Newstalk Today

Tamara Cherry, filling in for Evan Solomon, talks with Toronto and Ottawa city councillors about their reactions regarding Ontario Premier Doug Ford's plan to give mayors of both cities greater powers. 

On today's show:

• A conversation with Toronto city councillor Brad Bradford and Ottawa city councillor/mayoral candidate Catherine McKenney.
• Michael Bissonnette, staff lawyer for West Coast Environmental Law, on a new report from his organization which found cruise ships dump billions of litres of toxic waste in Canada.
• The War Room political panel with Tom Mulcair, Zain Velji and Tim Powers.
• Dr. Allison Crawford, chief medical officer for Talk Suicide Canada and psychiatrist with Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, on the need for Canada to establish a 3-digit suicide hotline.

Tamara Cherry, filling in for Evan Solomon, speaks with a woman in England about how she is trying to stay cool as a heat wave scorches Western Europe. 

On today's show: 

• Should we strengthen access to contraceptive care in Canada? Kelly Bowden, director of policy and advocacy for Action Canada, joins the show.
• Sarah Compton, a woman in London, England who is battling the extreme heat in Europe. 
• Angela Chalmers, a Winnipeg woman who found a stranger sleeping on her couch last month and called 911. She says dispatchers told her to confront the intruder herself.  
• Ihor Michalchyshyn, CEO and executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, on Russia's Gazprom telling customers in Europe it cannot guarantee gas supplies.

• Kelly Laing, a Canadian who used an AirTag to track her lost baggage for five days.

• Dan Conlin, a local historian in Halifax who is entertaining and educating his neighbours with ever-changing flags outside his house.

Tamara Cherry, filling in for Evan Solomon, speaks with CTV’s Glen McGregor about the details surrounding the decision on Pat King's bail status.

On today’s show: 

• Michael Bernstein, the executive director of Clean Prosperity, on whether climate change has fallen off voters’ radars in Canada. Then, we take your calls.
• Sylvia Harris, chair of the Vision SoHo Alliance, on how an abandoned hospital has become pivotal in fighting London’s affordable housing crisis.
• Dr. Robert Barnes, The Montreal Children's Hospital’s associate director of professional services, on an unusually high number of sick kids being brought to the emergency room. 
• Glen McGregor, senior political correspondent for CTV News, on Patrick Brown seeking re-election in Brampton and Pat King being granted bail. 
• John Haugen, acting chief of the Lytton First Nation, on a wildfire that is spreading out of control near his community, forcing evacuations.
• Dr. Chris Willott, an astronomer at the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre, on Canada’s contribution to the James Webb telescope. 

Free For All Friday - Hour 1

Amanda Galbraith breaks down the biggest stories of the day with Canada's top newsmakers.

On today's show:

• John Gradek, Faculty Lecturer and Coordinator of the Aviation Management Program at McGill University discusses the reinstatement of COVID testing for travellers and its impact on the airline industry. 
• Scott Reid, CTV News political commentator, and former communications director for Prime Minister Paul Martin discusses new poll numbers showing the Prime Minister’s Approval Rating slipping 
• For today's cross-country road trip segment, we speak with Rebecca Alty, Mayor of Yellowknife, N.W.T. What are the hidden gems in his city?

Free For All Friday - Hour 2

Hosts from all over the country join the roundtable to discuss the five biggest stories of the week. This week's show features panelists are Karen Restoule, CEO of Shared Value Solutions, Bold Realities, & Whose Land along with Karen Gordon of Gordon Strategy. 

Topics:

1. COVID-19 testing requirements for vaccinated travellers are set to resume on Tuesday. Will these measures overwhelm a clearly overwhelmed airline industry?
2. The Prime Minister’s approval rating took a hit in a new poll. Are we seeing the beginning of the end of Trudeau’s political career? 
3. Many Canadians feel tying the knot with their partner is not necessary according to a new Angus Reid Poll. What do you think and what do you think this says about how the view of marriage has changed over the past several decades? 
4. Who had a bigger fail this week? Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault? Or Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? 
5. Do you thank your driver when using public transit? An American social media travel blogger released a viral Tik Tom video showing transit users in Victoria thanking their bus driver. 

Graham Richardson, filling in for Evan Solomon, speaks with cardiologist and epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos about what parents should know now that a COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for Canada’s youngest kids. 

On today’s show: 

• Karina Gould, Canada's Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, on the passport backlog. When will it be cleared?
• Dr. David Landry, a radiologist at Montreal's Notre-Dame Hospital. His cancelled flight to Quebec’s Magdalen Islands has left 57 patients waiting months for care.
• Dr. Christopher Labos, a cardiologist and epidemiologist in Montreal, on Health Canada approving Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for infants and preschoolers. 
• Rick Westhead, TSN Senior Correspondent, on Hockey Canada reopening an investigation into an alleged 2018 sexual assault.
• Rylan Haas, a 34 year-old cardiac critical care nurse visiting Ottawa from Saskatoon, shares a personal anecdote about how the healthcare system in Ontario is failing to provide safe and timely care.
• Overhyped v. Underplayed Scott Reid, CTV News political commentator, and former communications director for Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Fill-in host Graham Richardson speaks with BNN Bloomberg's Amanda Lang about the Bank of Canada hiking its key interest rate to 2.5 per cent—the biggest jump since 1998. What does that mean for you? 

On today's show: 

• Amanda Lang, BNN Bloomberg anchor of Taking Stock, a podcast and weekly business program on Bell Media Networks.
• Larry Haas, former White House Official, author and Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, on the January 6 hearings in the United States. 
• Dr. Isaac Bogoch, infectious disease physician at the Toronto General Hospital, on Ontario opening up fourth dose eligibility to all adults.
• The War Room with political strategists Zain Velji and Tim Powers, and former NDP leader Tom Mulcair. 
• TSN football insider Farhan Lalji on Redblacks' quarterback Jeremiah Masoli calling out racism in the CFL.
• A formerly homeless man is thriving after a dumpster discovery. Adam Gillan joins the show alongside Alex Archbold, the man who changed his life. 

Graham Richardson, filling in for Evan Solomon, talks with Joey Zukran, founder and attorney at LPC Avocats in Montreal. The firm has filed for authorization to launch a class action suit against Rogers, seeking a total of $400 for each customer who was deprived of service during the outage.

On today’s show: 

• Joey Zukran, founder and attorney at LPC Avocats, on class action being sought against Rogers for the service outage.
• Richard Madan, Washington Bureau Correspondent for CTV News, on the January 6 hearings in the United States.
• Dr. Cathy Risdon, a family doctor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University, on another record-breaking month for ER wait times in Ontario.
• Steven Chase, senior parliamentary reporter for The Globe and Mail, on emails showing Brenda Lucki was initially against naming firearms used in the N.S. mass shooting.
• Andriy Shevchenko, former Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada, on Ukraine calling on Canada to reverse its decision to repair and return Russian turbines.
• Gary Boyle, the “Backyard Astronomer,” on newly-released images from the James Webb Telescope which has revealed the deepest and sharpest view of the universe to date.

Graham Richardson, filling in for Evan Solomon, speaks with Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Katharine Smart on what doctors across Canada expect out of the premier’s meeting and how the health system requires immediate action from all levels of government.

On today’s show: 

• John Reynolds, Patrick Brown’s national campaign co-chair, provides an update on Brown’s disqualification from the Conservative leadership race. 
• Dr. Katharine Smart, president of the Canadian Medical Association, on the premier’s meeting in B.C.
• Dr. Daria Denissova and Dr. Philip Stasiak, two young ER doctors who quit their Montreal jobs, blaming Quebec's broken health-care system and Bill 96.
• Tasha Kheiriddin, author and principal at Navigator, discusses her new book, ‘The Right Path: How Conservatives can Unite, Inspire and Take Canada Forward’.
• Stephen Jarrett, lead archeologist for the Centre Block rehabilitation project, on over 200,000 artifacts discovered during the dig on Parliament Hill.
• Mike Shoreman, the ‘Unbalanced Paddleboarder’ who is attempting to become the first athlete with disabilities to cross all five Great Lakes on a paddleboard this summer.

Free For All Friday - Hour 1

Amanda Galbraith breaks down the biggest stories of the day with Canada's top newsmakers.

On today's show:

• Nathan Janzen, senior economist at the Royal Bank of Canada, on Canada heading towards 'moderate' recession in 2023.

• Mike Le Couteur, senior political correspondent for CTV News Channel, on the latest in Patrick Brown's disqualification. 

• Glenn De Baeremaeker, environmentalist and former Scarborough city councillor, on Toronto considering a new plan to ban cats from going outdoors unless they're on leash.

• For today's cross-country road trip segment, we speak with Brian Bowman, Mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba. What are the hidden gems in his city?

Free For All Friday - Hour 2

Hosts from all over the country join the roundtable to discuss the five biggest stories of the week. This week's show features panelists Alan Ferraby, morning show host on CFAX 1070 in Victoria, and Jennifer Pagliaro, City Hall reporter with the Toronto Star.

Topics:

1. How will Patrick Brown's disqualification affect the Conservative leadership race?

2. Canada is headed towards a recession in 2023, according to a new report from RBC. Are you worried? 

3. A teacher in London, ON is promoting a method of teaching called 'ungrading,' where students choose their own grades. Are you for or against this?
4. A Toronto City Council committee is discussing a plan that could prohibit residents from allowing their pet cats to roam freely outdoors. Should cats be kept indoors?
5. Rogers is experiencing a massive outage that is impacting wireless, cable and internet customers across Canada. Are we too dependent on the internet? 

Stefan Keyes, filling in for Evan Solomon, discusses the latest in Patrick Brown's disqualification from the Conservative leadership race.

On today's show: 

• Christine Rodriguez, a Montrealer whose curly hair has been searched at Canadian airports three times since May.

• Tom Mulcair, CTV political analyst and former NDP leader, on Patrick Brown’s disqualification.

• Daniele Hamamdjian, CTV National News London News Bureau Correspondent, on British PM Boris Johnson announcing his resignation.

• Overhyped v. Underplayed with Scott Reid, CTV News political commentator and former communications director for Prime Minister Paul Martin.

• Bob Beckett, former fire chief for Langford on Vancouver Island, on a volunteer group he organized that just returned from a humanitarian mission in Ukraine.

• Mary Ng, Canada’s Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, on Canada and the United States announcing the removal of all US tariffs on Canadian solar products.

• Stephen Tauro, communications and information lead with Calgary Transit, on the new karaoke bus rolling into Calgary.