The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

They’re mad about affordable housing and city leaders who hide the truth when things go wrong.

But most feel safe walking their neighbourhoods and like the state of city parks.

Those are among the preliminary findings of a 2,000-plus resident survey conducted online by iELECT, a grassroots group that isn’t shy about its goal: electing as many fresh faces to Hamilton council as possible in the 2022 vote.

Graham Crawford, an IELECT co-founder and unapologetic council critic, says a lot of the responses — as well as voluntary additional written comments — suggest “leadership is a real issue” for respondents. “I think it shows people are pissed off,” said Crawford, who helped kick-start the social media-heavy campaign last May.

GUEST: Graham Crawford, Spokesperson for iElect Hamilton

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Ontario is planning to establish a housing affordability task force, as both prices and the number of home sales have grown in the past year, though it’s a pledge the opposition parties dismiss as meaningless.

Telling figures illustrating the province’s heated housing markets can be found in the government’s recently released fall economic statement. In 2020-21, Ontario got about $3.7 billion in revenue from land transfer taxes. In this fiscal year, it’s projected to skyrocket to more than $5 billion.

That’s even $759 million higher than the projections in Ontario’s 2021-22 first-quarter finances, released just three months ago.

GUEST: Murtaza Haider, Professor with the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University and Columnist for The Financial Post

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Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has accused one of his own MPs of misleading Canadians about the dangers of COVID-19, but said whether she remains in the party is not his decision to make.

Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton) is one of a number of MPs advocating for Canadians who face repercussions for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, over concerns that their civil liberties are being infringed.

Now a group of 15 to 30 Conservative MPs and Senators are set to launch a “Civil Liberties Caucus” to advocate for anti-vaxxers who are at risk of losing their jobs

Why is this civil liberties group within the Conservatives a challenge for Erin O’Toole’s leadership?

GUEST: Andrew Brander, Senior Consultant with Crestview Strategies and former Director of Communications for the Ontario Government

The Canada-US border has been reopened today and although it may feel like Christmas for some, others are staying home due to the expensive PCR test required for reentry into Canada.

Guest: Barbara Barrett, Executive Director of the Frontier Duty Free Association and a member of the Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses 

A beloved icon in Hamilton has passed away at the age of 84. Angelo Mosca was a force to be reckoned with on the football field and in the wrestling ring as well as a champion of many causes. Steve Milton, co-writer of Mosca's autobiography, joins Bill in remembrance of Angelo.

Guest: Steve Milton, Journalist for The Hamilton Spectator & Co-writer of "Tell Me To My Face"

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Soap opera writers must be taking notes as the Rogers shakeup continues. How is this situation influencing the company and Canadian business world?

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

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There is always news being made south of the border. With a new governor-elect in Virginia and a $1 trillion infrastructure bill being passed, Global's Reggie Cecchini joins the show to help put things in perspective.

Guest: Reggie Cecchini, Washington Correspondent for Global News

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Even though Doug Ford hasn’t put a vaccine mandate in place, many Ontario hospitals are doing so voluntarily. Even with this, why are cases still on the rise in Ontario?

Guest: Carly Weeks, Health Reporter for the Globe and Mail