10/3: Canada Covered

Health-care officials around the world are working to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in some countries, testing is playing a big role. Dave talks to the National Post's Tom Blackwell about what countries are having success when it comes to testing, how it's helping in contain the virus, and what Canada could be doing to catch up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Conservative Party of Canada has suspended the race to replace Andrew Scheer as leader after several candidates called for a delay amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Post’s Brian Platt joins Dave to talk about why party officials came to the decision and why not everyone wanted to see it stopped. Plus, we’ll get you up to date on the latest COVID-19 news from the federal government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a race on for effective treatments for COVID-19. Old malaria drugs that may or may not work are being held up as possible treatments. Researchers are busy trying to develop a vaccine, work which is all the more important after a SARS vaccine was abandoned. Guest host Monique Beaudin is joined by National Post health reporter Sharon Kirkey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday, both the house of commons and the senate approved an emergency bill to get billions of dollars in aid into the hands of workers, families and businesses taking a hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill offers $2,000 a month for Canadians from the Canada Revenue Agency. Dave brings you up to date with the latest on COVID-19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees announced on Sunday that Canada’s athletes would not be going to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Team Canada feels that it doesn’t make sense to hold the games now as the world is still dealing with the global outbreak of COVID-19 and would like to see a postponement. Then on Monday, Dick Pound, a Canadian who sits on the International Olympic Committee said that a postponement is all but inevitable. Dave is joined by National Post sports columnist Scott Stinson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daily life in Canada has been turned upside down. Just a week ago, schools were open and people were still going to work. Much of that has changed as social distancing policies have become more aggressive across the country. It could be months before things begin returning to normal. Host Monique Beaudin is joined by National Post health reporter Sharon Kirkey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest episode, Dave walks through some aspects of the major aid package announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday. 10/3 will have deeper coverage of COVID-19 in subsequent episodes, but we will be starting a new feature called Up to Date, bringing the latest developments to you so you can stay informed. Be sure to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beginning Wednesday only Canadian citizens will be allowed to enter the country, and international flights will be restricted to just four airports. No one with symptoms of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, will be allowed into the country, regardless of citizenship. Schools are cancelled for most students across the country and workers everywhere are being told to work from home. The federal government is preparing a stimulus package to help guard against the negative economic impacts of the pandemic. Dave is joined by National Post reporter Ryan Tumilty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coronavirus outbreak has been declared a global pandemic. More than 120,000 people worldwide have been infected. More than 4,500 have died. Entire countries have been shut down. And people everywhere are being warned to stay home if they feel sick. The NHL paused its 2019-2020 season on Thursday. Concerts, festivals and countless events have been cancelled. Grocery stores are being picked clean of supplies. Guest host Monique Beaudin is joined by National Post health reporter Sharon Kirkey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oil prices already hit by coronavirus fears took a steeper dive after Saudi Arabia announced it would increase oil production and cut its prices This caused havoc for markets around the world and in Canada. Dave is joined by Calgary Herald business columnist Chris Varcoe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Kenney endorses Erin O'Toole for Conservative party leader, possibly upending Peter MacKay's ability to run away with the tory crown. Brian Platt and Stuart Thomson talk about what Kenney's endorsement could mean for O'Toole, and the role of social conservatives as kingmakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The global spread of coronavirus shows no sign of stopping. New cases crop up every day, and health organizations around the world are trying to keep up with containment as well as understanding of the disease. But are we at a point where people should panic? Dave is joined by the Edmonton Journal's David Staples to talk about what affect an outbreak can have on people's mindset, what we can to to be vigilant and why it’s important to listen to the experts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first deadline to enter the Conservative leadership race has passed, and eight candidates have made the cut. Here’s what we know about each contender and whether they have a shot at staying in the race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1990s Nortel was a darling of the Canadian tech sector, but in the 2000s it came crashing down in spectacular fashion. Was it merely a case of a failing business in the wake of the dot com bubble bursting or were there more sinister factors at play. Dave talks with the National Post’s Tom Blackwell about Nortel’s demise and whether Chinese corporate espionage played a role. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we present the first episode of Postmedia's newest crime podcast, She's Gone. She's Gone tells the story of four women's lives, deaths and the criminal cases that followed. It's hosted by Bre McAdam, Saskatoon Star Phoenix criminal justice reporter, and is available on all your favourite listening platforms, like the one on which you're listening to my voice, right now. Subscribe to She's Gone today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's look at the Conservative party leadership race, Brian Platt and Stuart Thomson consider the candidates' reaction to the the rail blockades. Critics say a tweet from Peter MacKay endorsed vigilantism, while Erin O'Toole released a policy that would make rail blockades illegal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ongoing dispute over the Coastal Gaslink pipeline and its route through First Nations land has posed a major problem for the Trudeau government. Blockades of rail lines in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose the project have created anger directed at a prime minister whose message has focused on communication as a solution Today national post columnist John Ivison joins me to talk about the politics of ending the blockades and whether this hurts the PM’s vision of reconciliation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blockades in support of Wet’suwet’en opposition to the coastal gas link pipeline have ground rail traffic to a halt in parts of Canada. But at the centre of it all is a camp of about 50 people in the remote B.C. wilderness. Dave is joined by APTN senior reporter Kathleen Martens about the conflict over the pipeline and why there’s not a simple answer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protests in support of an Indigenous blockade in northern B.C. have snarled rail traffic across the country. The action against the Coastal Gaslink pipeline has sparked anger among pipeline supporters, and has created political chaos for the prime minister, who cancelled a planned trip to try to deal with the issue. The National Post's Tyler Dawson joins me to talk about the reasons behind the blockades, what the concerns are if they go on for a long time and whether there’s a political solution to the issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Baird isn’t running for the Conservative leadership, and it’s good news for both Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole. But is it good news for the party? National Post political reporters Stuart Thomson and Brian Platt walk you through the latest news in the Conservative leadership race in our new weekly series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A deadline is looming for the federal cabinet to make a decision on whether to approve a major oilsands project in northern Alberta. The proposed Teck frontier mine has divided opinions, with many suggesting it will hamper attempts by the Justin Trudeau government to meet its own emissions targets, while proponents say it’s in the national interest and necessary to spur economic growth. Dave talks to the National Post's Jesse Snyder about why the project is so divisive, what cabinet is saying about it, and the political ramifications of a yes or a no. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teacher strikes will hit Ontario classrooms this week amid worsening tensions between the government and the province's unions. Up to a million kids will he out of class. We look at where the two sides are at odds, whether there could be a resolution, and who is winning the support of the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jamie Boulachanis, a murderer who recently transitioned to a woman is demanding a Montreal judge grant her request to move to a women's penitentiary. Correctional Service Canada opposes the move and says Boulachanis poses a serious risk of escaping and is a threat to public safety if she gets out. Guest host Monique Beaudin is joined by Montreal Gazette crime reporter Paul Cherry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What was once expected to be a political battle royale involving the superstars of Canada's conservative movement, has turned into a mano-a-mano matchup between two Harper-era ministers. Peter MacKay and Erin O'Toole have emerged as the early front-runners in the race to replace Andrew Scheer, who is stepping down as leader after a disappointing showing in last fall's election. Dave and John Ivison talk about how the race is shaping up now that big names have dropped out, what challenges MacKay and O'Toole could face, and whether new faces could emerge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An outbreak of coronavirus in China has ramped up fears that we're facing a crisis similar to the SARS outbreak. Cases of this virus have numbered in the thousands this year, but so far there have been just three in Canada. Today, Dave talks with National Post health reporter Sharon Kirkey about how the outbreak started, why this virus has people worried and how Canadian officials have responded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gangs in B.C.'s Lower Mainland are turning to rap music to taunt their rivals online over bloody acts of violence. Today Vancouver Sun journalist Kim Bolan speaks to with guest host Dharm Makwana about her investigation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent Abacus Data survey found near the top of a list of negative associations with the Conservative party is "racist." Author Jamil Jivani explains why his party needs to tackle its "racism problem." In a column for the National Post Jivani argued that Conservative leadership candidates should be reflecting on how and why the party has a racism stigma, but they haven’t been. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six-year-old Ljubica Topic was snatched in May 1971 as she played outside her Windsor home. Police discovered her lifeless remains — face and body covered in blood — early the next morning. It is a case that left a cloud over the southern Ontario city for decades. Nearly 50 years later, police say they have solved the case. Dave is joined by by Windsor Star reporter Trevor Wilhelm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 36 years a convicted child killer is out on bail, awaiting a new trial. Tallio, then 17, pleaded guilty in 1983 to the second-degree murder of a child, but has maintained his innocence ever since. The University of B.C.’s Innocence Project began working on Tallio’s case more than 10 years ago, and his lawyers, now supported by the Legal Services Society, filed a notice of appeal in 2016. His appeal is expected to be heard later this year. Guest host Dharm Makwana is joined by Vancouver Sun reporter Dan Fumano. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After former Canadian reservist Patrick Matthews was revealed to be an alleged recruiter for American neo-Nazi group The Base he disappeared. The mystery of what happened to Matthews was solved Thursday when U.S. officials announced that he had been arrested along with two other purported members of The Base, accused of building a homemade machine gun and stockpiling ammunition. Dave is joined by National Post reporter Tom Blackwell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The race to replace Andrew Scheer as the next Conservative leader officially kicked off Monday, and the contenders will have to come up with $300,000 to get their name on the final ballot. Entry requirements and other rules for the race were announced over the weekend and as expected, the party is raising the threshold from 2017 to try to keep the field smaller than the 13 candidates who were on that race’s final ballot. Dave is joined by National Post politics reporter Brian Platt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a plane that crashed and killed 176 people, including 63 Canadians, was likely shot down by a missile, Iran is denying that theory. Dave is joined from Ottawa by National Post reporter Ryan Tumilty who explains why investigating the crash will be especially challenging, given the lack of any diplomatic relationship between Canada and Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An airplane crash in Iran that killed 176 people including 63 Canadians was likely brought down by a "surface to air" missile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says. Dave is joined by Edmonton Journal reporter Dylan Short who has been covering the story. Edmonton was hit particularly hard by the crash with 27 of the dead coming from the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How easy is it to get basic information from your local government? According to an investigation by the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, not as easy as you might think. The papers asked for what should be readily available information from more than 700 municipalities, and the results were somewhat lacking. Andrea Hill joins Dave to talk about the project, what kind of information they were seeking, what roadblocks they hit, and why this matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney believes the future of conservatism lies in parties like Canada’s Tories moving away from promoting laissez-faire capitalism and instead embracing the growing “reform conservatism” movement in the U.S., which sees a role for government in addressing the challenges of people who have failed to get ahead even as the economy grows. Dave is joined by National Post politics reporter Stuart Thomson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A former high-profile Vice Media music editor who recruited young musicians, models and a former Vice intern to smuggle huge loads of cocaine — hidden in their luggage — on flights to Australia was sentenced to nine years in prison, Tuesday. Dave is joined by National Post crime writer Adrian Humphreys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders were caught on video apparently making fun of U.S. President Donal Trump. Trudeau explained he had been talking to Princess Anne, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands about Trump’s announcement Tuesday that the next G7 summit in June would be held at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, rather than the Trump National Doral golf resort in Miami. Trump called Trudeau "two-faced" in response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 200 former inmates have filed civil claims in court alleging they were sexually abused by retired B.C. jail guard Roderic David MacDougall over his 21-year career when they were teenagers or young men incarcerated for relatively minor crimes. The plaintiffs claim the attacks left them angry and confused, often compounding pre-existing drug and crime problems, and spiralling them into even more difficult lives. MacDougall has maintained his innocence. Guest host Dharm Makwana is joined by Vancouver Sun reporters Lori Culbert and Dan Fumano. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alberta's United Conservative Party party government is facing growing discontent from public sector worker over the potential loss of thousands of jobs. That is on top of blowback over a bill to fire Alberta's election commissioner who was investigating the UCP. But premier Jason Kenney appears to be riding high after a party convention on the weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A man dumped a bucket of what police believe was liquefied waste — whether animal or human they aren’t yet sure — on a woman just after she left a U of T building on the south edge of campus, Monday. It was the third feces attack on a Toronto campus in four days, all pulled off, police believe, by the same man. Dave is joined by National Post reporter Richard Warnica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An undercover officer known only as "UCO Joe" infiltrated a circle of Canadian drug smugglers in 2013. Eventually, the clues led "Joe" all the way to Mexico and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, who in July 2019 would be sentenced to life by a Brooklyn judge for running a $14 billion empire, in the process becoming one of the world’s most notorious drug kingpins. The RCMP noticed, too, that Canadians who entered El Chapo’s orbit kept ending up dead. Brian Fitzpatrick wrote about the RCMP investigation for the National Post. He joins guest host Emily Jackson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October 2016, a University of Toronto psychology professor named Jordan Peterson gave an impassioned speech to student protesters in front of Sidney Smith Hall. The events surrounding Peterson at the time would spark a larger discussion about free speech on university campuses across Canada that continues to this day. It’s now a widely held belief that campus free speech is under threat from student protesters, campus organizations, and even university officials. Josephine Mathias produced a documentary investigation into free speech on universities. She joins Dave to talk about what she found. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A little over a year after cannabis was legalized in Canada, companies are taking financial losses, amid sluggish sales for some products and a lack of retail space. The Financial Post's Vanmala Subramaniam joins Dave to explain how the cannabis industry went from being unable to meet demand, to have trouble moving their product. She lays out what this means for the introduction of edibles into the market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don Cherry was fired from Hockey Night in Canada after a rant criticizing "you people" who "come here" but don't wear poppies. Cherry, who refused to apologize, was no longer a relevant hockey commentator, argues Postmedia sports columnist Scott Stinson. The long-time NHL fixture refused to change as attitudes around hockey evolved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we bring you episode 1 of the Dark North: Gangs of Montreal. It's a new true crime podcast being produced by the Montreal Gazette and Postmedia. It was pure coincidence but the Hells Angels opened their first Canadian chapter in Quebec just seven weeks before Nicolo Rizzuto took control of the Montreal Mafia. Those events in 1977-78 kickstarted a violent decades-long struggle to control the criminal underworld in Montreal. Subscribe to the Dark North on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A minority government means Justin Trudeau's agenda could be difficult to implement. National Post columnist John Ivison explains that unlike Stephen Harper, Trudeau may not be satisfied with the more incremental approach to governing that comes with a minority. Ivison also explains possible risks for the NDP of propping up the Liberals, the potential for growing public debt and western alienation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conservatives have "lost the plot" argues Sean Speer, who was an advisor to former prime minister Stephen Harper. In an essay for the National Post Speer argues that conservatives need to look beyond the policies of the past and apply conservative principles to modern problems. One problem is the transition towards a knowledge economy and the working class people left behind. Speer talks to Dave about this and other issues facing conservatives in Canada, in the wake of 2019 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dark North is a new podcast about crime in Canada. Each season will focus on a different city. Season 1 examines the struggle for control of Montreal's underworld, hosted by Montreal Gazette crime reporter Paul Cherry. Episode 1 traces how the Hells Angels and the Rizzuto crime family came to Montreal. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-dark-north/id1479595886 Or at the Montreal Gazette https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/gangs-of-montreal-episode-1-how-it-began Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Quebec government has unveiled a values test for new immigrants, but it is a watered version of what was promised during the 2018 provincial election. Drawing a sample from a pool of about 100 questions drafted by a private consulting firm hired by the government an immigrant in the qualified worker category could be asked whether women and men have the same rights in Quebec. True or false? There will be 20 questions in all. A pass is a score of 75 per cent (15 questions correct), but in the event of a fail, the person can take the test again two weeks later. Dave is joined by Montreal Gazette political reporter Philip Authier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of Justin Trudeau's return to power after the election, conservative eyes are turning to Alberta where Jason Kenney is confidently leading a right of centre of government. Kenney is benefitting, critics would say fuelling, from increasing talk of separatism and western alienation. His first budget, released days after the federal vote, has faced criticism on the left for cutting too much, but also on the right for de-indexing income taxes, which adds up, critics argue, to a tax hike. Dave is joined by National Post Alberta reporter Tyler Dawson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices