The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

As concerns over the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 mount, Canadians across the country are signing up for booster doses to increase their protection against the virus.

Studies are still underway to better understand the Omicron variant, with preliminary data slowly rolling in from Africa, where the strain was first detected.

Based on what we know, what is the importance of the booster against Omicron?

ALSO: Moderna says booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine should protect against Omicron

GUEST: Dr. Brian D. Lichty, Associate Professor in Pathology and Molecular Medicine with the McMaster Immunology Research Centre  

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A wave of show cancellations is rippling through Toronto’s theatre district and beyond as Ontario production companies contend with a rise in covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant.

Mirvish Productions announced Sunday that the North American premiere of its eagerly anticipated Tom Stoppard play “Leopoldstadt” in early 2022 was being pulled from the schedule at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

In Ottawa, plans to bring the acclaimed “Hamilton” musical to the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall on Jan. 4 have been postponed until July 12.

What is the future of live music? Can it survive another long stretch of restrictions? 

GUEST: Erin Benjamin, President and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association

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O’Regan participated in a series of meetings with the Canadian American Business Council and the Business Council for International Understanding. Embargoed until after the meeting: – he will also be meeting with his US counterpart, Secretary Walsh.

Minister O’ Regan will reiterate the government’s concerns with the discriminatory provisions of the electric vehicle tax credits as proposed in the Build Back Better Act, which violates the U.S. obligations under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

GUEST: Seamus O’Regan Jr, Minister of Labour

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday “no decision” has been made yet on what will happen with schools in the new year.

Ford made the comment during a press conference Friday afternoon, where the government announced new measures in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

Teachers and education workers say they need rapid tests to slow the spread of Omicron.

What else do schools need to make sure they’re as safe as possible?

GUEST: Martha Hradowy, Vice President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation

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In the fall of 2015, someone in the federal government decided to drop a multimillion-dollar residential school compensation case against Catholic Church groups.

CBC News recently reached out to more than a dozen current or former ministers and senior bureaucrats. Several admit they likely have relevant documents but refused to share them.

That includes both current Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller and Bernard Valcourt, who served as minister of aboriginal affairs and northern development in the Conservative government from February 2013 until his defeat in the October 2015 federal election, won by the Liberals

Advocates say survivors, their families and the public have a right to these documents immediately. They say it's the latest slap in the face to survivors by the federal government, the courts and the Catholic Church.

GUEST: David Taylor, A lawyer representing the First Nations in this case

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Roughly a quarter (23 per cent) of Canadians working exclusively at physical workplaces said their working lives have worsened since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest mental-health index.

The survey — which was conducted between Nov. 9 and Nov. 22, 2021 and prior to the spread of the Omicron variant — found these respondents also reported a mental-health score of negative 21.1, more than 11 points below the national average of negative 10. While the national average was up slightly from last month's mental-health score of negative 10.2, it marks the 20th consecutive month that Canadians reported a negative mental-health score.

GUEST: Paula Allen, Senior Vice President of Research & Wellbeing at LifeWorks