The Big Five Podcast

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.”

Elias Makos is joined by Lionel Perez, Former city councilor and former leader of the Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor.

• Robin des Ruelles – Robin of the alleys – says they are responsible for the Tuesday mass theft of goods from a Rachelle-Bery store. 
• Faced with the soaring price of subscriptions and the fragmenting of where everything is streamed, a growing number of people are resorting to stealing TV. 
• Prime Minister Mark Carney has decided to eliminate two roles created by Justin Trudeau.
• Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canada needs to stop blaming Donald Trump and start adjusting to a harsher global reality.

Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies, and Graham Singh, Pastor at St-Jax Church.

• Men can refuse service from women at the SAAQ. The surprising news came out of the public hearings on Bill 9, the government’s effort to double down on secularism in Quebec.
• And speaking of Bill 9, secularism minister Jean-François Roberge is emphatic: The proposed law is not 'against certain religions.' 
• The now famous potholes on Notre-Dame Street that gave Montreal Mayor Sorraya Martinez Ferrada a couple of flat tires have been patched up.
• For the first time since the beginning of the Quebec Liberal party crisis, MNA Marwah Rizqy returned to the National Assembly yesterday as an independent.

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 Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program.

• The mayor of Montreal posted a video last night of her car getting two flat tires, a victim of the cratered Notre-Dame Street. 
• Retired general Wayne Eyre says Canada should at least keep the option of nuclear weapons on the table.
• At an event honouring Stephen Harper in Ottawa last night, Harper and former PM Jean Chretien called on Canadians to stand united in the fact of threats from the U.S. 

Elias Makos starts the week of with Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Gabriel Retta, special advisor to the current mayor.

• Just about two weeks ago, we learned that the SAQ would start delivering booze with Uber Eats.
• Faced with a rise in shoplifting, the SAQ has increased its in-store surveillance spending to $1.7 million last year
• Over the weekend, Journal de Montréal & Leger released new Quebec polling that shows a much tighter landscape than most were expecting.
• Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre survived his confidence vote Friday evening with a 87.4 percent approval rating. 
• Reports made to the City of Montreal for potholes have exploded since the beginning of the year, reaching a high not seen in more than a decade.

Elias Makos caps the week off with Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS.

• U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose steep tariffs on Canadian-made aircraft.
• The Business Council of Canada is questioning Prime Minister Mark Carney’s strategy on how to deal with U.S President Donald Trump. 
• What if a Middle Eastern country were to help the province bring the Nordiques back to life?
• The faith of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will be determined today as he faces a confidence from members of his party. 

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 Political analyst Karim Boulos.

• The trains don’t run. And they were down again this morning. Oh, and the elevators don’t work. Should we get a REM refund?
• In Trois-Rivieres, the police have launched a voluntary campaign to get citizens to add their smart doorbell cameras to a surveillance camera registry.
• According to the results of a survey done by Radio-Canada, 31% of students admit using Artificial Intelligence to cheat. 
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford was not mincing words yesterday when asked about his opinion of a potential sovereignist as the next Premier of Quebec.

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor and Montreal journalist and broadcaster Sue Smith.

Among the topics discussed

• A new poll from Leger for Postmedia shows the Liberals in majority territory
• François Legault may not be leaving the National Assembly as quickly as expected
• One Montreal engineering school has decided beef is off the menu — literally — in the name of climate change
• According to the results of a survey done by Radio-Canada, 60% of students in Quebec use AI regularly, ranging from several times a month to several times a day

Elias Makos is joined by Andrew Caddell, columnist for the Hill Times and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies. 

• Prime Minister Mark Cark reportedly backtracked some of his remarks from his speech in Davos when speaking by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday.
• With Parliament resuming after the winter break, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a new “Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit,” coming in the form of an increase to the GST tax credit. 
• A school secretary at the EMSB began demanding that “Emails giving instructions must be sent to me in French, as required by law,” which began a nightmare of back and forth communications with the OQLF.
• Bernard Drainville and Christine Fréchette have both entered the race that will see someone become the next Premier of Quebec.

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Trudie Mason, Veteran Newscaster here at CJAD 800 and Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante.

Among the topics discussed were

• U.S. President Donald Trump revived one of his most pointed insults toward Canada on Saturday, calling Prime Minister Mark Carney “governor” and threatening to slam the country with a 100 per cent tariff over its growing ties with China
• Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to announce a GST credit increase this morning
• Turns out if you get arrested while climbing the Jacques-Cartier bridge, you can get away with it by claiming you're a climate activist. The trial for the two men who climbed the structure back in October of 2024 was cancelled officially back in December
• By now you’ve all heard of the TV show “Heated Rivalry,” which has already become a cult hit around the world. The author of the book series the show is based on, Canadian novelist Rachel Reid, says that she’s been on a five-year waiting list to see a specialist for Parkinson’s disease. But now that she has acquired fame, she’s getting an appointment in two weeks. Is this how Canadian healthcare works?