0:17 Good afternoon. This is RSJ radio. It's March 8. I'm Lydia Abraha. 0:21 And I'm Tara shields, and we along with people across the globe are celebrating International Women's Day. Happy Women's Day, Lydia. 0:28 Thank you happy Women's Day to you too. We have some great stories to recognize what women are fighting for and achieving. 0:34 Thousands of volunteers are gathered in over 50 embassies worldwide to tackle the internet gender gap. 0:40 Viola Desmond will finally be featured on Canadian currency. 0:43 And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Toronto to receive the 2018 catalysts for change award 0:49 For the weather, it's a week into March and it's still snowing. 0:52 Today's forecast calls for snow showers and a low of negative one Celsius with a windchill making it feel like negative seven. 1:00 Today is International Women's Day and Ryerson is joining the conversation. The university is hosting various events dedicated to women of diverse backgrounds. RSJ reporter Nicole di Donato attended one of the events on campus. 1:17 Happy International Women's Day. 1:19 Women mentoring women, students, faculty and staff have come to the workshop to discuss self love and feminism. They shared personal stories about hardships they face on campus and in the workplace because they are women. Mary Cruz Rodriguez is the organizer of Women Mentoring Women. 1:36 It's very important to share our stories and to you know, learn from each other and kind of be there to support each other. That even though we may not experience the same things, we understand what is to be, you know, not included in something or not being considered in something because of one part of our identity. 1:55 Students we're here too. Damyla Yeildis is in her fourth year of social work. Yeildis explains why International Women's Day is important to her. 2:04 This day means encouraging one anothe,r uplifting one another, supporting one another and learning something new about each other as well. 2:15 Throughout the day, there was lots of serious reflection, but there was also relaxing yoga and a writing circle. While the Ryerson events have come to an end International Women's Day continues in Toronto. For RSJ Radio, I'm Nicole DiDonato 2:31 Canadian civil rights icon Viola Desmond was honored today when the new $10 bill featuring her image was unveiled. The event took place today at Halifax Central Library. Desmond's sister Wanda Robson removed the cloth from the display of the new bill. Desmond is the first black person and the first non royal woman to have her face on Canadian currency. 2:54 Toronto Mayor John Tory called for an independent review of the Toronto Police Services handling of missing missing persons cases. Tory requested for an outside probe following the circumstances of the Bruce MacArthur investigation, acknowledging there are many unanswered questions. New details emerged about previous contact police had with the alleged serial killer. MacArthur was questioned by police in 2016 regarding a physical abuse allegation, but was released. Homicide detectives currently probably the case did not know about the 2016 questioning until after MacArthur's arrest in January. 3:29 Tomorrow is the last day to vote for the new leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. Voting closes Friday at noon despite thousands of people not receiving the code that allows them to vote. Leading candidates Doug Ford and Christine Elliott disagree with the electronic voting system for a proposed voting pen to paper but was turned down. 3:51 More in politics Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Toronto today. He is speaking at the equal voice International Women's Day luncheon. Trudeau and MPP Lisa McLoid received the 2018 Catalyst for Change Awardat the event. 4:06 A former US vice president was also in Toronto today. Al Gore came to Ryerson to talk about climate change. He spoke to a sold out audience including students from all over Toronto. RSJ reporter Sarah Wong has the story. 4:20 Ryerson's Mattamy Athletic Center was packed with passionate students today, as Al Gore spoke on climate change. The former US Vice President and environmentalist opened by asking three questions he says are integral to the crisis. 4:34 Must we change? Can we change? Will we change? In response to the first question, don't take the answer for me. Listen to Mother Nature. 4:50 Gore stressed that today's youth play an important role in positive change. And students at the event seemed inspired to create that change. Mariah Karzai goes Woodbridge public school. 5:01 As a younger individual, it's better to get us influence and teachers more at a younger age so that we get more involved as we grow older. 5:09 The head of the leadership lab at Ryerson is Kareem Bardezi. 5:13 And they're not necessarily environmental students, they are students from all fields all faculties and they want to know how they can get involved. 5:18 Environmentalist journalist Adria Basil says she wouldn't miss the chance to listen to Al Gore speak. 5:24 Having been an environmental journalist for 15 years whenever Al Gore's in town, I always come and listen and always curious to see what he has to say now. Cannot miss an environmental event like this. 5:34 Al Gore hasn't been in office for years, but in Toronto, he can still influence hundreds of people. I'm Sarah Wong for RSJ Radio. 5:42 In international news police in Birmingham, Alabama have a suspect in custody tied to a high school shooting that left one student dead. The shooting at Huffman High School took place at around 3:45pm during afternoon dismissal. Although police officials initially reported that the shooting appeared to be accidental, it was discovered that it was caught on video. The video lead investigators to pursue charges against a student a boy who suffered a self inflicted gunshot wound to the leg. He was treated and released from an emergency room before being taken in for before being taken in for questioning. 6:19 President Donald Trump has won an arbitration proceeding against adult film actress Stormie Daniels. Daniels whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford said a day earlier that she has taken legal action to be able to speak freely about her relationship with Trump. According to the lawsuit, Trump never signed a nondisclosure agreement arranged between Trump's lawyer and Clifford to keep her quiet about their alleged affair. The lawsuit claims that Trump's that Trump's failure to sign the hush agreement makes their previous agreement invalid and she is free to talk about their relationship. 6:50 Sexual assault allegations have become a common topic within the film industry. As more and more female actresses come out as survivors of harassment. The Canadian industry is taking a stand. RSJ reporter Tiana Salmon has more. 7:04 A group of Canadian entertainment organizations have released an industry code of conduct. According to a press release, this new code is set to respond to harassment and discrimination within the workplace. The new code comes at a time when multiple sexual harassment claims are coming out of the industry. Ryerson theatre student Elizabeth Adams is well aware of how common situations are. 7:25 I mean, unfortunately, especially as a woman, it's like, obviously a prevalent thing right now in the industry of workplace harassment, but I think we're on the cusp of something really great. And I think people are finally acknowledging that it's not okay to treat people like that, especially in the entertainment business. 7:41 Movements like #Metoo and #TimesUp have caused the industry to move towards change. Adam says people need to understand that what makes that what may seem like a compliment at first is not always one. 7:56 I'm not sure if it is a generational thing, but I know as a 21 year old woman, like I don't find if a director were to like, comment on my looks in a not productive way or smack my ass like I would not be complimented at all I would just be distracted from the work that I came there to do. 8:14 One recent allegation coming from the Canadian theatre industry is against Albert Schultz. Four actresses accused the actor and producer of sexual harassment spanning 13 years. Why are so many women coming forward now? Lawyer Alexi Woods says they are being brave on behalf of other women. 8:32 One of the things I hear a lot is that they may not be angry about themselves, but when they hear it about other people, then they get enraged and they're really angry about it and that that has prompted women to come forward. 8:44 The Code of Conduct states that organizations must create a zero tolerance policy. It also requires organizations to designate one person in the workplace to receive complaints. For RSJ Radio, I'm Tiana Salmon. 8:56 UN Women in over 50 countries are targeting the internet gender gap on International Women's Day. Hashtag wiki gap is the Swedish foreign ministry's initiative to shed light on gender imbalance on Wikipedia. There are four times more articles about men than women on the largest online encyclopedia. 90% of editors are men. Volunteers in 57 embassies are editing, writing and producing thousands of articles about women and their accomplishments. The hope is that a more gender equal internet will help lead to a more gender equal world. 9:30 President Trump demanded that new tariffs be put on steel and aluminum imports. A 25% tariff on steel and a 10 and a 10% tariff on aluminum will be put in place. This prompted Trump's chief economist's resignation. Nevertheless, Trump is going forward with the move. Some of his closest advisors worry that this could seriously damage the growing American economy. 9:55 UK police say former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were deliberately poisoned by a nerve agent and a chemical attack in Salisbury on Sunday afternoon. They were seen convulsing and slumped on a park bench by local residents who alerted the authorities. Russian Russia has insisted that it has no information about what could have led to the incident. But it is open to cooperating with British police if requested. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said foreign minute said foreign media has used the incident as part of an anti-Russian campaign. 10:29 How would you feel if your voice assistedt device started laughing without you telling it to? That's what's happening with the Amazon Echo. Here's Juliana Kedzior Kaminski with the story. 10:41 Alexa is supposed to do what you tell it to do. Turning your TV off, your computer, or calling your friends. So when people started hearing laughter when they didn't ask for it, they're creeped out. 10:53 Ha ha ha ha. 10:56 That's an example from Twitter, which was posted by John Levine of Alexa breaking into a fit of laughter, but not with the laughs she was programmed to have. Many users have reported Alexa having a childlike cackle, a creepy laugh. She even lists local cemeteries and funeral homes. Many Aryamlou owns one of these units. He also works as a technology assistant at Ryerson 11:18 I haven't had it happen to me I just read about it yesterday. I'm kind of waiting for it. I was laughing my ass off on the on the on the bus when I was reading it. I was like, Okay, there we go. It's starting, you know, the hackers are gonna walking in and getting it to do some creepy stuff. 11:34 Amazon says it will fix the situation by reprogramming the way Alexa is told to laugh. Instead of only Alexa laugh. They will program it to say Alexa, can you laugh? The company says this way is less likely to have false positives. 11:50 Funniest thing I did was like, you know, tell me a joke or something else like one of the things that said like, see what happens if you say this kind of thing. But no, I haven't done the laughter thing so that I might do that tonight. Just see what happens. 12:04 The devices have only been sold in Canada since December. Most of the sales have come from the US. For RSJ Radio, I'm Julianna Kedzior Kaminski. 12:14 An Ontario court says that the Hamilton Children's Aid Society violated a foster family's right of freedom of expression and religion. The Aid Society removed two children from the Barr family in 2016. In close the foster home for refusing to say that the Easter Bunny is real. The couple says that lying is in violation of their religious beliefs. The Children's Aid Society caseworker had visited the home and acknowledged that the children looked entirely well cared for. The judge wrote in his decision that the society chose the Easter Bunny over stability and permanency for the young children. 12:48 The Crown announced that they will not appeal the acquittal of Jared Stanley's murder trial. Anthony Jurein the Assistant Deputy Attorney General of Saskatchewan said there is no legal basis to proceed with an appeal. The high profile case alleges that 56 year old farmer Stanley shot Colton Boushie, a 22 year old Cree man from the Red Pheasant First Nation. After testifying the shooting to be an acciden, the all white jury found him not guilty of murder, nor manslaughter. 13:19 Reconciliation, reconciliation. This is the word we constantly hear from the Government of Canada towards the Indigenous communities. Canadians need to know whose land they live on and that's what a new app is supposed to do. Here is Nick Wapachi with the story. 13:34 The map is called Whose Land is an interactive map with all Indigenous territories, languages, land agreements, and treaties. Max Fineday is part of a team that developed the app. Here's a Cree man from Sweet Grass First Nation that's in Saskatchewan on the Treaty Six territory. He says reconciliation means knowing which Indigenous territory you live on and which treaty was established for you to be part of that territory. Whose Land is more of an educational tool for Canadians and to recognize that they are in a two way relationship with the indigenous community that they live on. I downloaded the app this morning just to see what it's all about and from what I see the information is correct. I'm an indigenous person myself, a Cree from Oujé, which is located in northern Quebec. The modern treaty is covered under the James Bay and northern Quebec agreement, to seed the land by Cree and Inuit. Reconciliation will not be given by Ottawa. It's a responsibility for each and every one of us. Oh, by the way I'm speaking to you from the Dish With One Spoon. I'm Nick Wapatchi for RSJ Radio. 15:04 We're learning about a chapter in Canada's past that would surprise some people. Historic Canada has launched a video today, in honor of International Women's Day. It focuses around some hidden details about a well known Canadian author. Here is Alexia DelPriore with the story. 15:28 Most Canadians know the author Lucy Maud Montgomery, as the writer of one of the most loved series to date, Anne of Green Gables. Over 100 years ago, Montgomery created a spunky and feisty fictional character, Anne Shirley the redheaded orphan. But behind her beloved books, Montgomery was suffering a dark battle with her own mind in silence. Now Historica Canada has produced a video to honor Montgomery's life and her hidden struggles. 15:57 I love this colorful little island of Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire. Yet often my dark moods come. I'm possessed body and soul by this depression. 16:09 Learning that Montgomery bottle depression is something I relate to. For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with anxiety and depression. Montgomery was struggling with her mental health in the early 19oos. She had no choice but to remain silent. Now, a century later, I feel fortunate to be able to talk about my struggles with mental health openly. Although we have made progress, the stigma surrounding mental illness is still very real. Everyone struggles, we can only end the stigma by showing compassion and understanding something that Montgomery wasn't given. For RSJ Radio, I'm Alexia DelPriore. 16:49 The Toronto Raptors defeated the Detroit Pistons last night in a historic win on the road. The Raptors became the first NBA team to clinch a playoff berth this season, the fastest playoff clinch in franchise history. Raptor Star Demar Derozan had a monster 42 point performance, including a last second pass to rookie Fred Vanvleet for the game winner. The Raptors are on a six game winning streak and sit at the top of the Eastern Conference. 17:15 Canadian cross country skier Bren McKeever has been named the flag bearer in the 2018 Paralympics. The 13 time medalists will be leading 54 other Canadian Paralympians the most participants Canada has ever seen. McKeever carries 10 cross country skiing gold medals, and is Canada's most decorated winter pair Olympian. Paralympian. McKeever said it is an honor to represent Canada and timing is perfect as he nears the end of his career. 17:47 Ryerson University is hosting the Quigley cup this year. Our reporter Lindsey Christopher has the inside scoop on how the team is feeling. 18:02 The Ryerson women's volleyball team have not lost a game all season. What a great way to go into the Ontario University athletics Championship tournament. Herula Givonopolis is one of the setters on the team. She says the girls are keeping their training consistent and preparing for anything on the court. 18:19 Every team just wants to go out women survive and move on to the next game. So we're prepared to do whatever we need to do during the game to just survive and come up with a W, but we're also just going to play loose play free and knowing that we we have the ability to do what it takes. 18:34 This is the first time the women's volleyball team will play on their home court as one of the Final Four teams. Head Coach Dustin Reid says playing at home makes the tournament a little easier on everyone. 18:45 There's a comfort in our preparation, just as simple as the lack of travel and we understand how we're going to meet and eat and get ready and that's nice. I don't know that it's an advantage but there's certainly a comfort there. 18:57 The tournament runs March 9 and 10th at the Mattamy Athletic Center. The Rams first game is Friday at 6pm for RSJ Radio. I'm Lindsay Christopher. 19:08 That's all today folks. 19:09 Don't forget it's International Women's Day. Now go out and congratulate a woman for being awesome. 19:15 And for all our lovely female identifying ladies, go kick some butt and take some names. This is Lydia Abraha. 19:23 And I'm Tara Shields signing off for RJS Radio.