Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, former Ontario Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre who also served as a health minister and deputy Premier, Lisa Raitt, former deputy leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Peggy Nash, who is a former NDP MPP for Parkdale-High Park.

In Ottawa, Charles Sousa was given an applause as he entered Parliament and joins the federal Liberal caucus. Will he make the party a more fiscally responsible one? And, will he become the future minister of finance? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, here in Ontario, Mike Schreiner has responded to a growing number of calls from Ontario Liberal party members to join them and run for their leadership. He says he's seriously thinking about it. But what would such a move mean for the future of the Liberals and Queens Park?

----

NEW LTC STANDARDS

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network Hospitals in Toronto.

New standards for Canadian long-term care homes have been published by The Health Standards Organization in a 60 page report. To be clear, these are voluntary standards but health experts like Dr. Sinha say that they won't be effective unless long-term care homes apply all of them. Here are just some examples of standards included in the new report: single rooms in LTC homes should have three piece bedrooms while shared rooms should have special private rooms for "intimate acts". The standards also call for access to outdoor space at the home and dedicated hand hygiene sinks for residents to use. Libby and Dr. Sinha talk about the standards in greater detail. Meanwhile, Dr. Sinha says that right now the biggest challenge that LTC homes face is retaining and recruiting additional staff especially as hospitals face staff shortages and provide better wages. As of July 2022, 17,000 LTC residents died in Canada because of COVID-19. Meanwhile, this morning, Ontario LTC minister Paul Calandra announced the province's plans to make it easier for residents to gain access to diagnostic services.

----

MIKE SCHREINER: WILL HE JOIN THE ONTARIO LIBERALS?

Libby Znaimer is now joined by Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario.

Mike Schreiner knows that as many as 40 members of the Ontario Liberals want him to cross over to their camp and become the leader of their party. His response? In a statement he released this week, he said he's now seriously thinking about it. Libby goes directly to the source and asks the current Green party leader about what factors he is considering as he mulls over this very big decision and whether this would be an identity/philosophical shift considering the Liberals are not like the Greens. Will he give us any indication that he's arrived closer to an answer? Tune in to find out!

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