Unpublished Cafe

PUBLISHED: 10/08/2020 The pandemic knocked pro sports out of our consciousness when it struck in March. Finishing a season and crowning a champion seemed like a lack of priorities. When we all have to be six feet apart, wear masks, and avoid crowds, it seems a little ridiculous. After all, isn’t it the roar of the crowd what we love? The only thing more ridiculous is the fact that the NHL awarded...

PUBLISHED: 07/08/2020 It reads like a thriller and if it’s proven true, it will leave your blood running cold. A bombshell dropped yesterday in a Washington courtroom by a former high level official in Saudi Arabia who now lives in exile in Canada. The explosive accusations include sending a Saudi hit squad to Canada to try and kill him. Jabri also maintains he has been bombarded with text threats...

PUBLISHED: 20/07/2020 Answers are few and far between for school boards getting ready to welcome students back in September. The Ontario Government has said it would announce more details this week to give boards the time to implement their plan. 72 of Ontario’s school boards are preparing plans for three possible scenarios — a full-time return to in-person learning, virtual classes for all, or a...

PUBLISHED: 24/07/2020 Bill 197 will give the government sweeping powers when it comes to what gets built where Ontario's COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020. Bill 197 is an omnibus bill that tweaks 20 pieces of previous legislation. It touches on construction, education, the environment and healthcare. The Bill was passed in the Ontario Legislature this week, but has drawn the ire from many for n...

PUBLISHED: 24/07/2020 More than half a million people worldwide have succumbed to the Covid 19 virus, almost nine thousand here in Canada. While the race is on with researchers to develop a vaccine, there are two potential inoculations that could be the answer. When they may be available is the question? Researchers at Oxford University in the UK have developed one with AstraZeneca, while CanSino...

PUBLISHED: 20/07/2020 Has there been an industry more impacted by the Covid pandemic than the airline industry? Tens of thousands of jobs slashed as Canadians stayed home instead of traveling. When the lockdown began, demand for air travel dropped in some cases by 90 percent. Slowly, the industry is moving forward. But it will look different to anyone who hasn’t been in an airport in the last few...

PUBLISHED: 20/07/2020 The federal government is in full on damage control in the wake of the WE Charity scandal. Will it be enough for the Prime Minister to step aside. Prime Minister Trudeau was apologetic after the fact that it was revealed the WE Charity scored a sole sourced program to run the 900 million dollar youth volunteer program. Initially it was suggested the federal service made the r...

PUBLISHED: 18/07/2020 While summer vacation continues for many parents and kids, the question on their mind is “when will the school bell ring”? The Covid 19 pandemic robbed students of their year, forcing them to try and continue learning on line from home. This September Ontario is pushing a hybrid model of in class and online learning, but there doesn’t seem to be clear directions. Students for...

This week, we are going to focus on one of the most polarizing issues of the pandemic, mandatory masks. Many cities in Ontario have brought in legislation to make them mandatory in their jurisdiction. Ontario Premier Doug Ford supports that but won’t call for a provincial order because it would be unenforceable. In Quebec, masks will be mandatory on public transit. It is easy to see how some peopl...

Join us Monday evenings at 8 pm ET for UnpublishedTV (UTV), a lively interactive panel discussion that looks at the burning issues in Canadian politics and around the world. Hosted by veteran radioman Ed Hand, this weekly streaming show is the newest production from Unpublished Media and the fourth in our suite of online media tools designed to help empower Canadians to bring about democratic chan...

PUBLISHED: 11/06/2020 One of the worst hit sectors of the economy in Canada from the Covid 19 pandemic was the airline industry. What will it take Canadians to resume “flying the friendly skies?” The numbers were staggering for airlines and their employees; 20,000 cuts at Air Canada, 4,000 at WestJet and another 3,300 at Air Transat. Stakeholders appeared before the House of Commons health committ...

PUBLISHED: 05/06/2020 The face-mask has become the defining symbol of the Covid 19 pandemic. While it is one of the keys in keeping you safe, should wearing one be mandatory in public places? Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has no problem with municipalities making it mandatory, but he cannot see how it could be enforced. Toronto City Council has voted for it, and other GTA areas such as Peel an...

PUBLISHED: 03/07/2020 Diplomacy is taking a beating between Canada and China. Will this relationship survive?
 The war of words between the two countries is ramping up as China accuses Canada of “megaphone diplomacy”. Canada refuses to release Huawei Executive, Meng Wanzhou while China continues to hold the two Michaels, Kovrig and Spavor on “spying charges”. Neither has been to court and remain i...

PUBLISHED: 27/06/2020 When it comes to access for justice in Ontario, it appears the province’s Bill 161, the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, will do neither. While the province continues to grapple with the pandemic, predominantly in long term care homes, Bill 161 will support defendants being sued. There are several class action lawsuits currently underway against operators of some of these fa...

PUBLISHED: 23/06/2020 There could be some heavy lifting before certain parts of the economy can re-open. The pandemic is changing the way businesses will have to adapt, although it could be costly.  By early June, the Government of Canada had handed out more then 43 billion dollars to over 8.4 million Canadians in just the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit. When you factor in the rest of the direct...

PUBLISHED: 20/06/20 The Ontario government has quietly passed legislation aimed to protect factory farms, animal processing plants, truck drivers and farm animals - but it appears to target whistleblowers and animal activists. It’s called Bill 156, Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act. According to the agriculture industry, farmers face uncertainty when it comes to dealing with an...

PUBLISHED: 17/06/2020 The chants of “ I can’t breathe” are being replaced by shrieks of “defund the police”, in the wake of the George Floyd death in Minneapolis. Is it time to scale back on the firepower? Floyd’s death was the catalyst for anti-racism demonstrations and protests around the world. The role of police is very much in their minds. For some, it’s an adversarial relationship. LA and Ne...

PUBLISHED: 06/09/2020 We know ground zero in the battle with COVID-19 is in long term care homes. Is it time to take it away from the provinces and put it in the hands of the federal government? More than 8 in 10 deaths from the pandemic have occurred in long term care. Ontario and Quebec are primarily dealing with the most. BC was hard-hit when the virus first appeared in Canada, but was able to...

PUBLISHED: 06/06/2020 It’s said that ‘you have to look back to see where we are and where we are going’. In the latest collision between US police officers and black men, George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd’s neck to the ground all captured on video by a passerby. Chauvin has since been charged with second degree murder – b...

PUBLISHED: 03/06/2020  The ‘new normal’ is here for businesses in our physical distancing world. What will work and the economy look like in our post pandemic world? The Canadian economy shed almost 2 million jobs in April on top of the one million lost in March. Provinces are slowly opening up from the imposed lockdown, and despite Ontario and Quebec grappling with the need for more testing, they...

PUBLISHED: 02/06/2020 What is the future for Hong Kong? While the world wrestles with the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a lot of eyes fixed on the Far East. Hong Kong enjoys a special status in China under its “one country two system” principle which allow for socialism and capitalism to co-exist. Hong Kong was under British control until 1997 and was going to maintain its status until 2047. China...

PUBLISHED: 01/06/2020 When it comes to re-opening economies and schools in the face of this pandemic, the key is testing, testing and testing. With more than 80 percent of COVID cases in Ontario and Quebec, both provinces are having difficulty hitting their targets. The heat is rising on both provinces to ramp it up as they slowly start opening up. While Ontario scrambles to boost it’s testing num...

PUBLISHED: 24/05/2020 Canada’s long-term care homes are ground zero when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic – claiming the dubious distinction of having the highest number of COVID cases in long term care in an early study of the pandemic. Here in Ontario, a two-week spike in the number of cases. The grim toll has sparked calls to get to the bottom of the carnage. While everyone at Queen’s Park is...

PUBLISHED: 24/05/2020 For more than two months Canadians have been cooped up and physically distancing to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions are gradually lifting as the infection rate is decreasing nationally. But this means we are far from the end of the road. If there is one thing health experts agree on when it comes to the pandemic, it’s a second wave. Traditionally, the...