Elias Makos ends the week with Sue Smith, a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy.

• Yesterday in a historic and some say unexpected move, an American cardinal named Robert Francis Prevost, originally from Chicago has been elected pope
• A report in La Press this week that some new seniors’ homes were costing the Quebec government as much as $1.8 million dollars a unit, the Minister for Health and for Seniors
• The Quebec student cellphone ban walkout (strike?) is supposedly happening today

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS.

• A viral TikTok video is urging Quebec high school students to skip class this Friday in protest of a new government directive banning cellphones
• The Legault government is set to introduce a controversial bill aimed at making Quebec doctors more accountable for improving access to medical services
• Do we need to do more to restrict porn access, like the 20 U.S. states that require government ID verification, in this country?
• Clothing brand Garage is facing backlash over sexually suggestive products, including a t-shirt with the phrase “This top looks better wet.”
• Podcaster Joe Rogan says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre declined an invitation to appear on his podcast

Elias Makos is joined by Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Neil Drabkin is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government.

• So Donald Trump did find out what Mark Carney wanted to talk about, after all. Both leaders met at the white house yesterday for the first time since the trade war began between Canada and the US.
• Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to listen and learn from his 2025 federal election loss, the same day his caucus opted to empower themselves to have the ability to remove their leader.
• Bill 72, which amends the Consumer Protection act, comes into effect today. That means new rules for how the price of goods is displayed at the grocery store, especially when it comes to sales and points program pricing. It also means that when dining out, tips must be calculated before tax.