The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Your Turn On Disinformation, and the Random Ranter on the NDP

Episode Date: November 30, 2023

Lots of your comments on this week's special episode on disinformation. Seems you loved it and want more. Plus the Ranter continues his three-part series on advice for the party leaders -- this week it's for the NDP.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. You are just moments away from the latest episode of The Bridge. It's Thursday, Therapeutic Thursday. Your chance to hear your thoughts on your turn and the Random Rant-er coming right up. And welcome, Peter Mansbridge here with your Thursday episode of The Bridge. It was a couple of weeks ago I mentioned, like, it's just sort of off the top of my head, I said something about time for a little therapy. It's Therapeutic Thursday with all your letters on your turn and the random ranter. Well, you know, I sort of said it and I thought, well, that's silly. Why did I say that?

And since I've received, well, I wouldn't say a lot of mail, but certainly some mail that says, keep that line. We like that. Therapeutic Thursday. Okay, we'll keep it for a while anyway. See what happens. You know the routine here. Thursday is an opportunity to have your thoughts, your ideas,

your questions tossed out in the program along with the random ranter who gives his thoughts on something. And last week, he began a three-part series on advice to the leaders. Last week, he dealt with the Liberal Party. Today, he's going to take a run with the NDP. Next week, he'll do the Conservatives. So that's coming up, the random renter. But we're going to start with something that generated a lot of mail just in the last 48 hours. It was the Tuesday podcast.

And if you haven't listened to it and you're interested in the debate surrounding disinformation, then you probably might want to do that. Dial it back on your, whoever your podcast platform is, and get the Tuesday episode. It was with a fellow by the name of Lee McIntyre, who's a philosopher, teaches at Boston University and sometimes at Harvard as well. He's written half a dozen best-selling books,

and his latest one is on the issue of disinformation. Well, we spent the whole program talking about his theories on this on Tuesday. And it's generated a lot of reaction. And I've got to say, all of it good. It seems those who bothered to write loved listening to him. Jill O'Conn, O'Coin, O'Quinn, from Chance Harbor, Nova Scotia. Jill writes, having just re-listened to your segment with Mr. McIntyre, I truly believe this should be mandatory class listening

for all middle and high school students, followed by a quiz to make sure that the students got it. Disinformation and misinformation are profoundly different and potentially dangerous. I'll be getting much further acquainted with Mr. McIntyre's work. Keep up the great work and may you have the happiest of all days. Will you too? Jill.

Julie Smith Allen in Lethbridge, Alberta. Peter, I could listen to Lee McIntyre all day. He's kind and respectful of people with different, even outrageous views. And what he said, his quotes and references, made so much sense. I hope you bring him back. Well, we probably will at some point. Michael Berrio from Bragg Creek, Alberta.

I was so taken by your conversation with Lee McIntyre, I listened to it twice. Currently, I'm reading William Manchester's biography of Sir Winston Churchill, The Last Lion. Great book. Manchester cites a Mein Kampf passage that would not have been amiss on this topic. The great masses of the people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one. Good to be reminded of that. James Dole in Perth, Ontario. Your interview with Mr. McIntyre on Tuesday was, in my opinion, one of your best. And if this information doesn't scare your listeners, nothing will.

Of course, we're not out to scare anybody. We're out to kind of inform them, give them something to think about. And Jim, you're absolutely right. From Perth, that he gave us lots to think about in that Tuesday interview. Murray Robertson from Napanee, Ontario. Your conversation on Tuesday with Lee McIntyre was an excellent discussion of disinformation, how to recognize it and what to do about it. Although framed in an American context,

it should serve as a lesson and warning to Canadians regarding the forces at work in our political discourse today. Thank you for what I believe is one of your best podcasts ever. Oh, and then he does a PS about Therapeutic Thursdays. He likes that. Okay. This is interesting. Remember that letter we got from Murray Robertson,

which I read a moment ago? Well, Penny Robertson, from Napanee as well. She wrote to saying how much she enjoyed the Lee McIntyre interview, but she added another line. She had listened to the end bit that day as well, which was about local newspapers closing in different parts of the state, similar to what's happened in Canada. So Penny writes, you talked about all the local newspapers which have gone under. I thought you might be interested in knowing that Napanee has a paper

that is locally owned and run. It's called the Napanee Beaver, which is available both in print and online. Despite having a very small staff, they provide good coverage of local stories of interest. Their editor, Adam Prudhomme, also writes thoughtful and thought-provoking editorials. Our community is lucky to have that paper. Well, you sound very lucky to have it. And any community that still has its paper, especially small communities, absolutely, we need them. Those communities need them.

And as Canadians, we need them and should fight to keep them. Alan Hyde from Pebbrook, Ontario. This section is about our friend the random ranter. Remember what I told you last week? He did advice to the leader of the Liberal Party. If you heard it, then you will recall that he says the leader of the Liberal Party is Mark Carney. So here's some of the mail that brought in. Alan Hyde in Pembroke. I listened to the Rander's November 23rd rant. This time I took interest in his message

that Mark Carney might be a best prospect. Replacement for Trudeau is a point that I will ponder. I don't often vote Liberal, although I did for Justin's father once, and for Paul Martin, and for Jean Chrétien. I try to discern leadership that displays integrity and care for our country and our people. That person is rarely the leader that displays themselves ahead of concern for the people. In this moment, I don't know about Mark Carney, but at least what I do know about him is that he has, as the ranter stated, great strengths associated with economics, finances, and international affairs. That would be a great step forward from the leadership of the last eight years.

If Mr. Carney was to take up the flag of the Liberal Party, I would watch very carefully how he spoke to the common everyday people of our country, like myself. I wouldn't count on him just because of his party. True leadership for the country, not the party, not the leader, is what we desperately need in these times. And this comes from Lindsay, Ontario, Robin D., Chantel's biggest fan. He says, here, there's competition for that title. Believe me, got a lot of mail like that. Anyway, Robin writes, thank you for allowing the random ranter to lend his view on the liberal leadership.

I was in full agreement with his sentiments. Part of being a good leader is knowing when to step down, and I sincerely hope he reaches its time. He realizes it's time. For me, I'm tired of the vitriol about Trudeau dividing the country further. It's time to move in and move on and get the important work done. Patrick Chung writes, wow, maybe the ranter should do more takes on politics. He hit on all points how Mark Carney would be a great replacement of JT, whose image has been destroyed by himself and his policies. My wife, who never talks about politics, one day she came home, I'm tired of hearing about news on JT. But the recent polls showing that the public is

truly sick and tired of JT, they need to do a drastic change just like Biden. It's time to let go. Have a great weekend, says Patrick Chung. Brian Donay, London, Ontario. I was going to comment originally on Pierre Trump, but after listening to the ranter, I could not agree with him more, and I've been saying this for months. Please, Justin, let mark take over other than buying the pipeline and relaxing the carbon tax he's done an excellent job and needs to step aside hope mr trudeau heard the ranter love your show continue to give others to listen to it

so um i think that's the first week the mail that's come in on the ranter's rant has all been positive. Everybody agreed. Who bothered to write in? Well, I wonder how they're going to react to today's rant, which is part two of his three-part series on advice for the leaders. Today. Today his advice is for Jagmeet Singh. It's this time the leader of the NDP

who gets the ranter's advice. So let's get at it. Here we go. Whether you want to give him his due or not, it's pretty hard to argue the fact that Jagmeet Singh has been the most effective NDP leader ever. Whether it's by luck or happenstance, Jagmeet has managed to leverage his 25 seats into some real deal legislation. While other opposition parties have been trying to hold the government's feet to the fire, Jagmeet has been using his position to force the government's hand. That's the way minority government is supposed to work, and he's certainly working it. But the problem for Jagmeet is that

it's not going to last forever. And come next election, he'll be no closer to forming a government than he was in 2021. Agree with it or not, the NDP have been boxed in by the liberals, the conservatives, and the media. And it's a box that not enough people are willing to check come election time. So here comes my free advice to Jugmeet. Stop playing the same election game and expecting better results. It's not going to happen. You look the part, you sound the part, but this is not a fake it till you make it scenario. You can act prime ministerial all you want, but you aren't on the radar of enough voters to make it actually happen.

The longer you continue emulating liberal and conservative campaigns, the longer the NDP will be mired in perpetual opposition. And remember, Mr. Singh, the next election will probably be your last kick at the cat. So you've really got nothing to lose, and it's time you start acting that way. Stop playing their game and start playing your own game. You know, one that plays to your strengths, because you have plenty of those. I mean, for one, you are a warm-hearted person. I've watched some of your press conferences, and honestly, the best parts of them have been unscripted. Like when you confronted a racist heckler, or when at the end of a speech you engage with the crowd with real affection. You make it look natural, and you really can't say that about many politicians.

I mean, I think if Polly F were to kiss a baby, he'd check out the stroller to see how much it cost first. And if Trudeau were to do it, the first thing he'd do is check out the mom. But not you. You're neither of those guys. You're genuine. So don't play by the same old rules. Go for less talk and more action. Coordinate your announcements with volunteerism. Want to talk about homelessness? Don't hold a press conference at a shelter and then go on to the next event. Roll up your sleeves and volunteer. Serve a lunch.

Sweep a floor. Plunge a toilet. And when the media leaves, keep working. Show Canadians that you're willing to put in the hard work on the hard problems. Sure, that means less events. But the word will get out. Because in today's world, every moment is a photo op. And social media has more reach than every other form combined.

You don't need to match the other party's announcement for announcement. And you don't need to react to theirs. Be in control of your own narrative, and don't worry about your press coverage. You'll have a pool of reporters stuck reporting on your campaign no matter what. Let them spend your six-hour shift at the food bank however they like, because at the end of the day, hard work is its own reward. There you have it. The random ranter's advice for the leader of the NDP. And remember, the ranter's advice is the ranter's advice. He doesn't speak for anybody but himself. But those are his words. Next week, he'll have advice for the leader of the Conservative Party.

And I'm sure we'll all be anxious to hear what that one is. Okay, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, more of your letters and lots more in the kind of potpourri section. It's all over the place. Lots of different thoughts on lots of different issues. We'll get to those right after this. And welcome back. You're listening to The Bridge, the Thursday edition,

which, of course, is your turn and the random renter. You're listening on SiriusXM, Channel 167, Canada Talks, or on your favorite podcast platform. Glad to have you with us. Okay, let's get back to the mail for this week. And once again, this segment, there's a lot of different things in here, a lot of different comments. The first one comes from Jane Rusnak in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Jane's been a kind of loyal and faithful listener for more than a couple of years, ever since we started. And she talks, she has a long letter on a number of different things, but here's how she ends. One day while scrolling for channels, I came across an ad about a new podcast by Peter Mansbridge. Hmm, I had to check it out. I was hooked.

I began listening regularly while out on walks or while preparing food in the kitchen. Once again, you became a regular companion to calm the chaos. I can't believe it's been three and a half years now. The news and information you have shared over that time period has evolved and changed, but remains a valuable, trusted source. Thank you. I appreciate you and all your guests and contributors.

Well, isn't that nice? That's very kind of you, Jane, and I appreciate it, and I hope we keep your loyalty and your admiration for what we do. Can't expect to hit a home run with every appearance, but as long as we're batting more than 500, hopefully that'll keep you happy. Chris Harding. He's formerly from Eller's House, Nova Scotia. He's now living in Winnipeg. A few days ago, my friend and I were talking,

and she offered me a spare jar of honey she had on hand. She's also a big fan of yours. I love the stuff, honey, so of course I accepted. But that reminded me of part of a segment you did on food and best before dates, so I mentioned that honey virtually lasts forever. She thought that was useful information, and I told her I'd heard it from you. Then I added, all I need to know,

I learned from Peter Mansbridge. I don't know, Chris, that's not a good line. We had a laugh, and then we said that's something that should be on T-shirts and bumper stickers. We had a few laughs over that, too. So there you go. That's a suggestion for you if you decide to go to the merch route. All we ask is that you send a little honey our way in the form of a coffee mug or something. You know, Bruce keeps telling me we should have a merch offering on our webpage

for t-shirts and coffee mugs and you name it. We haven't really gone that way yet. We haven't decided that. Mary Ann Zacharias from Winkler, Manitoba. I've been there. It was hockey day in Winkler, Manitoba, I don't know, about 10 years ago, and I was out there for that. It was great.

You know, the hockey night in Canada is hockey day. I was out there with my good friend Ron McLean, and we had a blast. People of Winkler were terrific. And I've been there other times as well. One of my nephews played for the Winkler Flyers a couple of years ago. Went down to watch the game. Anyway, Mary Ann writes, I'm an 88-year-old Oma and great-grandma nine times over. I've been

listening to the podcast since its inception. As a former teacher, I listened with a critical ear. Some grammar errors are now acceptable English, so I try not to hyperventilate about them. I was listening to Thursday's Your Turn, that's last week, and I was lying down. Thank you for the informative and amusing podcast. I encouraged my granddaughter in Toronto to follow the bridge,

especially since she was taking political science at U of T. I alerted my grandson, P pianist, studying at McGill, about the Carl Tremblay episode. I was deeply moved by that podcast and researched his band and background right after the broadcast. On the mention of Barbara Frum,

I recalled her wonderful reports on CBC. Now I like to read or hear from David Frum, the son of Barbara, and a former speechwriter for W, George Bush. As you well know, yes, I know David, just like I knew and worked with Barbara. David's always got a take on the political situation in the United States, and it's always a take worth hearing, even if you don't agree with him. He's a great analyst. Now about our show. Bruce is articulate and well-informed, as is Chantel. We're fortunate

to have the three of you every Friday. I look forward to today's episode. Okay, I'll go lie down again. Thanks so much, Marianne Zacharias in Winkler, Manitoba. Isn't that great? I didn't go through the lengthy paragraph where she nailed all the words I'd mispronounced over time. Love that letter. Now I'll go lie down again uh suzy gooch in kitchener thank you for an excellent conversation on this past episode of good talk i have a hard time seeing pierre polliev as the leader of our great country. You three did a great job articulating my frustrations in seeing him speak.

I hate how aggressive and combative he is. Canadians pride themselves as being a polite country, and I just don't see that reflected in him. I want our leader to be open to dialogue and to finding the best way forward for Canada. I fully understand that Justin Trudeau is not in a popular position right now and has certainly made his share of missteps. I can relate to people who are just tired and want to change. I'm not sure what the path forward is. I just don't think Pierre Polyev is the guy.

Everything has become so polarized. I'm looking for things that unify us. We need a leader, not a bully. Matt McDonald. He's currently in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. A beautiful display of drama from Justin Trudeau, Karina Gould, and Mark Garrison, all of whom, according to the current polls, will be losing their seats.

Seriously, linking the Conservatives to MAGA-influenced thinking, another virtue-signalling lecture to Canadians about morality? Whatever happened last week, the thought of another term with Justin Trudeau and the Liberals leading Canada will be a disaster. Toby Weinhart in Hamilton. I can't speak for anybody else, but they lost at least one vote last week. This is the Conservatives.

As a centrist, I was really hoping we could move the pendulum back to the center with a sane Conservative Party victory in 2025. Unfortunately, Conservative parties all over the world are going populist crazy, but until recently, ours still looked to be avoiding that trend. Now I fear the CPC is succumbing. Frustrated as I am with Justin Trudeau and his utterly clueless government, at least he doesn't represent the thin edge of the MAGA wedge. If it stays like this, I'll have to write none of the above on my next federal ballot. Well, they must love the bridge in Hamilton because Tony McKinnon's writing from Hamilton too.

Today I actually watched the podcast, Good Talk, November 24th, instead of listening to it. A first for me after years of listening. Wow. First of all, Bruce looks nothing like I had imagined in my mind's eye. More significantly, I'm stunned at the barrage of comments submitted that level criticism, putting it nicely, at all three of you. Oh, hey, that's YouTube. Look at the names. You'll just see, well, not all of them. There are some good constructive comments in there on both sides of issues. But mostly the comments look like they're bots and organized. As if you're all liberal big L lovers.

Life isn't quite as simple as that. Just because you're being critical of Pierre Poliev to dismiss the thoughtful commentary you all present by resorting to such a small-minded labeling exercise is, well, well, it's small-minded. I'm so glad you run this podcast. You all provide insights worthy of high regard, not crass debasement. Now, if you think I'm just reading letters that are saying nice things about the podcast,

I don't know what you guys were smoking this week out there, but there are a lot of letters like that this week. Usually, you know, there's always, you know, one or two, and there are one or two that take the opposite approach, but this week a lot of your letters have said some really nice, wonderful things about the bridge, and we appreciate it very much. Tom Ward in Calgary. Polyev's behavior last week reminds me of how Trump interacted with the press

in the opening few weeks of his presidency. He abused journalists, and no one seemed able to challenge him in any meaningful way. Most people just don't know how to respond to that type of behavior. Would any workplace today accept that type of language and behavior from a leader or a person in a position of authority? I doubt it. Okay, we've already heard from that person. Here's Andrew Murray in London, Ontario.

Longtime listener and non-commissioned member of the Royal Canadian Navy. I was curious what you and the gang thought about the official video that our Navy is in crisis. I was shocked that this was approved and voiced over by a vice admiral. Topsy. My opinion with increasing conflicts around the world, political climate, the state of the Canadian economy, erosion of trust in leadership, this is a recipe for disaster. Our frigates are already pretty banged up, and the new Arctic patrol vessels are icebreakers with machine guns, not warships. Hey, I've been on one of them. You're right about the

machine guns, you know, heavy caliber machine guns, but machine guns nonetheless. But they're not icebreakers either. You wouldn't want to go in any serious ice conditions in those patrol vessels. Recruiting, retention, culture change, leadership, procurement, NATO commitments, shipbuilding time, union workers, and pay are all massive hurdles that the Royal Canadian Navy is struggling with. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that story, but it is an interesting one. If you care about Canada's military, you might want to check it out. What the Vice Admiral from the Navy had to say was basically that many parts of the Navy are

kind of falling apart, and there's real concern about being able to deal with our commitments in the next year. Ian Walker in St. John's, Newfoundland, Labrador. Over the past few weeks, there was a lot of talk about the Atlantic Canada Maritimes carbon tax carve-out. What has bothered me about the national discussion of this corner of the country has been the interchangeable use of the Maritimes carbon tax carve-out. What has bothered me about the national discussion of this corner of the country has been the interchangeable use of the Maritimes and Atlantic Canada. They are not the same things. We try to go to a lot of trouble on the bridge to make sure that we get it right all the time. I'm not sure if you're referencing that we let it slip through the cracks, but

clearly a lot of people do let it slip through the cracks. I've seen that. The Maritimes has been used to describe PEI, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia for a long time, predating Newfoundland and Labrador joining the Confederation. Out of respect for those three provinces' close relationship and identity, Newfoundland and Labrador's first premier, Joey Smallwood, coined the term Atlantic Canada when referring to the region including Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Maritimes as a region is an important distinction. There is a lot of history, culture, geography and politics that bind those three provinces together, which do not apply to Newfoundland and Labrador. The heating oil carve-out is not one of those things. We burn lots of the stuff right across Atlantic Canada. Peg Humphreys in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Another proud member of Chantel Nation. Peter, have you ever given any thought to a Good Talk road show? Now that I would happily travel out of province to attend.

We have actually talked about it. It's trying to figure out how to afford it. Who's going to pay for it? From whatever, you know, the travel to renting a hall to organizing the event. But we haven't given up on it. We've looked at it as a possibility for the next election campaign, doing it through with university campuses.

But it could be a good idea. We haven't forgotten about it. Carol Hutchinson in Ottawa. I'm going to be in Ottawa on the 4th for the book signing. I'll be in Ottawa on the 4th. What is that, next Monday? I think so. All over the place.

Tomorrow is four or five signings in Toronto. Then it's off to Sarnia on Friday, London, Ontario on Saturday, Halifax on Sunday, Ottawa on Monday, then Winnipeg, Calgary, Kitchener, a couple of other places. I can't remember them all. Anyway, Bruce just seems to be so down to earth, keeping it all so grounded. I've followed Janice for years.

She enlightens us whenever she speaks. The ranter is more appealing to me now. Perhaps I have adjusted to his style. Then there's your special guests, Butts and Moore. What could we do to make James smile? We don't ever want to lose them. What a genius idea it was to invite them. Well, thank you. I replay their discussions. Well, they're coming up again in two weeks' time. We're going to have a good discussion with them before we get into the holidays, so you'll enjoy that, I'm sure.

Remember the theory behind Butts Moore Conversations is to try and leave the partisanship, check it out the door. And they do a pretty good job of that. Karen McLean in St. John, New Brunswick. I suspect you've gotten a barrage of helpful notes, but just in case, the community in Maine, just across from St. Stephen, New Brunswick, is spelled like Calais in France, but is pronounced

Calis, even though the people there seem very nice. Love the podcast and the interplay between the different personalities. When you and Bruce Anderson start razzing each other, it always cracks me up. Okay. Michael Pash from Victoria. While we do spend a lot of time bemoaning social media and the other curses of the modern world, some things are great. My wonderful replacement hip for one,

and Apple Music for another. They have a playlist for Les Cowboys. Like many of your other listeners, I hadn't heard of the group, but I was intrigued at the passion shown by Chantel and Bruce and reinforced by today's feedback. This is last week. Remember, there was a whole slew of letters. I'm listening to the group now. They are amazing. Thanks for bringing something new into my day. He does a PS. The ranter is absolutely on target, as he so often is. The liberals need Mr. Carney.

I'm going to be interested to see how the ranter's take on Mr. Singh does. Trevor Seyfried in Calgary. Listening to SMT the other day, I was a bit surprised by the Trump section of the show. Bruce mentioned that if Americans liked a stable economy and global peace, that Biden would be a better fit.

I could not help to think that based on the record, perhaps Trump would be a better choice. Because from 2017 to the beginning of the pandemic, there certainly was a pretty good U.S. economy and no new global wars. You can't sort of say the Trump administration was just from 2017 to the beginning of the pandemic. He's got the whole four years where he was in charge. And the economy went into the tank as a result of the huge deficits and debt

that the American economy ran, plus some other issues about the handling of the economy and trust rates. I mean, you name it. Everything came out of that. Biden accepts some of the blame and should accept some of the blame, but some of it was Trump's. No new global wars. That is true.

There were no new global wars, but there's some disastrous military adventures, some of which are still going on. They're in Syria, right? As much as he likes to say that he defeated ISIS, he didn't. ISIS is still very much around. It's in a dozen different countries still.

But as Trevor himself admits, as he says, I'm not a Trump fan, but I do wish many pundits would traffic in facts when commenting on the 45th president. Stick to the crazy sounding stuff that comes from his mouth. There's sufficient material there. Okay. Joe Henschel from Calgary. A lot of letters from Calgary again this week. You and Bruce chatted about Joe Biden's age as a substantial barrier to his re-election hopes.

You also pointed out that Donald Trump is no spring chicken, yet his age isn't being talked about in the same way Biden's is. To equal the playing field just a tad, might I suggest we do something extremely simple, accurate, and likely effective. Start referring to the former president as Donald Trump Sr. Okay, that's an idea. Jacob Peterson in Winnipeg. I, like all your listeners, appreciate Bruce Anderson's commentary on the issues he discussed, but I've often felt as though he has been deliberately holding himself back from saying what he's really thinking in the name of impartiality. Over the past few weeks, and especially in last Friday's Good Talk, I've noticed him being much more upfront and direct

in his commentary. Keep it up, Bruce. Lots of comments, Bruce, over the weeks. Dwight Powell in Wasega Beach, Ontario. I tend to agree with your stance on this topic, Peter. That was the topic from yesterday, which was about should MPs accept free trips to a war zone as opposed to paying for them through the parliamentary budget. This is the result of a number of liberal and conservative MPs, quite a few of them actually,

taking a paid-for, all expenses, I don't know whether it was all expenses, certainly much of the travel arranged by the United Jewish Appeal. Anyway, Dwight says, I agree with you. I thought there was something wrong with this. Bruce didn't mind it. If MPs accept trips sponsored by other governments or organizations, then aren't they allowing purchased access to their presence

and so an opportunity for their hosts or sponsors to express views of persuasion? Other parties or stakeholders may not have the means or opportunity to have similar access. It seems similar to lobbyists who work to have influence with government officials. MPs should fact-find on the taxpayer's dime. The NDP and the Bloc Québécois said no to that trip for those reasons. Toby Winehart. I'm trying to see whether Toby tells us where she's writing from. I don't see it.

But here's what she had to say. First of all, let me say how happy I am that even the man running the number one political podcast in Canada can't figure out how to stop certain beeps and buzzers from going off during his podcast. Yeah, we had that problem yesterday. You said something about MPs getting out on fact-finding missions. It made me think about what we imagine our leaders are actually doing on the Hill. I fear that neither the finding of facts nor the reading of history is very important to our current batch of MPs. I'm currently reading Rory Stewart's book, Politics on the Edge. He mentions how he was distressed to learn, at first becoming an MP in the UK, that no time was actually spent finding facts or learning about history. The only thing that was valued by the parties was scoring political points. Getting quoted in the media, or now showing up on social media was the only currency valued by the UK political elite.

I wonder how much of this is true about Canadian politics. Getting near the end. Just two to go here. Shana Evans in Abbotsford, B.C. Just a quick thought regarding the conversation around Trudeau and where things sit with fatigue around his leadership, current polls, and the difference in the like and dislike of Trudeau. Bruce left the higher dislike of Trudeau amongst conservatives at 90%

and felt that that was mostly related to the current social media scene and how individuals are more likely to listen to friends and social media than to thoughtful columns. I don't disagree with him that social media likely plays a role. I do offer, however, another thought to the discussion. While previous Liberal Prime Ministers have leaned still more to centralist policies, center-left, the Liberals under Trudeau have leaned much more to the left. If a party moves further to the left, it would make sense to see

a greater percentage of dislike from a more right-leaning party, especially from those conservatives who typically are more right of center, as now the Liberal Party moves even further from their political and economic ideals. I would think that those who were already hard right would dislike a Liberal Prime minister no matter who it was. It may be that this time around, more right-center conservatives dislike Trudeau. That may account for at least some of the increase in dislike of a left liberal prime minister. That's a good point, Shana. I wish I'd had that

to go after Bruce with but it's a good one alright here's our last letter of the day and you know I sometimes like to find one that will leave you with a a smile on your face or a nice thought of some kind.

This is from Jason Rush in Mount Elgin, Ontario. My wife is away on a work trip this week, and I'm on my own with my five-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son. To this point, we usually lay down with the kids till they fall asleep. My wife is understandably very sentimental, so it's a hard habit for her to break. So tonight, I thought, while she's away, I'm going to see if I can break the habit and have them go to bed on their own. I tried reading to them, bribing them, and reassuring them that I will be just outside the door, but nothing seems to work. Then I thought,

what helps calm me? And reassuring them that I will be just outside the door. Sorry. Then I thought, what helps calm me down? So I talked them into each having one of the dogs in their room. Frank, our eight-year-old Springer Spaniel, who would sleep next to Thomas and George, the Boston Terrier I got for Jess when she wanted to have a third kid, and I needed to fill that void somehow. Georgie would sleep in my daughter Gwen's room. After I shut their doors and made them promise

to try it for a few minutes, I raced down the hallway and turned on one of your latest episodes and made it so it was just loud enough for them to hear, but not loud enough to bother them. Well, Peter, in under 10 minutes, they were surprisingly sawing logs. The dogs too. My wife doesn't believe me, but I will show her when she gets home later this week. Keep up the good work, Peter. You've helped with more than you'll ever know. Man, oh man. I can get young kids and dogs to sleep in under 10 minutes.

So they're not hearing this part of the program. They didn't hear the letter about themselves. Thank you, Jason. Nice letter. All nice letters today. We appreciate it very much. Appreciate your comments. Always like to hear them. It sparks, you know, it sparks thoughts on all of us when we hear smart people giving their views on whatever the topics of the day are. So I appreciate you taking the time to write. Tomorrow, it's good talk. Chantel and Bruce will be here. Always something to talk about. They always find it, and we do it. That's tomorrow.

Out on the book tour, the book's called How Canada Works. You can get it at any bookstore. Go in person to your local bookstore or go online, and you'll find it. The book tour I mentioned earlier where it will be. You can find out the itinerary on my website at thepetermansbridge.com. Don't forget Saturday morning delivery of The Buzz, my newsletter.

You can get it at thenationalnewswatch.com slash newsletter. No charge. It's in your inbox every Saturday morning before 7 a.m. That's it for today. We'll be back tomorrow. Thanks for listening. See you again in 24 hours.