The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Ask Me Anything 3 - Plus The Random Ranter

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

The third and final installment in our January series of "Ask Me Anything", your questions for me about, well, about anything! And questions you sure had. We thought this would be just one show, but it's been three. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. You're just moments away from the latest episode of the bridge. Thursday, your turn. Ask me anything number three. That's coming right up. Well, here we go. Thursday. Another week, the final week of January.

Coming to, well, quite the ending. It's been quite the month. There's been a lot's going on. But this is our last chance of a series of three, Ask Me Anythings. You know, we decided for your turn idea at the beginning of the year to try something a little different for one week. We didn't ask me anything, and we got so many replies, so many questions for me, from you, that we stretched this into three episodes. We could do four or five. There have been so many questions sent in.

But we're going to have, this is going to be the last one for now. And then I think we'll institute it for, you know, once every four, or five weeks. We'll do and ask me anything because it's been, well, it's obviously being very popular. So let's get right at it on this Thursday. Ask me anything. Number three.

First one comes from Jeffrey Rain in Brampton, Ontario. That's the other thing. There's so many people who wrote for the first time to the bridge. And obviously, we're glad to have your letters. Jeffrey Rain from Brampton writes, Recent broadcast seemed far more willing to air unfiltered profanity from the Minneapolis mayor's F-bomb to Jake Tapper repeating an explicit language during his interview with Homeland Secretary Christy

Noem. It feels like standards have shifted. How strict were the rules around on-air language when you were on the national? And how do you view this change? Okay. Good question, because you're right. there does seem to be a lot more on the year. Now, whether that's broadcast institutions

or whether that's just society. I guess in some ways is the question. Well, when I was at the National, there was no hard and fast rule about profanity. Generally speaking, we didn't include any. Obviously, it wasn't in anything we wrote or controlled, but if a newsmaker used profanity or we picked it up while shooting on the street

or anywhere else, there would usually be a discussion about whether it should be included in the final product. Was it necessary to tell the story properly? Would the story be too sanitized if we took it out? Maybe actually be untrue to events. We knew some viewers didn't care one way or the other, but some wouldn't want it in their home. But the real question was whether we need to include it

so people fully understood the story. You ask how to change that standard? I don't know why we'd change it. Anne Harmer in Garden Bay, BC. That's on the Sunshine Coast of Vancouver. Have you ever been flummoxed at a loss for words during a broadcast interview? If so, can we hear the details?

You know, listen, every interview I did, every broadcast I did when they were. live and unscripted, there were moments where you'd pause and I'd pause in this program, you know, to collect my thoughts, be sure of what it is that I want to say. Perhaps no broadcast had that more than 9-11. You know, when I was on the air, basically almost full-time over a 44-hour stretch. And there were lots of moments when we wanted to be absolutely sure of what we were going to say. And I'd pause and think about it.

So those moments, I'm not sure flummoxed is the right word, but wanting to be certain about what you say. In live, unscripted broadcasts, that's always something you want to make sure of. Ron Actamachuk in Sucb, B.C. Beautiful Suk, Southern Tiff of Vancouver Island. Throughout your working life, including the present day, because you were essentially still working, which Prime Minister impressed you the most? I've always ducked this question. Because really, I'm not...

Here's how I feel about the Prime Ministers we've elected. Many of which, on the day before you were... elected, you looked at them a certain way. Generally, Canadians looked at them a certain way. And then suddenly when they were prime minister, you tended to look at them differently. And they took on an aura they didn't have before the election.

I can honestly say that no matter who has been the prime minister, that I've always looked at them in a way that I think you could say I was impressed by them. They had achieved the highest political office in the land. The country had shown their trust in them. And that was worth being impressed by. You can argue about how well they did in the rule.

But they were prime minister. and garnered a degree of respect until they lost that respect on the part of the Canadian people and either chose to resign or chose to run an election which they ended up losing. But I think I wouldn't point to one

and say I was more impressed with that person than any of the others. I mean, I've covered in interviews half the prime ministers this country's had so i've had a lot of moments to consider how i felt about them but overall you reach the highest political office in the land you deserve a degree of respect and uh and people should be impressed mark gedkey in kitchener ontario when you were growing up Who was a mentor who helped you along the way? It would be great to hear a story of the difference this person made for you.

You know, for me, obviously, you know, my parents had a huge impact on me. My father, especially. That's not to take anything away from my mother, but my father was somebody who I relied on for advice, didn't always take it. I should have. I didn't always take it. but he taught me the, you know,

the basic principle of a job worth doing is worth doing well. And he constantly remind me that. Keep your nose to the grindstone, those old things, right? At work a fellow by the name of Colin Hoth, who was the national reporter for the CBC in Manitoba when I was in Churchill, and he inspired me and mentored me in many ways about, how to move forward from that outpost of broadcasting to a better job.

Spencer Stinson and Blenham, Ontario. What would Peter today tell 25-year-old Peter if he could? Good question. Patience. You know, I think patience. Have a plan. I had a plan when I was in my early 20s after I'd just been at the CBC and realized how much I enjoyed broadcasting and journalism,

I had a plan of how to move forward. I had a goal, even when I was in Churchill, that one day I would be the anchor of the national news. As crazy as that sounded at the time, and I only told myself, I didn't tell anybody else, because they'd laugh me out of the room. But I had a plan, and I had patience, and I learned that you don't always get to where you want to go,

right away, and you will have stumbling blocks along the way. But you use those stumbling blocks as a learning experience. And I did. I certainly had enough times when I didn't make where I was trying to get to in the time I was trying to get to it out. But I learned from those moments. Kristen Gite in Telqua, BC, that's just southeast. of Smithers in northwestern BC.

Canada likes to think it can stay principled and flexible without paying a major cost. What's the biggest reality we're avoiding about our dependence on the U.S. as we watch America unravel and rethink our place in the world? Yeah, I'm not sure we're avoiding it, but it is the greatest reality we have to deal with. We are physically close to the United States, and nothing will change that. So it's just so much easier to deal with them than any other country on earth. Even as hard as that may seem at the moment. And of course, their population is so much larger than ours, their rich country.

So as a market, they are a natural partner for us. Finally, there's history. We know the United States. as we know no other country. Sometimes I think we know more about them than we do about our own country. So we're comfortable depending on them, or at least that has the way it has been.

One of the things, you know, I actually don't think we say enough. And a friend of mine in the States reminded me of this just this week. When he, you know, he's heard things I've been saying on the podcast and I was a guest on an American show yesterday, as I have been frequently over the past couple of months. And one thing that my friend said, you know, I don't think you say enough,

is that when you talk about Trump and MAGA, that's not 100% of America. There are people who don't feel at all the way Trump and MAGA feel. and are appalled at what's going on. My response is, are they speaking good enough? And I guess that's, those are both points that are legitimate, both his and mine, I think. Nancy Abba in Toronto, during your career at CBC,

what news story affected you the most and why? You know how many stories I've covered over almost 60 years now? You know, I've touched on this before. on various programs, the stories that have always affected me most are when there's human suffering. And when you witness human suffering from the very first time in it covering a story in Churchill, Manitoba, where a home in one of the communities of Churchill called Dene Village, home born down, five members of one family were killed in that fire. I think it was five. And one of them, when I was standing there, they brought out, the body, they brought out.

It was of an infant, weeks, months old. And when you see that, you see it unfiltered. You never forget it. Through all kinds of natural disasters and conflicts in different parts of the world, when you see the suffering that's taken place by innocence, you know, innocence. In wars, most of the people who die are innocent. You know, they're civilians, women, children.

Same in natural disasters. Dave LaPreeze in Hakodate, Japan, that's on Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. I grew up with CBC radio on TV in the 70s and 80s, and it's always with me wherever I am in the world to keep me current. Lately, when I try to make sense of what is going on in America, I often find much rational discussion coming from David from, conservative speechwriter and senior editor at the Atlantic magazine. For those of us who never got to see his mother on the CBC

or listen to her on as it happens, I wonder if you could share a story or two about your time together at the Mother Corporation. talking of course about Barbara from you know Barbara's been gone for more than 30 years now she died in 1950 or 1992 she was only 54 she had still years of great journalism ahead of her

Barbara was an amazing person who I worked with and learned from over many years I think the first time we actually did a program together. She'd interviewed me on As It Happens when I was a young reporter in Manitoba about the floods one year. But the first time we co-hosted a show together was in 1982, the Patriation of the Constitution. Barbara and I were together at an anchor position on Parliament Hill. and it was a cool day.

It was cold. I think it was it April of 1982. The queen was there to officiate and sign the Patriation papers. And Barbara and I anchored the program together. We'd done elections together as part of a bigger team, but that was the first time we'd done just the two of us. But when I was anchoring the National and Barbara was anchoring the journal,

late 80s, early 90s, we would talk every evening before the programs. She had a dressing room right beside the makeup room. And I would, she'd want me before I got my little powder thrown on my face to come in, sit with her in her dressing room. And we'd talk. We'd talk about the stories of the day. talk about personalities. She loved gossip.

You know, it's kind of like office gossip. We'd talk about that. But I'd always sit there going, my God, I'm sitting with Barbara Frum. She was wonderful. Jonathan Melville in Saskatoon. In your journalism career or in another public-facing role, what was the most significant surprise you encountered that impacted you and challenged your worldview?

Well, we all had a worldview of the world in 19 through the 60s, 70s, 70s and 80s, and that was the world where there was the Cold War, United States versus Russia, United States and the Warsaw Pact countries and Washington and the NATO countries. Well, suddenly there I was in Berlin. And the weekend the wall came down, November of 19. 1989. And the world was changing, like literally, in front of our eyes. And who was there with me? Mark Bulgich, who still works with me today, whether we're writing books or working on this program. Mark was with me when we were in Berlin, then we flew to Moscow, and the world was changing.

So our worldview was challenged. And that whole trip impacted me to the point. where I still talk about it, obviously, today. Gary Forbes in Calgary. Love Althea, Chantelle, and Rob. Curious to know how and why you selected your regulars. Well, you're right, I have, we have regulars. You mentioned three of them, but there's obviously also Bruce Anderson, Jerry Butz,

James Moore, Janice Stein, Keith Bogg on occasion. And we have the random, rancher who you'll be hearing in a few minutes. I picked all of them. As I picked the original cast of that issue on CBC, all of whom are still there. They weren't the original cast, but all of them, you know, whether it was Althea or Chantal or Andrew Coyne,

were all ones that I pushed forward to make permanent. And it took a lot of heat at different times on all of them. But there they are, still there. And a couple of them are working with me here at a series XM and on the bridge. Why did I pick them? I picked them because they're all smart. They all work hard. They all study.

They all have points of view which you don't have to agree with, but inspire you to come up with your own points of view. I'm big fans of all of them, the people obviously that I've asked to join us on this program. because they know how to analyze, they know how to comment, they know how to make us all think broader, think wider. Don't have to agree with them. Don't have to agree with any of them.

But I think you all feel you benefit in one way or another from their commentaries. Elizabeth Bosman, or Bozeman in Mississauga, Ontario. This is an uncertain and difficult time for Kansas. because of threats to our economic relationship with the United States and the unraveling of the old international order. Having covered Canadian and World News for many decades, what is something you have learned about Canada that you think is not widely known

and is important for Canadians to know at this point in history? Well, hey, knowing our history is important. Maybe too many Canadians don't know our history very well. That may mean that people look at problems and feel helpless about our ability to solve them, well, it's not as if the country hasn't faced problems before, because we have wars, depression, recession, issues with doctors, diseases, terrorism,

and we've overcome them. I don't want to downplay our problems because we've got problems. They're very real, and people are right to feel under pressure. But feeling you are without, hope can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Canada and Canadians have always met the challenges that are right in front of us. That's what our history tells us. No one says it's going to be easy to meet today's challenges, and it's not going to be easy.

And there are going to be setbacks. But giving up does no one any good. Percy J. Phillips in another one of my old hometowns, Portisville, men, When was the last time you heard a full-throated vision or justification of a united Canada as an idea, from coast to coast to coast by one of Canada's current political leaders? I cannot recall a recent defense of the vision of a United Canada as an idea and not a place to park your assets or a list of entitlements of being a Canadian resident. Possibly P.M. Mulroney was the last Unity champion? What have I missed?

well, I think you've, you know, I think you've missed. I think all prime ministers at one point or another have uttered a defense of Canada on its vision. Nevertheless, I have to think about this, Percy. Maybe no one has made a rousing speech about the idea of Canada because they think they don't have to. But maybe with referendums on the horizon, potentially in both Alberta and Quebec, someone will pick up the Maple Leaf flag.

Who's going to be Captain Canada if we're facing referendums? Does it automatically go to the Prime Minister? Is it going to be somebody else? Will it be a politician at all? I guess we're going to find out. It's almost time for the ranter, but two related questions to that one first.

Jake Young, And Jake is in Emerson, Manitoba. I was going to ask you why you started podcasting. Then I scrolled the back catalog and answered it myself. I guess I would now ask, what keeps you going these days when you could be kicking up your feet? And a similar question from Christine Franson in Dundas, Ontario. What inspires you to keep doing your shows? They obviously take an enormous amount of work and personal time.

Actually, they don't take a lot of time. Why? Because there are people like you, Christine, and Jake, who inspire me to keep going. Because I hear from you. You talk about what's on your mind. You ask me questions. You challenge me.

You criticize me. You praise me. You do all these things that make all this fascinating. That plus the very fact, the very fact, that doing this program ensures that I stay up to date, that I read, that I'm looking through the papers and going online and listening to radio and watching television. So I'm like kind of engaged. I'm not ignoring the world around me. Sometimes I like to ignore some of the people around me. you know, the public figures.

But, no, I, I love doing this because it keeps me engaged. And when you're in your sunset years, as they say, you want to stay engaged. It's good for the brain. It's brain food. Right? Okay. We're roughly halfway in the program. So let's get to the ranter.

He's certainly got something on his mind. So why don't we hear it? First of all, as always at this point in the program, it's one thing to hear the ranter. Excuse me, it's another to find him. He filed his rant in the middle of the night. Here it is. I found it. So let's get started.

Here we go, the random ranter for this week. Have you ever been to Minnesota? I have, and I've got to say, they're a lot like Canadians. I've always felt comfortable down there. The people of Minneapolis are not unlike the people of Edmonton or Winnipeg or Saskatoon. They're hardworking and they're humble. The houses are similar, the culture is similar, and the weather is pretty much the same. They ice fish, they snowmobile, and they love hockey as much as any Canadian. Minnesota nice borders friendly Manitoba for a reason. I mean, I saw a lady on the news who is visibly furious,

and the worst she could say about the situation with ice was that it was a bunch of baloney. That's right, baloney, the most questionable of lunchmeats, and in this case, the understatement of the year. Because I'm sorry, what's happening in Minnesota right now is nothing short of a politically motivated invasion by federal goon squads, sent to terrorize the people of Minneapolis. And all of this is being justified entirely by a foundation of lies.

This is Trump's revenge on Tim Wals for calling him out so effectively as Kamala Harris is running mate. It's punishment to Minnesota for voting Democrat. It's not about immigration. It's about intimidation, subjugation, and revenge. You know, Mark Carney talked about the rupture of the world order, but he just as easily could have been talking about the rupture of America itself. I mean, that's what's causing everything. America under Trump is sadly lacking moral values, principles, standards, consistency. The idea that

might is right has completely replaced right and wrong. I mean, you can't trust Trump's America. Their word means nothing. Honesty, integrity, respect, compassion. Those have all been supplanted by greed, grift and total corruption. It's so easy to be distracted by Trump's non-stop, audacious lies, his threats to his allies, his designs on territorial expansion. But I think the greatest threat to Canada isn't from an American invasion. It's from an American civil war. Look, Trump is using every false pretense he can think of to attack his political foes, and he's using the brute force of the Department of Homeland Security, a weaponized FBI, and a politicized Department of Justice to do it. This spells disaster for the United States. I mean, Homeland Security, ICE, and the border

agents are functioning like Trump's own private police. And make no mistake, they're a well-funded force. I mean, the budget for ICE and border security alone is over $140 billion. By comparison, Canada's Department of Defense is looking at spending 45 billion USD this year. That's less than a third of what Trump's masked militia is getting. There's nothing normal about this. America is supposed to be a democracy, not a state that unleashes tremendous resources

against its own people. It's only a matter of time before there's open revolt. I think the only thing that kept the lid on Minnesota throughout all of this is the fact that it's so cold down there right now. If this was the summer, or say sometime near the midterms in November, I think we'd be seeing citizens, the National Guard, the Minneapolis PD, state troopers, and the military facing off against one another. And then what?

To me, this is a situation that seems hardwired into the psyche of American politics. I mean, they didn't come up with the Second Amendment just because Americans really, really like guns. They came up with it to counter the potential of federal tyranny. Well, federal tyranny sounds like the perfect description of what's happening in Minnesota right now. And it's heartbreaking to watch. It brought tears to my eyes to see the video of the ICE agents taking two steps back to riddle Alex Pready with bullets while he lay face down on the pavement. It angered me to hear that the agents then rolled his body around so they could count the bullet holes. I'd love for those mega cultists to try and square the fact that Alex Pready was shot,

not because he was brandishing a gun, but because he was legally carrying one. I mean, how many of those January 6th idiots had concealed guns when they invaded the Capitol? I guess the better question is really, how many of those January 6th idiots are now working for ice? It's funny how things work out, but in this case, no one's laughing. Look, the United States is supposed to be a country founded on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Well, who's happy about the state of America right now? You'd have to be a billionaire, a racist, or a masochist? Hmm.

Actually, I can think of one guy who checks all those boxes. Can you? Oh, I think we have an answer for that. The Random Ranter, with his rant on this last Thursday in January. January. Let's take our break and we'll come right back with more of your letters on this. Ask Me Anything. Back right after this.

And welcome back, Peter Mansbridge here. This is the bridge for Thursday. It's an Ask Me Anything program along with the random renter who you just heard. You're listening on Sirius XM, Channel 167, Canada Talks, are on your favorite podcast platform. Glad to have you with us. Okay, more letters. Let's get at them. right away. Bailman's

building in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bailman's is one of our frequent writers every once in a while. Your career is an outlier spanning from Churchill to our current era. While the transition has been dazzling, what fundamental part of the craft has been lost in the shift?

Can journalism maintain its soul when the local foundations are vanishing before our eyes? You know, I answered a kind of similar question in our last Ask Me Anything, but this is a little different, so let me say this. It's not up to the owners of media outlets to preserve the soul of journalism. I mean, it would be nice if they did,

but I think there's plenty of evidence that most owners are driven by the idea of making money, not preserving democracy. It's up to the consumers of media. If you're going to get your news from TikTok or X or Instagram, and you do that because it's free, then you're getting what you pay for. News costs money to produce, so consumers have to be prepared to spend a little to make it worthwhile for news organizations to at least strive for excellence. If you're looking for a sign of hope, that would be the New York Times, which has used its excellence. Some would say it's unique excellence to persuade so many people that it's worth the price of a subscription.

The Guardian in the UK is another example. It has used its quality to persuade people to make donations. La Press uses a non-profit model in Montreal, and it's doing well because it gives readers a reason to want it to survive. Does it mean any of these organizations are perfect? Never made a mistake? Of course not. That's why they have correction boxes.

that overall, they are all pillars of good journalism. Jason McGraw and Fredericton, from your personal perspective, what are three periods in your lifetime for which you were most worried for national unity and how do they compare to your concern for national unity now? Three. I'll give you three.

The October, in 1970, the first referendum in 1980, and the second referendum in 1995. Because in all three of those cases, there were, it was placed before the country, the threat of what breaking up the country could mean. And you made your decisions about how you felt about that during those moments. Are we facing another time, both in Quebec and possibly in Alberta? Could be.

So if you miss those first three, you're about to possibly see another. Carla Tomeyer in Toronto. While Northern Canada is an ideal place for AI data centers given the cooler climate, in your opinion is the environmental impact of fracking and taking up precious land from endangered species and potential brownouts worth the jobs

and increasing our global importance. these are decisions we've got to make as a country. Nothing is going to be easy as we move forward in this new world. There are going to be consequences. They're going to be costs. There are going to be issues where we're going to have to come to grips with the decision about what is worth advancing in certain areas, especially technology. and those are the decisions the current government of the day, whether it's in Ottawa or the provinces,

or sometimes in municipal areas, are going to have to take. And they're going to have to take them with the help and endorsement of people like you, Carla, who are either going to endorse it or not and are going to make the good fight about why it shouldn't be endorsed. So that's all part of democracy.

But trust me, those decisions are going to have to be made one way or another as we move forward. This is not a game we're in. This is serious big-time business. And we all should be involved in one way or another in making these decisions, or at least advocating for positions on these decisions. Rodney Parker in London, Ontario. I've heard recently that Canada doesn't really have a culture or a unified identity. How would you respond to that?

If you had to pick something from each region that defines or showcases what Canadian culture is or that is quintessentially Canadian, what would you say? Would you pick Lemieux or Gretzky? Okay, I'm not going to break it down by region, but first, I love hockey, and I think it's part of our culture and our heritage and our identity, but it doesn't define us. We're much more than hockey. I'm not an academic,

not a sociologist who can give you an intellectual answer to your question, but I've been to a lot of nooks and crannies in this country, and I'm never unsure that I'm in Canada. And usually I can tell what part of the country I'm in because people rarely reflect their region. And, you know, when I'm overseas, and then I get on an Air Canada plane to come home. I think of myself as being home as soon as I sit down.

I can feel the Canadianness. So maybe not a great answer for you, but I hope you get the drift. Chris Grubin in Tukta Yorktuk, North-West territories, right up there. It's evident that the Anuvic Tuk-Tor-Arctaw Highway is largely absent from National Arctic sovereignty and infrastructure discussions.

Given its location in the enuviluiluit homeland, does this silence reflect the failure to integrate enuvialuit stewardship and protection priorities into Canada's northern strategy and Arctic sovereignty discussions? Okay, let's start by telling people about the highway. It extends the Dempster Highway from an Anuvic to Tuktuay-Octur on the shores of the Arctic. ocean. So it has created a fixed road link between Canada's three oceans, making it a milestone

in northern sovereignty. It's 137 kilometers long. It took four years to build at a cost of $299 million. It opened just a few years ago, 2017. I can't pretend to understand how engineers built it, but I know it was to build on the permafrost rather than through it. And it does project Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic. I'm not quite sure why Chris says it's absent from infrastructure talks. I assume it is being maintained properly, and it's serving as a lifeline to Turkto-Arctic. And I'm sure the government of the Northwest Territories is pressing Ottawa for as much as it can to get this highway on other projects, you know, completed, extended, expanded, what have you.

Garnet Elmer in Saskatoon, did you ever meet Norman Departon? Did you ever meet Norman DePoe or Ron Collister? This is an old-time CBC listener and viewer. From your time at the CBC, which of our journalists were you most curious to know about their journey? Hey, I'm old. I met all these guys. I work with them. DePot, Collister, Stanley Burke.

These are the great names. These are pillars of the CBC journalistic history. and they should be remembered. And it pains me when I talk to young CBCers who've never heard of these people because they were great. They were great storytellers, great journalists. But from another era,

black and white film, that kind of stuff. Richard Polk, Kingston, Ontario. What does it mean to be a Canadian? Canadians have fought wars to preserve a way of life. is that way of life? What identity do we want to pass on to younger generations and those new to Canada? What traditions or symbols do we want to preserve community and belonging matter? What unites us across this country? Well, isn't this the everlasting question that we've faced for forever?

There's never been a great answer. Maybe because in a country of 40 million people, you'll get 40 million different answers. Maybe all I can say is that the way of life we want to preserve and the identity we want to pass on is something to do with making sure every one of us is comfortable being here. That we're safe. That we care about each other. Everyone is relatively happy with their lot in life. No one feels persecuted or oppressed. That's what we're hoping for, right? We know that's not the case. That's what we're hoping for. And we're willing to stand up to ensure that we remain a country dedicated to the rule of law. Constance Menzies in Nauru Manitoba, who could come to Canada's aid if the U.S. comes for us?

Maybe no one. Or maybe we'd have to count on Russia or China because the enemy of our enemy would be our friend. Remember that line? Of course that would mean that the superpowers would simply be fighting for the right to have us for dinner. No one would be fighting to preserve us as a free and independent country. So let's just hope that never happens. Martin Partridge in Peterborough County, Ontario.

I'm 100 days older than you, having been born slightly earlier in 1948. If someone asked me or you, how old are you? What's the appropriate answer? I'm about two years from entering my ninth decade. none of your business or ask ANI artificial non-intelligence to get the wrong answer

I like that ninth decade thing Don Lomas in Burlington Ontario as we all are witnessing Donald Trump is certainly the Western hemispheres and possibly the world's most dangerous person due to his abuse of international law

but what is more frightening the lack of condemnation by world leaders or the continued support of Republicans in the USA. You know, there are some Republicans, not many, but there are some. Just look at the polls who have finally decided to pay that enough. But the spinelessness of Trump's bootlickers in his cabinet and among Republicans in Congress is appalling. A good leader wants to gather smart people around them, wants to hear them challenging,

and wants to hear the other side, wants to test scenarios for likely outcomes. Weak leaders who usually portray themselves as strong and decisive want to hear only total support and agreement with every idea they have, no matter how stupid, irresponsible, or dangerous it may be. Donald Trump's that kind of leader. Running out of time here. Let's try this one. Joan Huggenbos in Dorchester, Ontario, is just east of London.

How do you feel about censorship in a society that has become increasingly intolerant of people who express views that counter-pervailing narratives? I would encourage anyone listening to consider how their views have formed and to open their minds and check their emotions when confronted with ideas they disagree with. Well, Joan, look, I'm a journalist, so it's not going to surprise you that I'm a moment. opposed to most censorship. But this is a good time to make clear what I think censorship is. It is the prohibition of publication of sale by the government.

If a bookstore chooses not to put a certain book on its shelves, that's a business decision. That's not censorship. A bookstore can't sell every book, and we certainly don't want anyone compelled to sell something. You know, unless, of course, it's a book written by Mark or me. I'm not making light of your comment.

Elizabeth Prosser in Bracebridge, Ontario. Just listening to Inbits today about passports, and I wondered since you have a UK passport, if things go south with Trump, would you consider moving permanently to Scotland? If so, can I come along? I have both the UK because I was born in the UK and a Canadian passport,

which I went through the tests and swore allegiance to in 1959. Things, they're not, it's not if things go south with Trump. They have gone south with Trump. But I can't ever see my permanent residence changing from a Canadian one. Because I believe in Canada and I believe Canada will remain. Henry Wall and Listowell, Ontario. It's just north of Stratford. What brought you to Stratford?

Easy answer. My wife. She was an actor for 20, at least 20 years, 25 years of the Stratford Festival. And we fell in love with Stratford and we're still there. As well as Toronto and Scotland. How we do it on time? Got a couple minutes left.

Ryan Burns in London, Ontario. Is this the scariest moment you've lived through as a Canadian? You know, the October crisis in 1970, I was still just, you know, I wasn't very old. It was 22. That was a pretty scary time. 9-11 was a pretty scary time. This is scary from a different way.

This is our sovereignty that's at stake. Gabriel Marcotte in Quebec City. I'm 23 years old and I'm witnessing how my generation engages with the news today, often through humor, irony, and memes to cope with overwhelming realities. While this can be dismissed as immature, it feels more like a generalized sense of despair. Can you recall a specific moment in your life when the future felt genuinely open and hopeful? What made that feeling possible at the time? That's a good question.

I don't know, I'm old enough to remember centennial year in 1967, and that was a pretty open and hopeful feeling that we all had. There have been other moments, but that was a big one. Alina Fowder, or Fader, in Guelph, Ontario, when you first got into journalism, did you always intend to focus on politics? Absolutely not. I'm much more of a generalist.

I love, you know, storytelling. I love general stories. When I was told I had to leave Regina in 1976 and head to Ottawa to join the Parliamentary Bureau. As a correspondent, I was totally against the idea. I couldn't believe I'd end up covering politics. But I got hooked. I got hooked fast. It took about two weeks, and I was suddenly loving politics.

Crazy. Scott Irvin in Ottawa. I'm having to pare down the list. Not going to get through them all. Scott Irvin in Ottawa, as a journalist, you've certainly traveled all over the world, but is there anywhere you've never been

and I've always wanted to go? I've said this before. I've been to every continent in the world as a part of my journalism, except one. And that's the one where nobody actually has a permanent residence, and that's Antarctica. I've been to our Arctic many times, and I love it.

I would love to get to Antarctica at least once before the movie ends for me. But I don't know, I'm not sure I'm going to get there. But I guess that would be the goal. but I've been lucky. I've traveled the world. I've been to all its great cities. Lived in some of them.

Born in one of them. Live in three of them right now. That's going to do it for today. That's going to do it for these three editions of Ask Me Anything. There will be more coming up. We'll try and do them something like once a month. Meanwhile, tomorrow, it's good talk. Chantelle Ibert and Bruce Anderson

It's been another week, as they say And tomorrow night it's Pierre Paulievs Meeting with Destiny When the Conservatives have their review vote in Calgary We'll probably talk about that tomorrow as well But that's going to do it for today Thanks for all of your letters Dozens and dozens of them

And he asked me anything We'll hold on to the ones we didn't get to And we'll ask for more next month. I'm Peter Mansbridge. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you again in 24 hours.