The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Is It "Eh" or "Hey"? Your Turn and The Random Ranter

Episode Date: October 20, 2022

Vaccines, masks and Covid were central to a lot of your comments this week, but so were thoughts about how we define the "west" in Canada.  Maybe the use of "Eh" or "Hey" gives us the answer!  All this plus a new rant from the Random Ranter.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. You're just moments away from the latest episode of The Bridge. Yesterday, she said she was a fighter, not a quitter. Well, she's a quitter. Liz Truss has resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Signaled to the King that within a week, her party, the Conservative Party, will pick a new leader and a new Prime Minister. It's the end of what's been a tumultuous last few weeks in Britain, as Liz Truss tried to maintain her Prime Ministership, but she was unable to. What will happen next is basically anybody's guess. Well, I tell you all this now because, well, the program that follows is your turn,

and it will have nothing to do with this, although there were a couple of letters about the situation in Britain and Liz Truss's prime ministership. So let's get on with it. It's time for your turn and the Random Ranenter. And welcome to the Thursday episode of The Bridge. I'm Peter Mansbridge. Yes, Thursdays means your turn. Your opportunity to weigh in on some of the issues of the day. Some of the issues that we've been discussing in the past couple of days. And also it's a shot with the random renter.

We'll talk about that a little later. Let's get right to your letters. And once again, I get a lot of mail at themansbridgepodcast.gmail.com. I get a lot of mail every day. And I kind of go through it. I read every one that comes in and then I decide which ones or parts of which ones are going to make it on the air.

It's in many ways a random selection to a degree, but it's also an opportunity to bring new voices into the program. There are some very familiar writers who write almost every week, and they don't get on every week, but they get on a fair amount. But what I always look for are those who've never written before

or maybe have only written once before in two years. So that's kind of the way we sort things out. It's very undemocratic. It's sort of, management goes through the letters, picks the ones he wants to get on here. And listen, they're not always flattering. As you know.

Anyway, let's go. First one comes from Naomi Herberg in Toronto. Regarding your assertion that the, and this is the kind of COVID-19 section, you know, on Monday, we had Dr. Lisa Barrett on from Dalhousie University, one of our original doctors who's helped us through the COVID story. We used to do it every Monday. Now we just do it occasionally. This is the first time in quite some time that we've had somebody on and Dr. Barrett helped us understand that we are in a wave, and there's no question about that

right now, and how to deal with that. Anyway, a number of things came up, and Naomi Herberg writes, regarding your assertion that the COVID-19 vaccine was never supposed to prevent one from getting COVID-19, can you please ask a medical expert this? That's right, I'm not a medical expert. My understanding is that breakthrough cases of COVID-19 among the vaccinated were initially expected to be the exception, that for a time the COVID-19 vaccine was expected to prevent COVID-19, and also generally to reduce hospitalization and death, but that it would be expected in a part of the population

to prevent COVID-19 for a time. Okay, I will ask the next medical expert I talk with, but I can only tell you from my experience in covering this story, including before we ever had a vaccine, talk with, but I can only tell you from my experience in covering this story, including before we ever had a vaccine, the, not warnings, but the advisories that I was getting from those I talked to, including, you know, that this was a measure which would not eliminate COVID-19, but it would put those who took the vaccine

in a much better position to fight it than those who didn't. And that's why they hammer away at this theory today that it was never designed to prevent COVID-19. It was designed to lessen the effects of COVID-19, which appears to be exactly what it does. Nevertheless, I will ask just to make sure, because Naomi feels that that statement may have been misleading. James Gladstone, also from Toronto.

He writes a long letter, but I'll read a couple of sentences. I understand we have no more mask mandates and that wearing masks, unfortunately, became a political issue, not only a public health issue. Still, I would like to have heard the doctor, Dr. Barrett, state the scientific, not political or non-political fact that masks provide some individual protection to the wearer, but masks work most effectively as a protective measure when most or all people wear them in public settings yeah i don't think dr barrett said that specifically but i think it's kind of a given always has been the lack of mass now is particularly troubling for a person such as myself who lives in an apartment building.

There are lots of public spaces in an apartment building. People have decided the pandemic is over, at least for them, and they simply do not want to wear masks. That's true. You know, part of my time I spend in an apartment condominium building in downtown Toronto, and I understand exactly what you're saying there, James. But the way I look at it is not all people are going to wear masks, but at times I will. And when I do, I feel like I'm protecting others from me

and I'm giving some protection to myself from them. And that's kind of the way I look at it. But I hear your point. Sarah McDonald, also from Toronto. Toronto is, you know, is talking COVID these days because there have been lots of cases in Toronto. And there are going to be more because the wave is coming. You know, it's already the front edge of it is here.

There's going to be more. And we all have to act appropriately and make our decisions about how we want to act. Sarah writes, your show with Dr. Barrett was timely. I had just been wondering if my nonchalance toward COVID was appropriate or if I was being an irresponsible citizen. I've not been wearing a mask and I'm not keen to don one again, even with the next wave on the horizon. I will get my booster soon, along with a flu shot, and will be trying to look after myself as I've done during flu season for years. However, I'm not willing to take those 2020 and 2021 measures.

By the way, before I continue reading this letter, the flu shots will be available any day now, and I'm told by the people I trust on the medical front that you can take both shots at the same time i mean they're two different shots two different needles but you can on the same day take both the booster and the flu shot uh carrying on with sar, when I saw your topic for Monday, I thought, oh, great, Dr. Barrett is going to scold me. As I have often thought, she was more cautious than the other doctors you had on. And being in Nova Scotia was a bit behind where we were in Ontario. That's not necessarily the case.

I'm originally from Nova Scotia, so I feel like I can throw some shade. Ha ha ha. I'm not sure you're right on that, but nevertheless. However, I was surprised and pleased to hear Dr. Barrett give me some points that seemed to align with my current viewpoint. She gave a nuanced answer about masks rather than affirm, put your mask back on. She also did not say to bring back the isolation provisions and was kind enough to recognize that not everyone has the luxury of keeping their kids home from school for days on end for sniffles and slight cough.

I'm glad those days are behind us. I also appreciated her comment about what is going on in our brains and understanding that people are tired of struggling with the COVID worries? That is certainly true. For years, I've been wondering what I'm supposed to be afraid of next. And to hear that we should let this fear go was comforting. Judy Gorman writes, I'm so, and Judy Gorman's from Scarborough. Okay, so it's in the Toronto area, but it's Scarborough.

Okay. Judy writes, I'm so glad that you did a COVID update on Monday. I always like Dr. Barrett's talks. She lays things out in a way that is not full of medical jargon. I would like to applaud her for continuing to mention the fact that wearing a mask helps those around you who are not as immunologically strong. That was a big word. I'm a transplant patient recovering from a broken hip. I mentioned to a friend that there were too many people not wearing a mask in indoor settings. I was told to avoid those settings. Unfortunately, I'm not that nimble yet with a walker.

I advocate for myself when unmasked people are near me. People often say that they are fine and don't need a mask. The N95 mask protects you and those around you. However, for those who are confident in their own health, please pop on a mask. Even the simple surgical mask protects people around you and don't feel suffocating. Wishing all safety and health. Richard Sainer of Guelph, Ontario.

Whatever became of the spread of COVID in third world countries and our need to share our vaccines, has it gone away it appears to me in the many reports seen from around the world be it from war correspondents such as margaret evans or reports on climate catastrophes that there is little or no masking in other countries and reports on deaths due to covid worldwide seem to have ceased i haven't checked the who site the who site for any stats of this nature, but for now it seems to have taken a back page due to more pressing stories. Is it a non-issue or has it been accepted as the norm? And as such, we are simply getting on with life. Listen, it's a good question, Richard. I haven't seen the latest stats on the third world country situations.

My guess is it's still a bigger problem there as it is anywhere else, and bigger, really. Part of the mask situation, the simple answer to that, at least it used to be, was, hey, they're not wearing masks because they don't have access to masks. I'm assuming they do now, but for the longest time, they didn't have access to masks um i'm assuming they do now but for the longest time they didn't have access to masks but what the numbers are in some of those third world countries i'll have to check on that and i would definitely ask that question the next time we do a covid story maybe Maybe with Isaac Boguch because he spends a lot of time on that issue and goes to

on a frequent basis to countries in Africa where he's worked on epidemiological issues. Okay, moving off COVID. Here's some general questions that have come in in the last few days. This one's from Scott Irvin. Doesn't say where he is. Longtime listener here and also a big fan of the show, along with your level-headed approach to journalism.

Hey, hear that? Level-headed. That's me. At least it is according to Scott. My family and I have been following the political mess in the United Kingdom, and one thing we wonder, I don't know if you know the answer, but if the Tories do decide to cast out Liz Trust, she's had an awful week,

given the chaos in their caucus, would King Charles have a way to somehow dissolve Parliament and trigger an election instead of them just choosing another new leader and therefore PM? I'm not a constitutional expert, but my guess on the answer to that would be no. He doesn't have that right. He has the right to listen to his Prime Minister. He can argue with his Prime Minister. He can ask for clarification from his prime minister.

But to order him what to do, I think that's probably very unlikely. We've seen the same thing happen in Canada with the governor general and prime ministers. Erwin Correbo from Winnipeg. Three cheers for Winnipeg. Three cheers for Winnipeg. Thank you for the excellent interview with Andrew McDougall on Monday about the UK Prime Minister Truss and her calamitous few weeks in office. It was refreshing to hear his succinct analysis of what has gone wrong

for Ms. Truss and the UK Conservative Party. Erwin is Andrew's cousin. I'm just kidding. He's not. And I totally agree with you, Erwin. Andrew gave a great interview the other day. Thor Dingman writes from Stratford, Ontario. Let me say, I, for one, am enjoying your retirement immensely.

The Bridge podcast seemingly rose up out of the early dark days of the COVID pandemic to connect and hold us together. Many thanks for building an invisible community of listeners and for your continued and tireless broadcasting efforts. Well, isn't that nice? From one of my neighbors in Stratford, Ontario. Richard McClurg from Waterloo, Ontario. You referred to Liz Truss as the Prime Minister of Great Britain the other day,

when indeed she is the Prime Minister of the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. At least she is at the time of writing this. While the kingdom may not feel so united as of late, just want to call you out on that one. You did successfully call me out, and now everybody's heard that. By the way, big congratulations on 5 million downloads. That's the number we passed this week.

That's awesome. Really enjoy your podcast and your guests. Ferry Farrell writes this letter. I listen to The Bridge pretty frequently, and it's one of my favorite podcasts. I've noticed you have covered a lot of international issues as they pertain to Canada and our government, the Ukraine invasion being one of them, with multiple episodes dedicated to it.

But I have to say I'm quite disappointed no episode has been devoted to the Iranian revolution that is taking place right now, led by women and Canada's role and response to it. I would imagine if multiple episodes have been devoted to Ukraine, at least one can be devoted to Iran. And here are the reasons why I believe you should have an episode on this. And then, uh, very, um,

less quite a few reasons. And you know what? I'm not going to argue with you. I agree. Um, and I will look to make up for that. I'm not sure it'll be a whole episode, but it will certainly be some discussion on this important matter.

I'm not going to apologize. And I don't think you're asking for me to apologize for the episodes on Ukraine. We do them every week, once a week. And I'm glad we do. I think it's a hugely important story in the world right now. It affects the whole balance in the world

order, if you will. And I'm glad we're doing it. But I also agree with you that we should be discussing the Iranian story as well. And so let me try to correct that. Mike Baranik from Belleville, Ontario. I'll keep this short. Recently, I've listened to a few podcasts about the subject, America headed for civil war, are they? I have to be honest, I'm scared that that could potentially happen in the USA

and it could come to Canada. What's your opinion on this, please? Is America headed for or already in a civil war? I fear what's happening in the States as well. And certainly in the next month to six weeks we're going to have a sense of the fallout there's certainly a civil war going on in words and to some degree in actions and i worry about how far it will go when you hear this term, another civil war, a second civil war, you hear that frequently

in the coverage in the United States. Let's hope that that's not the case. I mean, you just have to open your history books to understand what happened in the 1860s when that country was in the full throes of a civil war and the hundreds of thousands who died as a result of it. Now, could the kind of civil discussion, well, it's not civil discussion, a discussion that sounds like a civil war could also end up in Canada. You see the fringes of it here, but you don't see it at any level like we're witnessing it in the United States. And let's hope that the differences between our two countries continue

in that being one of those differences. Ross Kelly writes, Good grief, you and Bruce need to get off the MSNBC. Talk about misinformation. The real January 6th investigation starts after the midterm shellacking. The problem with Trump derangement syndrome is it knocks about 15 points off the IQ.

And then he throws in a compliment after slandering us. Thanks for encouraging the random ranting. That felt good. So I guess in one way he's complimenting the fact we have this new segment called The Random Renter, but he's also saying he's a random renter too.

And he just did it. You know, my gosh, you're so right. Clearly Trump is not a crook. Clearly Trump is not a crook. Clearly, Trump is not a con man. Clearly, Trump is not trying to illegally subvert the system in the United States. Clearly, Trump ran an absolutely straight business organization. All these charges against him and investigations against him and you name it. It's all baloney.

Should never happen. He's 100% honest. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know what I was thinking, Ross. I still think he'll be in an orange jumpsuit one of these days, or he certainly should be. Susan Hayton writes from Saskatchewan, the University of Saskatchewan. I'm writing to provide feedback regarding the discussion on the bridge

on October 7th with respect to the link on Pierre Polyev's YouTube channel to a misogynistic website. I was disappointed with the perspective that this finding did not warrant significant discussion in question period as it was not really a real world issue. From what I recall the finding of blackface involvement by Justin Trudeau warranted hours, days, and weeks of discussion in the media and in question period, and I, once again, feel frustrated by the fact that discrimination against women seems to be low on the list of things to get worked up about. Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. That was one of the perspectives. It wasn't the only perspective in our discussion on the Belyaev YouTube channel story.

But I'm sad to say the thing seems to have been dropped, as you suggest, Susan, and that's a shame. Dropped by both the politicians and by the media. I would still like to know who put that up. Christine Denby writes from Fort Francis, Ontario. I love hearing you talk about northwestern Ontario. Great note by the doctor from St. Catharines, originally from Rainy River. My ears poked up as I listened.

I'm finding the ranter quite interesting. Go ranter. I'm going to agree with him that the west begins at Manitoba. I do think northwestern Ontario is its own area. We are not really west, but for those of us close enough, we might identify with Manitoba in that we love to shop and visit Winnipeg, but we certainly don't identify with Southwestern Ontario. One of our favorite pastimes is reminding folks we talk to, work colleagues or whatever, that Ontario is big enough to have two time zones.

How far away are you? We have wonderful lakes and trees, but aren't all fishermen and loggers. We have quite an agrarian industry and many professionals who live, work and play here. We have four seasons and love them all. I think you're making my argument.

Dino Manorino writes from Hamilton and he's writing about Chrystia Freeland and the speech she gave to the Brookings Institute. If you haven't heard it or heard us discussing it, you should listen to it. And you can find it easily. Just Google Freeland Brookings Institute and you'll be able to find it. But here's what Dino says.

How in the hell does she ever hope of being successful in politics by giving thoughtful, intelligent, and progressive speeches like that one? What was she thinking? Okay, Dino, I guess we know where you stand. But it is interesting. That speech was kind of hidden away. Not too many people had heard about it. Then a couple of people started writing about it. Paul Wells, I think, was one of the first.

And people who have been watching it go, wow, that was a really good speech. Where are we doing on time here? Oh, we're moving along. Karen Boshy, one of our regulars, a retired teacher from Edmonton. We haven't heard from her in a few months, but here she is reacting to some of the stories about Alberta lately.

Regardless of individual political views, all Albertans need to take notice, listen, and learn more so that they can become informed voters this spring when the next provincial election will be held. This situation is concerning because the demographics of who is voting and how they are voting is shifting in Alberta, across Canada, and in other places in the world. The prairie populations are largely urban, ethnically diverse, and well-educated, yet our politics are not currently reflective of this. Things are shifting. As a result, traditional voters are growing frustrated or apathetic,

while those who may not have voted at all in past years are becoming disgruntled and emerging on the scene with right-wing and radical views. That's Karen's view. Austin Ziegler from Toronto. In a recent poll, a measure of trust in government was reported. I think that there's subtleties missed here. My answer to whether I trust government is very much based on which level and who's running it. I'm a cyclist in Toronto and I do not trust our council to do the right thing for cyclists. And the rot comes right from the top. In Ontario, I do not trust Doug Ford's

government to manage COVID, our hospitals, our schools, or, well, anything with competence. I mostly trust the Trudeau government for the same reasons I would not trust a Polyev government, but there have been deep disappointments with liberals, alternative voting systems, or solving Indigenous reserve water issues. On the other hand, I do generally trust the bureaucrats that make everything work. Except the police, I trust them less than I trust Doug Ford. You might want to listen, Austin, to the random ranter today. You might find him interesting.

Okay, let's whip along here into the random ranter section before we hear from the ranter. Old friend David Oliver writes from Victoria, Oak Bay, BC, to be more specific. I enjoy the random ranter's evocative description of the prairies, but I have to object to his labeling that region the West.

I know he said, in effect, that BC is a separate region, which it is, but it's just too confusing and bad practice to use geographical terms inaccurately. Try explaining to students in BC why the West is east of them and does not include them. Better to use the term the prairies. Okay, well, let's see whether the renter picks up that advice. Further, there's been a lot of stuff still comes in on electric vehicles. John Teal writes, where's John from?

He's in Ottawa. One of my friends and I were joking that the only real way to eliminate the threat of global warming is to go back to a horse and buggy area. Probably not the most popular idea, so I figured the next best thing is to get a sense of how electric vehicles versus internal combustion engine vehicles really stack up in the long term. Well, we'll keep an eye for the latest study on that. I'll let you know what it is when it comes out. Judy Carroll writes from Toronto.

Man, we got a lot of letters from Toronto this week, which is unusual. We usually get most letters from, well, we get a lot of letters from Toronto this week, which is unusual. We usually get most letters from, well, we get a lot of letters from Alberta and BC. Judy Carroll writes from Toronto. Imagine Florida with a hurricane coming toward Miami. The governor orders an evacuation. All cars head north. They all need to be charged in Jacksonville. How does that work exactly?

Has anyone thought about this? If all cars were electric and were caught up in a three-hour traffic jam with dead batteries, then what? And she goes on with many more examples where we get the idea, and we also know that all the evangelicals ev evangelicals are um are going to write and explain what you do in that case i guess you go around jacksonville look for a charger somewhere else allison zukowich writes from calgary i've been meaning to write for a long time now but this week's random ranter inspired me

I am in complete agreement with him on all fronts having lived in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC, I agree BC is its own unique place and I say that as a compliment I particularly loved his image of Jack Nicholson shouting, you can't handle the truth

I'm going to find that GIF that GIF, that GIF, and use it frequently on Twitter. All right. Here's the last one before we bring in the ranter for his rant this week. Congratulations on finding the random ranter. So far, that guy has put into words so many things

that I've been thinking over the past few years, it's almost a little eerie. Every time he talks, I think, me, me, me. That's from John Mullen. He's in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. All right, my friends. It is time for the one and only Random Ranter. You ready?

Here we go. When I hear people talking about abolishing the police, I cringe. The whole notion is idiotic. We need the police. I can't imagine life without the police. But for the people that say defund them, I think they may have a point. Now, bear with me. I'm aware that three police officers lost their lives in the line of duty this week.

So it's not a stretch to say that police work is very dangerous. And I'm not complaining about the police or what we pay them. They deserve fair compensation. But still, when people say we need more police to stop crime, I don't think that's a wise or even viable approach at this point. Where I live on the prairies, the average constable with five years of experience is making around $110,000 a year plus overtime. At that kind of money, it's just not feasible to go on a hiring spree. And let's face it, more boots on the ground will not address the root causes of crime. And there isn't a helicopter or armored vehicle in the world that's gonna change that. I don't know about you but where I live property crime is rampant. If you forget to lock your car

it's gonna get rifled and if you leave even the faintest hint of something valuable in it you'll wake up to a broken window. Leave a bike in your backyard? Good luck because even locking it in your garage is no guarantee. But call a cop and see where that gets you. I'll give you a hint. It ends in a report to submit to your insurance company. And that's it. While our civic leaders are fretting about providing safe injection sites, hard drug use is all around us.

Just drive through a city centre with your eyes open and you'll see it. But yet the police do nothing about it. They claim to need more bodies. But at $110,000 a pop, how could we possibly afford them? Should we shut down libraries? Stop doing road repairs? I think we've squeezed those lemons for all they're worth. People don't turn into criminals overnight. Crime is driven by poverty, addiction, inequality, mental illness, the list goes on. But more police won't solve any of those issues. In fact, they probably make some of them worse. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a hug-a-thug approach, but we need to do something different. More of the same is only going to result in more of the same. This slippery slope of crime tolerance needs to stop. It's time to be pragmatic. Policing, courts, prisons, they're all so expensive.

And letting things get to that point represents a waste in not only tax dollars, but also lost human potential. It damages families, communities, and society. The cost is huge. But you know what doesn't cost a lot? Social workers. They make about half of what a police officer does. You know what's cheaper than courts? After-school programming for kids. You know what's cheaper than prisons? Addiction treatment centers. It's kind of a no-brainer. If only politicians were as willing to invest in preventative measures as they are in punitive ones. We fear crime, so we're susceptible to calls to spend more money on protection. But are we really getting the level of protection we deserve?

Call it defunding, or call it reallocation of funds call it whatever you want instead of spending all our tax money to try and stop crime when it happens let's spend some of that money to intervene sooner and prevent criminal behavior before it takes root it's got to be cheaper than the road we're going down now and would do so much to benefit everyone from families to communities and i'd even argue to the defunded police there you go the random renter for this week and he gave you the big clue as to where he's narrowed it down to where he is right it's no longer thunder bay to Victoria. He said it. I heard him.

He said, where I live on the prairies. Okay? So now you've got to define the prairies as we kind of work our way down, perhaps, on the ranter. Remember, he's just a guy. He's just a guy with some thoughts, and he provokes your thoughts. Nobody's saying this is the definitive answer on any issue that the ranter brings up. It's his take, right?

And then you follow with your take, as many of you have on various issues. But it's pretty clear, at least so far, that there is a lot of support for the idea of the ranter. Not necessarily some of the things he's saying, but people love that he's a part of the program now. It reminds me in a way, and I hesitate making this comparison, but a number of you have. Back in the day, back way back way back um when i used to do the national and i started the at issue segment we coupled it with rex murphy and that became the thursday night thing

right people tuned in huge numbers, as it turned out, to Thursday nights on the National because they got the two things. They got Ad Issue and they got Rex. Some people didn't like Ad Issue, but loved Rex. Some people liked Ad Issue, but didn't like Rex. But they all watched it all. And it was quite the combination. So in some ways, these Thursdays on the bridge have become this combination of two things. Your take on stuff plus the random ranter

provoking us to think about another issue and how we feel about it. So there you had it for today. Okay, we do have some more letters, and they're good ones, but we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, more of The Bridge right after this. And welcome back. You're listening to The Bridge, the Your Turn Random Ranter Edition.

For this Thursday, I'm Peter Mansbridge. You're listening on Sirius XM channel 167 Canada Talks or on your favorite podcast platform. And we're happy to have you with us no matter where you are listening from. Okay, the final segment of letters. And most of them deal with either Brian Stewart and the Ukraine story or the military, which was also Brian's take apart this week in terms of the state of the Canadian military and recruitment, etc., etc. First letter comes from Sheldon Rose.

Hello, Peter. I've always wondered if Briar Stewart, she's the CBC's correspondent who's been covering, she's based in Moscow and she's been covering the Ukraine story. I've always wondered if Briar Stewart is the daughter of Brian Stewart. Both are doing a great job covering the Ukrainian conflict. The answer to that penetrating question is no. No, she's not. I remember the first time she was on the National.

I was so used to my friend Brian Stewart that when I was reading the intro, the run-up, I said and now with a report, here's Brian Stewart. Anyway, I eventually got it right. Dean Bradley writes, and Dean's an old friend, co-worker. We used to work together at the CBCc years ago uh in the national newsroom in toronto on the fourth floor the broadcasting center right there on front street

in downtown toronto but dean writes my questions for you and your very knowledgeable bud brian stewart who manufactures all of the tanks guns rockets bullets for all sides are these companies corporations working overtime to keep the supply chains running or our countries going through their own supplies what happens if or when these supplies are depleted or if supply chains cannot keep up with demand all

good questions you know I'll ask Brian some of this next week. I'll try to remember, but I would suggest to you that you've probably answered the question in your question because it's probably a combination of all of those things. But I'm sure the, especially on the, on the, the ammunition side, uh, those places

must be churning out a lot of stuff. And those places are all around the world. You know, the Russians are getting supplied from Iran and North Korea and, and their own operations. The Ukrainians are getting, um getting help from all over the world, including Canada. But I'll ask Brian if he wants to add to that. Paul Kowach.

What has he got to say here? I hope this reaches you in your corner office high up in Mansbridge Global Media. It's a big office here. I hope this reaches you in your corner office high up in Mansbridge Global Media. It's a big office here. I live in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. I had the honour of serving in Canada's Air Force for 20 years between 77 and 96. Thanks for your service. Listening to the Tuesday show, I have an idea about our military and the challenges it faces, as well as poor equipment, continual underfunding, poor leadership. I've lost count of the number of chiefs of defense staff we've had in the last few years.

I think you can add a lack of appreciation from our government on the work we do. I think the last time our Prime Minister visited our service people overseas was in 2016. I can't remember a prime minister welcoming one of our ships coming back after a long trip prime minister trudeau is not the only one a host of pms paid little attention to our military except to cancel a contract on equipment that's sorely needed and then ordering the same equipment after a delay of years you know and he mentions the F-35 and the Cormorant helicopter.

Ravi, B.R. Ravi Shankar, writes about the discussion I had the other day with Brian Stewart, especially the portion on Canadian military challenges. I hope you'll dedicate a full episode on examining the current state of affairs and the changing nature of threats to Canada. Also, the recently published strategy document by a panel of experts in the U.S. on the future of warfare.

You could just go back to the documentary I did for the CBC two years ago called The Future of war. It still stands today. It's pretty impressive. Uh, you can find that on CBC gym, a one hour doc on the future of war. Uh, in terms of a full show on this, let me, let me think about that. Um, the bridge, I mean, we'd like to think we have the resources to do deep dives on big issues. The bridge is just me, right?

And how lucky I am to have guests like Brian on some military things, Chantel and Bruce on politics. And the doctors have been fantastic to me on the COVID story over the last two years. But it's not like I've got a team of researchers here. But we'll do our best. Alan Mendez from Vancouver writes, Great show with Brian Stewart this week about Ukraine and Canada's military readiness. Regarding Canadian military, I think Canada should implement some kind of mandatory conscription

for 18 plus, similar to what Sweden implemented in 2017. In addition to helping getting the population in a better position to defend Canada, it may also help us in our future generations coming together by having a shared experience. Alan, check your history books on how successful we've been with conscription in this country

over the last century. It's pretty challenging and can be pretty divisive. But it's an interesting question. I'll throw it at Brian. Boy, we've already got next week's show with Brian. I'll figure it out here. I was interested in the story. This is from Barb Demery in Vancouver.

I was interested in the story you shared about the doctor in Ohio who's made the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest practicing physician at age 100 and that he's still working full-time. I host a podcast aimed at baby boomers and interviewed a good friend of mine who's a very successful architect and at age 77 is still working a full 40-hour week. He is passionate about his work and has no intention of retiring anytime soon. I think we often make the assumption that after age 65, we're all going to want to retire.

But that is definitely not true for everyone. You're right about that, Barb. It's not true for everybody, but it is true for some. And good for them if they're happy that way. Okay, here's your last letter. It comes from Dan Chapman, who's originally from Toronto. He was from Toronto when this podcast started today and in the interim, he's moved to Calgary.

Here's what he has to say today. This is a funny letter, okay? How are we doing on time? Do I have to race through this or can I just, well, let me get it started. Here's what Dan has to say. I'd like to offer a slightly different perspective regarding the random renter's rejection of your Thunder Bay to Victoria definition of Western Canada. Having lived in our four most populous provinces, BC, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, including

Thunder Bay, I've come to notice and appreciate the unique characteristics of each region as well as the countless attributes we share in common. That being said, there are two words that divide this nation from east to west more than any others, and I don't mean liberal and conservative. Throughout the eastern half of the country, the word A-E-H is often used to emphasize an observation or conclude a rhetorical question, while Westerners frequently gravitate towards hey for the same purpose. So that's the difference between a or hay.

As an undergrad at Thunder Bay's Lakehead University, my roommate, a linguistics major, and I conducted an informal study of the a-hay phenomenon, and we concluded that it aligns almost seamlessly with the boundaries separating the eastern and central time zones, which cuts through northwestern Ontario, a bit west of Thunder Bay. Students from places like Kenora and Winnipeg were more likely to say, hey, while those from points further east, especially southern Ontario and Atlantic Canada,

were prone to the exclamations of, eh? If we therefore define, I did pretty well here getting through this with a straight face. If we therefore define the east-west divide as the, eh? Hey? line corresponding with time zones rather than provincial borders. Could this offer a suitable compromise for you in the RRR? Hey, I like it. That's basically my argument. Without the A's or the Hays. Yours truly, Dan Chapman, originally from Toronto, now based in Calgary,

and happily married to a hey girl. That was fun. That's it for today. Great edition of Your Turn and the Random Ranter. I'm Peter Mansbridge. Thanks so much for listening. Tomorrow, Friday, good talk. Chantel, Bruce, we'll find something to talk about.

We always do. Thanks for listening on this day. I'll talk to you again. Oh, I was supposed to do the 24 hours thing. Somebody wrote this week and said, it's not 24 hours. You know, it's more like 23 hours until you're on again.

Yeah, so what? It's not 23 hours. Like this podcast today is only going to be, I don't know, some around 48 minutes long. So am I supposed to say, we'll see you in 23 hours and 12 minutes. Or can we round it out and do the 24 hours, the way like most people talk.

I know if you want to be actually time specific and be right on the penny, on the mark, we do it right to the minute. But I'm kind of rounding it out. We'll see it tomorrow. See you in 24 hours. So I'm going to stick with the 24 hours thing.

Unless there is an overwhelming urge on the part of bridge listeners to say, Peter, we want you to be exact. So I'll have to think about that. Maybe the ranter will want to weigh in. Or it's kind of like beneath the ranter. He deals in the heavy stuff. Okay. That's it.

Made my point. I'm off. Signing off. Peter Mansbridge, out for 24 hours