RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL:OTTAWA'S SPENDING ON NATIONAL DEFENCE

Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, a former Ontario Liberal Deputy Premier and Health Minister, Cheri Di Novo, former Ontario NDP MPP, Janet Ecker, Former Ontario PC MPP and finance minister.

This week: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced billions of dollars in national defence spending, Premier Doug Ford wants paper bags at LCBO stores to come back and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre shows his support for Toronto's Jewish community.

CRIME STOPPERS AND TPS LAUNCH HATE CRIMES AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Mark Cousins, Vice Chair of Toronto Crime Stoppers.

Mark discusses the launch of the Hate Crime Awareness Campaign alongside the Toronto Police Service. According to Robert Johnson, TPS Deputy Chief, "of the reported hate crimes in 2024 over half are anti-semitic and last month was the highest number of antisemitic occurrences for the past 3 years

BRAMPTON MAYOR PATRICK BROWN ON AUTO-THEFT

Libby Znaimer is joined by Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton.

Mayor Brown weighs in on the results of Project Vector that saw hundreds of stolen vehicles seized by the OPP and other Canadian authorities and whether he feels that enough is being done to curb this kind of rampant theft in Peel Region.

Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

THE ZOOMER SQUAD: MORE ON THE VACANT PROPERTY TAX DEBACLE

Libby Znaimer is joined by Bill VanGorder, Chief Advocacy and Education Officer of CARP, Anthony Quinn, Chief Community Officer of CARP and Lorne Bozinoff, President, Forum Research Group.

Today they discuss how thousands of Toronto homeowners have filed complaints with the City over the vacant property tax, and go over their own plans in regards to today's much-anticipated solar eclipse.

TPA AND TORONTO POLICE ANGRY ABOUT SIGNED LETTER ON PROTESTS

Libby Znaimer is joined first by Jon Reid, President of the Toronto Police Association, followed by Councillor Paula Fletcher, Ward 14 Toronto-Danforth.

We get reactions from both on a signed letter regarding recent pro-Palestinian protests that saw a number of demonstrators get arrested for breaking the law.

Today on Free For All Friday: Plenty of our listeners have complaints about how the City of Toronto is handling the Vacant Property Tax. Tune in to find out why!

TUNE INTO THE TOWN:  A FREEZE ON THE "RAIN TAX" AND THE FUTURE OF TDSB ADULT CLASSES

Libby Znaimer is joined by Alex Blumenstein, Co-Founder of The Peak, Karen Stintz, CEO of Variety Village, and David Crombie, former Mayor of Toronto.

This week: The City has put a freeze on its “rain tax”, also known as a stormwater charge. And, why is the TDSB suing social media companies like Tik Tok?

SO...WHAT EXACTLY IS A SOLAR ECLIPSE? AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EYE PROTECTION WHEN WATCHING ONE

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Rupinder Brar, Senior Teaching Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Ontario Tech University, and Dr. Philip Hooper, president of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society.

The day until the Solar Eclipse--Monday April 8th--is quickly approaching. Niagara Region declared a state of emergency with the expectation that as many as a million people could congregate to watch it. That's a lot of people. So...what exactly is a Solar Eclipse and why is it so rare? Also, what measures should you be taking to ensure you protect your eyes during the sighting? Our experts weigh in on it all.

WHY THE COST OF OWNING A CAR IN TORONTO HAS GONE UP

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Julien Brault, CEO of Hardbacon.

Get this: According to Hardbacon, owning a car in Toronto in 2024 costs $1,623 per month. Back in 2019 it was $1,068 per month. So what contributed to the spike?

THE BIG SYSTEM OUTAGE AT THE UHN

If you have an appointment today at any of the University Health Network hospitals, you have likely been made to wait even longer than usual due to a system outage caused by the spring storm. Then on the program, the ability of artificial intelligence to detect tumor cells could be key to more accurate bone cancer prognoses.

Jane Brown is joined by Dr. Malcolm Moore, a Medical Oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Dr. Fahad Razak, Canada Research Chair in Data Informed Healthcare Improvement at the University of Toronto, and Dr. Jamie Spiegelman, is an Internal medicine and critical care physician at Humber River Hospital.

AN ONTARIO/QUEBEC AUTO THEFT CRACKDOWN SHOWS PROMISING RESULTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THIS KIND OF CRIME

Everyone is talking about auto theft especially if your insurance rates have gone up because you drive a car that is on the list of most stolen vehicles. And, of course you’re talking about it, if you actually have had your vehicle stolen, possibly from your own driveway. Some people in Toronto aren’t waiting for it to happen and have hired private security to make sure their vehicles aren’t stolen.

That’s where Tom Doyle comes in.  He’s the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Protection and Investigative Services which provides security for those who want to pay for it. Joining him to discuss the results of the OPP's Project Vector is Detective Inspector Scott Wade with OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau.

AN UPDATE ON TORONTO'S HOUSING MARKET

Jane Brown is now joined by Jason Mercer, Chief Market Analyst & Director of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREB) and Karen Yolevski, COO, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.

A new report from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says there was enough competition among buyers that the average home price rose moderately from March of last year to March of this year to 1.12 million dollars. But overall sales were down 4.5 percent year over year.

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL: IS OTTAWA'S FOOD PROGRAM JUST ANOTHER GREAT IDEA WITH A LACK OF A PLAN?

Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, a former Ontario Liberal Deputy Premier and minister of health, Lisa Raitt, a former deputy leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and Cheri Di Novo, a former Ontario NDP MPP.

This week: the Trudeau Liberals announced their plan to spend $1 billion towards a national school food program. And it is National Caregivers Day.

TORONTO POLICE ASSOCIATION ON PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Jon Reid, President of the Toronto Police Association.

Today: Jon talks about the kinds of challenges that Toronto Police face when it comes to responding to Pro-Palestinian protests, and the measures they have in place to enforce the law should protesters break those laws. Last Saturday, Toronto Police arrested a number of demonstrators. Jon also responds to criticism that the force is not doing enough to make the local Jewish community feel safe.

JONATHAN CONRICUS JOINS THE SHOW TO TALK ISRAEL

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Jonathan Conricus, Former Spokesperson for the IDF, Vivian Bercovici, Canadian lawyer and Academic and Former Ambassador of Canada to Israel and Uriel Abulof, a senior lecturer at Tel-Aviv University's Department of Political Science.

Anti-government protests have been intensifying in Israel becoming reminiscent of those that took place prior to October 7th. Our guests react to that and the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war.

THE ZOOMER SQUAD: THE CARBON TAX GOES UP TODAY

Libby Znaimer is joined by Rudy Buttignol,  President of CARP and Anthony Quinn, Chief Community Officer of CARP, and John Wright, Executive Vice President of Maru Public Opinion.

Today: our Zoomer Squad reacts to the Ford government's plan to put $2 billion into homecare as per their latest budget. And, the federal carbon tax goes up today. How will that impact the pocket books of Canadians?

WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE LIST + HIGHLY PAID CANADIAN MPS

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Franco weighs in on the latest Sunshine List out of Ontario--which now includes more than 300,000 people! Franco also reacts to the news that starting today, PM Trudeau is giving federal MPs a big raise making them the second highest paid elected officials behind their U.S. counterparts.

SOLAR ECLIPSE STATE OF EMERGENCY

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Jim Diodati, Mayor of Niagara Falls in Ontario, and Natalie Preddie, Travel Expert and Travel Freelance Writer.

The Niagara Region local authorities have declared a state of emergency over the expectation that as many as a million viewers will descend upon the Niagara Falls to watch the Solar Eclipse on April 8. But, really...is that necessary?

Today on Free For All Friday: listeners debated whether Donald Trump becoming U.S President once again would be a good thing...and things got heated.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: TORONTONIAN SUFFERS LIFE ALTERING INJURY FROM DOG ATTACK

Libby Znaimer is joined by Taylor Scollon, Co-Founder of The Peak, Councillor James Pasternak, Ward 6 York Centre, and Councillor Paula Fletcher, Ward 14 Toronto-Danforth.

Today's topics include: the city's garbage collection, dog attacks, and reaction to the provincial budget and how it may impact Toronto.

MARIT STILES REACTS TO FORD GOVERNMENT'S BUDGET

Libby Znaimer is joined by Marit Stiles, leader of the Ontario NDP to discuss the $2B for home care recently revealed in the provincial budget.

GROWING PETITION CALLS ON LOBLAW TO REPEAL RECEIPT SCANNING POLICY

Now we turn to the hugely profitable grocery chain that Canadians love to hate: of course Libby is talking about Loblaw and specifically their pilot project introducing receipt scanners in self-checkout areas where shoppers will be locked in if they don’t have that receipt. Now a growing petition organized by Leadnow is calling for that policy to be abolished.

THE MEDICAL RECORD:  ONTARIO'S HEALTHCARE FUNDING PLANS

Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Alisa Naiman, Family Physician and Founder and Medical Director of The Medical Station in Toronto, Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist with the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Dr. Amol Verma, a staff physician in General Internal Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

This week: the province released its budget. Our panel assesses what funding it includes for the healthcare system and give the Ford government a grade on their plans.

THE BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE: SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS AND BRIDGE SAFETY

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Jim Bookbinder, a Professor in the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo and Rob Handfield, Bank of America Professor of Supply Chain Management at North Carolina State University.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed this week after a cargo ship collided right into it. As many as 6 people are presumed dead and many questions remain unanswered including: how safe was the bridge? And what implications will this have for the global supply chain including right here at home in Canada? And, could this all have been prevented?

THE CAA KICKS OFF ITS 21st ANNUAL WORST ROADS CAMPAIGN

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Teresa Di Felice, Assistant Vice President,  Government and Community Relations  for CAA South Central Ontario.

Today, the CAA kicks off its annual Worst Roads Campaign where residents get to vote on which roads they feel are the worst whether you are a driver, cyclist or pedestrian. Do you have thoughts about roads that you find particularly treacherous from personal experience?