Dutch tourist Priscilla puts a record on in Vopo Records, a record shop in Berlin, Germany, April 22, 2017. Record Store Day, a celebration of vinyl records, is held every third Sunday of April.
Jörg Carstensen/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Here’s a fact about playing vinyl records. Do they sound consistently good all the way through? In other words, does the music sound as good nearer to the outside of the record as it does as the tonearm moves closer to the centre label? No.
The outer grooves move faster under the stylus, meaning it has to wiggle less per rotational inch. That translates into less distortion. But as the tonearm approaches the centre of the record, the available space for grooves is less, creating what’s known as “inner groove distortion”—and there’s not much anyone can do about it, because this is an inherent limitation of vinyl.
It also explains why some acts put what they consider their best songs as tracks one, two or three on the side of an LP. They want them to have the best sonic quality.
The vinyl revival shows absolutely no sign of going away as LPs continue to outsell CDs and show double-digit growth year after year. Here are a couple of facts you may not know about vinyl.
First, it is a myth that coloured vinyl sounds inferior to plain black vinyl. In fact, black vinyl is actually coloured. Polyvinyl chloride, the material used to make records, is naturally transparent. To make it black, you need to add carbon. Today’s multi-coloured vinyl is made using dyes that don’t hurt anything and, in fact, are up to today’s best standards.
Yes, back in the day, coloured records could sound bad, but that’s when they were considered novelty items and didn’t receive the proper love when it came to mastering and pressing.
Toronto has the worst air quality in the world as of Wednesday morning, with smoke from forest fires in northwestern Ontario settling in.
IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company that operates the world’s largest real-time air quality information platform, ranked Canada’s largest city as the worst for air quality as of 8 a.m.
Toronto sat ahead of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Delhi, India, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Jerusalem, Israel.
Environment Canada said in a yellow air quality warning that much of southern Ontario is impacted by the smoke, which may persist into Thursday for some areas.
“As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors. Consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events. You may experience mild and common symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a mild cough. More serious but less common symptoms include wheezing, chest pains or severe cough. If you think you are having a medical emergency, seek immediate medical assistance,” it said.
“People more likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke, including people aged 65 and older, pregnant people, infants and young children, people with an existing illness or chronic health condition, and people who work outdoors, should reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors and seek medical attention if experiencing symptoms.”
The air quality warning comes in addition to a heat warning that has persisted since Monday.
Maximum temperatures of 30 to 36 C are expected Wednesday, with humidex values making that feel like 38 to 42 C.
The heat is expected to continue into the evening and may carry into Thursday or Friday near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
Tuesday was the worst day during the heat wave as humidex values made it feel like 38 to 45 C in parts of southern Ontario.
Canada's unemployment rate dips slightly, as the nation's economy added 18,000 jobs in the month of June. With more on that we are joined by financial analyst, Rob Levy.
The Bank of Canada is set to deliver its fifth interest rate decision of the year this morning.
Economists widely expect the central bank will remain on hold, keeping its policy rate at 2.25 per cent.
Inflation has jumped above three per cent in recent months as higher oil prices from the Iran war sent gasoline costs skyrocketing over the spring.
Officials at the Bank of Canada have made clear they’re willing to look beyond the initial price shock from the war but are prepared to act if there are signs inflation is spreading beyond the gas pumps.
The bank will also publish new forecasts this morning showing how the Iran war and other forces shaping the economy are affecting its outlook for growth and inflation.
Recent data on growth and the labour market suggest the economy is rebounding modestly from a weak first quarter.
“Mr. Brightside” was the very first single by The Killers. It first showed up in the UK on an indie label called Lizard King—and only 500 CD singles were available. Since then, the song has been played almost three billion times on Spotify and hundreds of millions more views on YouTube. It also has been on the British charts for 489 weeks. It’s the song that won’t go away and one that just keeps on giving for The Killers.
The wild thing is that it’s based on a real story.
A quarter-century ago, frontman Brandon Flowers walked into The Crown and Anchor, a bar in his hometown of Las Vegas, only to find his girlfriend cheating on him. Completely heartbroken, he went home and wrote out all the lyrics by hand. Now it’s one of the biggest hits of the century. I wonder what that woman thinks of all this?
WATCH: Assets of prominent Alberta separatist Jeffrey Rath temporarily frozen
A court case involving a prominent Alberta separatist who had his assets frozen is set to move forward Wednesday.
Last week, Justice Michael Marion in Calgary granted an interim injunction freezing up to $8.5 million in assets held by Jeffrey Rath.
That injunction is set to be reviewed as part of a legal battle between Rath and Tallcree First Nation over a multimillion-dollar trust fund.
The northern Alberta First Nation alleges Rath, its former lawyer, misappropriated millions from the fund.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
For more than a year, Rath has been a main spokesperson for a movement seeking to have Alberta split from Canada.
Albertans are to vote in an Oct. 19 referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or to start the process for a second, binding referendum on separation.
WATCH: Sentencing hearing for 14-year-old who murdered Pickering senior in random attack
An Ontario Superior Court judge is expected to rule Wednesday on the sentence for a 15-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to murdering an elderly woman in Pickering, Ont., last year.
The boy apologized in court on Tuesday for repeatedly stabbing Eleanor Doney, an 83-year-old grandmother and retired kindergarten teacher, in an unprovoked attack as she was cleaning up her yard in May 2025.
The Crown and defence agreed that the maximum youth sentence of six years in custody and four years of conditional supervision would be appropriate in the case.
The Crown has argued that the boy has little insight into why he carried out the murder and the sentence must reflect the severity of the crime.
But the boy’s lawyer says giving him credit for the year he has spent in pre-trial custody would help his rehabilitation while still holding him accountable.
The boy, who was 14 at the time of the murder, cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
WATCH: Why there's growing pushback against AI data centres
Hamilton is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to become the first city in Canada to put a temporary pause on new data centres.
The moratorium vote comes as local lawmakers across the country wrestle with the noise, energy and water concerns around a new wave of data centres powering the boom in artificial intelligence.
Backers of Hamilton’s proposal say it will ensure the city can establish proper guardrails around the new facilities and guarantee public benefits.
Critics say the pause could jeopardize investment in a city hit hard by steel tariffs and risks sweeping up smaller research-focused data centres in its net.
A developer’s plan to include a data centre campus in its overhaul of a portion of the city’s industrial waterfront prompted backlash and fuelled the push for a moratorium in recent weeks.
Mississauga, Burlington and Vancouver are expected to debate their own moratorium proposals this month.
WATCH: Will private jet blunder, FOI changes haunt Doug Ford?
Ontario government officials have rejected a freedom of information request for information on the effectiveness of speed cameras after sitting on it for months while transparency laws were changed.
As Premier Doug Ford railed against automated speed cameras and called them a “cash grab” that doesn’t slow drivers down, Global News sought to understand what information the government had considered.
At the end of September 2025, a request was submitted for all studies and reports held by the minister of transportation’s office on how speed cameras either slow people down or raise revenue.
Typically, a freedom of information request must be responded to within 30 days, although there are reasons it can be extended for longer.
Months passed after the request was submitted without any communication from civil servants at the Ministry of Transportation before it was rejected.
“As of April 24, 2026, amendments to the Act came into force that exclude certain categories of records from its application,” the Ministry of Transportation wrote in a letter 10 months after the request was first sent in.
“We have reviewed your request and determined that the records you seek fall within the section 65 (18) exclusion under the Act relating to records held by ministers, parliamentary assistants and their offices.”
The letter is a reference to sweeping transparency changes announced by the Ford government earlier this year.
In March 2025, the government announced it would change transparency laws to exempt all cabinet ministers and their staff from scrutiny — a retroactive law that applied to all ongoing requests as well as new ones.
Those changes were applied to Global News’ request for information on speed cameras because the question was what information the minister’s office had when it decided to draft a ban on the tools.
“Too many municipalities were using speed cameras as a cash grab rather than a safety tool,” the Ministry of Transportation said in response to questions from Global News.
“Our government is putting tangible measures in place, like speed bumps and roundabouts, to slow down drivers and actually protect children and families. We’ve come to the table with $210 million in funding for municipalities through the Road Safety Initiative Fund to put these measures in place.”
The government did not address questions over why the request wasn’t dealt with within the standard 30-day window.
Ontario Liberal MPP Stephanie Smyth said she feared it was a cynical move to slow the release of information so the new law could ultimately block it.
“We’ve been concerned that the changes the government made to Ontario’s Freedom of Information laws would make it easier for requests to be delayed or denied, and this decision will only reinforce those concerns,” she said in a statement.
“Whether it’s through lengthy delays or broad new exemptions, the result is the same: journalists and the public are finding it harder to access information that should be available. Transparency shouldn’t depend on whether the government is comfortable with the questions being asked.”
PC MPP Hardeep Singh Grewal attends Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Three Peel Region Progressive Conservative MPPs have charged Ontario taxpayers nearly $50,000 between them to stay in Toronto hotel rooms, despite living within driving distance of Queen’s Park — expenses that the premier’s office said will partially be paid back.
The trio — two cabinet ministers and a parliamentary assistant in the Ford government — represent ridings in Brampton and Mississauga, but filed 30 expense claims over the past two years asking the legislature to refund the costs of special accommodations in Toronto.
While those expenses are typically reserved for emergency situations, such as snowstorms, the GTA-area MPPs were routinely asking taxpayers to pick up the tab, a practice slammed by the opposition as egregious and out of touch.
“This is about the exception, not the norm. And what you’re seeing here is someone treating the exception as the norm,” Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said.
While the premier’s office defended the spending, it also indicated that some of the costs would be paid back by the MPPs.
“The Legislature is responsible for approving MPP expense in accordance with the Legislative Guide to Members’ Expenses,” the Premier’s Office said in a statement.
“Any expenses incurred that did not meet the intent of the rules will be reimbursed to the Legislature in full.”
The expenses were claimed by Charmaine Williams, the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, Hardeep Grewal, the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation and Nina Tangri, the Associate Minister of Small Business.
Grewal had the highest tab of any MPP at $19,827.73, followed by Williams, who charged the taxpayer $16,151.70 for hotels. Tangri ran up a bill of $13,568.12.
Williams’ constituency office is in Brampton, 45 kilometres from Queen’s Park along the Gardiner Expressway and Highway 427, while Grewal’s is 43 kilometres away. Tangri’s office is located in Mississauga, 36 kilometres from the legislature.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends the campaign office opening for Charmaine Williams, left, PC candidate for Brampton Centre, in Brampton on Feb. 1, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eduardo Lima
While the expenses were eventually approved, critics of the Ford government are raising questions about why the MPPs chose to book a hotel room over returning home and charging taxpayers for the privilege.
“I’d like to know why Doug Ford’s ministers think it’s acceptable to live the sweet life on the taxpayer dime,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
Williams, Grewal and Tangri are not alone.
PC MPP Nina Tangri attends question period at Queen's Park in Toronto on May 13, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Tourism Minister Stan Cho racked up more than $16,000 in hotel stays in Toronto between 2023 and 2026.
While Cho initially promised to pay back a portion of those expenses which didn’t meet the “spirit” of the expense policy, he quickly announced he would repay the entire amount after major backlash over the cost to the public.
Expense rules in Ontario allow MPPs who live within 50 kilometres of Queen’s Park to bill taxpayers for accommodation costs in special circumstances such as a major snowstorm that might paralyze traffic and transit.
In each instance, the MPPs submitted receipts claiming they had a “special circumstance” that required a stay in a downtown Toronto hotel.
Further analysis of expense reports, however, reveals another pattern.
Most of the hotel expenses occur during the spring and fall of each year, suggesting the MPPs are routinely using hotels when the Ontario legislature is in session.
The practice of Toronto-area MPPs booking special circumstance hotels also appears to be exclusive to Progressive Conservative MPPs.
GTA-area NDP and Liberal MPPs haven’t filed similar expenses, while other Ford government cabinet ministers have also avoided billing taxpayers for a special-circumstance hotel.
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