Zoomer Week in Review

With many in Canada and around the world having ties with Israel, families in the region whose relatives were taken hostage by Hamas are doing all they can to help the government secure the release of all captives.

Among them is Malki Shemtov who recalls the day terrorist gunmen grabbed his 21-year-old son Omer.

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With Small Business Week now in the rearview mirror it’s not too late to recognize and celebrate the more than 400-thousand small businesses in Ontario and their 2-million employees.

The president of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Rocco Rossi, begins by looking down what the Bank of Canada still sees as a rocky road as companies expect sales growth to slow over the coming year.

Simcha Jacobovici, the filmmaker behind "The Naked Archeologist" lives in the centre of Israel but one of his daughters was stuck in a shelter in the border town of Sderot for 30 hours and made a narrow escape while terrorists rampaged through the streets. His son’s best friend was killed in the fighting and his assistant’s nephew has been taken hostage. He joins Libby Znaimer on the phone from Israel to offer a first-hand account of life in Israel in the week following last Saturday's barbaric terror attacks by Hamas.

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The images coming out of the barbaric Hamas attack on Israeli civilians are more graphic than ever, they have been playing out on social media in real time, and they are also being broadcast on mainstream media. The perpetrators want to instill terror and the victims want the world to know what is happening but watching these images can be traumatic. Libby talked to psychologist Dr. Sam Klarreich to discuss the mental toll that come with closely following the news on the war.

If Argentina was always known as the haven for Nazis then Canada is the unknown one. Canadians got a reminder that many Nazis fled to this country when 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka was recognized in Parliament during the recent visit of Ukraine’s president. Among the many who’ve known for decades that ex-Nazis found safe harbour here is Steve Rambam, a war crimes investigator who joined Libby Znaimer to discuss.

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Losing a loved one is hard and putting what they meant to you in words can also be difficult. But for some it’s actually easy. Take the case of Amanda Denis, who lives outside Sudbury and lost her father. Saying she believes the dead have a responsibility to the living Amanda wrote a "good riddance" obit for her dad. She joined Bob Komsic to explain.

The restaurants that made it into this year’s Michelin Guide were announced with great fanfare earlier this week. But what is the benefit and what is the cost of that designation? I checked in with food writer and consultant Cory Mintz who is something of a contrarian when it comes to the hype around the world-famous Michelin stars.

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Saffron Cassaday’s Designer Shit is a documentary which follows her years long efforts to cure her ulcerative colitis with fecal transplants using with her husband as the donor. The transplants have become a mainstream treatment for C-difficile and trials are underway to test their efficacy for everything from Irritable Bowel Syndrome to depression.

The consequences have been mounting since Prime-Minister Justin Trudeau's bombshell accusation that India may be behind the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Diplomats from both countries have been expelled, India has issued a travel advisory against Canada, and India has suspended visa services in Canada. There are also growing concerns about whether it was the right move. Libby Znaimer talked with former CSIS agent Phil Gurski

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Toronto’s leaders have shaped the city in its 19 decades of existence, and they run the gamut of rogues and rebels as well as forward-looking social crusaders. Mark Moloney looks at all of them in Toronto’s Mayors: A History of the City’s Leaders.

The rates of opioid prescriptions in this country have steadily climbed the past 30-years as Canadians have become one of the top consumers of prescription opioids in the world.

While the perception of the crisis focuses on the young, a new study found that it is older Canadians who have the largest overall consumption rate of opioids.

All this is found in the latest report from the National Institute on Ageing, one of its co-authors is Dr. Samir Sinha.

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Think hockey and Gretzky comes to mind. Think just about almost anything else in Canada and Jean Augustine should come to mind. The Grenada-born Canadian recently turned 86, the same day the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival celebrated its 18th year with the first presentation of the Augustine Award of Excellence.

Jean is the first Black woman MP and cabinet minister, parliamentary secretary to then Prime Minister Jean Chretien, First Ontario Fairness Commissioner and, after leaving that job, she’s continued working with many organizations for education and social justice.

If you’re retired, how’d you make the transition, are you just starting to give it some thought, or maybe you're right in the midst of starting the next chapter? It’s not only a financial decision but an emotional and socially challenging one as well, as Mariella Hoy discovered on her journey to becoming a retirement coach.

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Which are some artists that come to mind who are on the soundtrack of your life? The Beatles? Rolling Stones? Just about any Motown act What about Sharon Hampson?

One-third of "Sharon, Lois and Bram", Sharon Hampson and Bram Morrison have continued carrying on the legacy after Lois Lilienstein passed away in 2015.

Not only are they celebrating the 45th anniversary of their first album, they’ve just released their third children’s book based on another of their popular songs, "Peanut Butter & Jelly", both of which Sharon was more than happy to talk about.

In its 48 year history, the Toronto International Film Festival has had to face the challenges of 9-11, SARS, and the pandemic to name just a few. This year there’s a strike to contend with. Libby talked with TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey.

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It’s hardly the kind of announcement that you’d think would inspire warm wishes, support, and personal stories - but that was the reaction Justin Trudeau got after he and his wife of 18 years announced their split. What is behind 21st century divorce? Libby reached psychologist Dr. Sam Klarreich

For the last 15 years or so, the increasingly wild and wacky selections of food at the CNE has taken centre stage. Libby Znaimer chats with the man behind them, the manager of midway concessions and outdoor exhibits at the CNE, Michael Knott.

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It's been a neighborhood gathering place and a local landmark for more than 40 years. The Acropolis Bakery on the danforth is being forced to move and to close to make way for the Ontario Line. Owner Bill Gekas tells us what it is like to take on Metrolinx.

Her cells allowed researchers to develop vaccines for polio, the coronavirus, and treatments for disease including cancer, Parkinson’s, and the flu. But they were taken from Henrietta Lacks, a poor Black mother of five, who was dying of cervical cancer in 1951, without her knowledge or consent. Her descendants recently reached a settlement

with a biotech company they claimed were profiting from her cell line named for her. But it raises the question: do we own our genes and DNA? Libby Znaimer reached medical ethicist Dr. Kerry Bowman

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For most Zoomers, it’s a choice between retiring or continuing to work at a slower pace or volunteering. But what about taking up something entirely different? Libby Znaimer spoke with barber’s apprentice Brad Ross, the former chief spokesman for the city of Toronto.