Three local ladies have been chosen to be a part of Canada's Olympic Women's Hockey Team and Scott welcomes one of them to the show to talk all about it! Guest: Emma Maltais, #27 Forward, Canada's Olympic Women's Hockey Team
Two former Hamilton paramedics who failed to provide the necessaries of life to 19-year-old shooting victim Yosif Al-Hasnawi have been sentenced but should we have been surprised by what was handed down or was it expected? Guest: Jaime Stephenson, Criminal Lawyer; Former President, Hamilton Criminal Lawyers Association - You'll be paying off-peak rates for electricity for the next little while thanks to the provincial government but is any cynicism merited here? Guest: Donna Skelly, Conservative...
The government deals with massive amounts of money each year and each year, they spend more than the last while hiring more employees and outsourcing more work to contractors. Wouldn't hiring more employees mean that less outsourcing has to be done? What are all of these employees doing? Where is all of your hard earned, yet seemingly easily spent, tax money going? Guest: Bill Curry, The Globe and Mail’s Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief - There's a never-ending supply of news coming out of the sports ...
We live in a world that's seen Prince Andrew be stripped of his military titles & royal patronages, many travel plans get cancelled, tensions increase along Ukraine's eastern border, truckers' vaccine mandate & restrictions get reversed and Canada's Olympic hockey team rosters released (one's a little more real than the other) among many other things happen. This means that there's no shortage of things to talk about on this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton with t...
Tiger-Cats and Dane Evans fans rejoice! Scott chats with Dane about choosing the Ticats over free agency, returning to the Ticats for another 2 years, having glorious hair and more. Guest: Dane Evans, #9 Quarterback, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
It was a matter of time before someone would put forth a court challenge against Quebec's controversial decision to tax adult residents who aren't vaccinated and don't have an exemption to be vaccinated and now we know who will be challenging Quebec. Guest: John Carpay, President, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms - Tiger-Cats and Dane Evans fans rejoice! Scott chats with Dane about choosing the Ticats over free agency, returning to the Ticats for another 2 years, having glorious hair a...
We often hear about how many hospitalized cases of COVID-19 there are however a decent portion of those hospitalized aren't there solely because of COVID. Does that change the conversation we should be having when it comes to the COVID case count? Guest: Dr. Andrew Costa, Associate Professor & Schlegel Research Chair in Clinical Epidemiology & Aging, McMaster University - Before you know it, we'll be knee deep in elections which has prompted Hamilton City Council to review and revise som...
Raising children and teens during an incredibly unstable time in human history is something that likely few people have considered however one psychoanalyst has ideas and theories about how to tackle this very topic. Some people have given her ideas lots of support while others have called them old-fashioned. Scott welcomes her to the show to explain what she thinks parents could and should be doing to help raise happy and healthy kids. Guest: Dr. Erica Komisar, Clinical Social Worker, Psychoana...
After way, way too long, Chuck Ealey is finally being inducted into the United States' College Football Hall of Fame. You would think that having a college football record of 35 wins and zero losses and being the first black QB to win a Grey Cup (as a Ticat no less) among many other accolades would be enough to qualify him for induction but here we are, 51 years too late. Guest: Chuck Ealey, College Football Hall of Fame inductee & former CFL quarterback - Raising children and teens during a...
With the cancellation of thousands of surgeries as a result of the pandemic, is it time to consider allowing private healthcare providers into Canada? Scott discusses with Colin Craig. president of SecondStreet.org Alan Cross joins Scott to discuss the late, great Michael Lang. Don't recognize the name? Well, he was instrumental in getting the greatest concert of all time, Woodstock 1969, off the ground and in the process creating a legendary moment in music history, And Don Robertson, owner and...
Are lockdowns an effective or appropriate method to combat the most recent wave of COVID-19 dubbed "Omicron"? Guest: Dr. Ahmad Firas Khalid, Health Policy PhD graduate and Queen Elizabeth Scholar - How should the NFL deal with the 'meltdown' of Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown? And much more on Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty...
University campuses are supposed to be the homes of debate and different ideas however that's slowly becoming not the case anymore as certain topics become taboo to talk about at all. Is anyone doing anything to protect full freedom of speech on university campuses? Guest: Dr. Mark Mercer, President, Society for Academic Freedom & Scholarship; Chair & Professor, Philosophy, Saint Mary's University - Canada produces many outstanding elite athletes who are internationally recognized as suc...
What is 'pandemic brain' and how likely is it that you currently have it? Guest: Dr. Karl Szpunar, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Memory Lab, Ryerson University - Cousin Eddie's RV easily stands out in the minds of fans of the beloved Christmas movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but what happened to it after the movie finished filming? The current owner of that very RV joins Scott to talk about some of the peculiar things that have happened to it and the joy tha...
As we see more restrictions getting put back into place amid the Omicron variant's spread, it brings back memories of the major lockdowns, something which devastated restaurants all over. Are we seeing a similar effect happening now? Guest: James Rilett, Vice President, Central Canada, Restaurants Canada - According to many reports, NHL players will not be competing in the Olympics. Despite the fact that this isn't a huge surprise if it happens to be the case, what kind of fallout could come abo...
The past has shown that in times of strife, many people turn to religion as a way of getting through however the COVID-19 pandemic has found otherwise. Why is that? Guest: Dr. David Haskell, Associate Professor, Digital Media & Journalism and Religion & Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University - Should hockey take some influence from lacrosse? How should PGA players feel after placing behind a 12-year-old? These questions and more get asked, answered and debated on Sports Talk with Don Robert...
What do you do when you've got an old building with beautiful architecture that's no longer being used? Put housing in it! Guest: Graham Cubitt, Director of Projects and Development, Indwell - We were expecting a treasure trove of information to be released by the US government regarding the assassination of JFK but instead, we got an information dump (and not the good kind). What was, and wasn't, released and why did the feds change course on what would be declassified? Guest: Jefferson Morley,...
The federal government's economic statement included Chrystia Freeland saying that the economy is back but is it really? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - We're seeing a lot of positive COVID-19 tests in the sports world which has been leading to postponed games and multiple players being unavailable for games at a time. Could this lead to leagues having to shutdown temporarily again or will we see the return of games withou...
Why are politicians willing to speak out against Quebec's controversial Bill-21 after the election? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - The Grey Cup has finished with a disappointing end for Ticats fans and to take a look through the wreckage, Scott enlists Don Robertson for some help. Also, will the NHL prevent players from playing in the Beijing Olympics now that we know that a positive COVID-19 test...
Hamilton's own broadcasting legend Jamie West joins Scott for this week's Brightest Conversation in Hamilton. From people wielding science as their religion, to the CBC's "Words and phrases you may want to think twice about using," to outright discrimination of a teacher in Quebec, there's so much to hear!
Presenting any championship trophy is a massive honour however being able to do it at the Grey Cup final in your hometown as a diehard Ticats fan takes what would be a cool experience and turns it into something akin to a fairy tale dream. Scott had a chance to chat with someone who'll not only be one of two RCMP officers presenting the Grey Cup at this weekend's game but also someone who'll be getting a chance to live out this exact experience. His name is Sgt. Dave Binkley. Guest: Sgt. Dave Bi...
What is the best Christmas movie of all time? Who will win the Grey Cup this weekend? Those are two questions that one man is endeavoring to answer and his name is Rick Zamperin. Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of Good Morning Hamilton & The 5th Quarter, News Director & Sports Director, Global News Radio 900 CHML - The experience of playing any tabletop game is immediately enhanced the moment you play it at a dedicated location. Whether you're looking to try some new games or continue your ca...
Ontario has some new legislation governing employers' ability to contact employees outside of work hours. How will this work and will it actually work?\ Guest: Gregory Sills, Employment Lawyer & Associate, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP - The City of Hamilton is set to raise taxes to help cover for the much needed infrastructure updates and repairs around the city. How much of an increase is expected and will it actually be spent on what we're being told? Guest: Bill Kelly, Host, The Bill Kelly Show, ...
It's no secret that house prices in Hamilton are constantly skyrocketing to new highs and a major contributor to that comes from the fact that there isn't a lot of inventory for real estate agents to sell. Guest: Judy Marsales, Broker of Record, Judy Marsales Real Estate Ltd. - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are moving on to the Grey Cup! Does a diplomatic boycott actually mean anything? Why can't the NHL deliver any meaningful punishments? Get answers to all of these questions and more on this week's ...
The Toronto Rock is returning to Hamilton and their first game back in The Hammer is this Saturday. Scott gets the inside line from someone from the team and the city. Guest: Jamison Dilks, #42 Defenceman, Toronto Rock - After an extremely distinguished 50-years as a sports broadcaster, Brian Williams has announced his retirement. Scott takes a look back at his half-century career with the best person you could want for the job, Brian Williams! Guest: Brian Williams, Long-time Broadcaster...
Ontario's Auditor General has found that almost $1 billion of pandemic aid was sent to businesses that shouldn't have qualified among many other problems. How does something like this happen at all? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - Major League Baseball could be coming up on a lockout. What more is there to ask for when players are already making millions and millions of dollars? Guest: Mike Wilner, Baseball Columnist, Toronto Star & P...
When businesses are doing well, the economy tends to be chugging along at a healthy pace. Is that still the case when it's the banks who are doing well? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - Beer is one of those products that gets heavily taxed however should that mean the tax should be equal between alcoholic and dealcoholized beer? Guest: David Clement, North American Affairs Manager, Consumer Choice Center - UNZIPPED, the fir...
A Parliamentary decision was made that would allow for MPs to call-in from home or sit in-person but could this be something that takes away the ability to keep politicians accountable? How can you ask someone questions if they never leave the house? Guest: Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch - Will athletes ever be paid "enough money"? When is it the general manager's fault that a team isn't doing well and when is it the players'? These questions get asked, answered and debated along w...
This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Neil Lumsden who joins Scott to talk about the new COVID-19 variant, athletes choosing to speak up and speak out about issues in the world, what Amazon knows about you, if our rules are strict enough and organized pillow fighting championships among many other things. Guest: Neil Lumsden, Vanier Cup Champion, Grey Cup Champion, CFL Hall of Fame Member, former Athletic Director of Brock University & Amazing Race Canada Con...
Burlington Taxi will be closing its doors after 53 years of business. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic's dealing of a major blow to business, is there still a future for taxis as a business model? Guest: Scott Wallace, President, Burlington Taxi - Today marks the 10th anniversary of what's become known as 'The Best Game Ever' where McMaster squared off against Laval for the Vanier Cup with Mac eventually winning thanks to a field goal in overtime. To get more on this major win for McMaster, Scott w...
As we hear more and more about the impending acquisition of Shaw Media by Rogers Communications, any argument was put forth essentially saying that having fewer options means more competition. How is that even possible and could there be any truth to it? Guest: Ben Klass, PhD Candidate, Telecom Policy, Carleton University - Hamilton may be playing host to the Canada vs. United States Men's World Cup qualifying match. How big of a deal would this be for The Hammer? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports B...
