The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Your Turn -- It's a September Ask Me Anything, Plus the Random Ranter

Episode Date: September 24, 2026

Once a month, usually the final Thursday, we open Your Turn for an Ask Me Anything episode. Today follows that pattern, with more interesting questions from your host, his personal and professional experiences, his thoughts on media, and more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. You're just moments away from the latest episode of The Bridge. It's Thursday. The random renter is standing by in the bullpen. But coming up right now is your turn, and it's asked me anything Thursday. So let's get at it right after this. And hello there. Thursdays means your turn, your opportunity to make a statement on some of the big issues of our time,

but also to ask questions once a month, This is an Ask Me Anything Day. So you get your shot at asking me questions, and there were lots of them this week. And as usually is the case with AMAs, we don't get as many in because I've got to answer them. Or at least I try to answer them. And I'll do my best with the ones that pop up here right away. So we're starting off with Callum Arnold in Guelm. Gulf, Ontario.

Callum writes, At time of writing, I am 18 days away from getting married. That's actually 16 days from today. My question is, can you offer any advice for married life?

Callum, if you know anything about my past, you'd probably ask them the wrong person, but I'll give you this. I'll tell you this. The one thing you constantly must be aware of. Is in any marriage there are two people, right?

There are two people. So keep that in mind as you enter married life. Two people with sometimes differing concerns, and it's understanding each other that will make things successful. Joe McQuish in Toronto. Why is Canada's media 100% behind Ukraine when it seems, online and everyone I know are sick of the money wasted in Ukraine and support for Zelensky. Really?

Well, let's think about that for a minute. Because I presume you mean the mainstream media. Not sure you're talking about. But they're not supposed to be behind anything. They just tell you, you know, what's happening. That's the straight news. But it's probably true that newspaper editorials have been, and columnists, have been openly supportive of the Canadian government's efforts to help Ukraine.

And I would even grant that there's not been much coverage of criticism in the straight news. You're saying there's lots of it among the people you know and online. And I'm not in any position to argue with you because I don't know what you look at. and I don't know who your friends are. But here's why I think that a lot of people are siding with Ukraine and have no problem with Canadian government spending, which adds up to about $6.5 billion since 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russia invaded a sovereign country, a country that, you know, it's a democracy. If other democracies just let that happen, the argument is that there's no telling what Russia might do next, and what other countries hostile to Western values might take as a lesson. And then what they might do. Supporting Ukraine with money, even a lot of money, is still a fire cry from sending our own soldiers into the fight. And that's a step everyone is trying to avoid.

By the way, when you look online, you know, be careful what you're reading. There's an awful lot of, you know, bots, Russian bots. out there trying to sway your opinion. You know, look for the journalists you trust, look for the opinions you trust, and read what they're saying. Jason Hashimoto in Toronto, on the 10th anniversary of the Tragically Hips final concert in Kingston,

I wanted to ask about your friendship with Gord Downey. What was Gord truly like behind the... the music as a human being when the cameras and crowds were gone. First of all, Jason, it would be wrong to describe me as a close friend of Gord. We were friends, occasional friends, and we saw each other, you know, over many years at different times. What was he like? He was just a guy.

He was a, you know, terrific guy when he was away from. from, you know, concerts where he had a certain persona. But, you know, I golfed with Gord, you know, chatted with Gord, you know, done a few charitable events together. He was, you know, he was a great guy. That's a really good guy. And one of the hardest interviews I've ever had to do was the one knowing, both of us knowing, that he was about to die.

but he wanted to talk and he wanted to leave something for his friends and fans and he chose to do that in the interview. Mike Brown in Brockville, Ontario, we were all influenced by our parents or parental figures, be they biological, adoptive, step-parent, grandparent, aunt-uncle, older sibling, godparent, etc. Peter, could you tell us a bit about who your parents were? What is the most important lesson that they taught you? And who are you more like, your mother or your father? And why do you reckon it so?

I'd like to think I'm a little bit of like both of them. They were both born in Britain. You know, had their teenage in early 20s years during the Second World War. My dad was with the RAF, flew in a number of different aircraft, mostly in the Lancaster. He did more than two missions, just over two missions, tours, sorry, more than two tours, 51 missions, which is an incredible number when you look at the statistics and how long most of those young fellows were given in terms of being able to live through that war. And so he didn't talk about it.

He didn't talk about it very often. And he only really talked about it when he felt I had studied things enough to understand the basics of what had happened in the Second World War. And then he was prepared to talk about it. But never a lot. And never gloriously. never

I mean he was a hero he was a hero in my eyes but he was a hero in more than just my eyes but he never thought of himself that way he thought of himself was just somebody

who was doing their duty at a time the country needed them my mother was you know it worked as a bank teller and as a teacher and a model

she was beautiful gorgeous and absolutely dedicated to being a mother for my sister and my brother and I. Who am I most like? I really don't know at different times. I'd like to be either one of them and seen that way. Crystal Shats in Calgary.

Having covered Quebec separatism, what are your thoughts and insights into Alberta's current referendum? Danielle Smith appears determined to have a binding separatism. vote despite polling showing limited support. I'm especially interested in your journalistic perspective on distrust of the media, fake news, and how reputable outlets can fairly cover this one. One side relies heavily on misinformation presented as fact. Okay, let's think about this for a second.

You know, it's not healthy for Canada to be facing existential threats from inside the tent. in some parts of the world these kinds of desires to break away from a country become violent rebellion so I guess we should be happy that isn't happening here but dealing with an ongoing threat of separation what Jacques Parozo

once called a never-ending trip to the dentist is a huge drain on creative and financial resources I mean we could we could surely be doing something more useful these days than arguing

about why we should or shouldn't tear the country apart. Uncertainty is never a good thing in a country trying to build a, you know, a sustainable future. So it wasn't good for Canada when Quebec had a referendum, and I don't think it's good for Canada that Alberta is now having one. Though again, voting is a lot better than organizing a violent opposition. As for the media, my answer is no different from any other issue in the United States. heard it many times on this on this program it's up to the mainstream media to base their coverage on verifiable facts it's up to you the people who consume the media to choose your media sources

very carefully if you want factual coverage you should know where to go if you want to hear only about how wonderful life will be once your side wins you also know where to go if you find that kind of coverage soothing. There's nothing I can say that will change your mind. John Minchell in Comox Valley, BC. Which of the books you've written was the hardest to write, and why was it hard for you to write? I'm lucky.

Most of the books I've written, I've written with Mark of Bulguch, my friend and colleague. And we got another one coming out in less than two months, early November. It's called The Noble Profession. It's about teachers. It's going to be a favorite. But the point I was going to make in terms of hardest to write,

Mark takes on so much of the workload on these books we've written together. One of the ones I've read exclusively on my own is called Off the Record. And, you know, it's not that old. You know, I wrote it after I retired from the CBC. And it's a collection of stories that actually trace. my career and my life in many ways. And that was hard to write, and not just because they wrote it by myself. But anyway, that's my answer on that.

But they're all good. They've all been bestsellers, most of them are number one bestsellers. So we've been lucky on that front. Chris Hayward in St. Catherine's, Ontario. Would you do an episode with Mark Bulgut, your co-author for some books? I've heard him talk at a book signing and his stories and experiences in the CBC Newsroom

were fascinating and entertainment well he just makes those up you didn't think those were true do you just kidding I don't think Mark has ever told a lie in his life now how many of us can say that um

October 28th is the plan to have Mark on the program well that'll be a Wednesday October 28th. That's a week before the November 3rd publishing date of the noble profession. So circle that date, October 28th. Simon & Schuster is our publisher for a noble profession, so I enjoy it. Don Dufour in Ottawa.

As a fellow Blue Jays fan nearing the end of a disappointing season, I'm wondering if you think manager John Schneider should have benched Vladie at one or more points during the season due to his consistently lackluster performance. You came, you know, it was like he and the fans, a lot of people kept waiting. It's just going to be the game where Vladdy, you know, gets three home runs and it's, you know,

the drought is over. It never happened, right? I don't know. I'm not a baseball manager. I don't know what's going on inside that team or inside the clubhouse or inside Vladdy's, mind. I think when the full story is written, I'm just guessing here, what do I know?

But I think the departure of Bo Bichette had an impact in ways we haven't thought about. You know, Bo and Flattie basically grew up together. They've been playing together since they were kids. And, you know, neither one of them has had a good year since Bo. left. I don't know whether that had something to do with it. Mark Renick in Guelph, Ontario. The UN needs restructuring.

These five permanent members with veto powers need to be abolished and a system where every recognized country of the world has one vote. Then the yes or no wins with the majority of the vote. What do you think? Well, Mark, you know, I think the Security Council and the veto powers are the big five and those are China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the United States.

Exists for a reason it assures these major countries that they'll never have to relinquish their sovereignty to an outside entity, like the U.N. I think it's safe to say at least some of these countries wouldn't be part of the U.N. if they thought they'd be forced to be part of some decision taken there that they disagreed with. The U.S., for example, isn't part of the International Criminal Court.

because it won't allow American military personnel or political leaders to face potential prosecution by an international body that it cannot control. It's also worth noting, Mark, that I think there are 193 countries of the UN right now, and no more than 90 or so are democracies. So if every resolution came down to a simple majority binding vote, we probably wouldn't like it very much, and the entire Western world would probably just walk away. Marcia Badley in Fonthill, Ontario.

Peter, did you read the September 21st, New York Times essay, Western civilization will never be the same after Trump? It helped me appreciate how Canada the EU and middle powers may be preparing for the long term. I'm convinced the MAGA heritage and civilization movements are here to stay. How hopeful are you about Carney's efforts to position Canada in response? Well, you know, listen, to be un-enhanes. hopeful would be to surrender. I think the prime minister's being clear that Canada's values are worth defending, and he's

being backed up on that by his range of opinion from Stephen Harper, you know, Bob Ray to, you name it. Jason Kenny, James Moore, and his efforts seem focused and practical. So I'm hopeful, but listen, nothing's guaranteed. Here is comments to the New York Times yesterday. David Oliver in Oak Bay, BC. David always gets upset when I try to describe where Oak Bay is. So let me try it this way.

It's part of Greater Victoria. I grew up in Britain listening to BBC Radio, says David, and later watching BBC television, no advertising. Today I listen to CBC Radio. Occasionally I'm drawn to watch a CBC TV program, but every time the mid-program advertising puts me off. So my question is, how much of the CBC television budget comes from advertising

and how feasible is it? How much would it lose for the mid-program advertising to be eliminated? Okay, first of all, David, I haven't worked for the CBC for 10 years, right? So this is not a CBC answer. That's just my answer. based on my limited knowledge on this subject. But your question is one of the perennial issues

that flies around CBC television. I don't know a single person at CBC who wouldn't love to eliminate all the ads on television, CBC television. But the people with their hands on the financials have always said it's just impossible. Yeah, it certainly is impossible. If you keep having so many managers, Sorry, that's just my opinion.

And in fact, over time, the need for revenue has meant that CBC has added commercials in places where there used to be none. There was a time when there would not be commercials on the national. That was a golden rule, no commercials on the national. There were never commercials during a news special. Those days are gone. To answer your question directly, most of CBC, Roger Canada's revenue sources have stayed. stagnated or declined over the last few years. Between 2017 and 2024, commercial revenue fell 14% going from $573 million to $493 million.

So revenues going down while costs are going up. The corporation's public funding is not kept pace with inflation, so that's another problem. In other words, cutting out all TV commercials would mean a seriously diminished service. Now, you may think that's worth it. And that's an argument that can be put forward. Betsy Dobb in St. Agatha, Quebec. I'm sorry. St. Agatha, Ontario.

This will be our last one before the break and then the random renter. But this is a good question. Betsy writes, Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla. Red or white? White. Coffee with cream or black, neither.

Milk. Podcaster or news anchor. There are very different things. News anchor deals with news, not opinion. Podcaster deals with opinion. About news. All right? That's the way I look at it.

I mean, the bridge is not a newscast. It's a podcast. And every day of the week, we're dealing on opinion. It's very different from what I used to do. Very different. Bill Defoe in Ottawa. That's whose letter we will come back to after our break. Here's a letter I will read before the break

because we're going into the random ranter. Brian Fackler writes from Vancouver, Washington. Okay? I look forward to the random ranter on your Thursday podcast. Why not publish a book with all his thought-provoking segments, as I have many friends who would enjoy receiving that as a Christmas gift. I told the random ranter about this letter yesterday. He just got, you know, chest puffed out.

I mean, he thought, man, this is a good. guy who's never, you know, he's not a journalist, he's never done anything in, in terms of media of any kind in his life. He doesn't work for a political party. He's done none of that stuff. He just does his thing. He does it with us. And now somebody's suggesting, let's put his thoughts in a book. He likes that idea. Okay. Time for break. And then we'll come back with the Random Ranter's thoughts on, well, wait for it. You'll find out in a minute. Back right after this.

And welcome back. You're listening to the Thursday episode of The Bridge. That's your turn and the Random Ranter. You're listening on Sirius XM, Channel 160. If you haven't heard, that's the new channel on Sirius XM for Canada Talks, 160. You're either listening on that or you're listening on your favorite podcast platform. and there are many different platforms, Apple, Spotify. I mean, there's a lot of them.

And they all offer different services with the podcast. So enjoy wherever you're joining us from. Okay, as I said, it's that moment in the program where we get to hear from the Random Ranter. So let's do that right now. If we are to stand any chance at maintaining our sovereignty and surviving a trade war with our belligerent neighbors to the south, then we're going to need to do more than just increasing our internal trade or finding new partners overseas. We're going to need more Canadians, period.

41 million people in a country as large and as vast as Canada? That's not enough. We have so many resources and so many opportunities, but we don't have the people to fully take. take advantage of them. It's not a workforce matter. We don't lack in training or an education or even money. It's a simple numbers game. We don't have enough people. And without enough people, no amount of foreign investment or government intervention will ever be enough for our economy to reach a self-sustaining critical mass. Now, I know this is not a very popular viewpoint these days. I mean, times are tough right now, so it's pretty easy for politics to play into the darker side of people's psyche, the side that harbors the fear of others, the side that can't help but conveniently scapegoat those others for the trials and tribulations of the day.

But those objections are feelings, their emotional reactions that aren't borne out by the facts. Because when you just look at the numbers, immigration isn't just good for this country, It's vital to our success, to our prosperity, and to our sovereignty. So many of the arguments against immigration are classic chicken in the egg. We don't need more immigrants because we need more housing, but also we need more people to build housing. I mean, it's not like we don't have the lumber to do it, and it's not like we're running out of land anytime soon. So could it be that with a population of just 41 million people were just spread a little too thin? Now, as pro-immigration as I am, I'm not saying we should open our borders willy-nilly.

We need more than just people. We need the right people with the right skills that can add to our economy and make all our lives better. Now, I don't know what they did in the past, but whatever it was, it worked. I know a ton of Irish and English immigrants who came here in the 70s as mechanics and carpenters, and don't get me started on German brick layers, Portuguese concrete workers, or Mennonite farmers. All those immigrants contributed to building this country, and while they were doing it, they built lives for themselves that continue to pay dividends for all of us to this day. But while that's yesterday's story of Canada, today's story of Canada,

isn't much different. We're still a country with plenty of untapped potential in need of more people, period. There's no magic solution to this. In fact, the need is as great as ever. I mean, fertility rates aren't even enough to sustain what we have now. So in order to grow, survive, and thrive, we absolutely have to have more immigration. So what's the objection? Well, to address the great unsaid in most immigration arguments, it's got to be racism. Most of today's immigrants don't look like the majority of Canadians, and they don't count English or French as their first language. But why does that matter? I mean, we all look the same with the hoods up on our park is, if you're willing to come here, work hard, and you're hardy enough to survive Canadian

winters, well, then in my books, you deserve to be Canadian as much as anyone else. Well, there you go. The random ranter for this week. I can see some of you sitting there going, hmm, what do I think about that idea? A good discussion point for the dinner table tonight, right? All right. Back to your turn.

Back to your letters. And your questions for me on this Ask Me Anything week. Ask Me Anything's AMAs are the last Thursday of each month. So this latest one comes from, as I teased earlier, Bill Defoe in Ottawa. Few people are as active as you are in what is usually termed the retirement years. And I would include a number of your eminent contributors. After you completed your career at the CBC,

did you go through a phase of contemplation before you embarked on your fantastic podcast, speaking tours and books? I see a number of seniors who are at loose ends in their retirement years. Your advice, please. Okay, you know, listen, it's pretty personal, right? You make your own decisions. Some people are exhausted from their careers, and it just can't wait to take a break.

Others, not so much. They didn't really want to retire. They sort of got pushed into that idea by their employer, by their friends, by their families. And there's nothing worse than hearing the story about, you know, the person who retired and then, you know, dropped dead a week later. You go, oh, my God, how terrible. But that happens.

I know those two directly linked together. I don't know. Everyone has their own way of dealing with retirement. A lot of the friends I know from CBC newsrooms were going a million kilometers an hour at work, and it's hard to come to a cold stop. And for many people, I know work can all be, you know, very consuming. So when it comes to an end, there are no hobbies to fall back on.

A bit of planning is definitely a good idea before you pull the plug. You don't need to work out every detail of every day, but you do need something to do. As it happens, journalists have some very transferable skills. Writing's one of them. Organizing is another. Hitting a deadline is another. But everyone probably has some work skill that can be useful somewhere.

Volunteering can be a meaningful experience, and there are many, many organizations who can use your help. I guess I'd say that whatever you do, even if it's just seeing more friends and family, don't wait. Your health is a gift that may not last forever. In a similar vein, there's this question from David Schwartz in Porto Vallarta, Mexico. That's where he's living right now, but he also lives in Edmonton. Peter, you are the dean of Canadian broadcasting.

Well, I don't know whether that's true, but thank you for the country. compliment. You've more than earned the right to put up your feet and spend your days doing whatever you please. Your devoted audience is grateful that you continue to share your world with us. So what keeps you doing the bridge? Well, this is part of the reason. Thursdays, because I love to hear what you're saying. Now, it's all very nice to get letters like that. Believe me, I get letters the opposite of that too. I just don't read them on the air. What keeps me doing it? You know, I love asking questions. This doesn't take me a lot of time.

It takes me, you know, hour and a half a day to get all this together and ship it off to Sirius XM. It's unedited, you know, unless there's a technical problem. So it's, it is what it is. It's all ad lib. Very little is written down unless I'm reading from a story or in this case your letters. And it's fun. You know, it gives me purpose, it gives me energy. You know, it keeps me reading and thinking.

And those are all good things when you're my age. Robin Segan and with Sega Beach, Ontario. Do you use AI professionally or privately, and if so, how frequently, for what purpose? And do you put precautions in place to protect your privacy? You know, I don't use AI. I'll give a... I'll tell you a story here in a minute about my use of AI. But generally I don't, and I certainly don't use it every day on...

Other than a search engine, you know, now it's kind of automatically when you go to certain search engines, they use AI to help you guide you to the information you're looking for. I do as much as I can to protect my privacy. These days, you know, as far as I'm concerned, if you're sitting at a laptop, nothing or your phone, nothing's private anymore. Somebody can figure out a way to get it.

So you want to keep that in mind. But I've been toying with the idea of another book on a very different subject. I won't go into it. but it's based on it's based on something I found okay and I'm trying to write the story of of the people that I discovered as a result of us

but the problem is they're all gone now so while I have enough fact it's only good enough to maybe write half the book so I've been toying with the idea of trying to mix fact and fiction in a book, which is a challenge and difficult. And I've talked to a number of fictional writers who I greatly admire about what they do and how they do it. Anyway, just for a lark, well, not a lark, just for an experiment.

I sat down and went into Clode, which is an AI provider. and I said, here's the book I'm writing. Here are the facts I know, but I'm going to have to make stuff up. So give me an idea of an opening chapter kind of thing. And I said, make it, you know, 2,500 words. Push the button and about, I don't know. 15 minutes later.

It wasn't one of these fast turn around, you know, five seconds, boom, because this, you know, this wasn't, it wasn't a short answer. About 15 minutes later, at the most, might have only been 10. Bang, in comes a 2,500 word,

opening chapter, to what would be a book. I started reading it, and it was really good, really good. I had to, put it down, I haven't read anymore. I thought, this is crazy.

Why didn't I just say write the whole book? You know? Anyway, I drew the line there, or at least I have so far. Let's see whether I can ensure that I don't get tempted. But you can be sure that if I did get tempted, the book cover would say by Peter Mansbridge and clode. Anyway, there you go.

Okay, where are we here? Rick McKendee in Gatno, Quebec. You've met and interviewed a lot of famous successful people in your career, and I count you amongst this group as well. What do you think is fundamentally different about successful people compared to less successful individuals? Obviously, some people are born with a head start. There's never a guarantee of success.

But if you're born into a family that owns, well, I won't say a multi-million dollar enterprise of some sort, there's a reasonable chance of becoming part of that enterprise will bring you financial success down the road. I mean, there's a reason Howard Buffett has just become the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. If you're born as the daughter or son of a person successful in some field, an athlete or a film star or even a police officer, that might open up some doors for you down the road.

But for people born into what we can call ordinary circumstances, hard work is often the common denominator, usually combined with ambition, a desire to be part of something that you latch on to is your destiny, something to be pursued with determination. You know, I think of myself that way. I didn't fall into anything. I kind of left home early, didn't finish school,

tried a few things, didn't work, and then fluked into, you know, a broadcast career. And then when I realized how much I loved it, I worked like hell to get ahead and to prove myself. against people who had much more experience and education than I did. So it was hard. But it's hard work, determination, belief in yourself. You know, there's a saying that people make their own luck.

That's not strictly true. I think successful people take some risks. They see opportunities and they take them. Norma Jack in Stoville, Ontario. When you travel to Scotland, do you travel to Scotland? on a Canadian passport or do you travel on a UK passport? I was born in the UK, but I've always traveled on a Canadian passport since we moved to Canada 53 years ago. I would still like to travel on my Canadian passport, but think I have to apply for a UK passport or a visa.

That's right. If you're Canadian and have a Canadian passport only and you come to the UK, you need a visa. What do they call it, an ETR or something? I can't remember there's an initial. to it that you have to get. It's not hard to get it, but you have to get it, or they won't even board you on the plane out of Canada. Now, like Norma, I was born in the UK, but I have both a Canadian passport and a UK passport. So when I fly to the UK from Canada, I fly on my UK passport. When I fly back to Canada, which also requires paperwork, if you don't have a

Canadian passport, I use my Canadian passport. So I'm always traveling with two passports. I'm always traveling with two passports anyway. Have for a long time, you know, if you're fortunate enough to have two passports as a journalist, it can be handy at times to have a, to have a the option of using different passports going to different places. Roland Lewis in Gatt and Oaklebeck, do you think the Canadian government should seize this moment of national unity to have a First Minister's meeting to discuss the abolition of the notwithstanding clause that is currently being abused by certain provinces?

During your career at CBC, did you ever have the opportunity to have a one-on-one with Pierre Trudeau? Probably, I don't know, somewhere between four and half of the time. dozen times. I was a young guy, and he was Pierre Trudeau. So you can imagine how that turned out. But I did, and I, you know, I like having the opportunity to interview any prime minister. I cherish those members. As to your main question, it's almost zero a chance, I think, that you could get an agreement

to abolish the notwithstanding clause. It's just not going to happen. The federal government would likely be okay with it, You can name several current premiers who wouldn't go for it, start with Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Ontario. So anyone calling for a constitutional conference would be inviting a display of disunity. Colin Kerr in Edmonton, can you please list your top 10 podcasts? Ten? You know, I listen to a variety of podcasts.

obviously. The Bridge, which has five different focus on it each day of the week, so there's your top five. We Have Ways to Make You Talk. It's a great British history podcast. I love it. You know, I listen to Front Burner, CBC. I listen to New York Times podcast.

number of different BBC ones. You know, in Canadian podcasts, aside from Frontburner, you know, I listen to my friend David Hurley every once in a while. And West of Center with Kathleen Penny. Ms. Betty does a great podcast out of Calgary. And reminding you that there is more to this country than what we term as central Canada. Okay. Julie Mulnar in Burlington, Ontario.

After all your time covering world events and being exposed to conflicts across the globe, are you psychologically ready for war? Remember, that was our question on Monday with Dr. Stein. What do you think would be the hardest part of war for you to adjust to? What do you think would be the most important attitude citizens can take into a wartime scenario? All right, I'm not dumb enough to think that covering wars or reporting on wars or visiting war zones as a journalist in any way prepares me for fighting in a war.

So maybe I can answer your question by turning it around a bit. All my experiences with war tell me that I'm not ready for it. I've talked to enough people who have fought wars, including my dad, and read a lot about how people handle themselves in a fighting war. And the overwhelming impression I take away is that it's pure. chaos mixed with pure terror and until you're in it you have no idea how you'll react. The other part of your question about what attitude citizens can take, I presume you mean citizens who aren't actually in the military. I'd say you, generally speaking, you should

do what your government asks you to do in a time of national crisis, but you have a duty to ask questions. Even in wartime, we'd be living in a democracy. You should be asking if we've gone to war for just a cause and if we're prosecuting it as best we can, that's what a lot of Americans are asking of their government right now. And they should be. You know, I'm not saying you should be overly critical in a stressful time, but I don't think my country right or wrong is the proper attitude for a good citizen. You know, as I told you at the beginning, there are more letters than we've got time for.

but we're going to save them. There's a lot of good letters here, and we'll save them, roll them over into next month's AMA. Teresa Brom in Lake Country, BC, that's in the Okanagan Valley near Colonna. What a wonderful name. Not sure we've heard from Teresa before. Why does so many CBC journalists

seem to not give PM Carney the respect he deserves? Many refer to him by his last name alone or don't even use his title. I've also noticed significant negativity towards him since he was elected. Man, you should read my mail because you don't get that view for most. Well, not most, but a lot of viewers who are not Carniites, who think everybody's in the tank for Carney. But Teresa writes, please enlighten me as to why this may be happening

as I find this quite annoying. Well, first, Teresa, remember, I don't work at the CBC anymore. I haven't for 10 years. So I can tell you that when I started at CBC, everyone in the news was either Mr. Mrs. or Miss. The only people referred to only by their last name were convicted criminals. That changed, I think, in the late 1970s, so it's been a while. The CBC style changed to eliminate all titles on second reference.

So it was Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on first reference, or just Prime Minister Mulroney and then Mulrooney. after that. For regular people, it was John Smith on first reference and then Smith. As far as I know, that is still the policy today, but again, I don't work there anymore. I guess the reasoning is that it sounds more natural. I know the Globe and Mail still use as Mr. and Ms. except on their sports pages. They even refer to me as Mr. Mansbridge. but when a sports story is in the news section, Sidney Crosby becomes Mr. Crosby.

And it kind of looks odd. So I don't think CBC's policy has anything to do with being negative about the Prime Minister or anyone else. Nora Abercrombie in Lindbrook, Alberta, just southeast of Edmonton. Why do you suppose that so many people, including you, are so poorly prepared for societal collapse or even a critical rupture in the supply chain.

The average city has about five days worth of food on hand. That's it. Government preparedness plans are woefully inadequate in the face of mass disruption of services. So do people assume that a constant supply of heat, water, and food is guaranteed? Are you all in denial? Hmm. Well, Nora, I can't speak for everyone,

but I'm not sure you can actually prepare for societal collapse. You could build your own bunker, fill it with supplies to last a while. But what would you come out of? What would you come out to? I think the COVID epidemic showed us that government should be better prepared for emergencies, but preparing for the apocalypse is quite another thing. Glenn Gill in Millennia, that's near Brisbane, on Australia's East Coast.

This is going to be our last letter. for this week. As an English-speaking Quebec refugee, I'd like to know how Trump renaming Lake Ontario is considered to be such a crime when the mayor of Montreal in 1987 renamed one of the main streets Boulevard René Levec.

The former Dorchester name existed since 1844 and was named after Guy Carlton Baron Dorchester, a former Governor General of Canada. Quebec has and continues to rewrite the history of Quebec with little, if any, pushback from the rest of Canada. The Quebequa getaway with a lot of nonsense in the name of culture preservation. Ooh. Well, first of all, Donald Trump is trying to rename something that isn't his.

That's reason number one. And he did it without any consultation or process. He just signed a piece of paper. There was a democratic process in 1987 when Dorchester was renamed. But there was protest, and it should be noted that part of Dorchester Boulevard ran through the city of Westmount, and it never changed the name of the street. It's still Dorchester Boulevard today. But street names change all the time, all across Canada.

Right now, the city of Ottawa is finding to change the name of Trump Avenue. All right, folks, that's going to do it for this week. weeks, ask me anything. Ask me anything. I'll be back a month from now, the last Thursday of October, and we'll save the letters that didn't make it today. Some of them anyway, which will make it in the next one. Great stuff. Love it. I hope you don't mind me rambling away with the answers. That's going to do it for this day, but tomorrow, less than 24 hours from now. Bruce Anderson, Chantilly Bear, good talk for this week. You'll want to hear it.

It'll be a good one, as it always is. It means, I'll do it for now. So a little theme music, and we're out of here.