Friday Focus provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving the news and current events. The show features Janice Gross Stein, the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and bestselling author, in conversation with Rudyard Griffiths, Chair and moderator of the Munk Debates.

The following is a sample of the Munk Debates’ weekly current affairs podcast, Friday Focus.

Rudyard and Janice dedicate the entire Friday Focus episode to Trump's announcement of high tariffs on Canadian goods, which are set to come into effect this Saturday February 1st. How will excluding oil and gas from these taxes fracture Canada's national unity and resolve in responding to this crisis? Should we match Trump's aggressiveness with retaliatory measures of our own, or strike a more conciliatory tone? And finally, Rudyard and Janice voice their frustration at the Liberal government's proposed stimulus package to soften this blow: haven't we learned from disastrous COVID spending that throwing money at problems will just create more problems? It's time to start thinking up creative and dynamic ways to strengthen our economy and navigate the country through this crisis without writing a blank check.

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This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue.

More information at www.munkdebates.com.

Friday Focus: Canada needs a better response to Trump's tariffs