The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Your Turn -- On Everything from Tipping to Pride Politics

Episode Date: June 15, 2023

The other day on a short "end bit" we had a story about some backlash to tipping and that got some of our listeners writing.  Today we have their letters.  Also a fair amount of comment about last Friday's Good Talk segment about whether here is a growing backlash against Pride in Canadian Politics. And the Random Ranter has his thoughts about bike lanes. 

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. You are just moments away from the latest episode of The Bridge. It's Thursday, that means your turn. And a surprise topic leading things off today, it's tipping. And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. Your Thursday episode of The Bridge. It's your turn, but today I want to start off with some personal thoughts about, well, about something that happened in the last 24 hours. You know, when I was first, you know first hit by the journalism bug, it was in the 1960s. But I think that idea had been forming in my mind without even me knowing it for a number of years before that.

I was always impressed by the work of top-notch journalists. And often, I guess, perhaps, given my growing up period, traveling, born in Britain, traveling to Southeast Asia, living in Malaysia, moving to Canada, we were always kind of trying to be, as a family, in tune with the news. And one of the ways of doing that was by listening to radio, listening to the shortwave, listening to the BBC World Service, listening to the CBC, and listening to some American programming.

And the thing that always stood out to me when I reflect back on it was the top correspondents, you know, the Edward R. Murrows, like from CBS News, the Haltons, the Nash's, the McLeers, the many others from the CBC. And there was always one bureau that stood out in my mind as kind of the top bureau in the world. and that was London. I mean, after all, that's where Edward R. Murrow had stood on the rooftops during the Blitz and the Second World War,

reporting on what it was like with the bombs coming down. Murrow was, of course, one of the champion correspondents in the world. And so he became this kind of major figure, almost mythic figure, in terms of how one would look at it. But it was also his bureau, the whole idea of reporting from our London bureau, whoever that may be, was a really big deal. And as I moved into journalism and as I became a reporter and as a correspondent and traveling different parts of the country and the world, there was always a part of me saying,

man, I would love to be based in London someday, be a member of the London Bureau. And I traveled there more than a few times in the 70s, the 80s. I was the kind of fill-in correspondent in London in the mid-1980s when the regular correspondent was often Brian Stewart, but others as well, were away, I'd go and fill in for a month or two. But the CBC had other plans for me.

They wanted me to be an anchor, a working anchor, a journalistic anchor. And so that's the direction they moved me in. But every once in a while while they let me go off, and I would be sitting there in the London Bureau covering the big events of the world, and it was thrilling. It was exciting, and the bottom line was,

no matter who you were in journalism, you always knew, you certainly always assumed, there'd always be a London Bureau. Well, times have changed. And we know that all too well. We've discussed this many times on this program over the last couple of years, about how the landscape of journalism is changing and news organizations are

desperately trying to figure out what the magic formula is to keep a news organization afloat. Sadly, some of those decisions are made by the bean counters, the money crunchers, and not by journalists. I understand how management works. I understand those kind of decisions. But when you have somebody who doesn't have any association with journalism stand up in front of you and tell you we're going to do this, that, and the other thing, it can be pretty frustrating, especially when you're one who believes in the need and the work

and the part of democracy that is journalism. We can debate how well journalism is done. That's a different issue. Anyway, this brings us around to yesterday. And yesterday the announcement seemingly came out of nowhere, but I guess there have been hints of this for some time, that CTV was going to make some major changes and major cuts.

Cuts, cuts, cuts. Everybody's making cuts in staffing. But the London Bureau? I mean, CTV cut all kinds of stuff yesterday. I'm just centering on what obviously struck my attention. They're closing their London Bureau. They're closing their LA Bureau. I can see that at times.

You know, do you really need a bureau in LA? They're shutting down half of their Washington Bureau. That seems extreme. But London, London. You know, I have friends at the CTV Bureau in London, good friends. Paul Workman, who's their, you know, kind of senior international correspondent. Paul and I have been friends since the mid-'70s. I think when I was in Regina as the Nationals correspondent

in the mid-70s, when I left to go to Ottawa, I think it was Paul who came into Regina at that time. And he's had a brilliant, distinguished, award-winning career in different parts of the world, but always, for the most part, based in London for the last number of years, quite a few years. He was with the CBC, and when the CBC wanted him to come back to Canada, he wanted to stay overseas.

CTV wisely offered him a job, and he's been brilliant ever since. He was brilliant with us, the CBC as well. But Paul has done it all. You know, he's covered wars. He's been there in the trenches. He's covered natural disasters, you know, the tsunamis, the earthquakes, the, you know, the famines.

You know, he's covered, I mean, he's covered it all. And he's covered it all from London. And his number two in London, Danielle Himajin, a terrific journalist. You know, I'll admit when I was still at the CBC, I pushed very strongly for us to hire Danielle. She was in Ottawa at that time, I was still at the CBC, I pushed very strongly for us to hire Danielle. She was in Ottawa at that time, I think, for the CTV, but her goal was always to be overseas.

And, you know, I felt we should, this is somebody who is the future, part of the future of broadcasting. We need to hire her. But I was unsuccessful in that push. Well, CBC has a chance again now because as of yesterday, CTV has closed its London bureau and eliminated the jobs that both Paul and Danielle do, which is mind-boggling to me.

Absolutely mind-boggling. But they're not alone. Bell Media, the controlling force of CTV, laid off or dismissed more than 1,000 positions yesterday in its overall corporate structure. But there were many good journalists as a part of that number. Paul and Danielle are just two of them. So we're all going through struggles

and trying to determine how journalism is going to play out in the future. But journalism involves real people, real dedicated people, people who've risked their lives to tell stories. And sadly, they are the victims today. All right, we'll continue to follow that story. Time now for, well, it's time now for your turn. That's what Thursdays are about, so let's get to it. As a result of me blathering on there at the beginning,

we're going to have to move through these rather quickly. The other day on an in-bit, I talked about tipping and some sense that some people were upset at the way tipping was going. It was getting out of hand. The numbers, the percentages were getting higher and higher. And in some cases, you didn't even have a choice. It was sort of built into the bill already. And should that be the way it works for tipping?

Paul Horseman from Edmonton writes, I've always found the practice of tipping puzzling. Typically, a sound business model is one where the market is willing to pay enough for a product to allow the business to offset all its costs with a little extra for growth and profit. How is it that a restaurant can be seen as successful only by paying employees wages that are not sufficient to support someone at full-time hours, while then asking customers to chip in a little extra to cover the shortfall. That is the current business model. Eliminate tipping across the industry and allow the meal costs to reflect the full cost of operating that business in a way that ensures those employees earn a living wage at full-time hours. In the end,

the customer is paying that cost, whether in the form of a tip or the cost of the meal. The difference is the employee has a wage they can rely on to cover their costs, apply for credit, or apply for benefits in the case of job loss. Dan Madison from Whitby, Ontario. I have no problem with tipping itself, but a few things have always bugged me. I usually tip 15%. For breakfast, this could be $2 or $3. Dinners are more so, it could work out to be $4 to five dollars. Could be the same server doing exactly the same thing for the money. Another thing that bothers me is that the rising price of the meal results in higher tips for the same service. If the server provides exemplary service I'll often bump the tip up to 20 percent so that becomes even more with rising prices. Finally, with the use of my credit card,

I often wonder if the server is actually even getting the money. Giancarlo De Fazio from Grimsby, Ontario. I wanted to email about tipping. I'm not outraged on tipping. I always felt that 15% to 20% has been an appropriate starting point. However, tipping, especially in Canada, is something that is given when a person goes above and beyond, in my eyes, what their required role is in whatever service job they're performing.

It is not a requirement. It would be advantageous for our newer generations to know that. No one person is entitled to a tip just because they're doing something for you that their job entails. However, when I go to a restaurant and the server is going above and beyond, I will tip accordingly. If I get no service, then I don't tip. And I don't feel bad about it. John Torres from Welland, Ontario. I'd have to say that yes, tipping has gotten a bit out of hand.

I'm not going to tip someone at Tim Hortons or any coffee place for getting me a coffee that sometimes, not always, is made wrong. How do you mess up a coffee with two cream, honestly? What bothers me the most is the tips that are automatically included. Some restaurants have six or more persons at a table on one bill get an automatic 18%. What if the service wasn't great? Should they still get the 18%? It's not like you're going to argue it. Okay.

So people are a little anxious about the tipping issue. I'm sure you're going to hear from some servers as well about how dependent they are on tips because their salary doesn't, you know, reflect what they feel the job is worth. Moving on, the second largest, the second topic that got, or the topic that got the second most number of letters this week

was the one we dealt with last Friday on Good Talk. And people were quite, well, they had a lot to say about this. And that was the issue of pride and politics and whether or not uh the movement of lgbtq issues has has suffered a degree of backlash in canada we we certainly know it has in the states the issue is has it in canada as well and it seems to me the letters that we've got this week would seem to indicate that, yes, it has, much more so than perhaps was led to be believed as a result of our discussion last week on Good Talk.

Daniel Guillaume from Calgary, not all people, but some people felt that way. Daniel Guillaume from calgary not all people but some people felt that way daniel guillaume from calgary writes many people and not just politicians are reassessing in particular the t of lgbtq offers some thorny and uncomfortable issues that western societies are struggling with when laurel hubbard made the 2020 female summer Olympic weightlifting team for New Zealand, I initially thought that was great. Then it dawned on me that my two young daughters now live in a world that requires they compete with people who have unfair genetic advantages over them. I just ran the 5k race with my seven and eight-year-old daughters. They were amazing and I'm proud, but I can already

see the boys their age starting to pull ahead physically. What happens in a few years when my girls are competing against kids who have significant advantage in strength and speed? Will they get cut from the team? Will they risk serious injury? Will they lose out on a scholarship? Or will the joy of sport simply die long before it has had a chance to blossom? Faith Davis from Edmonton. Your discussion on Friday gave me pause. At first I was encouraged by the idea that LGBTQ rights are not negotiable in Quebec and well entrenched in our society as a whole, but I hope that won't lead to complacency on our part. While it's not top of mind on any policy

agenda right now, to think that trends and spillover from the U.S. and other countries won't happen here may be naive. These ideas may just take a decade or so to be fostered and infused here. I never thought I would see a convoy of truckers in Ottawa or a U.S. president indicted, so let us remain vigilant about preserving our gender and reproductive rights. My angst may reflect that I now live in Alberta, and while Alberta is a small proportion of the Canadian population, more small provinces are becoming more conservative. I do hope that the definition of what it means to be conservative becomes clearer going forward and that your faith in the stability of current policies and practices proves well-founded.

Christine Barkley. Some of your letters, by the the way got really long this week like some of them really long to the point where I couldn't even cut them down because they were just too long but this one is long but not too long. Christine Barkley, just makes it under the wire, Christine. I was listening to your talk on Friday.

Good for the Molson VP to take a stand so early on. There were many injustices against gays and lesbians years ago. You were asking about the anger towards the LGBTQ lately. I think there have been many incidents in the past year or so, and most have to do with the T, specifically trans women. Some example, trans women competing in women's sports, mostly winning the events and the money.

Women who speak out are being pummeled both verbally and physically by the trans women, while simultaneously being told by the trans women to be tolerant and accepting. Video online of very masculine trans women calling on trans women to arm and threatening violence against any woman who tries to stop trans women from using the women's bathroom. You know, there's not clear examples of some of these, but I'm assuming you have these examples.

The anger and vitriol towards the women who speak out, but not the men who speak out. Men declaring in the court system they are trans and being placed in female prisons. Biological male sex offenders, murderers sharing a cell with a woman. The trans woman who got into a sorority and promptly started leering at the women at least once with um okay you get the you get the the idea here from christine's letter is there anger she Yes, there is anger. Jeremy Dias writes this.

As a longtime listener and proud member of Chantel Nation, I was shocked to find myself disagreeing with the conversation that took place on Friday. As a member of the 2SL-GBTQIA community and a volunteer with a number of queer and trans organizations over the last 20 years, I've noticed a shift in our country in the last five years when it comes to substantial legislation, policies, and most important, government funding that we have received from provincial and federal governments. Last week, New Brunswick changed Law 713,

which moved to reduce the protections of trans and queer youth in schools. This change also led to chaos, with cabinet ministers refusing to participate in caucus activities. In the province of Manitoba and other neighboring provinces, like Alberta and Saskatchewan and Ontario, funding under more progressive governments for community services, especially trans health and mental health programs, have seen significant cuts, leading to folks at higher risk having fewer resources.

And finally, it is that higher risk that I'm most concerned about. We have seen a rise in hate crimes against queer and trans folks in Canada in the last five years. On the day of your podcast, a protest, an anti-trans protest, turned violent with Ontario MPP Hardin walking away with a black eye. We have never seen this kind of aggression in our spaces, from drag queen library events to educational events.

It is disheartening. That's from Jeremy Dias in Winnipeg. And a couple more on this topic. Rob Stewart in Calgary. and a couple more on this topic. Rob Stewart in Calgary. On the June 9th Good Talk, Chantel asked for the names of Canadian politicians who were leading the charge against some of these issues in Canada. Here's a start to the list. And then Rob proceeds to name six different members of either a provincial legislature.

I'm just looking here. Most of them are in Alberta, but there is the New Brunswick one as well. So it's kind of a repeating of the previous letter. But I hear what you're saying. You're saying there was, I think it was Chantel mentioned. If there are names out there, I want to see them. I sent this letter on to Chantel, by the way. And here's the last one, Vic Campbell from Victoria.

I worry that special legislation tribunals, ministries, and a special vocabulary for citizens of color, for citizens with gender identity, for citizens with unique vulnerabilities, or for citizens of ethnicity is kind of like suggesting that our Charter of Rights only exists for some other vague group. Presumably, there is a systemic weakness within our government administration that favors good old white Canadians. I don't buy it. We're wasting millions of public dollars and creating divisive politics by pointing out our differences, our LGBTQ labels, rather than enforcing the charter of rights policy that already exists. All right, so you see there are some strong feelings out there on that one that they at least feel that we misjudged in the discussion last Friday. Sophia Nero writes from, where is Sophia writing from?

Doesn't say. Oh, no, sorry, Montreal. 22 years old. She's writing, or he's writing about forest fires. I'm sorry, Sophia, I'm not sure if you are a he or a she. Not that it matters that much. Your point of on forest fires is an interesting one. It's a good one.

On forest fires in Canada specifically, evidence seems to be weak that there has been an increase in either quantity or severity, as you can see from data from the National Forestry Database and Canadian National Fire Database, which actually shows a slight decline in area burns since they started collecting data in 1990. Of course, that's a very small time period, climate-wise, so we can't draw any conclusions

from it. There was also a study published in late 2022 that found that the burn rate in North America was in fact higher in past centuries and has since declined. And I'm going to be interested in looking that up because it's a good little fact. How are we doing on time? We're doing okay on time. Betsy Dobb from St. Agatha, Ontario or St. Agatha, Ontario I always get it wrong

but one of those two's got to be right Betsy considers herself a member of Chantel Nation of course she makes a member of Chantel Nation. Of course. She makes a number of points, but I'm just going to read one of them. After listening to James Moore on Moore-Butts conversation number, what was it? Eight? Or nine?

Just recently. I had started to think maybe, just maybe, he was okay. Then I heard him on Power and Politics a couple of weeks ago. He was a total partisan. All I could think was, just maybe, he was okay. Then I heard him on Power and Politics a couple of weeks ago. He was a total partisan. All I could think was, will the real James Moore please stand up? Then on Moore Butts on June 5th, he came out with the most thoughtful point about the short-term horizon of current politics, with which I totally agree. Hmm, the jury's still out for me, but maybe he is okay after all. Betsy, can I remind you of what the Moore-Butts conversations are?

And what panels on power and politics and any other political show, what those are? Those are clearly panels where the partisan nature of politics comes out and they're actually wanted to come out the whereabouts conversation is different as we've said from the beginning i asked these two gentlemen do you think we can have good conversations about behind the scenes of the political dynamic in Canada that are not partisan, that you try to bring us into that world and let us know what it's really like. Not from a partisan angle, but from a non-partisan angle. And that's what they agreed to do. And through nine conversations, for the most part, there've been a couple of times where both have been a little

off the rails, but not really. Overall, it's been wonderful. And I've heard from more than a few people in the academic world that, hey, this stuff is great. We play it for our students in, uh, in our political science courses because it does give us a much better understanding of what it's really like. And there've been some great conversations of late. Um, so Betsy,

that's, that's, that's how those work. Okay. Wendy Holmes from London, Ontario. I find Janice Stein so fascinating to listen to. Her understanding of geopolitics is enlightening. I do find I leave the episode feeling a bit depressed with a sense of hopelessness in the future of the world.

Is there any way you could run a special episode about good developments in the world? She must know about those too. The media and politics seem to be focused on the troubling developments. Maybe if we looked at some hopeful stories that have been missed, we could all feel just a little bit better.

You know, Wendy, that's not a bad idea. I'll mention that to Janice during our summer break and see whether we can do something like that coming back in the fall. Chris T. from Lindsay, Ontario. Before I was a paramedic, I was a combat engineer in the Canadian forces. That's one reason why I agreed with one of the comments that had come up earlier about our discussion with Brandon. I've forgotten who it is. It was Brandon Mitchell, the Canadian who is in Ukraine working as a medic. Anyway, here's the point that Chris from Lindsay is trying to get through.

I had the opportunity to train with the Canadian Rangers on King William Island. That's up along the Northwest Passage. We started in a village called Johaven and went out onto the land from there. Listening to those who know the land is so very important for survival. Those who ignore local knowledge do so at their own risk.

That is so true, and especially so in the Arctic. And that was the point we were making the other day when we were quoting that New York Times article, right? About the fellows who were the Canadian military who were up there training with Canadian rangers about how to live off the land in the Arctic.

Brett Christensen from Gannon-Ockway, Ontario. My second time writing to you, I love the Moore Butts episodes and their mature conversation around the various topics. When I listen, I wish that the polarized world, especially on the hill, Parliament Hill, could take a page from their book and have an adult discourse about the many problems facing our country.

But we are polarized, and I have been thinking more and more, self-centered, self-absorbed, and just worried about ourselves. While I was on the treadmill yesterday listening to your D-Day special, I wondered how many of our youth would line up voluntarily today to go halfway across the world to risk their lives for freedom. Yeah. What would happen there? Well, Canadians are pretty special people.

I believe that if the crunch came like that, young Canadians would line up to volunteer. You know, not all of them, but a significant proportion. Peter Coughlin writes, I'm writing from Wildfire Smokefield, Kingston, Ontario, although this afternoon the air is finally starting to clear. I wanted to send this shout out to Tyler Heppel and his fine students from Ponoka County near Red Deer, Alberta. The students wrote to you, this was last week, about the important Brandon Mitchell story.

Of course, the catalyst was a powerful May 30th interview on the bridge. Now the conversation continues and we so very much need these types of discussions in our current world. The letters from the students were thoughtful, reflective, and again, underlined for me the importance of engaging students and youth in important discussions. Their reflections were great and reminded me that the next generation has much to offer. Congratulations to their teacher who has emerged,

excuse me, who has engaged them in an important discussion of leadership, humility, and selflessness. Well done. Well, thank you, Peter. And thank you to the students once again from Ponoka County in Alberta because their letters were, well, they were wonderful. Okay.

You know who it's time for now? Because if you haven't got your feelings engaged on various topics already, you're likely to on this one. Because this one almost depends on where you live in the country. Because some people are very proud of what the ranter is about to talk about, and some people are not proud at all. They're enraged by it all. Which side of the fence are you on? Well, let's see what side of the fence our friend the random ranter

is on. And remember, I haven't told you much about the identity of the random Ranter, but I have told you that he lives somewhere between Thunder Bay and Victoria. Okay, so there you go. And here you go, the Random Ranter for this week. Let's hear what he has to say. I enjoy cycling, and in the past I've had jobs where I chose to commute on my bike. So I don't have an issue with the need for bike lanes, because I've had my share of close calls over the years. What I do have an issue with is the way bike lanes are being retrofitted into our existing road infrastructure. In my city, they're doing it with little forethought into how they'll impact vehicle traffic, cyclists,

pedestrians, and local businesses. I mean, if you own a shop on a narrow downtown street, what would you like to see? Parking for cars or a bike lane? We're having enough trouble getting people into our downtowns, and now we're taking away street parking. And let's just be honest about it. People on bikes don't shop or eat or do anything the same way people in cars do. They aren't riding their bikes to a fine dining experience, an art gallery, or a hipster haberdashery. Commuting cyclists generally go from point A to point B, and who

can blame them for not stopping to shop? Secure lockups are sadly lacking, and nobody wants their ride stolen. But there's no denying it, bike lanes are in vogue, and I get it, they ride bikes in Europe, so that's really cool. I mean, Europe has whole cities that must seem like cycling utopias to urban planners. And I agree with them. It sure would be nice if Edmonton was like Amsterdam or Winnipeg was like Copenhagen. But alas, they're not. Saskatoon might be the Paris of the prairies, but that's just a figure of speech because it snows in Saskatoon and it's often bone chillingly cold. You might get away with year-round cycling in Victoria or Toronto but for most other places in this country it's strictly for the hardcore or people with DUIs. So I don't care how much

you sugarcoat it. Winter cycling in Canada is niche. We've got a six-month season, maybe seven or even eight with global warming. Yet we're building a ton of infrastructure to support all those squeaky wheels. Why? Well, it's because there's money from the government to do it. $400 million from the feds, to be precise. It's part of their grand plan to, and I quote, fight climate change, build a more resilient economy, and create a million jobs. Well, I'm not seeing any of that. What I'm seeing is a poorly planned approach

that in some cases is putting bike lanes where there shouldn't be bike lanes, like in places that make driving a car or a bike or walking down the street less safe and I'm seeing poor designs that make proper snow clearing and maintenance next to impossible. No matter how much our urban planners like to pretend, we are not Europe. Most of our downtowns rely on cars and on parking. On top of that, I'm not seeing the volume of cyclists to justify the expense. But if you want to take the build it and they will come approach to cycling infrastructure, then I think you have to build some serious, field of dreams worthy bike lanes. Look at it this way.

You see a whole lot of careful planning when it comes to mass transit or new roads, but I'm not seeing the same level of planning when it comes to cycling infrastructure. To me, bike lane planning seems like a mixed bag of willy-nilly. It's like bike lanes by Jelly Belly. Lots of different flavors, and you don't know what you'll get. But don't get me wrong, I'm not being all pro-car here. I'm just trying to be a realist. We need to do a better job. If we want people cycling, then we need bike lanes that make sense to and for the communities they service and that are easily maintained year round. In addition, cyclists need access to some serious lockup infrastructure so that they feel confident enough to get off their bikes and spend some time and

money. Without that, you aren't going to get the their bikes and spend some time and money. Without that, you aren't going to get the critical mass of cyclists you need to justify all the expense, or for that matter, make one iota of difference to climate change. There he is, the random ranter. The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. I know some of you will be writing on that one. Don't be shy.

Let us know how you feel. We actually have a few more letters, but we're going to get to them right after this. And welcome back. Peter Mansbridge here. It's the Thursday episode of The Bridge. That means it's your turn, your letters, your thoughts, your comments, your questions on whatever the topic may be. You're listening on Sirius XM, Channel 167, Canada Talks,

or on your favorite podcast platform. We're glad to have you with us. We haven't heard from Dr. Jane for a while. Jane Rusnick, she lives in St. Catharines, Ontario. But we do hear from her today, and what her letter shows is she hasn't been listening every day. Did you catch the CNN town hall with Chris Christie last night, she writes. I'm not Republican, conservative, and usually I change the channel

as fast as I can during these things. But I was caught off guard by what an engaging and intelligent speaker he was. I felt like a deer in the headlights and couldn't look away. I don't agree with everything he said, but he had some interesting ideas and was the most inspiring Republican speaker I've heard in a long time. I know he's at the bottom of the barrel in the presidential race, but if the Republicans end up winning in the next election, Christie would seem to be a better option than most of the candidates.

I'd love to see him debate Trump and DeSantis. Listen, there's no doubt that Christie is an engaging guy. He's not perfect. He's got his own issues. But he's in the race for one reason and one reason alone. I don't think he's in it to win um but he's in the race for one reason one reason alone i don't think he's in it to win it he's in it to bring down trump he hates trump now of course he helped get him to win in 2016 but he thinks trump is uh is a crook and a con artist and he's doing all he can uh to make that point how well that'll go over with a Republican base that seems to like the fact

that he's a con artist, a crook, and he's up on, you know, dozens and dozens of indictments with more to come. But anyway, let's see how Chris Christie makes out, whether you'll ever get to debate him in person. That is Trump. I don't know, as Trump says he won't go to the debates. Of course he won't. Why would he take that chance?

Milo Mihaljevic writes from hot, dry, smoky central Alberta near Drayton Valley. I'm a pretty faithful listener. I don't do YouTube, so can't see your smiling face on Wednesdays and Fridays. I greatly enjoy the level of discourse on the bridge. It's refreshing to listen to thoughtful discussion and reasoned and polite disagreement among panelists. Given that, I'm greatly troubled by the level of discord that seems to be an emerging global phenomenon. In my view, rage farmers like Polyev, Trump, Daniel Smith, and Boris Johnson are equal parts symptom and sycophants to an already present angry and disgruntled discourse, or distrusting discourse.

Witness the recent flurry of internal truth-ident identifying green terrorists as the cause of the current wildfire plague. My sense is that a lot of people are very unhappy with the current state of the world. Jason Ratty from London, Ontario. A few weeks back a listener wrote how she and her husband weren't feeling it in regards to people with Canadian flags on their car. She recalled the days when you would see them and your thought would be how proud and patriotic. The convoy changed that. Those losers didn't really

care about Canada, just themselves. It was hard to tell who was who the summer following the protest. That was then. Now when you're driving and you can see the Canadian flags flying, it's easy to tell them apart. The convoy supporters and their F. Trudeau memorabilia are the ones with the flags flying that are all tattered, ripped, and faded. That's their love for Canada. True patriots have a fresh, crisp flag easily purchased for a few bucks from the local dollar store. Okay. Kim Martin.

I was surprised on Wednesday that you were so surprised that cameras were not allowed into the courtroom for Trump's indictment in Florida. As I listened to your incredulity, incredulity? I decided it reflected your commitment to journalism and its values, and that's admirable. I'm pleased with the judge's decision to not change the rules of the court for Trump. Attention is like oxygen for him. Treating him like an ordinary person and placing clear boundaries around him

and his team will hopefully assist the judge to give this matter the importance it deserves. I'm not sure Trump wanted the cameras on in the courtroom. And everything we know about the judge who's handling that case is she's a Trump toady. You know, it's just got, like, no experience. Here the trial is of the first former president of the United States to be tried under the Treason Act, and you've got a judge with 14 trial days of experience. Serious.

That's what she's got. All right. Hunter Crowther is 29 years old, lives in southern Ontario. I thought I could provide a younger perspective to a topic that's been discussed on the show for the past few months. There is a cynicism to our political discourse that's replaced policy discussion with name-calling and whataboutism. After seeing the growth of right-wing populism down south and the birth of the People's Party of Canada, I wanted to believe that it would never amount to more than a sliver of the Canadian electorate.

Unfortunately, I feel like we're watching it become the norm rather than the exception. Terry Hinch from Woodstock, Ontario. What will it take to make the Parliament members realize that we the people of Canada are so sick and tired of the mudslinging and the BS? Mr. O'Toole, that's Aaron O'Toole, a wonderful representative of the Conservative Party,

has left politics. He was relieved of his duty as party leader a while back because he wasn't Trump enough, I guess. He said in his parting speech that the mudslinging must stop and that all members must get back to work doing what they were elected to do. Okay, Glenn McLaughlin from Regina also writes about Aaron O'Toole. I think Aaron O'Toole showed us he is indeed a statesman when in his farewell speech this week he gave us this warning.

Instead of leading, instead of debating our national purpose in this chamber, too many of us are often chasing algorithms down a sinkhole of diversion and division. We are becoming elected officials who judge our self-worth by how many likes we get on social media, but not how many lives we change in the real world. Performance politics is fueling polarization. Virtue signaling is replacing discussion. And far too often, we are just using this chamber to generate clips, not to start national

debates. Social media did not build this great country, but it is starting to tear its democracy down. While Glenn and others who wrote about Aaron O'Toole will be happy to know that on Friday, Aaron O'Toole will be happy to know that on Friday, Aaron O'Toole will be on the bridge for, I don't know, an exit interview of a kind as he winds up his career on Parliament Hill. And I look forward to talking to Aaron O'Toole on Monday, and I hope you look forward to listening to what he has to say.

Tomorrow, it's, well, it's good talk. Chantelle Hebert and Bruce Anderson will be here as we close out the next to final week before we take our summer break. So next week will be the last one for a few weeks. We'll have a couple of special programs during the summer, and there will be some encore editions of the program as well. But we're looking forward to next week, starting on Monday, as I said, with Aaron O'Toole.

But tomorrow, it's Good Talk with Chantel and Bruce. Hope you join us. We'll be available on all our platforms, SiriusXM, podcast, and on YouTube. So we'll talk to you then. I'm Peter Mansbridge. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you again, 24 hours.