Show Segments

8:30 – Despite the huge economic pressure Canada is facing due to COVID-19, the Trudeau government is still raising the federal carbon tax by 50% today – it’s not an April Fools joke! The carbon tax will go up from $20 per tonne to $30 per tonne, keeping with the Liberals’ plan to raise it by $10/tonne annually until 2022. To discuss the pressures the carbon tax will put on Saskatchewan’s industries, John is joined by the original opponent to the carbon tax, former premier Brad Wall.

LIVE: Brad Wall, former Saskatchewan premier.

9:15 – Justin Trudeau to address Canada and take questions [LIVE COVERAGE]

10:00 – History professor Mark Humphries says we should be looking to 1918 and the Spanish Flu pandemic for lessons we can apply to COVID-19. Humphries says history tells us that time spent in social isolation will negatively impact “not only the economy but everything from child development, to mental health, nutrition, education, domestic violence and a whole host of other things.” While it can be tempting to ignore such factors in the face of a deadly pandemic, Humphries says doing so would be a mistake. He joins John to discuss the lessons Canada should take from the pandemics of the past.

LIVE: Mark Humphries, Associate Professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University

10:30 – After languishing for years, the Keystone XL pipeline project is finally going forward, thanks to a huge investment from the Alberta government. Premier Jason Kenney says the Government of Alberta will invest $1.5 billion in the project this year and provide a $6 billion loan guarantee in 2021. According to Kenney, shovels will be in the ground today beginning formal construction on the project, which will run 1,947 km and carry as much as 830,000 barrels of Alberta oil to Nebraska each day. Dennis McConaghy, a former pipeline executive and author of “Breakdown: The Pipeline Debate and the Threat to Canada’s Future,” joins Gormley to discuss the deal and what it means for Canadian oil.

LIVE: Dennis McConaghy, TransCanada’s former Executive Vice-President of Corporate Development and author of “Breakdown: The Pipeline Debate and the Threat to Canada’s Future.”

11:00 – It’s time for Saskatchewan’s Smartest Radio Listener! Powered by Urban Cellars. Your chance for fame, acclaim and to prove just how smart you are. Not only do you get bragging rights, you’ll win a $50 gift card for Urban Cellars.

12:00 – Quick Dick McDick joins the show to give his Toonie on the rising carbon tax (because two cents doesn’t buy you very much anymore). Unfortunately for the funniest farmer on the prairies, the 50% increase to the carbon tax coming today isn’t an April Fools joke, and he’s produced a video on the carbon tax and oats. Despite promises that the majority of funds would return to the pockets of Canadians, Dick says he just did his taxes and didn’t even recover half of what he paid to the carbon tax at the pumps and on his energy bills. Quick Dick joins Gormley to discuss the squeeze farmers are feeling.

LIVE: Quick Dick McDick, YouTube personality and Saskatchewan farmer.