The Ben Mulroney Show - Ben asks why are so many youth unemployed?

Episode Date: January 23, 2025

-Why are so many Youths unemployed? -Should people not be allowed anonymity while using Social Media? If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Calling all sellers, Salesforce is hiring account executives to join us on the cutting edge of technology. Here, innovation isn't a buzzword. It's a way of life. You'll be solving customer challenges faster with agents, winning with purpose, and showing the world what AI was meant to be. Let's create the agent-first future together. Head to salesforce.com slash careers to learn more. In a darkly comedic look at motherhood and society's expectations, Academy Award nominated Amy Adams stars as a passionate artist who puts her career on hold

to stay home with her young son. But her maternal instincts take a wild and surreal turn as she discovers the best yet fiercest part of herself. Based on the acclaimed novel, Nightbitch is a thought-provoking and wickedly humorous film from Searchlight Pictures. Stream Nightbitch January 24 only on Disney Plus. Welcome back to the Ben Mulrooney Show

and Mayor Olivia Chow has been urged by the Toronto Youth Cabinet, along with public and Catholic school boards, to invest almost $50 million in youth-focused initiatives in order to create jobs and opportunities. In this joint statement, they said, our city's young people deserve to live and grow in communities with a bounty of opportunity rather than overwhelming poverty and violence. And as part of this proposal, there are eight areas that that were outlined for investment, including just over half a million dollars to establish an office of youth engagement,

and then 17.5 million for city funded youth employment initiatives to create 4,500 jobs, 3 million for 15 new youth spaces and hubs in priority neighborhoods, 8 million for after-school programs for kids aged 11 to 18, and almost 4 million to expand student nutrition programs. This to me is the definition of an investment. You'll hear me complain about government programs that they're just a cost, they're a burden to the taxpayer. This to me is not that. This to me is a real bonafide investment. Because if you don't get kids engaged in sort of being productive and seeing themselves of value, then they are more prone to sitting idly by.

And what do they say about idle hands? That's where they get into trouble. That's where they start mixing up with the wrong crowds. That's where crime becomes a real possibility as a future for them. And so I'm entirely for this, maybe not the $600,000 for an office of youth engagement. That seems like some, some bureaucrats, but maybe we need that as the tip of the sword here.

But I guess the question I have for our listeners at 416-870-6400 or 1-triple-8-225-talk is why are youth not working? Is it that there are no jobs for them? Are entry-level jobs being taken by people new to Canada? Do kids nowadays have less of a work ethic? Or is it something else? And these are good faith questions.

I'm not coming at you with an agenda here. I'd love to hear from parents. I'd love to hear from employers. Also, what was your first job? How old were you? So when I was growing up, obviously I lived at 24 Sussex Drive and not a lot of,

wasn't going out for job opportunities that, there was no job, I didn't have a job to be honest. But, and when I was in college, I was down in the United States on a student visa, I couldn't work. So my first jobs were when I would come home in the summer. My first job was working at the Just for Laughs

Comedy Festival in Montreal. And I did that for three summers. And then I worked in a gold mine in Nevada for a summer. Made a lot of money because it was high risk work and I was able to afford my first car I bought. And anyway, I got very lucky to have those jobs. And I know once you get into the job market, you start feeling more productive, more valued, and you want to do it, you want to do more of it. And you find out

what you're good at. Hey, let's let's welcome Troy to the show. Troy, welcome to the show. Hey, Ben, love your show. Thank you. You know, when you think about when we are growing up jobs that we did, they're no longer there. So you start off as a paperboy. Yeah, kids aren't doing that anymore. My first job was a paperboy.

Then I worked at Wendy's flipping burgers. So it's, it's, it's, it's, um, it's things like Amazon sort of cord out Main Street. So there's no jobs for these kids anymore. You're saying, yeah, you're saying the hollowing out of retail has made it. It's not just retail. The restaurants are suffering with all social media too. It's putting these lifestyles that are unattainable for these kids that they think are real. Yeah.

No, that's a good point. They're almost embarrassed to do these little jobs that we were growing up and it was a stepping stone for us for work ethic. You know, it was, it's not there anymore. So, it's a sad state of affairs, honestly. So, they got to look at it. The core problem is, I think it's social media. I think it's the internet, it's the Amazons of the world. Yeah, it's this, this, this, this, this distribution of power and these big, you know, these big tech companies. Yeah, there's nothing else there for these kids anymore. Well, I appreciate your your perspective, Troy. Thanks

so much. Mike, welcome to the Ben Mulrooney show. Mr. Mulrooney, again, not a big fan, getting close. I grew up in Niagara Falls and I have a lot of relatives in the States, in like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Brooklyn. And I remember as kids, they would come over and I'd always be working during the summer. And this is like 13 years old and they were always astonished. It was the best thing that laid the path to my success, people's success, if they can start working younger, have an idea of what a dollar's worth. But now, again, I'm 59, I look around,

and again, I'm not trying to ruffle anybody's feathers, but we have sacrificed that with immigration. You go around now and all these students who had jobs at one time don't have them anymore. And it's very, very disturbing because you say that kids that lost time not going to school during COVID, kids that lost a value of how a dollar is earned and are not doing it now because they can't get a summer job because it's taken by immigrants who had their salaries padded by the government. Okay, so let's say for example, and again, this has been on the news, I'm not pulling this out of

thin air, they'll get so much per immigrant student for pay. Yeah. The students should be in class. Like you go to your local Tim Hortons or anything like that. There's no more students at work there. So we've eroded that value with Canadian kids to help them start. Anyways, great show. Thank you very much. Have a good day. Thank you, Mike. And yeah, there is a, look, listen, I know my sons, my sons are great kids,

they're actually gonna join me here for lunch. They've got a day off of school. But I know that there's a switch that's gonna go off in them when they get that first job, where all of a sudden they are accountable to someone beyond their parents. When all of a sudden they have a boss who's going to expect them at work at a certain time that's going to light a fire under them in a way that my wife and I just can't.

And I look forward to that day because I know that they will rise to that challenge. Hey, Karen, welcome to the show. Thanks for joining us. Oh, hi. I feel like a lot of kids have lost their interpersonal skills. It's a real thing, but they're very anxious. They don't know how to deal. It stems down from, well, I'll say it, they learn from their parents.

So if they're not being taught these things, and then they try and get a job, but they don't know how to, they don't because how to they don't because they're afraid. Yeah and you know there are a lot of parents out there who helicopter parents, snowplow parents, they're always they're clearing the road for their kids and they the kids themselves don't they don't have that hustle gene because the parents have sort of done everything for them. I'm not and that's a blanket generalization. Of course, it's not true of everyone. We got time for one more call. Let's say hi to Steve.

How's it going? Well, thank you. I'm like I'm I was telling your screener I'm 23 and I've been working every freaking day since I got out of high school and work two jobs all through high school. My generation these days do not have a work ethic. Right? I work 60, 70, 80 hours a week and I see kids that are doing 20 or 30 thinking they're big timers type of thing. Yeah. Yeah, the counter argument to that, Steve, and I thank you for your call, is that the jobs just aren't necessarily there for them. But listen, this is a great conversation to have.

I thank you so much for calling. More of your calls on this subject next on the Ben Mulroney Show. Welcome back to the show, and we are taking your calls on the subject of youth employment. Give us a call at 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK.

The unemployment rate in Canada in December for people aged 15 to 24 was 14.4%. Now, if you exclude the pandemic years, that's the highest youth unemployment rate this country has seen since 2012, when it was 14.3%. So it's tough out there for young people trying to get jobs. And I want to hear from you. Do your kids have a job? Do you even want them working right now? Or do you prefer that they focus on school? Give us a call 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK. And let's welcome

Rick to the show. Rick, your kids are working. Yeah, hey, Ben. Love your show. Thank you. Yeah, my my oldest who's 20 now who went just finished school a year or two goes working in the trades, licensed apprentice in HVAC. So he started at eight doing a paper. Oh, wow. Like I grew up farming, but then moved to town. So I had to figure out what we worked from the minute we rolled enough to go out and do something. Yeah. So and Edward, did you notice like a switch went off or the flip the switch when your kids start working?

They hated the paper, right? Yeah. So he was eight, my daughter was five. So she would help. And then my youngest, once he was old enough to even carry one paper would come along. Yeah. And then when he hit 14, he started working at Pizza Hut.

He was working there in a manager by 16. Wow. And then he left there to start with the, well, he works with the company I work with and in the trades. That's amazing. And then my daughter, she started working at, a lot of people won't hire you until you're 15.

Yeah. But she got in at 14. No, it was 15 at Metro and she loves work. She's bought her own car already and she's only 17. That's awesome. She bought it at 16. And my youngest who's 14 is working at Metro and she loves her. She's bought her own car already and she's only 17. That's awesome. She bought it at 16. And my youngest who's 14 is working at Metro now. Oh, I love that.

And is doing a second job because he's not getting enough. Edward, thank you so much. Congratulations, you're raising great kids. That's really well done. I always wanted to be an usher to movie theater. I would have loved working in a movie theater. And I think one of the perks is you get to see the movies for free.

I would have loved, or at least a discount, I would have loved to work in a movie theater. I think one of the perks is you get to see the movies for free. I would have loved, or at least a discount, I would have loved to work in a movie theater. Let's welcome Edward to the Ben Mulroney Show. Thanks for calling in, Edward. Hey, thanks for taking my call. Look, I believe that the role of the parent is to make sure that your kids are functioning adults in a not so nice world. My wife and I, we don't pave the way for our kids. We don't get them summer jobs. They get their own summer jobs. When it was time for them to go to university, we both, both my wife and I said,

look, in today's world, make sure you go to a school or the program that you want. There's a co-op aspect to it so that once you graduate, you're more than likely going to end up with a pretty good job and not at an entry level salary. Yeah. Yeah. It's sort of like the housing market, right?

If you get in, if you're lucky enough these days to get in early, then you can bit by bit build equity and eventually get a bigger house and a bigger house until you're in the house that you want to be in early, then you can bit by bit build equity and eventually get a bigger house and a bigger house until you're in the house that you want to be in. I know that that's out of reach for a lot of people, but that was always the general the bargain of getting in early and buying your house early. And if you buy into the job market early, then you can build your way up to the job you actually want. Thank you for the call, Edward.

I appreciate it. Let's say good morning to Anthony. Anthony, what say you? All right, good morning, Ben. It's a privilege talking to you, mate. Thank you. I want to change it a little bit. So right now, kids are making a heck of a lot of money.

I think minimum wage is supposed to $17 an hour, if not more. But they're still not better humans. So I actually think rather than increasing that consumerism mindset and having a mandatory military service, what that will do is build better values for those young individuals and probably make them better employees. Yeah, that's a good, you know what? That's food for thought.

I hadn't considered that. But yeah, listen, there's a lot of countries that have mandatory military service. And frankly, we could use a few good men and women in our armed forces. There's a dearth of them right now and although we would have to fund it at a higher level. Thank you for the call Ron, I appreciate it. And good morning to Robert. Robert, how are you? Robert, you there? Robert? Hello. Hey, Robert, welcome to the show. Yeah, Ben, this isn't my problem, but it's friends I work with. Their kids are having a hard time getting jobs because there's so many foreign students

from the market. There's no work for the Canadian kids. Yeah, I mean, yeah. They're in a subsidy. There certainly is a change. There's been a dynamic change in retail and in coffee shops across the country, that's for sure. I don't know if that's, I don't know what the root cause of it is.

And I don't know that that's necessarily a net negative, but it is from what I'm hearing from our callers. And when I talk to people that it is harder for kids these days just to find the jobs that used to be available to everyone. It's a tricky one and that's why I very much enjoy the conversation that we're having about an investment by the city in youth employment programs. But so Ron, now you're a manager is that right hello Ron you there

hello yeah yeah so Ron you're a manager yeah I manager at a large construction company okay and first of all I want to say you know you always bring up great topics I love your show thank you I'm a manager at a large construction company and you know we we're always looking for young people in a specialty trade. We work with specialty equipment and we just can't find them. And the people that are coming to us are a lot of immigrants that unfortunately don't have the language and there is an apprenticeship program to get into the trade.

Young Canadian kids, we just can't get them and when we do get the odd one, the work ethic isn't there for the most part. So they really don't last out. Yeah. Unionized pension benefits, all that. Your last guy stole my thunder. There is an office of youth engagement called the Canadian Armed Forces. It's for me, my dad, my brother, teaches discipline, the work ethic, respect for authority and integration. Hey, Ron, thank you for your call. I appreciate it. Really insightful. And Frank, thank you for giving us a call. You echo some of the things that Ron just said. Good morning. Morning.

Yes, I've been working in the temp agency for the past 16 years. And to be honest with you, whatever people are telling you here, it's all a lie. I go through tons of people, students and non-students, Canadians, okay? They go through the process, interviewing and wasting time here and there, and they show up for work, maybe a day or two maximum, and they disappear.

Really? Oh, that's interesting. That's interesting. I am telling you, actually, I had a guy that after I trained him, five days training and I had to pay, he realized that he's telling me that he realized that it's too far for him. And I explained to him, so listen, it will take you three quarter of an hour for this job. Are you sure you want it? Because I'm paying you for training for five days. Yeah. Hey, Frank, thank you for your call. I appreciate it. And thanks to everyone for calling in. If you are a regular listener of the Ben Mulroney Show,

then you know that at the end of every show, I remind you that if you want to keep the conversation going with the show, that you can follow me on Twitter or X at Ben Mulroney. And I post regularly about the show. I don't really post much else. I really use Twitter for professional reasons. And that's been there's been a change in my life. I don't I don't spend any time on Instagram anymore. I still have it, but I really don't use it. And I only use Twitter for business purposes. And I use it as a as a newsfeed. But when I do post, there's this familiar pattern

that happens where the first people who respond to whatever I post, I get the good and the bad, but I get a sense that I'm being responded to, I'm being replied to from human beings. They'll comment, sometimes they'll say something funny, sometimes it's an ad hominid attack, but I can get the sense that the replies are coming from people.

And then there's a pause in the replies. And what follows is a flurry of bots and trolls and anonymous accounts. And I don't know why that pattern is, but I think the most replies I get are from anonymous accounts. And the prime minister of Spain laid out his vision for the future of social media. And it begins with the end of anonymity online.

I propose putting an end to anonymity on social media. In our countries, no one can walk the streets with a mask on their face or drive a car without a license plate. No one can send packages without showing an ID or by a hunting weapon without giving their name. And yet, we are allowing people to roam freely on social networks without linking their profiles to a real identity. This paving the way for misinformation, hate speech, and cyber harassment. All right, so he's laying out his vision. I mean, there's some leaps there, you know, comparing being on social media, buying a weapon, but that's his vision. And then he goes on a little bit longer about how he wants to make this happen.

In a democracy, citizens have the right to privacy, not to anonymity or impunity, because with those two, social coexistence would be impossible. That is why I believe we must push forward the principle of pseudonymity as the functioning element of social media, and force all these platforms to link every user account to an European digital identity wallet.

This way, citizens could use nicknames if they want, but in the case of a crime, public authorities would be able to connect those nicknames to real people and hold them responsible. All right, so there you go. He wants a digital ID for everyone and he wants that ID linked to your user account on social media. Is this a huge overreach or is he making sense? Is this something that we should consider in Canada and what is the case against it? So I put the question to our listeners at 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK. Like to me, this makes some sense, but I really haven't

thought out the ramifications of something like this. Let's go to Daniel. Daniel, welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. Hi, you know, I think this is a very extreme execution of power because, speaking for myself, I've got a collection of Rolex fine timepieces. And the last thing I want is somebody figuring out my real name, where I live, and my collection getting stolen. There's a lot of people that belong to certain sectors of precious items that are collected, and they don't use their real name, they just want to show off their collection. So yeah, this might be a good use of social media,

but there is a downside. Yeah, and I thank you for that. And you're right, we've got to protect ourselves online. But anonymity emboldens the worst in us. I used to tussle with people online all the time. I really used to like going back and forth with people. And then one thing I remember saying to someone who was constantly attacking me, I remember writing, I said, I got a bright, shiny loony that says that

if you ever met me in person, the most you would ever be able to say to me is nice to meet you, Mr. Mulrooney. And they never got back to me, but I do contend that the cowards out there are emboldened by the anonymity that they are able to enjoy. And if they were forced to put their name to some of the vile things that they say online to people, they would think twice. And so that to me is a very strong argument in favor of ending anonymity on social media.

But again, I haven't thought about the knock-on effects and I'd love to hear from our listeners at 4168706400 or 1-888-225-TALK. Let's just live in a world for a moment where you're not allowed to be anonymous on social media. What would that mean to you? I mean, I'm clearly not anonymous on social media. And there are a lot of people out there. The people I follow are not anonymous. I know who they are. They are real people. And that's why I follow them. But there is an army of people out there

for whom the anonymity is what drives them to social media. Chris, welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. Hey, thanks very much, Ben. Love your show. Thank you. I almost always can see eye to eye with your viewpoint. And I will tell you that as much as I'm not in the line of fire the way you might be in your role,

I think that we did a disservice to the country when we looked into people's bank accounts during a legitimate protest of governmental policy and it was a huge overreach and I think there would be a legitimate not paranoia or conspiracy theory to say hey this is this could happen Yeah, and and I take your point and it's a very good point. I think we're living in a time where we are very weary of government power. And because we've established this, we've level set that anonymity is sort of

the default setting, and that is one of the draws to social media that you can be anonymous online, that for a government to come in and roll that back, I think would rub people the wrong way. And it would lead to, I think, some naturally dubious positions. I think we'd ask ourselves, why are they doing this? What do they want?

What are they not telling us? There's some inborn cynicism in us, and I think rightly earned. David, welcome to the show. Good morning, Ben. Good morning. I'm enjoying your show very much so far. Thank you. And there are there are a number of situations where anonymity needs to be maintained, specifically revolving around employment related issues like I was just telling your reader, an instance where there were a number of Jewish members

of Kipi in Ontario that were rather disgusted and felt vilified by a lot of the comments put forward by the Ontario Kipi leader. Oh, you mean everyone's favorite anti-Semite, Fred Hahn? He's a disgusting individual. Is he still heading up the organization? I thought he was going to step down based on his own actions, but I guess not. Yeah, no, I think and the membership voted him in again after he said some of that terrible

stuff. Unbelievable. What's wrong with him? Sorry, I took you off track, my friend. Go ahead. No, but that, you know, there I remember listening to a number of interviews with KB members who were, you know, members of the Jewish community who were absolutely disgusted and they felt like they shouldn't have to pay their union dues. Yeah. And, but they would

they would have been absolutely out in castigated had their identities been made public. So, you have to maintain a level of anonymity for reasons like that. Otherwise we're all compelled to, we're all compelled to the, you know, the behavior that's being imposed on us. David, I take your point. Anonymity can be used as a shield, as you're describing, but it can also be wielded as a weapon. And there are a lot of people who suffer at the hands of anonymous trolls. But again, the counter argument to that is buyer beware, you know what you're getting into, you got to be prepared for that

or don't jump into social media. Chuck, welcome to the show. Hey, how's it going? Nice to listen. I like the topics you cover. Thank you very much. I think it's important to have some anonymity because there can be opinions that although, you know, might, um, disagree with kind of like the mainstream opinion, they're not as drastic, right? Yeah. So somebody can say some simple things, you know, like what they believe in on the basis of faith, on the belief, on the basis of sex, on the basis of family. And if they, it was an anonymity even for minor variances, then they can actually be

targeted because, you know, there is a consequence for no anonymity. But I do believe that they can track down vile people, right? They can make reports, they can put in information requests, law enforcement and ISP. So they do have the ability to enforce existing law. I don't think anonym anime should go away. Well thank you very much Chuck I appreciate it. I hope you have a great day. You are listening to the Ben Mulroney Show on this Thursday. Thank you so much to everyone listening on CFPL in London as well as right here in Toronto on 640 Toronto. I'm your host Ben Mulroney and it

is a pleasure to spend some time with you. It looks more and more likely that a snap election is coming to the people of Ontario. Doug Ford is positing that this is essential. He needs a mandate to go toe to toe with Donald Trump. And look, you can either buy his argument or not, but that doesn't change the fact that this thing is coming. And it's coming fast. It could come as early as next Wednesday, which would mean I think we would be going to the polls in mid-February at some point. So Ontarians would vote, and then the liberals would vote federally for their new leader, and eventually at some point we'll all go to the polls and vote for a new government in Ottawa. And look, this is how I'm choosing to look at it, right?

Cause I believe that all politics are opportunistic. And if you have the power and if you have the leverage and if you think you can seize an opportunity, you're going to do it. That's how politics works. A new Leger poll puts the progressive conservatives 24 points ahead of the liberals. Why wouldn't you go to the polls?

And like I said yesterday, I like voting. I feel that I have not had that right federally. So if Doug Ford allows me to scratch that itch, I'm gonna take advantage. And it is what it is. I think there are some people, I talked to some people in provincial politics yesterday. They think that this is the right move for Doug Ford to get in ahead of a federal election,

squeeze in another majority before Ontarians and Canadians alike are sent to the polls themselves. And yeah, and look, I think Bonnie Cromby should want this as well because the polls are putting the liberals ahead of the NDP, which would mean they would be the official opposition, which is a step up from where they are right now. And Bonnie Cromby, if you've been paying attention,

has really been trying to position herself back in the center. She's pro-business and she's anti-carbon tax. She's pushing back against the image of the federal liberal saying we're going to do things differently here in Ontario. So I find it really strange that she picked today and this time to attack Elon Musk. So Doug Ford announced that the province of Ontario has signed a $100 million deal with Elon Musk's Starlink system. He said, we're partnering with Elon Musk's Starlink to use the latest technology to bring high speed internet to 15,000 more homes and businesses in

remote areas across Ontario. And Bonnie Crombie retweets that saying, Elon Musk is a destructive man child. Instead of cozying up to him, Ford Nation should rip up this ridiculous $100 million backroom deal. Add your name, if you agree, to some sort of petition. What makes him a destructive manchild, with the exception of possibly the fact that he is Donald Trump's right-hand man? Because back when he was a Democrat, the left loved this guy. He was the tip of the sword of the new green economy, with EVs that people wanted to drive. This was the guy. This was your guy. And now that he's on Team Trump, he's a destructive man-child, he's built some of the biggest companies in the world. He's shepherding us into a new era of space exploration.

And whenever it is, whenever it's been needed, he has provided Starlink free of charge for the people of Ukraine. He was used to help people send cell phone text messages during the Palisades fires. What makes him a destructive manchild? That seems like a knee-jerk reaction that people on the left have whenever there's somebody they disagree with. And here is a $100 million investment for people in remote areas across Ontario. That's a, if the liberals had announced this, they would be talking about how it's an investment

in our remote communities. So we can unlock their potential and they can build businesses and communicate and be, and remote learn. And this is not a left or right thing, except for the fact that you made it a left or right thing. So I find that to be a very odd choice that Bonnie Cromby has decided to position herself against a deal like this. Doug Ford, in his ramp up to this inevitable election, said, we know these tariffs are coming. Why

don't we listen to Doug Ford? We know these these tariffs are coming on February 1st. We need to match those tariffs dollar for dollar, tariff for tariff, and make sure that it hurts the Americans as much as it hurts Canadians because it's gonna hurt Canadians Canadians right across the board. But we have to come back strong. What we all prefer? We all prefer to build the ANCAN fortress – I apologize – and ship them more energy, more critical minerals. But we also have to look internally. As I said, we should all be looking in the mirror, and we need to look at internal trade that could pick up the GDP. But I've heard numbers anywhere from 50 to 100 billion dollars. We have to speed

up approvals. Yeah, I mean, look, I don't know that we know that the tariffs are coming February 1st. He said that when he was asked a question, he threw out February 1st off the cuff. Danielle Smith, when she was on our show a couple of days ago, posited that he probably meant to say April 1st because he has given a mandate to his administration to examine these things, and that's gonna take a certain amount of time. And there's studies that need to be done,

research that has to be done, polling that has to be done, costing out of these tariffs has to be done. And that I don't think can happen on February by February 1st. So I'm inclined to believe Danielle Smith and also we have Flavio Volpe was on the show yesterday and he suggested something similar that we're probably not gonna see these happen on February 1st. He probably meant to say April 1st, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be ready. And again, I keep, we keep talking. We keep airing clips of people like Doug Ford speaking, but where, where's the prime minister? He should be in

front of a microphone every day reassuring us. And he's just asleep at the switch as far as I can see. And I could be wrong. I might be missing something. And if I am, please let me know. But we're pretty well connected here at the radio station. And if there is news being made by our prime minister, we're more than welcome to share it, more than happy to share it. And that doesn't seem to be coming from Ottawa. So I don't know what's going on there.

And lastly, before we end this segment, have you ever felt like you were like, you just had bad luck? Well, imagine your truck gets stolen, right? Okay, bad luck number one. Your truck gets stolen and then it gets towed. And once it's towed, the towing company sends you a letter to let you know that it was towed and you got to come pick it up. Except there's a Canada post strike. So you don't know that your truck has been found. You don't know that it was towed. And for the, what is it, 60 days of that strike, it's just sitting in a lot. and it's costing you money every single day. There's this one guy out of Ottawa, he's originally from Pembroke, or originally from Arnprior,

and he finds out that his truck has been sitting in an impound lot and when he gets the letter to come pick up his Dodge Ram, he's told that he owes them $4,500 in storage fees. Someone steals his truck, it gets towed, he gets sent a letter, there's a strike, and because of that he doesn't know that his truck even exists anymore. For all he knows, it was stolen, it was sent to somewhere in Africa, and he finds out, no, no, it's here. Oh, thank God, he found my truck. I owe you what?

$4,500 in storage fees. So once he explained to them that the Canada Post strike prevented him from even knowing it existed, the towing company slashed his bill to $1,400, or the rate of 20 days, which was the duration of the Canada Post strike, And he says he still can't pay that. I mean, the silver lining is that in fact they found his truck, so hopefully he'll be able to get it back soon. But that's bad luck compounded on bad luck. What are the odds I get my memories back? It's the brain. Nobody knows. I don't know who I am now.

But I will be a doctor again. I will do everything I can to get my life back.