Ontario signed a 1-year renewal contract with Ottawa earlier this week, keeping childcare between $19-$22/day.

Instead of a 5-year renewal, Provincial Education Minister Paul Calandra wants the federal government to address Ontario's $2 billion shortfall, or else daily fees for families will increase.

Meantime, Ontario's Auditor General said Ontario wasn't meeting it's ECE staffing targets, nor was it building enough spaces to satisfy the 5.9 : 10 ratio requirement set out by Ottawa.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to David Macdonald, Senior Economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to discuss their recent report on childcare deserts across the country, and how close Ontario is to lowering the average childcare price to $10/day.

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Would you want to know if the food you were eating came from a cloned animal?

New Health Canada regulations set to kick in next year don't require beef and pork manufacturers to label whether or not their products were from cloned animals. After consultations with the general public and stakeholders, Health Canada decided to remove cloned meat from their 'novel foods' category.

Cloned animals are made through assisted reproductive processes such as artificial insemination. Sometimes, the cloned animals' offspring is what makes it to the meat counter.

However, questions have been raised regarding the lack of transparency around the regulation change, and whether or not consumers deserve to know where and how the meat they buy is made.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agr-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University to discuss how important accurate food labels are to Canadian consumers, and whether or not cloned meat is safe for you.

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Quebec doctors and healthcare providers are weighing their options when it comes to the future of their practice.

The province adopted Bill 2 last month, legislation that sets performance targets for healthcare providers with a financial penalty if not met.

The bill is in effort to address long wait times for surgery, emergency rooms, specialist consultations, and for the system overall to provide better care to all residents.

However, the bill's slash to salaries while simultaneously omitting failures from the Province's responsibility, has doctors and healthcare professionals rethinking their future in medicine in the province. Dozens have already resigned, with several applying to Ontario hospitals instead.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Dr. Trevor Hennessey, Chief of the department of anesthesiology for the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais to break down what Bill 2 really means for the future of healthcare in Quebec, and how it's more about an infringement on Charter rights than a new payment model for doctors.

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It’s not a surprise but it is a disappointment.

Canada has lost its measles elimination status after almost 30 years. It comes as the country grapples with what it calls a 'mulit-jurisdictional' outbreak that began in October 2024, resulting in more than 5,100 cases and two infant deaths.

We are not the first country to lose the title - and we probably won’t be the last – but getting back in the 'elimination zone' will not be an easy one, and will be timely.

Host Kris McCusker speaks to Dr. Barry Pakes, Program Director of the Public Health and Preventative Medicine Residency Program at the University of Toronto about what the status change really means, how it happened and what it says about vaccination accessibility across the country.

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After a crumbling loss in the federal election, coupled with Prime Minister Carney's Liberal shift towards the centre, the NDP is grappling with a political identity crisis. What does it stand for? Who do they represent? And does Canada's population in 2025 even resemble what it's fighting for?

Meanwhile to the south, New York City Mayoral-elect Zohran Mamdani is entering his first full week on the job following his bold win over Cuomo and Sliwa. Although there's parallels between his campaign and the Canadian NDP, execution styles couldn't be farther apart.

Host Caryn Ceolin speaks to Saman Tabasinejad to break down the future of Canada's appetite for a political Left, and whether or not the NDP is taking notes from Mamdani's sweeping victory.

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It's a life-or-death situation for 30 beluga whales currently being held at Marineland, an amusement park located in Niagara Falls, Ont., who's doors shuttered more than a year ago following claims of animal mistreatment.

The park has requested the mammals be moved to an aquarium in China, or for the federal government to provide emergency funding to keep them alive - or else they risk being euthanized. While these whales' lives remain in limo, these last weeks have been a finger-pointing battle between the park, the provincial government and federal government, all claiming onus doesn't fall on their shoulders to care for the whales.

Host Richard Southern speaks to Liam Casey, a journalist for the Canadian Press, to discuss the park's claims of insufficient funds, and where exactly these whales belong if Marineland can't take care of them.

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From Conversative to Liberal, Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont did more than just cross the floor after the budget was tabled.

It begged the question of whether or not Conservatives still believe Poilievre is doing the right thing at the top. After the fallout of the leader's comments on the RCMP, thorough conversations will be held ahead of January's Conservative Convention, where Poilievre's leadership will be brought into question for his party to decide on his fate.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Glen McGregor, political correspondent for CityNews to dig into what d'Entremont's move implies for the broader picture of the future of Poilievre's Conservatives, and just how likely other Tories could fall for Carney's right-of-centre playbook.

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In his first federal budget as Prime Minister, Mark Carney has his eyes on changing the country for generations to come, rather than making moves to satisfy the here and now.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled the 2025 budget on Tuesday, which included a $78.3B deficit, among cuts and investments to strengthen an independent economy with a focus on businesses and capital investments., rather than slashing the deficit.

Time will tell, though, if Carney's 406-page plan will get the support of the opposition parties, or fall short of approval resulting in a federal election.

Host Mike Eppel speaks to Ian Lee, associate professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, to break down the 2025 federal budget: what it means for everyday Canadians, what it means for our relationship with the U.S., and what it means for the future of Canada.

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