Today on Free For All Friday: listeners reacted to Canadian tennis player Victoria Mboko beating Naomi Osaka at the National Bank Open Final and other news that made headlines this week.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: REACTION TO LIBBY'S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH GIL PENALOSA ON MAYOR OLIVIA CHOW

Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East), Brad Bradford, City Councillor for Ward 19 Beaches-East York and former Toronto City Councillor Karen Stintz.

We get reaction from the panel to Gil Penalosa's big interview on Fight Back with Libby Znaimer where he discussed his disappointment in Mayor Olivia Chow's track record. You'll remember he ensured her victory in the last election.  Meanwhile, we discuss Ontario Premier Doug Ford's plans for a Highway 401 underground tunnel and his gripe about the court's ruling on bike lanes.

THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR AN AIR CANADA STRIKE: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Libby Znaimer is joined by Martin Firestone President, Travel Secure Inc.

An Air Canada flight attendant strike could come down on August 16th. Martin weighs in on steps you might consider taking if you do have travel plans in August and what you should think about when it comes to travel insurance.

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Allen, a former Canadian Ambassador to Israel from 2006 to 2010.

Jon weighs in on the tensions between Prime Minister Netanyahu and IDF leadership over his reported plans for Israel to take over the Gaza strip. And he reacts to Prime Minister Mark Carney's plans to recognize a Palestinian state come September if certain conditions are met.

THE MEDICAL RECORD: A DEEP DIVE INTO THE INDUSTRY OF FRAUDULENT SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Fahad Razak, general internist at St. Michael's Hospital and Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto; Dr. Nadia Alam, family doctor and anesthetist in Georgetown, Ontario; and Dr. Aaron Schimmer, the Director of Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre as well as a staff physician and a senior scientist.

Our panel of doctors reacts to the concerning trend of fraudulent scientific papers & RFK Jr. is cutting off $500 million in mRNA vaccine research funding.

GIL PENALOSA UNLEASHES ON OLIVIA CHOW'S TRACK RECORD AS MAYOR OF TORONTO

Libby Znaimer is joined by Gil Penalosa, a popular urbanist and the Founder of 8 80 Cities who formerly ran for mayor of Toronto.

In a wide ranging interview this week, Gil Penalosa, who backed Olivia Chow in the last mayoral election, unleashes on her track record as mayor of the city. He goes on to criticize her when it comes to the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square, the damning report on City park workers and a whole range of other issues. 

DR. SYLVAIN CHARLEBOIS DISCUSSES CANADA-U.S. TRADE TENSIONS AND THE LOCAL FOOD INDUSTRY

Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.

Dr. Charlebois weighs in on Canada-U.S. trade tensions and the implications for the local agri-food industry.

RECOVERING POLITICIANS: MORE REACTION TO PM MARK CARNEY'S PLANS TO RECOGNIZE A PALESTINIAN STATE

Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Robin Sears, a Crisis Communications Consultant and former NDP Strategist; and Chris Alexander, a former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan and Minister of Immigration under Stephen Harper.

We get reaction from our panel on Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement last week that he plans to recognize a Palestinian state come September.

THE LATEST ON CANADA POST & CUSMA 

Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University.

Dr. Lee weighs in on the implications of Canada Post workers opposing the postal service's latest offer and the latest trade tensions between Canada and the U.S.

 

IS TORONTO CITY HALL DELIVERING FOR RESIDENTS?   

Libby Znaimer is joined by Daniel Tate, a concerned citizen, taxpayer and Director of IntegrityTO.

Is Toronto City Hall delivering for residents? Daniel weighs in on that and what he thinks the top priorities of City Councillors should be to improve our city for the better. He also reacts to the upcoming Sankofa celebration taking place this month in Toronto.

THE ZOOMER SQUAD: THE COST OF GOING CASHLESS, CHANGES TO RRIF RULES, AND SENIORS AGEING IN PLACE

Tasha Kheiriddin is joined by Anthony Quinn, President of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons; Alex Nanoff, Principal at Liaison Strategies; and public affairs consultant Bob Richardson, to discuss the latest stories that matter to Zoomers.

A HISTORY LESSON ON SIMCOE DAY

Tasha Kheiriddin is joined by Anthony Wilson-Smith, President and CEO of Historica Canada, for a brush-up on the Simcoe Day holiday.

A REFLECTION ON THE NORTH AMERICAN HOLOCAUST MUSEUM MOTORCYCLE TOUR

Tasha Kheiriddin is joined by Andy Reti, a child survivor of the Holocaust, who participated in the North American Holocaust Museum Motorcycle Tour.

Today on Free For All Friday: listeners reacted to Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement on his plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September. What do you think about this?

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: FORD GOV'T APPEALING COURT RULING OVER BIKE LANES 

Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East) and former Toronto City Councillors Karen Stintz and Rob Davis.

The Ford government is appealing a court ruling over bike lanes and Toronto City Council has approved a colour coding system for rental units that is meant to hold landlords accountable. Our panelists react to the latest!

PM MARK CARNEY PLANS TO RECOGNIZE THE STATE OF PALESTINE (WITH CONDITIONS)

Libby Znaimer is joined by Iddo Moed, the Ambassador of Israel to Canada.

Mr. Moed gives us Israel's official point of view on Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing that he'll recognize a Palestinian state in September, should certain conditions be met including the Palestinian Authorities' Mahmoud Abbas calling an election in 2026 without Hamas being part of that. Just how realistic is that? Also, this is a major change in Canada's approach to Israel. How did we get here?

MORE REACTION TO PM MARK CARNEY'S PLANS TO RECOGNIZE STATE OF PALESTINE

Libby Znaimer is joined by Vivian Bercovici, a former Canadian ambassador to Israel, followed by Professor Gabriel Ben Dor, who teaches National Security and Political science at the University of Haifa and was formerly the head of the university's program for national security studies.

We get further reaction to Prime Minister Mark Carney's plans to recognize the State of Palestine in September (with conditions).

THE MEDICAL RECORD: PAINKILLER SHORTAGES AND A NEW STUDY ON LIVER CANCER

Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and former head of BC Cancer; Dr. Fahad Razak, general internist at St. Michael's Hospital and Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto; and Dr. Alisa Naiman, a family doctor practicing in Toronto.

We're facing a shortage of certain common painkiller drugs in Canada; the world's largest Alzheimer's conference is being hosted in Toronto this week; a new study details how 3 in 5 liver cancer cases can be preventable.

HE MADE DEATH THREATS AGAINST JEWS AND IS NOW ON HOUSE ARREST: WHY?

Libby Znaimer is joined by Richard Robertson, Director of Research and Advocacy at B'nai Brith Canada.

A Toronto man made death threats to Jews and also threatened to blow up synagogues. His punishment after being convicted: house arrest. It's prompted Jewish advocacy groups to sound the alarm!

600 FOREIGN NATIONALS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS IN CANADA ARE MISSING

Libby Znaimer is joined by Guidy Mamann, a Toronto immigration lawyer and Partner at Mamman Sandaluk, and Richard Kurland, an Immigration lawyer and policy analyst based in Vancouver and a member of Lawyers for Secure Immigration.

The CBSA has a problem: there are 600 foreign nationals in Canada with criminal records that have gone missing. They are supposed to get deported. How did this happen and just how serious are the crimes committed by these individuals?

RECOVERING POLITICIANS:  ALBERTA RIDING HAS MORE THAN 200 NAMES ON BALLOT, INCLUDING POILIEVRE

Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Cheri DiNovo, a former NDP MPP; and Janet Ecker, a former Ontario PC Finance Minister.

There are over 200 names on the ballot for the Alberta riding where Pierre Poilievre is running and it has led to Elections Canada creating an adapted ballot. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney has described trade talks with the U.S. as reaching an "intense phase" ahead of the August 1st deadline whereby the Trump administration could increase tariffs on a number of Canadian goods to 35 percent. Our panel reacts to the latest.

AUTO THEFT HAS GONE DOWN IN CANADA ACCORDING TO NEW REPORT

Libby Znaimer is joined by Bryan Gast, VP, Investigative Services at Équité Association.

A new Équité Association report points to a drop in auto theft in Canada. What has led to the decline and how can we be sure this trend will continue?

THE BIG COKE DEBATE

Libby Znaimer is joined by Rose Reisman, leading Health and Wellness Expert and Author.

Coca-Cola is introducing a version of coke that relies on cane sugar for its U.S. customers. It's actually a move that's been endorsed by President Trump. Rose reacts to the latest.

ZOOMER SQUAD:  THE WORLD'S LARGEST ALZHEIMER'S CONFERENCE IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK IN TORONTO 

Libby Znaimer is joined by David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies, Bob Richardson, a public affairs consultant and Dr. Howard Chertkow, Scientific Director, Baycrest’s Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness.

The world's largest dementia conference is being hosted right here in Toronto this week and it is bringing researchers together from numerous countries. Our guests weigh in on the latest.

WHAT A REPORT SAYS ABOUT ANTISEMITISM AT ONTARIO SCHOOLS

Libby Znaimer is joined by Tamara Gottlieb, founding member of the Jewish Educators and Family Association of Canada (JEFA).

Tamara reacts to a disturbing report that recently came out of the Office of the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism which points to a rise in antisemitism at Ontario schools.

 

U.S PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNS A BIG TRADE DEAL WITH THE E.U.

Libby Znaimer is joined by Perrin Beatty, a former Canadian foreign affairs minister and Inu Manak, a fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) who is based in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump just signed a significant trade deal with the E.U.. What are the implications of that? Meanwhile, what's the latest on trade tensions between Canada and the U.S.?