The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Your Turn - From Deicing To Covid, It's The Year End Mailbag Edition

Episode Date: December 16, 2021

Lots of variety and even a classic year end poem in this week's mailbag collection of your thoughts, questions and comments.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. You are just moments away from the latest episode of The Bridge. It's Thursday, it's the Mailbag Edition. Your thoughts, comments, and questions. Peter Mansbridge in Toronto today with, well, we call it the mailbag edition. Your letters that have come in by email over the last few days. And there are quite a few of them. So we won't waste any time getting to them. I do, though, want to make one quick comment before we start, because we've passed a, I don't know, what do you call it, a milestone? It doesn't seem like a strong enough

word. It's only happened in the last, literally the last hours, where Canada has passed a significant figure in terms of COVID, and that figure, of course, is those who we've lost since COVID began. And we've passed the 30,000 mark. 30,000 is a big number. Doesn't sound like the big number south of the border that's over 800,000. But losing 30,000 fellow Canadians to this virus in just under two years is significant. And we should pause for a moment to remember.

And we remember and hopefully we'll never forget those who lost the battle against COVID in our country. All right. Let's move on a variety of letters today on all kinds of different subjects that have popped up in the last few days here on the bridge. And so let me get to it. You know, we've heard from Dr. Jane before,

Jane Resnick in St. Catharines, Ontario. She probably, I would guess she probably writes to me once every couple of weeks. And they're always important. I don't run them all, but I run many of them. And I'll run this one. So Dr. Jane writes

today, sorry I have a bee in my bonnet. The Ontario government has purchased and stockpiled rapid COVID-19 antigen tests. They've been providing them to local businesses free of charge and that's great. So they can screen employees and hopefully find asymptomatic

individuals and lessen the spread of COVID-19. They're also providing five tests to every child in school in Ontario, which they like to advertise. They have to be requested, however, which is simple enough if you're English-speaking and have email internet capability. Thus, some families who would benefit most from getting the kits might not get them. However, there are none provided to the teachers or other assistive staff or custodial staff.

Our provincial government has such a lack of respect for teachers and education that they are willing to put educators and students at risk. Other provinces are handing out rapid antigen tests for free, no strings attached, no need to track and follow and account for every test. Why not Ontario? We're in a mounting health care crisis and the politicians have adjourned early for their Christmas break, so I guess the Ontario voters have to wait yet again in another crisis. Let us not wait for the politicians to do the right thing as it will be too little too late. We know that with Omicron being so virulent, it is no longer safe to go to these big sporting events or large gatherings or to take masks off

to eat and drink in public. Let us be the sensible and practical people that we are. We got this. Now, Jane wrote this. Well, she wrote it just yesterday morning. Things changed a bit in the afternoon. Now, we could say it was because of Jane's letter, or we could say, as we heard from Dr. Bogoch on Monday, things are changing, and they're happening, and they're about to be announced.

And yesterday, they were announced. Everything from boosters to younger people, 18 and over, like as of Monday, instead of waiting till january 4th which to me was like ridiculous made no sense at all we also talked with dr boguch on monday about does this really make sense you know like full arenas for hockey games in can, the big NHL games, concerts, all of that. Yesterday they announced, at least in Ontario, 50% capacity. It's not going to surprise me if that ends up happening in Winnipeg and Calgary and Edmonton and Vancouver,

if they ever get to start playing again, because so many of the players in some of those cities have tested positive on COVID. Anyway, that changed yesterday afternoon. And on the rapid antigen tests, there's going to be much more availability for these tests in different parts of the province of Ontario, as there already are, as Jane mentioned, in other parts of the country. So those are all good things. And, you know, we can certainly argue that the Ontario government

was slow off the mark on some of this stuff. But they have responded. And there was an urgency in the news conference yesterday that looked very real about the situation we are currently in and how best to deal with it. Now, late last week, I made kind of a passing comment about de-icing because I'd just flown up to Ottawa and back. And, you know, we were on one of those flights because it had been snowing. We were delayed for de-icing.

And I was thinking, well, you know, why can't there be some kind of portable thing that can be moved around airports to the ice planes right at the end of the runway, or not at the end of the runway, end of the taxiway before they go onto the runway. And so there's no big delay. Sometimes there's quite a delay between when you get de-iced and when you take off, which has always seemed to me like that's really not the way you want it. Anyway, I was just, you know, thinking aloud,

and I got actually quite a few notes and letters on that. The ones that I find the most interesting are the ones that actually come from commercial pilots. And so let me read a couple of those. Mike Thornton lives in Paris, Ontario. Peter, I was listening to your Thursday podcast this week and your questions about de-icing. I'm a pilot for one of the big Canadian airlines, and I've had the same thought. Why can't we just do a drive-through? There must be something better. De-icing is done mostly at a central de-ice facility. It's called a CDF. As you mentioned, or sometimes on the gate at smaller airports.

These areas have been assessed and certified to lessen the environmental impact of de-ice fluid, which is a glycol-based substance. They also include enough room for aircraft of all sizes to maneuver, as well as enough room for de-ice trucks to sit idly by as the aircraft park at the CDF. This is why we can't just move the CDF around to match where the runway is. When we de-ice, we also have what's called a holdover time. This is the time frame that the applied fluid is effective for. If we exceed the holdover time without taking off, we must taxi back to the CDF and have to get sprayed again. It can be

time-consuming, but necessary in the name of safety. Most of the time, the holdover time is long enough that we're able to take off. Holdover times can vary based on the type of fluid used and precipitation type and temperature. This year, one Canadian airline is trialing a new type of heated wing system on one of its fleet aircraft. This heated wing has not been possible before because in the past, the equipment installed would be too heavy to be effective. Apparently, advances in technology have now allowed a heated wing to be more viable. I'm excited to see if it pans out. I was laid off because of the pandemic for 13 months and I'm now returning to my airline job. It was tough, but my fiance and I, who was also an airline pilot and was also laid off at one point, made it through and we're better for it now. I enjoyed your daily podcast

while I was off and still do. Hearing professional opinions from Dr. Bogoch and his colleagues helped me stay sane and plan a reasonable guess for my return to work. I appreciate the passengers trust me to keep them safe on an airplane and as a professional, and I likewise trust medical professionals like Dr. Bogoch during a global pandemic. I dropped my line and said, thanks so much for that. I really appreciate it. And I'll use it on the podcast as I'm doing today. And he wrote back.

I love this because, you know, he had that line in there about how he listens regularly, but he also flies all over the place. And so he writes me a note with an attached picture. He says, I had a feeling you'd hear from a few of us pilots. I also meant to send this along. While I was laid off, I flew a small private aircraft out of Tilsonburg Airport in southern Ontario. It had all the fancy toys including satellite radio on the way to florida one day at 25 000 feet i tuned in to channel 167

sirius xm canada and listened to your podcast there during non-critical phases of flight obviously and he attached a picture which which is the, you know, the cockpit kind of dashboard. And there it is. Now playing the bridge with Peter Mansbridge, Canada Talks, channel 167. And that was up against, well, look at the competition that was up against the Beatles channel. They were playing Hey Jude at that moment.

The Bob Marley channel, Concrete Jungle, E Street Radio, prove it all. Prove it all night. Underground Garage, go on and on and on. Anyway, it's nice to see the bridge being listened at 25,000 feet. Here's another note on airplane de-icing. You may be hearing more than you want on this, but believe me, the next time you get on a plane and they start de-icing, you're going to be a lot more knowledgeable.

Here's one more. This is from Mark Gagnon, Canmore, Alberta. I was listening to your December 9th podcast where you had some questions on airplane de-icing. I'm an active airline pilot, so I feel somewhat qualified to answer some of your questions. There are two terms that are important to differentiate, de-ice and anti-ice.

De-icing means removing all contamination on the airplane control surfaces and fuselage. It's always the first step whenever there's frost or snow on the wings and tail. It's done using a heated fluid which is usually orange. It would be like taking a car covered in snow to a pressure wash. Once the airplane is clean and no freezing precipitation or snow is falling, the airplane is good to go flying. On the other hand, if it's snowing, a second type of fluid must be applied to the wings and the tail of the plane. This fluid is an anti-ice. It is usually bright green in color and is much thicker than the de-icing fluid. The purpose of this step is to cover the lifting surfaces with a thick agent, which the falling snow will sit on.

It's not meant to melt the snow. This is interesting, okay? Listen to this closely because sometimes you see this and you go, well, hey, you're looking out your window and this anti-icing is going on you're going well hey it's not taking the snow off listen to this um the purpose of this step is to cover the lifting surfaces with a thick agent which the falling snow will sit on. It's not meant to melt the snow. The anti-icing fluid and any contamination will shed off the wings

at around 100 miles an hour during the takeoff roll, cleaning the airplane of snow just before lifting off. Jeez, I'd be hanging out the window, looking at that going, we've reached 100 miles an hour yet, why is the snow still there? Obviously, they have a lot of faith in terms of this, that this is what happens.

It's important to know that the anti-icing fluid has an efficiency time limit based on precipitation rate and air temperature. That time limit could be as high as an hour and 30 minutes for a typical light snow day in Toronto, giving plenty of time to get to the runway. Of course, there's much more to know about this procedure, and I hope I was able to answer some of your questions. Love the show. Hope to receive your new book as a Christmas present. Yes.

Yes, somebody get out there and buy Mark Gagnon in Canmore, Alberta. Off the record. Available at great bookstores all across the country and of course online. Mary Ann Zacharias writes from Winkler, Manitoba, one of my favorite southern Manitoba towns. And she writes, No mention of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers winning the Grey Cup for the second time. Or did I miss it?

Or perhaps you're only a leafs fan actually they've won it way more than twice but they have run it twice in a row i go back along with bombers i used to i used to cheer for the bombers against the tycats in the early 60s when bud grant was the coach of the winnipeg Blue Bombers before he went to Minnesota. And who was the quarterback? Kenny Plain. I remember those days. They were a great team then, and they're clearly a great team now. And you're right, I didn't mention the Bombers winning the Grey Cup.

I probably should have, and now I have. Kathleen Wilson writes, hi peter just following up with a suggestion redoing something uplifting during the holidays i think it would be a miss if we didn't mention watching the world juniors hockey that's televised from december 26 to january the 5th not only is it a great way to see athletes develop, it's a way to spend time with a small group of family and friends at home and a speculator demonstration of Canadian heritage and pride. Speculator? Spectator, maybe.

These young hockey players pour their hearts, souls, and bodies into competing with other countries and try to win for Canada. Love spending the time cheering on our team. And you're right, a lot of people like to do that. And, you know, some who aren't even regular hockey fans, but at the end of the year, they look forward to the World Juniors with my buddy Gord Miller doing the play-by-play. And I'm sure they will again this year.

Let's hope they don't get sidelined by COVID. Mentioned the other day, as we've mentioned many times in the last couple of years, we had a little section on electric vehicles. And Ron Fisher writes from Barrie, I have just one minor comment that relates to EVs. The article you read said that it can take up to an hour to charge an electric vehicle to 80%.

While this is technically true, it's not the norm in general and especially for newer EVs and chargers. Some new EVs like the Hyundai, one of the particular Hyundais, can charge to 80% in as little as 18 minutes. As a long-time EV driver and host of the Northern Electric Vehicle Experience podcast, I invite you to my pod. The first few episodes are a great intro to EVs. Well, here, I bow to Ron. If you're interested in electric vehicles, maybe you should give him a try. Ron Fisher, F-I-S-C-H-E-R. He's the podcast host, and I'm sure if you just look up podcasts,

you will find that. The Northern Electric Vehicle Experience Podcast is what it's called. Robert Ong in Toronto has a lengthy letter on a number of things. I'm just going to read one section. It's about the comments we made about smoking the other day with New Zealand making a move on trying to literally end smoking in their country. So Robert writes,

I want to provide my quick thoughts on yesterday's podcast episode that mentioned the smoking ban in New Zealand and your personal experiences with tobacco. I was born in 1997, as you can tell by my email address. His email has 97 in it. So I literally don't remember a time when smoking was permitted in indoor public spaces. Combined with efforts to combat the usage of smoking, I'm grateful that I grew up in an environment where smoking was not seen as cool and sexy, but rather is seen now as harmful and dangerous to one's health.

Personally, that has led to me never experiencing at all any sort of peer pressure to smoke and barely knowing anyone at my high school that smoked tobacco when I attended during the early to mid-2010s. It would have been remarkably different had I been born in the earlier generation, I'll say. With that being said, I believe the lifetime smoking ban in New Zealand for anyone born after 2008 is excessive, as it could potentially lead to an illicit black market for tobacco products. The current tools we have to curtail smoking work perfectly fine.

Annette Duvall from Barrie, Ontario. I'd like to say how much I've enjoyed, appreciated your podcast and the latest COVID information, political commentary to a bit of this and that. All great stuff. A suggestion, when you next speak with one of your esteemed epidemiologists, could you perhaps ask about the current information on the effect of type of vaccine on immunity versus Omicron. Like you, I had AstraZeneca, dose one, Pfizer, dose two,

and today we'll be getting Pfizer dose three. Good for you getting your booster. Encourage everyone to get their booster as soon as you can. Get it. Well, I can give you that if you don't uh if you haven't already got this information although i see you just sent this yesterday um here's roughly the way it works the two dose effectiveness against omicron appears to be it's's taken, you know, it's not great. It's in the sort of 30% to 40% range.

It's dropped considerably because the impact of those first two doses has waned somewhat, and Omicron is a new variant. With the booster, that changes. According to the studies that have been done so far and don't forget we're in a relatively early stage of this omicron phase but it's more like 70 to 75 percent so that's a huge difference and further evidence that you should get your booster and if you believe dr fauci like i do and like most epidemiologists around the world do, Fauci said last night that at this point, there's no need for a Omicron-specific vaccine, which Pfizer and I think Moderna have been working on getting one in case it's needed but Fauci says at the moment it's not needed a booster

should do the trick given its 70 to 75 percent effectiveness so that you know that was encouraging to hear especially if you're getting your booster. Get your booster. Next up is Kevin Chan in Mississauga, Ontario, who wrote a really long letter about China and the misconceptions he thinks we have about China. And I can read it all. It's really long.

But I will mention this part. Kevin writes, I find the mainstream Western media here does not paint a full picture of China. Peter, you often talk about the media is not an omni-channel i agree with you 100 in domestic news but when it comes to world affairs reporting the readily available media sources are pretty much omni-channel presence often it's the same news clips from a few outlets such as BBC, CNN, AP, Reuters. Okay, Kevin, you're rattling off

quite a few different news organizations here. That's not one channel. Yes, readers can spend time to dig up balanced views from a more diversified pool of resources, but sadly, most people satisfy with the few outlets reporting the same things i believe an average joe on the street in canada is in disadvantage

trying to know china compared to the average joe on the street in china trying to know the western world that's just my two cents use probably some truth in that Gary chaffron writes from Markham Ontario if you're interested in more of the get back documentary that's the Beatles story we had a terrific podcast last week if you're a Beatles fan or if you're a fan of that documentary which

is airing is it on Netflix? I can't remember where it is, but it's on one of the streaming channels. And if you're a fan of all those, we had George Strombolopoulos on the program last week for a full edition, and it's terrific. It's a great kind of review of the Beatles story as it relates to that documentary. Anyway, Gary writes, if you're interested in more of the Get Back documentary backstory,

there's a great podcast from two Irish Beatle experts I discovered about a year ago. The podcast edition from November 25th of this year is Nothing Is Real, Season 5, Episode 10, The Beatles, Get Back. Nothing is Real, a Beatles podcast. So that's where you can find it if you're interested. I don't think I often promote other podcasts, but that's already too, this show.

By the way, I've said before how much I like West of Centre, Kathleen Petty's podcast based out of Alberta. Great podcast. And my friend David Hurley and I were two of the guests on the podcast last week or the week before, and apparently it was an extremely popular discussion. And it was a discussion about how people outside Alberta view Alberta and how Albertans view themselves. It's an interesting podcast.

You should listen to it. West of Centre, okay, is the podcast name. I better get moving here man ann marie klein writes i don't think it says where ann marie's from but i'll read a little bit of her letter i'm a new listener and i've been working my way backwards through your old episodes and just wanted to let you know how much I loved this episode, episode 442.

We've had a lot of episodes. My husband and I have been traveling to Scotland on a yearly basis, twice when I was lucky and popped over for March break as a teacher, since 2014. We were just there for most of October and I really enjoyed this episode, 442, for bringing those moments back and for the great history lesson. I will make sure to visit the graves the next time we're that far north in the highlands. So thank you for highlighting this important piece of our history. I'm really, really proud of episode 442. It's the story of more than a dozen Canadians

who lost their lives in a plane crash in August of 1944 in northern Scotland. And kind of the accidental way I stumbled on their burial site and the story behind it. So if you haven't heard it, I'd look for it. Episode 442. Bruce Erickson writes from Three Hills, Alberta. I've said before, I love the place names in Alberta. So many of them.

So many great names. So Bruce writes, Not calling you Mr. Mansbridge because I use the Mr. for old folks. And we're both about the same age. Well, if we are, Bruce, we're old. But that's okay. Bought your book last week. Just finished it.

You had quite the career. And I suspect the book only scratched the surface. As I read it, it took me back to the historical events you described and what I was doing at the time. It was a fun read. It is a fun read. It's not all fun, but it's, well, you judge for yourself. Near the end of the book, you hit on two thought-provoking situations. The first being how facts and truth have lost their importance. It's a sad state of affairs when you can't be sure if what you're hearing or reading is real or just someone's lies.

The other sad situation is that of the First Nations, especially the water situation. I find that criminal. Finally, I'd like to comment on the chapter of Gord Downie. That song he was playing about young Cheney Wenjack is a true story. The name may be different, but the situation happened hundreds of times. I first heard the story back in the mid-90s. Anyway, good work on the book. Maybe think about another. You sound like my publisher. Ten weeks on the bestseller for this year,

and then last year, Mark Bulgich and I had the number one bestseller as well. This one has been number one. But last year, Extraordinary Canadians was number one, and it's just come out or is in the process of coming out on a softcover edition, so you can always pick one of those up if you're so inclined. But off the record, the current book has proven to be very popular and I appreciate the support on the people who've been reading it.

And yes, I am thinking about another book. I haven't committed yet. I have a number of ideas. And we'll see where it goes. All right. We have one letter left. But first, we're going to take this quick break. And welcome back Peter Mansbridge in Toronto on this day.

This is your mailbag edition of The Bridge. And we've been reading your emails with your comments and thoughts and questions. You know, on the week or so gone by and as we get closer to the year end, a lot of kind of year end thoughts. Speaking and as we get closer to the year end, a lot of kind of year end thoughts. Speaking of that, tomorrow is a big year end day. Good talk. Chantal and Bruce, we're going to spend the hour going through a number of,

well, those kind of questions you ask at year end. About who's been naughty and who's been nice. We'll do all of that. And looking forward to that. As we look forward every Friday to good talk. Man, has it been successful in terms of something that you've enjoyed and have been loyal to in listening. All right. The last letter for this day.

Comes from Pat Provo in Saint-Bazile-le-Grand, Quebec. And Pat says, wishing you and your family the merriest Christmas of this pandemic. Thanks for my daily shot of what's happening. Pat says, wishing you and your family the merriest Christmas of this pandemic. Thanks for my daily shot of what's happening and explaining it in a way regular people can understand. Well, that's what we try to do. Here's to a healthy 2022 and good golf for you and Bruce. Yeah, I hope we get to play some golf this year. More than we've been able to in the last couple of years.

Certainly more than I've been able to. The radish farmer gets out there a lot. You know, he lives the good life. All right. Here's why it's the last letter. And I don't know exactly where this comes from. I really enjoyed reading it. Pat included as an attachment a poem.

And the closest it comes to telling me where it came from. At the very end, it says, submitted by Carrie Duncan as taken from Lois Perot's social media page. It's a poem. It's going to take me five or six minutes to read it, but let's get going. It's called a covid christmas i'm not the greatest at reading these kind of things but let's try it was the night before christmas but covid was here so we all have to stay extra cautious this year our masks were all

hung by the chimney with care in case Santa forgot his and needed a spare With COVID we couldn't leave cookies or cake So we left Santa hand sanitizer to take The children were sleeping, the brave little tots The ones over five had just had their first shots And Mom in her kerchief and me in my cap Had just settled in for a long winter's nap. But we tossed and we turned all night in our beds as visions of variants danced in our heads.

Gamma and Delta and now Omicron, these COVID mutations that go on and on. I thought to myself, if this doesn't get better, I'll soon be familiar with every Greek letter. Then just as I started to drift off and doze, a clatter of noise from the front lawn arose. I leapt from my bed and ran straight down the stair. I opened the door, and an old gent stood there. His N95 made him look pretty weird, but I knew who he was by his red suit and beard.

I kept six feet away, but blurted out quick, What are you doing here, Jolly St. Nick? Then I said, Where's your presents, your reindeer and sleigh? Don't you know that tomorrow will be Christmas Day? And Santa stood there looking sad in the snow as he started to tell me a long tale of woe. He said he'd been stuck at the North Pole alone. All his white-collar elves had been working from home. And most of the others said,

Santa, don't hire us. We can live off the Serb now, thanks to the virus. Those left in the toy shop had little to do. With supply chain disruptions, they could make nothing new. And as for the reindeer, they'd all gone away.

None of them left to pull on his sleigh. He said Dasher and Dancer were in quarantine. Prancer and Vixen refused the vaccine. Comet and Cupid were in ICU. So were Donner and Blitzen. They may not pull through. And Rudolph's career can't be resurrected With his shiny red nose They all think he's infected Even with his old sleigh Santa couldn't go far

Every border to cross needs a new PCR Santa sighed as he told me How nice it would be If children could once again sit on his knee. He couldn't care less if they're naughty or nice, but they'd have to show proof that they'd had their shot twice. But then the old twinkle returned to his eyes, and he said that he'd brought me a Christmas surprise. When I unwrapped the box and opened it wide, starlight and rainbows streamed out from inside. Some letters whirled round and flew up to the sky, and they spelled

out a word that was 40 feet high. There first was an H, then an O, then a P. Then I saw it spelled hope when it added the E. Christmas magic, said Santa as he smiled through his beard. Then suddenly all of the reindeer appeared. He jumped into his sleigh and he waved me goodbye. Then he soared over the rooftops and into the sky. I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, get your vaccines, my friends. Merry Christmas. Good night. Then I went back to bed and a sweet Christmas dream of a world when we'd finished with COVID-19. Yeah, well, what do you think of that? I'll read you everything it says on this page. Joseph David, now whether he sent it or wrote it, I don't know.

Submitted by Kerry Duncan, as taken from Lois Perot's social media page. And it came from Pat Provo in Saint-Bazile-le-Grand in Quebec. I love it. It's a great little poem. There's a lot of work in that. Good for you. All right. That wraps. Good for you. All right. That wraps her up for today.

Today's mailbag, this week's mailbag, don't forget tomorrow. It's the last show before we take a little break. There'll still be podcasts out there for the next couple of weeks,

but they will be the best off from different parts of the year. And there's some really great shows, including that one that we did from Scotland, a couple of ones from Scotland, actually. So be looking for that over the next couple of weeks, but let's start tomorrow.

Good talk, Chantel and Bruce, kind of a year endend quiz look forward to it i'm peter mansbridge thanks so much for listening we'll talk to you again in 24 hours