The Alex Pierson Show

Over the past eight years a bold, world-class artist has been using Canada’s largest city as his canvas. Using ultra-low taxes, municipal bureaucracy and political stagnation as his primary artistic tools, John Tory has embarked on a conceptual undertaking of unprecedented scope and scale. AusterityTO is a series of public art installations which explore the values and desires of Toronto’s residen...

We're still waiting on more details to come from the investigation into the deaths of two police officers in Innisfil. The SIU is investigating the incident that occurred and while it might take some time, those in the policing community are reeling from the loss of, now, four police officers within a month. Here to talk to Alex about the grief being felt by officers and how they're supporting tho...

It's time to dig into all things Ottawa, and Internal Department of Public Safety reports confirm there was no evidence of violence by Freedom Convoy supporters outside Parliament. One report, issued the very day that Cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act, said the protest was small, peaceful and had little impact on federal operations. But that night it was designated a national security threat. As...

Right now you can walk into any Cabela's location and purchase an SKS rifle for the sum of about $550 and use it to hunt with. While you need a gun license to own one, the gun itself doesn't need to be registered. This is the model of gun that used to kill two police officers in Innisfil late Monday night after they responded to a disturbance call in the late evening hours. Tony Bernardo is the Ex...

It's the quiet election. The one we don't hear much about. But yet, municipal elections are a big deal when it comes to your everyday cost of living. Potholes, transit, parking fees, and much more are never seen as the hot button issue. But just because it isn't sexy to talk about, doesn't mean it isn't important, and doesn't affect your wallet. Kat Eschner is TVO's Affordability Reporter, and joi...

Wait times for breast cancer treatment in Ontario, including surgeries, are currently longer than provincial guidelines. This is leading to less patients getting the care they need and getting testing to ensure that they're not getting any sicker than they might already be. During the pandemic, the Ontario Medical Association states that there were 400,000 fewer mammograms performed, leading to pa...

Toronto's Ukrainian community is responding to the missile attacks that have shaken Ukraine over the past few days. Marc Shwec, with the Toronto Branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, led a protest outside the Russian Consulate in Toronto last night. Marc joined us and said we, the West, are funding the war... and we need to do more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

 Dave Perry is a former police officer and 640 Toronto’s Security Analyst. He joins Alex Pierson to talk about a deadly shootout that left two South Simcoe police officers dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a very drama filled past few days as the war in Ukraine continues to go on. Between a bridge in Crimea being bombed, to parts of Kyiv's city center being shelled, it's leaving casualties all across the board. Christian Leuprecht, Professor at Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University, and also an expert on security and defence, joined Alex to talk about the latest developme...

Do we have a two tiered justice system? The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in September that the criminal records of Indigenous persons can be excluded from their trials to preserve fairness. But who is this all fair to? Alex is joined by Ari Goldkind, a Criminal Lawyer, who says that without question, we have a two tiered system and while it's not compulsory to follow the ruling, it does open a lo...

In an election that doesn't seem like an election, there is a debate planned for Tuesday but there's a whole whopping two candidates taking part in it. The topic: affordable housing. Will John Tory be there? No. So what's going on with this 'sleepy election' and what should voters be taking note about? Joining us to talk about the municipal election and how it's panning out so far, is Ben Spurr, T...

It is that time of the week where we check in with Managing Editor over at Blacklock's Reporter, Tom Korski, where he and his team dig up all the juicy details into all things Ottawa. It's the story that keeps on giving as the House of Commons Committee on Immigration has called an urgent meeting next week to discuss allegations that the department and former minister misled a federal judge during...

Two Canadian tech companies are saying that the infamous ArriveCAN app should not have come with a $54 Million price tag. Sheetal Jaitly, Founder of TribalScale, says that it would cost under $1 Million to design and run the app and that the government should be looking to the tech companies with their hands up, willing to help. Sheetal joined Alex to talk about this hackathon, and the brutal cost...

Once a week we're joined by Jon Reid, President of the Toronto Police Association, to talk about all things policing and crime in the GTA. Today, Jon talks about how a Hamilton man was tased and arrested by police while in the midst of a seizure says police shouldn’t have been sent to a medical call. Also, a Toronto Police officer was allegedly targeted by a driver. Investigators say they believe...

What? There's an election? But I know nothing about my riding or the people running in it. That's the general consensus amongst Torontonians as advance polls opened on Friday for the municipal election almost no one really knows about. But there's a way you can find out about who's in your riding and what they stand for. We spoke with Nick Hune-Brown, Senior Editor for The Local Magazine, about hi...

President Biden announced all Americans convicted federally for small possession of marijuana will be pardoned. 6,500 people will benefit. A lot of this is politics because most pot convictions happen at state level. Biden says this move will make it easier for people to get employment, housing, and education…but we’ve had legal pot here for yr… and out of the 10 k Canadians who were told they’d b...

A Global News analysis of 50 of Poilievre’s most recent YouTube videos showed that they included a tag — hidden from viewers, but not from the videos’ publisher — used by a misogynistic online movement. The tag helps promote Poilievre’s videos among those circles, and signals to YouTube what users might be interested in the Conservative leader’s messaging. Joining Alex to talk about it is Alex Bou...

We’re coming up on the Thanksgiving long weekend, and food banks are always looking for donations to help offset the high demand around the holiday. Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, joined us and said food banks are experiencing the worst time in their history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canadians may see a jump in the number of businesses applying credit card use surcharges as restrictions on the practice lift today. Businesses secured the right to add a surcharge, which they have to disclose, to credit card transactions as part of a class action lawsuit against MasterCard, Visa and Canadian banks. A report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that 19 per ce...

It is that time of the week where we dig deep into all things Ottawa and lots of questions are being asked about why former Immigration Minister, Marco Mendicino, and the Privy Council Office backdated documents in an apparent bid to mislead a federal judge in a trademark dispute. And he won’t talk. And it appears the records now seem to be blacked out. Except the date and email addresses. Tom Kor...

On October 1, 2022, the minimum wage in Ontario went up by 50 cents to a total of $15.50 an hour. The current livable wage in Ontario is projected at $22.08 from data collected by the Ontario Living Wage Network, so will this 50 cent increase be enough for workers? Kat Eschner, TVO's Affordability Reporter, joined guest host Rubina Ahmed-Haq, to discuss this and what she's working on next. Learn m...

It's been a few weeks since the protests began in Iran over the, what protesters are calling, an unjust death of a 22 year old woman for not wanting to wear her hijab. The death of Mahsa Amini sparked a larger discussion into the mandatory wearing of religious garments amongst Muslim women. Will this change the way people approach wearing cultural garments? Joining guest host, Rubina Ahmed-Haq to...

Just like how rapper Skee-Lo once said, "I wish I was a little bit taller," you too can get surgery to cosmetically lengthen your limbs to make you taller. This is a growing trend amongst men and you're probably wondering simply... why? Joining guest host, Rubina Ahmed-Haq, to talk about all of this is Dr. Marie Gdalevitch, Cosmetic Leg Surgeon, and the only practicing doctor to offer the procedur...

Toronto is the city of construction most days, and it all needs to be paid for somehow. So just how cash strapped is Toronto? John McGrath, a Writer and Columnist for TVO, spoke with guest host Rubina Ahmed-Haq, to talk about real estate, construction, and how the cashflow of the city is getting worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, the Ontario Supreme Court is holding a five day hearing into what sex workers hope will lead to the full decriminalization of sex work in Canada. The groups argue that instead of recognizing sex workers' rights and well-being by decriminalizing sex work, the federal government created a set of criminal laws called the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) that rep...