Anne McLellan and Lisa Raitt, who have an incredible amount of combined experience in federal politics, have been working together to address issues on economic growth and productivity with the Coalition For A Better Future. They join host Jeff Dougals to talk about what they think is contributing to falling productivity in Canada, and what can be done about it.
In 2022, a graphic novel called Night At The Belfry was released digitally through Comixology Originals. AND just last month, it was published in print by Dark Horse Comics, one of the largest independent American comic book publishers. The story follows 74-year-old James — who was a boxer in his younger years — as he aims to pick up the gloves again. The cartoonist behind it is Nova Scotia-born Xavier Saxon. Mainstreet's Alex Guye reached Xavier at his home in Montreal. Here's part of their conversation, starting with Xavier explaining what inspired Night At The Belfry.
Feed Nova Scotia first opened its doors 40 years ago as the Metro Food Bank Society. With Food Banks Canada saying this week poverty is worse than official statistics let on, host Jeff Douglas is joined by Dianne Swinimer and Nick Jennery to talk about the origins of food banks in Nova Scotia, how they've evolved and what they can do to address today's level of need.
About 500 people in Nova Scotia live with scleroderma, a rare auto-immune disorder that affects the skin and internal organs. Host Jeff Douglas is joined by Michelle Richard, who lives with the disease, and Jason Doucette, president of Scleroderma Atlantic, to talk about what supports are available for people living with the disease.
While it's been 40 years since Mainstreet hit the airwaves, 1984 also marks the founding of Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsboro, N.S. Host Jeff Douglas is joined by artistic director Laura Vingoe-Cram to reflect on four decades of theatre and what's coming up in their 40th anniversary season.
Pictou County Pride has kicked off a week-long festival of events and activities across the region. The week will end with a Pride Day celebration at Pictou Landing First Nation on Sunday. The group's chair Carissa Ainslie joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about what they have in store for their community.
In the introduction of his new book, Pierre Poilievre: A Political Life, Andrew Lawton writes: "He is authentic and full of conviction, yet every decision he makes — even the most mundane — is the product of calculation." Lawton joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about what he's learned about the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada while researching and writing his book.
Magician and magic historian Margaret Steele joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about her new book, The Great Boomsky: The Many Lives of Magic's First Black Superstar. Boomsky was a magician's assistant character who was played by more than a dozen people in the decades after the American Civil War, including Isaac W. Willis. Willis became a world-class magician in his own right before settling in Truro where he became a community patriarch.
Ahead of a meeting in New York later this month, where nations will begin figuring out how to implement the High Seas Treaty, marine researcher Ryan Stanley joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about why climate change needs to be top of mind in those preparations. Stanley leads a research program on marine conservation areas at BIO, The Bedford Institute of Oceanography.
The Mainstreet Spinbusters join host Jeff Douglas to talk about fixed election dates, and their value of having them or not, and the reasons a politician might promise one and then jettison it. Plus, a look back at 1984 with Spinbusters Barb Emodi, Michelle Coffin and Chris Lydon, as Mainstreet marks 40 years of being on the air.
On Thursday, history was made when Bill C-226, the National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act, successfully passed through the Senate. The act will support a national strategy to address, prevent and assess incidents of environmental racism. Host Jeff Douglas is joined by Ingrid Waldron, professor and HOPE Chair in Peace and Health at McMaster University, who has been key in getting this bill passed.
No matter what you think about June bugs, we have to deal with them every year. In what she refers to as "exposure therapy," the CBC's Jane Sponagle met with Paul Manning, assistant professor in biology and entomology at Dalhousie's Agriculture Campus. He thinks the bugs are an important part of the ecosystem — and are actually really cute.
Despite the high cost of food at grocery stores, the National Farmers Union says farmers are not making any more money. In fact, the gap between what consumers pay and what farmers receive is only getting bigger. Host Jeff Douglas is joined by union co-ordinator, Eli Milton, to talk about why that is and how farmers are trying to manage.
New research from Stockholm University suggests that the concentration of PFAS or "forever chemicals" emitted from the spray coming off the ocean is higher than industrial polluters. The CBC's Rose Murphy spoke with lead researcher Ian Cousins, a professor of environmental organic chemistry, to learn more.
Journalist Paul McLeod joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about how the federal Online News Act is moving closer to putting money into the bank accounts of news outlets. But he's thinking there's a better way to address the dominance of Google and Meta in online advertising.
A new book by longtime journalist Stephen Kimber chronicles a high stakes Canadian feud that underscores the perils of succession planning for a multi-million dollar family business. He joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about his new book, The Phelan Feud: The Bitter Struggle For Control of a Great Canadian Food Empire.
Members of the Canadian Parliament have voted unanimously to criminalize coercive control — a step towards protecting people from non-physical abuse, such as threats and financial manipulation. With the bill now going to the Senate, host Jeff Douglas is joined by Andrea Gunraj with the Canadian Women's Foundation, to learn more about what it would do.
Historian Leo J. Deveau takes us on another journey through time to 1984 — the year of Mainstreet's inception — for a look at what was happening in the political, economic and cultural life in Nova Scotia. He joins host Jeff Douglas.
Back in 2020, the Nova Scotia Nature Trust set a goal of doubling the amount of land it protects. It recently met that goal, protecting an additional 6,000 hectares in just four years. Executive director Bonnie Sutherland joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about this milestone and why "nature needs us now more than ever."
After years of struggling to find clothes to fit her body and feeling ashamed of her weight, Whitney Swinimer began knitting clothes for herself that made her feel confident and beautiful. She spoke with host Jeff Douglas about how that changed her perception, which she wrote about in this CBC First Person column.