Scott Thompson Show

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Where are we with he developments to downtown Hamilton’s “entertainment precinct” that will be growing from the old First Ontario Centre? How are parents being impacted by the need to save for their kids’ educations and just how far are they willing to go? The federal government handed out $1.3 billion in bonuses from 2015 to 2022, according to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation through an access-to-information request. It’s been a busy, tumultuous few days for Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex as he took his place on the witness stand in his trial against the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) at the Rolls Building, part of the Royal Courts of Justice in central London. As the fallout from news of Paul Bernardo’s transfer still blankets Canada – and particularly our region – we get insights on how and why this would happen, and the workings of the legal system, from Jeff Manishen. Canadian auto insurers lost more than $1-billion last year from st

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: We’ve worked hard to have lower-emission cars… but what about low-emission cows?! As the U.S. rolls on toward its next Presidential Election, eyes turn to the Republican Party, to see which way they choose to go: will they double-down on Donald, or are they looking for a change for the better… or even worse? The Salem Chapel Underground Railroad Cemetery project searches the Niagara region for the forgotten graves of former slaves who fled the United States in the 19th century. Ukraine is dealing with a humanitarian and ecological disaster as flooding engulfs much of the southern Kherson region after major damage to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam. Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity "quite simply false," and says he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month. Hamilton’s air quality has “deteriorated” due to the wildfires. Being exposed to

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity "quite simply false," and says he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month. Do you remember the time in June of 1975 when 52,000 people communed in Hamilton to catch Pink Floyd play at Ivor Wynn Stadium? Tom Blackwell was a reporter for the Canadian Press when he covered the trial of Paul Bernardo. It was an unsettling experience. He joins us to discuss the emotional resonance of the case, as well as to share his perspective on the news of Bernardo’s transfer from Maximum Security – and how that may affect those who remember the case. The Ford government is offering Ontario’s public elementary teachers a five-per cent pay increase over the next four years, Global News has learned, as contract talks between educators and the government continue. It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today Podcast! Guests: David Akin

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: A Chinese warship came within 150 yards of hitting American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, during a rare joint Canada-U.S. mission sailing through the Taiwan Strait, the latest aggressive military move from Beijing in the South China Sea. As we heard from Jagmeet Singh when he joined us on Friday, he will be taking security meetings in the near future, as a follow-up to his concerns about Special Rapporteur David Johnston’s report on foreign interference. The federal prison service says it will have a second look at its decision to move convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security facility as political leaders of all stripes react to the news with shock and outrage. Wildfires are having a big impact across Canada. The sun might look different, and in some regions of our province, you may even smell the smoke wafting across the land, and even here in Southern Ontario, our air quality has worsened. It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today Podcast! Guests: Dr. A

A Chinese warship came within 150 yards of hitting American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, during a rare joint Canada-U.S. mission sailing through the Taiwan Strait, the latest aggressive military move from Beijing in the South China Sea. GUEST: Elliot Tepper, Emeritus Professor of Political Science with Carleton University

A municipal-led horticulture team has outdone itself using an annual gardening display at Hamilton City Hall to mark the beginning of football season by wheeling out “Stripes,” a 10-foot tiger-cat made up of some 2,000 individual local plants of varying types to mark the coming of better weather… but what is Stripes like on the inside? What is stripes made of? Writing in the National Post, Aaron Wudrick warns that both Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford to blame for us getting a “shakedown” from Stellantis, and that we can expect other parties to try the same sort of tactics on us in the future because of the precedents set. Soldiers with five Canadian regiments based in Hamilton will be retracing the 1813 steps of the British Army this weekend which will take the modern day soldiers on a 13km march from the 1813 British encampment near Dundurn Castle to Battlefield House National Historic Site. What are Justin Trudeau’s options, as the Liberals and David Johnston are pushed further into the corner? And what should

NASA held its first public meeting on UFOs Wednesday a year after launching a study into unexplained sightings. The space agency televised the hours-long hearing featuring an independent panel of experts. The team includes 16 scientists and other experts selected by NASA including retired astronaut Scott Kelly, the first American to spend nearly a year in space. Several committee members have been subjected to "online abuse" for serving on the team, which detracts from the scientific process, said NASA's Dan Evans, adding that NASA security is dealing with it. Guest: Dr. Elaina Hyde, Director Allan I Carswell Observatory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, York University

President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed his case on Thursday for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance and said he was confident a coalition of countries would form to provide Kyiv with Western fighter jets and Patriot missile-defence systems. Guest: Elliot Tepper, Emeritus Professor of Political Science with Carleton University

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Hamilton’s medical officer of health issued a heat warning for the next two days with the expectation of temperatures hitting close to 30 C. President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed his case on Thursday for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance and said he was confident a coalition of countries would form to provide Kyiv with Western fighter jets and Patriot missile-defence systems. Soon, each individual cigarette will come with its own warning. The first steps toward development in the lands around Hamilton’s airport have been taken. We get a look at what it means for the area, and its future. There is talk that the Stellantis deal has been saved, through the combined efforts of the Ontario Conservatives and Federal Liberals. Although, there apparently still has to be “official word” given, and Stellantis is waiting… what do we know so far? NASA held its first public meeting on UFOs Wednesday a year after launching a study into unexplained sightings. Dav

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: The man who has claimed such props and sets for his memorabilia collection is passing on the torch, putting these pieces of pop-history up for auction. It’s not a done deal yet but the next big band that could sell off its catalogue could be Queen! Fallout from O’Toole’s revelations, and how Trudeau’s government is handling the slipping public trust, as MP’s debate David Johnston’s future as Special Rapporteur. The federal government intends to sell off 50% its buildings: is this good government, and what will this do to downtown Ottawa? Changes are needed to the online news bill to prevent the regulator from snooping in newsrooms and threatening the independence of the press, leaders of media organizations told senators Tuesday. And we’ll get into the Nova Scotia wildfires with a journalist out in Nova Scotia. It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today Podcast! Guests: Bill Brioux, television critic and author. Eric Alper, Publicist and music commentator. Sean S

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: What makes us more and less appealing to mosquitoes? Scientists at McMaster University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have used artificial intelligence to discover a new antibiotic which could be used to fight a deadly, drug-resistant pathogen that strikes vulnerable hospital patients. Ukrainian drones struck Moscow on Tuesday, Russia said in what one politician called the worst attack on the capital since World War Two, while Kyiv was also hit by air for the third time in 24 hours. Top artificial intelligence executives including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday joined experts and professors in raising the "risk of extinction from AI," which they urged policymakers to equate at par with risks posed by pandemics and nuclear war. As you have heard, former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole says Canada's spy agency told him he has been an ongoing target of a Chinese government campaign of misinformation and "voter suppression" that covered the last fe

Ukrainian drones struck Moscow on Tuesday, Russia said in what one politician called the worst attack on the capital since World War Two, while Kyiv was also hit by air for the third time in 24 hours. GUEST: Aurel Braun, Professor of International Relations and a Senior Member of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Let’s get into “Stay Interviews,” in which employers conduct regular interviews to get feedback from employees and learn what they can do to retain them and improve the workplace. Should more companies be doing them? “Life with Artificial Intelligence”. Alan Cross recently wrote a piece about Artificial Intelligence in the music industry… and how it might be a good thing! What do Canadians need to retire, and how can you figure out what works for you individually? Writing in the Ottawa Citizen, Phil Gurski says that David Johnston owes Canada’s intelligence community an apology. Michael Chan – former Ontario cabinet minister who is currently deputy mayor of Markham – who has been the focus of intelligence leaks related to Chinese interference in Canada – is suing CSIS, saying the spy agency publicly humiliated him because of a “stereotypical typecasting of immigrants born in China as being somehow untrustworthy.” It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today Podcast

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Concession Street’s HEAL has taken off, despite starting its life just months before the first lockdown in the Global Pandemic. A passenger opened an emergency exit door during a plane flight in South Korea on Friday, causing air to blast inside the cabin and slightly injure 12 people, officials said. The plane landed safely. We speak with Randall Denley who writes in the National Post that “Unions want to turn schools into priciest restaurants in town.” Canadian singer Celine Dion has cancelled all of her concerts scheduled through to early spring 2024. A Chinese state-sponsored cyber threat actor is performing discrete espionage operations within critical U.S. infrastructure and may target other nations, Western cybersecurity agencies and Microsoft warned Wednesday. Will the Johnston Report be the final straw for the Federal NDP and their agreement with Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party? As we wrap up the week that saw David Johnston’s report released, we look at

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Yesterday we learned that Tina Turner passed away after leaving an incredible legacy that paved the way for so many of today's biggest acts. Tactical nukes have never been used in warfare since their inception, but now Russia has deployed some to Belarus, once again raising the concern that Putin may put a nuclear weapon to use in his war on Ukraine. We are aware of mental illness but where do we go from here? Internet scams will become more convincing and more deceptive, but its not like we don’t have a map for this territory: we can learn from the early days of the internet. Bonnie Crombie is exploring the possibility that she is the one the Ontario Liberals have been waiting for; meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended himself from some swings taken at him, returned a critique of Crombie, and ultimately encouraged her to bring on the challenge. Doug Ford says that the fate of Stellantis and the plans for Windsor are now in the hands of Ottawa but what e

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Radley: The Queen of Rock – Tina Turner – has died today at the age of 83. On the show today, Ireland will be the first country in the world to put labels on alcohol bottles warning of its reported risk of causing cancer, along with other health information. Details, unearthed by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, show the Governor General’s salary increasing from $302,800 annually in 2019 to this year’s rate of $351,600. The federal government is rolling out a revamp of its trusted-traveller program to help clear clogged airports as the summer travel season kicks off. This weekend – according to Dan McTeague, President of Canadians for Affordable Energy – gas prices are forecasted to jump 5 cents per litre to an average price of 163.9 cents per litre for most major Ontario cities including the GTA, Ottawa, Hamilton and Niagara areas. And more on the report from Special Rapporteur David Johnston saying a public inquiry is not needed It is all coming up on the Hamilton Tod

GUEST: Mike Field, Director of Transportation Operations & Maintenance with the City of Hamilton

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Radley: 50 years ago, on Monday, Dolly Parton recorded one of her most iconic songs, ‘Jolene’. In a 2019 interview, Dolly revealed that she had written ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’ on the same day! Of course, the latter song became inextricably tied to Whitney Houston. A public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections and society is not needed, special rapporteur David Johnston says. With as much fervor as this is generating today, we must ask… will it be something on the minds of Canadians a year from now? Also, what does this mean and how will it affect politics in Ottawa and across Canada? Though to be real, with how the Jays are doing in Baseball, maybe they need one. It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today Podcast! Guests: Eric Alper, Publicist and music commentator. Steve Strongman, JUNO Award-winning Canadian bluesman. Duff Conacher, Co-Founder of Democracy Watch.  Henry Jacek. Professor of Political Science, McMaster Univer