Chapter 1: Canada’s indisputable Godfather of hip hop Maestro Fresh Wes has unveiled his newest release, an inspirational children’s book, Stick To Your Vision: Young Maestro Goes to School.

Guest: Maestro Fresh Wes, Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author.

Chapter 2: The number of Canadians experiencing mental health issues continues to rise across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new Ipsos poll suggests, with half of those surveyed being deemed at “high risk.”  Yet the poll also found an increasing number of people — 53 per cent — are willing to discuss their issues with family, health professionals or publicly on social media.

Guest: Jennifer McLeod Macey. Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs.

Chapter 3: With the rise in gang violence and multiple targeted shootings, and Surrey set to start their own municipal police force, does this show change is not for the better?

Guest:  Jack Hundial, Surrey City Councillor and former RCMP officer

Chapter 4: The Vancouver Asian Film Festival kicks off Asian Heritage Month with a call for submissions.

Chapter 5: Health Canada is authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 15, meaning that the jab is now approved for anyone over the age of 12 in Canada.

Guest: Jason Kindrachuk, Canada Research Chair in the Department of Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba.

Chapter 6: With heavy hearts the PNE is announcing that even a modified, lower capacity in-person PNE Fair will not be possible in 2021.

Guest: Laura Ballance, PNE Spokesperson and President of LBMG

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Making Cents of the Market:

Time for Making Cents of the Markets with Lori Pinkowski.  Lori Pinkowski is the Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Canaccord Genuity. You can contact The Pinkowski Wealth Management team directly at 604-695-LORI or visit their website at Pinkowski.ca

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View From Victoria:

A local look at politics from the Provincial capital.  The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer, joins the show with his take on the day's headlines.

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Chapter 1: What is going on with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization? The organization is coming under fire after comments made yesterday that contradicts the advice Canadians have been receiving for weeks and months about vaccines and there is concern those comments will lead to more vaccine hesitancy. 

Guest: David Akin, Global News Chief Political Correspondent.

Chapter 2: Simi and Raji reaction to vaccine confusion.  What is going on with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization?

Guest: Raji Sohal, CKNW Contributor

Chapter 3: A fancy downtown restaurant, two suburban shopping malls and the Langley Sportsplex. What do they have in common? All these areas have seen frightening shootings in the last couple of weeks - the latest at Willowbrook Shopping Mall in Langley just yesterday afternoon.

Guest:  Dr. Keiron McConnell, Former gang officer and current lecturer at SFU and KPU in Organized Crime.

Chapter 4: For the hospitality industry it remains a very scary time. Hotels are still closed with no sign of reopening and even the ones that are open, in some cases as a federal quarantine hotel - workers are still losing their jobs.

Guest: Stephanie Fung, UNITE HERE Local 40 Representative.

Chapter 5: It’s no surprise that the pandemic and WFH lifestyle has affected people’s wardrobes. This time last year, online sales for retail were down over 60%... except for sweatpants which skyrocketed. Now, denim is thankfully back but with a trend not all of us are ready to accept.

Chapter 6: One thing that has stayed on the minds of Canadians throughout the pandemic has been the issue of climate change. Are we doing enough? What more can we do? At times it may seem the “right” choices are overwhelming, so where do you even start?

Guest: Heather Reisman, Founder, Chair, and CEO of Indigo.

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View From Victoria:

A local look at politics from the Provincial capital.  The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer, joins the show with his take on the day's headlines.

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Chapter 1: Foreign ministers of the G7 countries come together in London today for their first in-person meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic began over a year ago. This year British host Dominic Raab is opening with talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Guest: 

Chapter 2: Mornings with Simi welcomes a new member to the team.

Chapter 3: Are we bending the curve here in British Columbia? It has been six weeks of increased restrictions, even though it started out as a three week “circuit breaker” but is it all working? Well, a group of modelling experts says it IS.

Guest:  Sarah Otto, Professor and Mathematical Biologist at The University of British Columbia.

Chapter 4: Another weekend, another shooting in the Lower Mainland. This time a man was gunned down in a Delta parking lot on Saturday and police have now confirmed he was a provincial corrections officer. 

Guest: Kim Bolan, Crime Reporter for the Vancouver Sun.

Chapter 5: The results of the 2021 Gustavson Brand Trust Index will be released on May 3.  Every year, the Gustavson Brand Trust Index reveals which are the most trusted brands in Canada. After a year into a global pandemic, the survey highlights a new shift in consumer loyalty amongst Canadians and their purchase considerations.

Guest: Saul Klein, Dean of the Gustavson School of Business.

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View From Victoria:

A local look at politics from the Provincial capital.  The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer, joins the show with his take on the day's headlines.

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Chapter 1: Switch Health’s reviews online are below two stars. It’s because when you hear stories like the one from Toronto Sun columnist Sue-Ann Levy, you will understand why.  She spoke to a retired Victoria resident who did a virtual COVID test a week ago , and the results have still not come back. The resident called Switch Health 15 times, which he notes has been very inefficient. 

Guest: Sue-Ann Levy, Toronto Sun Investigative Columnist.

Chapter 2: As COVID-19 scythed through Ontario’s long-term care homes, a former provincial inspector said it was horrifying and infuriating to watch unfold.  Problems like overcrowding, resident neglect, and lack of infection prevention and control, all helped the novel coronavirus spread rapidly through Ontario nursing homes, leaving more than 3,700 people dead.

Guest: Carolyn Jarvis, Global News Chief Investigative Correspondent

Chapter 3: Following months of public pressure prompted by a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Ontario government has finally announced its paid sick leave program.  The Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Program is retroactive, beginning April 19 and ending on Sept. 25. It includes access to three paid sick days, and the province has agreed to reimburse employers 100 per cent of the employee’s wage for up to $200 a day.  But many are wondering if it’s time for other provinces to follow suit.

Guest: Harry Bains, Provincial Minister of Labour.

Chapter 4: The city of Vancouver has announced their new Director of planning. How will she deal with all the issues of the city including the backlog of permits?

Guest: Theresa O’Donnell, City of Vancouver Director of planning and general manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability.

Chapter 5: Solutions to health care’s greatest challenges won’t come from one idea or person. They will come from a community of innovators and investors, using their time, talent, and financial support to create system-wide change.

Guest: Angela Chapman, President & CEO at VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation.

Chapter 6: The New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe's new book Empire of Pain chronicles the Sackler family's ruthless marketing of OxyContin that generated billions of dollars, and millions of addicts.

Guest: Patrick Radden Keefe, Author of Empire of Pain

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View From Victoria:

A local look at politics from the Provincial capital.  The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer, joins the show with his take on the day's headlines.

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Chapter 1: Justice Minister David Lametti unveiled legislation to legalize single-event sports betting in Canada, marking a change in direction for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.  The planned changes would allow provinces to issue licenses for companies to accept wagers on all sporting events except horse racing, which will remain under a separate system. It is currently illegal to bet on single games under Canadian law.

Guest: Kevin Waugh, Conservative Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Grasswood.

Chapter 2: U.S. President Joe Biden declared Wednesday night in his first address to a joint session of Congress that “America is rising anew,” and pointed optimistically to the nation’s emergence from the pandemic as a vital moment to rebuild the U.S. economy and fundamentally transform government roles in American life.

Guest: Reggie Cecchini, Global News Washington Correspondent.

Chapter 3: After Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised “one of the best” paid sick day programs in North America, the provincial government is announcing workers who have been impacted by COVID-19 will be able to access three paid sick days.

Guest: Laird Cronk, President BC Federation of Labour

Chapter 4: Vancouver City Council approved a partnership with Montreal-based OSS Group to bring Formula E, the battery-electric car racing event based on Formula 1 racing to Vancouver. This will be at no cost to the municipal government. The decision was 9-1 in favor of the new event.

Guest:  Sarah Kirby-Yung, Vancouver City Councillor.

Chapter 5: What the BC Hospitality Foundation is doing to fundraise for those out of work in the industry.

Guest: Dana Harris, Executive Director, BC Hospitality Foundation

Chapter 6: Laura Ballance, the PNE/Playland spokesperson stated that they would have been able to open safely this weekend.  However, we check with Michael Brauer, UBC professor in population and public health, if this was the case.

Guest: Michael Brauer, UBC prof population and public health,

Chapter 7: Rich Coleman, former B.C. Liberal gaming minister testified that he didn’t turn a blind eye to repeated warnings of suspected drug-money laundering in B.C. casinos or influence the RCMP to steer clear of casinos, while they ballooned into a $1.6 billion annual revenue-machine for the province.

Guest: John Hua, Global News BC Investigative Reporter.

Chapter 8: Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan makes the announcement for a review of military sexual misconduct, and plans for an independent reporting system.

Guest: Amanda Connelly, Global News Reporter

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