The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

 Just when we start to think Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre has scored a point in blaming inflation all on Justin Trudeau, his leader comes along and upsets the apple cart.

“This is a global phenomenon,” Erin O’Toole told reporters on Thursday in response to questions about high inflation all over the developed world.

So maybe it’s not all homegrown “Justinflation” after all, as Poilievre has insisted time after time, and is quite a bit more complex than the Liberals dumping cash into people’s hands and irresponsibly driving up prices across the board.

But the on-again-off-again reopening of the world economy is certainly very confusing, making it hard to read the ins and outs of higher prices — especially now that a dangerous new COVID-19 variant has sent panic through the global economy once again.

GUEST: Heather Scorffield, Ottawa bureau chief and an economics columnist for The Toronto Star (and Hamilton native

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Rising input costs remain the number one concern for Canadian businesses, with 43% identifying them as the biggest near-term obstacle. At the same time, the vast majority of businesses (87%) don’t expect their profitability to improve in the next 6 months, with one third expecting their profitability to fall into the New Year. These results suggest a significant part of private sector businesses will be standing still or even sliding backwards in the months ahead.

GUEST: Stephen Tapp, Chief Economist with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

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Canada is considering bolstering its military mission to Ukraine, amid a debate over whether additional NATO forces would deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from further aggression against his country’s neighbour.

Two sources with knowledge of the deliberations said Defence Minister Anita Anand is considering deploying hundreds of additional troops to support the Canadian soldiers already in Ukraine on a training mission. Other options being looked at include moving a warship into the Black Sea, or redeploying some of the CF-18 fighter jets based in Romania.

Any reinforcement would be intended as a message to Mr. Putin, who has raised alarm for the second time this year by amassing troops and equipment near his country’s borders with Ukraine. Videos posted online show thousands of battlefield weapons – including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and multiple-launch rocket systems – being moved toward Ukraine from their regular bases in other parts of Russia.

ALSO: QAnon's 'Queen of Canada' Calls for Followers to 'Kill' People Vaccinating Children

GUEST: Marcus Kolga, Director of DisinfoWatch.org and a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Centre

It's time for Tech Talk with Adam Oldfield!

Topics include: Apple is promoting the new iOS, Hack of the week, Have you ever wondered why Netflix continues to play without any hiccups? Black Friday continues and more! 

A new coronavirus variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province, Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced Thursday.

The coronavirus evolves as it spreads and many new variants, including those with worrying mutations, often just die out. Scientists monitor for possible changes that could be more transmissible or deadly, but sorting out whether new variants will have a public health impact can take time.

The World Health Organization’s technical working group is to meet Friday to assess the new variant and may decide whether or not to give it a name from the Greek alphabet.

GUEST: Dr. Matthew Miller, Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics and an Associate Professor with the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research with the McMaster Immunology Research Centre

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

There have been some changes in Canada’s public health guidance with both masks (nationally) and plexiglass (in Ontario courts).

Do we need better guidance?

& Why hasn’t Canada rid itself of unscientific measures?

GUEST: Justin Ling, Freelance Investigative Journalist who has written for both the Globe and Mail and Maclean’s

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Weekly roundup on politics!

GUEST: Richard Brennan, Former Journalist with The Toronto Star covering both Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill

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It’s official: the Canadian men’s national soccer team will face the United States at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on Jan. 30, 2022.

The match comes in the middle of a three-match FIFA window for the men’s national team which will face Honduras on Jan. 27, and then travel to El Salvador on Feb. 2.

The match will be the first time Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team have played an International ‘A’ match in Hamilton.

Ticket details for the Hamilton game will be announced in the coming weeks for the pivotal FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers match.

GUEST: Nick Bontis, President of Canada Soccer