The Big Five Podcast

Elias Makos welcomes back Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor, and Neil Drabkin, a federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was chief of staff in the Harper government.

• Mayor Valerie Plante says the city will impose a 120-day deadline for boroughs to issue building permits
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his goal is to make housing more affordable for younger Canadians - without bringing down home prices for existing homeowners
• Parents of children attending a school in St. Henri are having to walk around passed out drug users, and an illegal campsite has appeared. Do we need a course correction?

Elias Makos is joined by Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the PR and content firm TNKR Media, and Anne Lagace-Dowson, political analyst.

• In the midst of the major housing crisis that has seen the cost of rent in Montreal soar, new data tells the story of a city that has created “endless delays” for building permits
• Both McGill and Concordia have admitted that antisemitism on campus is a ‘significant problem.’
• Is Montreal’s transit system in a death spiral?

Elias Makos starts the week off with David Heurtel, Former Quebec liberal cabinet minister, Council at Fasken and political analyst, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia.

• The Quebec political parties facing the most serious questions about their futures met over the weekend
• And over in Québec solidaire land, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois got what he wanted over the weekend
• The CAQ also met over the weekend - and François Legault took dead aim at social media and its effect on youth

Elias Makos caps off the week with Christina Chough, Spanish teacher and Chair of the modern languages department at Dawson College, and Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor.

• A strong majority of Quebec adults wants to limit social media to children aged 16 and above
• 50 Montreal-area High school students are protesting their school's “sexist” dress code
• A bipartisan group of 23 U.S. Senators has expressed concerns over Canada's defense spending

Elias Makos is joined by Neil Drabkin, a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, columnist for the Hill Times in Ottawa and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy.

• Hotel mogul Christiane Germain has been appointed head of Santé Québec’s board. What’s more the 15 member board does not include any anglophone representation
• The Liberal government is facing criticism for citing cabinet confidentiality to redact records provided to the public inquiry investigating meddling by China and other hostile states in Canadian democracy
• Montreal police say that things in the city are “pretty safe” despite the 7 homicides that have happened in the past 10 days

Elias Makos welcomes in Gabriel Retta, Chief of Staff to the Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor.

• Beginning today, the PQ will run pro-independence ads on English TV, something the party says they’ve never done before
• Mayor Valerie Plante is in Hollywood, trying to bring more film and TV production to the city
• Last night on the Plateau 2 men and 1 teen were stabbed to death following an altercation

Elias Makos is joined by Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator, and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program, and Catherine Hogan, high school teacher at Westwood Senior High in Hudson.

• Gabriel Nadeau Dubois has written an open letter. In it he declares that the time has come for Quebec to have a leftist government
• McGill is denouncing a pro-Palestinian protest which took place outside a senior administrator’s home
• There’s a call to bring peanuts and other allergens back to school lunchboxes. As some say that banning allergens like nuts or peanuts at school provides a false sense of security

Elias Makos kicks off the week with David Heurtel, Former Quebec liberal cabinet minister, Council at Fasken and political analyst, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the PR and content firm TNKR Media.

• Quebec nationalists are in a tizzy after photos of in-branch posters at Desjardins for la fête des Patriotes were posted online
• The Parti Québécois has launched a new ad campaign extolling the virtues of independence
• Last week Pierre Fitzgibbon caused quite the stir with a flippant response over whether or not Quebec should lower gas taxes

Elias Makos ends the week with Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor, and Anthony Koch, Former National Spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and current managing principal at AK Strategies.

•  A new Angus Reid poll shows the Liberals losing Muslim and Jewish voters as the war in Gaza continues
• The Montreal imam who delivered a speech at a pro-Palestinian rally will not be charged
• Quebec media says that a new bill to protect politicians is excessive and harms free speech

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the PR and content firm TNKR Media.

• Yesterday a Quebec court rejected McGill’s injunction request to move the encampment from their university grounds
• Millionaire Mitch Garber has taken a shot at NDP leader Jagmeet Singh regarding his salary
• The EMSB has come out with fighting remarks. They say that they’re better than the Quebec government at teaching French