The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Canada’s sluggish COVID-19 vaccination efforts are expected to get a big boost starting this week as the federal government prepares for a ramp up in the delivery of shots from Pfizer-BioNTEech following a month-long lull.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says it expects the two pharmaceutical companies to deliver more than 400,000 doses this week and another 475,000 following a slowdown as Pfizer expanded a production plant in Belgium.

The health agency says Canada will then receive nearly 450,000 doses per week until the beginning of April, when Pfizer and BioNTech will have fulfilled their contract to deliver 4 million shots by the end of March.

GUEST: Thomas Tenkate, Professor, School of Occupational & Public Health with Ryerson University

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The vast majority of Canadians blame Ottawa rather than provincial governments for delays in COVID-19 vaccine delivery, a new poll suggests.

Sixty-nine per cent of respondents believe Canada is behind on deliveries due to federal challenges obtaining doses on the global market, according to an online survey by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies. Only 14 per cent of respondents point the finger at provincial governments.

ALSO: 80 per cent of Canadians say they would agree to get vaccinated if their employer required them to do so, reveals a Léger poll conducted in late January on behalf of the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS).

GUEST: Christian Bourque, Executive Vice President of Leger

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A significant winter storm is targeting Ontario and Quebec with widespread heavy snow and blustery winds, which will likely lead to treacherous travel on Tuesday morning as the system will be in full swing. Far-reaching totals of 15-35 cm span southern Ontario and Quebec through the day Tuesday and many communities could be in for their heaviest snowfall totals of the winter so far.

GUEST: Anthony Farnell, Chief Meteorologist for Global News

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Ultimately, Mr. Trump was acquitted of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The U.S. Senate voted 57-43 for conviction; however, 67 votes were needed for Mr. Trump to have been found guilty. Saturday’s verdict hasn’t settled the debate among Canadians about his alleged abuse of office and the appropriate consequences.

GUEST: Brian J. Karem, Executive Editor of Sentinel Newspapers, White House Reporter for Playboy and Political Analyst with CNN

It's time for Tech Talk with Adam Oldfield!

The high stakes of first dates require would-be partners to make and interpret first impressions. But, can we rely on these first impressions to accurately assess someone’s personality? According to researchers from McGill University, the answer is yes, although it may be more difficult than in more casual settings.

Forming an accurate impression of an individual on a first date is important because people often rely on these impressions in deciding whether to pursue a romantic relationship. While previous studies have shown that people can form accurate impressions of new acquaintances in platonic settings – like casual conversations with new classmates – the researchers wanted to find out if the same was true for higher-stakes situations like first dates.

To find answers, they invited 372 participants to partake in speed-dating events in Montreal in 2017 and 2018. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their personality and well-being. A close friend or family member also completed a questionnaire on the participant’s personality. Participants then had a series of brief, three-minute first dates; after each interaction, they rated their date’s personality.

GUEST: Lauren Gazzard-Kerr, Social & Personality Psychology PhD candidate with McGill University

Since 2015, the HPFFA has hosted a Charity Hockey Tournament benefiting Food4Kids Hamilton. The tournament had first responders from all over Southern Ontario on teams playing each other. They've raised almost $100,000 for Food4Kids since then.

Unfortunately, due to Covid they had to cancel 2020 and now the 2021 tournament. In an effort to fill the void, they came up with a social media challenge based on a Food4Kids t-shirt with the slogan "Together we can beat childhood hunger" - with the word "beat" actually being the vegetable. From that we developed #eatAbeet for Food4Kids Hamilton. The challenge is to eat a beet (raw, cooked, canned, pickled, etc...it's up to you), take a video or photo, post on-line hitting all the hashtags and links and challenge someone else.  The hope is all participants donate $25, which covers the cost of one $25 grocery card. (The grocery cards are how Food4Kids is helping the 1300 registered students when doing virtual learning due to Covid). Our goal is $32,500 (one card per each registered student).

The HPFFA Charity will start the fundraiser with a $5,000 donation and it has been matched by tandia financial credit.

GUEST: Cathy Haan, Executive Director of Food4Kids Hamilton