The Big Five Podcast

Elias Makos is joined by Political analyst Karim Boulos, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil. MP’s took part in a debate yesterday evening in the House of Commons about the U.S-Israel war on Iran but one key person was not present for the debate Canada’s immigration system is facing some tough questions after a tense committee hearing on Parliament Hill At least 35 thousand asylum claims have been accepted without an in-person hearing since 2019 in Canada New York Magazine has conducted an informal survey of New Yorkers, asking them how much they make

Elias Makos kicks the week off with Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Andrew Caddell, columnist for the Hill Times and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Quebec discriminated against female refugee claimants by introducing regulations that denied them access to subsidized daycare spaces A rally was held on Saturday asking the city of Montreal to recognize itself as a sanctuary city for people living in Canada without permanent immigration status The city of Laval is being forced to pay the taxes of its former mayor A video out of Repentigny blew up over the weekend after it showed a security guard at a convenience store being assaulted by teenagers from a local high school

On this Friday edition of the BIG 5, Elias is joined by Justine McIntyre, co-founder at Civica Strategies and former city councilor and Daniel Tran, director of communication and governmental relations at Casacom. Closing in on a week since the war in Iran kicked off, and if you’re struggling to figure out just what Canada’s official position is in this conflict, you are not alone. Speaking of the Middle East, six days after U.S.-Israeli military strikes began, there are still Quebecers and Canadians abroad trying desperately to get home. Chinatown residents are saying enough is enough: "It is time to stop making Chinatown a dumping ground for misery."

Elias Makos was joined by Bonnie Feigenbaum, Conservative Party of Quebec candidate in last provincial election and a lecturer at Concordia & McGill University, media & government relations consultant  & Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance. Among the topic discussed were Break out the star charts, it's time to determine where Canada stands on the war in Iran New nugget out from that Leger polling conducted for Journal de Montreal, and it should send a message to Quebec finance minister Eric Girard and to the other political parties who want to win the election in October. 61 percent of Quebecers say that the government should cut services if it's the only way to avoid increasing taxes CAQ leadership candidate Bernard Drainville says he would cut certain services to asylum seekers if elected Premier A judge in Hamilton has put Ontario’s official sexual offenders registry in jeopardy after ruling it unconstitutional

Elias Makos is joined by Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia. Speaking in Washington on Tuesday, the U.S. administration continued to make their case that allowing Iran to continue their reign of terror was not an option. Mark Carney finally spoke to journalists after avoiding them for almost a week. And he took the opportunity to walk back some of the support he gave to the bombing of Iran on Saturday.  The Parti Quebecois are now barely holding on to their lead while the Quebec Liberal Party is cementing their comeback in the polls.

Elias Makos is joined by Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies. The OQLF will begin a Bonjour-Hi verification blitz in the coming months. War in Iran: Questions remain about how long this military action will last, with Trump telling reporters the mission is ahead of schedule while providing various timelines ranging from two to six weeks. Here at home, there are questions about how Prime Minister Mark Carney is handling the situation. Concessions on Canada's dairy supply management system, one of the main sticking points for Washington,

Elias Makos kicks the week off with Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Trudie Mason, veteran newscaster at CJAD 800. U.S. President Donald Trump says operations in Iran could take"four weeks or less," and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country's strikes "will increase even more in the coming days."  CTV News described the scenes on the streets of Montreal as “pure jubilation” as Iranians living here celebrated the downfall of the Iranian regime.  Prime Minister Mark Carney says he supports destroying Iran's nuclear program, but ruled out Canada’s military participation in the Middle East conflict. What should Canada’s stance be here? It has been a busy couple of days for the OQLF as they have been targeting multiple people and businesses over the use, or lack thereof, of French on their social media pages. The CHU de Québec-Université Laval hospital has been under fire since Thursday because of a Facebook post. The message was about HPV screening but added that the screenings were for "all people with a cervix". The words "people with a cervix" were changed to the word "women," by Friday afternoon. 

On this Friday edition of the BIG 5, Elias is joined by political analyst Karim Boulos and Akil Alleyne, reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. Dozens of Montreal school staff have been let go, suspended or resigned following the province’s expanded secularism bill and religious symbols ban comes into full effect. It’s official: Quebecers have the Chronically Online Disease. The average screen time jumped an extra hour a day compared to last year. Should the Quebec government be doing business with TicketMaster?

Elias Makos is joined by Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada. Quebec’s Finance Minister Eric Girard says just the thought of a referendum is costing the Quebec government $20 million a year.  Pierre Poilievre is undergoing a makeover - the Conservative leader has determined that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and will start to miss more and more time in the House of Commons to work on other things like economic speeches and trips. Has anyone seen Immigration Minister Lena Diab lately? She has not been visible as of late and many including her colleagues inside the Federal Liberal party have taken notice. Sweden wants to drastically increase the number of deportations involving convicted immigrants.

Elias Makos is joined by Trudie Mason, veteran Newscaster here at CJAD 800, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor. A new poll out from Pallas Data, Qc125 and L’actualité this morning shows a neck and neck race in Quebec, with the PQ having a mere three-point lead over the new-and-improved Charles Milliard Liberals.  The province is getting very close to a recession. That is what the Institut du Quebec has revealed in its latest economic growth figures.  Speaking this week on CNN, one of the apparent frontrunners for Democratic presidential nomination, Gavin Newson, said that his party needs to be more “culturally normal.” Is he right? The more you take out the trash, the more taxes you will pay. That is what a family in the lower Laurentians discovered after getting a $460 tax increase for having their garbage collected every week. Angus Reid now shows a 13-point lead by the Liberals over the Conservatives. Canadians also overwhelmingly approve of how Mark Carney is handling the U.S.