Episodes

  • Reaction to PM Mark Carney's Speech and Bail Reform Plans

    Reaction to PM Mark Carney's Speech and Bail Reform Plans
    Oct 23 2025
    TUNE INTO THE TOWN: THE CITY'S HIRING FREEZE FOR NON-ESSENTIAL WORKERS Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East) and former Toronto City Councillors Karen Stintz and Rob Davis. A poll from this week reveals that Torontonians are not pleased with the city's direction and are pointing the finger at Mayor Olivia Chow. Meanwhile, the City is introducing a hiring freeze for non-essential workers and subsidies pertaining to Toronto's "Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program" could see an increase. TORONTO POLICE ASSOCIATION REACTION TO FEDERAL LIBERALS' BAIL REFORM PLANS Libby Znaimer is joined by Clayton Campbell, President of Toronto Police Association. Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General Sean Fraser held a press conference this morning regarding the federal Liberals' bail reform plans. Do the changes go far enough? REACTION TO PM MARK CARNEY'S PRE-BUDGET SPEECH IN OTTAWA Libby Znaimer is joined by Janet Ecker, a former Ontario PC MPP and Finance Minister and Tom Parkin, social democratic commentator. Prime Minister Mark Carney made a pre-budget speech in Ottawa where he expressed that our economy will need to change and that includes on the trade front. The budget itself will be delivered on November 4th. Our strategists weigh in on what was said.
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    51 mins
  • The AG Finds Poor Performance at CRA Call Centres

    The AG Finds Poor Performance at CRA Call Centres
    Oct 22 2025
    THE MEDICAL RECORD: LONGER WAIT TIMES FOR MRIs ACCORDING TO RADIOLOGISTS Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and former head of BC Cancer and Dr. Alisa Naiman, a family doctor practicing in Toronto. On the show today we discuss pickleball injuries, MRI wait times and peanut allergies among kids. TORONTONIANS NOT PLEASED WITH DIRECTION OF THE CITY AND POINTING THE BLAME AT MAYOR CHOW Libby Znaimer is joined by Toronto City Councillor Brad Bradford of Ward 19 Beaches East York. Councillor Bradford weighs in on a new poll indicating that residents of Toronto are not pleased with the direction our City is on and are pointing the finger at Mayor Olivia Chow. And, we discuss the Carney Liberals' announcement on bail reform . THE AG'S DAMNING REPORT ABOUT POOR PERFORMANCE AT CRA CALL CENTRES Libby Znaimer is joined by Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation and David J. Rotfleisch, a Canadian tax lawyer and chartered accountant. Our panel reacts to a new report from Auditor General Karen Hogan that details poor performance at CRA call centres. One of the issues she found is that from February to May of this year, employees gave Canadians the right answer to their tax questions only 17 percent of the time. How did we get here?
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    52 mins
  • Why Are Canadian Snowbirds Being Fingerprinted at the U.S. Border?

    Why Are Canadian Snowbirds Being Fingerprinted at the U.S. Border?
    Oct 21 2025
    RECOVERING POLITICIANS: AG REPORT ON CRA PERFORMANCE AND CANADIAN MILITARY RECRUITMENT Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Cheri DiNovo, a former NDP MPP; and Lisa Raitt, a former Deputy Leader of Conservative Party of Canada. A new Auditor General report is shedding light on poor performance at CRA call centres and points to Canada's military not being where it needs to be when it comes to recruitment. Finally, our panel reacts to General Motors closing down EV production at an Ingersoll, Ontario plant. CANADIAN SNOWBIRDS ARE BEING FINGERPRINTED AT THE U.S. BORDER Libby Znaimer is joined by Martin Firestone, President, Travel Secure Inc. and Stephen Fine, President & Managing Editor at SnowbirdAdvisor.ca Why are Canadian snowbirds being fingerprinted at the U.S. border? And, are the numbers up or down when it comes to snowbirds travelling to the States? Our experts weigh in on the latest. HOW EXCITEMENT AROUND THE BLUE JAYS IS BOOSTING TORONTO TOURISM Libby Znaimer is joined by Tony Elenis, President and CEO of The Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA) and Kelly Jackson, VP of Destination Development at Destination Toronto What's been the impact of all of the Blue Jays excitement on Toronto's local tourism sector and businesses? Our panel discusses.
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    50 mins
  • Federal Liberals Set to Table Bail Reform Legislation This Week

    Federal Liberals Set to Table Bail Reform Legislation This Week
    Oct 20 2025
    ZOOMER SQUAD: FINANCE MINISTER MAKES ANNOUNCEMENT ON SCAMS Libby Znaimer is joined by Liz West, Host of The Afternoon Express on Zoomer Radio; David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies; and Bob Richardson, a Public Affairs Consultant. A new poll by Liaison Strategies shows that Ontario PCs would be the top choice if an election were held now. And, we are getting more clarity from this poll about where Ontarians stand when it comes to speed cameras: 49 percent disapprove of a ban on them while 34 approve. And, CARP's Anthony Quinn is in Ottawa where the finance minister made an announcement regarding frauds and scams. He calls into the show for a recap! FEDERAL LIBERALS SET TO INTRODUCE BAIL REFORM LEGISLATION THIS WEEK: HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW Libby Znaimer is joined by Ari Goldkind, a criminal defense lawyer. The federal Liberals are set to introduce a bill for bail reform this week though we don't yet have a specific date for when that's happening. Ari weighs in on what we do know about it so far. LET'S TALK BLUE JAYS! Libby Znaimer is joined by Walter Rigobon, Co-host of the Naz and Wally Sports Hour on Zoomer Radio. The Toronto Blue Jays have forced a game 7 against the Seattle Mariners which is taking place tonight! We talk about this exciting moment in Toronto sports and what it means for the city.
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    50 mins
  • Free For All Friday - October 17 2025

    Free For All Friday - October 17 2025
    Oct 17 2025
    Today on Free For All Friday: listeners weighed in on the federal Liberal's announcement regarding bail reform legislation and the issue of speed cameras.
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    49 mins
  • Traffic, Traffic and More Traffic

    Traffic, Traffic and More Traffic
    Oct 16 2025
    TUNE INTO THE TOWN: TORONTO HAS A TRAFFIC CONGESTION PROBLEM Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East) and former Toronto City Councillors Karen Stintz and Rob Davis. Our panel reacts to Toronto's persistent traffic congestion woes and other municipal news of the week. And, Toronto's transportation czar Barbara Grey is retiring. What's next in terms of the plan to ease our traffic gridlock problems? WHERE CANADA STANDS COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES WHEN IT COMES TO AGRI-FOOD SECTOR Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. It's World Food Day and we look at a report from Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab about where Canada ranks worldwide when it comes to the agri-food sector. OTTAWA RESPONDS AFTER STELLANTIS ANNOUNCES MOVE OF ITS JEEP PRODUCTION FROM BRAMPTON TO USA Libby Znaimer is joined by Sam Fiorani, Vice President, Global Vehicle Forecasting of AutoForecast Solutions L.L.C. and Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. Ottawa responds to Stellantis after it announced its plans to pull its Jeep production out of Brampton and move it to the U.S. And, we dive deeper into the impact of this move on our local auto sector.
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    51 mins
  • Mayor Patrick Brown on Stellantis Moving Jeep Production from Brampton to the U.S.

    Mayor Patrick Brown on Stellantis Moving Jeep Production from Brampton to the U.S.
    Oct 15 2025
    THE MEDICAL RECORD: RFK JR CLAIMS CONNECTION BETWEEN CIRCUMCISION AND AUTISM Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Fahad Razak, general internist at St. Michael's Hospital and Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto; and Dr. Alisa Naiman, a family doctor practicing in Toronto. Plenty to discuss this week including the World Health Organization warning about the rise of drug resistant infections. Meanwhile, RFK Jr. weighs in on circumcision claiming that it's linked to autism. Our panel reacts to the latest. THE THEORY OF POLITICS AT THE RIGHT MOMENT Libby Znaimer is joined by Professor Gabriel Ben Dor, who teaches National Security and Political science at the University of Haifa and was formerly the head of the university's program for national security studies. Professor Ben Dor explains the theory of politics at the right moment within the context of the recent developments in the Middle East with the Israel-Hamas agreement. MAYOR PATRICK BROWN ON STELLANTIS MOVING JEEP PRODUCTION FROM BRAMPTON TO UNITED STATES Libby Znaimer is joined by Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown to discuss Stellantis moving its Jeep production from Brampton to the United States. What are the implications of this on our local auto sector?
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    51 mins
  • Trump Attends Peace Meeting and Canadian Wins Nobel Prize

    Trump Attends Peace Meeting and Canadian Wins Nobel Prize
    Oct 14 2025
    RECOVERING POLITICIANS: TRUMP ATTENDS PEACE SIGNING CEREMONY & CANADA'S THAWING RELATIONS WITH INDIA Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Cheri DiNovo, a former NDP MPP; and Janet Ecker, a former Ontario PC Finance Minister. President Donald Trump was in Egypt this week for a peace signing ceremony over the war in Gaza. Other world leaders were in attendance as well, including Prime Minister Mark Carney. In other news, Canada's relationship with India appears to be on the mend. FRED HAHN LOSES A POSITION IN AFTERMATH OF CUPE NATIONAL CONVENTION Libby Znaimer is joined by Warren Kinsella, a lawyer and journalist and Carrie Silverberg, a Jewish CUPE member who resigned from the executive of CUPE Local 1734. Fred Hahn has lost his position of general VP which happened during CUPE's national convention this week. He's still the President, however, with the next election being held in May of 2026. Hahn has sparked major backlash for his anti-Israel views in the aftermath of October 7th. CANADIAN ECONOMIST WINS NOBEL PRIZE FOR "CREATIVE DESTRUCTION" THEORY: HERE'S WHAT THAT MEANS Libby Znaimer is joined by Moshe Lander, Senior Lecturer of Economics at Concordia University in Montreal. Canadian economist Peter Howitt has won the Nobel Prize for his work on the "creative destruction" theory. What exactly does that mean? Moshe explains.
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    49 mins