The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Recently released provincial modelling suggests that Ontario’s COVID-19 case counts will remain stable, even with more social contacts, if some public health measures remain in place.

Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table released their updated projections on Friday. The team cited favourable numbers due to high vaccination rates in the province and continued public health measures but it cautioned the need to keep some measures in place and focus on vaccinating young children when they are eligible.

With Doug Ford aiming to end COVID-19 restrictions by March, does his timeline have scientific merit?

GUEST: Dr. Peter Juni, Director of Ontario’s Science Table and a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Toronto

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Former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would have been "better served" if he sought guidance from his party's elder statesmen, but that the current government has failed to reach out to him for advice. 

"I'm not there, but sometimes I thought that, you know, they would have been better served if they would have looked to have older, experienced people with them," Chrétien said in an interview airing on Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday. 

Chrétien said he isn't passing judgment on the current Liberal government.

But, in a forthcoming book, he wrote that while "Trudeau and his team aspire to be reformists on a grand scale … their lack of experience for succeeding in that goal is more and more apparent."

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

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Edward Rogers actively fought plans to keep Masai Ujiri as head of the Toronto Raptors this summer — saying that he was not worth the amount offered — and then tried to extract an extraordinary benefit for his own company, the Star has learned.

To the relief of fans, the ploy by Rogers was unsuccessful, and the Raptors announced on Aug. 5 that Ujiri was staying on in Toronto as vice chairman and president of basketball operations.

However, new details have emerged suggesting that behind the scenes that Edward Rogers tried to sabotage a high-performing executive with whom he had grown disenchanted — and ultimately failed in his bid because he appeared not to fully understand the governance structure of the NBA franchise.

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

It's time for Tech Talk with Adam Oldfield!

Topics Include: High tech garage door opener, Donald Trump media platform, Apples latest laptop, Electric planes and more.

 The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

The federal government is spending $7.4 billion to extend and create new COVID-19 supports for hard-hot businesses and workers that will carry into the spring.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday that as of Oct. 23, new measures will be put in place to replace the broad Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), which expire on Saturday.

The government said it has paid out more than $95 billion to date to help employers re-hire workers and avoid layoffs through the wage subsidy.

ALSO: Trudeau unveils Canada’s international proof-of-vaccination for COVID-19 

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

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A new, slightly more contagious mutation of the highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 is beginning to attract attention — particularly in the United Kingdom, where cases are rising again.

The mutation, known as AY.4.2, accounted for six per cent of all new cases genetically sequenced during the final week of September, according to the latest U.K. government data, which also describes it as “expanding” in the country.

The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed Tuesday that the mutation — which is being dubbed “Delta plus” — has made its way to Canada, with nine cases identified since July.

GUEST: Sam Fazeli, Director of Research with Bloomberg Intelligence

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The Canadian Football League Players’ Association has distributed the following memo to its membership following a recent report regarding unvaccinated players being barred from the Grey Cup playoffs.

Gentlemen,

Your CFLPA received the CFL’s unilateral travel policy last evening. Our lawyers and counsel are examining the CFL’s decision and we are awaiting the Federal Governments clarification on the pending travel restrictions. We will continue to remain in talks with the CFL and the Federal Government as we seek clarity on the validity of the CFL’s policy. Please keep informed through your Player Reps and Association, while not relying on information from any other sources.

Yours in solidarity,

CFLPA

GUEST: Justin Dunk, Founder of 3 Down Nation, and Sports Anchor for CHCH News

Mayor's Town Hall with Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger 

Topic include: Encampments, Urban Boundary Debate, Calls and more. 

GUEST: Mayor Fred Eisenberger

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Ontario is set to release its fall economic statement on Nov. 4.

The economic outlook and fiscal review will provide an update on the province’s finances, such as its deficit projections.

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says the pandemic elevates the importance of the upcoming financial statement. He says it will focus on investments in health care and other ways the province continues to battle COVID-19.

GUEST: Sandy Shaw, MPP for Hamilton West, Ancaster & Dundas and NDP Environment Critic; also former Finance Critic

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Temporary help agencies and recruiters will soon need to be licensed and vetted by the province to operate, in an effort to improve accountability and enforcement in a sector known for widespread violations.

New labour legislation announced Monday will, if passed, give workers “unprecedented protection and security,” Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said — signalling to law-breaking agencies that their “time is up.”

In an interview with the Star, McNaughton called abuse in the sector “completely unacceptable.”

GUEST: Judy Fudge, Professor with the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University

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When the United States resumes letting fully vaccinated, non-essential North American visitors back across its land borders Nov. 8, border guards won't be asking for proof of a negative COVID-19 test -- and one New York congressman wants Canada to return the favour.

Rep. Brian Higgins, whose relentless campaign against the Biden administration's travel restrictions has made him known north of the border, said the $200 test, known as a molecular or PCR test, remains a barrier to the routine bilateral travel so vital to his region's economy.

GUEST: Congressman Brian Higgins, Representative of the 26th District of New York