0:00

Hi, I'm Pat Kelly. And I'm Peter

0:02

Oldring, and we're the hosts of This Is That.

0:06

For over a decade, we were

0:08

radio's go-to source for completely fabricated

0:10

news. And

0:12

now, we're back in podcast form. We've

0:15

selected some of our favorite stories from over

0:17

the years and put them in one convenient

0:19

location. This

0:26

is That. Tune in soon on CBC

0:28

Listen and everywhere you get your podcasts. This

0:33

is a CBC Podcast. This

0:37

is really about controlling

0:39

Americans' data. TikTok's time in

0:41

the US may be nearing the end. Russian

0:43

president Vladimir Putin seeks a fifth

0:45

term. I'd like to thank my terrible

0:48

childhood. Because

0:50

news. Gavin Crawford. Ah, thank

0:52

you. Ah,

0:55

thank you. Hey,

0:58

hello there, everybody. I'm Gavin Crawford. Welcome

1:00

to Because News, Canada's funniest news quiz.

1:03

Loblaws is facing backlash for testing receipt

1:06

scanners at store exits, which would verify

1:08

receipts to prevent theft. Mind you, if

1:10

you've looked at a receipt from Loblaws

1:12

recently, it's pretty clear who got robbed.

1:18

Over the next 30 minutes, we'll be making games

1:20

out of the news. That's welcome this week's

1:22

panel. He brought that

1:24

Dune popcorn bucket with him and it's

1:26

making us all deeply uncomfortable. Put

1:29

your hands in for Andrew Fogg. Yay!

1:32

I love popcorn. And

1:36

Dune. And

1:39

Dune. The next

1:41

president of Russia, well, probably not, but she's

1:43

got as good a chance as those other

1:45

three guys. Say hello to Maggie Cassella. Yes. Like

1:49

I'm going to Russia.

1:56

And finally, she is ready to finally give

1:58

this Spotify thing a chance. Now that

2:00

Neil Young is okay with it, it's a very

2:02

musical Ashley Bodding. Oh, great!

2:06

Great to be here on the Sugar Mountain

2:08

dab. Alright,

2:10

panel, are you seated high atop your chairs?

2:13

Yes, sir. Yes, we are. Very high. Then

2:15

let's begin. Mm-hmm. Here

2:17

we go! Yeah! Panel,

2:20

this is a musical Connect

2:22

Four. I want you to listen

2:24

to these four musical clips and tell me, if

2:26

you can, what news story

2:28

united them all this week? There

2:52

are your four musical clues. What

2:54

do they all have in common? There are

2:56

four songs I can't get out of my head, but

2:59

I can't name them. Good

3:01

guess, Maggie. They all make me feel really

3:04

old and comfortable. I

3:06

can't pretend I don't know this given how

3:08

much time I spend on the platform. They're

3:11

all songs that are big TikToks. They're memes

3:13

on TikTok. You are correct to

3:15

the point. All of those songs appear

3:17

in very many TikTok videos. But

3:19

why, why was TikTok in the news this week?

3:21

I think it's like there's a discussion in the

3:23

Senate about allowing TikTok in

3:26

there. There's a discussion about banning it. You're

3:28

close. Congress is floating a

3:30

bill to ban TikTok. Actually,

3:32

the House passed a bill. The

3:35

Rolling Stone headline reads, The bill that could

3:37

ban TikTok just passed the House in a

3:39

landslide. It still has to go to the Senate.

3:41

There is no guarantee it will pass there. This week,

3:44

the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan

3:46

bill that could ban TikTok from the States

3:48

unless one condition is met. What is

3:50

that condition? That one condition is that

3:52

kid has to live in a house

3:54

made up entirely of prime for 30

3:57

days. It

4:01

is not. Ashley? Yeah, it's as long

4:03

as they divest from their

4:05

Chinese parent company. That is correct.

4:07

The TikTok's Chinese parent company would have

4:10

to sell the platform within six months

4:12

in order for TikTok not to be banned if this bill passes.

4:15

TikTok's parent company has a very TikTok

4:17

style name. What is the appropriate name

4:19

of that company, Maggie? I know this

4:22

one. By me, I'm stealing all your

4:24

data. There it is. Close,

4:26

but no. I thought it was a

4:28

Swedish company and they're called Like & Follow. It's

4:34

something like Dance Dumps or

4:36

something. It sounds like TikTok, but it's like

4:38

Dance Talk or something. Maggie

4:41

was really close. Bite Dance. It

4:43

is Bite Dance. I didn't know that until you

4:45

said dance. I knew it was Bite Something, but

4:47

Ashley gave me the other half. What is the

4:49

major U.S. concern about the TikTok? The fact

4:51

that the youth of the nation will have no skills

4:53

except for being able to go on it. But

4:57

it teaches you how to make meals in a bag. Is

5:00

it privacy? They're worried about privacy because it's

5:03

a Chinese-owned company. They're afraid of our data

5:05

being used by the Chinese government. That

5:08

is correct. It is national security. The

5:10

safety of user data in the Chinese

5:12

government's potential use of the platform to

5:14

push propaganda or meddle in elections. TikTok

5:18

says there's no proof of Beijing using

5:20

TikTok to get U.S. user data or

5:22

to influence Americans. According to

5:24

a new research panel, a third of

5:27

Americans under 30 say they regularly

5:29

get this from TikTok. They're self-worth.

5:35

Good guess. It's their Riz. It's their

5:37

go-to pickup lines. You

5:39

go to TikTok to see what the field is like, what the

5:41

game is like. You get your pickup lines. You

5:43

go out into the world and you try to use them. They

5:46

get what from TikTok? STDs. Following

5:50

Andrew's point, then, it's logical

5:52

conclusion is... First step Riz,

5:54

next step. STDs. Regret.

5:56

It is not... Does anyone know the

5:58

correct answer? news? It unfortunately

6:01

is. Oh that's sad. It is their news.

6:03

30% of Americans under 30 say

6:06

they regularly get their news from TikTok, which

6:08

is almost as bad as getting their news

6:10

from this show. This show's

6:12

killing it on TikTok.

6:14

Well, yeah. Oh no. Oh no.

6:17

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Several

6:23

countries, including Canada and the US,

6:25

have banned TikTok from government devices

6:27

due to national security concerns. But

6:30

one prominent politician actually just got

6:32

a TikTok account. Who is that?

6:34

That lunatic who's running Argentina now? A local?

6:38

Yeah. The chainsaw guy? Yeah. It is

6:40

not. This one is interesting because the

6:42

real answer and the joke answer are

6:45

the same. What

6:47

is it? Joe Biden. You

6:49

are correct for the point. It is

6:51

Joe Biden. President Joe Biden dropped his

6:54

first TikTok during the Super Bowl and

6:56

captioned it, LOL hey guys.

6:58

Oh. That is

7:01

cringe worthy. My

7:03

favorite is watching the kids in the front

7:05

after I said LOL hey guys and they

7:07

all went curled

7:09

into themselves. So

7:11

youth vote, unlog. Before

7:15

the house vote, TikTok decided to fight

7:17

back by asking its 170 million

7:19

US users to contact their representatives

7:22

in Congress to let them know

7:24

what TikTok means to them and to vote no.

7:27

How do you think a TikTokers

7:29

message to their representatives sounded? Okay.

7:31

It's a character I'm trying. Hey

7:34

guys, it's me, nutshot Chad. And I found

7:36

out that the government is coming after TikTok

7:39

and they don't want you seeing me launch

7:41

various things at my nuts. And why wouldn't they want me

7:43

to do that? Why are we trying to get you to

7:46

see it? I've been trying to figure out all week.

7:48

So I'm calling all

7:50

my fellow nutshots to

7:52

call their US reps and tell them

7:55

how much you love seeing me launch

7:57

things at my nuts four times a

7:59

week. Let's shut Todd out!

8:01

Oh! Uh,

8:07

perfect. Uh, Ashley, body, what do

8:09

you think? Okay, how about this? Hi,

8:12

guys! This is a day in the life of a

8:14

political girly! Okay, so, um, I get

8:16

up and I eat a low-carb keto breakfast. Um,

8:18

it's this granola from Costco. You have to get

8:20

it. I will link it. It's my favorite. Um,

8:23

then I go to the gym and I do my fave

8:25

spinlotties workout. Um, and then I call my rep in Congress

8:27

to be like, Don't be cringe, vote

8:29

now! And I'm like so tired I have to go

8:31

to sleep. Okay, bye, besties! Bravo!

8:36

Amazing! They're

8:38

now dating. You two characters are now dating. You

8:41

guys are kidding me! We've been

8:43

hearing about privacy concerns regarding TikTok

8:45

for, well, since the dawn of

8:47

TikTok. But just for curiosity, a

8:50

panel, what data does TikTok actually

8:52

have access to? I actually

8:54

think it knows, um, my gender, my

8:56

age, where I live, and that I'm

8:58

super into watching a guy shave cow

9:00

hooves. Oh, I love that!

9:02

Nate the huff guy! Nate

9:05

the huff guy if you're not doing it! Oh

9:07

my god! Correct and

9:09

gross! Uh, yes, it

9:11

has that. Any other things? What do you think it

9:13

has access to? Meggie? You know, I

9:15

don't know because I'm a passive user of

9:18

TikTok because I think they're spying on me.

9:20

So I just literally go on and watch

9:22

things, which they know I'm watching. So technically,

9:24

they're actually laughing at me thinking, how does

9:26

she thinks that we don't know? And they're

9:28

collecting my data anyway. They are.

9:31

They know what you're watching, though, for how long

9:33

you're watching any clip. They

9:35

know the contents of your clipboard. They

9:37

know your approximate location, your

9:40

IP address, also your search history

9:42

and browser history. Like on TikTok

9:44

or on Google also? Oh,

9:46

she said nervously. Damn! They

9:49

know your search history on some websites

9:51

outside of TikTok, it says. Okay, but

9:53

is anyone really surprised? Like really? I think

9:56

we all just know what we're signing on for.

9:58

Am I wrong? All

10:00

right, well if you could ban any app on

10:02

the grounds of national security, what app would you

10:05

ban? I would ban chicken

10:07

fingers because they have absolutely no nutritional value.

10:10

Mozzarella sticks. I mean technically it is

10:12

an app. Well played Ashley. I might

10:14

go back in time and be like

10:16

hey liberals, maybe don't do the arrive-can

10:18

thing. Hahahahaha.

10:21

Don't do it. All

10:33

right panel, get ready for altered

10:35

lyrics. That's right. Have a listen

10:37

to this news take on a

10:40

can con classic and

10:42

be ready to quiz. Look

10:46

at this photograph. Was

10:48

it altered by the royal staff?

10:51

Why does her hair have

10:53

blurry strands? And what the

10:55

hell is with Catherine's hands?

10:59

Woah.

11:03

Every person in the photo has an eerie

11:05

smile. It's the first time

11:07

that we've seen the princess in

11:10

a while. It's not just dropped,

11:12

it's photoshopped. It's a

11:14

lie or a-i-e. A-i-e.

11:27

There you go panel. What

11:29

big story from this week had me seeing

11:31

that version of Photograph? Heads

11:33

up, Nickelback the band

11:36

is up for a Juno for

11:38

Group of the Year. No you're

11:40

lying. I'm not lying. But they're

11:42

like the punchline of every musical

11:44

joke. But they're also incredibly popular.

11:47

I saw Nickelback last year at the Junos

11:49

and it was awesome. Really? They

11:52

had the arena going. And

11:54

there was a moment I was like okay,

11:56

Nickelback. And 30 seconds in I was like

11:58

never again. Alex,

12:01

how do I even know the lyrics to this

12:03

song? Maybe I have to revisit. That

12:05

is incorrect, but a good guess, Ashley. It's

12:07

got to be the picture of

12:09

the royal family that got a little

12:12

bit photoshopped. You are correct. For

12:14

the point, the headline from Global News

12:16

reads, Kate Middleton's photo, pulled by news

12:18

agencies over manipulation concerns. The

12:20

official photo of Kate posing with her

12:22

children was released last week by the

12:24

palace to celebrate Mother's Day in the

12:27

UK. Confusing everyone in Canada. Yeah.

12:30

It was like, what? What? Mother's Day. I

12:32

checked, and I was like, oh no, did

12:34

I forget? It felt terrible. What

12:36

were some of the telltale signs that the photo

12:38

of the princess and her children had been altered?

12:41

Well, you knew it was doctored because it's impossible that any

12:43

of them would be smiling given their life. I

12:50

think it would be a miserable existence. I'm saying it. Andrew?

12:54

Mine's the smiling, but not because of the

12:56

miserable existence. Mine's because if you have kids,

12:58

if you have two or three kids, the

13:00

idea that they got all three kids to

13:02

look in the same direction, to smile at

13:04

the same time, impossible. Because at any given

13:06

time, I just got back from Mexico with

13:08

my family. Literally, 1,000 photos

13:11

we took, there's always someone with nine chins going

13:13

on, closed eyes looking in different directions. My kids

13:16

are at the age where they're always trying to

13:18

throw up signs all the time. So it's just

13:20

impossible to get everyone looking perfect at the same

13:22

time. That's true. We have a family photo that

13:25

was hugging our house for years and years. Literally,

13:27

they took 125 shots and it was like my

13:29

parents and all five kids. And

13:33

the one that ended up getting blown up and

13:35

put on the wall, everybody looks halfway decent, except

13:38

my youngest brother, who was like seven at

13:40

the time, is just making a total home

13:42

alone face. He's just like, ugh! And

13:47

we made fun of it his whole life. And he is

13:49

still emotionally scarred from that photo. But it's the best one

13:51

out of the bag. That's 120! That's the best set of

13:53

120. Those

13:57

are all good guesses. The correct guesses are one of

13:59

her hands... is blurry. Patterns on some

14:01

of the kids' sweaters don't line up.

14:04

Her sleeve is unnaturally pointy

14:06

and appears to vanish. Also, her hair

14:09

is blurry. I care what? I

14:11

don't even get it. I'm sorry. It doesn't

14:13

even seem like it counts as doctored.

14:15

Fastered to me as I shaved off

14:17

20 pounds, you know, my legs are

14:19

gotten muscles in them. My hair is

14:22

blurry? I'll ask

14:24

you this question then. After the photo

14:26

was pulled, the royal family publicly acknowledged

14:28

the mishap and admitted it was doctored.

14:30

What was their explanation? You know

14:32

we're all cousins, right? I

14:34

love it. Andrew?

14:38

I feel like they put it on her.

14:40

Like she released a statement saying like, ah,

14:43

just was doing a little bit of Photoshop

14:45

where they just went too far with it.

14:47

That is correct. The headline for NPR reads,

14:49

Kate Middleton says she edited her Mother's Day

14:51

photo. Kate Middleton says she occasionally experiments with

14:54

editing, but experts aren't convinced. Have a listen

14:56

to what this photography professor said on TikTok.

14:58

Unless Kate Middleton is drastically underselling her Photoshop

15:00

talents, I highly doubt that she did use

15:02

edits herself. I mean, someone did,

15:04

but it's probably most likely not her. That's

15:07

the girl I was making fun of from TikTok. I was going to say

15:09

that sounded so much like your TikTok. Oh,

15:12

you're also a photography expert. Yeah, well, I

15:14

do a lot. Why,

15:16

like that expert, do some people think Kate Middleton

15:18

could not have been the one editing that photo?

15:21

She's a woman and we're just, you know, we're

15:23

just so bad at tech. Andrew,

15:27

I just don't think Kate, for

15:30

me, her public persona, she just would

15:32

never have to do it. She's been

15:34

perfect the whole time and she's always

15:36

embraced just like herself as is. So

15:38

I just don't think that fits her

15:40

aura as a person, that she would

15:42

even touch these photos. You know, on

15:44

that wall. Yeah, that's nice. But also

15:46

I can't see her bending over anybody

15:49

on iPad going like this, like sticking

15:51

her finger on the thing and spinesse

15:53

of royals. Isn't it? They have

15:55

people for that. They have people for that. That's what

15:57

Lord Clive Photoshop is for. They

16:01

say it was too good for an amateur,

16:04

but too bad for a pro. Professional

16:06

photo editors often composite different images with

16:08

everyone's best shot, but that's very hard

16:11

for an amateur to do. So

16:13

I don't think Kate could have done it. Yeah, I thought that

16:15

she photoshopped Prince William out. That's

16:18

what I thought was missing. But no, I didn't.

16:20

Apparently he took the photo. That's

16:22

why he wasn't in. No,

16:25

even when they circled it and zoomed in in some

16:27

of the news stories, I was like, I'm not seeing

16:29

it. Like those seeing eye things from the 90s. I

16:31

was like, I can't see it. I

16:33

don't know. There's

16:35

another reason why this photo sparked such a

16:37

fervor. What is that reason? Obviously,

16:39

because she's been missing for

16:41

a little while. There

16:44

are theories. It's the

16:46

first photo of Kate since she had

16:48

unspecified abdominal surgery in January. Speculation about

16:51

her whereabouts and welfare has been, in

16:54

a word, widespread. The

16:56

Princess of Wales has not been seen in public since

16:58

Christmas. And as always, royal

17:00

watchers have been super chill about it. Yes.

17:04

A New York Magazine headline reads,

17:06

Kate Middleton, photo editing made me

17:08

a conspiracy theorist. By

17:11

the time the taping, the palace maintains

17:13

that Kate is recovering from surgery and

17:15

all is well. However, the

17:17

rumors abound. What are some of

17:19

the wildest conspiracy theories you have

17:22

as to where Kate is? Megan

17:24

Aideher. You asked. Andrew? She's

17:32

training to return

17:35

to WrestleMania to

17:37

confront the tribal

17:39

chief, Roman Reigns.

17:44

I hope that's real. Maggie? I

17:47

thought she looked smoking hot. So I mean, I

17:49

think to me, the controversy is, you know, what's

17:51

going on? Like, why aren't they going? She looks

17:53

great. Why isn't she out doing her duty? That's

17:56

my thing, right? Well, here's a real one that people are

17:58

actually saying about why she might look like a smoking

18:00

hot they're saying she might have had a bbl a

18:02

brazilian butt lift because

18:05

the amount of time that she's been healing from

18:07

her abdominal surgery butt is as long as it

18:09

takes to heal from a bbl that

18:11

is one of the conspiracy theories it

18:13

is some of the other ones uh

18:15

they say she gave herself curtain bangs

18:19

on a whim and it's just growing

18:21

them out uh another one said she

18:23

just got lost in that willy wonka

18:25

exhibit in glass cove because

18:33

news canada's news

18:41

i'm gavin cropper this is because

18:43

news we've got ashley botting meggy

18:45

kasela and andrew fung you

18:49

can catch videos of our rounds on

18:51

sick talk while it's still a thing

19:17

hey i'm tom power i'm the host of the podcast

19:19

q hey tom power where

19:21

we talked to all kinds of artists actors

19:23

writers musicians painters we had green day on

19:25

the other day talking about their huge album

19:27

american idiot nicole byer came on to talk

19:29

about adhd and

19:31

then there's dan levey while we were talking

19:34

about filmmaking we talked about his insecurities i

19:36

sometimes feel like i have this desire to

19:38

like perform to be a

19:40

version of myself that people might like listen

19:43

to q with tom power to hear your favorite

19:45

artist as they truly are wherever you get

19:47

your podcasts panel

19:50

it is time for a round we call what

19:52

the hell this is where we take a clip from

19:54

the news and play part of it backwards so

19:56

the speaker sounds demonic have

19:59

a lift into this speech that terrified the

20:01

world around four years ago today and

20:03

see if you can remember what that

20:06

speaker was saying. We

20:09

have rang the alarm bell loud

20:11

and clear and we

20:13

are deeply concerned by the

20:15

alarming levels of inaction.

20:18

We have therefore made the assessment

20:21

that... That

20:31

speech made the news March 11th, 2020. For

20:34

the point, how did he finish that terrifying

20:36

sentence? We have therefore made the

20:38

assessment that... Pineapple

20:40

on pizza is an ethnocentric assault

20:42

on Italians! No,

20:46

Andrew. It

20:50

seemed like a clip from that viral video

20:52

that happened years ago where they were like,

20:54

you're gonna get sent to Detroit! Wasn't

20:58

that viral? I

21:01

thought it was just me, thank that. Wow,

21:04

burn. It was like burnt toast

21:06

in here. Four

21:11

years ago, March 11th, 2020, what do you

21:13

think the end of that sentence was? The

21:15

human race is coming to an end because there's a

21:18

pandemic that's sweeping the globe? Very

21:20

close, here's what he said. We have

21:22

therefore made the assessment that

21:25

COVID-19 can be characterized

21:27

as a pandemic. Hooray!

21:31

Yeah, because remember

21:33

it went like epidemic, there were something before

21:35

epidemic, then it was epidemic and then pandemic

21:37

and that's the worst one, right? All

21:40

I can think of is Greece lightning now. Go

21:47

COVID-19! Go

21:49

COVID-19! Well done,

21:51

Davens. This

21:57

week, the headline from Axios read COVID-19 pandemic

22:00

fourth anniversary. Oh, yes. How

22:02

March 11th changed the world.

22:05

Four years ago, panel, we had a very

22:08

eventful day. In addition to that announcement from

22:10

the World Health Organization, a few other memorable

22:12

things happened. Can you remember any of the

22:14

four big things that happened that day? Was

22:16

that when the NBA shut down? You're

22:18

correct. That was the NBA suspended

22:20

the season. The Dow Jones dropped

22:22

10%. Donald Trump imposed a travel

22:25

ban on Europe. Tom

22:27

Hanks announced that he had the

22:29

virus. And the NBA suspended the

22:31

season. COVID would ultimately

22:35

rip gaping holes in the societal fabric.

22:37

But for a minute, it

22:39

also brought us together with moments like

22:41

this. What

22:50

is that noise, Penn? Me

22:53

taking my

22:55

car to

22:57

the mechanic.

22:59

That was us banging the pot at seven

23:02

o'clock. That sound was

23:04

recorded in the West End of Vancouver.

23:06

It was people banging pots and clapping

23:08

to express solidarity with healthcare workers and

23:11

frontline workers for the few months

23:13

when we did that. It

23:15

was the highlight of the day. All we had,

23:17

right? Like you got to use the way to that time.

23:19

We used to go bonkers at it. It

23:21

is hard to believe it's been four

23:23

years. What's your weirdest memory of that

23:25

early days of that pandemic? I liked

23:27

it. I liked the peace and quiet.

23:29

There I said it.

23:32

There were two things that really shook me.

23:34

I remember Justin Trudeau looking down the barrel

23:37

of the camera and going, Canadians come home.

23:39

And it freaked me out.

23:41

And then the other thing was washing

23:43

the groceries. Remember, people would bring their

23:45

groceries home and wash them. I never did that because

23:47

I was like, I'd sooner die. I just don't want

23:51

to do it. Andrew, what about

23:53

you? Making secret rendezvous with my

23:55

barber. It was

23:57

like an illegal. You got to eat illegal.

24:00

Yeah, I feel like, like, oh, you have to like,

24:02

yeah, I got, I got many illegal cuts. Prior

24:05

to the pandemic, masks were rare in North

24:07

America. Have a listen to this instructional news

24:10

clip explaining how to put on a mask.

24:13

The proper way is to position the mask

24:15

over your nose and mouth, then

24:17

secure it behind your ear. Another

24:20

common mistake is not washing your

24:22

hands before and after putting on

24:24

a mask. Whatever. How

24:26

long were you supposed to wash your hands? Well,

24:28

that one was easy because it's the same amount

24:30

of time you're supposed to brush your teeth. Eight

24:33

seconds. I

24:35

know it as the happy birthday song. You supposed

24:37

to wash your hands? Oh, I was only doing

24:39

it once. Yes, 20 seconds. In

24:43

those early days, a lot of people

24:46

weren't leaving home at all. North America

24:48

developed several collective obsessions. What

24:50

was one of our first collective

24:52

obsessions? Two words, tiger. King.

24:57

You were correct. Also,

24:59

Schitt's Creek really took off during COVID because it

25:01

was just so happy and light that people just needed

25:04

some sort of escape. According to The

25:06

New York Times, the COVID era wasn't just a

25:08

public health crisis, but also a distinct cultural era

25:10

with its own emerging canon. But the most entertaining

25:12

thing to come out of the pandemic might have

25:14

been the Zoom mishap. Oh,

25:17

yeah. Like this one from early 2021. It

25:20

happened during a trial in Texas that was

25:22

being held virtually. Have a listen. Did

25:26

you hear me, Judge? I can hear

25:28

you. I think it's a filter.

25:31

It is. I don't know how

25:33

to remove it. I've got my assistant here. She's trying to. They

25:38

were trying to do a Zoom hearing or whatever, and

25:40

there was a filter on that made him look like

25:42

a cat. And actually, my answer was my favorite thing

25:44

that happened was that guy going, I'm not a cat.

25:48

Maggie is correct. Here's

25:50

how that tape concluded. I've got my assistant

25:52

here. She's trying to, but I'm here

25:54

live. I'm not. I'm not a cat. I

25:58

can. I can see that. It's time to

26:00

play a quick game of Buy the Numbers.

26:23

Here's how this works. I'm going to give you a number.

26:25

All you have to do is tell me why that number

26:28

was making headlines this week. Are you ready? Yes.

26:33

Why was 2193 looming large in the headlines? That's

26:37

the number of cards that's happening permitted

26:39

in Toronto. The

26:43

year we balance the budget. Any

26:46

other guesses? I think it's the average rent in Toronto.

26:48

Not just Toronto. The average rent in

26:51

Canada. Okay. I didn't get that. The Financial

26:53

Post headline reads, average asking rent prices reached

26:55

2193 in February. Wow.

26:58

According to a new report, Canada's rental prices shot up 10.5%

27:00

over the last year alone. This

27:03

is for all residential property types. Is

27:05

that a shocking number to you? No,

27:08

but it is disgusting. But I do live in the country

27:10

now and I will tell you that the rents are

27:12

just as high out there. Really? Yeah,

27:15

they are very high. According to the report,

27:18

the hot rental market has caused a huge

27:20

surge in something. What is surging because of

27:22

the tight rental market? Landlords with BMWs. Nice.

27:26

The desire to stay at home with your parents. Uh,

27:30

roommates. Ah. Roommates. Yep.

27:33

Listings for roommates have gone up hugely. The

27:35

average rent paid by roommates in Canada is

27:37

now just over $1,000. That's

27:39

crazy. Yeah, things are tough

27:41

out there. If you're okay with roommates,

27:44

you might be pleased to know that one unlikely place

27:46

is welcoming tenants with open arms. According

27:48

to CBC Radio, where can you easily get a

27:50

room or apartment to rent right now? Well

27:52

young man, there's a place you can go

27:54

when you're short on your dough. Is

27:58

it fun to stay there? You

28:00

can have a good time. What a time to go you tell

28:02

me. You

28:04

can let yourself go. You can something

28:07

that rides with boys. You can hang out with

28:09

all the boys. You can do whatever

28:11

you feel. I

28:13

don't know how we got onto YMCA. Oh right, where

28:15

can you stay? The answer is

28:17

not to YMCA. Meggie. I would say

28:20

my parents basement, but I'm Italian so for sure

28:22

there's some like over 40 year old son living

28:24

down there. It

28:27

is not. Do you have any ideas, Andrew? It's

28:29

an extreme cheapskates episode on this one

28:31

and it's seniors homes. You're

28:34

correct for the point. Canada's

28:36

national vacancy rate sits at a record

28:38

low of 1.5% but the vacancy rate

28:40

for retirement homes is around 15%

28:43

and they are increasingly opening up to young people.

28:46

The CBC headline reads it's nearly impossible to find

28:48

a place to rent but retirement homes have room

28:50

to spare. What

28:52

incentives are some retirement homes offering

28:55

to lure in potential renters? Snacks

28:58

and dibs at the pool table. As

29:01

many prunes as you can handle. Oh

29:05

the sweet seniors are going to set them

29:07

up with their grandchildren and yeah. Some

29:11

of them are offering three months free rent. Wow. No

29:14

commitment to a year long lease. Also

29:16

amenities like salt water pools and pickleball

29:18

courts. That's great.

29:20

That sounds amazing. That sounds amazing.

29:23

Yeah I mean what do you think of this idea? Would

29:25

you live in a retirement home pre-retirement? I got you know

29:27

I've been my mom pastoring COVID but my dad's 102. You

29:29

may raise the roof for my dad. I've

29:32

been sort of looking after my parents for years and years and

29:35

years and I have you know been to the retirement homes. You

29:38

know we did which one do you want to go to which one do you want to stay in. I've

29:41

been to the and I would say no. No

29:45

because honestly you think high school is bad.

29:49

Although I love going to where my dad is now because it's

29:51

memory care and they're like is that a boy or a girl. Look

29:54

at my hair. I'm wearing pink but it's okay. High

29:57

school is bad like the seniors will bully you. Yeah like

29:59

why is that? Oh, because there's

30:01

stuff that goes on. Gets a little caddy

30:03

there. Hot goss in the seniors community. My

30:05

dad is a real good looking guy. My

30:08

mother would be like, Margaret, it's like I'm

30:11

invisible. All the ladies are like,

30:13

oh, Ernie, oh, Ernie, and I'm sitting

30:15

right there. So I'm just saying. Ernie

30:18

sounds hot. Ernie is hot. It's 102.

30:27

And with that, we come to the end of

30:29

another exciting episode of Because Noon. This

30:32

week's champion is Ashley

30:34

Bodding. Congratulations,

30:40

Ashley. You have the honor of reading our credit.

30:43

I'm Gavin Crawford. In advance of

30:45

this weekend's Russian presidential election, I

30:47

would like to extend our congratulations

30:49

to the winner and our condolences

30:51

to the Losers family. Oh, go,

30:53

go, go. We'll see you next time, why?

30:56

We love you. Give

30:59

it up for Andrew Fung. Give

31:01

it up for him, thank you so

31:03

much. Hey,

31:13

Canada, this is Ashley Bodding

31:15

with me. I can't believe it, of

31:17

Because News. Congratulations to my runners

31:19

up, Maggie Cassella and Andrew Fung.

31:21

Because News is written and produced

31:23

by Shannon Higgins, David Carroll, Gavin

31:25

Crawford, and Phil Lung and Jess

31:28

Klimowski. This week they had help

31:30

from Miguel Rivas and John Blair.

31:32

Rounding out the team is Erin

31:34

Conway, Bronwyn Page, Chris Lyons, and

31:36

our recording engineer, the bespectacled, oh,

31:38

hodge. HKA! For

32:01

more CBC Podcasts, go

32:03

to cbc.ca/ podcasts.