After going through five day-care providers in 18 months, Sue Pigg was at her wit’s end. Pigg worked full-time as an editorial writer at The Toronto Star while her first child, Shannon, was a baby. She was horrified to find out that her babysitter’s husband was using drugs. At another babysitter’s home, Pigg’s husband, Tim, found Shannon… Continue reading Big Stories and Little Ones

For Marc Tom Yew, a fourth-year industrial engineering student at Ryerson, it was a typical day during December finals. As usual, he stopped into a convenience store along his route to school and picked up a newspaper. When he slapped the money and paper on the counter, the clerk greeted him with a sudden laugh… Continue reading Powered by the People

“There’s no villain, no ‘mean guy’…it’s just that the structure, the system demands it and no one is willing to take on the formidable task of changing the structure just because it is meaningless.” -Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Peter Raymont speaks wearily into the telephone. It’s the irritable voice… Continue reading Fortress CBC

Walking into a story meeting for the magazine Reluctant Hero is like walking into a rowdy pyjama party-minus the nightgowns and slippers. Eight teens crowd around the sofa, flipping through the glossy pages ofSeventeen‘s current issue. An angry discussion is under way about how Seventeen,YM and Teenconsistently sugarcoat the reality of teen life and grossly underestimate the intelligence of their… Continue reading Is Your Teen Magazine Cheating On You?

Two months into his new role as cohost of CBC Radio’s This Morning, I’m sitting with Michael Enright in Fran’s diner near Yonge and St. Clair. His trademark bow tie and suspenders have been replaced by a grey pullover, with a crisp blue and red plaid collar peeking over the top. As he speaks, he fidgets-with… Continue reading Uneasy Rider