Although Saskatchewan still hasn't seen a confirmed case of the coronavirus, Canada's Health Minister Patty Hajdu is warning all Canadians to stockpile food and medication at home in case they or a loved one falls ill. The disease has infected about 81,000 people around the world in 38 different countries, including at least 12 cases in Canada. While precautions are being taken, some experts are warning of a major outbreak on the horizon which could be difficult to contain. Dr. Saqib Shahab is Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer, and he joins Gormley to share the latest on coronavirus testing in this province, and what our hospitals and healthcare facilities are doing to prepare themselves for a potential outbreak.

LIVE: Dr. Saqib Shahab, chief medical health officer for Saskatchewan.

A small company at Innovation Place at the U of S has designed an artificial intelligence that can sample grain going in or out of a bin at harvest in real time. Farmers typically use a scoop on a stick to get a pail of grain as a sample for their buyer, but they're often given a lower price due to the risk of using a single sample to represent thousands of bushels. Former Saskatchewan Premier Grant Devine sits on the U of S Board of Governors, and he's working to promote the VeriGrain system, saying it could reduce losses to producers across Saskatchewan and elsewhere in the world. Devine joins Gormley to discuss VeriGrain and why he thinks it could revolutionize grain sampling.

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The federal government is planning to change the Criminal Code to expand access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD). The changes repeal the criteria requiring a reasonable foreseeability of natural death and put in new safeguards for those requesting an assisted death whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable. Dr. Harvey Schipper, health policy expert with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, worries Canada is moving too fast when it comes to MAiD, and says we should reject calls to expand the practice "since we do not yet understand what we are dealing with." Schipper says we are "moving too quickly, without evidence or understood experience, down a pathway of immense societal consequence." Schipper joins Gormley to discuss MAiD, and the proposed changes currently before the House of Commons.

LIVE: Dr. Harvey Schipper, health policy expert with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Open Session

More than 90% of teachers in Saskatchewan voted in favour of sanctions this month, as their contract negotiations with the province continue. In addition to salary concerns, the main sticking point is class size and composition, which the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation wants to see included in the new contract. The STF met with Education Minister Gordon Wyant on Tuesday, and despite the sanctions mandate both sides said the talks were positive and productive. Wyant joins Gormley to discuss the meeting and the next steps as the province and teachers' union work towards an agreement.

LIVE: Gordon Wyant, Saskatchewan education minister and deputy premier.

According to new survey data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), 82% of farmers say the federal carbon tax is negatively impacting their business (94% of farmers in the field crop sector, 93% in the livestock sector. On average, farmers estimate they will pay almost $14,000 in federal carbon taxes in the first year it applies to them (April 1st, 2019 to March 31st, 2020). The CFIB is urging the federal government to exempt natural gas, propane and aviation fuel used for farming activities such as drying grain, heating barns or spraying fields from the federal carbon tax, including those farm expenses from 2019. Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB vice-president, Western Canada and Agri-business joins Gormley to talk about the key findings from the survey and what they're asking of the federal government.

Canada's retail landscape is changing rapidly, with companies like Pier 1, Carlton Cards, Ten Thousand Villages, Bench, Lowe's, Bentley, Forever 21, and more shutting their doors. Many of the closures are due to the growing popularity of online shopping, but some retailers tend to keep their customers coming through the doors much better than others by providing an experience shoppers just can't get from a website. To help explain why some retailers can stand the test of time while others lose their customers to the Internet, John is joined by Craig Patterson, analyst and editor-in-chief of Retail-Insider.com. Is there a retailer that will always get you into the physical store instead of looking for options online? Give us a call at 1-877-332-8255 and join the conversation!

LIVE: Craig Patterson, Retail Analyst and Editor-in-Chief of Retail-Insider.com.

The Buffalo Declaration is a 13-page document and accompanying webpage released on Feb. 20 signed by four Conservative members of Parliament. It outlines concerns about Alberta’s role in the federal government and what the signees call a push for “equality” for the province. The authors definition of equality has a number of different pillars, from repealing carbon taxes to changing the size of Parliament. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is one of the four signatories to the Buffalo Declaration and she joins Gormley to discuss the declaration.

LIVE: Michelle Rempel Garner, MP for Calgary-Nose Hill, shadow minister of Industry and Economic Development and one of the four signatories to the Buffalo Declaration.

Canada is the fifth-largest producer of natural gas and the sixth-largest producer of oil in the world, but with Teck Resources Ltd. withdrawing its application to build a massive ($20B) oilsands project north of Fort McMurray, AB – what does this mean for the future of oil and gas in our country? Have your say and weigh in on this through our weekly Facebook debate! Brett Wilson, Canadian investment banker, businessman, and investor, says Teck's decision was a shortsighted move, panicked by "misguided attacks on the energy industry." Wilson joins Gormley to discuss the move by Teck and the future of Alberta's economy.

LIVE: Brett Wilson, Canadian investment banker, businessman, philanthropist, and investor.