The last thing that many Canadians working from home may wish to think about at this midpoint of summer is returning to the office. Their employers, on the other hand, may well be thinking of little else.

A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds some Canadians pushing back on the idea of returning to work onsite, to the point where many would leave their job if asked.

GUEST: Doron Melnick, Partner and National Leader of People and Change Practice with KPMG

It's time for Tech Talk with Adam Oldfield!

Topics Include: Apple's photo hashing system, battery technology, Hack of the week  & more.

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Ontario N-D-P Leader Andrea Horwath is walking back comments she made opposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for education workers.

She says in a statement that she made a mistake on Wednesday suggesting a mandatory vaccine policy during a pandemic should take a back seat to charter rights.

She fully supports mandatory vaccination in health care and education, based on science and public health priorities.

Premier Doug Ford has said he won't mandate vaccinations for workers, saying he thinks it's a constitutional right to refuse the shot.

GUEST: Laura Babcock, President of PowerGroup

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Quebec will implement a vaccine passport system in September in an effort to tamp down the threat of a fourth wave, becoming only the second province, after Manitoba, to restrict some activities to fully inoculated residents.

Premier François Legault said on Thursday that Quebec is requiring proof of immunization in response to a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the province. Six days ago, modelling from the Public Health Agency of Canada showed that more than 80 per cent of people 12 and older will need to be twice vaccinated to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed in the fall as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads.

ALSO: PM says he's considering making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for federal workers

GUEST: Daniel Beland, James McGill Professor of Political Science and Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada with McGill University

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A proposed expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundary continues to generate a strong backlash.

City Councillors received public comment on Wednesday on a staff recommendation to add 1,340 hectares of farmland to the urban growth area.

The urban boundary expansion would be designed to help accommodate a projected population increase of more than a quarter-million residents over the next three decades.

The city is mandated by provincial policy to determine how and where to plan for forecasted population of 820,000 people by 2051.

Most delegates who addressed councillors on Wednesday, including Environment Hamilton’s Lynda Lukasik, are calling on elected officials to follow through on their climate crisis declaration by saying no to further sprawl and meeting provincial growth targets through intensification.

GUEST: Larry Di Ianni, Former Mayor of Hamilton

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

For fans of the Canadian Football League, the painstakingly long wait is finally over.

After being forced to scrap the entire season last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CFL will kick off the 2021 campaign Thursday night in Winnipeg.

The opening game of the season between the Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats is a rematch of the 107th Grey Cup, 620 days later.

CHML’s coverage of the game will begin with a one-hour pregame show starting at 7:30 p.m. Kick-off is at 8:30 p.m., and after the game, listen to The 5th Quarter on CHML, 900chml.com and via the Radioplayer Canada App.

GUEST: Luke Tasker, Former wide receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

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Just as we began to think the COVID pandemic was coming to an end, a fourth wave has arrived, due almost entirely to the unvaccinated. As a result, restrictions are coming back, masks are returning, and our short precious summer looks like it may become even shorter yet.   

Even those of us who fully vaccinated are being forced to mask back up. This is because we have now learned that the new and deadly Delta variant can still be carried and transmitted by the immunized.

The most popular strategy adopted by various levels of government in Canada has been to deploy a combination of information and rewards to encourage vaccination. This has worked well so far. In fact, as of this week Canada’s vaccination rate is the highest among G7 countries.

But this carrot approach appears to be reaching its limit. Our daily vaccination rate is dropping off a cliff. We are now administering 1/3 the number of doses per day compared to a month ago. Those who remain unvaccinated will not be lured into line. We need a stick.

For the full article, click HERE.

GUEST: Scott Gilmore, Editor-At-Large for Macleans and a Senior Fellow with the Munk School Of Global Affairs And Public Policy at the University of Toronto

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The first planeload of Afghan refugees who supported the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan has arrived on Canadian soil.

The government isn't saying how many refugees were on yesterday's flight or where they'll be resettled, citing the need to protect the evacuees and the operation.

GUEST: Chris Alexander, Former Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and Canada's first resident Ambassador to Afghanistan