The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Video)

In the three-month period between April and June Canada's GDP had its steepest decline on record, dating back to 1961. In June, however, the GDP's growth from the previous month was the biggest bounce-back on record. We explore where Canada is on the road to economic recovery from the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And what will it take for the economy to gain normalcy.

Minister of Education Stephen Lecce breaks down his government's plan to ensure Ontario's children and youth, teachers, and school staff stay safe, as two million students return to class during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's been six months since the COVID-19 pandemic threw everything up in the air. And if politics slid into the background in the early days, they came roaring back this summer. The WE scandal for the Liberals, a new leader for the Conservatives, and election talk bubbling up as the fall session approaches. To catch up, The Agenda welcomes Shachi Kurl, executive director of the non-partisan public opinion research organization, the Angus Reid Institute; Sean Speer, professor at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy; Jeffrey Simpson, former Globe and Mail national affairs columnist, now a fellow at the University of Ottawa; and journalist Vicky Mochama.

Filmmaker, actor, and comedian Danielle Ayow joins Nam Kiwanuka to discuss her short doc "But You're Not Black," an examination of her Caribbean-Chinese heritage and the challenges she's faced fitting in with Caribbean culture. The doc is part of the CaribbeanTales Film Festival.

Earlier this summer the Ontario government announced the introduction of a fall hunting season for double-crested cormorants, starting September 15. Gail Fraser, a professor at York University, specializes in water birds and discusses the hunt and what it could mean for the cormorant's future.

This summer, SickKids released recommendations for school reopening, compiled in consultation with health, mental-health, and infectious disease experts, pediatricians, teachers and parents and with attention to mental-health and balancing of the needs of all returning students. As parents, families, teachers and school staff prepare for the start of the year in an altered reality, The Agenda delves into the report to determine the feasibility of the recommended best practices.

With Ontario students preparing to head back to school, we invite a group of teachers to discuss the challenges of helping kids understand protocols for COVID-19, their expectations and hopes for the 2020/21 school year, and their experiences with online learning last spring.

The #metoo movement did a lot to build momentum for feminist issues around the world, but it's not always possible to sustain that kind of attention in order to make positive and lasting change. Author and feminist columnist Lauren McKeon discusses her book, "No More Nice Girls: Gender, Power, and Why It's Time to Stop Playing by the Rules," and shows how woman are using their power to keep feminism alive and moving forward.

Sexual-harassment and violence educator Julie Lalonde, known for highlighting the problem in the Canadian military, talks about her own experiences, outlined in her book, "Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde."

Julie Lalonde is a recognized and award-winning sexual violence educator who highlighted the sexual harassment issues in the Canadian military. But she also had her own experience with an ex-boyfriend who sexually harassed and stalked her for more than a decade. She talks to Nam Kiwanuka about her book, "Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde."

Twenty years ago, TVO's nightly program Studio 2 took note of how deadly diseases were starting to travel beyond their customary boundaries. Dr. Kevin Kain, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and a clinician scientist at University Health Network at Toronto General Hospital, spoke to TVO then, and here he provides an update on what has since been learned about dangerous viruses.

Researchers think a puzzling ring of about 1,000 rocks and 35 metres in diameter in Thunder Bay might have once been a sacred site. But a local Indigenous community is not so sure. Northwestern Ontario Hub journalist Charnel Anderson has been looking into this phenomenon and helps separate fact from fiction.

David Waltner-Toews is an epidemiologist who's spent his career specializing in zoonotic diseases. His book, "On Pandemics: Deadly Diseases from Bubonic Plague to Coronavirus," looks at how and why some viruses make the jump from animals to humans, which ones have staying power, and how societies have dealt with pandemics throughout history.

In "The Role I Played: Canada's Greatest Olympic Hockey Team," women's hockey veteran goaltender Sami Jo Small brings readers inside the dynamics of the team - and the successes and challenges over the course of her career in hockey. Small began playing hockey as a child on boys' teams, continuing throughout university until she was recruited to the national women's hockey team. She talks to Nam Kiwanuka about adversity, resilience, and team unity.

Chef and food activist Joshna Maharaj discusses her new book, "Take Back the Tray: Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools, and Other Institutions," And comments on the importance of delivering nutritious food while building sustainable, local economies.