Alberta at Noon

73 Conservative MP's have voted to oust Erin O'Toole as leader of the Conservative party of Canada. This vote was triggered by a number of MP's unhappy with Erin O'Toole's leadership. Which leaves us with lots of questions - how did we get here? Who should replace O'Toole and what needs to happen now for Conservatives in Canada? Conservative political strategists Melissa Caouette and Michael Solberg join us for the hour.

Back in late November Alberta started offering COVID vaccines to kids aged 5 to 11. Since then, less than half of those eligible, 44 per cent, have received their first shot. With the Canadian average at about 50 per cent, that's the lowest in the country. What do you think it will take to boost the numbers here in Alberta? If we made the vaccine more accessible - would that help? Or are parents just not comfortable making this choice? We're joined by two infectious diseases doctors who work with children to answer your questions.

Highway 4 is jammed right up at Coutts, because of an ongoing protest against a whole mix of things pandemic-related. We're asking what you make of the frustration out there, and what's to be done about it. Our guests are Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams, and Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases and the University of Calgary Craig Jenne.

You can have Joe Rogan or you can have me, but you can't have both. That was Neil Young's message to Spotify - and the streaming giant sided with its wildly popular podcaster. The Joe Rogan Experience is the world's most listened to podcast. But Rogan's interviews with conspiracy theorists and disgraced doctors have drawn the ire of many. He regularly promotes misinformation, even about how he treated his own Covid. So, what do you think about Spotify's decision to keep Rogan on its platform? Listeners weigh in, and we talk to CBC's senior entertainment reporter Eli Glasner, and Timothy Caulfield, the Canada research chair in health law and policy at the U of A and director at the U of A's Health Law Institute.

New research from the Conference Board of Canada shows that during the pandemic a lot of people put off retiring. There was the financial insecurity of the times and this sense of, "Why retire now when you can't do much?" But now, the board predicts, there is a wave of wanna-be-retirees coming. Lauren Florko, senior research associate with the Conference Board of Canada and author of the report Languishing and the Great Attrition, weighs in, and senior financial advisor, Trixie Rowein with Raymond James, offers financial advice.

Listeners share their recent experiences trying to buy and sell their homes, and real estate agent Todd Bradley and real estate broker Len T Wong, share what they're seeing.

Thrifting has grown in popularity during the pandemic. Listeners tell us about their best finds, and avid thrifters Lamya Asiff and Grace Rodgers share some of their thrifting tips and tricks.

The stories coming from our hospitals tear at the heart strings - a record number of patients there with COVID. Exhausted staff calling in sick because they have COVID or have been in contact with some one who does. Patients waiting that much longer in emergency departments because there aren't beds available for them. And now, delayed procedures. What has your health care experience been like? Dr. Peter Jamieson is the Medical Director at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary and joins us for the hour.

How has dementia touched your family and your life? Roger Marple from Medicine Hat was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease nearly seven years ago. He shares some of his stories and the stigma he has seen surrounding the disease. Then we talk to Dr. Dallas Seitz, a geriatric psychiatrist in Calgary who treats people with Dementia, and Jay Ingram, a long time science writer and broadcaster, and author of the book The End of Memory: A Natural History of Alzheimer's and Aging.

For 75 years, red cross has been synonymous with swim lessons for millions of Canadian kids. But that era will end this year, as the Red Cross moves out of the pool, to focus on its humanitarian work. In most cases, the Lifesaving Society of Canada will take over. Today - whether you were young or old, willing or not, what is the story you tell about learning to swim. Victoria Logan is the Manager of Aquatics at the University of Calgary. As a child, she took Red Cross swimming lessons. And has been teaching them for the last twenty years. We're also joined by Robert Otarola. He's the Aquatics Specialty Programmer for the YMCA of Northern Alberta and has been teaching people to swim for the last seven or eight years.