Tracking forever chemicals in Canada; new housing minister focused on supply: CBC's Marketplace cheat sheet

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New Housing Minister Gregor Robertson says the way out of Canada's real estate crisis is to increase supply, not reduce costs.

"I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable," he said to journalists as he headed into his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday. "It's a huge part of our economy, but we need to be able to deliver more affordable housing."

Robertson was Vancouver's mayor between 2008 and 2018. During that time, the average price of single-family and semi-detached homes rose 179 per cent across the broader Metro Vancouver area, data from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation shows.

"We've seen increases like that across Canada over the past decade," Robertson said, defending his record.

"I wasn't getting the help I needed from the federal government when I was mayor, or the provincial government, of all stripes. We need, as a government in Ottawa, to be delivering and partnering with cities and provinces." 

More than one in four cars sold worldwide in 2025 will be electric, according to the latest projections from the International Energy Agency, and will reach 40 per cent of all new cars by 2030.

Among major markets, the undisputed leader is China, whose new EV sales increased 40 per cent year over year in 2024. About half of all new cars sold in the country last year were electric, accounting for 11 million out of the 17 million new EVs sold worldwide. Meanwhile, sales growth was flat in Europe and just 10 per cent in the U.S.

It's been 25 years since the Walkerton, Ont., tainted water tragedy nearly killed her daughter, and Trudy Fraser still does not feel comfortable drinking tap water.

"You lose that trust when you see people you know who got sick and passed away," she said. "That's why I still drink bottled water. It's stayed with us."

Many in this town of 5,000 roughly 150 kilometres north of London, Ont., vividly recall the effects of the Victoria Day weekend in 2000, when a massive rainstorm washed water contaminated with deadly E. Coli bacteria from a nearby farm field into one of the wells that fed Walkerton's water supply. 

Seven people died, 2,300 people got sick, and an inquiry followed, exposing how funding cuts had gutted provincial oversight of drinking water.

The people who managed the town's water system hadn't been properly trained, but the problem went beyond simple incompetence. Two water utility employees, Stan and Frank Koebel, were convicted on criminal charges after the inquiry found they regularly falsified tests for chlorine levels. Also, Stan Koebel, the water system's manager, lied during the height of the crisis, telling public health officials the water was safe to drink, even though testing clearly showed presence of the deadly bacteria.

Fraser's daughter Allyssa Schnurr was 17 when she got sick in early June 2000. She became lethargic and was taken to hospital in Hanover, just outside of Walkerton, where her family doctor worked.

Soon after, she was rushed by ambulance to London, where she ended up staying in intensive care for four weeks.  

Invisible, toxic and slow to break down — forever chemicals are contaminating our food and water
Here's what we know about forever-chemical hotspots in Canada.

Union representing Air Canada's flight attendants files for conciliation as talks stall
Part of CUPE that represents Air Canada's flight attendants says its main priority is to boost employees' pay.

Ontario, Manitoba agree to boost interprovincial trade, facing U.S. Tariff crunch
Provinces sign MOU to ease barriers on flow of goods, services, workers.

Are you trying to conceive or struggling with infertility? Are you wondering whether the advice you see on social media is accurate? Marketplace wants to talk to you. Email us at marketplace@cbc.ca.

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Data Journalist, Marketplace

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