The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Video)

Governments are spending billions to manage the COVID-19 crisis. Will it last? Are we in for an era of bigger government? And will the last three or four decades of a more pro-market form of government, known as neoliberalism, come to end? Conservative Sean Speer; and Bhaskar Sunkara, author of "The Socialist Manifesto," discuss why they think neoliberalism will end and what comes next.

The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario released its Spring 2020 Economic and Budget Outlook this week. It looks at the effects of the COVID-19 shutdown and how it could affect Ontario's economy going forward. The Agenda welcomes Peter Weltman, Ontario's financial accountability officer, to discuss the state of the province's finances.

Any day now, the province will decide the fate of the school year for the roughly two million students currently at home. In the meantime, the online learning, homeschooling, and other efforts at education are underway across Ontario. How does it all inform the path forward after what might turn out to be the longest March Break in history? The Agenda welcomes Annie Kidder, executive director, People for Education; Prachi Srivastava, associate professor specializing in education and international development, at Western University; and Globe and Mail education reporter Caroline Alphonso.

As new information on the pandemic is released daily, people are growing increasingly tired of the onslaught of continuous COVID-19 coverage. To discuss how to stay informed without becoming overwhelmed The Agenda welcomes Dana Rose Garfin, disaster and trauma researcher at the University of California, Irvine; Gordon Flett, psychology professor and Canada Research Chair in Personality and Health at York University; and Ramona Pringle, associate professor at Ryerson University's RTA School of Media.

For the past three Saturdays, a small but noisy cluster of anti-lockdown protesters has taken to the south lawn at Queen's Park. Prominent among them, deniers of other sorts - notably vaccine deniers - looking to get their message out. The Agenda looks at what is driving this mindset with Timothy Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta, and author of "The Vaccine Picture;" Jennifer Reich, professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Denver, and author of "Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines;" and Dr. Samantha Hill, the new president of the Ontario Medical Association.

Long-term care homes have been at the centre of COVID-19 outbreaks, but how are seniors living independently who are active members of seniors' associations dealing with the lack of planned activities and vital social connections as they practice physical distancing and isolation? David Rockne Corrigan reports on how senior's centres are working to keep seniors active and connected.

More than 2.5 million Ontarians live with a disability. Many of them are seniors, one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to contracting COVID-19. How has Ontario's response been toward ensuring people with disabilities are protected from the disease and are safely and effectively social distancing?

Stephen Holmes, co-author of the 2020 Lionel Gelber Prize-winning book, "The Light that Failed: A Reckoning," discusses why liberal democracy failed to become a universal ideology despite its victory over communism.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique set of challenges for migrant workers, non-status individuals, and other vulnerable groups in Canada. The Agenda looks at this issue with Francisco Rico-Martinez, co-director, FCJ Refugee Centre; and Dr. Rupaleem Bhuyan, a University of Toronto social work associate professor and a member of the Rights of Non-Status Women Network.

While countries with highly advanced health-care systems such as Canada struggle to beat back this COVID-19 crisis, many other countries face a much tougher fight. To discuss the enormous public health task confronting developing nations, The Agenda welcomes Dr. Wendy Lai, an emergency physician and president of the board at Doctors Without Borders Canada; and Steven Hoffman, professor of Global Health, Law, and Political Science, and director of York University's Global Strategy Lab.

Ontario's hospitals effectively mobilized to prepare for the burden COVID-19 cases. But the province has so-far managed to flatten the curve with the virtual shutdown and today many parts of hospitals, including operating rooms, sit empty. What effect is this having on the health of Ontarians who may have been left waiting for treatments or surgeries?

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to mount, doctors and researchers are learning more about the disease every day. Joining The Agenda to explain some of the new findings about the way the virus affects humans are Dr. Allison McGeer, infectious disease physician and senior clinician scientist at Sinai Health System; and Dr. Adrienne Chan, infectious diseases physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has provided many benefits to help keep Canadians afloat through physical distancing measures and the unprecedented economic crisis it has caused. But where's the money coming from? And what happens when the country adds billions of dollars into their debt in such a short time? The Agenda discusses the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic with former Ontario finance minister Janet Ecker; and Craig Alexander, Deloitte Canada chief economist.

Polls during this pandemic have shown that, on average, people are drinking more than usual as they are stuck at home, unable to go out. Will this affect or change the way people use alcohol and cannabis once the lockdown has been lifted?

While the cottage seems like the perfect place to practice physical distancing during the pandemic, it's a little more complicated than that. What does a potential influx of people from the city mean for full-time residents, businesses, and health care in Ontario's cottage country. To discuss, The Agenda welcomes Muskoka Lakes Mayor Phil Harding; Terry Rees, executive director of the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations; and Kim Krech, owner of the Temagami Marina.