If you looked to undertake a home renovation project at some point during the COVID-19 pandemic, chances are you have noticed soaring prices for key items like wood.

While industry experts said even though there has been a recent easing of prices, construction companies — especially ones dealing with multi-year projects and locked-in supply rates — are seeing major impacts to bottom lines.

The prices of lumber products are starting to drop from historically high rates, but consumers will be waiting before seeing prices dip in the stores according to the Western Retail Lumber Association (WRLA).

GUEST: Liz Kovach, President of the Western Retail Lumber Association

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

In recognition of National Indigenous History Month, radio broadcasters across Canada, including Bell Media, Corus Entertainment Inc., Rogers Sports & Media, Stingray Radio, and more, join together in an unprecedented collaboration to amplify, elevate, listen to, and learn from Indigenous voices with A DAY TO LISTEN on Wednesday, June 30. In partnership with the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF), A DAY TO LISTEN is dedicated to sharing stories from Indigenous leaders, residential school survivors, elders, musicians, and teachers throughout the day from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. (local time).

GUEST: Dr. Patricia Doyle-Bedwell, Native Studies Instructor with Dalhousie University

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Unvaccinated workers returning to the office could be required to continue wearing masks, steer clear of common areas and face a staggered workday -- or may even be asked to stay home, experts say.

As workplaces begin to reopen, employers are grappling with how to keep all workers safe -- including those who are unvaccinated.

It's a situation that risks stigmatizing vaccine holdouts and potentially triggering workplace anxiety for some, according to human resources experts.

Some employers have created incentives to encourage workers to get immunized against COVID-19, such as paid time off for inoculations and prizes like gift cards and company swag after a shot.

Others are considering policies that make vaccination a necessary condition of employment that could see workers who choose not to be vaccinated for personal reasons out of work.

GUEST: Patrick Stepanian, Legal Manager with Peninsula Canada

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Ontario's new long-term care minister Rod Phillips apologized Tuesday for a provincial pandemic response that saw the deaths of nearly 4,000 long-term care residents with COVID-19.

Speaking to reporters during his first news conference in the role, Phillips acknowledged his own government "failed" residents, their families and staff members.

The response was a sharp contrast to the position taken by Phillips' predecessor, Merillee Fullerton, who repeatedly pointed the finger at previous governments among other factors.

Phillips was also asked about the progress made on installing air conditioning in long-term care rooms, to which he replied that while all facilities are equipped with it, only about 60 per cent of rooms have air conditioning.

ALSO: Province allowing larger outdoor, indoor visits for long-term care residents starting July 7

GUEST: Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos, Co-Founder of Doctors for Justice in Long-Term Care, Professor at Ontario Tech University

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna says her decision not to run again in a federal election was a “difficult” one and that while she plans to take the summer to weigh her next move, her focus will be on working to keep fighting climate change.

McKenna spoke with reporters alongside the Rideau Canal pathway in downtown Ottawa, which is part of the Ottawa Centre federal riding she won away from the NDP in 2015.

She shut down speculation that she is eyeing a possible run in the Ottawa mayoral race, saying her decision comes after reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a difficult decision but it’s the right one for me and my family, and it’s the right time to make it,” she said. “Like many Canadians, living through COVID-19 over a very long year made me step back and reflect on what matters to me most. It was quite simple, two things: my kids and climate change.”

GUEST: Laura Babcock, President of PowerGroup

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While recent events have brought some of Canada’s worst historical crimes into international focus, a clear majority of Canadians do not support calls to “cancel Canada Day,” according to a new Leger poll commissioned by Postmedia.

Across virtually every age, region and political affiliation polled, most Canadians intended to celebrate the July 1 national holiday, are cheered by the sight of the Maple Leaf and — all things considered — saw Canadian history as something worth celebrating.

ALSO: Sending COVID-19 Vaccine Doses to Developing Countries - June 29, 2021 – Leger Poll

GUEST: Dave Scholz, Executive VP of Leger

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The discovery of hundreds of children’s remains in Kamloops, Brandon and Cowessess have exposed the absolute devastation settlers inflicted upon Indigenous children, families and communities through the Indian Residential School system.

Ian Mosby, historian of food, Indigenous health and the politics of Canadian settler colonialism, uncovered that between 1942 and 1952, Canada's most prominent nutrition scientists performed highly unethical research on 1,300 Indigenous people, including 1,000 children, in Cree communities in northern Manitoba and at six residential schools across Canada.

Many were already suffering from malnutrition because of destructive government policies and terrible conditions at residential schools.

In the eyes of researchers, this made them ideal test subjects.

GUEST: Allison Daniel, PhD researcher with the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health and the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, a Global Health Fellow with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a consultant for the World Health Organization

Toronto’s City Manager’s office has released a report recommending the renaming of Dundas Street and other civic assets bearing the Dundas name amid controversy surrounding the history of who they are named after.

The recommendation was done following a petition that was signed by over 14,000 people calling for the name of the street to be changed as anti-racism protests sparked in Toronto and around the world.

The creator of the petition, Andrew Lochhead, told Global News the idea came to him after the Black Lives Matter protests, in particular the knocking down of the Edward Colston statue in Scotland, which led him to the knowledge of Henry Dundas.

Dundas Street, which runs through Toronto and several other southern Ontario cities, was named after Henry Dundas, an 18th-century politician who delayed Britain’s abolition of slavery by 15 years.

GUEST: John Best, Founder and President of the Bay Observer