The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Rumours Of The Day

Episode Date: July 23, 2020

The beauty of a podcast is it's not a newscast. So I can share some of the buzz I'm hearing even though its just buzz, not fact. And as Thursday is potpourri day it kind of fits in with the way we've been doing things. Enjoy.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here with the latest episode of the Bridge Daily. It's Thursday of week 19, and you know what that means, We're 24 hours away from the weekend special number 19. And that means I'm looking for your thoughts and questions and comments about the week gone by. And you can send them along to the Mansbridge podcast at gmail.com. The Mansbridge podcast at gmail.com. Already had a lot of comments from you over the last 48 hours. Some of which I read last night,

uh, all surrounding this issue of whether or not moves were made too fast in different parts of the country in terms of opening up bars and opening up in restaurant dining. It seems a lot of you feel, yes, they did move too fast and yes, you want them closed back down. Now, yesterday I told you that it was somewhere around 70% of your comments

were in favor of closing down, especially bars. Not so much restaurants, but especially bars, where patrons were inside and at times, you know, what drink can do get the mood quite relaxed to the point where social distancing was not happening and doesn't happen in some bars. Not so much in restaurants, in the restaurants that are now opening inside. And I understand that. So people were making a division. They say yes to bars. That's kind of overwhelming.

Not so on the restaurant side. But I'd say the numbers, because there was kind of a resurgence in support over the last 24 hours. It's probably around 65%. But it's certainly a majority of those of you who have bothered to write in and send your comments along are in favor of closing down bars, that they're a problem area for the infection rate of COVID-19.

So your comments, always welcome on that subject. Today, you know, listen, I went out today for lunch to a patio for a restaurant in downtown Stratford. And it was all, you know, handled really well. I wore my mask up to the area at the entrance. There was one of those tubes of disinfectant to wipe down your hands. The table that I ended up at had just been wiped down by the staff at the restaurant. And I had a pleasant lunch with a friend of mine. The two of us had a good chat. Our tables were socially distant, certainly not on top of any other tables in that particular

area. And it was all good. And the meal, what a bonus. The meal was good too. So there you go. That's my say on that front. On the question of whether numbers are spiking and going up, obviously, I've watched very closely the Ontario numbers, seeing as I'm in that province, and we had real concerns as this week began with numbers going up and seemingly going up very quickly, 50% one day, and over 200 new cases in Ontario one day, and there hadn't been that in about a month. And after a couple of days of low numbers last week, it was quite concerning, and it looked like things were on the move.

Three or four days in a row where numbers kept jumping. Well, in the last two days, they've come downward to the point yesterday, with yesterday's numbers reported this morning, they were half what they were a couple of days ago. So just over 100 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. So Ontario, at least in the short term, appears to be back on track. 100 is still 100. It's not zero. But it was 103, I think, in the last 24 hours. No deaths.

That's only the second time in a matter of months that no deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported in Ontario. So that's good news on Ontario. Not so good out west. Alberta and BC still showing increases. In BC, BC was the gold standard for the country for weeks, months. And suddenly, in the last couple of days,

things appearing to be, as a result of some gatherings, parties, alcohol involved in Kelowna and in Vancouver. To the point where John Horgan, you know who he is, he's the premier of British Columbia. Today, you know, gave a speech today where he was, he's not a happy camper. Here's what he said in Victoria today. Come on, you're better than that. We need bigger spaces and fewer faces. We need to make sure we are respecting not just our own space, but other people's space. He urged everyone not to get together in big groups with people they don't know And that, of course, is the big worry.

You know, young people who have been, you know, the bulk of these new cases this week seem to be young people, at least 39 and under. And the argument is always, well, you know, young people get COVID-19, but they don't really suffer badly from it, and they get over it, and all's good. Well, A, that's not true. Some of them suffer very badly. But B, for those who don't, the issue isn't just them, it's who they interact with. They go home. They visit their parents or grandparents.

That's when it gets vulnerable, if they're carrying the infection. So, that's where we are today in B.C. The Alberta numbers went up this week. Saskatchewan numbers went up this week. Manitoba numbers went up this week. Saskatchewan numbers went up this week. Manitoba numbers went up this week. Now, they're not huge numbers. They're not numbers like we've witnessed in the states, but they're a sign that things are perhaps getting us into dangerous territory where they could spin out of control.

And that's the concern that health authorities have. And that's what Dr. Bonnie Henry in BC said yesterday. So we've got to watch this carefully. I know some of you yesterday said, hey, Peter, you're overreacting. You know, give it time. It's just a blip. Well, you could be right.

And let's hope you're right. Let's hope it's just a blip. Well, it could be right, and let's hope you're right. Let's hope it's just a blip. But you know what? That's what they said in the States a month ago. It's just a blip. Well, that blip turned into a raging fire. Not to mix metaphors too much, but it is, you know, look, you've seen the numbers in the southern U.S.

Terrible. We don't want that. And I don't think anybody is suggesting we're heading towards that. What they are suggesting is let's not allow things to get out of control. And there are more than a few people who think the bars situation is one that leads to an out-of-control situation. We'll keep monitoring it. I'll let you know what happens. All right, Thursdays is usually kind of a potpourri day, and there are a number of things to talk about on this day and a couple of interesting things.

One is like totally off. Well, two of them, actually. The next two are totally off the COVID-19 story, which I'm sure will make you happy. There was a major departure today, or announcement of a departure, a resignation, a retirement in Ottawa.

But it's not who you might think it would be. It's not the finance minister, Mr. Morneau. No, not him. Although one has got to wonder. I mean, I've seen a lot of scandals and many scandals and almost scandals in Ottawa over my years, and I've seen people resign for less than the situation that is currently in front of the Trudeau government in regards to their finance minister. And the fact he had to pay back $40,000 to the We Charity Foundation or We Charity program in the last 48 hours

because he thought he'd paid them back for a trip he and his family had taken with WE, but in fact he couldn't find any receipts, so he cut a new check and paid them this week. In the midst of this whole debate about whether the WE group is just a little too close to the Trudeau government. Anyway, it looked bad on all fronts, and I've got to tell you, I've got friends in medium to high places in all the parties, and I've got to tell you, there's some very uncomfortable liberals

about the way things have shaped up. Uncomfortable to the point where people are already talking about, okay, if he does resign, what will happen? You know, will Chrystia Freeland, will she become the finance minister? She's the deputy prime minister right now. People, you know, kind of assume that she's always wanted to be Finance Minister, and I believe if she became the Finance Minister, that would be the first woman Finance Minister in Canada's history.

But there's another, somebody said to me today, there's another wolf lurking at the door. And you know who that is? Somebody said to me today, there's another wolf lurking at the door. And you know who that is? Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor, the former governor of the Bank of England. He's now kind of like out of work. He stepped down from the Bank of England job just this year. Moving back to Canada.

Kind of looking around. He's always been interested in politics. He'd love to be Prime Minister one day. You know, an interesting stepping stone to becoming prime minister could be finance minister. But what do I know? I know that that name's one that's been bandied about, people have talked about. Maybe there's some truth to it. And maybe not. Maybe, maybe Mr. Morneau won't be going anywhere. Maybe he'll just stay exactly where he is. I would have thought if he was going to resign, it would have been yesterday.

If he was going to get fired, it would have been yesterday. Well, neither of those things happened yesterday, and at least as we're recording this podcast today, they haven't happened today either. So let's see what happens. But hey, I said somebody did retire, resign from a high post in Ottawa. And they did, and this is a good person. Somebody who I've met more than a few times, and I've had a very good relationship with, and who has helped me in my coverage of various stories in regards to Canada's military over the years.

And that is the Chief of Canada's Defence Staff, Jonathan Vance. He stepped down today. Now, his term was kind of up. They usually go, I think, in five-year cycles in that job. Now, I think very much he was hoping that he would be recommended to NATO by Canada as the next head of NATO. Doesn't look like that recommendation ever went anywhere. So he's stepping down, retiring from the forces.

And that, my friends, is a loss to Canada's Armed Forces. Jonathan Vance, General Vance, good person. Not just because he was kind to me, but because he was a good person and a good general, both in the field and in headquarters in Ottawa. All right. A couple of other things. So let's get back to COVID. And these are, you know, I think very early on we talked about one of the upsides, if there could be such a thing, in this pandemic is it will draw on the innovative spirit of all of us to find ways to deal with the situation that we're in. And invent ways and build ways that out of adversity

can come progress. So these are two stories along those lines. First one is from an online magazine called Escape. Here's the headline at the top of this story. As face coverings become the norm amid the coronavirus pandemic, Japanese startup Donut Robotics has developed an internet-connected smart mask that can, wait for it,

transmit messages and translate from Japanese into eight other languages. Okay, this is your mask. Okay? You got a mask that can translate for you. The white plastic C-masask fits over standard face masks and connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone and tablet application that can transcribe speech into text messages, make calls, or amplify the mask wearer's voice.

We worked hard for years to develop a robot, and we have used that technology to create a product that responds to how the coronavirus has reshaped our society, said the chief executive of Donut Robotics. Why they call themselves Donut, I don't know. Donut Robotics engineers came up with the idea for the mask as they searched for a product to help the company survive the pandemic Donut's first 5,000 sea masks will be shipped to buyers in Japan

starting in September They'll be looking to sell in China, the United States and Europe too There's been strong interest, says the CEO. At about US $40 per mask, Donut Robotics, that's $40 US is, I don't know, $55, $56 Canadian. Donut is aiming at a mass market that did not exist until a few months ago. One aim is to generate revenue from subscriber services offered via an app that users will download. I don't know. What do you think?

You want a mass that does translation for you as well? Could be interesting if we're into this for a long time and you start to travel safely, yet you want to talk to people in foreign lands, you use the translation button. Okay, that's one. Here's the second one. How many of you, as a result of the pandemic, are working from home?

I know a lot of you are because you write. Now, one of the issues about working from home i'm lucky i already had an office in my home it's kind of a mess right now because there's all kinds of junk in it and i've had to build a kind of podcast studio so i've got like i got my microphone and my control board, kind of squeezed in between some old Gemini Awards, the flame I carried for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, I did part of the run. And you got to keep the flame, the torch, if you paid for it. And so I have that. I've got that on this side table that I use to record the podcast.

I'm a big fan of globes. And I have a lot of globes. So I've got a bunch of globes on the table. You know, I got a lamp. I got a whole bunch of junk on my table squeezed in here. I have a box that has in it every smartphone I've ever had, starting with BlackBerrys, the very first BlackBerry that I ever had. That was before it was a phone. It just did emails. I got them all. I saved them all. I don't know why I ever had. That was before it was a phone. It just did emails. I got them all. I saved them all.

I don't know why I saved them. But I have a collection of all these blackberries. Remember the blueberry? Remember the blackberry that they came out with as blue? Kind of sucked. But I still got it.

I got lots of planes. I love planes. Anyway, what I'm trying to tell you here is I have a lot of stuff in my office. It's kind of a mess. And I keep saying to Cynthia, you know, I'm going to clean this up. I'm going to clean my office up. I'm going to clean this up. I'm going to clean my office up. I'm going to declutter it. And I still haven't got around to doing that.

I'm waiting for some free time. And so far in four or five months, I just haven't had any free time yet. But I'm going to get right at that. Anyway, this is a long way of trying to tell you that this article from the New York Times, which came out a couple of days ago, and I strongly suggest you pull up if you can get to the Times website. And if you need it, it's great. It tells you how to turn a part of your place,

it could be a small condo, or it could be a bigger house, how to turn part of it into an office. You may be working from home for a while. It's time for something more professional than a corner of the dining table. Okay, so what are we talking about here? Tim McHugh writes, If you've been working from home for months

and have concluded that this situation is unlikely to end anytime soon, you may be giving your makeshift workspace a serious second look. You're not alone. We've been getting a lot of people asking about ways they can improve their home office scenarios, both past clients and new inquiries, said Karen Richter, a founder of the Brooklyn-based interior design firm White Arrow. It's definitely a topic right now. Continuing to work from your bed or the dining table is unlikely to be very productive or feel very professional in the long term. But what should you do if you don't have an extra room for a proper office or even an obvious space for desks? Sometimes it's just about carving out a space within a space, Ms. Richter said. Or it might involve finding leftover space, like the attic she recently converted into a home office at her house in Pound Ridge, New York.

That's the setup to the article. And then it goes on with six or eight different examples of things you can do to build an office space in your house. And one of the ones I like the best, and you know, I can't, it's hard to describe it on the phone, so you got to look it up, is how to turn a closet that perhaps you don't use that, into an office, a closet into an office. It's great. I looked at it and I thought, this is perfect. Now, it wouldn't be big enough to handle all the junk I've got in this particular area right now, but look at it.

It's a great idea, and it's very simple. You could actually build this yourself. You could convert a closet into an office that you'd be proud of. And you may need to if this thing goes on for much longer, which looks like it just might. On that happy note, we're going to sign off for this Thursday. The day before the weekend special.

I remind you, if you've got thoughts, comments, don't be shy, send them along. The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. As it always is, being a treat talking with you i'm peter mansbridge this has been the bridge daily we'll be back in 24 hours Thank you.