Final open session of the week

Ultimate open lines

The Ultimate Open Lines… WTF: Lise Gasmo, Aardvark Outdoor Play & Tenille Lafontaine, Feisty, Frugal & Fabulous

Peter MacKay, who many consider the frontrunner to take over Andrew Scheer's position as Conservative leader, suffered a minor blow yesterday as Alberta Premier Jason Kenney endorsed his main rival for the leadership, Erin O'Toole. MacKay is in Regina today to speak at a Chamber event and host a meet-and-greet, but first he joins our show to discuss the campaign and some of the big issues of the day.

You might not think Gormley would be a big fan of a romantic reality show, but like millions of other viewers he's hooked on Netflix' new series "Love is Blind." The reality series features contestants dating each other with a barrier between them, and they don't get to meet face-to-face until they've become officially engaged. It's a grand social experiment, and we just can't look away. Why are we drawn to reality TV, and watching relationships grow and collapse before our eyes? Give us a call at 1-877-332-8255 and tell us what you think!

The U of S has been awarded funding from Health Canada to run a project to determine if Saskatchewan pharmacists can help reduce opiate and opioid use among chronic pain patients. The project will see a team of pharmacists and a pain specialist physician assessing as many as 480 high-risk patients each year to determine if their opiate dosage can be safely reduced, and develop educational resources on the risks associated with opiate use. More than 4,300 people died in Canada in 2018 from opioid-related unintentional overdoses, and 441,354 opioid prescriptions were filed in Saskatchewan in 2018/19, but the drugs remain one of the best treatments for severe, chronic pain. Katelyn Halpape, Assistant Professor at the U of S college of pharmacy and nutrition, is co-leading the initiative, and she joins Gormley to discuss the project and why they want to reduce opiate use for pain.

Did you know that the Yukon's Department of Tourism was throwing thousands of dollars' worth of gold into a creek? How about Global Affairs Canada flying chefs around the world to cook fancy meals? Both groups are winners of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's 22nd annual "Teddy Awards," given to the worst offenders in government waste over the past year. The awards - a pig-shaped trophy - were named for Ted Weatherill, a former federal appointee who was fired in 1999 due to his expense claims, including a $700 lunch for two. Todd MacKay, prairie director with the CTF, joins Gormley to go over the best of the worst when it comes to government waste.

What's got you bugged?

It's been a tough year for Saskatchewan's industries, as Canada's dispute with China and a number of protest blockades slowed down our exports significantly. The province's exports to China fell by 32% in 2019, but overall exports only declined by 3%. Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said Saskatchewan continued to maintain $30B in trade around the world, largely due to work in diversifying exports to Asia and improving relationships. Harrison joins Gormley to discuss provincial trade, and the negative impact the trade dispute with China and protest rail blockades have had on Saskatchewan.

Tarrant Cross Child's life was torn apart by an alcohol addiction, leading him to hit "rock bottom" in 2014. After finding himself in the hospital, Cross Child decided to get sober and pursue one of the pursuits that brought him joy before his addiction took over his life - running. Now Cross Child has been sober for six years and has run six marathons. Along with his wife Celeste, he has his sights set on the world record for an aggregate marathon and plans to make an attempt at the May 31 Saskatchewan Marathon in Saskatoon. Both Tarrant and Celeste will run a half-marathon, and their times will be totaled to see if they can break the three-hour nine-minute record. Cross Child joins Gormley to share his story and how running has transformed his life in the past six years.