☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

HARD NUMBERS: Ontario’s ex-cons struggle to find homes, First Nations challenge carbon tax, “Super pigs” eye the border, Alberta cashes in on TV

November 30, 2023
Alex Kliment
A homeless man's tent is seen in an alley in downtown Toronto, Ontario.
A homeless man's tent is seen in an alley in downtown Toronto, Ontario.
Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto

17.3: The percentage of prisoners released from Ontario jails who have nowhere to live has nearly doubled over the past five years, reaching 17.3% in 2021-2022, the most recent annual data show. Experts blame a triple crisis of housing affordability, mental health, and addiction, and warn that there is a high correlation between homelessness and recidivism.

133: A group representing 133 indigenous groups in Ontario filed a lawsuit today challenging the federal government’s carbon tax, which they say disproportionately burdens their communities. The tax, a cornerstone of Justin Trudeau’s climate agenda, has seen growing local pushback, especially after the PM excluded home heating oil from the tax in October in a move viewed as a sop to his constituents in Atlantic Canada, where the fuel is most common.

62,000: As if there weren’t enough to worry about in the world, the US is now bracing for an invasion of “super pigs” from Canada. More than 62,000 of the voracious, destructive, and nearly unkillable creatures have already been spotted roaming the US-Canada borderlands. They are the crossbred descendants of wild boars that Canadian farmers released into the wild after the boar meat market crashed in the early 2000s. Experts say the pigs are an “ecological train wreck.” We can’t read this story without hearing “Super Pig” to the tune of Rick James’ “Superfreak” — and now … neither can you.

141 million: And the last (of us) shall be first … The post-apocalyptic HBO show “The Last of Us” generated $141 million for the province of Alberta, where it was shot in 2021-2022. That makes it the most lucrative TV show ever shot in Canada. Next season, the drama moves to British Columbia.

More from GZERO Media

Why the world is facing a population crisis

- YouTube

youtu.be

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jennifer Sciubba to explore a looming global crisis: population collapse. With fertility rates below replacement levels in two-thirds of the world, what does this mean for the future of work, healthcare, and retirement systems? In the US, Vice President-Elect JD Vance and Elon Musk are already sounding the alarm, the latter saying it's “a much bigger risk” to civilization than global warming. Can governments do anything to stop it?

Senegal goes to the polls

Senegal's Presidential Bassirou Diomaye Faye casts his ballot during the early legislative election, at a polling station in Ndiaganiao, Mbour, Senegal on Nov. 17, 2024.

Abdou Karim Ndoye/Senegal's Presidency/Handout via Reuters

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye called the snap vote eight months after taking office, seeking a majority mandate for economic reforms as the country grapples with high inflation and widespread unemployment.

Trump looms large over G20 Summit

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greets UN General-Secretary Antonio Guterres ahead of the G20 summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 16, 2024.

Ricardo Stuckert/Brazilian Presidency/Handout via Reuters

As G20 leaders meet in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, it’s not just the city’s famed statue of Christ the Redeemer casting a shadow: it’s US President-elect Donald Trump.

Japan, US, South Korea unite against North Korea-Russia Pact

President Joe Biden, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba participate in a trilateral meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, on Nov. 15, 2024.

REUTERS/Leah Millis

In a joint press conference on Friday at the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, US President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, and Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned of the latest “dangerous and destabilizing” cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

What’s up with Trump’s criminal cases now that he’s president-elect?

Former President Donald Trump attends court during closing arguments in his civil business fraud trial at the New York Supreme Court on Jan. 11, 2024.
John Nacion/NurPhoto via Reuters

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election puts the country in an unprecedented position. He’s the first convicted felon to win the presidency and was elected to the nation’s highest office while facing multiple criminal cases at the federal and state level. What will happen to these criminal proceedings?

Should we rethink the global aging crisis?

- YouTube

youtu.be

The world is quietly being reshaped by a demographic time bomb: Birthrates are plummeting, and the global population is rapidly aging. By 2050, one in six people will be over 65. While the overall population is still increasing—driven by growth in developing countries like Nigeria and Pakistan—experts predict it will peak in about 60 years. The shift to depopulation will have huge implications for the future of work, healthcare, and retirement. So what can we do about it? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the different strategies governments are using to try to get people to have more kids, particularly in East Asia, where the population crisis is severe.

In the Philippines, women are growing a forest — and financial resilience

Mastercard

The Puerto Princesa Forest Restoration Initiative is a project to plant more than 400,000 seedlings to restore Palawan forests destroyed by Super Typhoon Odette in the Philippines. It’s part of a larger global effort by the Priceless Planet Coalition, launched by Mastercard with Conservation International and the World Resources Institute, to fund the restoration of 100 million trees around the world. These projects extend beyond carbon sequestration — they’re aimed at creating economic opportunities for women in the region, enabling them to better provide for their families. Read more about how many local women and community members are leading the charge on nursery construction, maintenance, and seedling production.

The global population is aging. Is the world prepared?

- YouTube

youtu.be

Listen: The world is on the brink of one of the most fundamental demographic shifts in modern human history: populations are getting older, and birth rates are plummeting. By 2050, one in six people on Earth will be over 65, which will have a huge impact on the future of work, healthcare, and social security. On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jennifer Sciubba, President & CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, to discuss declining fertility, the aging crisis, and why government efforts all over the world to get people to have more babies don’t seem to be working.

About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2020 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.