Fight Back With Libby Znaimer

THE ZOOMER SQUAD: WASTEWATER SIGNAL AND COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS REACH ONE-YEAR HIGHS Jane Brown is joined by Peter Muggeridge, Senior Editor of Zoomer Magazine, Rudy Buttignol, President of CARP and John Wright, Executive Vice President, Maru Public Opinion. According to the latest data, both Ontario's wastewater signal and hospitalization rates for COVID-19 have reached one-year highs respectively. It's a confirmation that the virus still poses a significant public health threat. Meanwhile, Jane and the panel weigh in on older adults (we're talking about adults 80 years of age and older) and their relationship with technology especially in the context of the busy holiday shopping where you can find such great deals online and also staying connected to their loved ones and family virtually. MORE ISRAELI HOSTAGES RETURN BACK HOME Jane Brown is now joined by David Matlow, a Toronto-based lawyer. Over the weekend, additional groups of Israeli hostages were released as part of ongoing negotiation deals bet

Today on Free For All Friday, listeners called in to weigh in on Justin Trudeau's performance as our Prime Minister, whether or not its time for him to go and who they are voting for in the next election.

The release of the first group of Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorist group is scheduled to begin this Friday. It is expected that 50 women and children will be returned as part of the deal. In a conversation with Libby Znaimer, Lt. Col. Conricus explains how the IDF will play a role in bringing the hostages back to safety in Israel, how their families will be notified and the aims of the IDF in the days to come.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: MAYOR OLIVIA CHOW DEMANDS MORE FROM OTTAWA Libby Znaimer is joined by Karen Stintz, CEO, Variety Village, Alex Blumenstein, Co-Founder of The Peak which is now part of the ZoomerMedia family, and Councillor Paula Fletcher, Ward 14 Toronto-Danforth. It’s Thursday time to talk about all things municipal. And zmsyornOlivia Chow is pushing back against the federal govt in the wake of the fall economic statement which had very little for Toronto. She is also unhappy with the Immigration Minister’s offer of 5 million for a warming centre at the Better Living Centre. she wants to open the armories as a shelter but Ottawa is against that. Also the fallout from yesterday’s explosion at the Rainbow Bridge which is still closed. CANADIANS SHOPPING HABITS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON & BLACK FRIDAY DEALS Libby Znaimer is joined by Lisa Hutcheson, a retail expert and consultant with JC Williams and Barry Choi, a personal finance expert. Black Friday is tomorrow, as always the day after American Thanksg

THE MEDICAL RECORD: A SAFE HOME TEST TO CHECK FOR HPV Libby Znaimer is now joined by Dr. Alisa Naiman, Family Physician and Founder and Medical Director of The Medical Station in Toronto, Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Dr. Jamie Spiegelman, Internal medicine and critical care physician at Humber River Hospital. It’s Wednesday time to talk about your health. Following yesterday’s economic update there are questions about what is not there. There was nothing about an expansion of the dental care program, something that would be critical for many Zoomers and also not a word about Pharmacare, even though the agreement with the NDP states explicitly that that file must be Acted on by the end of this year. Also, Zoomer women will remember the very uncomfortable routine of regular Pap smears. Canada is moving away from them and there is apparently a safe and effective home test to look for HPV. ISRAEL'S HOSTAGE AGREEMENT WITH HAMAS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Libby Znaimer

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL: WHY THE TRUDEAU LIBERALS ARE TRAILING BEHIND POILIEVRE'S CONSERVATIVES Marissa Lennox is joined by Lisa Raitt, Former Deputy Leader of Conservative Party of Canada, Charles Bird, Managing Principle of Earnscliffe Strategies in Toronto, and Cheri DiNovo, Former Ontario NDP MPP and a recipient of the Order of Canada. Today: A Nanos poll shows that the Trudeau Liberals are trailing behind Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives and that the Conservative brand is "stronger now… than at any time" in the past ten years. Are we surprised? Meanwhile, The Ontario Liberal leader will be voted in next weekend with the results made official on December 2nd. Bonnie Crombie is the front-runner but two of her rivals, Yasir Naqvi and Nate Erskine Smith who are both currently MPs, have a strategy to try to beat her. STUDENTS AT MCGILL SUPPORT PRO-PALESTINE POLICY Marissa Lennox is now joined by Michael Mostyn, CEO of B'nai Brith Canada followed by Toronto-based criminal defense lawyer, Ari Goldkind.

LEAD-THE ZOOMER SQUAD: REMEMBERING ROSALYNN CARTER Marissa Lennox is joined by Rudy Buttignol, President of CARP,  Anthony Quinn,  Chief Community Officer of CARP and Peter Muggeridge, Senior Editor of Zoomer Magazine. This week: Ottawa is set to release its Fall fiscal update on Tuesday. CARP wants to know if there will be anything in it for its members. Meanwhile, the wife of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has passed away. Rosalynn Carter was 96. Our panel reflects on their legacy together. Also a report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows a trend of older adults choosing to age at home primarily due to greater wealth and health. The survey looked at major Canadian cities including: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT PARTS WAYS WITH ONTARIO PLACE DEVELOPMENT PLANS Marissa Lennox is joined by Walter Kehm, a former director of the University of Guelph’s school of landscape architecture and former senior principal at Toronto-based LANDinc

Today on Free For All Friday, we put the question to our listeners: should the Brass Rail Strip club receive heritage status? That's what Toronto's Preservation Board is recommending. Meanwhile, we get calls on the Israel-Hamas war and talk about congestion in the downtown core.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: THE PROBLEM WITH SARA JAMA Marissa Lennox is now joined by David Crombie, Former Mayor of Toronto, Alex Blumenstein, Co-Founder of The Peak,  and Karen Stintz, CEO, Variety Village. This week: Independent MPP Sara Jama once again made highly offensive comments about Israel. In other news, Toronto's Preservation Board wants City Council to protect the historic Brass Rail strip club in the downtown core. And, Ottawa says it will contribute $1.2 billion in fully repayable low interest loans towards the building of over 2,600 rental homes in Toronto. So, what's that all about? Our panel reacts to the latest. THE MORAL EQUIVALENCE WHEN IT COMES TO ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR Marissa Lennox is now joined by George Monastiriakos, a lawyer and fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and Sara Teich, an International human rights lawyer, senior fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was called out by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his sta

THE MEDICAL RECORD Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Alisa Naiman, Family Physician and Founder and Medical Director of The Medical Station in Toronto, Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and  Dr. Amol Verma, a staff physician in General Internal Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. Ontario's Patient Ombudsman Craig Thompson's office has received a 33 per cent jump in complaints and he highlighted a concerning trend about challenges accessing primary care in the province. Meanwhile, the provincial government is getting stricter on masking rules in long-term care homes amid the current respiratory virus season and due to the threat of COVID-19. There have been over 100 deaths of long-term care residents from COVID-19 since late August. Our panel has the latest. TODAY MARKS WORLD COPD DAY Libby Znaimer is now joined by Henry Roberts, Member of the Executive Committee at COPD Canada. Today marks World COPD Day and Henry is here to raise awareness about the horrible

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL: THE FUTURE OF TRUDEAU'S LIBERALS LOOKS GRIM + ONTARIO WANTS MORE PROTECTION FOR RESTAURANT STAFF Libby Znaimer is joined by Lisa Raitt, Former Deputy Leader of Conservative Party of Canada, George Smitherman, Former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre who served as a health minister and Deputy Premier, and Cheri DiNovo, Former Ontario NDP MPP and a recipient of the Order of Canada. Today: an Abacus Data survey reveals that the Liberals would lose to the opposition Conservatives if an election were held today. And, the Ford government is proposing new legislation to better protest employees of restaurants. DAILY BREAD RELEASES LATEST "WHO'S HUNGRY REPORT" Libby Znaimer is now joined by Neil Hetherington, CEO of The Daily Bread Food Bank. Daily Bread's new "Who's Hungry Report" is now out and the findings are concerning: in the past year, there were 2.53 million client visits across 150 food banks in Toronto, which is a 51 per cent increase compared to 2002. And, 1 in 10 Torontonia

THE ZOOMER SQUAD 12:00-12:30 Marissa Lennox is joined by Bill VanGorder, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Policy Officer of CARP, Anthony Quinn, Chief Community Officer of CARP and Peter Muggeridge,  Senior Editor of Zoomer Magazine. Five Premiers from Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and asking Ottawa to extend the carbon price exemption to all types of home heating and not just home heating oil. Meanwhile, an Alberta CPP exit panel has been launched to hear directly from Albertans about whether they should part ways with the Canada Pension Plan. Earlier in the year, an Alberta government funded study found that the province could save as much as $5 billion if it pulled out of the CPP and entered a different scheme. And, Toronto is seeing a rise in hate related crimes: In recent weeks amid the Israel-Hamas war. Does Toronto have a plan to address this issue effectively? AN UPDATE ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 12:30-12:45

Today on Free For All Friday: Listeners called in to share stories of their family and loved ones who fought in Canada's wars and to reflect on the sacrifices they made ahead of Remembrance Day this Saturday.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN 12:00PM-12:30 PM Marissa Lennox is joined by David Crombie, Former Mayor of Toronto, Councillor Paula Fletcher, Ward 14 Toronto-Danforth and Karen Stintz, CEO, Variety Village.  The Auditor General has launched investigations into the Ford government's Ontario Place and Ontario Science Centre development plans. Meanwhile, this past Wednesday, City Council voted 24-1 for Mayor Olivia Chow's ambitious affordable housing plan that would involve building 65,000 affordable homes and would require a substantial amount of funding from both the provincial and federal government (we're talking  $36-billion).  A LOOK AHEAD TO REMEMBRANCE DAY 12:30-12:50 PM Marissa Lennox is now joined by 99-year old MajorJim Parks who served with the Winnipeg Rifles during World War 2 and heroically fought at Juno Beach on June 6, 1944  Captain (retired) Steven Dieter served in the military for a total of 21 years working with the Cadet program, as an Infantry Officer, and as a Public Affairs Officer and is also

Marissa Lennox is joined by Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, a legendary former Canadian hockey player who won five Olympic medals with Canada women's national ice hockey team. Hayley retired from hockey in 2017 and the IOC in 2022. She is currently serving as the Assistant General Manager of Player Development for the Toronto Maple Leafs and is a practicing Family and Emergency medicine doctor. It's Lung Cancer Awareness Month. To mark the occasion, Hayley has partnered with the Be the MVP – Change the Odds campaign which aims to empower Canadians to take charge of their own health by increasing their awareness of lung cancer, including the related risk factors, signs and symptoms, and the importance of early detection. In this special one-on-one conversation with Marissa, Hayley details what the campaign is all about, why early detection of lung cancer is so important and how she feels empowered to help change the odds.

THE MEDICAL RECORD: NURSES HAVE ADDITIONAL PRESCRIBING POWERS NOW 12-12:30 PM Marissa Lennox is joined by Dr. Alisa Naiman, Family Physician and Founder and Medical Director of The Medical Station in Toronto, Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Dr. Fahad Razak, General Internist at Unity Health Toronto. Ontario registered nurses will now be able to independently prescribe medications including birth control and topical antibiotics. It's all part of a strategy by the province for patients to get certain prescriptions faster. The Ontario Medical Association (OMA), however, believes that this is the wrong approach because it won't give patients “the comprehensive care that a primary care physician offers”. Do our panelists agree? Meanwhile, according to leaked documents that were made public by the Alberta NDP, the Alberta government under Premier Danielle Smith plans to make big changes to its healthcare system including dismantling its province wide healthcare provider

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL: ONTARIO AG INVESTIGATING FORD GOVERNMENT'S ONTARIO PLACE PLANS 12:00-12:30 Libby Znaimer is joined by Lisa Raitt, former deputy leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Charles Bird   , Managing Principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group in Toronto andCheri DiNovo, Former Ontario NDP MPP and a recipient of the Order of Canada. Ontario's Auditor General is conducting an investigation on the Ford government's Ontario Place development plans. Meanwhile, many of Canada's Premiers met in Halifax for a two day meeting spanning from Sunday to Monday where they discussed key issues like healthcare and energy costs. And, according to foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly, the first batch of Canadians have left Gaza and into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. But, it remains unclear how many actually made it through and for how long the border crossing will remain open. DARRIN MAHARAJ ON WATCHING THE HORRIFIC MASSACRE OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS BY HAMAS AT THE ISRAELI CONSULATE 12:30-1

ZOOMER SQUAD:  THE PINCH OF HEALTHCARE COSTS DURING RETIREMENT 12:00-12:30 Marissa Lennox is joined by Bill VanGorder, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Policy Officer of CARP, Anthony Quinn, Chief Community Officer of CARP and John Wright, Executive VP of Maru Public Opinion. In the news: a report details how one third of Zoomers are feeling the pinch of health care costs and the impact of that on their retirement savings. Meanwhile, the Ford government is re-examining its use of the ministerial zoning orders and CARP reacts to the province's last fiscal update. NURSES UNION WANTS CANADA'S PREMIERS TO ADDRESS THE NURSING SHORTAGE 12:30-12:45 PM Marissa Lennox is now joined by Linda Silas, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. As we alluded to in the previous segment, most of Canada's Premiers are meeting in Halifax to discuss healthcare among other key issues. Canada's largest nursing union is calling on the premiers to address the nationwide nursing shortage. Linda also details some of

Today on Free For All Friday: with the upcoming time change from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time on Sunday, our listeners debate: should we scrap the time change in future or keep it and why?

TUNE INTO THE TOWN:  OLIVIA CHOW AND DOUG FORD'S SECOND MEETING & A SECRET TTC BOARD MEETING 12:00PM-12:30 PM Jane Brown is joined by David Crombie, Former Mayor of Toronto, Councillor Paula Fletcher, Ward 14 Toronto-Danforth and Councillor Brad Bradford, Ward 19 Beaches-East York. This week: Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Ontario Premier Doug Ford held a second meeting to talk about Toronto's finances. In a letter, they both called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to get involved in supporting the City as it faces an ongoing budget hole stemming from the pandemic. Also this week, Mayor Chow launched the 2024 budget consultations for the City and from November 1 to 30 Toronto residents can provide their own recommendations for Toronto's budget through public consultations. Meanwhile, what was that closed-door TTC board meeting that took place last week all about? And, earlier in the week, the Toronto Paramedic Union issued a  temporary code red and indicated that there were no available ambu