What's coated cars, houses and pretty much everything else on Hamilton's beach strip? Residents want to know too. Guest: Sandra Snowden, Concerned beach community resident - Hamilton's tiny shelter pilot project is getting shelved. Why is this and what has the reaction been since this announcement? Guest: Victoria Mancinelli, Director of Public Relations, Marketing, Strategic Partnerships with LiUNA - In an effort to cut back on the federal government's expense, a committee has recommended sever...
Oct 07, 2023•53 min
Oct 06, 2023•8 min
Would Hamilton benefit from a ban on right turns at red lights? How enforceable would it be should a ban be implemented? Guest: Mike Field, Manager of Transportation Operations with the City of Hamilton - As the battle against homelessness rages on, why is one of the places that's actively helping the homeless being served with a bylaw notice for graffiti of all things? Guest: Jennifer Bonner, Executive Director of The Hub - The Toronto Blue Jays were swept out of the playoffs by the Minnesota T...
Oct 06, 2023•37 min
The federal government's decision to require podcasts that earn $10m/year register with the CRTC has garnered criticism. Are we witnessing the death of freedom of expression? Guest: Jeffrey Dvorkin, Senior Fellow at Massey College, Former Director of Journalism at the University of Toronto-Scarborough and author of “Trusting the News in a Digital Age” - There are calls to expand mental health and addiction support in Hamilton but is the money there to do it? Guest: Tammy Hwang, Councillor, Ward ...
Oct 05, 2023•50 min
How might Hamilton's traffic collision report influence future plans for the city? Will the mountain see condominiums built? Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer - Why is Costco Canada now selling gold bars? Guest: Mark Yamada, President & CEO of PUR Investing Inc - There's a reboot of Frasier in the works, another season of Survivor is coming and the Writers' Strike has ended. Guest: Bill Brioux, Television Critic, Journalist and Author, brioux.tv...
Oct 04, 2023•45 min
Guests: Moshe Lander, Senior Economics Lecturer with Concordia University Dr. Lori Turnbull, Professor at the Faculty of Management with Dalhousie University Don Robertson, Owner of the Dundas Real McCoys
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Whether it's LRT, tiny homes, traffic in Hamilton, the federal government's nazi debacle or even drinking olive oil infused coffee, you can be sure it's going to be discussed on this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio with special guest, Kathy Renwald. Guest: Kathy Renwald, Freelance Journalist and former CHCH Reporter
Sep 30, 2023•1 hr 11 min
What does Hamilton's scene look like when it comes to affordable housing? Are things improving at all? Guest: Terry Cooke, President & CEO of the Hamilton Community Foundation - How did Councillor Ted McMeekin's idea to cap municipal tax increases get received by his fellow councillors? Guest: Ted McMeekin, Councillor for Ward 15 - Food Banks Canada has put out its report card on how well governments have done in the effort to reduce poverty. Unfortunately, the majority of governments receiv...
Sep 28, 2023•58 min
LRT is back in the spotlight... sort of. It was being discussed at council and from the sound of it, the price is going up. Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer - Are Canadians' attitude towards immigration souring? Guest: Andrew Perez is a Toronto-based freelance writer, media commentator and political activist - What is the threat profile posed by Hamilton's city councillors and how should threats, real or not, get addressed? Has that threat level increased? Guest: John-Paul Danko, ...
Sep 27, 2023•43 min
The Liberals are in hot water following the news that a WWII veteran who fought with the Nazis as part of the First Ukrainian Division, also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division which was under Nazi-command. Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice Chair of Summa Strategies - How is a worrying shortage of family doctors being addressed and will it be enough? Also, what sets family doctors apart? Guest: Dr. Jason Profetto, Family Physician & Chair of Clinical Skills and MD...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Doug Ford is now reversing course on the Greenbelt land swap reverse. Guest: Charlie Pinkerton, Deputy Editor of The Trillium - Ontario minor league hockey is on the search for more diversity in its team rosters. Guest: Ian Taylor, Executive Director of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association - As mass layoffs swiftly move through the journalism industry, is more at risk than just jobs? Guest: Peter Menzies, National Newspaper Award-winning journalist, Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institu...
Sep 22, 2023•38 min
The City of Hamilton saw its General Issues Committee field several topics today, many of which we've spoken about in the past. Where do things stand and what does the future hold for Hamilton? Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer - Justin Trudeau has made serious allegations against India's government following the slaying of a Sikh leader in BC. In what position does this put Canada and more specifically, Trudeau, if India wasn't involved? What about if India was involved? Guest: Dr...
Sep 21, 2023•56 min
How is Hamilton's police force responding to encampments around the city and the violence that sometimes erupts around them? Guest: Inspector Frank Miscione, Hamilton Police Service - 17% of Canadians think that food is something we should be getting for free. Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Professor of Food Distribution and Policy, and the Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University - Lawyers Howard Levitt and Peter Carey of Levitt Sheikh LLP have filed for leave to appeal t...
Sep 20, 2023•56 min
Guests: Ted McMeekin, Ward 15 Councillor for City of Hamilton Muhammad Ali, VP Crestview Strategies Don Robertson, Owner Dundas Real McCoys
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Scott welcomes Jason Farr to the show for this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio. What a week it was in the Hammer. Lots of news to discuss including tax increases, tiny homes, the cancelled encampment meeting earlier this week, First Ontario Centre and so much more. GUEST: Jason Farr, former councilor for Ward 2 in the City of Hamilton.
Sep 16, 2023•1 hr 7 min
So the renovation timeline at First Ontario Centre might be seeing a shift? And so the Toronto Rock is set to play their entire 2023-24 season, from start to finish, in the arena. Guest: Vito Sgro is a Former Mayoral candidate in 2018, and Liberal Candidate for Flamborough-Glanbrook in the 2021 election - Books from 2008 or earlier are being removed from school shelves in the Peel District School Board thanks to what appears to be a seemingly inconsistent approach to a book weeding process imple...
Sep 15, 2023•56 min
A city report released today says an incoming tax increase in 2024 will be 14.2 per cent! Guest: Matt Francis, Councillor for Ward 5 in Hamilton - Whenever the government buys mundane things like office supplies, the price tags tend to bloat to astronomical amounts. Is there a better way to do this in a way that optimizes the process of public procurement in Ontario? Guest: Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce - As the world seems to divide ever further, a study was ...
Sep 14, 2023•38 min
Sep 13, 2023•11 min
What is with this growth in the number of loyalty alliances among businesses? Are consumers actually benefiting from them? Guest: Bruce Winder, Retail Analyst & Author
Sep 13, 2023•11 min
A meeting that was supposed to held to get public input on tiny shelters had to be cancelled which turned the already tumultuous topic into an even larger debacle. What went wrong? Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer - There seems to be a transphobic slant that's being taken by the Conservative party and Justin Ling says it's time for Pierre Poilievre to reject those policies. GUEST: Justin Ling is a freelance investigative journalist and writes the Bug-eyed and Shameless newsletter ...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr
Doug Ford is drawing attention to school boards in Ontario "indoctrinating" students on gender identity but could this just be him trying to divert eyes away from the Greenbelt scandal? Guest: Sabrina Nanji, Publisher of the Queen’s Park Observer - What is with this growth in the number of loyalty alliances among businesses? Are consumers actually benefiting from them? Guest: Bruce Winder, Retail Analyst & Author - After a weeks-long drought of Don Robertson, he makes his glorious return to ...
Sep 12, 2023•59 min
An open house was held for people to voice their opinions on Greenbelt development and hundreds turned up for it. One of those people joins Scott to talk about what she thinks about the situation. Guest: Sandy Shaw, NDP MPP for Hamilton West Ancaster Dundas - Canadian employees may be getting a major boost to their paycheck next year... but will they really? Guest: Ian Lee, Associate Professor with the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University - How is Canada dealing with youth energy dri...
Sep 08, 2023•52 min
Hamilton City Councillor Maureen Wilson has asked staff to find some new municipal revenue streams. What does that mean? Are new taxes a foregone conclusion? Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer - Pierre Poilievre is in full campaign mode nearly 2 years out from an election. Is this unprecedented? Guest: Dr. Lori Turnbull, Professor at the Faculty of Management with Dalhousie University - According to some economists, the under-counting of an estimated one million non-permanent reside...
Sep 07, 2023•1 hr
Ontario has a new housing minister following Steve Clark's resignation yesterday. How will this shuffle change the way messaging gets sent out from the government and will there be much of a shift in the Greenbelt debacle and how it's being handled? Guest: Sabrina Nanji, Publisher of the Queen’s Park Observer - A lot of Canadians are deciding to buy homes together rather than on their own. Is co-owning a house with a parent, sibling or friend even a good idea? Guset: Karen Yolevski, Chief Operat...
Sep 06, 2023•48 min
Mike Fortune returns for another edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio where he and Scott trade words about the Tiger-Cats latest fumbles, our ability to accommodate people who are new to Canada, the mad dash for Taylor Swift tickets, and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14
Aug 19, 2023•1 hr 7 min
More people than expected are dying in Canada in 2023 for reasons that are not yet clear. GUEST: Dr. Dawn Bowdish, Executive Director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health and a Professor in the Department of Medicine with McMaster University
Aug 18, 2023•12 min
With the looming strike by the City's unionized workers, there are multiple services that may by disrupted. Should we be surprised by this? Guest: Vito Sgro is a Former Mayoral candidate in 2018, and Liberal Candidate for Flamborough-Glanbrook in the 2021 election - Tomorrow will see the Hamilton Tiger-Cats play the currently winless Edmonton Elks here in Hamilton. Short of being a game that the Ticats should win, does this game have any larger significance? Guest: Steve Milton, Journalist with ...
Aug 17, 2023•37 min
Yesterday saw an amazingly lengthy meeting surrounding the combating of homelessness in Hamilton at Hamilton City Hall. Did councillors actually accomplish anything or merely burn a bunch of time? Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer - What is the Government of Ontario's state when it comes to finances? We're hearing about inflation and interest rates wreaking havoc across the country, is our provincial government suffering similarly or managing rather well? Guest: Colin D’Mello, Quee...
Aug 16, 2023•51 min
The topic of homelessness and debate surrounding how to combat it continues at Hamilton City Hall. Larry Di Ianni joins the show to talk about how this debate may change things at City Hall and if something usable may or may not come out of this. Guest: Larry Di Ianni, Former Mayor of Hamilton - After a month away from the mic, Scott Radley & Don Robertson make their return to talk about the plethora of things that have happened in the world of sports. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & ...
Aug 15, 2023•44 min
Scott welcomes Lorraine Sommerfeld to the show for this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio. Together they cover everything from Lorraine's upcoming thriller, A Face In The Window, why many people are apprehensive about buying an electric vehicle, Hamilton's LRT woes, how our level of sociability has changed with time and more. Guest: Lorraine Sommerfeld, Auto Writer with Post Media, Motherlode column in the Hamilton Spectator and Host of the Lemon Aid Car Show on Roge...
Jul 15, 2023•1 hr 9 min