Fight Back with Libby Znaimer

Today on Free For All Friday: plenty of nurses and retired nurses called in to weigh in on the staffing shortages that hospitals have been forced to grapple with this summer and that have led to the temporary closure of ER departments. Over the past week, Ontario's new health minister Sylvia Jones has been facing criticism for downplaying the shortage and refusing to call it a crisis. At the same time, nursing representatives like Cathryn Hoy and Doris Grinspun say the situation is desperate. Some nurses haven't taken vacations for years and nearly 1 in 4 working nurses in the province are eligible for retirement. Then there is Minister Jones' confusing comments about further privatization of Ontario's healthcare: first saying she is open to everything, then saying no it's actually innovation she's open to and not privatization while trying to reassure residents that OHIP will continue to cover healthcare services for Ontario residents. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

Libby Znaimer is joined by Lauren O'Neil, Senior News Editor of BlogTO, Councillor James Pasternak (Ward 6 York Centre) and Councillor Brad Bradford (Ward 19 Beaches East York). Today: There's plenty to talk about here in Toronto. First, we look at City Council where at least 7 Councillors are not going to be seeking re-election in October including veterans like Mike Layton, Denzil Minnan-Wong and others. So, what will the future of Toronto City Council look like? In other Toronto news, we take a closer look at the ongoing feud between cyclists and pedestrians in the city's popular High Park. And, now cyclists are expressing anger for feeling harassed by police who are cracking down on speeders in the park. And, finally, we've learned what the Ford government's strong mayoral powers will entail. ---- UNIFOR ELECTS NEW LEADER Libby Znaimer is now joined by Dr. Rafael Gomez, an associate professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto. This week: Now we turn to an historic election at Canada’s largest private sector union - UNIFOR has elected Lana Payne as its first woman national president. It comes as the organization is trying to recover from the Jerry Dias scandal - he resigned before it was revealed that he took a 50K kickback from a Covid test manufacturer for pushing their product. ---- COULD ONTARIO PRIVATIZE CERTAIN HEALTHCARE SERVICES? Libby Znaimer is now joined by Sharleen Stewart, President of SEIU Healthcare,  which represents over 60,000 health care workers in the province and NDP MPP for Nickel-Belt and health critic, France Gelinas. Ontario health minister Sylvia Jones is not ruling out the idea of privatizing certain healthcare services as a way to deal with the severe staffing shortages that have left numerous hospitals in the province with no option but to temporarily shut down their ERs this Summer. But what could that privatization look like? Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

Libby Znaimer is now joined by John Wright, Executive Vice President of Maru Public Opinion, and Moshe Lander, Senior Lecturer of Economics at Concordia University in Montreal. Are you worried about your finances? According to a new poll by Yahoo Canada and Maru Public Opinion, half of us are worried about  affording the necessities. A majority (at 59 percent) believe that the country is headed towards a recession and we also think ( 53 percent ) that the Bank of Canada hiking interest rates will lead to a recession. Inflation is tracking over 8% - but there was one bit of good news out of the US today - it did not go up any more in July. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

Libby Znaimer is joined by Bob Richardson, Liberal Strategist and Senior Council to National Public Relations, John Mykytyshyn, Conservative strategist and President of Bradgate Research Group as well as Dr. Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). There are "no easy solutions to Ontario's health care and inflation challenges". That was the message in yesterday’s speech from the throne setting out the government’s agenda. It’s a far cry from the slogan they got re-elected on: the promise to “get it done.” Some stakeholders are taking comfort from the number of references to healthcare and nurses - as  an acknowledgment that they get it. And it is certainly a contrast to what we have heard from Health Minister Sylvia Jones - that this is not a crisis. Some have started to predict that this may be the beginning of the end for the Ford Tories. But where do we go from here and can we expect any improvement? ---- SEGMENT 2-CALLS FOR BETTER TRACKING OF DATA TO ADDRESS CANADA'S HEALTHCARE CRISIS Libby Znaimer is joined by Jean-Paul Soucy, a PhD student in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health Canada does not have a national system for tracking or preventing shortages of nurses and other medical workers. Experts say that’s part of the reason we are facing emergency room shutdowns and service cutbacks. There’s also  no way to track how many medical professionals are working in various specialties, or which regions they are working in. The president of the Canadian Medical Association says this is standing in the way of meaningful improvement in Canadian health care. So is part of the answer to our problems yet another federal agency? ---- CANADIANS ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE ECONOMY Libby Znaimer is now joined by John Wright, Executive Vice President of Maru Public Opinion, and Moshe Lander, Senior Lecturer of Economics at Concordia University in Montreal. Are you worried about your finances? According to a new poll by Yahoo Canada and Maru Public Opinion, half of us are worried about  affording the necessities. A majority (at 59 percent) believe that the country is headed towards a recession and we also think ( 53 percent ) that the Bank of Canada hiking interest rates will lead to a recession. Inflation is tracking over 8% - but there was one bit of good news out of the US today - it did not go up any more in July. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

Libby Znaimer is joined by Charles Sousa, The former minister of finance for Ontario and MPP for Mississauga South, Hugh Segal, a former Senator of Canada and Howard Hampton, former leader of the Ontario NDP. The throne speech will be read right after our show today and the big question - the only question - is will there be anything meaningful to address the crisis that is prompting multiple temporary closures in our hospital system. So far the response has been that it is not a crisis according to the health minister even if an unprecedented number of emergency wards are closing on summer weekends - a time slot that is often extremely busy. The opposition is accusing her of trying to normalize these shutdowns. And the premier’s message has been something to the effect of “trust us we are on it.” This from the people who won an election promising to “get it done.” I think there is very much the wrong time and the wrong approach. And so it will be interesting to see if we get a re-announcement of previous piecemeal measures to boost hiring or something new and comprehensive. ---- SERENA WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES SHE IS RETIRING FROM TENNIS Libby Znaimer is now joined by Simon Bartram, head coach Toronto Lawn Tennis Club. He also coaches for Tennis Canada and is working with two young women playing in the National bank Open as well as Karl Hale, Tournament Director for the National Bank Open. Tennis titan Serena Williams has announced to the world that she is retiring from her sport. The 23 grand slam singles title winner says she now wants to focus on expanding her family. Libby and guests react to the latest news and reflect on how this might change the world of tennis that has been dominated by amazing female athletes. ---- CANADA'S BLOOD DONOR SHORTAGE  Libby Znaimer is now joined by Rachel Solomon, a spokesperson for Canadian Blood Services. We are in the midst of a severe shortage of donated blood right now. According to Canadian Blood Services , there’s only 3 days worth of O+ and 3 days worth of O-, 5 days of A+, 5 days of A- and 6 days of B+ and 4 days of B-. Why did we get to this point and where are the regulars who always roll up their sleeves. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!