The Morning Brew with Andrew Schultz

A new “highly mutated” COVID variant has shown up in several countries. Can we expect to see this latest variant here in Canada and should we be concerned? We discuss with Dr. Isaac Bogoch, Infectious Diseases Physician and Scientist from the Toronto General Hospital.   Next, we catch-up with Deborah Yedlin, President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber. This time out, Deborah shares the Chamber’s view...

With rising inflation rates along with increased costs for gas and groceries - finances are the top stressor for nearly half of Canadians. But it doesn’t have to be this way forever. We talked with Kathleen Hurtubise, the Chief Member Experience Officer at connectFirst Credit Union on how we can approach those conversations with our children.

Would you consider pressing ‘pause’ on your favorite Social Media platform for a couple of days? We speak with Sarah Andrews from “The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting Group”, an organization proposing a temporary boycott of both Facebook and Instagram in response to the ‘Meta’ ban of posting news content.   It’s been an historic summer when it comes to wildfires and we are just at the ‘peak’ of t...

WELCOME TO THE MWSA PODCAST FOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 22ND   How much do Canadians pay in taxes compared to housing? We discuss the findings of a new study on the topic with Jake Fuss, Director of Fiscal Studies at the Fraser Institute.   It’s been called a “miracle drug”, but is that a good thing? What you need to know about the Diabetes drug-turned-weight-loss-tool “Ozempic” from Michael Orsini, Profe...

WELCOME TO THE MWSA PODCAST FOR FRIDAY, AUGUST 18TH   It’s happening again, former President Donald Trump is facing yet another indictment regarding the events of January 6. We get details on what makes this indictment different from the other three facing the former President with Jackson Proskow, Global News Washington Bureau Chief.   Researchers are using the power of math to understand how sle...

WELCOME THE MWSA PODCAST FOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 17TH   According to a new study, a larger-than-average number of Canadians have died this year and the numbers were also trending higher in 2021 and 2022. So, what’s behind this disturbing increase and how do these ‘stats’ compare to other countries? We get some answers from Infectious Disease Researcher Tara Moriarty.   It’s been a hot summer in the c...

WELCOME TO THE MWSA PODCAST FOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 17TH   We begin with our monthly chat with Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld. This time out, the Chief addresses the recent surge in gun violence in the city, and the CPS’ plan to combat the disturbing trend.   Inflation and the general rise in the cost of living has impacted all of us, and now we’re hearing that post-secondary students in the Provi...

WELCOME TO THE MWSA PODCAST FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 14TH.   Housing, food, gas prices - the cost of everything is on the rise. So, is your paycheck keeping up with the cost of living and what does a livable wage look like in 2023? We discuss with Ryan Lancanilo, Economist from the Alberta Living Wage Network. Looking to start your fitness journey or simply get back into your workout routine? We get som...

Have you noticed gas prices rising over the past few days in the city of Calgary? Well, we’re not alone. With prices at the pumps climbing across the nation and in some Provinces, the cost to fill-up is inching closer to $2 per litre. So, what’s behind the latest jump? We get the answer from Dan McTeague from “Canadians for Affordable Energy”.   Is forcing addicts into rehab an effective approach...

Whose responsibility is it to address Canada’s housing crisis? The federal or provincial government? How can all levels of government work together to tackle the issue? We discuss with Carolyn Whitzman, Housing Policy Expert and Professor from the University of Ottawa.   We hear it all the time, “farmers need more rain”, but just how bad is it for Southern Alberta farmers this crop season? We get...

Saudi Arabia held a 40 country Summit over the weekend with an aim to end the war in Ukraine. We discuss what came out of the meeting with Andrew Rasiulis, Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and an expert on Eastern European Affairs.  Psoriasis. It can be painful, embarrassing and at times hard to treat. We take a look at why the condition is often misdiagnosed and learn about the res...

Russian President Vladimir Putin critic - and chief political rival Alexei Navalny was sentenced to another 19 years in prison for extremism. Joining us to discuss this and the latest on the war in Ukraine is Andrew Rasiulis - Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and an expert in Eastern European affairs.

How can companies better foster equity and equality in their workplace? Joining us to discuss the challenges marginalized groups face in corporate Canada is Amal Masri - Founder of #FixTheBrokenRung.

 The OECD predicts that 27% of jobs – many of them highly skilled – are at risk of being replaced by AI. Candy Ho, the CERIC's Board Chair talks more about who this could affect and how to stay up to date with your skills.

This week, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Edmonton’s mayor Sohi and the provincial government expressed their disappointment regarding the federal government’s funding decision on housing or lack thereof in this case. Mayor Gondek joined us to talk about housing, the verbal attack on a member of Calgary’s LGBTQ+ community and the end of the Commonwealth Games bid.   The Alberta government is pushing...

Are chat-bots and artificial intelligence sources “lying to us” and just making things up? On the show this morning, we were joined by tech writer Marcel Gagne, who told us about the concept of “hallucinations” in this new world and the reliability of artificial intelligence. How will Canada's aging population impact our economic development and in turn, every single Canadian? Joining us to discus...

Premier Smith and both of Alberta’s big city mayors are “deeply disappointed” by the federal government’s lack of lack funding to address housing. Is Alberta being short changed? Joining us for further discussion on the issue of housing is Carolyn Whitzman - housing policy expert and adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa.

Meta is permanently ending access to Canadian news on its platforms including Facebook and Google in our country, in response to the Federal Government’s Bill C-18. Experts say marginalized communities will be impacted by a lack of reliable news the most. We had Andrea Gunraj, VP of Public Engagement at the Canadian Women’s Foundation on the show to explain the impact.   Small Modular Reactor tech...

 Veterans… the people that fight and stand for our country are in need of more support. We’ll hear from a graduate student that is calling on the Federal government to do more. Joining us is one of the students in that report, Alison Clement.

Could last week’s federal government cabinet shuffle mean positive change for how Canadian veterans are looked after. That question, and getting support for vets facing homelessness, are the objectives of a new report, researched and written by a group of concerned McGill University grad students. We speak to one of them about the study’s findings.   After nearly a month of negotiations, an agreem...

Today's guest: Lisa Kwong, the founder of the Calgary-based fashion brand, SOWNSMITH.

Welcome to the MWSA Podcast for Monday July 31st! He’s on a mission to cure degenerative eye diseases and other issues afflicting our bodies. We had a fascinating conversation with drug developer and research professor at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo, Sachdev (Satch-dev) Sidhu (Sea-doo), who told us about the Canadian-based, and first drug of its kind that could treat incur...

WELCOME TO THE MWSA PODCAST FOR FRIDAY, JULY 28TH   Earlier this week it was announced that Former President Donald Trump will face yet another indictment related to the January 6th insurrection. We get the latest on this and the other headlines making news south of the border with Jackson Proskow, Global News Washington Bureau Chief.   Greta Gerwig, the Director of “The Barbie Movie” has been ver...

We begin with our weekly conversation with Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. This time out, the Mayor explains the city’s strategy moving ahead of growing new communities and at the same time addressing the issue of affordable housing.   Music star Sinead O’Connor’s death has reopened discussions surrounding the importance of addressing mental health issues, which plagued O’Connor for the majority of he...

A retired RCMP officer has been charged with foreign interference. We get details on the investigation and its significance from Phil Gurski, former member of CSIS and President and CEO of “Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting”.   The first-ever North American four-day work week pilot program has now concluded. We take a look at the results and the biggest ‘takeaways’ from the trial with Grace Tall...