Fight Back with Libby Znaimer

ZOOMER SQUAD: IT IS ELECTION SEASON IN ONTARIO   Libby Znaimer is joined by Anthony Quinn, Chief Operating Officer of CARP, Bill VanGorder, Advocacy and Education Officer at CARP and John Wright, a veteran pollster. We get reaction from the Zoomer Squad about Ontario Premier Doug Ford's confirmation that he will be calling an election this Wednesday. THE LATEST ON THE FEDERAL LIBERAL LEADERSHIP RACE    Libby Znaimer is joined by Bob Richardson, a Public Affairs Consultant and Will Stewart, a Conservative Strategist and Senior Vice President with Enterprise Canada. We talk about the latest developments of the federal Liberal leadership race and Mark Carney. 80 YEARS SINCE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ Libby Znaimer is joined by Dara Solomon, Executive Director of the Toronto Holocaust Museum and Nate Leipciger, a survivor of Auschwitz as well as an educator and author. It's the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz--the Nazi death camp in Poland where 1.1 million Jewish people were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. And, as the years go on, the number of survivors continues to dwindle. Nate shares his story with us and talks about the rise of antisemitism.

Today on Free For All Friday: listeners reacted to the news of Ontario Premier Doug Ford officially confirming that he'll be calling an election next week.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN:  COULD CITY WORKERS GO ON STRIKE IN THE NEAR FUTURE?  Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 Don Valley East, James Pasternak, Councillor for Ward 6 York Centre and Taylor Scollon, Co-Founder of The Peak. Our panel weighs in on reports about Premier Doug Ford potentially calling an election as early as next week and what the impact on Toronto would be if city workers end up going on strike over the issue of wages. COULD TORONTO SEE A BYLAW TO PROTECT THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN THE NEAR FUTURE? Libby Znaimer is joined by Councillor Brad Bradford of Ward 19 Beaches-East York. Councillor Brad Bradford wrote an op-ed in the National Post in which he points to "a lack of leadership at the highest level" when it comes to addressing the rise of antisemitism and attacks on the Jewish community in Toronto since October 7th. ARE MORE AND MORE ZOOMERS FUNDING TRAVEL FOR THEIR KIDS? Libby Znaimer is joined by Natalie Preddie, a Travel Writer and Janet Radley with St. Clair Travel Agency in Toronto. We talk about some of the latest travel trends for 2025 based on a report by Booking.com including older relatives paying for younger generations’ vacations.

THE MEDICAL RECORD:  THIS IS HOW MANY CANADIANS RELY ON THE INTERNET FOR HEALTHCARE INFORMATION Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Dr. Fahad Razak, General Internist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto, and Dr. Alisa Naiman, a family doctor practicing comprehensive primary care in Toronto. According to a new survey by Abacus Data and commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association, over a third of Canadians have gone online to look up medical advice. And, we talk about the staggering images out of Walkerton, Ontario that showed people lining up in the cold hoping to get a spot on the patient list of a doctor who is opening a new family practice there. THE IMPACT OF COLD WEATHER ON CARS Libby Znaimer is joined by Nadia Matos, Manager of External Communications with CAA South Central Ontario. What kind of an impact does the very cold weather have on our vehicle's heating capability and battery longevity? Nadia explains. WHAT ARE THE MOST RELIABLE CARS OF THE YEAR? Libby Znaimer today is now joined by Jil McIntosh, an auto writer who writes for Driving.ca among other publications and Shari Prymak, Director of Car Help Canada. What are the most and least reliable cars currently in the market? Our guests weigh in.

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ZOOMER SQUAD:  WHAT OPTIONS DO LOW INCOME SENIORS HAVE FOR PROPERTY TAX RELIEF?    Libby Znaimer is joined by Anthony Quinn, Chief Operating Officer of CARP, Rudy Buttignol, President of CARP and John Mykytyshyn, conservative strategist and President of Bradgate Research Group. Our panel discusses what property tax relief options are available to low-income seniors in Toronto and what their requirements are. THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASEFIRE Libby Znaimer is joined by Martin Himmel, an award-winning documentary filmmaker based in Tel Aviv whose latest film is "The Forgotten Expulsion: Jews From Arab Lands", Jon Allen, a former Canadian Ambassador of Canada to Israel (From 2006 to 2010) and a current Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at UofT, and Professor Gabriel Ben Dor, who teaches National Security and Political Science at the University of Haifa and was formerly the head of the university's program for national security studies.  Israel has exchanged 90 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for three Israeli hostages as part of a first stage of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.  Our guests in Israel describe the mood of the country lately.  PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP'S INAUGURATION TODAY  Libby Znaimer is joined by Bob Richardson, a public affairs consultant who is currently at the Canadian embassy in Washington, DC followed by Brad Polumbo, a conservative commentator and Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of BASEDPolitics, and Matthew Wilson, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southern Methodist University. It's inauguration day for President Donald Trump and, according to reporting from the New York Times, his administration will not be introducing tariffs during his first day in office but he does have plenty of executive orders he is reportedly planning to sign in the first hours of his presidency.

Today on Free For All Friday: listeners weighed in on the latest developments in the federal Liberal leadership race, Toronto's proposed city budget for 2025, and President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration next week.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: MORE REACTION TO TORONTO'S PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2025  Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Burnside, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 16 Don Valley East, Councillor Brad Bradford for Ward 19 Beaches East York and Taylor Scollon, Co-Founder of The Peak. We continue the conversation regarding Toronto's proposed budget for 2025 which includes a 6.9 percent property tax hike (when you include the city building fee). THE LATEST ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR Libby Znaimer is joined by Efrat Machikwana, niece of 80-year-old Gadi Moses followed by Iddo Moed, the current Ambassador of Israel to Canada, followed by Dr. Amos Guiora, a former legal advisor to the IDF in Gaza and Vivian Bercovici, a former Ambassador of Canada to Israel who currently lives in Israel. Our panel discusses the latest pertaining to the Israel-Hamas war and where things are at with negotiations to release the hostages from Gaza.

THE MEDICAL RECORD: NOROVIRUS SPREAD AND KATE MIDDELTON'S CANCER IN REMISSION Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Malcolm Moore, a medical oncologist with the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at the UHN, Dr. Fahad Razak, General Internist at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto and Dr. Alisa Naiman, a family doctor practicing comprehensive primary care in Toronto. The FDA has banned Red Dye No. 3, Princess Kate Middleton announces that her cancer is in remission, and what are the symptoms of Norovirus? All that and more discussed on the panel today.  BONNIE CROMBIE JOINS FIGHT BACK  Libby Znaimer is joined by Bonnie Crombie, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. Canada's Premiers are having a meeting with PM Justin Trudeau amid President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats. And, can we expect Premier Doug Ford to call an election in the coming weeks? IT'S NATIONAL BAGEL DAY Libby Znaimer is joined by David Fisher, President of Gryfe's Bagels And Baked Goods Ltd. in Toronto and Vincenzo Morena, Owner of St-Viateur Bagel in Montreal. It's National Bagel Day today and an opportunity to go on a deep dive into the world of bagels and the different kinds out there.

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL: THE LATEST ON THE FEDERAL LIBERAL LEADERSHIP RACE Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, a former Ontario Liberal Deputy Premier and Health Minister, John Mykytyshyn,  a Conservative strategist and President of Bradgate Research Group and Tom Parkin, a social democratic commentator and writer. Our guests provide an update on the ongoing federal Liberal leadership race in Ottawa, and give us their thoughts on the proposed property tax increase for Toronto residents that was brought up yesterday at Toronto City Hall. HOW EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS IN CANADA ARE AFFECTING INSURANCE FOR CANADIANS Libby Znaimer is joined by Mary Kelly, a professor in finance and insurance at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo and Amanda Dean, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Vice-President of Ontario. In 2024, Canadians experienced a record-breaking $8.5 billion in insured losses due to extreme weather events according to a new report by the Insurance Bureau of Canada. WILL SAFE INJECTION SITES BECOME A HOT BUTTON ISSUE IN THE NEXT PROVINCIAL ELECTION?    Libby Znaimer is joined by John Sewell, a former Mayor of Toronto and Derek Finkle, a Leslieville resident and journalist. Two former Toronto Mayors have voiced their concerns about the Ford government's plans regarding supervised injection sites in Ontario. It looks like it could become a key issue in the next provincial election.

ZOOMER SQUAD: WHAT IS THE PROPOSED TORONTO PROPERTY TAX INCREASE? Libby Znaimer is joined by Anthony Quinn, Chief Operating Officer of CARP, Bill VanGorder, Advocacy and Education Officer at CARP and Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos Research, and research adjunct professor at the Norman Paterson School for International Affairs at Carleton University Is there a demographic divide in the race to replace Justin Trudeau? And, Toronto residents got to see the proposed property tax increase for 2025: 6.9 percent (that includes the city building fee). We dive into those two topics.  ONE ON ONE WITH LIBERAL MP CHARLES SOUSA Libby Znaimer is joined by Charles Sousa, Liberal MP for Mississauga-Lakeshore. We get an update on the ongoing federal Liberal leadership race in Ottawa. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY: LET'S TALK TORONTO'S PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2025 Libby Znaimer is joined by Shelley Carroll, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 17 Don Valley North + Chair of the City's budget committee followed by Toronto City Councillor Stephen Holyday for Ward 2 Etobicoke-Centre. As discussed during our Zoomer Squad segment, the City is proposing a 6.9 percent increase (5.4 percent property tax increase + a 1.5 percent increase to the "City Building Levy" for 2025). We talk about that and other items in the budget.

Today on Free For All Friday: listeners weighed in on the ongoing federal Liberal leadership race in the aftermath of PM Trudeau's resignation announcement this week, President-Elect Donald Trump's comments about Canada and their thoughts on Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS &  SPEED CAMERA VANDALISM  Libby Znaimer is joined by Karen Stintz, a Conservative Party of Canada candidate for Eglinton-Lawrence, Jon Burnside, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East) and Taylor Scollon, Co-Founder of The Peak. Toronto speed cameras are getting vandalized across the city and more are coming to city roads this year. Mayor Olivia Chow also makes a traffic announcement and we revisit the issue of homelessness and homeless encampments in our parks. AN UPDATE ON THE FEDERAL LIBERAL LEADERSHIP RACE Libby Znaimer is joined by Anthony Housefather, Liberal Member of Parliament for Mount Royal and Charles Bird, Managing Principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group in Toronto. It's time to get an update on the federal Liberal leadership race: who is a confirmed candidate and who are the potential candidates? And there are also concerns around the current voting rules and how they could abet foreign interference. LET'S TALK ABOUT RECIPES AND DIET OPTIONS IN 2025  Libby Znaimer is joined by Rose Reisman, a leading health and wellness expert and author. There are a lot of diet options out there including the Mediterranean, Keto and even carnivore diets. So, what are some of the more popular ones out there and what are some great recipe ideas for this year?

THE MEDICAL RECORD:  SHOULD WE HAVE CANCER WARNING LABELS ON ALCOHOL? Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Keith Stewart, Vice President, Cancer and Director of the Princess Margaret Cancer Program, UHN, Dr. Fahad Razak, General Internist at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto and Dr. Alisa Naiman, a family doctor practicing comprehensive primary care in Toronto. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is calling for cancer warning labels to be put on alcohol beverage products, pointing to the increased risk that alcohol consumption can have on cancers of the breast, colon, liver and more. Here are some staggering statistics: each year, alcohol consumption leads to 100,000 cancer cases in the U.S. and 20,000 cancer deaths. Murthy's office also explained that, "Alcohol consumption is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, increasing risk for at least seven types of cancer." Murthy is also calling for a change to the guidelines for alcohol consumption limits so that people can weigh the very real risk of cancer. Speaking of beverages and their impact on our health, a new study published this week in Nature indicates that, globally, sugary drinks have led to roughly 340,000 deaths annually from Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease.  What does our panel think about all of that? TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON "CANADA AS A 51ST STATE" COMMENTS Libby Znaimer is joined by Whitley Yates, a Republican strategist and founder and owner of The Niche Agency as well as Larry Haas, an author and Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council. "There isn't a snowball's chance in hell Canada would become part of the United States"...those are the words of outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on X this week in response to President-elect Donald Trump saying he'd use "economic force" against Canada. And, of course, Trump has Greenland and the Panama canal in his crosshairs. We ask American guests for their reaction to President-elect Trump's comments. META IS GETTING RID OF FACT CHECKERS: HERE'S WHY Libby Znaimer is joined by Carmi Levy, a technology journalist based in London, Ontario. Tech giant Meta is getting rid of fact-checkers and replacing them with Community Notes, a feature that already exists on Elon Musk's social media platform X (formerly Twitter). We go over why he made that decision and whether it was a political one.

RECOVERING POLITICIANS: MORE REACTION TO PM TRUDEAU RESIGNATION    Libby Znaimer is joined by Lisa Raitt, a former Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, George Smitherman, a former Ontario Liberal Deputy Premier and Health Minister and Tom Parkin, a social democratic commentator and writer. It's the day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation announcement and his request of the governor general to prorogue Parliament until March 24. Meanwhile, who are the likely candidates running for the leadership race to replace him? CHANGE TO THE RRSP CONTRIBUTION LIMIT IN 2025 Libby Znaimer is joined by Jamie Golombek, Managing Director, Tax and Estate Planning at CIBC and Lesley-Anne Scorgie, Founder of MeVest, a leading-edge financial education company specializing in money coaching for Canadians. There's a change to the RRSP contribution limit in 2025 and other financial news to discuss. IS IT HEALTHY TO REUSE PLASTIC CONTAINERS FOR FOOD? Libby Znaimer is joined by Bryan Le, a Food Science Consultant and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. When it comes to storing food leftovers, a popular choice are those plastic reusable takeout containers. But just how healthy are these products for us when we use them a lot?

ZOOMER SQUAD: IT'S OFFICIAL - PM JUSTIN TRUDEAU IS RESIGNING Libby Znaimer is joined by Rudy Buttignol, President of CARP, Anthony Quinn, Chief Operating Officer of CARP, and Jason Lietaer, Conservative Strategist and President at Enterprise, followed by Bob Richardson, a public affairs consultant. It's official: PM Justin Trudeau announced that he is resigning as leader of the Liberal party and as Prime Minister. This morning he asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until March 24. He will stay on until a new leader is chosen. It comes after weeks of political drama that included the resignation of Chrystia Freeland from Trudeau's cabinet, terrible polling numbers for the Liberals and mounting pressure from within and outside of the party for Trudeau to leave. COURT CHALLENGE AGAINST TRUDEAU'S PROROGUING OF PARLIAMENT? Libby Znaimer is joined by Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch, John Milloy, former Ontario Liberal MPP who served as a cabinet minister under the Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne governments, and Bob Richardson stays with us from our last segment. We continue our coverage of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation. And, the group Democracy Watch is considering whether they will make a court challenge to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proroguing Parliament. WHAT WAS THE MAN BEHIND NEW ORLEANS TERROR ATTACK DOING IN CANADA IN 2023? Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Lara Burns, Head of Terrorism Research, Program on Extremism at George Washington University and a retired FBI agent and Dr. Stephanie Carvin, Assistant Professor of International Affairs at Carleton University and an expert on national security issues. We now know that the man behind the terrorist attack in New Orleans, U.S citizen Shamsud-Din Jabbar, had visited Ontario in July of 2023. The FBI are trying to determine whether he met with anyone there and whether there is any link between his trip abroad to Canada and also to Egypt and the attack. Our experts discuss the kind of factors that could lead someone to become radicalized and carry out such violence.

Today on Free For All Friday: listeners shared some of their New Year's resolutions, how they have felt about Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow's track record so far, and whether they would vote for Chrystia Freeland if she were to be the future leader of the federal Liberal party.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: WHERE SHOULD TORONTO AND MAYOR OLIVIA CHOW'S PRIORITIES BE IN 2025?   Jane Brown is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by Karen Stintz, a Conservative Party of Canada candidate for Eglinton-Lawrence, Jon Burnside, Councillor for Ward 16 Don Valley East and Councillor James Pasternak for Ward 6 York Centre. 2024 was a difficult year here in Toronto: auto theft, homeless encampments at city parks, terrible traffic congestion and construction, antisemitism and violence against the Jewish community just to list a few of the things we've been seeing. Then there were issues like the debate over the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square and Mayor Olivia Chow's back and forth with the Ford government over bike lanes. But, we've also just entered 2025...perhaps a chance to turn a page to a new, more positive chapter for our city. Our panel details what they think should be the priorities for City Hall and Mayor Chow in the year ahead. WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN NEW ORLEANS  Jane Brown is joined by Bruce Hoffman, Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security at the Council on Foreign Relations and President of the Hoffman GroupCT, and Phil Gurski, President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting and a former senior strategic terrorism analyst at CSIS. We are learning more details as they come out about the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day. We talk about the threat of ISIS and how people come to be radicalized. WILL 2025 BE A GOOD YEAR TO SELL IF YOU ARE A ZOOMER LOOKING TO DOWNSIZE?  Jane Brown is joined by Phil Soper, President and CEO of Royal LePage. We have a question: will 2025 be a good year to sell if you are a Zoomer looking to downsize here in Toronto and the GTA?

A look back at the biggest Fight Back stories from the year that was.

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL: THE YEAR THAT WAS IN CANADIAN POLITICS Tasha Kheiriddin is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by Lisa Raitt, a former Deputy Leader of Conservative Party of Canada, Bob Richardson, a public affairs consultant, and Tom Parkin, a social democratic columnist and commentator. 2024 has been a year of non-stop, action-packed politics right up until the end. Our panel reacts to the news that made headlines, from the drama in Ottawa with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau facing calls to resign to the four provincial elections that Canada saw this year. MAKING THE CASE FOR IMPROVED HOME CARE Tasha Kheiriddin is joined by Sue VanderBent, CEO of Home Care Ontario. Home Care Ontario has launched a campaign dubbed “Home Not Hallways”; they want to see more support for home care and are highlighting their concerns around waitlists for long-term care and “worsening hallway healthcare”. Sue joins us to discuss. ERIC ALPER ON THE BIGGEST POP CULTURE ZOOMER STORIES OF 2024 Tasha Kheiriddin is joined by Eric Alper, publicist and music commentator. Eric recaps the year that was in pop culture that featured Zoomer icons. Between the new Bob Dylan biopic and Cher memoir, there's plenty to cover!