On Point With Alex Pierson

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

It was a hard fought riding, but for the community of Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park, they remain with incumbent Gord Perks. With 35% of the voters, he won the riding, but it's who was neck in neck with him that has our attention. Chemi Lhamo ran to be councillor, and while she gained only 32% of the vote, she still had a platform that people believed in, making her the unexpected runner up in the election. She joined guest host Rubina Ahmed-Haq to talk about her campaign, and her thoughts on some things that she believes should change in the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toronto city council is starting to look like the city it represents now, with a lot of younger incumbents and those who are more progressive leaning. Among the new councillors is Ausma Malik, newly elected city council candidate for Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York, and also the first ever hijab wearing Muslim woman to be elected to city council. She joined guest host Rubina Ahmed-Haq to discuss her election win and how it feels to be representing Toronto women in this fashion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After only 45 days in office, Liz Truss has bowed out of leading the UK entirely. After only a few days, a victor has emerged in the Tory party and they've named Rishi Sunak to be the new prime minister. There's a lot of historic value to naming Rishi as the UK's newest PM. Not only is he the youngest in almost 200 years, he's also the first Hindu prime minister. Joining guest host, Rubina Ahmed-Haq, to talk about all of this is Professor John Grant, Department Chair of Political Science at King's University College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices