Parliament has adjourned for the summer, which means a much-needed break for the man whose primary job is to make sure everyone behaves inside the House of Commons. Anthony Rota — the MP for Nipissing-Timiskaming, and the 37th Speaker of the House — joins Inside the Village for an in-depth conversation about what really happens during Question Period. He talks to Frisco and Scott about decorum, the pursuit of common ground, and how he juggles his role as both impartial referee and champion for his constituents. Does Rota plan to stand for re-election? We ask him that, too. Also on the podcast: a husband and wife are in custody after a shocking human trafficking investigation near Barrie.

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This week on Inside the Village — the weekly podcast where all news is local and no topic is off-limits — Frisco and Scott tell the story of Barrie native Mike Haggith: the guitar player whose musical skills went viral for all the wrong reasons. A WestJet pilot by day, the musician was playing a concert in Sault Ste. Marie when he fell to the stage in pain, seemingly from a broken leg. Did he skip a beat? Absolutely not. The video of him finishing out the song on his back is now the stuff of Internet legend. Listen to him recall the full story. 

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This week on Inside the Village: broke and broken. A new MNP consumer debt index shows that the largest-ever portion of Ontarians can’t make ends meet — and there’s little relief in sight. Frisco and Scott break down the alarming new numbers with insolvency trustee David Gowling. Also this week: Switched at birth in Sault Ste. Marie. Two 71-year-old men born on the same date in 1952 claim it happened to them, and they’re suing the hospital for millions of dollars in damages.

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On this week’s episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott talk groceries. More specifically, do best before dates lead to more food waste? A new report on grocery affordability from a House of Commons committee argues that Canada should scrap best before dates because a lot of people wrongly believe they indicate whether a product is safe to consume. University of Guelph economist Mike Von Massow returns to the show with some food for thought. Spoiler alert: the professor eats items that are well past their best before dates. Also on the podcast: Why Google has joined Facebook in promising to block Canadian news from its platform.

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This week on Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott welcome Stanley Cup Champion Michael Amadio of the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sault Ste. Marie native takes the guys through the thrill of the NHL playoffs to the glorious night he earned the right to lift hockey’s holy grail over his head — and yes, he was worried about dropping it! He also breaks a bit of news of what he plans to do when it’s his turn to spend a day with the Lord Stanley’s Cup. (Spoiler alert: he’s bringing it home.) Also on the podcast: Like Facebook, Google is now promising to block all Canadian news on its platform, which is terrible news for local journalism.

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On this week’s episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott dissect Bill C-18 and the damage it will do to local journalism — not just at Village Media, but in newsrooms across the country. Facebook has already responded to the Trudeau government’s newly passed law by announcing it will block access to all Canadian news on its platform, a move that will severely limit the amount of reputable, fact-based reporting that shows up in your social media feed. Michael Geist, a professor and leading expert on internet and e-commerce law, joins us to talk about the new bill: who wins, who loses, and what it means for the future of democracy. Also on the podcast: 50 years later, the men responsible for an iconic piece of graffiti come forward to tell their story.

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On this week’s episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott burn a little airtime talking about the wildfires scorching across Canada — the most damaging forest fire season of the century, according to the federal government. Like everything else, the fires have fanned the flames of political rhetoric, with some provincial leaders a lot less willing than others to admit the role of climate change in this unprecedented summer. For a voice of reason, we turn to Eric Kennedy, a professor of disaster and emergency management at York University. Also on the podcast: a tiny bar in Guelph, a huge scoop from The Trillium at Queen’s Park, and a Canadian golf victory for the ages.

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On this week’s episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott take a closer look at new Health Canada guidelines that will see warning messages added to individual cigarettes — not just the pack. Smokers will now be reminded, by the butt, that there is “poison in every puff” and that their nasty habit “may lead to impotence.” If that’s not enough motivation to quit, nothing will be. But do warnings like this actually make a difference? We ask Rob Cunningham, a lawyer and senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society. Also on the podcast: The latest on the doctor shortage plaguing northern Ontario, and a sweet deal for the owners of a posh Sudbury golf course. Let’s tee it up.

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A doctor shortage forced the emergency department in small-town Thessalon, Ont., to lock its doors for 48 hours. After “exhausting all options,” the North Shore Health Network said it had no choice but shut the place down for two full days — leaving locals with nowhere to go in case of emergency. Sadly, the situation in Thessalon is not unique. Rural communities across Ontario are struggling to staff their hospitals. This week on Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott speak with Tim Vine, the CEO of the North Shore Health Network, to find out how things got so dire — and if there’s a cure in sight. Also on the podcast: a touching reunion between a firefighter and a man he saved 10 years earlier.

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Frisco and Scott are back for another week of Inside the Village with a special guest: Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development. The timing couldn’t be better, as there is plenty of political deal-making to talk about — including the massive electric-vehicle battery plant coming to St. Thomas, Ont. A veteran politician who served as mayor of North Bay before making the jump to Queen’s Park, Fedeli also shares some behind-the-scenes stories about his close relationship with Premier Doug Ford — the “800-pound gorilla,” as he calls him. If you’re a political junkie, this is the episode for you. Also on the podcast: a happy ending for a missing 11-year-old girl in Sault Ste. Marie.

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