It's time for Tech Talk with Adam Oldfield!

The Ontario government is taking additional measures to protect farm workers during the pandemic by expanding province wide inspections to farms, greenhouses and other agricultural operations to ensure health and safety measures are being followed. The inspections will focus on locations that employ temporary foreign workers to ensure they are properly protected from COVID-19 through measures.

ALSO: Ontario’s Minister of Labour is calling for changes to be made to a federal sick leave program amid criticism from some advocates who say that the Ford government should be the ones to step in to fill the gaps.

Monte McNaughton sent an open letter to his federal counterpart on Wednesday identifying a myriad of issues with the Canada recovery sickness benefit, which provides employees who have to miss work due to illness or mandated self-isolation with up to $500 per week for up to two weeks.

GUEST: Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s Labour Minister

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) is releasing the fifth annual Ontario Economic Report (OER), providing the latest sector-specific data on the economy, business confidence, employment and government support. 

The 2021 OER reveals the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on small businesses and entrepreneurs as well as specific regions, sectors, and demographics, highlighting the major vulnerabilities and opportunities Ontario will face in the year ahead. Public policy makers looking at strategies to support Ontario’s long-term economic recovery will benefit from the findings outlined in the OCC’s flagship annual report.

GUEST: Daniel Safayeni, Director of Policy at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Canada’s spy agency warned Canadian universities in August to be wary of using Chinese technology, including a service offered by e-commerce company Alibaba to help students based in China take online Zoom classes in this country.

GUEST: Stephanie Carvin, Associate Professor of International Affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affair at Carleton University

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Officials insist Canada is still on track for 4M Pfizer doses by March despite planning data.

Canada will receive hundreds of thousands fewer doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine than previously anticipated, Global News has learned.

Also: The latest coronavirus data by Ontario’s COVID-19 science and modelling advisory tables show cases overall are declining, but experts warn public health restrictions should stay in place to counter the “significant threat” that the U.K. variant poses to getting the pandemic under control.

GUEST: Tim Sly, Professor Emeritus with the School of Occupational and Public Health at Ryerson University

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Retired general Rick Hillier, who is overseeing the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in Ontario, has a new job advising an Ottawa defence company on how to boost their sales internationally. The company says that shouldn’t interfere with the vaccine rollout but some are skeptical.

ALSO: The Ontario government has announced it has been reporting an incorrect number of people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, blaming a misinterpretation of the data.

GUEST:  Christian Leuprecht, Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University Fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute

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The Ontario government is taking additional measures to protect farm workers during the pandemic by expanding province wide inspections to farms, greenhouses and other agricultural operations to ensure health and safety measures are being followed. The inspections will focus on locations that employ temporary foreign workers to ensure they are properly protected from COVID-19 through measures.

ALSO: Ontario’s Minister of Labour is calling for changes to be made to a federal sick leave program amid criticism from some advocates who say that the Ford government should be the ones to step in to fill the gaps.

Monte McNaughton sent an open letter to his federal counterpart on Wednesday identifying a myriad of issues with the Canada recovery sickness benefit, which provides employees who have to miss work due to illness or mandated self-isolation with up to $500 per week for up to two weeks.

GUEST: Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s Labour Minister

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Government stimulus is, by definition, intended to stimulate economic activity, something that should be welcomed by those who fear loss of their livelihood or economic ruin due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, in the coming years, one unintended consequence of the short-term injection we’ve seen during the pandemic will likely be the hollowing out of the very middle class it sought to protect.

GUEST: Doug Hoyes, Finance Expert with Hoyes, Michalos & Associates

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GUEST: Jennifer Johnson, Washington Correspondent for Global News