The Decibel

Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation near Kamloops, B.C. was the site of a national reckoning over the legacy of residential schools. On May 27, 2021, the First Nation announced it had discovered 215 probable unmarked graves on the ground of a former residential school, using ground-penetrating radar technology. The number was later revised to around 200 probable graves. 

Since that revelation, leaders of the First Nation have been reluctant to provide more information and have not yet conducted an archeological dig of the former residential school grounds.  Five years on and with few concrete answers, a loud contingent of skeptics and denialists have grown. 

Globe reporters Willow Fiddler and Patrick White join The Decibel to report on what they have learned since, the impact of the initial announcement, the complexities of working on a site like this, and what is planned for the investigation going forward.

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Political tensions are rising in Alberta. Last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the province will hold a referendum on whether to hold a subsequent referendum on secession from Canada. Division and debate has been stirred up between federalists and separatists. And those who want to leave argue that Alberta will be better off, more economically successful and have full control over its natural resources. 

The Globe’s editorial board did a reality check on some of the arguments for separatism. Oliver Moore, a member of The Globe’s editorial board, is on the show to talk about why separatists want to leave Canada and to help us sift through the legal myths and realities around Alberta separatism.

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Getting paid for plasma – the yellow-gold liquid part of blood – in Canada is still pretty new. It’s full of protein and antibodies and can be used to make medicine for immunodefficient people. But following the deaths of two plasma donors, the practice is facing criticism and concerns are being raised about its safety.

Chris Hannay is a business of healthcare reporter for The Globe. He’s on the show today to discuss how plasma collection works in Canada, what he’s learned from his experience donating, and how the growing practice of paid plasma is regulated.

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Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, sat down with The Globe’s editorial board for an interview last week. They asked him about a range of issues, from the current state of the Conservative Party to the Alberta separatism movement and tariff-free trade.

Patrick Brethour is the editorials editor at The Globe, and he’s on the show to discuss what they learned in this exclusive interview.

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Drones have become a part of everyday life for many Ukrainians. Now, they’re showing up in the airspace of Baltic countries. On Wednesday, people in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, were instructed to take shelter when drone activity was detected near the border with Belarus. The day before, a NATO jet shot down a Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia. This followed an incident earlier this month when two drones hit an empty oil facility in Latvia.

It’s still not clear exactly how these drones are ending up in Baltic airspace, but some analysts believe the drones could be autonomously choosing their targets – a potential first in warfare.

Mark MacKinnon is the Globe’s senior international correspondent. He’s here to explain what we know so far about how these drones are ending up in NATO countries, and what the implications are for the next phase of the Russia-Ukraine war.

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