The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - The Weekend Special # 60

Episode Date: May 14, 2021

Your thoughts and ideas and questions in the 60th edition of our mailbag since the pandemic started.  Lots of good "stuff" here again this week.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here with the latest episode of The Bridge. It is Friday. The weekend special is next. Like you, I have been so grateful and so thankful for frontline workers during the COVID crisis. Let's just talk about the frontline workers at SickKids, which is one of the world's best children's hospitals. SickKids doctors also work behind the scenes on incredible breakthroughs to help our kids and generations to come. Listen to their inspiring stories in a new season of the popular podcast called SickKids Versus.

Each episode explores a major SickKids discovery like, well, a virus-fighting super molecule, or a cure for hard-to-treat cancers. Just visit sickkidsfoundation.com slash podcast, or search Sick Kids Versus and spell versus VS. So Sick Kids VS. You'll be amazed at what you learn. And hello there once again. Peter Mansbridge here with The Bridge. Yes, Friday, that means the weekend special. That means it's, well, in many ways, it's your show.

It's your letters, your thoughts, your comments. And occasionally your questions or your attempt to get me to say something about something. So let's get right at it, because there's a lot this weekend. Once again, you guys are verbose. You've been really writing long letters. So there's two ways to do this. You can only have a couple of letters on the broadcast, or you can have excerpts from your letters read.

And it's excerpts we're going to go with today. All right, to keep this thing moving. So let's get started. Huntsville, Ontario is first on tap today. Scott Creaser is his excerpt. I'm not a golfer, but I love to kayak. Both of these activities are outdoor pursuits, and although I'm not a golfer, but I love to kayak. Both of these activities are outdoor pursuits, and although I'm not a medical professional, assumingly fairly safe.

Like you would like to go golfing, I would love to head out on the water. Although my pastime has not been shut down like the golf courses, I hesitate to partake in an activity that causes me to leave the vicinity of where I live. I support the COVID restrictions and the stay-at-home order. I truly believe if our province had done a better job of shutting down earlier, we would not be experiencing a third wave to the extent we are.

This brings me to my point. If it's called a stay-at-home order, shouldn't we be staying at home? If the directive is to stay at home but one can do this and do that, aren't we back to the wishy-washy lockdowns of past months? During those times, no one knew what was allowed and many did whatever they wanted. I'm absolutely confident you could golf safely, but as soon as provincial directives become watered down again, we're back to the province's inability to communicate. It's either a stay-at-home order or it's not.

All right, Scott, I hear you. I'll have something else to say about golf a little later as we go along here. But good points, all of them. But they're a long way from stay-at-home. There's all kinds of places open. So you're right. Spencer Stinson from Blenheim, Ontario. I have to write in this week after your story about less frequent showering.

Remember, earlier this week, there'd been a study on showering. And clearly, people are taking less showers than they were pre-pandemic. Partly because they're home all day, they're following the stay-at-home order, and they don't think they need to shower as much as they used to. partly because they're home all day, they're following the stay-at-home order, and they don't think they need to shower as much as they used to. So Spencer writes, now even when my wife wanders into my office around 4 o'clock and asks if I'm going to shower today or not, I can promptly reply,

hey, if it's good enough for Mansbridge to skip a day here or there, it's good enough for me. Thanks, Spencer. Blame it on me. Terrence Sims. And where's Terrence writing from? Kingsville, Ontario. So out of the gate, we got three from Ontario. Don't worry, there's other parts of the country represented here in a moment.

So Terrence is one of those who writes a really long letter. So I'm going to take a little bit out of it. And his issue is about the workplace. We talked about this on the Thursday program, about the debate about whether or not stay-at-home is the right thing to do or getting back into the office. And it seems, at least in the piece that I read from the Boston Globe, that it's starting to come down firmly on the side of,

let's get back to the way it used to be for a variety of different reasons. If you want to check that out, listen to the Thursday program. Anyway, here's what Terrence writes. He's a lawyer, a small town, Ontario. Our office staff has been primarily working from home, but with some minimal office attendances. Your recent podcast addressed the situation. It's been a difficult adjustment for those of us who have been used to working in an environment where we have all worked together under the same roof. It seems to me that many of the staff really enjoy it,

in that they can stay in their jammies all day and they do make a real effort to keep the work flowing. However, I believe that it is very inefficient for many reasons, but as I said previously, I'm a dinosaur. Attempting to review files on paper which are at times not available in the office as they are at a clerk's home becomes extremely frustrating. Another aspect of the separation of office staff is the difficulty to train and introduce new employees to the team. The in vogue idea of the team is also a rather new concept to my approach after nearly a half a century. I find it extremely difficult for a fresh employee to be able to question and learn

from the more experienced colleagues who can teach the new, however enthusiastic, employees. It's natural to be able to turn to an associate sitting a few feet away and ask him or her the typical dumb question that we wouldn't think of, emailing or making a personal phone call. I really think that in the long run, the inefficiencies will prove that we are better working together, both psychologically and productively. All right, Terrence, thank you. He also asked me to tell a joke that I told at a speech he happened to be at several years ago. It's a good joke. Well, it's not a joke. It's a good joke.

Well, it's not a joke. It's a story, an anecdote. It's a good one, but I'm saving it for my book. Okay. Paul Turco. Where's Paul talking from? Vaughan, Ontario. Vaughan, that's north of Toronto.

Four in a row from Ontario. Jesus, Peter, you didn't mix this up very well. The leadership of this province is no longer making decisions that are best for the people. They are intent on playing politics, and anyone that's paying even a little bit of attention should be disgusted. Am I concerned about new variants? Yes. Would I feel a bit more secure if the border measures were stricter

and these loopholes closed? Maybe. But I'm more concerned about the province's plan to get a second dose of AstraZeneca to everyone that wants one. I'm not, by the way, but more on that later. I'm far more concerned about the government's plan to provide quality health care to the thousands of people that have had procedures delayed because of the failures to manage the second and third waves. I'll agree with you on that point.

I want to know how the government will make schools actually safe for students and teachers because clearly they have not been. I can only hope people use their votes to demand more and better from our elected officials regardless of their political affiliation. Well, that is what your vote is for, Paul. And at some point you'll get a chance to use it whether it's provincially or federally or municipally.

And after a situation like this, man, you know the true colors of your leaders, whoever they are. Vic Wong. Where's Vic writing from? Toronto. All right, Vic. My man. I didn't play this out very well.

All those people are saying, ah, you're all Toronto-centric there. Y'all at the bridge. Y'all is me. That's it. You're looking at it. This is y'all. All right, Vic Wong.

You're on board. I have to confess that I've been enjoying your podcast, but have been hiding below the water for so long, as we say in Chinese. As a relatively new Canadian, I've raised two lovely boys to universities. I'm a Chinese Canadian who was born in Shanghai, later emigrated to Hongong kong at 20 years old and had my second immigration to canada at 40 years old originally i thought that i would end up moving every 20 years in my life but decided to live here for good because it's such a great country you're right about that vic thank you again for your daily dose of Canadian culture and history in your podcast.

Let's get back to this week's topic, showering. Well, we did have more topics on that this week, but showering seems to have been a popular one. When I was in Shanghai, showering was such a luxury because you needed to boil hot water for it. I don't remember any household that had hot water straight from the hot water faucet. Many people still had the cold and hot faucets, but nobody could afford to heat the hot water tank in the late 50s and 60s. Since I was too young, I do not remember when the economy started to deteriorate after the Communist Party took over. Even at that time, people still treasured any opportunity to shower, normally in public bathing facilities. During the Great Culture Revolution, that was from 66 to 76, I was there for the final year of the Cultural Revolution. Deng Xiaoping was in jail. He was being re-educated

at that point. Anyway, during the revolution, there were absolutely no films or cultural products except the four model plays. Just happened to be written by Chairman Mao's wife. After that ten years of cultural vacuum, there was a flood of new movies and television series. I remember that my movie star uncle was so busy auditioning with different directors. As a ritual, he insisted on having a shower or a bath before he met any directors he was working with. He told me this. I love this quote, right? This is from Vic's uncle. Dumplings always look better after being dipped in the water. So let's all remember that. As Vic says, showering is an issue of reputation and happiness,

not only personal hygiene or the environment. Dumplings always look better after being dipped in the water. Let's all remember that. Janice McClellan from Parasboro, Nova Scotia. We have a breakthrough, ladies and gentlemen. Hello, Peter. I'm writing to let you know how much I'm enjoying catching up with past episodes of The Bridge. Somehow I missed the memo you were doing the podcast,

but now I have the bonus of being able to listen to several a day. I don't know. Suddenly it seems in the last month, a lot of people have been getting the memo because our numbers, which were already substantial, have gone even further up, like significantly up in the last month or so. As it's getting close to convocation time, I wanted to share a photo of my son's graduation from Mount Allison in 2010. That's 11 years ago. This was my second child to attend and graduate from Mount Allison. Why is she writing to me? I was chancellor of Mount Allison at that time,

so I would have handed out the degree. My son had enjoyed university life to the fullest, so it was with great pride, joy, and perhaps a little relief as he walked across the stage to receive that diploma, and you, my favorite anchorman from the National, being there was definitely the icing on the cake. Well, it was for me too. I loved those days at convocation.

I did two terms as chancellor, and it was a thrill to be there to watch people graduate. Like your son, Cody. Janice included a picture of the two of us, the three of us actually, on that graduation day. So it's great. Mount Allison, terrific university. One of its honored graduates, Ian that graduation day. So it's great. Matt Allison, terrific university. One of its honored graduates, Ian Hanamansing.

Right? Christy Hummel writes with a really good reminder for us. She's in Burlington, Ontario. I just wanted to let you know that this week has been National Nurses Week. The theme this year is We Answer the Call. And that is so true, isn't it? I think of all the years, this year is the time that our nurses need to be celebrated and thanked for all the hard work they do.

It's been the most challenging time in the pandemic in just this past month, so our nurses deserve a shout out from the bridge. You got it. Every nurse I work with has been working tirelessly, many overtime shifts, many times redeployed to different areas of the hospital that they're not familiar with, or working short-staffed. Nurses are amazing humans, because I want to tell you that through all of this stress and strain, they are still friendly, smiling, helping, taking time to comfort patients and their families. I'm asking you and your listeners to reach out to a nurse and encourage them as we continue to fight this ugly virus. I'd like to say a special thanks to the nurses at Joseph Brandt for their dedication to answering the call. That's where Christy Hummel works, at the Joseph Brandt Hospital.

You're right, Christy. We can't thank nurses enough. They've been incredible during all this. I have nurses in my family. Nurses and former nurses. Retired nurses. They're all amazing. Gary Horst writes from right here in Stratford, Ontario.

Carrie's not a happy camper with me. With respect, it felt like you were being guided more by your emotions than by journalistic integrity in regard to the AstraZeneca issue and golf. I thought the province totally botched the AstraZeneca thing, and I still believe that strongly. Regarding golf, says Gary, no one has ever denied that the normal playing of the game while walking, of course, is the problem. It is the locker rooms, clubhouses, parking lots that are the issue.

I have yet to see a golf cart that enables social distancing. I don't have a problem with any of what you're saying. Gary, you have a right to your opinion, just like I do. And I do. I'm a little upset that you were challenging my integrity. This isn't a newscast. It's a podcast. It's my opinions.

I love getting into arguments and debates, discussions. And after 50 years of having no opinion because of the program I was doing and anchoring, that's the way it should be with a newscast. This is different. So I'm not going to shy away from opinion when I have one. And I think they botched the AstraZeneca story, the distribution of the vaccine, the rollout of the vaccine, call it whatever you want.

I think they botched it, and I think they botched this decision. And I think it only shows that they are, because now they're scrambling, trying to figure out, geez, what do we do with all these AstraZenecas, where it's minuscule, the issue here. Tiny. If we worried about stuff like this in the early days of the polio vaccine, nobody would have ever taken the shot and various other vaccines.

Anyway, golf. Let me just say this. You say locker rooms, parking lots, golf carts. Okay. All right. I'll choose to side with you on that. So it's very simple. Close the locker rooms.

Arrive at the golf course ready to play. Ban the use of carts. You know, the rest of this is pretty straightforward. You're on a golf course. You're outside. You don't stand cheek to jowl or whatever that phrase is. Usually you're separated from your golfing buddy. You know, if you're concerned about numbers, say no foursomes allowed, only twosomes. There's lots of ways to deal with this while you still get your exercise and fresh air. Don't get me going on more on golf.

Debbie Whalen. Where's Debbie? It doesn't really say seems to hint that it's nova scotia enjoyed your discussion about astrazeneca today like you it's the one in my arm and i honestly feel somewhat misled having taken the first vaccine offered me nova scotia also announced today it's pausing the vaccine. This despite the fact nobody in Nova Scotia has developed a blood clot after receiving AZ. Hoping for a solid science-based plan in time for the second shot. Dr. Jane Rusnak from St. Catharines, Ontario. As a family physician,

I receive daily calls from patients complaining of sore throats, congestion, coughs, fevers, chills, wanting me to see them about their cold. Have they not read a newspaper or watched the news?

There's been a pandemic going on for over a year. Yes, what we knew yesterday is different than what we know today, and what we know today will be different from what we know tomorrow. It's overwhelming to keep up with, even for physicians, but people need to look to reputable sources to keep up to date. Skipping down, Dr jane writes long letters um people say they've been vaccinated most commonly just the first dose so they're safe unfortunately that's just not true even having

had both doses does not make one bulletproof remember our end point with vaccination was preventing death and severe illness covet 19-19 vaccination thankfully gives us that, but it does not prevent infection. People who've been vaccinated can still get COVID-19, and yes, it usually is milder disease, but not always. Good reminders. All right. Let's get rocking here. We're eating up the time.

Sandy Esposito. You've got a lot of letters on this topic. A lot of letters. And I'm going to read a few of them because it's dear to my heart. I'm actually writing because of your commentary on the Netherlands and the Nazis surrendering to the Allies. My husband and I did a tour of World War I and World War II battlefields in 2017. Our tour included the Netherlands.

We were welcomed with open arms. We arrived in Appeldoorn, and we were served the most delicious apple pie and cake. In backpacking through Europe many years ago, I was so pleasantly surprised to be so warmly welcomed by complete strangers because they saw the Canadian flag on the back of my knapsack. I was just a young woman, and while I studied history, one cannot appreciate the full impact of the appreciation of the Dutch

until you receive it. As a child of a member of the military during World War II, it has been impressed on me how important the Canadian role was throughout Europe. It's amazing to this day to see how Canadians are revered in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe. Alexandra Esposito. Catherine Bradley. I enjoyed listening to your podcast on the role Canada played in liberating the Netherlands during World War II and the appreciation they continue to show

Canada to this day. It reminded me of a road trip I had in the French countryside one summer. My cousin and I were babysitting her sister's toddler for the summer, and we decided to take a trip to the many chateaux surrounding us in the Loire Valley. We were on our way back home in our Citroën compact, when all of a sudden we heard the unmistakable sound of metal grinding into pavement. Our muffler had fallen off in the middle of a roundabout. We were two young Canadians with a toddler who knew nothing about cars, French highways, or anything really, and slowly pulled to the side of the road. In our cluelessness, we gathered our personal items and

waited in the grass on the side of the road, not quite sure how to proceed. Suddenly we heard, a common greeting for us that summer. An older French gentleman was running through the field next to the country road and was ready to help. He called the local garage, helped us negotiate a spot for a car seat in our transport to the garage, and accompanied us to ensure that we were well cared for. Our new favorite mechanic, Monsieur Le Garage, called the insurance company from the garage and detailed the repairs to be made to the car. It would be a few days wait to get the car fixed, so our insurance agreed to include a rental car to get back to our summer home. And we all sighed in relief. However, the next question from the insurance agent sparked a heated exchange.

In French, they asked one last thing. Did the girls call the police first? To shorten this down, basically, and at least in this region of France, you got to call the police before you have anything done to the car, even touched. They hadn't done that.

So they went through a series of arguments with the insurance agent before somebody, I guess, finally, excuse me, finally convinced them. With this line, one of the garage guy yelled into the phone and said, the Canadians helped us all those years ago and you can't help them now? That seemed to do it. Everything worked.

Everything was paid for. We remained grateful to be Canadian when we each ate our own box of craft dinner we had received in a care package once we returned home. Kate Bradley from Hamilton, Ontario. Lovisa Loiselle from Winnipeg. I've been listening to your excellent podcast for some time now and I'm delighted to have a reason to write in A few weeks ago during the weekend special you shared a Ken Dryden story

which I quickly related to my husband as I've heard his Ken Dryden story numerous times He happens to be my husband's childhood hero and he'll happily tell you that he himself was the sought-after neighborhood street hockey goalie. It also happens that he's still crestfallen over missing the opportunity to shake the man's hand many years ago. At the time, my husband was in a conference room for a management training meeting, and Ken was in another conference room regarding the child care program in the same hotel. He didn't know this, of course, until he crossed his path in the men's room.

You got it. He could not imagine a more unfortunate place to approach a man with your hand out, so he did nothing but nod to him on his way out the door. I've had to hear this story for a regret for years, and I try hard not to find it funny but fail. Now I pass it on to you. Thank you for the podcast being entertaining and informative throughout this pandemic. I got a great joke about a men's room meeting, but you know, it kind of crosses the line, So I'll hold off on that temptation to tell you. Michelle Westers, Medicine Hat, Alberta. I continue to listen to your podcast each weekend, and as such,

you should listen to it during the week as well, Michelle. It's really good. And as such, I'm behind, but wanted to let you know that I especially appreciated the episode on the Canadians liberating the Dutch. Sorry, I have to take a sip here. So for those who complain about hearing me sipping, brace yourself. Hopefully that'll do it I especially appreciated the episode on the Canadians liberating the Dutch

my Oma and Opa are both Dutch and immigrated to Canada about nine years following the end of the Second World War they wanted a better life for their children and the Canadian soldiers had made a lasting impact on them. I talked to my Oma on the phone this past Remembrance Day. At age 90, she's my last living grandparent.

She vividly remembers living in the Netherlands during the Second World War. After 1945, in the years before they moved to Canada, she also remembers visiting the graveyards of the Canadian soldiers in each town she and my opah traveled through. I wrote down her words on November 11th, as she said with great conviction in her voice, I can tell you that in Holland we always made sure the graves of the Canadian soldiers were very well kept. We made sure to take very good care of those gravesites

and always made a point of visiting them when we traveled. And care is absolutely what they've done. And same with the Canadian War Graves Commission that's responsible for those gravesites, Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Leah Muller from Calgary. I find myself very disillusioned right now in the state of Alberta. I'm Canadian first and will fight for that always, but the rodeo and marching anti-maskers and UCP government who seem uncaring and taking a toll on us and on me. It was good to hear that there are some Dutch people who know who we really are.

May we always get back there to our true selves. To think about that gave me some peace. All right, Leah. It's a challenging time in Alberta right now. On a number of fronts, we wish you luck. Aaron Concert. My youngest daughter and Erin is in Sherwood Park, Alberta. My youngest daughter turned three at the end of April,

and it was her second birthday during quarantine. There was a point during our preparations that I realized that she's never had a real birthday party with her friends. I know that our daycare did what they could to make her day special, but that realization hit me hard and stopped me in my tracks for a moment. It was another reminder of what we've given up during this past year. But life goes on, and I got my oldest to help pick out decorations for the day. We may have gone a bit overboard, but I think we started a new tradition.

Erin writes quite often, and I love that. That particular excerpt from her letter this week. Ron Fisher from Barrie, Ontario. What's Ron have to say here? I had to laugh for a minute when you were going on about chinese startup brands nobody has ever heard of we're talking about electric cars yesterday right you mentioned geely or geely even if most people have never heard of geely. They might know a couple of brands Geely owns, though. Nameplates like Lotus, Polestar, and since 2010 when they bought it from Ford, Volvo.

We are in a race, all right. You've told us where it's being held. Now it's time to get on the track. I did not know that. So I thank you, Ron, for letting me know, because I was kind of making fun of it yesterday, saying, I've never heard of these, the Geely electric cars. I mean, they're producing, mass producing, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of cars in China, electric cars. And Geely is one of them. And I sort of said the, hey, nice Geely.

Well, yeah, if it's a Lotus. No kidding. Okay, we're going to take a little quick break. When we come back, the letter I've kind of deemed as the letter of the week. They've all been good this week. And they always are all good. This is kind of nice. This takes you back.

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Okay, we're back with The Bridge, the weekend edition. The weekend special, as we call it. I'm Peter Mansbridge. I'm in Stratford, Ontario. So, I had a back and forth, quite a few emails back and forth with this writer, just to nail down some of the facts. This is not, it's not overwhelming in the sense of information and detail, but it's wonderful in the sense of reminding us of another era. And I just really like it. The writer's name is Suzanne Shear. Or Shire.

She's in Ottawa. So this was the letter I got from her earlier this week. Hi, Peter. I love your podcast. Each episode's very interesting. Thank you. In regards to your episode about VE Day, Victory in Europe Day, I wanted to send you my dad's diary page from May 8th and May 9th, 1945.

He was 20 years old and running his parents' small family farm with livestock and fruits and vegetables in southwestern Ontario. No small job for a 20-year-old. He was not able to participate in the war because of his father's poor health, so my dad had to run the farm. The journal entries are short. Very short, actually. But because of his father's poor health... Sorry. The journal entries are short, but really highlight the excitement everyone felt all

the way over to farming communities in and around Woodstock, Ontario. That's just south of here in Stratford, right? About an hour's drive south. I always loved reading these two journal entries. The entry on May 9th just highlights how farm life doesn't stop. I like the contrast in the days between the 8th and 9th of May. You can read them in your show if you want, but you don't have to, as the episode was really about the Dutch and Canadian relationship. Actually, the episode was really about the time. And so these letters are great to add.

But I thought you would enjoy the history in these two journal entries. If you can't read his writing, I can type it out for you. Enjoy. Thank you. My dad would be thrilled that you're reading this. Take care, Suzanne, Ottawa. And there's a picture of the handwritten notes, the diary. And as I said, they're short.

They're very short. But I didn't want to make any mistakes, so I wrote back. To Suzanne. First of all, we needed to know her dad's name. Bill Wilford. Full name, William Ray Wilford. Anyway, I mentioned to Suzanne, you know what? You better type them out because I don't want to get anything wrong.

So she did. And here they are. It's really just a couple of sentences. For those two days of May 8th and May 9th, 1945. Tuesday, May 8, 1945 End of the European War today Went to celebration in Woodstock All afternoon and night Street dance and parades galore

Everybody there Service in Victoria Park in the afternoon Drew manure this morning. Fine day. Wednesday, May 9th. Drew manure today. Fine day. Remember what Suzanne had said.

Life goes on. No pausing in the farm. The demand for the food for everywhere you know not just for their home but for the community the demand on farmers to produce food produce the crops so i wrote back to susan and i said thanks so much for this. What does Drew Manure mean in farming terms? I mean, obviously, I know what manure is, but I want to make sure I understood what she meant by Drew Manure or what he meant.

So she wrote back, I'll ask my aunt tomorrow. She's 92, but she remembers those days as if they were yesterday. So, sure enough, the next day, Suzanne wrote back. Hi again. Drew manure means to spread it. They had between 25 to 30 dairy cows, which all had names and were milked by hand twice a day. My aunt told me they had a spreader that would get pulled by horse,

which my dad would ride, and the spreader would be behind them spreading manure in the fields. Their dad had a saying that you could tell who had the best feels from how high their manure was spread and then she included a you know a family photo from 1944 or 1945 she actually ends up thinking this must have been 45 this must have been after the victory day, because everybody was kind of dressed up. So there we have in the picture, Ray, Denzel, Gladys, Helen, Marjorie, Jean, Bill, Jack, Marilyn, and Jim.

Suzanne says, my grandparents were only 44 and 45 in that photo. Farming was a hard life. Although my dad loved it, he didn't want a career in it. He moved to Toronto in the late 1940s and studied diesel engines, which he loved. My dad's at the back on the right. He's the tallest. He told me he grew a lot during the war years

because that was their busiest farming years ever. So they had a bit more money and more food. Hope you enjoyed all that. Suzanne. Don't you love it? Don't you just love it? I loved it. I thought it was a wonderful reflection on another era,

another slice of our history. We always focus so much, as we should, on those young men and women as well who went to Europe, went to Southeast Asia, and fought on behalf of their country in the Second World War. But, you know, there was another battle going on back home, the battle to build the equipment that was needed for the war, the battle to fill the jobs that had been vacated by those who went to war, and the battle to feed the country to the farms.

And so that's just like a little slice of the story, right? Spread manure, draw on manure. In the morning of VE day, and he in the morning of ve day and he took the day the rest of the day off and went into town celebrated early the next morning he was back drawn manure milking those cows i love that image and i love the opportunity to talk about it. So thank you, Suzanne, and thank you to all who wrote this week on a variety of different topics.

It's been my pleasure, as it always is, to read your letters. All right, another Friday disappears. Another weekend special in the books. I hope you have a good weekend. The weather's actually supposed to be pretty good here in southern Ontario, southwestern Ontario anyway, this weekend. It's supposed to be warm. It's a beautiful day today.

Blue sky. Temperature 19, 20 degrees. So it's like we're finally moving into what spring is supposed to be all about and summer on the horizon. And we hope better days ahead in the fight against the pandemic. So do all the things you're supposed to do to help in that fight. Stay safe. Stay well.

Be kind. Look after yourselves. I'm Peter Mansbridge. This has been The Bridge, the weekend special. We'll be back again on Monday, so don't go too far away. Thank you.