The Decibel

A Canadian woman has been arrested and accused of spying for a third country during her internship at NATO’s headquarters in Belgium. The woman had a work history with Canadian government agencies and was once found to have committed fraud when trying to apply for a job with the Canada Border Services Agency.

This case is now raising questions about how the Canadian government vets its candidates, especially for roles that could have access to sensitive information. Greg Mercer is an investigative journalist with The Globe and one of a team of reporters working on this story. He joins the show to explain what we know so far.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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The Dock has been around since 2015. It’s an invite-only conference where tech, business and political leaders gather to talk. This year it was at a billionaire real estate magnate’s cottage estate in Ontario’s Muskoka region. And Prime Minister Mark Carney attended for part of the three-day conference.

Guests are asked not to talk about what happens there, but business reporters Tim Kiladze and Sean Silcoff managed to report details about who goes, what ideas get suggested to the government and a dramatic moment involving Shopify CEO and co-founder Tobi Lütke.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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Ransomware attacks have become more prominent in recent years, with major breaches of hospitals, like Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children in 2022, and companies like Indigo in 2023. In 2025, damages from ransomware attacks were expected to reach US$57-billion dollars worldwide.

Alongside the rise of ransomware attacks came the emergence of a new kind of industry: ransomware negotiators. They communicate with attackers to try to convince them to lower the ransom fee. Today, the Globe’s financial and cybercrime reporter, Alexandra Posadzki, joins us to talk about what it takes to hack the hackers, and what’s at risk in these kinds of engagements.

This episode originally aired April 16, 2026.

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Billy Bishop Airport, located on the western edge of the Toronto Islands, just south of downtown, has long been the subject of controversy. There was opposition to its expansion when Porter Airlines launched back in 2006, and again in the early 2010s when Porter wanted to allow jet traffic. The latest push to expand Billy Bishop took off in earnest in the spring, when Ontario Premier Doug expropriated Toronto’s stake in the agreement between three levels of government that govern the airport. However, after six weeks of public consultation, the Liberal government declined to allow jets at Billy Bishop “at this stage.”

Jeff Gray covers Ontario politics for the Globe. Today, he’s here to explain why the question of expanding Toronto’s downtown airport is so hotly contested, the unique agreement that governs it and where the saga goes from here.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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The Canadian condo market is crumbling. As prices continue to plummet, thousands of condo units sit empty and unsold in Vancouver and Toronto – two of Canada’s largest real estate markets. While buyers grow increasingly hesitant, both federal and provincial governments are trying different tactics to revive the market, with degrees of success.

The Globe’s real estate reporter, Rachelle Younglai joins The Decibel to talk about how the condo market ended up in this state, what’s being done about it and what its future may hold.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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