This Is Why

Just about anyone in Canada who is older than 11 years old who wanted to get vaccinated for COVID-19 has been able to. And that leaves children unvaccinated and unprotected. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at the process the vaccines are going through to be approved for children. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Dr. Karina Top, pediatric infectious disease physician and a vaccine researcher at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology in Halifax

Governments have tried a variety of incentives to entice people to get their COVID-19 vaccinations. But the more effective approach has been to add sticks to carrots. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at what approaches worked better to get a population vaccinated against COVID-19. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Amy Kaler, professor of sociology, University of Alberta Episode Resources: "Nobody wins when Alberta plays games with COVID vaccines" column

If Canada is to achieve its Paris climate goals, the country has to address what's driving growth in emissions. And driving is one of the problems. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at the unique challenges transportation in a spread out country like Canada presents to decarbonization. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Josipa Petrunic, president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium.

Oil and gas is the largest greenhouse emitter of Canadian industry. But given its place in the economy, politicians and policy makers are weighing how it fits in with the country's emission goals. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at what provincial and federal governments could and have done to address Canada's biggest emitter. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Chris Severson-Baker, Alberta director of the Pembina Institute

Electricity generation is one of the largest contributor to worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. And while Canada is among the leaders in renewable electricity, there's still room for improvement. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at what steps are left for decarbonization of the electricity grid in the country. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Blake Shaffer, assistant professor of economics at the University of Calgary

The Delta variant has become a new foe in the fight against COVID-19. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at how the variant has changed the pandemic. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Dr. Daniel Gregson, infectious diseases physician and a medical microbiologist and associate professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary

Owning a home has been a common goal for Canadians for decades. And that might just be the reason why it's no longer achievable. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at some of the forces -- both market and policy -- that have shaped Canada's real estate sector. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Uytae Lee, creator, About Here

Napoleon is credited with comparing China with a sleeping dragon. But the country of more than 1 billion is now an economic and political force in the world. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at some of the topics covered by Jeff Semple in the China Rising podcast. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Jeff Semple, senior correspondent, Global National News, and host of "China Rising"

Cowessess First Nation became the first of its kind to repatriate its child welfare system, under a federal bill made into law almost two years ago, but it's not likely to be the last. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at the landmark change Bill C-92 brings to Canada's child welfare system, and some of the surprising effects it could have. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Koren Lightning-Earle, lawyer with Wahkotowin Law and Governance Lodge at the University of Alberta

While it's easy to think that a one degree increase in average temperatures doesn't have a direct impact on our health, wildfire smoke and heat domes have proven how widespread effects of climate change can affect Canadians. On this episode of This Is Why, we go to the frontier of climate change -- Canada's north -- to hear how it is directly affecting the health of Canadians. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Dr. Courtney Howard, Yellowknife emergency physician, past president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, board member of the Global Climate Health Alliance and head of advocacy for the World Health Organization's Civil Society Working Group on Climate Change and Health

The definition of genocide goes back decades, but the debate rages on whether it applies to what the Canadian government and sponsored actors have done to Indigenous communities. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at the definition of the word, how it has applied to events in other countries and how it applies to Canada's history. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: David Webster, history professor at Bishop's University

Following the news that 215 unmarked graves in Kelowna and then 751 unmarked graves on Cowessess First Nation near sites of Indian Residential Schools, more Canadians have had to reckon with the country's history of residential schools, including calls for schools named for architects of the system to be renamed. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at the process the country is going through to reckon with that history. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @dmcivor770 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Sean Carleton, assistant professor in the Department of History and Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba

On July 1, 2021, Alberta will become the first province to fully reopen following the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination effort.  On this episode of This Is Why, we look back at why some are feeling stress surround what has been termed a "return to normal." Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Keith Dobson, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Calgary Lauren Florko, talent management consultant Episode Resources: "More than half of Canadians anxious about return to ‘normal’ after COVID-19: survey" on GlobalNews.ca "The Stress of Returning to Work" by Lauren Florko on Psychology Today

On June 5, 1981, the US Centers for Disease Control published a report about a rare type of pneumonia affecting gay men in Los Angeles, CA. It would be the first reports of HIV and AIDS in North America. On this episode of This Is Why, we look back at 40 years of science around HIV/AIDS and where treatment and policy has progressed for that pandemic. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Gary Lacasse, executive director of the Canadian AIDS Society Episode Resources: "40 years of HIV/AIDS: a painful anniversary" in The Lancet "Forty years on and new UNAIDS report gives evidence that we can end AIDS" from UNAIDS

With wildfire season underway, perennial concerns about forest fires have returned. And as the effects of climate change worsen, research is underway to understand the relationship between forests, forest fires and carbon in the atmosphere. On this episode of This Is Why, we dig into how a century of forest practices has made the problem worse, and a possible way forward for forests, the atmosphere and humanity. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Dr Carly Phillips, researcher in residence at the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions at University of Victoria Episode Resources: "How wildfires affect climate change — and vice versa" on The Conversation "The Language of Climate Change" from TEDxBearCreekPark

We've all become familiar with the term 'pandemic,' and may know what an 'epidemic' is, but the term 'endemic' is maybe less widely known. But it's certainly widely-experienced. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at the factors at play that could turn COVID-19 from a pandemic into an endemic disease. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Cynthia Carr, epidemiologist and founder of EPI Research Inc. Episode Resources: "Canada to face COVID-19 like yearly endemic flu due to variants, expert says" on GlobalNews.ca "‘When will it end?’: New data suggests COVID-19 could become endemic" on GlobalNews.ca "The coronavirus is here to stay — here’s what that means" from Nature

With more jabs going into arms and the potential of some Canadians choosing between the AstraZeneca-manufactured viral vector COVID-19 vaccine and an mRNA-based shot from companies like Pfizer or Moderna, the advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) that seems to favour one or the other seems to fly in the face of the overall vaccination effort. On this episode of This Is Why, we explore what happened with the NACI recommendations and why clear communication about vaccines is vital to fighting any disease. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guest: Timothy Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy

As the world begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic with shots going in arms, a growing sense of jollity is coming over more and more vaccinated people. There's an interesting parallel between the end of this pandemic and what could follow with the end of the 1918 influenza pandemic and the 1920s. On this episode of This Is Why, we discover the similarities and differences between the two eras, and why the 2020s might not be a repeat of a century earlier. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Agnes Arnold-Forster, health care and medicine historian Episode Resources: "Will the end of the COVID-19 pandemic usher in a second Roaring ’20s?" on The Conversation

There's only so much carbon humans can put into the atmosphere before the earth's average temperature will rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius, a point at which major climate change will happen -- that's the opinion of the panel of scientists at the IPCC. Broken out into a worldwide carbon budget, Canada's share of emissions is easy to determine. On this episode of This Is Why, we find out why Canada's oil and gas sector is threatening not just Canada's but the international carbon budget and why policy is falling short. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Truzaar Dordi, a PhD candidate currently studying at the University of Waterloo, and author of "Correcting Canada's 'one eye shut' climate policy" Episode Resources: "Correcting Canada’s “one eye shut” climate policy" - Cascade Institute (PDF)

Calgary, like other cities across the country are seeing spikes in mental health calls, with the problem only being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the City of Calgary has formulated a plan, and it's sharing that plan with other Canadian cities. On this episode of This Is Why, we find out how Calgary's mental health and addictions plan came together and why it could make a difference. Contact: Adam Toy - @Adam_Toy on Twitter Dave McIvor - @d_mac1519 on Twitter This is Why - @ThisIsWhy on Twitter Email us - thisiswhy@globalnews.ca Guests: Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi Karen Gosbee Episode Resources: Calgary’s Mental Health and Addiction Strategy Obituary of George Gosbee Mental health supports across Canada