Scott Thompson Show

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cut gas taxes following President Joe Biden’s push to lower gas taxes in the United States. The vast majority of Canadian households, especially those with kids, are worried about feeding their families amid decades-high inflation, according to a new survey. When it comes to launching satellites into orbit, about a dozen countries have their own homegrown launch vehicles that can get them into space. Canada is not among them. U.S. Senate bargainers reached agreement Tuesday on a bipartisan gun violence bill, potentially teeing up final passage by week's end on an incremental but landmark package that would stand as Congress’ response to mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his NIPD speech yesterday, said something to the effect that Canada's settler population was being taught in the public school system to hate Indigenous

Canada is strengthening its continental defense. What does that mean for Canada-U.S. relations and how does it impact our relationship with Europe? Why are we doing this now and why not sooner? Is this boost enough or will we be trying to stop water with a chain-link fence? Guest: Dr. Jack Cunningham, Ph.D., Program Coordinator at the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, in Trinity College and the Munk School. Specializing in British foreign policy, Canadian foreign policy and politics, International history, U.S. foreign policy and relations with Russia; University of Toronto

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: The city of Hamilton has been chosen as the Canadian home for Verificient Technologies, a New York-based company specializing in verification and authentication through its patented AI, machine learning, computer visioning and biometrics. Mohawk College in Hamilton is introducing an accelerated tuition-free program to train personal support workers to meet the growing demand for workers in the field. Kellogg Co., the maker of Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and Eggo, will split into three three companies focused on cereals, snacks and plant-based foods. Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day. Over recent years, there has been a greater focus on the issues affecting Indigenous communities, as well as the covered up history of this land – particularly through the lens of Truth and Reconciliation. Have you noticed an uptick in criticism of our Prime Minister coming from a wider swath of the political spectrum than previously? Scott has… is this just what happens a

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Today on Hamilton Today, the longest serving Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he will not seek re-election in the upcoming municipal vote. The Mayor joins Scott to reflect on his term. We get an F1 Canadian Grand Prix update from our good friend, Erik Tomas! Defence Minister Anita Anand made a major announcement on continental defence today, as military watchers look for signs of how Ottawa will spend billions of dollars it set aside in the latest budget. One such watcher, Christian Leuprecht, joins Scott to discuss the international situation that influenced this decision.. It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today Podcast. Guests: Christa Jackson, Falcon Watch Coordinator. Fred Eisenberger, Mayor of the City of Hamilton. Erik Tomas, The Raceline Radio Network Toronto. Scott Radley. Host of The Scott Radley Show, Columnist with the Hamilton Spectator. Christian Leuprecht, Professor at both the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University,

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Russia is allegedly working to create a “new G8” in response to its ruptured economic ties with the United States and western allies such as Canada. Elliot Tepper, PoliSci at Carleton University, joins Scott to discuss the geopolitical implications. Yesterday, after nearly three years, 138 hearing days, 198 witness reports and more than 1,000 exhibits, the B.C. government releases the final report from the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia. Scott speaks with Sam Cooper, investigative journalist for Global News who has been getting the scoop on this development for years. The Strongman Blues Remedy – a new blues musical collective featuring Steve Strongman, Harrison Kennedy, Dawn Tyler Watson, Steve Marriner, Crystal Shawanda – is set to release a new album with some tracks already available on Spotify. Scott speaks with Steve. Scott also brings Carmi Levy on to speak about issues surrounding social media… and a bit of tech support

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: The City of Hamilton spent about $370,000 for the right to host the 2021 Grey Cup and the NHL’s Heritage Classic this past winter. In return, a pair of studies show the two events pumped about $20 million into Hamilton’s economy. Hamilton’s Manager of Tourism and Events joins Scott for more. Mayor Fred Eisenberger joined Scott to promote the war in Ukraine photo exhibit, which depicts day-to-day life amidst this war and opened at city hall on Tuesday. Christian Leuprecht gave a testimony about in the inquiry into money laundering in BC and gives Scott the juicy details and his cutting opinion on Canada’s finance laws. The OHL Game 7 is tonight, with the Hamilton Bulldogs now looking to bring their nearly unbelievable season of success to a victorious close in the face of some last-minute drama brought about by the Spitfire's disruptive wins over the past few games! Reed Duthie joins Scott as he always does to discuss all things Bulldogs. “If Pierre Poilievre ig

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: A lot of news today for Scott to sink his teeth into, not least of all is the lifting of vaccine mandates for Canadian travelers domestically and internationally. About time, Scott says. As well, with the controversy surrounding a Canadian official’s attendance at a Russia Day celebration held in Ottawa at the Russian embassy, we now ask: is it time to cut ties with Russia? If so, how do we go about it? Professor Aurel Braun speaks with Scott about that. McMaster researchers behind a new form of rapid, accurate and portable diagnostic test are moving their work toward the marketplace. This could expedite diagnosis and prescription to a single visit and reduce overall spread of transmissible diseases. Leyla Soleymani, engineer at McMaster who helped develop the system answers Scott’s burning questions. Remember the COVID alert app the feds made? Well its time is officially up. Was it a good app? Did it succeed in its mission? As with all things tech, Scott speak

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Scott Thompson received a note over the weekend from a listener about how today marks 78 years since the death of Andrew Mynarski, who died on a mission in France in 1944. Who is Mr. Mynarski? Dave Rohrer of the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum shines a light on the subject. As well Scott insists you check out the Canadian Heritage Minute on Mynarski. What is the latest in Ukraine? Both Ukraine and the UK are saying that Russia is now attacking with more deadly weapons. The Finnish President says that Russia is using ‘weapons of mass destruction’. Professor Christian Leuprecht gives Scott his expert opinion and intel. Washington Post opinions columnist Gary Abernathy joins to talk about the continuing hearings regarding the January 6th insurrection attempt. Alek Minassian, Toronto's deadly 2018 van attacker, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Matt Carty gives Scott his view from the trial. It is all coming up on the Hamilton

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Happy Friday! Today Scott is excited to get out of the house and enjoy some local events. Tomorrow the Barton Street Festival returns and Scott asks Julie Freeman, Barton Village Festival Organizer, what to expect. After all exponential growth of housing prices in the last few years, with the surge of bidding wars on the promise of a record low interest rate, now we see a problem in the road; with interest rates rising, are new homeowners going to face the consequences? Michael Taube joins Scott to give an update on the Conservative leadership race, as party membership rates soar. Eric Alper comes on to talk Stranger Things getting Kate Bush back on the charts. Catherine Ross, law professor, gives her take and a summary of the first public hearing of the January 6th committee. Is Canada -- and the West -- losing interest in the war in Ukraine? What could this lost momentum possibly do? Andrew Rasiulis of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute speaks to Scott on

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Today, we look at the return to in-person work spaces, how necessary they may or may not be nowadays, and what might come of the push back against the work-from-home model? All this amid the long haul COVID effects of ‘brain fog’ affecting the performance of workers post-infection. Scott speaks with Professor James Beck on the psychological aspect and Dr. Michael Halinski for the HR angle. A new study from McMaster University’s Offord Centre for Child Studies says addressing anxiety as early as kindergarten could reduce its harmful impacts, and that signs of anxiety at that young of an age should not be ignored. Scott speaks with Dr. Magdalena Janus. Leading Canadian universities say they intend to continue research and development with Huawei Technologies Co. – which reaps intellectual property from the partnerships – after Ottawa’s decision to ban the Chinese telecommunications giant from 5G wireless networks over national-security concerns. Charles Burton jo

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Today Scott is touching on the subjects of affordability and COVID, often going hand-in-hand. As the cost of living continues to rise, new data from Food Banks Canada shows hunger and food insecurity have risen to unprecedented levels in our country. Has Hamilton Foodshare noticed any significant changes as part of the recent increasing food shortages/supply chain problems? Joanne Santucci, CEO of Hamilton Food Share, fills Scott in. In COVID news, there was a one two punch. First: Moderna announced it is coming out with an updated COVID-19 shot that it says boosts protection against the Omicron variant. Additionally, Ontario is staying course with removing the mask mandate on public transit and in hospitals. With those in mind, we look at what could/should be done moving forward regarding the updates, boosters and the policies around them with Dr. Ahmad Firas Khalid. Gas prices crossed $2.12 per litre in the Hammer the other day, and Canadians are feeling the

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: After the Ontario Liberals’ second devastating loss in a row, it seems clear they have some serious soul searching to do. But what to do? Some, such as former Ontario Liberal Finance Minister Greg Sorbara, say that merging to become the Ontario Liberal Democrats would be a good idea, but would that be possible? Daniel Perry of Summa Strategies joins Scott to discuss the landmine of a suggestion that is, as well as speculate the future of the left wing in Ontario politics. A Haldimand resident reportedly lost $400,000 to a cryptocurrency scam. Cons based around bitcoin, ethereum, and NFTs have been on the rise and people are losing massive amounts of money. The FTC reports victims have lost over $1 billion to crypto scams over the past year. What can be done? Carmi Levy, tech journalist joins Scott for that. Cadillac Fairview plans to raze the former Sears store at Lime Ridge Mall to make way for 320 residential units. Two 12-storey towers are planned at this ti

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: After the disappointing turnout at the election and another decisive Ford majority, the NDP and Liberals are at a crossroads in Ontario. It is a time of transformation in Ontario politics. What is next for the Ontario NDP, following MPP Andrea Horwath’s decision to step down as leader of the party? What about the future of the left in the province? Scott has a spirited discussion with political commentator Tom Parkin. Dr. Jack Cunningham, Canadian foreign policy expert, joins Scott to talk about Canada’s future in geopolitics with the Russia/Ukraine conflict reaching 100 days. An Ontario judge has imposed stricter bail conditions on Jacob Hoggard, a day after the Hedley frontman was found guilty of raping an Ottawa woman but not guilty of groping and raping a teenage fan. Ari Goldkind joins to give his opinion and warnings of what may have affected this outcome. Scott also asks how media should address mass violence in the 21st Century, in the wake of the serie

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Arrests have been made in connection with the disturbing string of messages left on Hamilton school properties. Constable Indy Bharaj gives a roundup of the story up until this point. Still standing at 100 days, the defense of Ukraine has lasted much longer than anyone expected, and guest Lubomyr Luciuk puts it best “We did not expect them to last 100 hours…” Professor Luciuk is with the Royal Military College and he paints a visceral picture of this ongoing conflict and its ramifications on the geopolitical stage. After a quick election last night, Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives have secured another majority government. Tim Powers of Summa Strategies with Scott about what the other parties are going to do now. Scott also has a look at one of the all-time summer activities: motor sports! Oshweken Speedway’s events are up and Scott brings Clinton Geoffrey of Race Night Operations to discuss the upcoming season. It is all coming up on the Hamilton To

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: With a rash of written shooting threats turning up around Hamilton schools, what is on our minds? Are they copycats of one another? Should we drop our guard? Hamilton Police Services says that they have no confirmation that it is part of a social media challenge, so where do we go? Scott looks at the motivations that could go into such heinous disruption with a retired School Resource Monitor Perry Mason. In light of the Ukraine-Russia war, there have been calls for ethical oil, leading to a call for Canada to become a petro-state once again. Scott speaks with Sibo Chen; professor at Toronto Metropolitan University for this and a spirited conversation about the current state of renewable energy globally. The Ontario election is officially today; go cast your ballot if you have not yet! Scott wraps up what the issues at play are with Andrew Enns of Leger polling, Nelson Wiseman PoliSci professor at U of T. It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today Podcast. Gues

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: Do you know what has gotten Scott’s goat on today’s Hamilton Today Podcast? Low number of available cars, high prices – and wouldn’t you know it, supply chain issues. To answer what is going on with cars in Canada, David Booth of Postmedia driving joins Scott. The Bank of Canada has hiked its key overnight interest rate by 50 basis points to 1.5% and will continue quantitative tightening. The rate hike comes as the Bank believes that inflation will likely move higher in the near term before beginning to ease. Sprott School of Business Associate Professor Ian Lee gives us a history lesson from his time as a mortgage banker in the 1980s. The federal government has announced that starting early next year; British Columbia will be the first province in Canada to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use. Will this curb deaths and other harms from drug use, ie; HIV transmission? Tim McClemont of the AIDS Network shares his view. Dan

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: It is a suffocating hot day in the Hammer, but Scott powers through and gives it his all for you! First Matthew Lawson of Hamilton Public Health Services talks about the heat situation. Why is it not a heat warning? What can we do to mitigate heat related issues? Scott gets it all. Hackers and a consortium of journalists released images of detained Uyghurs to the world. What will Canada do, will it affect relations with China? Scott speaks with Charles Burton, of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute for more on that. Dan McTeague joins Scott to discuss the EU banning Russia’s oil, and what knock-on effects this may have. A school in Oakville went into lockdown after reports of an armed gunman walking on school grounds; Halton Regional Police give Scott the full story. We also take a peek at the Ontario election; are there any surprises on the horizon or is it all business as usual? It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today Podcast. Guests: Matthew Lawson (Manager,

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson... Scott Thompson makes his triumphant return to the show, just in time for a new report on the Canadian Armed Forces. The top ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces are “incapable” of recognizing the “deficient” parts of a culture that keep sexual misconduct and abuse of power entrenched, according to this blistering new report. Christian Leuprecht of the Royal Military College joins Scott for that. Ipsos polling shows that COVID-19 is not the number one in the minds of Ontario’s voters as they head toward the election: healthcare and the aforementioned trouble over affordability are taking up the spotlight. Sean Simpson, VP of Ipsos helps Scott break down the results. Hamilton’s new batch of peregrine falcon chicks have been banded, and now the group keeping an eye on the species at risk is looking for volunteers to keep watch when the birds take their first flights. Falcon Watch’s Christa Jackson says her piece with Scott. Dr. Kam joins Scott once again to talk a

The Hamilton Today Podcast with guest host Scott Radley It is Friday, the last day we are getting Raddled with Radley on Hamilton Today, Scott Thompson returns on Monday. Scott sends off this week with some nostalgia: It’s been… 14 years since Speaker’s Corner, an iconic staple of City TV, was shuttered, but now it is getting a revival of sorts. But does it work in 2022, when we all have Speaker’s Corner boxes in our pockets, and a myriad of apps to pour our time and energy into? Elissa Freeman discusses the modern-day implications with Scott. A McMaster grad won Survivor just last night, which is appropriate since McMaster offers a course all about Survivor. Scott takes a deeper dive on that one. Continuing Canada’s light-on-crime streak, a historic decision from the Supreme Court of Canada will affect sentences for the most serious crimes across the country: the gunman who killed six people in a Quebec City mosque cannot wait more than 25 years before being eligible for parole. Scott speaks with Toronto la

The Hamilton Today Podcast with guest host Scott Radley Scott Radley joins us for another day of facts, discussion, and opinion. After so many pandemic setbacks, the Concession Streetfest returns on June 11th, Scott gets all the details with Cristina Geissler, executive director of the Concession Street BIA. In spite of the popular assumption, youth crime is down in Hamilton. The Liberty for Youth organization help Scott break down the reasons why, and highlight what they are doing to reduce youth crime in Hamilton. Gun control is back in the news following the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas. Is the solution simply for the US to stop the sale of guns? Dr. Richard Thurman Barnes of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Centre gives Scott his expertise on the subject. Also on the docket: fourplexes in Hamilton with Rob Golfi, Shrinking ratio of Canadian workers to seniors will strain government finances in coming years; only 3 working age individuals for every senior by 2027. It is all coming up on the Hamilton Today