Fight Back With Libby Znaimer

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: RECYCLING NIGHTMARE Libby Znaimer was joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East), Stephen Holyday, City Councillor for Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre and former Toronto City Councillor Karen Stintz to discuss the many issues with the new recycling program with Circular Materials. FOOD TRENDS AND CHANGES FOR 2026 Libby Znaimer was joined by Jo-Ann McArthur, President of Nourish Food Marketing to discuss some of the food trends and changes for 2026 and how these trends affect grocery stores through displays, packaging and what is sold. GROWING OLDER IN CANADA: A LOOK AT THE NIA AGEING IN CANADA SURVEY Libby Znaimer was joined by Talia Bronstein, Director of Policy at the National Institute on Ageing to discuss the NIA’s released findings from Perspectives on Growing Older in Canada: The 2025 NIA Ageing in Canada Survey.

RECOVERING POLITICIANS: NATO AND MARK CARNEY Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Cheri DiNovo, a former NDP MPP; and Janet Ecker, former Ontario PC MPP and Finance Minister to talk about NATO, Carney's speech in Davos, and President Trump's interest in Greenland. CANADA IS NUMBER ONE IN FOOD INFLATION Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Evan Fraser, the director of the Arrel Food Institute at the University of Guelph. They discuss how and why Canada's food inflation is at its highest level since 2023. NATO AND CANADA'S INVOLVEMENT Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Stephanie Carvin, Assistant Professor of International Affairs at Carleton University and expert on national security issues, to discuss NATO and Canada's involvement.

ZOOMER SQUAD: AGE 80 AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE! Libby Znaimer is joined by Anthony Quinn, President of CARP; David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies; and Rob Davis, a former Toronto City Councillor, for a discussion about our perception of ageing in 2026 and Zoomers' attitudes towards electric vehicles.   IT'S BLUE MONDAY: STRATEGIES FOR GETTING THROUGH THE WINTER GLOOM Libby Znaimer is joined by clinical psychologist Dr. Sam Klarreich and Dr. Michael Mak, a psychiatrist at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to drill down on the facts and fictions surrounding Blue Monday. IS TESLA SET TO WIN AS CARNEY GREENLIGHTS CHINESE EVs? The Prime Minister recently announced that he is removing almost all the tariffs on Chinese EV’s in exchange for hopefully getting them to buy canola, in a bid to expand our roster of trading partners and reset the relationship with China. Who might stand to benefit from the move might surprise you. Libby Znaimer is joined by David Adams, President and CEO, Glob

Today on Free For All Friday: Libby Znaimer was joined by Dean Hollin, host of Big Band Sunday Night as well as many other programs on Zoomer Radio, Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs and Janet Ecker, a former Ontario PC MPP and Finance Minister. Together, they discussed Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China, U.S. President Donald Trump's focus on Greenland, and the President referring to CUSMA as "irrelevant".

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SANKOFA SQUARE AGAIN  Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East); Daniel Tate, a concerned citizen, taxpayer and Director of IntegrityTO; and former Toronto City Councillor Karen Stintz. Heavy snowfall blanketed the GTA this morning and will continue to do so throughout the day. How was your commute? Do you feel that the City is doing a good job clearing the snow on sidewalks and roads? Meanwhile, we need to revisit the conversation around Toronto's Sankofa Square. It's been reported the corporate bookings of the space have taken a nose dive of close to 70 percent last year. We get into why that is. IT'S NATIONAL BAGEL DAY: TORONTO VS MONTREAL BAGELS Libby Znaimer is joined by David Fisher, President of Gryfe's Bagels And Baked Goods and Elisabeth Morena, the start of the third generation of the Montreal bagel shop St. Viateur. It's National Bagel Day today. To mark the occasion, we've convened an expert panel from M

THE MEDICAL RECORD: THE LATEST STATISTICS REGARDING LIFE EXPECTANCY IN CANADA  Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and former head of BC Cancer; Dr. Fahad Razak, general internist at St. Michael's Hospital and Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto; and Dr. Alisa Naiman, a family doctor practicing in Toronto. Our doctors react to what the latest Statistics Canada figures tell us about Canadians' life expectancy. And, how much progress has the province been making when it comes to providing residents with access to primary care? JOHN BOLTON ON THE FUTURE OF IRAN AMID MASS PROTESTS AND BLOODSHED  Libby Znaimer is joined by John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN and who served as National Security Advisor for President Donald Trump during his first term in office. Mr. Bolton provides analysis on the nation-wide protests taking place inside of Iran and whether we are seeing the beginning of th

RECOVERING POLITICIANS: MORE REACTION TO THE PROTESTS AND BLOODSHED UNFOLDING IN IRAN   Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Cheri DiNovo, a former NDP MPP; and Lisa Raitt, a former Deputy Leader of Conservative Party of Canada. Our panel reacts to the latest bloodshed unfolding in Iran as the Islamic regime executes a brutal crackdown on nation-wide protests sparked by the economic situation there. Does this mark the beginning of the end of the regime? And, U.S. President Donald Trump warns countries not to do business with Iran. Meanwhile, will anything meaningful come out of Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China this week? A CONVERSATION WITH THE WEALTHY BARBER Libby Znaimer is joined by David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber: The Fully Updated All-Time Canadian Classic. He tells Libby what's different in this latest edition and offers practical, useful tips for investing your money. BE AWARE OF GMAIL

ZOOMER SQUAD:  CANADIANS CONCERNED ABOUT CRIME ACCORDING TO NEW ANGUS REID SURVEY  Libby Znaimer is joined by Anthony Quinn, President of CARP, David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies and Rob Davis, a former Toronto City Councillor. Our Zoomer Squad discusses the importance of being socially engaged as we age and a new survey by Angus Reid Institute detailing concerns Canadians have about a perceived rise in various crimes in their neighbourhoods.  WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO COME OUT OF PM MARK CARNEY'S TRIP TO CHINA THIS WEEK? Libby Znaimer is joined by Charles Burton, Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and expert on Canada-China relations, as well as Cheuk Kwan with the Toronto Association for Democracy in China. This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney visits China to meet with President Xi Jinping... the first visit by a Canadian Prime Minister in 8 years. What can we expect will come out of this meeting and how might the Trump administration's foreign policy agenda shape Canada's pr

Libby Znaimer convened another panel of guests for this Free For All Friday including Dean Hollin, host of Big Band Sunday Night as well as many other programs on Zoomer Radio; Liz West, host of The Afternoon Express on Zoomer Radio; and Anthony Furey, a longtime Postmedia columnist and a former Toronto Mayoral candidate. Together, they discussed the biggest news stories of the past week including Venezuelan President Maduro's capture by the U.S., the latest budget unveiled at Toronto City Hall including Mayor Olivia Chow's property tax proposal of 2.2 percent for 2026, Toronto's recycling problems and other news.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: MAYOR OLIVIA CHOW’S 2.2% PROPERTY TAX PROPOSAL & WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF TORONTO’S BUDGET Libby Znaimer is joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East), Councillor Brad Bradford, Ward 19 Beaches East York, and former Toronto City Councillor Karen Stintz. Our panel reacts to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow's 2.2 percent property tax proposal and other details in the City's latest budget introduced today. SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR FATAL SHOOTING AT UOFT CAMPUS WAS OUT ON PAROLE AT THE TIME Libby Znaimer is joined by Clayton Campbell, President of Toronto Police Association followed by Kim Schofield, Criminal Defense Lawyer with Schofield Macchia. A suspect has been arrested in the shooting death of a student at the UofT Scarborough campus. The man arrested was out on parole during the time of the incident according to Toronto Police. Our panel discusses. ARE YOU AWARE OF THE NEW HEALTH CANADA WARNING LABELS ON FOOD PRODUCTS?  Libby Znaimer is joined by N

THE MEDICAL RECORD: ARE WE ABOUT TO GET CHEAPER ALTERNATIVES TO OZEMPIC?  Tasha Kheirddin is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by Dr. Alisa Naiman, a family doctor practicing primary care in Toronto; Dr. Amol Verma, a staff physician in General Internal Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto; and Dr. Aaron Schimmer, the Director of Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre as well as a staff physician and a senior scientist. Is Canada about to get cheaper alternatives to the weight loss drug Ozempic? And, what does the research tell us about some of the potential additional benefits that vaccines can provide for older adults?  IS GREENLAND NEXT? AND HOW WORRIED SHOULD CANADA BE?  Tasha Kheiriddin is joined by Christian Leuprecht, a Professor at the Royal Military College and Queen’s University and Robert Christian Thomsen, Associate Professor, Department of Culture and Communication at Aalborg University in Denmark who does research on Canada and Greenland. Does the U.S. T

RECOVERING POLITICIANS: WAS MADURO'S CAPTURE BY THE U.S. ON YOUR BINGO CARD? Jane Brown is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Cheri DiNovo, a former NDP MPP; and Lisa Raitt, a former Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Our panel reacts to the U.S. capturing Venezuelan President Maduro and what this means for the region. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney talks about Canada's oil and Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been ordered to hand over his phone records. Finally, Chrystia Freeland is appointed special advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. She will be stepping down as MP. A ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATION WITH ONTARIO SOLICITOR GENERAL MICHAEL KERZNER ON PROTESTS Jane Brown is joined by Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner. We ask the SG how he thinks Toronto Police can do more to crack down on protestors who violate the law and to combat hate-motivated offenses

ZOOMER SQUAD: THE CHANGING PATTERNS OF CANADIAN SNOWBIRDS  Tasha Kheiriddin is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by Anthony Quinn, President of CARP; David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies; and Liz West, Host of The Afternoon Express right here on Zoomer Radio. Our squad reacts to the Ford government's back-to-work mandate for public service workers, and where Canadian snowbirds are headed this winter. WHAT THE HECK IS “ENSHITTIFICATION”?  Tasha Kheiriddin is joined by Cory Doctorow, technology critic and author of Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It. Cory tells us about the term he coined, how we have reached a point where the internet is saturated with crap and what we can do about it to improve our experience. THE U.S. OPERATION IN VENEZUELA AND CAPTURE OF MADURO: A LEGAL ANALYSIS AND WHAT COMES NEXT  Tasha Kheiriddin is joined by Roxanna Vigil, an international affairs fellow in national security at the Council on Foreign Relati

Today on Free For All Friday: Guest host Jane Brown was joined by panelists Dean Hollin, Tasha Kheiriddin and producer Ziv Haddi to discuss the news of the year and more.

RECOVERING POLITICIANS: A LOOK BACK AT THE BIG MUNICIPAL STORIES OF THE YEAR Jane Brown is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Cheri DiNovo, a former NDP MPP; and Janet Ecker, former Ontario PC MPP and Finance Minister. We take a look back at the biggest municipal stories of the year, Mayor Olivia Chow's track record, a new Liaison Strategies poll on crime perception and the City's new traffic czar. EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR ACTUALIZING YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS  Jane Brown is joined by Dr. Steve Joordens, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. It's that time of year when you're likely brainstorming those new year's resolutions! So, what are some that come to mind and what are great strategies for actualizing them? Dr. Joordens weighs in. BRAD BRADFORD ON TORONTO'S NEW TRAFFIC CZAR & HIS RUN FOR MAYOR Jane Brown is joined by Councillor Brad Bradford, Ward 19 Beaches-E

ZOOMER SQUAD: THE TOP FEEL-GOOD NEWS STORIES OF 2025   Jane Brown is filling in for Libby Znaimer this week. She is joined by Liz West, Host of The Afternoon Express on Zoomer Radio; David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies; and Bob Richardson, a Public Affairs Consultant. Today: a discussion about the top feel-good stories of 2025. And, what the latest polling shows about the federal Conservatives versus the Liberals. THE BIGGEST CONSUMER TRENDS OF THE PAST YEAR AND A LOOKAHEAD TO 2026 Jane Brown is joined by Ellen Roseman, a Consumer Advocate and journalist. Let's take a look at the biggest consumer stories of 2025 and look ahead to 2026. We'll be chatting about grocery prices, frauds and scams, delayed compensation for airline passengers and other news of the week.

RECOVERING POLITICIANS: THE YEAR THAT WAS IN CANADIAN POLITICS Libby Znaimer is joined by George Smitherman, former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre, Health Minister and Deputy Premier; Cheri DiNovo, a former NDP MPP; and Janet Ecker, a former Ontario PC MPP and Finance Minister. Prime Minister Mark Carney is crowned newsmaker of the year by Canadian Press. And, we talk about the biggest Canadian politics stories of 2025. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE BOURBON INDUSTRY AND THE POPULARITY OF BEEF TALLOW  Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Professor and Senior Director at the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. Sylvain discusses the popularity of beef tallow in cooking, his thoughts on food predictions for 2026 and what's been happening to the bourbon industry in the United States. THE OLDEST BABY BOOMERS ARE TURNING 80 NEXT YEAR Libby Znaimer is joined by Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs and the co-author of Breaking Point: The New Big Shifts Putting Canada at Risk

ZOOMER SQUAD: CAREGIVER BURNOUT & RENEWING YOUR DRIVERS LICENCE AT AGE 80 AND OLDER Libby Znaimer is joined by Anthony Quinn, President of CARP, David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies and Liz West, Host of The Afternoon Express on Zoomer Radio. Today, we discuss caregiver burnout and key findings from a new report from The Ontario Caregiver Organization. And, here's what you need to know if you are turning 80 and need to renew your driver's licence. ARE CANADIANS STILL DITCHING TRAVEL TO THE U.S? Libby Znaimer is joined by Devyn Perry of Devyn Perry Travel and Stephen Fine, President and Managing Editor at SnowbirdAdvisor.ca Are Canadians still ditching travel to the U.S. amid tariff tensions brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump? And if you are one of those Canadians, which travel destination have you opted for instead this season? A MAN FROM TORONTO IS FACING TERRORISM CHARGES Libby Znaimer is joined by Phil Gurski, President of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting and a former

Libby Znaimer was joined by Liz West, Host of The Afternoon Express on Zoomer Radio; Tasha Kheiriddin, a public affairs commentator, consultant, lawyer, policy analyst and writer; and Dean Hollin, host of Radio Limelite and FM Breakfast Classics, for an alternative Free For All Friday. They discussed politicians' reactions to the Bondi Beach terror attack, holiday shopping, Christmas cards and the rise in stamp prices.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: SPEEDING UP THE LRT Tasha Kheiriddin filled in for Libby Znaimer today. She was joined by Jon Burnside, City Councillor for Ward 16 (Don Valley East), Councillor Mike Colle for Ward 8 (Eglinton-Lawrence) and former Toronto City Councillor Rob Davis to discuss speeding up the LRT, the hike in transfer tax on luxury homes, and other municipal topics. WHO SHOULD TAKE OVER THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY?  Tasha Kheiriddin was joined by John Mykytyshyn, Conservative Activist and Political Consultant to discuss the future of Canada's Conservative Party and who should become the next leader. WHAT WAS LEARNED FROM THE THORNCLIFFE PARK FIRE - TORONTO'S MOST COMPLEX FIRE Tasha Kheiriddin was joined by Fire Chief Jim Jessop to discuss the most complex fire in Toronto's history and will this change the rule book for how Toronto Fire will deal with these incidents in the future?