Google Canada has released its annual list of newsmakers, defining moments and burning questions that captured the attention of Canadians this year. 

GUEST: Christina Peck, Google Canada Trends Expert

Researchers at McMaster University are ramping up a wastewater testing program designed to quickly detect and track COVID-19 in raw sewage which could serve as an early warning sign for current outbreaks and future pandemics.

With support from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), researchers plan to test samples three times a week and report results within 24 hours to public health agencies in a number of municipalities which include the City of Hamilton, Niagara Region, Haldimand County, Norfolk County and Oxford County.  Several universities across Ontario are working with the province on the program. (I emailed you the PR)

GUEST: Dr. Gail Krantzberg, Professor of Engineering and Public Policy with McMaster University

The Ford government is considering adopting an “immunity passport” to show who has taken a COVID-19 vaccine and will be eligible for certain activities once vaccination becomes widespread. The shocking comments were made by Health Minister Christine Elliott on Tuesday.

Elliott was being asked about vaccine distribution including convincing more people to take the shot once it is available.

GUEST: Michael Bryant, Canadian Civil Liberties Asn

Ontario is still months away from offering the COVID-19 vaccine to the general public, but Hamilton is beginning to plan for the eventual roll-out. Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he and the other mayors in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area (GTHA) are asking the federal and provincial governments to ensure municipalities will have the additional staff, resources, and financial assistance to distribute the vaccine.​

ALSO: We are closing in on another critical decision day in Hamilton's ongoing fight against the spread of COVID-19. Could we move into lockdown this week?

GUEST: Paul Johnson, Director of the Emergency Center at the City of Hamilton

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Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is officially approved for use in Canada. Health Canada has completed its review of the clinical data submitted by Pfizer, and deemed the hotly awaited vaccine safe for use, the regulator announced in a notice on its website on Wednesday.

GUEST: Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease specialist with St. Joseph’s Hospital  and an associate professor in the division of infectious diseases, Department of Medicine, Mcmaster University

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A universal basic income would not only lift more than 3.2 million Canadians out of poverty, it would also create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, grow the economy by tens of billions of dollars and eventually pay for itself with increased tax revenues.

That’s according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis, which was commissioned by basic income advocacy group UBI Works to look at the potential economic impacts of Canada implementing two different kinds of basic income programs.

GUEST: David Stiff, Director of the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis

We can’t talk about vaccination without mentioning anti-vaxxers. Or can we?

The loud minority of people uttering all manner of unscientific nonsense gets altogether too much attention.

There isn’t near enough vaccine to go around so why don’t we do ourselves a favour and ignore them, at least for now?

As more vaccines become available and we move from targeted vaccination to mass vaccination of the general public – likely beginning summer or fall – we will have to reach out to those who are hesitant.

GUEST: Dr. Ian Miller, Postdoctoral Fellow with the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto