The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge

Was it smoke or mirrors or the truth with three separate incidents over the last few days?  Doug Ford, Jason Kenney, Donald Trump. Case studies with Bruce Anderson make up today's episode of SMT on The Bridge.

The British Prime Minister may think he can ride out the storm but those against him haven't stopped organizing.  What does it mean and what should it mean for Erin O'Toole?  Andrew MacDougall should know -- Stephen Harper's former head of communications and currently a strategic consultant based in London.  Also today, will it soon be time for single pilot cockpits?

One of the members of The Bridge's unofficial "science table" joins for our regular Monday Covid Update.  Dr. Zain Chagla from McMaster University talks about where we are, how to interpret the numbers, where we are on boosters, therapeutics, and a lot more.  Then some remarkable stats on apps that are helping us through the pandemic.

A leader must be a leader. That's often been a campaign slogan. So what of the leadership of Quebec's Francois Legault, the Conservative's Erin O'Toole, and Britain's Boris Johnson?  All three had big weeks -- but what did Chantal and Bruce think of it all?  

Some stories, trends and articles you may have missed, and then your turn with your comments, thoughts and questions from Covid to sleep to tennis.

Will any other provinces follow Quebec's plan to tax the unvaccinated?  Bruce puts the SMT lens on that one.  Plus the calls for Boris Johnson to resign intensify.  And then of course there's the question underlined by the Australian Open -- is there one set of rules for the famous and then the rules for the rest of us?

Lots on the program today starting with the explosion in the use of sleep apps because of the pandemic.  But also we ask my old friend and former Washington correspondent Rob Russo to help us understand whether it will ever be possible for the US Congress to bring Donald Trump to account for what he did or didn't do on last year's insurrection day.

This week's feature interview on the Covid story is with Dr. Lisa Barrett, the Nova Scotia epidemiologist at Dalhousie University who is tracking the virus not just there but around the country and around the world.  Her thoughts about where we are, what we are doing right and wrong, and where we are heading.  

Chantal and Bruce start off 2022 with two big topics. We discuss the at times divisive politics of the pandemic in Canada; and then if Joe Biden is right and democracy is vulnerable in the United States, how ready is Canada?

Is all news bad news?  Why isn't there more good news? Is it all bad for your health?  Just one of the questions for today in our Thursday combination of the stories we've missed and the letters you've sent.  Great way to help kick off our first week of 2022.