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This week on our 'Inside the Village' podcast: As Donald Trump hits us with tariffs and muses about Canada becoming the 51st state, shoppers on this side of the border are punching back.

Welcome back to Inside the Village, a one-of-a-kind podcast where all news is local — and no topic is off-limits.

On this week's episode: How to "Buy Canadian" — and why this boycott might actually stick.

Although Donald Trump struck a much more respectful tone on Friday after a phone call with Prime Minister Mark Carney, the U.S. President has spent the past two months threatening Canada with tariffs and incessantly musing about how our country should become the 51st state.

On this side of the border, many of us have vowed to fight back by shopping Canadian.

Will it make difference? And how do patriotic shoppers ensure they're actually buying Canadian-made products?

François Neville, an associate professor of strategic management at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business, joins us on the podcast to answer those questions and a whole lot more.

His best advice for shoppers? Be wary of "maplewashing." (Tune in and you'll understand.)

Hosted by Scott Sexsmith and Michael Friscolanti, the Editor-in-Chief of Village Media, Inside the Village is a news and current affairs podcast that provides a weekly window into some of the best local journalism from across our chain of Ontario newsrooms. Produced by Derek Turner, the program also explores bigger-picture issues that impact people across the province.

Every episode can be found HERE. If you prefer the audio version, it is available wherever you find your favourite podcasts.

Have something to say? You can reach us at itv@villagemedia.ca.

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Reach out to us anytime: itv@villagemedia.ca
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This week on our 'Inside the Village' podcast: We speak to Jane Wilcox, who is fighting around the clock to clear her husband's name — and bring David Bennett home.

Welcome back to Inside the Village, a one-of-a-kind podcast where all news is local — and no topic is off-limits.

On this week's episode: A dream vacation spirals into a nightmare.

Family and friends are rallying around a Burlington man who was arrested in the Dominican Republic earlier this month and accused of drug trafficking.

David Bennett was on vacation in Punta Cana with his wife, Jane Wilcox, and two other friends when they were set to fly home on March 7. But instead of boarding the plane, Bennett was hauled into an interrogation room and accused of smuggling illegal substances into the country.

Authorities claim a piece of yellow luggage tagged with the name "Davi Bennett" belonged to him — an allegation his family insists is "100 per cent incorrect."

More than two weeks later, Bennett is still stuck in the Dominican awaiting his next court date.

“It’s a nightmare," said Wilcox, a guest on this week's podcast. "He is a physically strong guy, but mentally it has taken a toll on him and his family.”

SEE: Burlington man stranded in Dominican Republic faces bogus drug charges, says family

Wilcox is working around the clock to get her husband home, including hiring lawyers and pressing government officials — an effort that has already cost her family more than $30,000.

"He’s really anxious to get home," she said. "He feels like every day he is there is just a wasted day of his life that has been taken away.”

You can read more about the case HERE and HERE.

Hosted by Scott Sexsmith and Michael Friscolanti, the Editor-in-Chief of Village Media, Inside the Village is a news and current affairs podcast that provides a weekly window into some of the best local journalism from across our chain of Ontario newsrooms. Produced by Derek Turner, the program also explores bigger-picture issues that impact people across the province.

Every episode can be found HERE. If you prefer the audio version, it is available wherever you find your favourite podcasts.

Have something to say? You can reach us at itv@villagemedia.ca.

Want to see more video features from Village Media? Please subscribe to our

Reach out to us anytime: itv@villagemedia.ca
Follow: X, YouTube

Send us a text

This week on our 'Inside the Village' podcast: A wide-ranging conversation with Algoma Steel CEO Michael Garcia, an American citizen who holds a unique vantage point on the brewing trade war.

Welcome back to Inside the Village, a one-of-a-kind podcast where all news is local — and no topic is off-limits.

On this week's episode: An in-depth conversation with the CEO of Sault Ste. Marie's largest employer.

Michael Garcia is chief executive officer of Algoma Steel, a company that ships approximately half of its output south of the border. He also happens to be an American citizen who served in the U.S. army and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.

We invited Garcia on the podcast to talk in detail about how Donald Trump's threatened tariffs could wreak havoc on the Sault's biggest company, and why he thinks the U.S. president is so bent on protectionism.

But our conversation covered a lot of other ground, too, including Algoma's shift to electric arc steelmaking and the company's legacy of pollution.

Garcia also addressed the fact that as the company transitions to its electric arc furnaces over the next few years, the plant's workforce will drastically decrease — from approximately 2,700 today to roughly 1,700 by 2029.

While a portion of those cuts will come through retirements, some job losses are inevitable.

"That's one of the most sobering parts of this transformation," Garcia said. "We've tried to be open with our employees from the very beginning, helping them understand what this means, what the journey looks like, and some idea of the timeframe that these moves will be made in.”

He said his goal is to make sure the process unfolds "with openness, respect and caring for everybody involved.”

"We’re a family and everybody in Algoma Steel is a full, valuable member of the team right now and they'll continue to be that way until the day that they're not on the team," Garcia said. "And unfortunately, we're going to be a smaller team in the future. But we're going to be a sustainable company and we're going to be here for decades and decades.”

It's a long interview — nearly 80 minutes — but the conversation provides a lot of insight into what is happening at Algoma Steel right now, and the major changes expected to occur over the next few years.

Hosted by Scott Sexsmith and Michael Friscolanti, the Editor-in-Chief of Village Media, ​Inside the Village is a news and current affairs podcast that provides a weekly window into some of the best local journalism from across our chain of Ontario newsrooms. Produced by Derek Turner, the program also explores bigger-picture issues that impact people across the province.

Every episode can be found HERE. If you prefer the audio version, it is available wherever you find your favourite podcasts.

Have something to say? You can reach us at itv@villagemedia.ca.

Reach out to us anytime: itv@villagemedia.ca
Follow: X, YouTube