u/savethecbc2025

CBC reports airlines are cutting routes because of soaring jet fuel costs tied to the growing conflict involving Iran, while Global Affairs Canada is warning travellers to expect cancellations, delays, fuel shortages, and disruptions to local goods and services abroad.

Experts say short-haul flights are especially vulnerable. Some insurers are already classifying the fuel crisis as a “known event,” meaning stranded travellers may not even be covered for related cancellations or delays.

At the same time, Canadians are being told to budget extra for insurance, prepare for longer airport processing times in Europe, expect higher airfare prices, and potentially rethink international travel altogether.

Many people aren’t cancelling vacations because they want to.

They’re cancelling because affordability keeps collapsing beneath them.

So here are the bigger questions:

How much global instability can ordinary people realistically absorb while wages continue lagging behind the cost of living?

Why does every international crisis now seem to immediately translate into higher costs for working people?

How many Canadians are quietly giving up family trips, reunions, or time to rest because survival has become more expensive than living?

And without CBC connecting these economic pressures to larger global events, would Canadians fully understand how interconnected these crises have become?

Photo credit: CBC

Link

Meanwhile, a new Parliamentary Budget Officer report says hosting just 13 FIFA World Cup games in Toronto and Vancouver will cost taxpayers more than $1 BILLION.

That works out to roughly $82 million per game.

The federal government alone is contributing nearly half a billion dollars, with massive spending on infrastructure, venue upgrades, operations, and security, including RCMP costs.

Toronto’s six games are projected to cost $380 million.

Vancouver’s seven games are projected to cost $578 million.

And the report warns that if costs rise further, taxpayers will likely absorb those overruns too.

Of course people are excited for the World Cup. Sports matter. Community matters. Joy matters.

But Canadians should still be asking difficult questions:

Why do governments suddenly find endless money when global mega-events and corporate partnerships are involved?

Who ultimately profits from these tournaments compared to the public footing the bill?

What public needs are being delayed or underfunded while billions flow into short-term spectacle infrastructure?

And when governments promise “economic benefits,” who is independently verifying whether ordinary Canadians will actually see them?

Without CBC and the Parliamentary Budget Officer digging into the numbers, would most Canadians even know the real price tag?

Link

The Cree, two-spirit musician from Tallcree First Nation was widely recognized as a trailblazer whose work transformed contemporary classical music in Canada and beyond. Blending classical cello, Indigenous traditions, powwow rhythms, folk influences, and electronic experimentation, Derksen created music that felt expansive, emotional, and entirely their own.

Tributes from across the country describe Derksen not only as an extraordinary artist, but as a mentor, collaborator, advocate, and deeply generous person who helped open doors for Indigenous and queer artists within the classical music world.

Their work, including Orchestral Powwow and Controlled Burn, challenged audiences to listen differently and think differently about what classical music could be.

One quote from a past CBC interview feels especially poignant now:

“I think in the composing world, it's easy to feel like you're quite alone. And this is a way to open that relationship and open the doors.”

CBC spent years documenting and celebrating Cris Derksen’s work, helping share their voice, performances, and story with audiences across the country. That cultural archive matters deeply in moments like this.

Thinking of Derksen’s loved ones, collaborators, community, and especially their wife and creative partner Rebecca Benson, who remains in hospital following the crash.

Doug Ford’s government is trying to sell Toronto on a massive Billy Bishop expansion using an $8.5 billion economic impact claim.

CBC discovered the study behind that number is not even finished.

There is no completed public analysis. No transparent methodology. No independent review.

Yet the province is already moving to override local planning rules, weaken environmental oversight, take control away from the City of Toronto, and potentially spend public money on expanding the airport for jets.

Meanwhile, Pearson Airport itself says it is not currently at capacity, despite the province repeatedly using congestion as justification.

Experts interviewed by CBC are questioning whether the economic benefits are being overstated. Some point out that much of the traffic could simply move from Pearson instead of generating new economic activity at all. Others warn the environmental damage, noise, waterfront impact, and loss of public space are barely being discussed.

So why is the government moving so aggressively before the evidence is even complete?

Why are Ontarians being asked to trust billion-dollar projections they still cannot examine for themselves?

Who stands to profit from this project?

And how many people would even know these contradictions existed without CBC journalists digging into the details?

Photo credit: CBC

An 86-year-old symbol of Canada-U.S. defence co-operation is now being treated like leverage in a political pressure campaign, while Trump officials publicly accuse Canada of failing to meet defence spending commitments and imply Canada’s push for more independent alliances has become a problem.

This is where the “51st state” rhetoric, the trade war politics, and the constant nationalist chest-thumping start colliding with actual geopolitical consequences.

And Canadians should probably be asking some difficult questions right now.

Is this genuinely about defence spending, or is the Trump administration attempting to punish Canada for asserting more economic and diplomatic independence?

How much leverage should any American administration have over Canada’s foreign policy direction?

What happens if long-standing defence co-operation starts becoming conditional on political obedience to Washington?

And perhaps most importantly, are Canadians fully prepared for a world where the United States is no longer behaving like a stable ally, but increasingly like a transactional superpower demanding loyalty tests from its neighbours?

CBC continues doing the work of connecting these developments instead of reducing them to shallow partisan talking points.

Because this story is bigger than military budgets. It’s about sovereignty, diplomacy, and what Canada’s future relationship with the United States is becoming under Trump-era politics.

What do you think Canada should do next?

Link

CBC is highlighting how Auberge Saint-Mathieu became one of the country’s most celebrated culinary destinations, not by chasing trends or trying to imitate big-city fine dining, but by staying deeply connected to its community, its producers, and its values.

Chef Samy Benabed speaks about teamwork constantly throughout the story. About training local youth. About building relationships with nearby farmers. About creating food rooted in Quebec’s landscape and seasons.

And honestly, without public broadcasting, how many Canadians outside that small village would ever hear about a place like this?

CBC helps connect people across regions, cultures, and communities. It reminds us that extraordinary things are happening all over the country, often far away from major media centres.

Also… a Michelin-starred restaurant in a tiny village feels very Canadian somehow

What’s the best hidden gem restaurant you’ve ever stumbled across?

Link to article

In this funny and honest piece tied to Small Achievable Goals on CBC Gem, Whalen writes about how unprepared she was for menopause, despite her mother’s attempts to warn her for years

The article moves between humour and something much more real. Anxiety at 3 a.m. Feeling disconnected from yourself. Realizing symptoms you thought were personal failings were actually part of perimenopause all along.

And honestly, this is part of why public broadcasters matter culturally.

CBC is willing to make space for conversations women have often been expected to quietly endure instead of openly discuss. Not as a punchline or a stereotype, but as a real stage of life worthy of storytelling, comedy, frustration, and honesty.

Also, the image of someone lying awake mentally dropping terrible politicians and billionaire bros onto a deserted island to fight for survival is unfortunately… extremely relatable

Have you watched Small Achievable Goals yet? Or had conversations like this with the women in your life?

According to CBC’s reporting, members of Second Sons Canada travelled to the U.S. this spring to train with American white nationalist groups and meet Robert Rundo, the founder of the international “active club” movement, a network experts say uses fitness culture, combat sports, and hypermasculine branding to recruit young men into far-right extremism.

These aren’t isolated online trolls screaming into the void anymore.

Experts interviewed by CBC warn these groups are building real-world infrastructure, cross-border networks, and increasingly coordinated movements grounded in white supremacy and fascist ideology. Combat tournaments like “American Muscle 2” are reportedly becoming organizing hubs where extremist groups strengthen relationships, strategize, and radicalize members further.

And this is happening while many politicians and media figures continue downplaying the rise of far-right extremism in Canada altogether.

One researcher told CBC the concern is not necessarily massive growth in numbers, but the radicalization of existing members toward political violence.

That should alarm all of us.

How seriously should Canada be treating organized fascist movements operating across borders?

Are social media platforms and encrypted channels helping accelerate radicalization faster than governments and communities can respond?

What responsibility do political leaders, educators, media organizations, and tech companies have in preventing vulnerable young men from being pulled into extremist movements disguised as “fitness,” “brotherhood,” or “nationalism”?

And without investigative journalism from CBC connecting these dots publicly, how much of this organizing would Canadians even know was happening?

Photo credit: CBC

Link to article

The Conservatives rail against journalists, scientists, teachers, public healthcare, the CBC, environmentalists, drag performers, experts, vaccines, universities, "wokeness," pronouns, and seemingly any institution that asks people to think critically for more than six seconds.

At a certain point you have to stop and ask:

If every expert is corrupt, every journalist is lying, every public institution is broken, every artist is dangerous, every academic is "elite," and every minority group asking for dignity is somehow a threat... then what exactly are Canadians being asked to trust

instead?

Because this is why attacks on CBC matter.

Public broadcasting remains one of the last major Canadian institutions still producing investigative journalism, regional reporting, science coverage, arts programming, Indigenous storytelling, and fact-checked public-interest reporting outside purely algorithm-driven outrage machines.

Is CBC perfect? No institution is.

But what replaces it if Conservative culture war politics succeeds in convincing Canadians to distrust journalism itself?

Influencers? Billionaire-owned media chains? Rage algorithms? Americanized outrage content designed to keep people angry 24/7?

And who benefits from a population too exhausted, divided, and distrustful to agree on basic reality anymore?

Worth thinking about.

According to CBC’s reporting, police across northern Ontario say predators are increasingly using social media, gaming platforms, and now AI-generated imagery to target children online. Some victims are being “love bombed,” manipulated, threatened with sextortion, and terrorized into silence.

And investigators are warning that literally any child online can become a target.

The AI element is especially disturbing. Police say they are now encountering realistic AI-generated child abuse material so convincing they must investigate every case as if a real child is in immediate danger. Cybertip.ca reports sexually explicit deepfake material involving children has risen 125% in just three years.

Meanwhile, many cases remain unsolved because investigators cannot identify suspects or gather enough evidence before the damage spreads further online.

So here are the uncomfortable questions:

Are governments, schools, tech companies, and parents actually keeping pace with the technology now being weaponized against children?

Should social media and gaming companies face stronger legal obligations around child safety?

How do we balance digital privacy rights with the urgent need to stop predators exploiting encrypted platforms and AI tools?

And without investigative reporting from CBC connecting these patterns nationally, would Canadians fully understand how rapidly this crisis is escalating?

Photo credit: CBC

LInk to article

Maybe it’s the warmth underneath the absurdity. Maybe it’s the way they can make people laugh while still feeling human.

This new documentary, Marty: Life is Short, looks at Martin Short’s extraordinary career, but also the grief and loss that shaped him behind the scenes. And woven through that story is his decades-long friendship with Catherine O’Hara, dating all the way back to their time at Toronto’s Second City alongside legends like John Candy and Eugene Levy.

The film is dedicated to Catherine, and hearing Short speak about her is genuinely moving:

“There was no one more brilliant. There was no one sweeter, and there no one funnier.”

Honestly, that friendship represents such an important era of Canadian comedy. SCTV, Second City, all those performers who helped define generations of humour while still feeling grounded, weird, intelligent, and unmistakably Canadian.

CBC spent decades helping bring artists like Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara into Canadian homes, long before Hollywood fully caught on to how special they were.

And somehow, after all the success, Martin Short still comes across less like a distant celebrity and more like someone’s hilarious uncle trying to keep everybody’s spirits up at dinner.

Have you got a favourite Martin Short or Catherine O’Hara role or moment?

At the same time, his government is shifting federal energy policy in a major way. New proposals would speed up electricity and energy development, expand natural gas generation, and potentially pave the way for another pipeline to the Pacific through a new industrial carbon pricing agreement with Danielle Smith.

Meanwhile, an Alberta judge has already ruled that the separatist petition process failed to properly consider Treaty rights and the Crown’s duty to consult First Nations. Danielle Smith is now calling that ruling “anti-democratic” and plans to appeal.

And buried underneath all of this is a deeper question about what kind of country Canadians actually want moving forward.

Can Canada rebuild trust with Alberta without weakening environmental protections or Indigenous rights?

Can economic development, national unity, climate responsibility, and Treaty obligations genuinely coexist, or are we watching governments once again force communities into false choices?

And how different is this new Liberal approach from the old Harper-era push to fast-track energy projects that sparked years of backlash and division?

CBC is one of the few places Canadians can still follow these threads together instead of consuming them as isolated outrage clips designed to inflame people against each other.

What do you think happens next? And what would real national unity actually require right now?

Link to article

Behind those numbers are people trying to survive rising grocery costs, rent increases, fuel prices, debt payments, stagnant wages, layoffs, and economic uncertainty that just never seems to let up.

CBC reports that in provinces like Ontario and Alberta, bankruptcies are now rising faster than consumer proposals --meaning more people are no longer able to hold onto assets or commit to long-term repayment plans. They’re running out of runway entirely.

And this isn’t just about reckless spending or bad budgeting.

Insolvency experts say many Canadians were already stretched thin before inflation, trade instability, and rising costs pushed them over the edge. People can survive a difficult month or two. It becomes much harder when the pressure lasts for years.

That should alarm all of us.

What happens to a society when more and more people feel like they can work full-time and still never get ahead?

How many Canadians are quietly drowning while public conversations about the economy focus mostly on stock markets, GDP headlines, and political spin?

What does it mean that younger Canadians are entering adulthood carrying levels of debt and financial anxiety many previous generations never faced at the same age?

And if insolvencies continue rising while wealth gaps widen, what kind of long-term social and political consequences are we heading toward?

This is why CBC’s reporting matters.

Because behind every insolvency statistic is a real person trying to hold their life together while the cost of simply existing keeps climbing.

Photo credit: CBC

Link to article

Justice Shaina Leonard ruled the chief electoral officer made an "error of law" when approving the petition process. The ruling now throws the future of the separatist petition, which organizers claim gathered more than 300,000 signatures, into uncertainty.

Treaties are not optional.

They are not meant to be only symbolic. They are binding legal agreements that predate Alberta itself.

Several First Nations argued they were never properly consulted about a process that could fundamentally alter the land, governance, and legal framework tied to Treaty relationships. The court agreed the Crown failed in that responsibility.

At the same time, this is unfolding alongside investigations into alleged voter data misuse connected to separatist organizing networks, concerns around foreign interference narratives, and escalating rhetoric portraying democratic institutions themselves as illegitimate whenever they become inconvenient.

And this is exactly why CBC's reporting matters.

Because without public-interest journalism following the court filings, the Treaty implications, the Elections Alberta investigations, the data privacy concerns, and the political connections surrounding these movements, most Canadians would only be seeing fragments filtered through partisan outrage machines online.

So here are the questions Canadians should seriously be asking:

Why were First Nations forced to go to court just to have consultation obligations recognized?

How much of this movement is being fueled by legitimate frustration versus political opportunism, misinformation, and grievance branding?

And if democratic institutions, courts, journalists, Elections Alberta, and privacy regulators are all increasingly being framed as enemies whenever accountability appears, what happens to public trust long term?

Photo credit: CBC

CBC spoke to Ahmed, a former international student from Pakistan, who says he was kidnapped and beaten as a teenager after peers discovered he was intimate with another boy. Years later, after falling in love in Canada for the first time, he realized returning home could mean violence, forced marriage, and living in fear forever.

Now his refugee claim may never even receive a full hearing.

Lawyers and advocates are warning that 2SLGBTQ+ claimants, survivors of domestic violence, and people processing trauma are being disproportionately affected because many don’t come forward immediately. Some spend years trying other immigration pathways first. Some are still discovering who they are. Some are terrified to speak.

Ahmed described receiving the government letter questioning his eligibility like this:

“Every single thing I feared came into my brain at that moment. I couldn’t breathe right.”

And now, instead of telling his story face-to-face before the Immigration and Refugee Board, his future may be decided through a paper-based process by someone who may never meet him at all.

This is exactly why public-interest journalism matters.

Stories like this force Canadians to confront the real human consequences behind policy headlines and political talking points.

What happens when efficiency and backlog reduction start overriding humanitarian protections?

Should there be exemptions for vulnerable claimants, especially 2SLGBTQ+ refugees fleeing criminalization and violence?

How do we balance immigration system pressures with Canada’s responsibility to protect people whose lives may genuinely be at risk?

And what does it say about the country we want to be if someone can live here for years, finally feel safe enough to come out, and then suddenly face deportation because they didn’t realize soon enough that home was no longer safe?

Photo credit: CBC

Link to article

And honestly? Canadians are asking a pretty fair question:

what exactly did the U.S. expect would happen after launching a trade war against one of its closest allies?

CBC reports that many Canadians have intentionally shifted toward local wines, Canadian-made spirits, and non-American alternatives in response to escalating tensions and tariffs. Some provinces still refuse to restock U.S. alcohol entirely.

Meanwhile, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States is now asking for “common ground” and calling for American alcohol to return to Canadian shelves as an “olive branch.”

But should Canadians move on while the economic threats and hostility continue?

Has the boycott changed your shopping habits permanently?

Are you buying more Canadian products now than you were a year ago?

Do economic boycotts actually influence governments, or do they mainly send cultural and political messages?

And if Canadian consumers can shift markets this dramatically over alcohol alone… what other industries could be affected next?

CBC continues documenting how these political decisions ripple into everyday Canadian life, local economies, and consumer behaviour in real time.

Photo credit: CBC 🇨🇦

Link to article

Now Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi is openly questioning whether Premier Danielle Smith knew more about the breach than she claims, especially after it emerged that a UCP caucus staffer attended the meeting where the database was allegedly presented and demonstrated.

According to reporting from CBC, the database was used during a presentation linked to the separatist movement, and former premier Jason Kenney’s personal information was reportedly searched and displayed during that event.

Smith says she only learned about the breach through media reports.

But Canadians should be asking some very serious questions:

How did a database containing the personal information of nearly 3 million voters end up publicly accessible in the first place?

Why were political staff attending meetings connected to the group involved?

Who had access to this information, how long was it circulating, and what safeguards failed so catastrophically here?

And in the middle of growing concerns around separatist rhetoric, foreign interference, and public trust in democratic institutions… how much damage does something like this do to Canadians’ confidence in the integrity of our electoral systems?

This is exactly why investigative journalism matters.

CBC continues to connect timelines, question officials, and report facts the public deserves to see while the story continues unfolding in real time.

Art by Michael de Adder 🎨

Now the solo camper from B.C. has over half a million YouTube subscribers following her wilderness adventures.

“I was told that out of all the family members, I would be the least likely person to ever go on social media,” she laughs.

Honestly, there’s something deeply inspiring about this story.

Not in a cheesy “age is just a number” way. More in the sense that people are still capable of surprising themselves at any stage of life.

CBC’s Now or Never continues to tell these wonderfully human stories about reinvention, courage, independence, and the many different ways people discover joy later in life.

Wendy says solo camping changed the way she thinks about independence and womanhood. We highly recommend hearing the full interview 💚

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5qZUS7EGDfCCEaAVGsoCkS

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-secret-to-aging-well-sex-rock-n-roll-and-reinvention/id151485802?i=1000766656995

Think about that for a second.

People are skipping coffees, value meals, avocado add-ons, and drive-thru stops just to make it through the month… while luxury dining continues to grow.

Restaurants Canada says 81% of surveyed quick-service restaurants reported declining profitability. Young workers are being hit too, since fast food jobs are often where many Canadians get their first paycheque.

What does it say about Canada’s economy when everyday people are cutting small comforts, but the wealthiest can still indulge almost untouched?

Is this becoming a permanent “K-shaped economy” where one group keeps climbing while everyone else quietly scales back their lives?

And what responsibility do governments have to address rising food costs, wages, rent, fuel prices, and affordability before entire sectors collapse under the pressure?

CBC continues doing the important work of connecting economic policy to real human lives and daily choices Canadians are making right now.

Photo credit: CBC

Link to article

When Now or Never on CBC first met Brian, he was 55 and just months away from graduating high school after leaving at 16.

Today, he says:

“For me growing older creates opportunity.”

There’s something really beautiful about hearing stories like this right now.

Not because they’re polished or perfect, but because they remind us that people can still surprise themselves. That growth doesn’t have an expiry date. That a difficult beginning doesn’t have to decide the rest of your life.

CBC still makes space for these deeply human stories. The kinds of stories that don’t always go viral, but stay with people anyway.

Hear more of Brian’s story on the “Secret to Aging Well” episode of Now or Never 🍁