of these images is getting worse as AI technology and deep fakes create an ever-expanding epidemic of online child sex exploitation. The children depicted in those criminal images are real. Many are now adults held hostage by these disturbing images despite available technology like Canada's Project Arachnid, which detects these images and sends out removal notices. Platforms often resist action, citing privacy laws. But in response, survivors and a group of motivated supporters are banding together across the globe to protect kids. Confronting their own trauma, they are speaking out, advocating for change internationally, and demanding stronger laws that hold tech giants to account. This six-part podcast series follows survivors' long-shot fight against the most powerful companies in the world to end a massive, global trade in child sex abuse imagery.

Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.