The Big Five Podcast

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program.

• Massive reaction and pushback to the story we told you about yesterday - the Quebecker who was awarded $500 after a south shore hair salon didn’t offer a “non-binary” haircut option on its appointment booking website.
• A man from Lebanon convicted of possessing fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking was supposed to be deported back in December of 2019.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford had some choice words for students complaining about recent cuts to his province’s student assistance programs: Stop studying in useless fields and focus on an education that gives you a shot at the plethora of in-demand jobs.
• Reuters reports that the U.S. Department of State is developing a new online portal — hosted at freedom.gov — that would allow users in Europe and elsewhere to access content banned by their own governments

Elias Makos is joined by Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor.

• Radio-Canada reports this morning that Quebec's Human Rights Tribunal has ordered a hair salon to pay $500 to a non-binary person for only offering “men’s” and women’s” haircut options.
• Quebec solidaire, slumping in the polls and desperately trying to turn things around, could have a star candidate for the next election. There’s only one problem: He’s a man. 
• A Montreal senior is calling for the return of all benches removed inside the Alexis Nihon plaza, saying the change has made daily outings more difficult for people who rely on adapted transport.
• Meta is looking to make your social media presence immortal.

Elias Makos is joined by Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Graham Singh, Pastor at St-Jax Church.

• The Gallant Commission report on the SAAQclic fiasco was revealed yesterday. 
• Journal de Montreal has the story of a Quebec man who had a vasectomy at age 22 so that his girlfriend wouldn't have to take birth control. 
• One of Quebec’s biggest unions is proposing a new tax to help ensure public services. The target of the tax? Sugary drinks.
• U.S. TV personality, radio host, and sports analyst Stephen A. Smith continues to openly muse about running for the Democratic nomination for President.

Elias Makos is joined by Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante and Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom

• The Quebec Liberal Party has welcomed Charles Milliard as its new leader, signaling a fresh start after months of uncertainty and controversy.
• The Supreme Court of Canada has annulled the federal byelection in Terrebonne, where Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste was declared the winner by a single ballot. The challenge stemmed from a mail-in vote that wasn’t counted because of an error on the return envelope — a mistake tied to Elections Canada.
• If you were waiting for a true American reaction to Mark Carney’s Davos speech from January, you got one for Valentine’s Day. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio brought the Trump administration’s speech to Europe over the weekend, speaking at the Munich Security Conference.

Elias Makos is joined by Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies.

• Today is the deadline to apply to be leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, and it's all but official – with no opposition, Charles Milliard will become the new leader of the Liberals on Sunday.
• A CAQ MNA says there should be limits placed on columnsists. Valérie Schmaltz made the comments after being annoyed by a column in the Journal de Quebec by Rémi Nadeau. 
• Several public institutions are using artificial intelligence to create photos for their social media platforms.
• Tim Hortons is making changes. The company announced that it will soon distribute a new and improved English muffin, add fountain drink machines and debut a new piece of equipment for their espresso.

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Trudie Mason, veteran newscaster at CJAD 800.

• We’re finding out more about the suspect in the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge B.C. 
• The independent investigation into the Quebec Liberal Party fiasco was unveiled yesterday. 
• With indications that the Swiss bid to host the 2038 Winter Olympics may fall through, Canada is considering swooping in to host those games. 
• Convinced that her life was in danger, a Montreal woman handed over more than $250,000 in gold bars and cryptocurrency to fraudsters in four days. 

Elias Makos is joined by Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS, and Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster.

• 10 people are dead and 25 others are injured following a mass shooting inside a B.C high school yesterday afternoon.
• The SPVM released its 2025 results yesterday, and Police Chief Fady Dagher says the data is clear: Montreal is safe.
• The United States hockey squad will sleep in the Athlete’s village for the entire tournament, embracing the dorm-room lifestyle for two weeks. Team Canada will visit the village for two days - but then go live in a five-star hotel once the games actually begin. Who’s got the better Olympic spirit?
• In what should have been a celebration of an olympic medal for a Norwegian athlete, turned into a beg for forgiveness live on air.

Elias Makos is joined by Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada.

• U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to “not allow” a new bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, to open unless the United States is “fully compensated for everything” it has given Canada. 
• The Quebec government has no intention of reviewing its funding of concert giants Evenko and Live Nation, despite questions about how the companies favour English in concert bookings.
• Opening statements made yesterday in a landmark trial that claims Meta and YouTube created ‘Digital Casinos.’
• Despite being told by several travel agencies that we should not be worried about going to Cuba, Air Canada, Air Transat and WestJet have all suspended flights to the Caribbean destination.

Elias Makos is joined by Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Political analyst Karim Boulos.

• What does it say about Canadian culture that our number one TV event is a U.S. sporting event for a league that doesn’t have teams in Canada?
• The Globe and Mail is reporting this morning that Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have been talking behind the scenes of a plan for a spring federal election.
• Journal de Montreal reports that the latest batch of Epstein documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice reveal that the convicted sex offender and financier loved Montreal.

Elias Makos caps off the week with Lea Streliski, Best-selling author, comedian and columnist, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil.

• The federal government announced the return of purchase rebates for electric vehicles.
• Starting next week, the SAQ will sell a limited selection of U.S. wines and spirits online and at Dépôt stores, at a discount, to clear stock sitting in warehouses.
• The Winter Olympics are upon us, and there’s already a controversy over the performance enhancing measures some athletes are taking. The scandal is unfolding in ski jumping over so-called “crotch enhancements.”