Importance of sponsoring the CHML Christmas Tree of Hope

ALSO: Leggat will be celebrating their 100th anniversary in 2022.

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GUEST:  Luke Brown, CEO of Leggat

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Dominic Barton, a strong advocate for increased trade with China during his term as ambassador, is stepping down amidst growing pressure from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden for Ottawa to take a tougher stance with Beijing, foreign policy and national security experts said.

Barton, who was appointed by the Trudeau government in September 2019, announced his resignation Monday, citing his success “working to secure the release” of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor as the fulfillment of a priority mission handed to him by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

ALSO: Canada should join diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics says O’Toole

GUEST: Dr. Lori Turnbull, Director of the School of Public Administration with Dalhousie University

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Are the new Canadian travel restrictions clear? Do travelers know what is expected of them? Are airports concerned with the impact of Omicron during the busy travel season? We saw what happened with the land border - no one knew what to do.

ALSO: Most Canadians support strong travel restrictions amid Omicron COVID-19 variant: Poll

GUEST: Daniel-Robert Gooch, President of the Canadian Airports Council

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The federal government will hand over thousands of previously undisclosed residential school documents to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

In an interview, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said the government has come to the conclusion that continuing to withhold the documents is a breach of Ottawa’s “moral duty” to survivors of the schools.

GUEST: Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard, Director at the First Peoples House of Learning at Trent University

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Merck Canada announced on Monday that it is partnering with Thermo Fisher Scientific to manufacture its COVID-19 antiviral drug in Canada for global distribution in a deal Ottawa hopes will help jump-start the country’s position as a biomanufacturing centre and better secure its supply chain for future public health emergencies.

The existing Thermo Fisher facility in Whitby, Ont. will produce doses of molnupiravir, an investigational drug developed in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, for distribution in Canada, the U.K., the European Union, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, pending approvals in those respective regions. The drug is awaiting approval by Health Canada.

GUEST: Marvin Ryder, Professor with the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Americans still have to adhere to rules about pre-departure PCR testing, they must be fully vaccinated and they could be subjected to mandatory testing, however, Canada is not extending new COVID-19 travel restrictions to the United States in spite of the fact there are cases of Omicron in the US.

ALSO: The WHO now vaguely references/criticizes Canada’s travel ban?

GUEST: Dr. Prabhat Jha, Epidemiologist and Founding Director of the Centre for Global Health Research at St. Michael’s Hospital

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Opposition MPs are getting ready to review the Liberals’ latest package of pandemic aid and grill Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland myriad economic issues.

The 12-member House of Commons finance committee is scheduled to meet today to move the aid bill closer to a final vote before MPs leave on their holiday break in two weeks’ time.

As part of a compromise to fast-track the legislation, the Liberals agreed to have Freeland sit for at least two hours of questioning before the committee

That gives opposition members a chance to grill Freeland about issues facing the domestic economy and the government’s pandemic response overall.

GUEST: Wayne Petrozzi, Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University

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Canada, the United States and Britain should jointly and swiftly provide military support to Ukraine in its standoff with Russia, Ukraine’s Defence Minister says, warning that steps to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading were necessary now because “it will be too late after.”

GUEST: Aurel Braun, Professor of International Relations and a Senior Member of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto

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Canada's tight labour market is forcing many companies to offer regular COVID-19 testing over vaccine mandates, while others are reversing previously announced inoculation requirements even as Omicron variant cases rise.

Airlines, police forces, school boards and even Canada's Big Five banks have also pledged strict mandatory vaccine policies. But following through has proven less straightforward, especially as employers grapple with staffing shortages and workers demand exemptions.

GUEST: Leah Nord, Senior Director of Workforce Strategies and Inclusive Growth for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce