Encore Episode. It's been a week. Canada/US relations have never been so low. Attacks on each other's trade strategies, attacks on our sovereignty, even a pathetic, rather lame attack on one of the Great Lakes that shares our joint border. Sounds like enough for a final, special summer episode of Good Talk. Chantal and Bruce are here with their thoughts on all this.

It's been a week. Canada/US relations have never been so low. Attacks on each other's trade strategies, attacks on our sovereignty, even a pathetic, rather lame attack on one of the Great Lakes that shares our joint border. Sounds like enough for a final, special summer episode of Good Talk. Chantal and Bruce are here with their thoughts on all this.

Encore Episode. Calling Trump a "fascist" or a "Nazi" has become far more commonplace in the past few months given ICE, Venezuela and Greenland. But is it correct? That's the question for the opening segment of the latest Moore Butts conversation with former Stephen Harper cabinet minister James Moore and former senior aide to Justin Trudeau, Gerald Butts. We'll also touch on the Carney trip to China.

Encore Episode. There are hardly any governments in the world right now who aren't faced with an "affordability" crisis. Voters want action but what action is even possible? That was the question on our first Moore Butts Conversation of 2026. The former Harper cabinet minister and the former Trudeau principal secretary combine forces to face the issue.

Encore Episode. James Moore and Gerald Butts are back with another one of their highly anticipated "Conversations." This time it centres around the possibility that the near future could see two referendums, one in Quebec and one in Alberta. Is Ottawa ready to handle that fight?

This week seems to be all pipelines all the time. Alberta and Canada seem close to a deal on a memorandum of understanding about a new pipeline to the west coast. But now how do you make that MOU become a real finalized deal because let's face it, pipelines in Canada are hard to build. James Moore and Gerald Butts talk pipelines and the shift topics to talk jet fighters and the intense lobbying going on for those.

SMT is one of the first shows we used to do when the podcast started all those years ago; Bruce Anderson would join me and we'd lay an SMT verdict on various issues and quotes. So as we lounge through the summer of 2026 Bruce wondered whether we should try a special holiday edition of SMT. Why not? So here it is. Everything from the Gordie Howe Bridge to the latest Donald Trump utterings.

How do two former Ottawa pros see the Trump, Carney, Ford story -- does it really matter? will it make a real difference? Former Harper cabinet minister James Moore and former Trudeau advisor Gerald Butts get together for their Conversation #26. In the program's second segment, they also talk about the importance of debt and deficit as we approach the upcoming federal budget.

It's our first Summer of '26 special Good Talk and there's lots to talk about. This week it's wildfires and the smoke they cause, upsetting the Canada/U.S. relationship. Not to mention the renegotiated Gordie Howe Bridge deal. For Pierre Poilievre its whether his leadership can survive much longer with internal fights breaking out all the time. Chantal Hebert and Bruce Anderson take a break from their summers to discuss.

Encore Episode. The country was founded on the principle that it's a confederation where both federal and provincial levels of government have powers and responsibilities. It's worked for 158 years, but does it still work? Another fascinating Moore-Butts Conversation, especially relevant to the times Canada is living in today.