The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Your Turn - Your Favourite Canadian TV Show, Past or Present

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

This week's question has again prompted dozens and dozens of answers. What Canadian TV show, past or present, has had the greatest impact on you as a Canadian? The answers tell us a lot about ourselves and our television industry. Also today the random Ranter with his own provocative take on the carbon tax.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. You are just moments away from the latest episode of The Bridge. It's Thursday, your turn, and this week, your favorite past or present Canadian television show. Plus, the random renter. He takes aim at the carbon tax. And it's a different take than you might think. That's coming right up. And hello there, Peter Mansbridge in Toronto today. And I got to tell you, you never cease to amaze me. You are listeners to The Bridge. Ever since the beginning of the year when we kind of turned the focus on Thursdays from the sort of what are you thinking to posing a question, the answers have been coming in, you know, in quite the number every week, no matter what the topic is. It's been so good that we started posting some of your answers,

kind of the conclusion of your answers on my website at thepetermansbridge.com. And we're also going to offer them up, at least some of them anyway, on my weekly newsletter. Now, I don't know whether you subscribe to the buzz, but if you don't, you might want to try it. There's no charge. You subscribe through nationalnewswatch.com. All you have to do is give your email, nothing else,

and you'll get the weekly newsletter. It comes out at 7 a.m. Saturday mornings. And it's kind of a take on the news through some of the items that I've witnessed in different periodicals around the world. Sort of the news behind the news is what I like to say it is. So it gives you half a dozen or so articles that you can read on the weekend. And it's a nice Saturday morning starter to a weekend, just to give you a little background to some of the stories that are out there

and a few of my personal thoughts on different things. So that's there. But we're going to add, starting this week, we're going to add some of the conclusions drawn from these Thursday programs in terms of your suggestions. Like last week, we had a great topic, which was your favorite Canadian vacation spot outside of your own province.

And we got a wonderful list. So we're going to put that list in the buzz, in the weekly newsletter this week. And I'm sure this one, your favorite Canadian television program could be present, could be past, and most of them are past favorites. So I'm going to add that to the buzz each week. If you can't wait for the buzz on the list, thebetermansbridge.com is my website, and you can find it there. All right, let's get started with this week.

Once again, the topic is fairly straightforward, fairly simple. And there's so many responses. We had an overwhelming number of responses. You know, a lot of people clearly have some great memories about watching Canadian television. Now, to get the most out of your letters, we've had to be pretty, what do we say, pretty brutal in the way we've edited them.

Even though many shows had multiple mentions, and they did, in almost every case we've chosen just one letter to read about any one show. The exceptions came because some of your letters are just, they're just too good not to share. Now, when we finish this, and we're not going to finish it this week, there are just too many entries. This is going to stretch into next week as well, into next Thursday's program.

But at the end of it all, we'll give you a little scorecard about how many shows were named and which were the most popular. That comes at the end. But let's get started with week one of this process. And our first letter comes from John baker in eagle bay british columbia man some of the places i've been in bc and you see those eagles swooping out at sonora on the west coast on the sunshine coast watching the eagles amazing anyway eagle bay bc is a couple of hours north of Kelowna.

And John Baker writes, My choice would be Da Vinci's Inquest. It was a CBC Vancouver production at the turn of the century. It captured the political and crime situation of that period, almost mimicking real life at the time. Marjorie Danton in London, Ontario. For me, the program that stands out most is Schitt's Creek. The Canadian actors Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, and Dan Levy led a very talented cast.

The character of David Rose was portrayed as pansexual and in a positive way. The show was really funny and very thoughtful. Sandy Esposito in Aurora, Ontario. The one program that I enjoyed as a teenager was Front Page Challenge with panelists Betty Kennedy, Alan Fotheringham, Gordon Sinclair, and Pierre Burton, along with Fred Davis as the host. It would be interesting to watch the panelists try to guess the story. It was a good mix of facts and entertainment.

A couple of editor's notes here. In fact, Sinclair and Fotheringham were not on at the same time. Fotheringham took Sinclair's spot when Sinclair died in 1984. Over the years, the regular panelists were Pierre Burton, Gordon Sinclair, Toby Robbins, Betty Kennedy, Alan Fotheringham, and Jack Webster. There were guest panelists every once in a while.

Even I was a guest panelist. I was on Front Page Challenge a couple of times. I was so nervous sitting there with the biggies, Pierre Burton and Betty Kennedy, for sure. Amadeus Narbutt in Toronto. A Canadian TV show I think about often is Survivor Man with Les Stroud. He spent days at a time surviving in harsh wilderness locations around the world with little to no food, water, or equipment, and always entirely alone.

It's educational, beautiful, and exciting. Les did all the cinematography himself. It's a real treat to watch, with plenty of varied Canadian wilderness on the screen. Dean Mercer in Vancouver. And Dean, loving to rub it in as the occasional West Coast listener does, says, you know, we're now filled with cherry and plum blossoms here on the West Coast. Thank you for that.

Dean's favorite program, The Beachcombers. I think I was six or so. I grew up in Toronto when Joe Cote, the CBC radio morning man, would say there was a backup on the Don Valley Parkway, that seemed pretty exotic. The West Coast was to me and my brother more like Timbuktu. I've lived in Vancouver now for nearly 40 years, and I did live in Gibsons for a time. I never disliked Toronto, but I think the beachcombers made me feel like there was a place of magical beauty here in Canada. Paul Kowach in Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.

On April 16, 1973, we immigrated to Canada from the UK. The next night on television, I watched the Habs play the Flyers in the semifinals of the Stanley Cup on Hockey Night in Canada. I was used to football and rugby. I'd not seen hockey or anything like that before. The sight of Guy Le Fleur skating from behind his net, long hair flowing and scoring, Ken Dryden leaning with his chin on his goalie stick when the play was at the other end,

plus the fights, we had nothing like that back home. I was mesmerized and an instant Canadiens fan. When I asked my uncle if Toronto had a hockey team, my aunt started laughing. Years later, I understood why. Oh gosh, my introduction to Canada was complete. Debbie Fletcher Queen. Without a doubt, it is the friendly giant that I vote for. Born in Toronto in 1964, it was one of the only shows we could get on TV, at least in the household I grew up in anyway. It was all about feeling secure in and around the fireplace.

I so wanted to be the one who curled up in the rocking chair. Half the Friendly Giant starred Bob Homme, who couldn't do personal appearances because the kids would see he wasn't a giant. You know, when I first started doing the National in the early 1980s, we shared a studio in the old building on Jarvis Street in Toronto with the friendly giant. Friendly did his show in the morning. We did our show at night.

And I'd be sitting there. There were times I was sitting there reading the news, looking into the camera, dealing with the weighty issues of the day, and behind the camera there, hanging on the wall, Rusty and Jerome. It's a funny feeling. John Sufairly in Meaford, Ontario.

That's up there west of Collingwood on the south shore of Georgian Bay. For John, it's SCTV. This groundbreaking comedy variety show with its star-studded cast was both a Canadian cultural touchstone and preeminent incubator and exporter of comedic genius to our neighbors to the south. Well, as we sadly learned this week, one of the big stars from that program, Joe Flaherty, died on Monday at the age of 82.

Catherine Bird in Nanaimo, BC. Your question took me back to long ago as a child, spending boring weekends in cheap motels around southern Ontario. I think our widowed dad was trying to give us mini vacations, but we never knew. There were always bunny ears on the small black and white TV. We learned to care about the littlest hobo and his adventures. He always seemed to be on during strange hours and days.

Other memories of hobo are tinged with sadness. We would, oh so quietly, watch our TV on Sundays at home while my parents were sleeping off the night before. The 60s were a strange time for children, too. I still have affection for all the littlest Hobos. Well, we should also give a quick shout-out to Travis Moore in Ottawa, who also nominated The Littlest Hobo by sending the lyrics from the theme song. But I'm not going to sing them. I will spare you that. Jamie Rothenberger in Calgary, Alberta, writes this.

My favorite Canadian TV program is Kevin Sullivan's production of Anne of Green Gables starring Megan Follows. My grandmother had a deluxe VHS set that I watched so many times as a little girl that I wore out the first tape. To this day, I can recite the lines and can't wait to introduce the show to my children. The beautiful scenery of PEI, excellent acting and Anne's strength, wit and charm as a strong female lead make this adaptation great. A favorite line is, tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it. While living in Guelph, I visited some of the film locations in southwestern Ontario. The Westfield Heritage Village is home to the

famous train station where Anne first meets Matthew. I chatted with the station master who informed me that he rarely sees Anne's fans these days. But with an efficiency born of much practice, he handed me a replica carpet bag and snapped a photo of me waiting eagerly on the bench, just like Anne did all those years ago. It's a memory and photo I will always cherish. Doug Brown in Stony Creek, Ontario. The Red Green Show was a half-hour sitcom that first aired in 1991 and ran for 15 seasons. It was low-budget, filmed in and around Hamilton, Ontario, starring Steve Smith as Red Green and Patrick McKenna as Harold,

but had many other talented cast members for various episodes, including Gordon Pinson, Ian Thomas, Paul Gross, and Dave Thomas. The show consisted of many hilarious skits centered on Red Green, the leader of Possum Lodge in the fictional town of Possum Lake, instructing his nerdy nephew Harold on the fine art of being a handyman. A couple of his favorite sayings included, anything is possible if you use enough duct tape.

And his famous, if the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy. At the end of each episode. Classic Canadian television. Tony McKinnon in Hamilton, Ontario. The most impactful show for me was Front Page Challenge. I recall watching it weekly with my dad.

You might recall how the identity of the guest would first be revealed to the audience, but kept secret from the panelists. My dad always loved a good quiz, so he would join the panelists in covering his ears and eyes at the start while the rest of us learned who the mystery guest was. Then dad would proceed to try his guesses alongside the panelists. It was good fun. I might credit this show with helping cultivate for me

an interest in current events that has remained strong since my youth. Aaron Soltis in Sudbury. The Adventures in Rainbow Country was shot in the late 1960s and early 1970s near Birch Island, Whitefish Falls, and Willisville. It starred Lois Maxwell, who portrayed Miss Moneypenny from the James Bond films. The show followed a widow raising her two children who kept getting into trouble in the area. Since I still spend most of my summers in that area,

I get reminded of that show every year. Anastasia Lewis, she lives in Shiloh, Manitoba. That's in western Manitoba, but she's writing this actually from Winnipeg, she says. In my early 20s, I followed my now husband out to Manitoba from Niagara. What a different experience. I saw my first, very first, one-horse town and learned what square tire syndrome was. And if you don't know what that means, it's tires get so cold when the cars park that they freeze flat on one edge and stay that way for at least a few revolutions. I also found Corner Gas, a hilarious on-point and extremely well-written show depicting small-town life in Saskatchewan that helped me settle into my new prairie life.

Nicole McEachern in Stittsville, that's just outside Ottawa. I would like to mention Tout Le Mans en Parle. This is a talk show that has been on Radio Canada Sunday evenings. It recently celebrated 20 years on air. Guy Lepage is the host of the show and welcomes personalities from all walks of life, politicians, journalists, writers, singers, sports personalities, etc. I can share that Chantelle Hébert has taken part in the show the most, a record 18 times, if I remember correctly.

Chantelle loves her experiences on that program. She often talks to us about them. Stephen Abba in Toronto. I nominate Mr. Dress-Up. I did not see much of this show as I was at work when my children watched, but when remembering the show recently with my daughter, now in her mid-40s, she wrote, I remember with fondness always waving

to Mr. Dress-Up's house as we drove by. Ernie Coombs lived nearby, and he was like a favorite uncle who lived in the TV, the sweetest man on television who never patronized any viewers and who created a safe, happy, enriching, delightful space for us all. Years later, on June 1, 2001, our beloved Ernie Coombs received an honorary degree and gave the keynote address at my university, Trent. In his convocation speech, he voiced these words of advice. Keep an open mind with an open heart. Don't take life too seriously.

It doesn't last forever, you know. And may I remind you for the last time, keep your crayon sharp, your sticky tape untangled, and always put the top back on your markers. Cindy Bond in Burlington, Ontario. The show that I think had the best influence on me, and I wish I was still on, was The New Music. It was a music magazine show with Jeannie Becker and J.D. Roberts. It was a show that highlighted Canadian bands with interviews

and international bands visiting Canada that week. It gave me a look at music that was drowned out by American music and gave me so much pride in our influence in this industry. Yeah, Jeannie and J.D. were great. Still are. Frida Jesse in Moranville, Alberta. That's just north of Edmonton. One of my favorite shows in the 60s

was The Forest Rangers. I especially liked Indian Joe. These were much simpler times, and it didn't take much to get our imagination going. We easily saw ourselves as junior forest rangers because we were outside a lot. Indian Joe Rivers, or Indian Joe Two Rivers, actually, was played by Michael Zenon, who was not indigenous. He was born in Ukraine. Like Frida says, simpler times.

Gordon Pinson played RCMP Sergeant Scott. A couple more before we take our first break. Keith Smith in Stony Plain, Alberta. That's just west of Edmonton. My favorite Canadian TV show was the Royal Canadian Air Farce. Political satire at its best and no politician was immune. We could sure use a show like that today. I imagine Luba Goy doing Daniel Smith, Don Ferguson as Pierre Palliev, and Roger Abbott as Justin Trudeau. The Chicken Cannon, Mike from Canmore, and Preston Manning from the Reform Party. Those were classics.

They were. That's another show that I was a guest on occasionally, the Royal Canadian Air Force. We've got 22 minutes now, of course. Heather Gignac from Fort Erie, Ontario, just south of Niagara Falls. Being so close to Buffalo, New York, we watched only U.S. television since we didn't get an antenna signal for any Canadian stations, nor did my town have cable until the mid to late 80s.

My family moved in the early 80s, and suddenly we had the world of Canadian television in our living room when we got cable. By far my favorite show, and arguably most influential show, is the Degrassi franchise. It was the same age as the Degrassi junior High kids I was. Their lives reflected a lot of the trials my friends and I were going through. Sheila Gervais in Ottawa. When I heard the question on my walk today, passing walkers likely thought I was nuts as I blurted out, Chez Alain!

It first aired in 1959, so the show is one of my earliest, most enduring, and fondest memories. I especially loved the Anglo mouse, Susie, in her conversations with the bilingual Louise, who I thought was the most beautiful woman in the world. Hélène herself was warm, kind, and motherly. The 15-minute daily show was aired by the CBC to expose Canadians, primarily children, to the French language,

and I credit it for helping me have a working knowledge of French as I entered the workforce some 20 years later. Harold Gold in Calgary. This one Canadian show, This one Canadian show I, the one Canadian show I remember best and love the most, was the Wayne and Schuster comedy specials that aired weekly and monthly. Who could ever forget the classic Julius Caesar skit entitled Rinse the Blood Off My Toga

with John Wayne playing the detective Flavius Maximus, private Roman I. Julie, don't go. I told him, Julie, don't go. They were such a great comedy team that they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show a record 58 times. Frank Schuster's daughter, by the way, Rosie, wrote for a time for Saturday Night Live. She was also married for a time to Lorne Michaels, the Canadian who created and still produces Saturday Night Live. Well, on that note, let's take our quick break. We've got lots more letters, and I said we've got so many, we're going to take them into next week as well. But still to come, also,

The Random Ranter. He's got a rant you won't forget very soon. But let's take that quick break now. We'll be right back after this. And welcome back. You're listening to The Bridge right here on Sirius XM, Channel 167, Canada Talks, or on your favourite podcast platform. This is the Thursday edition.

It's your turn. And this week's Your Turn question was, name the one Canadian television show, past or present, that's had a real impact on you. And my gosh, we're getting a lot of memories here today. So let's keep it going with Patrick Ross in Stratford, Prince Edward Island. You know, I think, could be wrong here, and I'm sure if I am, you'll tell me. I think this is the only other Stratford in Canada, other than the one that I live in,

in southwestern Ontario. There are apparently 27 Stratfords around the world in six different countries. So Patrick writes, growing up in Prince Edward Island, we didn't have the internet to explore the world like we do today. The Beachcombers was the show that taught me what part of my country looked like. I was in awe of the massive logs, the miles of waterways, and of course the scenery. I never traveled outside of the Maritimes as a child, and the Beachcombers gave me a feeling of wonder and dreams. It gave me the desire to explore my country. In 2009, I finally had the opportunity to visit Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and Whistler.

It did not disappoint. Still want to watch the Beachcombers? A lot of you talked about it. I think you can find some old episodes on CBC Gem. Marilyn Wallace and Fanny Bay, British Columbia. One of my earliest childhood memories is of two little girls, my sister and I, fancied up in our best dresses and beyond excited. It was our one and only TV appearance as guests on the Canadian version of Romper Room.

The 90-minute drive from our rural home to Calgary seemed to take an eternity. At the recording studio for Channel 2, we met a few other children and our host, Miss Anne, who we thought was the most elegant and sophisticated person we had ever met. She finished the program by gazing through the magic mirror and reciting the little verse the children knew so well. The memory still makes me smile 60 years later. So we did a little digging here. The verse for the Magic Mirror was, romper, bomper, stomper, boo. They tell, tell me, tell me, tell me, do.

Magic Mirror, tell me today, did all my friends have fun at play? Okay. Brent Cabelka in Turtle Lake, Saskatchewan. That's an hour and a bit northwest of North Battleford. Well, the obvious answer is, of course, the National. However, not wanting to be accused of pandering to the host, I want to share with you my thoughts of another show from my formative teen years.

I believe it was a seminal Canadian show because it introduced Canadian viewers to a number of emerging Canadian stars that would soon be loved around the world for their comedic chops, acting skill, and passion for Canada. Coming up, Rosie on CBC. I recall watching... Wait a minute. What am I doing here? Coming up, Rosie on CBC. I recall watching... Wait a minute. What am I doing here?

What am I missing? Oh, no. There we are. I recall watching the personas of Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, and Fiona Reed come alive as Purvis Bickle, Myrna Walbecker, and Rosie in that downtown Toronto building. Denise Clark in Ottawa. The first show that comes to mind is Mr. Dress Up.

His sweet manner, encouragement to use our imaginations, and thoughtful lessons help me to believe in myself, to draw, and to create. When Ernie Coombs passed away, I was 29 years old and it felt like we all lost a friend. I feel so grateful to have grown up with him. Kevin Goulet in Calgary. The one show that my wife and I really enjoyed was Being Erica. The storylines had the interesting twist of time travel and being able to go back in time to learn, change, and understand past regrets. For the main character, Erica, played by Erin Karpluck, her therapist, Dr. Tom, played by a great actor, Michael Reilly,

provided the opportunity for Erica to fix these regrets in this unusual course of therapy. Who hasn't wished just once that they could go back and change something in their lives? Robin Ward in Edmonton. The Canadian TV program that immediately came to mind for me when I heard this week's topic? Reach for the Top. I've never been a big TV watcher, even as a child, but I remember that show intriguing me and being curious about the answers.

So Reach for the Top was a quiz show for high school students. I'm sure many of you remember it. It aired on CBC local stations, and eventually there was a national championship. It ran from 1961 to 1985. Apparently, there's a version still on YouTube. In Toronto, one of the original quiz masters was Alex Trebek, and then Jan Tennant, who would one day become the first woman to anchor the National. Annette Duval in Barrie, Ontario. A show that I feel stands out in terms of Canadian representation is Murdoch Mysteries. Although we have many excellent Canadian-produced programs,

this one appears to make a concerted effort to identify specific Canadian places, institutions, politicians, entertainers, etc. Great entertainment and a bit of Canadian history all in one place. It was awesome. Still is awesome. Murdoch Mysteries. Just keeps churning them out. And, yes, I was a guest on that one once too.

Glenn J. Lee in Berlin. Nothing impressed me more than City TV when it came on the air with Much Music. I couldn't get enough of it, and the Canadian bands that appeared live liked the Tragically Hip and more. I learned so much from Much Music that Canada produced some great musicians and bands. Devin Baines in Ottawa. Kids in the Hall. Funniest sketch comedy I have ever seen. Julie Smith-Allen in Lethbridge, Alberta. I have ever seen.

Julie Smith Allen in Lethbridge, Alberta. When I was little, Mr. Dress-Up felt to me like a kind, funny family member. The sound of his scissors cutting construction paper was ASMR before we knew what that even was. I still don't know what it is. So we looked it up. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. A term used to describe a tingling, static-like, or goose-pump sensation

in response to specific triggering audio or visual stimuli. Today, when I find myself in a situation where the exact right thing is close at hand, I say it's like Mr. Dress-Up's tickle trunk, where whatever he needed was always on top. My adult offspring know the difference, or know the reference, even though they weren't fortunate enough

to see the show. Marina Skinner in Nanaimo, BC. As a young girl growing up on Quadra Island in the 1980s, my favorite television show was Danger Bay. The drama and excitement of rescuing animals and marine life was never-ending. I could picture myself doing that someday. The float plane in the opening credits sticks with me to this day. I recently took a float plane over to Vancouver, and upon realizing there would be only one pilot,

I pictured myself taking over the controls should something happen to the pilot, just the way Nicole Roberts did in one episode. Nicole Roberts, by the way, was played by actress Ocean Hillman and was nominated for a Gemini Award for that role in 1988. Greg Slate in Saint-Alexandre, Quebec, about 45 minutes southeast of Montreal. My most memorable show is The Raccoons, educational concerning environment and forest management, but also a great cartoon with an excellent theme song.

My father was in the Navy and sailing during the late 80s and brought me back a stuffed toy raccoon that I promptly named Bert from the show. I handed him off to my daughter some years ago. My stuffed Bert is now 34 years old,

but it's doing great. Michael Van Steenkist in Toronto. My favorite program is actually more of a series of vignettes that we would watch in between our favorite programs. Are you ready? Hinterland Who's Who. Come on, I know many of you remember that not the young ones

but if you're if you're of an age you remember hinterland who's who i can think of nothing more iconic and canadian than the program which for 50 years has brought the wildlife of Canada into our living rooms. Learning about the lives of beaver, moose, bear, and a loon makes you really appreciate the beautiful country we live in. Finally, who can forget that beautiful and slightly haunting flute that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it? The first Hinterland Who's Who ran in 1963.

Sponsored by Environment Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Jeff Stover in Thamesford, Ontario. Every day before school, I remember being a nine-year-old eating Eggo waffles and watching The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. Billy Vann played a host of different characters,

along with other actors, all living in a big, spooky castle. It was sketch comedy for kids, with actual learning squeezed in with the laughs. Vincent Price narrated, I learned many things without realizing it. I was just there for the laughs. To this day, I can't eat an Eggo waffle without thinking of the hilarious House of Frightenstein.

Okay, you don't remember that one? It was produced at CHCH in Hamilton. 130 episodes, all done in 1971. It's available still on the free streaming site

Tubi. T-U-B-I. Guess you'll be looking that up, eh? Mark Lonarchic in Toronto, or Lonarsic in Toronto. I'll vote for This Is The Law. That was a very entertaining show with Larry Solway and Hart Pomerantz, with Paul Soles acting out the violation. Austin Willis was a great host.

The great Austin Willis. Basically, the program ran as a quiz show, with Soles performing in a short film breaking some obscure law like patting a horse on its head while it was drinking water. That apparently is illegal. The panel had to figure out what souls had done that was illegal. They usually couldn't. Ralph Goring in North Saanich, B.C.

All I can say is, thank God this one came in, or I would be in even more trouble than I normally am at home. Ralph Goring from North Saanich, B.C. writes, The best Canadian TV show is street legal. Beauty of it was the characters were relatable, and the stories were not always focused on their personal lives, but on the clients' lives as well. The stories were great, and the actors were believable.

CBC has a lot of great shows, but sometimes there comes a show that it knocks right out of the park. Street legal. Thank you very much. Okay, a couple more before we wrap it up for this week. Because there's so many. There'll be more next week of your favorite Canadian shows. Cameron Houle from

Winnipeg. One Canadian TV show I have fond memories of is the sitcom Mr. D. It had eight seasons, by the way, starting in 2012. Start Jerry D. was an inept schoolteacher. It's still on CBC Gem. The fond memories aren't necessarily because it's the best sitcom ever, but because it's one I watched with my father, says Cameron. I often bond over watching silly shows like that,

and it's just a great bonus that it's Canadian. Dee Medhurst in Victoria. My sister and I would sit and watch The Friendly Giant every day, and at the end of the show, we'd race to shout out which chair we wanted to sit in, curl up in, in front of the fireplace. Something comforting about that show and its routines. You want to read a little story about the friendly giant?

Get my book off the record. There's a story about the friendly giant in there that I'm not going to tell you now, but you might want to read it. My friend Marilyn Trenholm Council in Sackville, New Brunswick. One show came immediately to mind. Don Messer and his Islanders on Don Messer's Jubilee.

Beginning with the radio shows that started in 1939, the TV version started in 1957. This was a childhood favorite in my little village of Bay Vert, New Brunswick, and went with me to Toronto, where it nurtured my maritime roots. When I listened or watched that show, I knew who I was. Love that. Okay, well, with that one, we're going to stop for this week. As I said, we had many, many letters.

And we had letters that came in after the deadline last night. So I will extend the deadline to tomorrow night, Friday night. 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday. Name the one Canadian television show, and I bet if you've been listening today, your memory has been sparked of others. And we will run a second and final week next week.

Keep it short. Include your name and location. All right? Okay. That's it for your turn. It's now the ranter's turn. And as I kind of hinted at the beginning, the ranter is on a tear this week. And you know the ranter.

He kind of spreads the blame around when he rants. He doesn't just pick on one party or one politician or one person or one business or one personality. He moves the dial around. Well, he sure has a target this week. It's all related to this continuing discussion around the carbon tax so you ready here we go the random ranters rant for this week. This week, I've been inundated with people telling me about Polyev's plan to lower emissions by selling natural gas to China, India, and basically anyone who'll buy it. As the story goes, the whole thing is great for the environment and great for us.

We sell natural gas to a country that burns coal so that they can make the switch and lower their emissions. And that counts as us doing our part. Because the world would be a better place with more clean and green Canadian natural gas. Well, sorry, but that's not the way it works. If we sell something to a country that helps them lower their emissions, those credits go to meeting their target, not ours. I mean, the buyer and the seller cannot claim the same credit. If we buy solar panels from China or wind turbines from the U.S., we're not giving them credit for our lower emissions. Emission reduction agreements are on a per country basis. We all have our own targets

that we've agreed to. And while selling our natural gas might help a country reduce its emissions, producing it will see ours go up significantly. And I'm sure Mr. Polyev knows this, but credit to the liberals, they've got a rhyme of their own to counteract the tax. And it's Pierre doesn't care. And I really believe that. He doesn't care about the environment. His natural gas nonsense is just his version of Trump's building a wall and getting Mexico to pay for it. It's never going to happen. But it sounds good to the people who want to believe it. So why let the facts get in the way? I mean, his BS is effective. He's taken a global cost of living crisis and bamboozled the majority of the Canadian public into blaming it all on Trudeau and the carbon tax.

But it's pure propaganda, just like the laughable idea that natural gas is somehow green. I mean, burning natural gas is better for us than burning coal, the same way arsenic is better to ingest than cyanide. The results are the same, it's only the timeline that differs. But again, Pierre doesn't care. He's all about his common sense conservatism, which to me is just BS baffles brains by another name. Where I come from, it's common sense to listen to experts. So if 200 economists from across the country told me something, I would think it would be common sense to listen to them, even if I didn't like what they were telling me. But not Pierre, because Pierre doesn't care. Listening to experts would

mean he's not the smartest person in the room, Something I'm sure his apple-munching, fragile ego could never accept. Now, I'm no fan of Trudeau and his ham-handed ways, but I do believe in the carbon tax. It's an inconvenient truth, but pollution isn't free. It costs all of us. But without a price on it, there's no incentive to change anything. The carbon tax uses market forces to incentivize better choices. It's not heavy-handed, and it's revenue neutral. Remember, you get a check from the government, a check that went up as of April 1st,

and that in most cases more than offsets what you pay. It's the least disruptive way to reduce emissions. And if you believe in global warming, then you have to believe we should be reducing our emissions. But Pierre doesn't care. He's not interested in right or wrong. He's interested in votes. And frankly, so are all the premiers out there who are siding with him. I mean, look at Daniel Smith. She's complaining about the carbon tax adding three cents to a liter of gas as she hikes her own fuel surcharge to 13 cents per liter. And if she really cared about the cost of living for Albertans, she could easily axe her own tax or spike her own hike. But why be responsible when you have a perfectly good

scapegoat to lay your problems on? Look, it's not the carbon tax driving up the price of groceries. It's the impact of climate change. It's maple syrup drying up in Quebec. It's cattle herds being thinned in Alberta. And it's the spike in crop insurance across the West. And that's just Canada. I didn't even mention California. But inconvenient truth, you'll never hear Pierre talk about any of this. Because when it comes to the environment, Pierre doesn't care. So I know the question you're asking, or at least some of you are.

Who is that guy? Who is that random ranter? Well, for long-time listeners, you know the answer to that question. Well, you sort of know the answer to that question. Well, you sort of know the answer to that question. The random ranter goes nameless to encourage the sort of action around his thoughts and his claims and his rants. It's just an interesting little side piece to, well, to get you to listen, I guess. But we do know this about the random ranter. The random ranter lives on the prairies. Okay?

He's from the West. Lives on the prairies. He does not work for a political party on any level. He's, the way we like to say it, he's just a guy. He's just a guy, has a good job, travels a lot, sees the country, loves talking to people, gets their take on things. They loves talking to people, gets their take on things. They like talking to him.

They like giving him their take. They don't know that he's the random renter on the bridge, unless they can kind of spot that voice. But so far, nobody's tracked him down. And so far, he keeps giving us things to think about. You don't have to agree with the ranter. But it's nice to be provoked into thought around issues that matter to all of us at one point or another. And I know many of you like this issue because I hear about them,

about your thoughts. Pro and con on the carbon tax. Pro and con on Justin Trudeau. Pro and con on Pierre Pogliev. I see your letters. I read them. And keep that in mind. I do read all your letters.

Some of them make it on there. Some of them don't. Some of them occasionally get a reply from me, but I can tell you it would be a full-time job just to reply to letters because we get so many of them here at the bridge. And as you know, we at the bridge is a very small number. But a shout out once again to my good friend and co-author on some of the books, Mark Bulguch, who helps go through the letters each week since we started this new format. And it's great fun, and Mark, like he does on everything,

does a heck of a job on it. All right, that's going to wrap it up for today. Tomorrow it's a good talk with Chantal Hébert and Rob Russo filling in for Bruce, who's away this week. up for today. Tomorrow it's Good Talk with Chantal Hébert and Rob Russo filling in for Bruce, who's away this week. He'll be back with us next week. And we'll discuss tomorrow on Good Talk the things we normally discuss, whatever's out there.

And I look forward to doing that. So until then, I'm Peter Mansbridge. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll talk to you again in 24 hours.