The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - The Weekend Special #47

Episode Date: February 5, 2021

Every Friday is your chance to express a view -- your e-mails with your questions, comments and thoughts.  Today is no exception with entries from across the country and around the world. And a bonus appearance this week from Abacus Data Chairman Bruce Anderson with fresh out of the field research on how Canadians are getting restless about the government's performance on the vaccine rollout.

Hello there, Peter Mansbridge here, and you are just moments away from today's episode of The Bridge. It's Friday, we call it the weekend special, where it's all about your questions, comments, and thoughts. That's right, it's The Bridge for Friday, end of a week. It's been a good one, and it's been an exciting one for us because we've kind of elevated to a whole different platform with the inclusion of SiriusXM Channel 167 Canada Talks. We've been really happy to hear from a lot of people who listen to the bridge on SiriusXM.

And some of those letters will be a part of what we have to talk about today. If you've never heard the Friday podcast before, here's what you need to know. We've got a lot of letters here at The Bridge. They don't all make this program. And they don't all make them in their entirety, the ones that do. It's usually I just kind of grab a little bit of each letter because they capture the thoughts of of some of our listeners from coast to coast to coast please remember when you're writing into the man's bridge podcast at gmail.com that you include not only your name but where you're writing from because

that gives us that kind of sense of the country. And it's great when we do that. And not only the sense of the country, as you'll hear today, sometimes the sense of the world, because the all-powerful bridge is broadcast worldwide. And you'll get to hear why I say that in a couple of moments. Okay, let's get started. First letter up today from Pat Grassi in Montreal. Like many people, I'm growing very concerned about the blurring of the line between truth and falsehood and the dangerous consequences this entails. Perhaps Barack Obama said it best in his

recent interview with Stephen Colbert, it's not that people aren't telling the truth, it's that the truth doesn't seem to matter anymore. Now, Pat admits that that's a bit of a paraphrase going on there in terms of what Obama had said, but it's pretty accurate. Some have suggested that social media is to blame, at least in part. If that's the case, why not hold those with large social media followings to the same standards as broadcast and print journalists? I think that's interesting, but I think the main part is you and us in the media. That if somebody says something that's not true, call it out. Prove them wrong. Here's one from Scott Keller.

Scott is in Winnipeg. I listened with interest earlier this week as you had two infectious disease experts on your podcast to discuss the current COVID-19 response and vaccine rollout in Canada. My interpretation of their comments is that our COVID-19 response is by no means perfect, but we are generally making good decisions and adjusting our responses new data comes to light. The comments from these experts presented a strong contrast to the Globe and Mail headline I read today. The paper used the entire upper half of the front page to display a single quote, not from a news story, but from an opinion piece by the editorial board. This quote claimed that Canada's vaccine rollout is collapsing. I was quite shocked to see one of our leading newspapers use their front page to quote an opinion piece, especially given the value of accurate news in this crisis.

To be generous, this quote appears misleading given that just today the news from local officials in my province of Manitoba are talking about massive increases in vaccine rollout in the coming months, and other regions are doing likewise. So that's an interesting concern, and you know, I'm not sure exactly where I am on that. I mean, opinion sections for newspapers, including the Globe and Mail, are an important part of what they do. When it moves from the opinion page, the editorial page, to the front page, then traditionally that's a problem. Occasionally, you know, a newspaper will declare their opinion, could be on an editorial or an election choice, on the front page. But it's not often.

It's used rarely and for the very reason that that person points out. Okay, another one here from Dave Jersich. And Dave is one of those people who's being shy about exactly where he lives. So we don't know where this letter is coming from. Why all the problems with vaccines? I put the blame totally on the Trudeau liberal gang of incompetence. They could have followed the British example of taking care of its citizens by leading with a solution. I think some people might argue you using Britain as an example here on the overall pandemic strategy. But no, let's hope the Yanks will take care of us and live up to their word and agreements.

Fat chance, like I said, with a gullible bunch. Vaccines are great, but the Prime Minister and his gang have failed Canada. And here's one more, still on this same subject. And this one's from Terrell C.K. Bertram. I personally am not real excited by Aaron O'Toole. I was a Peter McKay supporter and felt that he was the better choice. That said, once O'Toole won, I focused on him as leader and evaluating him on his merits as leader. I just do not get the feeling he's a

strong leader. He was a cabinet minister under Harper, however not a real high-profile one. I'm a firm believer that leaders of a party should have a lot of political experience. I partly blame Harper for not grooming a replacement to him earlier and setting someone up to be another strong leader. I think the division that exists in that party will forever be an issue that leaders now and in the future will have to deal with given the history of the party. A number of letters about Aaron O'Toole and a number of them referring to his position on vaccines.

So here's the last one. This was actually written to Bruce. It wasn't written last one. This was actually written to Bruce. It wasn't written to me. It was just written to Bruce. I accused Bruce of having his relatives right, but nevertheless, this is what was said by Lynn Dunlop. I've just finished listening to yesterday's The Bridge and want to express my appreciation for your support

in the brief smoke mirrors and truth portion of all those who were working so diligently to bring vaccines to Canada. Public servants, politicians, scientists, vaccine producers. My patience has grown thin with those who seem ready to criticize every aspect of this unprecedented and monumental task. As a senior who spends a lot of time at home now,

safe and thankful, I appreciate that you were able to clearly and politely state what I have certainly been wanting to say. That's from Lynn Dunlop. Well, we have the opportunity to bring Bruce into the conversation today, a special Friday appearance for a couple of minutes, because Bruce, who is also Bruce Anderson,

who's also chairman of Abacus Data in Ottawa, who's a research firm, obviously, and Bruce is just out of the field with some new numbers in terms of how Canadians are looking at how their governments and their opposition party is performing through this pandemic crisis. And the numbers seem to have changed a little bit here, Bruce. Or am I wrong?

No, good morning, Peter. They have changed. There's no question that, you know, one of the things that I think that's become really clear during this pandemic is that for a lot of the period of time that preceded it, many people weren't paying that much attention to politics day in, day out. There weren't that many issues where they felt that the federal government mattered as much to their lives. And so, pardon me, they would kind of dip in and dip out in terms of their interests and then pay more attention, obviously, during an election campaign.

But during the pandemic, it's been different. People know that without federal intervention on the economic side of things to help people who are hurting, that things could have gone much worse from an economic standpoint. They also needed counsel on how to keep themselves as safe as possible from infection, how to protect other people. So that was important information. But now we're into a different phase of this situation where people are saying, now we need the vaccines. And, you know, two months ago, there was really no expectations of vaccines because it wasn't clear that there were going to be any. So it's not as though people had these kind of baked in longstanding expectations that didn't work out as well as they had hoped. It's that the

expectations were created in the short term. And then people started paying a lot of attention to information about when is the Pfizer, when is the Moderna, when are the AstraZeneca and the other vaccines going to be available to us. And now that sense of relief and maybe optimism that they were finally allowing themselves to feel keeps getting disrupted every day because there's a story about a production delay or maybe not this much this week, maybe more next week and I think that so what we see in the numbers basically is some sagging of support for the Liberals a few points off a closer horse race for what that means I think it's far too early to know

what the political cost or benefit might be for one party or the other but no question a big jump in the number of people who say they're not happy with the way the vaccine program is looking today. It's still not a majority who are unhappy, but it's a much bigger number than we saw a month ago. And so it's a pretty clear warning signal, I think, to the government that people are paying attention to this.

They want to feel confident. I think the most important thing to remember for politicians in this is that most Canadians want this vaccine rollout to work. They're not looking at it going, if it fails, that'll be great because my favorite opposition party will do well. They're definitely wanting this to work. So they'll be looking for signs that the disruptions, that the unexpected news about Canada not getting this much as we expected, that those stories go away and are replaced by a steady flow

and that the government is able to hit the targets that it's established for March and September. And I think if that starts to become the new narrative around this and the political risks that the government feels right now are probably going to dissipate, but we'll have to wait and see. Okay. Well, that's exactly what we'll do. But I think these next couple of weeks are kind of critical on that front for everybody, you know, for the opposition and their attacks and for the government in with their

promises, because their, their promises are still possible, even with this lag time, but they've got to start delivering or, or somebody has to start delivering these vaccines in the next few weeks. So listen, Bruce, great to have you make a special Friday guest appearance. So listen, have a great weekend. And we look forward to talking to you next week. You bet, Peter. Have a good weekend. Yep. All right, let's get on with the letters. Daniel Rao writes in from Calgary. I'm a new listener to your show on Sirius XM. I really enjoyed your Wednesday morning show and the discussion,

and this was the one with Bob Ray, the Canada's ambassador to New York that Bruce and I had, about how the recent attack in the U.S. will affect diplomatic relations. There are things in general we can know for sure that the U.S. will not be a leader in diplomatic discussions any longer. I'm curious how you see this playing out. I don't think you could, and I don't think Bob was suggesting that you write the Americans off completely.

He's just going to, he seemed to be saying, at least the way I read it, was that they have to earn their position again at the, you know, apparent head of the table. I love that quote he used when he was talking to one of his American colleagues saying, you know, apparent head of the table. I love that quote he used when he was talking to one of his American colleagues, saying, you know, it's a round table now. In other words, not one with a head table spot for the American delegation. They've got to earn that right back again. And, you know, let's see how the Biden administration does.

It seems like a lot of their fellow diplomats want them to be in that position, but they're going to have to earn it. Rita Sams writes from Kingston, Ontario. And once again, I'm just reading portions of some of these letters because some of them are actually quite long. Rita writes, I love hearing the letters from listeners and hearing how they perceive many of these topics and how they're faring with COVID.

The episode on the couple who are working from home was particularly eye-opening. That was last week. It was great. My heart breaks for many families who are trying to balance it all and still keep their own mental health in order. My husband and I are both empty nesters with two daughters who thankfully are doing very well through all of this and it has not been lost on us how at the end of

each day when we are finished work that the only thing we have to think about is what we're making for dinner and which Netflix show we'll watch. I never complain anymore about being bored because so many families would love a day of boredom as opposed to the numerous stressors they are coping with. So true, Rita. Thank you. Some of you may recall about, I guess it was about a month ago, maybe not quite a month ago, we heard from Jeffrey Oliver, who was on board a ship traveling across the North Atlantic,

tuned into the bridge. Well, he was tuned in again this week. He was in the Baltic Sea somewhere listening to the episode we did on ice, the great ice melt, and how much we should care about it. So I'm just going to read you two sentences from his letter that he wrote about this, and then I've got something else I want to read from him. Here's what Jeffrey said. I've tried to pay attention to the ice levels each year,

and the only things I've really noticed are the glaciers in the mountains receding, the weather becoming less stable, and the ice, well, it's definitely dynamic. One year we'll be struggling to make progress, even under ice escort, and the next in that exact same spot at the exact same time of year there won't be any ice at all. Of course wind and current play a big role in where we might meet the ice but in talking to some of our experienced captains there's been a big change over the past few decades. Here's what I loved about Jeffrey's letter. And I always enjoy hearing from him

because, you know, he's all over the world. He's in a tanker. So I wrote him back this week, not realizing how like dependable communications is. But as I said, he was off somewhere in the Baltic. And I said, tell me about your ship. Tell me about your trip. So here's a couple more sentences from his letter. Think of this. This guy's like, I don't know, lying in his bunk, sitting at a desk in his little cabin, listening to the bridge.

He writes, this year we left Newfoundland on December 24th after a three-week refit for Mobile, Alabama, to load something called tall oil, which is some byproduct of milling wood, apparently. We've just discharged a small parcel in Finland and the rest in Sweden. Now we're on our way to Estonia to load another chemical to take back to North Carolina and Texas.

Our Great Circle route, which I'm sure you're familiar with as a former pilot. Actually, that's one of the reasons I'm a former pilot, as I never did get quite familiar with the Great Circle route. Anyway, it will take us right by Newfoundland, where we'll stop in briefly for a long-awaited crew change, likely in three weeks or so. Our hitches are usually 45 days on and off, but this year we volunteered to stay on longer to try and crew change as close to home as possible to minimize the number of times we'd have to travel and quarantine and to minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19. What a life, right?

What a life. Cruising the high seas in an oil, well, I guess something similar to an oil tanker. All right, we got more to come, including we look up way up north okay as i said you know in talking about jeff, he wrote in response to our story on the Great Arctic ice melt. And he wasn't alone. We had a number of letters.

I love this one, okay, because it comes from one of my favorite places. And I can bet that most of you have never been there. Many of you probably never even heard of it. It's beautiful. It's part of our Arctic. Don Katsak writes, I was pleased to listen to the latest podcast episode today. Not only the great Arctic ice is melting,

also the permafrost as well. When it happens, it releases greenhouse gas emissions, which helps melt ice faster. There are several permafrost-melted areas near my hometown in Pond Inlet. I was not there, but my sister Sheila Katsak has seen or heard it happen. She's seen a landslide not once but twice so far between 2004 and 2012. She's the better person to ask for more perspective. Thank you for bringing up the discussion.

It was wonderful. Dawn Katsak, talking about her hometown in Pond Inlet. Now, as I said, you've probably never been there. Some of you may never even have heard of it, but Pond Inlet is beautiful. It has spectacular scenery. And an old buddy of mine, the late Jimmy Arveluk, used to live in Pond Inlet. I work with Jim or James Arveluk, as he

was called, at our radio station, the first radio station I worked at, CHFC in Fort Churchill, Manitoba. And James later became an elected member of the Nunavut legislature. Anyway, Pond Inlet, if you ever get a chance, or even if you just look it up online. Beautiful, spectacular scenery. All right, Arlen Nimchuck from Naruto, Japan.

Good day, Peter and Bruce. A short while back, you discussed how you often wear runners on your feet within your house. I either wear runners or I don't wear anything. This had me thinking about how prevalent this activity is in Canada. Being originally from Winnipeg, I knew of no one who wore shoes inside the house, though sometimes slippers were worn. I wonder if you or Bruce have any data on the rate of shoe wearing inside homes in Canada. Well, unfortunately, Bruce is off the line now and I

can't ask him what the data shows, but I somehow doubt he's ever asked that question. But if he has, I'm sure he'll tell us all about it. Tony Politano. Tony writes, he's another one who has not told us where he's writing from. Remember, it's a great help. It gives us all a sense of kind of like where you're coming from, right? Tony writes, Monday's podcast asked a couple of great questions about why the new travel restrictions and why the issues on vaccine rollout.

On travel restrictions, a question that has been gnawing at me is not why did the federal government act now, it's why has the government not acted until now? It's been a disservice to Canadians, each sacrificing in their own way to have virtually no effective air travel restrictions until now. What's the use of

battening down the hatches while you ignore the big hole in the hull? You know, was it the airplane lobby? Was it about not wanting to poke at globalization and immigration? What could it have been? Why did this government ignore the science for so long? Those are all legitimate questions, Tony. My own sense of the kind of why now is that governments, all governments, are always looking for deflections when they see themselves in trouble. Bruce just gave us the numbers on how things have tightened up and dissatisfaction with the government has gone up a bit over this vaccine issue. So what happens? I don't know whether this is what happened, but it wouldn't surprise me

if somebody said, okay, we need a shiny ball over here for people's attention. Let's move it to travel restrictions. And so all of a sudden a big fuss is made about travel restrictions. And where did that fuss start to come from? It started to come from the premiers, especially the Ontario premier, Doug Ford, who did a news conference out at the Pearson Airport saying, you know, we need more travel restrictions. Why are all these people coming in?

What was he trying to deflect from? Well, if it was a deflection, What was he trying to deflect from? Well, if it was a deflection, he was probably trying to deflect from what has been the worst scandal of this whole pandemic, and that's been the trouble in long-term care facilities. I can't believe that more is not talked about

on that front, because it is a scandal, and the fact that so many people have died not through one wave but now through two waves fix it um gary johnson writes uh and and gary writes because he's so proud of his mom and he loves his mom so much. He wanted to share something with us from his mom. She's a former personal support worker, a PSW at a nursing home in Gravenhurst, Ontario. I'm just going to read. She gave a speech, and it's a fabulous speech. I'll just

read a couple of lines because it'll give you a sense of what Gary's mom is like. Respect, patience, and compassion are imperative for all who are aged and ill. Sometimes I did palliative care and listened carefully when a family member needed to talk about their loved one. It was all confidential information. There are many sweet and sad memories that I will never forget. The trust and confidence from the residents and their families in us meant so much. I cannot express enough how special working in a long-term care place has changed me for the better. It became their new home, and it was an adjustment that was difficult for many,

but they were brave. I cared for those who had dementia and Alzheimer's, and it was busy checking them frequently to make sure they were all right. Some shifts we walked 10 kilometers as call bells rang up and down the long hallways. A lady of 103 reluctantly resided in our care, but she wanted nothing to do with old people.

One day I helped her have a shower and let her hold the handpiece to rinse away the soap. Instead, she aimed the head at me, and I was soaked, which made her feel better. I said, you got me real good, and she was pleased. The staff chuckled when they saw my drenched uniform and wet hair. I love that story. And thank you to Gary Johnson for sending his mom's speech along. Catherine Clark writes this. She's in Mississauga. During your interview with Dr. Ivan

Bogoch, I was reminded at a question about which I have been wondering. We talk about and are worried about COVID variants coming in from other countries, but I've not heard anyone talk about the variants that are homegrown. It stands to reason that since the virus is mutating elsewhere, it's going to mutate here. Have you heard this come up? I haven't, but I will ask it in the next interview I do with one of the doctors that we are lucky enough to be able to communicate with every week. And I'll ask them because I think it's a great question. Yeah, we talk about the UK variant, we talk about the South Africa variant, we talk about the Brazil variant. Is there a possibility

that there could be a Canada variant? I imagine there very much could be that possibility. Kerry Cody writes from Truro, Nova Scotia. I'm self-proclaiming myself a charter member of your podcast, and I have to admit I've been dreading the changes that you've mentioned. So much so that last week I drove myself crazy playing and replaying every episode because you told us you'd have an update, and I thought I'd miss the update. Your podcast is one of a few that color the ritual of my day and even more so during the last year.

Anyway, I wanted to say thank you for filing the short podcast last weekend and giving us a heads up. I know what to expect. And I laughed to myself as I gulped after reading the title of today's pod. I was surprised and relieved all at once. Even new music?

This was the update on the... I was surprised and relieved all at once. Even new music? This was the update on how the bridge was going to change a little bit. Thank you for all the stories, laughs, provoking thoughts, and some days, tears. I'm glad you and Will, that's my son who's worked so hard at this, have support now. Just keeping doing what you're doing and enjoy all the success. Well, we're trying.

And part of that success is yours. And there's no doubt about that. This podcast has been, as I said initially, and as I keep saying, it was a hobby. And it's a hobby that's dependent on your involvement and you have all been so involved. Especially on days like this, on Fridays. Okay, Jen McKinnon writes from Stratford, not Stratford, Ontario, where I'm broadcasting from, but Stratford, Prince Edward Island.

A great little spot on the island. Jen McKinnon. I listened to Friday's podcast on the idea of paying for a vaccine. While you didn't specifically talk about how vaccines get distributed, on Friday, the CBC shared an article entitled Should Canada Divert Vaccines from Regions with Low COVID-19 Levels to Hotspots? This was last Friday.

My Twitter feed blew up in response. That's a real hard pill to swallow for many of us in Atlantic Canada who've been the most cautious, compliant, and vigilant throughout this pandemic. And you sure have. That's what the Atlantic bubble's all about. And that's the great success story in Canada in terms of a region that has applied itself 100% to making COVID a small dent in their health. A dent, but a small one. And to hear this possibility,

and I've heard this from a number of Atlantic Canadians, that, you know, okay, well, listen, you don't need it because you guys are doing well, so we're going to move it to, you know, okay, well, listen, you don't need it because you guys are doing well, so we're going to move it to, you know, wherever, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, areas of the country that have our hot spots. And Atlantic Canadians say, hey, that's not fair. That's not on. We've worked hard to position ourselves, and we should be rewarded with the vaccines that are supposed to be for everyone. It's a complicated and touchy subject, says Jen, and one that I hope does not gain any traction. You know, it's not just Atlantic Canada.

It's in provinces like this where small towns may have been quite successful in reducing the number of cases of COVID-19, and yet when vaccines were destined for those small communities, they got diverted to other areas, hot spots in bigger cities. Is that fair? It's an interesting question. As Jen says, it's complicated.

It's a touchy subject. Karen Goodwin writes from Port Moody, British Columbia. I'm one of many writing to tell you how enjoyable your daily podcast is. I thank you for that. First time emailing. The COVID era has affected so many people in different and often devastating ways. I and my extended family are fortunate to be safe and healthy and finding ways to manage and cope with restrictions and rules as

we get through this unexpected challenge. I've been retired for a few years and thus I find myself with a lot of home alone time on my hands these days I try to maintain important contacts family and friends and do things to stay healthy and active typically I download your daily offering and listen to it and then some music as I take my afternoon walk we're lucky to live in an area bordering on nature with some beautiful paths and views. Thank you. My walk with Peter has become an important part of my routine.

And I try and stay current and motivated while we get through to better times ahead. And Karen, we will get through to better times ahead. But those daily walks in Port Moody, B.C., I bet they're gorgeous. And stimulating. and inspiring. So don't stop. Okay, we're getting down to the last couple here. Elizabeth Eberhardt Moffat. She writes from Waterloo. It was a delight to listen in on your interview with Bob Ray this past Wednesday,

to hear his voice and appreciate his wit and wisdom once again. It took me back to 1990, the year when the New Democrats, under Bob Ray's leadership, managed the stunning upset of David Peterson's Liberal government, just three years into his mandate as Premier. It was also in the early days of my 80-year-old and newly widowed American mother's move to Ontario to live with our family during the last decade of her life. Listen to this. I love this story because this is who we all want to be.

Let me tell you. Mom had come from a lifetime as a loyal 4th of July flag-waving Republican when the GOP could still qualify as the Grand Old Party. During my father's retirement years, my parents had moved to Sun City, Arizona, where mom kept pictures of her beloved Barry Goldwater, former senator from Arizona, and John McCain, of course, prominently displayed in the living room. Moving north across the border and from the moment of her landing, mom was eager to share her patriotic soul with Canada, and as a soprano soloist, was even happy to trade her enthusiastic singing of the Star Spangled Banner for the equally soaring musical

range of O Canada. Watching with us the CBC interviews and debates on TV during that election year, and no doubt attending to your coverage on The National, Mum listened carefully as one who came here to listen or to learn with no preconceptions or no historical loyalties. We will long remember when she finally reached her authoritative conclusion about the candidates. Hands down, she proclaimed, the smartest one in the race is Bob Ray. We still laugh out loud remembering the irony of that superb moment in Mum's political history. Maybe if people today could only open their minds and hearts and listen with new ears for truth, there might be hope for some understanding and appreciation across partisan lines. Thank you, Peter, in the plaid pajamas.

That's a reference to an Instagram post I did earlier this week. Thanks for your ongoing care for Canada and us Canadians. Thanks, Elizabeth, for sharing that letter with us. I love your mum, and I love the fact that your memories of your mum include that anecdote of how someone who was clearly a dyed-in-the-wool Republican from Arizona could come to a new country and say, yeah, it doesn't mean I'm going to vote for this guy, but he's the best guy in the race.

And he was a socialist at that time. And as he said to us the other day on the program, his views, his basic ideology hasn't really changed. at that time. And as he said to us the other day on the program, his views, his basic ideology, hasn't really changed that much over the years. All right, here's the last letter for this week. And you know what? I love this letter.

I appreciate all the letters I get, the ones that are favorable to us and those that aren't. I appreciate them all. Because you're engaged, and that's the one thing I found about the podcast audience, perhaps more so than any other time in my career, is the people who go to the trouble of listening to a podcast audience, perhaps more so than any other time in my career, is the people who go to the trouble of listening to a podcast and sitting down and writing to that podcast are really engaged. They like

talking about the subjects of the day and the issues of the day. And I like listening to them. All right. So this letter comes from April Lewis. Good evening, Peter. Just wanted to reach out and let you know that I'm enjoying your podcast. I've even converted my husband into enjoying the show. Here's the scoop. He's not a fan of the news. I am his news source,

as I've always loved the news. He enjoys your show. Over the years, I grew up watching and hearing you on our television. I'm a fan of Canada Talks on SiriusXM. My husband and I are long-haul truck drivers. We recently relocated from the Sarnia, Ontario area to just outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. I enjoy listening to your podcast each morning when I start my day. Listen to this.

She's a long-haul truck driver, right? So is her husband. She listens to the podcast when she starts her day. I typically start driving at 4 a.m. Your podcast is the first, followed by Front Burner. Great CBC podcast. And then I binge on Dateline, great NBC show, often hosted by my old friend Keith Morrison. Keith and I used to work together on the prairies. He was at CTV. I was at CBC. But we'd often see each other.

You keep me company on the dark roads. I love that sentence. You know how you can write sometimes just a little sentence that carries so much imagery and power? You keep me company on the dark roads. I can see that. I can see April in her cab. It's dark outside.

She's driving a long-haul truck. She's alone, and she's listening to the podcast. I love that no matter what the topic there's always a chuckle or two hiding in the podcast I quite enjoy hearing about the past your crazy adventures covering the news and your honesty into various topics

just thought I would give you a big high five keep up the great work and look forward to hearing many more episodes in the future. I love it. I love that letter. You keep me company on the dark roads. Well, April, you've kept me company in that letter. And I'm incredibly grateful for it. That wraps up the weekend special.

This week, a historic week in the life of the bridge as we started this new relationship with SiriusXM, Channel 167 Canada Talks. And, of course, we continue on with the podcast on all the different platforms that you can find it on. We have a lot of fun at the bridge, and we love hearing from you. So don't be shy.

The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. Have a good weekend. Keep everything in mind, as we all do. We're in a fight here. The fight keeps going. The fight will never die until the virus is put in such a position that we're ahead of it, as opposed to it being ahead of us. That will happen. Keep the faith. Be patient. Stay masked. Stay distant. Stay away from big crowds. Wash your hands.

You know the routine. Let's all do it together. All right. I'm Peter Mansbridge. This has been The Bridge. We'll be back on Monday.