The Alex Pierson Show

It's been ten years since Sammy Yatim was shot and killed on a streetcar by a Toronto police officer while having a mental health crisis. After all this time, we finally will get a coroner's inquest into what happened with the case. Will Sammy's family finally get retribution or will things come up cold? To talk about it, we spoke with Joseph Neuberger, a Criminal Lawyer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Tory is about to begin his final term as Mayor of Toronto, and the question is already being asked as to who would possibly replace him when the term ends. Ben Spurr is the Toronto Star's City Hall Reporter, and joined Alex to talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, we've been having the debate on whether or not masks actually work to prevent flu like illnesses. Dr. Chris Millburn is an Emergency Room and Family Doctor, who was removed as the Head of Emergency Medicine (Eastern Division), for voicing concerns and publicly questioning some of Nova Scotia's decision making regarding Covid-19. He joined us to talk about the lack of proper evidence to support that masks are effective, and shared the issues that come with wearing even medical grade masks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex is joined by Dr. Neil Rau, an Infectious Disease Consultant, to help make sense of what’s going on in our hospitals. Dr. Rau says it’s not COVID cases that’s causing kids to go to hospital, but RSV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"We had to keep under cover. Meanwhile there were other soldiers who had caught the bullet and they were either lying dead or they were wounded. So it was a pretty rough landing." That's what 98 year old veteran, Jim Parks, said when he recounted the day he and the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, who he was enlisted with, stormed Juno Beach on D-Day in 1944. Jim is about to be featured in an upcoming documentary, and joined Alex to talk about his experiences and what he hopes people get out of his service and story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, CSIS has been sounding the alarm on interference from other nations, namely China, on politicians and elections in Canada. For a long time, the Trudeau government has been sitting on these memos and is only now seemingly acting on it. But we've already been infiltrated in this country. So what does this mean? Dan Stanton is a Former Manager of Operations at CSIS and is now the Director of the National Security Program at the University of Ottawa, and joined Alex to talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toronto needs a commitment for more funding from senior levels of government by the end of the month to avoid “an unprecedented and inflationary property tax increase” and extreme severe service and program cuts, Mayor John Tory says. We spoke with David Rider, Toronto Star’s City Hall Bureau Chief, about Mayor John Tory calling on the province and federal government for more funding in order to avoid property tax hikes and service cuts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1,100 people before the courts on firearm charges currently free on bail instead of sitting in jail. The situation is said to be worse in Peel, York and Halton. The Toronto Police and Durham Regional Police have announced the firearm bail dashboard, an “inter-agency collaboration to share firearm bail compliance data in real time.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots of news about the failures in our healthcare system. Including a new report from Second Street dot org that found at least 2.9 million Canadians are waiting for surgery, scans and specialist appointments.. Colin Craig, President of Second Street dot org, joined us and said the federal and provincial governments both bear the blame for these catastrophic failures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

54%, a bare majority of Canadians are confident in the federal government. According to Elections Canada which commissioned internal polling“to gauge the general public’s opinion on various electoral issues.” “on the question of changes to make voting easier or fairer for all Canadians,” 21 percent, disagreed. 21 percent, said “voting is prone to fraud” in Canada. 66 percent, said they do not think the government cares much what people like them think,” said the Elections Canada report . The survey also found public cynicism was so widespread a significant minority of Canadians believed in conspiracy theories. Tom Korski, Managing Editor of Blacklock's Reporter, joined us with the details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, provincial leaders held a meeting with federal leaders to discuss funding for the health sector. But both sides walked away without a deal being reached. With how poorly run our health system is right now, how hard is it now without a deal to get better healthcare? Dr. Alika LaFontaine is the President of the Canadian Medical Association, and spoke to Alex about the details and how it can affect those in the healthcare industry, and their patients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech giant, Meta, announced major layoffs on Wednesday with over 11,000 job cuts. And naturally, Toronto’s tech sector is concerned. We’re a tech city. Sunil Sharma, Managing Director of Techstars Toronto, joined us and explained why we’re seeing these job cuts and whether or not this is a long term solution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The kids still aren't alright and their education is constantly being slammed by either pandemic shutdowns or labour strikes that disrupt learning further. With the Ford government offering up to $200 per kid for private lessons, is that actually enough? Can that money be better utilized elsewhere? Kat Eschner is TVO's Affordability Reporter and joined Alex to talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some stores across Canada owned by Empire Company Ltd. continue to experience disruptions due to an information technology systems issue. Empire, which owns Sobeys, Lawtons, IGA, Safeway, Farm Boy, Foodland and FreshCo, among other brands, said on Monday that an IT problem is preventing some of its pharmacies from filling prescriptions. Alex was joined by Dr. Sylvian Charlebois, Professor of Food Policy and Distribution and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, to discuss the impact this will have on Canadians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The winter months are upon us and that means it's going to be harder for those who are without a home to stay warm. The City of Toronto says that we could expect to see expansions on the amounts of beds and hotel rooms available to homeless individuals. We spoke with Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker and organizer with Shelter and Housing Justice Network, who says that the city is great at throwing money at the issue, but not investing in long-term solutions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal departments are concealing records on contracting, says the Procurement Ombudsman who cited unnamed departments for hiding documents that he knew for a fact existed. So this has to do with numerous complaints of sweetheart contracting in the name of pandemic relief-- $237.3 million purchase order for ventilators from Baylis Medical Co., a firm that had never made ventilators but was operated by ex-Liberal MP Frank Bayliss. A $149 million contract to Spartan Bioscience Inc., a now-bankrupt test kit supplier hired after “a couple of good meetings” in the Prime Minister’s Office; a $150 million contract for SNC-Lavalin Group field hospitals that no health authority requested. Here’s Tom Korski, Managing Editor of Blacklock's Reporter, with the scoop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The housing market might be starting to show signs of cooling, but that doesn't stop the cost of building homes rising. Alex was joined by Christopher Alexander, President of Re/Max, and asked if developers are feeling the pinch and having to pull out of the projects they've already started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ford government has turned back on its promise not to touch the protected Greenbelt lands, announcing that it would open up 7,400 acres for new housing so developers can build 50,000 homes on that land. In exchange, it would add 9,400 acres in different areas to the existing two-million-acre swath of agricultural, wetlands and environmentally sensitive land, the province said on Friday afternoon. Matti Siemiatycki, Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, and Canada Research Chair in Infrastructure Planning and Finance, spoke with Alex about this broken promise and what it means for the Greenbelt going forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thursday's Financial update mentioned nothing for the city of Toronto that has a massive $865 Million shortfall. Mayor John Tory argues that they were told we’d be getting help after the pandemic. Now with their sights turning to the provincial update on Nov 14th, is the expectation we are going to see a fight if the province also doesn’t deliver? Pressure campaign? Or a tax hike that will go over like a lead balloon? Ben Spurr is the Toronto Star's City Hall Reporter and joined Alex to talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The saga continues in the inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act in order to quell the Freedom Convoy from continuing further. On Thursday, Tamara Lich took to the stand and began her testimony saying that she was frustrated by the mandates that were imposed during the pandemic and that Trudeau's comments on the unvaccinated were divisive. So the big question coming out of this entire inquiry is whether or not the Liberal government was justified in enacting these measures or not. Joanna Baron is the Executive Director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, and joined Alex to talk about all of this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's no secret that Toronto loves its trees, but did you know that there is a very invasive species of tree in the city? Acer platanoides, more popularly known as the the Norway maple, is an invasive species. The Ontario Invasive Plant Council calls these trees “a serious threat to woodlands across Ontario” because of their aggressive spread into forests and ability to suppress native species. The City of Toronto has actively stopped planting these trees, but they're already one of the most popular trees in the city. Françoise Cardou, an urban ecologist at the University of Toronto Scarborough, joined Alex to talk about them and how difficult it would be to just replace them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's becoming all too common for teenagers in Toronto to be exposed to gun violence. On Halloween day, a shooting outside of a Toronto high school, killing an 18 year old, and injuring a 15 year old. The shooting was witnessed by dozens of kids who took out their phones to record it and put it on social media. What is the Toronto Police doing to help curb any of this needless violence? We turn to Jon Reid, President of the Toronto Police Association every Thursday to break down all things policing, and get his take on the case at hand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is that time of the week where we do a deep dive on all things Ottawa. Today, we talk about how the Department of Canadian Heritage bought maple leaf flag pins from China even as the Commons voted to condemn the People’s Republic for crimes against humanity, records show. Federal contracts for patriotic paraphernalia were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. For this we speak to Tom Korski, Managing Editor of Blacklock's Reporter about all of this and many other of the big headlines out of Ottawa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, is expected to make an announcement late on Thursday, updating Canadians on the fiscal outlook going ahead. But will she use the word 'recession' at all in her announcement? For that, we ask Moshe Lander, an Economist with Concordia University, and find out if Freeland will say we're going into a recession, or not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Heritage Minister’s parliamentary secretary accused Facebook of threatening Canadians’ safety, after the company said it could pull news off its platform if it’s forced to share revenue with news publishers. We spoke with Dr. Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-Commerce Law. Geist says this will have a huge impact on what we consume on the internet and freedom of expression. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the teacher's union ready to strike on Friday, the question is being asked about whether or not teachers should be considered an essential service. But another question that sprouts from that one is what rights do kids have to education? And whose rights come first? Labour or kids? John Schuman, Family, Children’s Rights and Education Lawyer joined us and said it would be difficult to make this issue a charter right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tensions are continuing to rise in the fight between the Ontario government and CUPE workers in what appears to be a never-ending labour dispute that has lasted for decades already. The province is tabling legislation that would impose a contract onto teachers, but also plan on using the notwithstanding clause, which is causing a lot of alarms to be sounded. Dr. Charles Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at St. Thomas More College and University of Saskatchewan, and he joined Alex to discuss it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Canadian Dairy Commission says the farm gate price for dairy will increase by another 2.2 per cent starting in February, as the supply managed industry says its costs continue to rise. This could mean that the price of your milk and dairy purchases at the grocery store could go up to match the increased costs. We spoke with Dr. Simon Somogyi, a Professor at the University of Guelph and Arrell Chair in the Business of Food, to talk all about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Barber, who was the initial organizer of the Freedom Convoy, took the stand during his testimony into the usage of the Emergencies Act, and he said that there was no intention of doing anything illegal or parking on main streets. Most people who attended the protest were ordinary people, so why did they jump on the bandwagon? Joining Alex to talk to the psychological aspects of the protest is Dr. Marnie Wedlake, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Studies at Western University and a Registered Psychotherapist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, daycare operators in the province of Ontario had the deadline to opt into a program which would allow parents to only pay $10 a day. Approximately 85% of providers opted into the program, leaving 15% who did not choose to opt in. The question is why though? Amanda Munday is the CEO of The Workaround, A Childcare and Co-Working Space, and she joined Alex to talk about the struggles, and unknowns of the program, and why she didn't opt in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Those who want to study in Canada have to jump through a lot of hoops in order to secure education, and that doesn't include the nominal fees that come with being an international student. One of the big things is the heavy restrictions on the amount of hours an international student is allowed to work when studying in Canada, but now, it's looking like the federal government is looking at lifting those restrictions. Dr. Mikal Skuterud is an Economist at the University of Waterloo and joined Alex to talk all about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to a survey of Canadian employees and employers by Staples Professional, a division of Staples Canada ULC, and Angus Reid Group, The professional workforce is currently split between one-third working from home, one-third on a hybrid model and one-third in the office five days a week. But hybrid work is emerging as the winner. David Boone is the CEO of Staples Canada and joined guest host, Angela Kokott, to discuss the survey and what a future of work could look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is that time to dig deep into all things Ottawa and that means we get to speak with Tom Korski, Managing Editor of Blacklock's Reporter. Today, Tom talks about how Cabinet and political aides schemed on ways to perpetuate media coverage depicting Freedom Convoy members as “crazies,” the Public Order Emergency Commission was told yesterday. A lawyer for the truckers read out text messages in which Liberal aides contemplated a media campaign to depict protesters as violent, adding: “We need something to back this up." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada said the country’s nearly 20-year-old federal sex-offender registry, in its current form, does more harm to individual liberty than it does to protect vulnerable children and women. That brought strong reactions on both sides. Gary Kruze is the brother of Martin Kruze, who was the first male to step forward about the sexual abuse at Maple Leaf Gardens. Gary joined Alex to talk about Martin's story, and the ruling that came down from the court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the pandemic emerged in Canada, governments postponed hundreds of thousands of surgeries, diagnostic scans and appointments with specialists. Research from the Fraser Institute suggests waiting lists have never been longer. Joining Alex to talk all about it and how Canadians want to see more reform within the healthcare system, is Colin Craig, the one who published the article on SecondStreet.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Thursday evening, Elon Musk finally did what he said he'd do for months. He bought social media giant, Twitter, and for a hefty price tag. With that, though, comes some trimming of the proverbial excess fat. While Musk has already laid off some of the top execs, he didn't shy away from saying that other employees would also be laid off. But the rumour mills have spun and many believe it's coming at a time when employees would be getting a payout for working at the company, only to be let go before receiving it. Musk says that's all false, but here to explain it to guest host, Angela Kokott, is Dr. Brett Caraway, Associate Professor with the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology at the University of Toronto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Formerly a Torontonian, Heather Blumberg, decided what her paranormal loving family needed was to buy up a Dresden funeral home and turn it into their ultimate dream home. After a year of living there, Heather says she rarely gets spooked. Her family is now the subject of a new series on Discovery+ called, "We Bought A Funeral Home." Heather joined guest host, Angela Kokott, to talk all about how they came to be in possession of the former funeral home, and all the paranormal stories that come with it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what feels like a never ending labour dispute between the province of Ontario and the teachers' unions, we might be seeing the strength of the province's resolve by way of legislation that would be tabled in order to impose a contract on the education sector union. But how do parents feel about all of this? Guest host, Angela Kokott, is joined by Jess Lyons who's the Lead Organizer with the Ontario Parent Action Network, but is also a mom of three kids in the education system, who talks about the consensus when it comes to how parents are reacting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We spoke with Bioethicist Dr. Kerry Bowman about the dwindling number of physicians willing to participate in the medical assistance in dying program, now that it includes mental health, housing and food insecurity issues.. Dr. Bowman says the program has gotten too morally complex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday we saw former Ottawa Police Chief, Peter Sloly, take the stand in a very teary eyed testimony when it comes to the usage of the Emergencies Act and the response from Ottawa Police. Out of all the testimonies we've heard thus far, what have we learned when it comes to the inquiry itself? Cara Zwibel is a Lawyer and Director of the Fundamental Freedoms Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and joined Alex to discuss it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ontario government has introduced a bill that would ban the use of non-disclosure agreements in sexual misconduct cases among post-secondary employees who are looking for work at a different institution. The province says the legislation would also allow schools to fire employees who’ve committed sexual abuse against students. The new bill would also require post-secondary schools to have sexual misconduct policies in place and disciplinary measures for staff who break those rules. Joining Alex to talk about it is Lluc Cerda, an Employment Lawyer and Senior Associate at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He joins us every Thursday morning to talk about all things policing and today he talks about how, 'The Big Ten' just wrapped up their twice-yearly meeting of the ten largest police associations across Canada. He also talks about how gun violence and shootings are rampant across the city and whether or not the government is providing any support. We're talking about Jon Reid, President of the Toronto Police Association, and he joined Alex to talk about these topics, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the news of Laith Marouf was released some time ago, people noticed that he was still accepting donations, and that's causing a problem. Many are starting to call on PayPal to suspend all donations going to Laith in an effort to stop the anti-Semite from gaining any more funds to release more hateful content. Michael Mostyn, B’Nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive, joined Alex to discuss it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez’s department “begged us” to take a subsidy, says an anti-Semite. Laith Marouf in his first public comments on the $133,822 grant said he was contacted by the Department of Canadian Heritage and promised funding in less than a week. ‘this debacle shows the media across Canada are Jewish white supremacists or supporters of Jewish white supremacy. So let's take a deep dive into all things Ottawa with Tom Korski, Managing Editor of Blacklock's Reporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As time goes on and the cost of food continues to rise, food banks are seeing their number of users exponentially increase. Richard Matern is Research Director for Food Banks Canada and author of the report that showcases the latest numbers, joined Alex to talk about it and what supports are needed to ensure everyone has something to eat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is that time of the week where we do a deep dive into all things Ottawa. Today, senior officials, including police and a deputy minister of public safety, drafted a memo to end the Freedom Convoy on Feb. 11th with the stroke of a pen, an inquiry was told yesterday. The deal would be: "Leave the protest and denounce unlawful activity and you will be heard,” read the memo drafted by RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, then-Deputy Public Safety Minister Rob Stewart and Inspector Marcel Beaudin of the Ontario Provincial Police. But they went with emergency powers instead. This and much more is broken down by none other than Tom Korski, Managing Editor of Blacklock's Reporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday, Governor Tiff Macklem from the Bank of Canada announced that they were increasing policy rates by 50 basis points, bringing us from 3.25%, to 3.75%. So what does this mean to everyday Canadians? Phillip Cross is a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute & Fraser Institute with 36 years at Stats Canada specializing in macroeconomics, and he joined Alex to break it all down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For those who get diagnosed with cancer, it's a devastating blow. But when you find out the cost attached with treatments, not everything gets covered by your public health provider or insurance. Jessica Soares lost her husband, Paulo (lovingly known as Paul), and as his caregiver, Jessica shared little of her battle to access critical life prolonging treatment for Paul with him. She wanted him to focus on getting well while she petitioned his insurance to help cover the cost of the drug. Jessica Soares is the Ambassador for Brain Cancer Canada, and was joined by Marc Peeters who is on the Board of Directors for Brain Cancer Canada, and spoke to Alex about the process and what her message is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ontario has announced it is raising the non-resident speculation tax on homes purchased by foreign nationals from 20 per cent to 25 per cent, effective Tuesday. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says the move makes Ontario’s tax rate the highest in Canada and seeks to discourage foreign speculation. Joining guest host Rubina Ahmed-Haq to talk about this, is Nicola St. John, a Realtor with Bosley Real Estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With such low numbers, why aren't Torontonians feeling incentivized to go out and vote? Is it apathy or a lack of education? Myer Siemiatycki is a Professor Emeritus of Politics at Toronto Metropolitan University, and spoke with guest host Rubina Ahmed-Haq about ways that we can encourage people to actually vote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices