The Alex Pierson Show

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by Iran's so-called morality police has sparked angry protests, with women burning their headscarves in a defiant act of resistance against the Islamic Republic's strict dress code and those enforcing it. Is this the point where Iran has to look at itself and wonder if this is the way to go? Mariam Memarsadeghi, Senior Fellow with the Mac...

Cannabis became legal in Canada in 2018 as part of an election promise made by Justin Trudeau during the 2015 election. Just like with tobacco, we've seen policies and regulations put into place. Alex spoke with George Smitherman, President and CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada, about the government finally announcing its plan to review the Cannabis Act. Smitherman noted the government’s alrea...

St. Catharines’ residents have long suspected carcinogenic chemicals were in the mess of a former GM auto plant site. A 2020 report from the Ontario ministry of the environment confirmed it. Two years later, they’re still waiting for it to be cleaned up. Alex is joined by Ashley Okwuosa, who is the author of the article published in The Narwhal, to discuss this. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Caller Rich tells Alex Pierson students feel sexually intimidated by the dress of a shop teacher. Pictures of the teacher went viral after she was photographed wearing giant prosthetic breasts while operating a table saw. Rich says teens want to issue a formal complaint, but aren't able to have their voices heard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's no secret that Toronto's council doesn't fully represent the citizens that they were elected for, so why do people generally distrust city hall? A recent report called, "Community Voices" was conducted and found that many of those who are distrustful of city hall, came from Scarborough and Etobicoke. Joining Alex to discuss this, and the upcoming election, is Dr. Kofi Hope, an Urbanist-in-Res...

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, starting making threats this week, saying that, “To defend Russia and our people, we doubtlessly will use all weapons resources at our disposal... This is not a bluff.” While the illegal invasion into Ukraine was the main topic of discussion during the UN General Assembly this week, many are wondering if these are idle threats, or if Putin could be serious this t...

After a decade, a lawsuit involving famous tourist attraction, Marineland, and a former trainer, has now been resolved. This means the last two walruses in the park will be removed from the facility and brought into the wild. Phil Demers is a former mammal trainer of Marineland's stadium show and joined Alex to talk about this win, and the future of Smooshi the walrus. Learn more about your ad cho...

It is that time of the week where we check in with Blacklock's Reporter, where we find all those deep dive stories happening in Ottawa, and at the heart of it we find Managing Editor, Tom Korski. Today, Tom speaks to Alex about how Attorney General David Lametti said yesterday, that criminal law should not punish misguided drug dealers who just want to “put bread on the table." He also talks about...

While many of us are feeling the pinch on our wallets due to the rising costs of everyday goods, those who are feeling it even more are individuals who are in social assistance programs. Kat Eschner, TVO’s Affordability Reporter, came on to talk to Alex about it and why TVO is introducing the affordability beat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One in six households in Ontario is now struggling with food insecurity.. And the GTA food banks are facing the highest demand in their history due to the rising cost of food and rent. We spoke with Devi Arasanayagam, Co-founder and Chair of the Fort York Food Bank, who’s volunteered with the food bank for 24 years. Devi spoke with Alex and highlighted the changing demographic of those using the f...

With the Toronto Municipal election coming up in a few weeks, how can we possibly be informed voters when there's just so many names on the ballot and little way of getting to know the candidates who are running for our city? There's only one debate confirmed, so does this question the health of our local democracy? Dr. Myer Siemiatycki, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Politics and Public...

Alex Pierson calls out a series of City of Toronto videos suggesting children need to isolate from friends if they aren't vaccinated against COVID-19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alberta Premier, Jason Kenney was at Bloor-Yonge subway station, trying to lure Torontonians away. Kenney wants skilled workers to leave the GTA and come work in Alberta. You can read more about the campaign here.jchapman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not uncommon for a hashtag to gain traction if it's good enough, which might get you a few thousand interactions. But what if that number suddenly went up to 500,000 interactions? That's what happened with the #TrudeauMustGo campaign on Twitter. What started off as a simple tweet to Justin Trudeau about his comments made during the pandemic about how people who don't take the vaccine, "...don...

With new inflation numbers coming out today from the Bank of Canada, many turn to mortgage rates and how a spike in rates are causing many Canadians to feel like they can't keep up. Especially those with a variable mortgage rate. We spoke with Shawn Stillman, Principal Broker at Mortgage Outlet, who said the government and Bank of Canada aren’t being honest about how they want to bring down inflat...

It is that time of the week where we take a deep dive into all things Ottawa, and for that we bring on Tom Korski, Managing Editor at Blacklock's Reporter to dig up all those juicy nuggets if information that we don't always get to. Today, Tom talks to Alex about how Cabinet commissioned confidential research on federal rent controls. He also talks about the CRA using behavioural research to try t...

So we got inflation news today– and the Bank of Canada may be happy with the direction inflation rates are moving. They are set to announce another interest rate change on October 26th. The Bank may see todays numbers as proof aggressively raising rates is working, but it isn’t working for everyday Canadians being left behind. Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor with the Sprott School of Business at...

Alex Pierson encourages conversations to be had around recent social media images of a teacher at 'Oakville Trafalgar High School.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toronto City Council is made up of 26 members from across the city, each trying to represent the areas in which they preside. But as one candidate for Toronto Mayor says, that council is made up of people who are far from the citizens that they represent, and should work towards more action than talk. Chloe Brown is a candidate for Mayor of Toronto, and chatted with Alex about the issue of diversi...

After losing his eyesight due to diabetes, Russell "Papa" Mackay has started an initiative to raise money for SickKids Hospital. The 84 year old grandfather began a five day walking journey stretching 75 kilometres from Guelph to Toronto began on Friday and Alex spoke with him while he was walking to see what the initiative is all about, and how much they've raise so far. Learn more about your ad...

A new Abacus Data reveals that two in three Canadians (66%) are either concerned, disappointed, surprised or angry to learn that Canada ranks 59th out of 187 countries in the percentage of women that make up national parliament (since the survey, Canada has fallen to 60th place). And the majority (63%) think political parties or the government — rather than women themselves — should be responsible...

With King Charles III now our official sovereign, many Canadians are debating about the idea of Canada sticking with the monarchy, or cutting ties to it. Many say to open it up to a referendum to decide if Canada should cut open the constitution and restructure it. But is it that easy? Christina Blizzard, a long-time journalist and Royal Commentator, joined Alex to talk about it. Learn more about...

There's a lack of academic freedom when it comes to universities across this country, and now professors are afraid to have the conversations that are necessary for good learning by self censoring. How is this harming our education system? Joining Alex is Dr. Christopher Dummitt is Professor of Canadian history at Trent University. He is the co-author of a recent Macdonald-Laurier Institute paper...

The principal architect of the Toronto 18 has been denied full parole, but it doesn't mean he's not going to be enjoying freedom. After being put in prison for life with no chance of parole for ten years, he's now been given full day parole in Quebec and is even allowed to come to the GTA. Mubin Shaikh, a Professor of Public Safety at Seneca College and a former security intelligence and counter t...

After two years of searching since former Toronto Police Chief, Mark Saunders, announced his stepping down, and James Ramer being the interim chief, we finally have a candidate announced. Myron Demkiw is a 32 year veteran of the TPS and will be appointed as the service's new police chief. How will this new chief stack up to the issues plaguing the police service now? To talk about it, Alex is join...