Over the course of human history, certain years have proven to be more important than others. Over the course of 12 months, things happen that change everything. Nothing is ever the same again.

For example, the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. We can look at the fall of Constantinople in 1453, giving rise to the Ottoman Empire and forever altering the power dynamics and trade within Europe.

There was 1492, and Columbus’s landing in the Americas has to be on this list. Then there’s 1760, or thereabouts, and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

The year 1848 was significant because of all the democratic revolutions that spread across Europe. At the same time, Karl Marx was laying the foundations for the communist revolutions to come by writing his Communist Manifesto.

1914 marked the start of World War I. Then came 1945 and the beginning of the post-World War II era, with the United Nations, America’s emergence as a superpower, the Cold War, and so on.

When it comes to music, we can look at 1955, the year rock ’n’ roll really began to break through. The Beatles came to America in 1964. Then there was Woodstock in ’69.

And then we have 1976. This has been declared—rightly so, in my opinion—the year that what we now call “alternative rock” was born, thanks to the punk rock explosion that happened on both sides of the Atlantic during those 12 months. So much happened so fast that rock was never the same again.

Here, let me prove it. This is 1976: The Birth Year of Alt-Rock, Part 2.

Songs heard on this show:

• Ramones, Beat on the Brat
• Sex Pistols, Pretty Vacant (Live)
• Ramones, Loudmouth (Live)
• Ramones, Judy is a Punk
• The Clash, White Riot
• Ramones, Now I Want to Sniff Some Glue
• The Clash, Guns of Brixton
• The Damned, New Rose
• Sex Pistols, Anarchy in the UK

The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on these stations:

• 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm
• Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm
• Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm
• 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm
• FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm
• Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm
• 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
• Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm
• The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 9am and 9pm
• The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
• The Goat Network/Interior BC
• WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

When System of a Down was working on the Toxicity album, there was a lot of tension within the group, tension that led to actual fistfights. One night in the studio, drummer John Dolmayan punched guitarist Daron Malakian. He responded by slamming Dolmayan with a mic stand. Both of them ended up in the same emergency ward that night, getting stitched up next to each other.

When the album came out in September 2004, the band had a free concert planned for a parking lot in Hollywood. They figured about a thousand people would show up. Instead, the gig attracted 10,000 people. When fire marshals cancelled the gig, there was a riot. The crowd rushed the stage and destroyed about $30,000 worth of gear. Cops had to fire on the crowd with rubber bullets. Six people were arrested.

And while the gig was a disaster, it made System of a Down more famous than ever.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Queens of the Stone Age have a pretty distinctive sound. How did Josh Homme’s writing style develop? Polka music.

Josh grew up in Palm Desert, California, a place he said didn’t offer a lot in terms of guitar teachers. The best he could do was a guy named Tom Polonsky whose specialty was polka music. Young Josh learned the guitar through playing those kinds of tunes over the course of two years’ worth of lessons.

Now that you know that, go back and listen to some Queens of the Stone Age Music, especially the song “No One Knows.” If you deconstruct that track down to its very essence, you can hear the distinctive bounce of a polka. This isn’t the only Queens song that feels this way.

Josh says that polka music is so ingrained in him that the polka feel keeps showing up in his songwriting as a default, whether he wants it to or not.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Parliamentary Budget Office is trimming its outlook for economic growth for this year and next amid new U.S. tariffs and Canadian countermeasures.

The federal budget watchdog says it now projects real gross domestic product growth of 0.9 per cent for this year and 1.5 per cent in 2027.

The forecast is down from an estimate in June for growth of 1.1 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.

Trade talks between Canada and the U.S. broke down at the end of August followed by a new round of U.S. tariffs and Canadian counter-tariffs.

The PBO says it also now projects a budgetary deficit of $63.3 billion for the 2026-27 fiscal year which will peak at $70.2 billion in 2027-28.

It says, relative to its June outlook, the deficits are $3 billion higher per year on average over 2026‑27 to 2030‑31, as new spending measures more than offset stronger revenues.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Richard Riehle, a prolific character actor in TV and film who often played authority figures but was equally skilled at comedy, notably playing a sad-sack product manager in Office Space, has died. He was 78.

Wright Entertainment Inc. said Monday that Riehle had died Oct. 15 but disclosed no cause or details. “Our industry has lost an exceptional talent, and our community has lost a truly wonderful man,” said a statement.

Riehle’s almost five-decade career included playing a quartermaster in the Civil War drama Glory, a prison guard in The Fugitive, an air marshal in Executive Decision, a police officer in a guest spot on The West Wing and a principal on the TV adaptation of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

“If a casting director has found themselves in need of a burly, blustery, mustachioed man for their project, Richard Riehle has likely been near the top of their list,” The AV Club said in 2017.

He fell into acting as a senior at the University of Notre Dame. He couldn’t really afford to stay another year but was told he could take all the credits he needed in speech and drama in one semester. He stayed.

“I spent a semester doing anything and everything that you do in the theater — acting, directing, building sets, etc. — and then for some reason they liked what I did enough that they got me a teaching assistantship at the University of Minnesota. So I went on and got my MFA (Masters of Fine Arts). I figured, ‘What the heck? If they’re gonna pay me to do it, I’m gonna do it!'” he told the AV Club.

He had his first lines in the 1977 movie Joyride alongside Desi Arnaz Jr., Anne Lockhart, Robert Carradine and Melanie Griffith. He’d go on to appear in the broad comedy Bridesmaids, the comedy-mystery Shadows and Fog for Woody Allen, Black Rain with Michael Douglas and the sitcom Grounded For Life.

He had an affinity to the Star Trek world, landing parts in three franchises —Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1992, Star Trek: Voyager in 2000 and Star Trek: Enterprise in 2004. He was on Broadway three times, including with Paul Giamatti in a 1999 revival of The Iceman Cometh.

One of his most beloved roles was in the 1999 film Office Space, as Tom Smykowski, an expendable employee at Initech facing getting laid off despite insisting, “I have people skills!”

“Beyond his immense talent, he will be remembered for his genuine goodness, boundless kindness, and unwavering generosity, particularly toward emerging actors and filmmakers, whom he encouraged and supported at every opportunity,” Wright Entertainment said.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Albertans decisively rejected moving toward separation in Monday’s referendum, while several of the remaining questions produced narrower margins.

Elections Alberta reported results from 78 per cent of voting locations as of 7 a.m. MT Tuesday. The figures remain unofficial and may change as counting continues. Official results are expected on Oct. 29.

The referendum posed 10 questions, including one asking if the province should hold a formal referendum on separation. Around 76 per cent of respondents said no.

The margins on several of the nine other questions were considerably narrower. Five involved immigration and services for non-permanent residents, while four concerned potential constitutional changes.

The immigration questions asked if Alberta should have more say on who comes to the province to work, and whether it’s time to put more limitations — or even fees — on some who seek access to health care and education.

The constitutional questions asked whether the province should pursue constitutional negotiations with other governments on gaining control from Ottawa and abolishing the Senate.

Unofficial results showed nearly 56 per cent in favour for the first question, which sought support for increased provincial control for the purpose of decreasing immigration.

A similar result was reported for the second question on access limits for programs like health care, education and social services. About 57 per cent supported limiting those programs to citizens, permanent residents and those with approved immigration status.

Roughly 63 per cent supported requiring proof of citizenship to vote, which was asked in question five.

Question six, which asked if Albertans want the government to try and amend the constitution to allow provinces to select justices for provincial King’s Bench and Appeal courts, had 51.1 per cent support.

Just over 51 per cent opposed the proposal in question eight, which asked if Alberta should opt out of federal programs like health care, education, social services without losing federal funding.

Nearly 51 per cent supported question nine, which asked if the government should try to amend the constitution to give provincial laws priority over federal laws when they conflict.

Global News continues to track the live results to each question, which can be viewed here.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

When it comes to releasing albums, some artists get very, very clever and a little crazy with the packaging.

In 2012, the weirdo San Francisco Band The Residents issued a box set that contained original pressings of all their material going back to the 70s. It also included an official replica of the group’s famous eyeball mask. The entire thing was housed in a 28-cubic-foot refrigerator. Only 10 were made and each one retailed for $100,000. And yes, they sold at least one “copy.”

And if you like that, the Japanese extreme noise artist Merzbow released a single copy of a record called MerzCar. It consisted of a copy of his album, Noise Embryo, jammed into the CD player of a Mercedes-Benz 230. The CD could not be ejected. You could not change inputs. Every time you turned on the car, the CD would play. It came out through a label entitled Releasing Eskimo.

Unfortunately, no one bought it; the car broke down, they took out the CD and sold the car.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A United Conservative Party politician who promoted a petition pushing for a referendum on separation says he will not seek re-election.

Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan said in a statement released Monday evening that he sought to “speak the truth as best as I understand it” because his “duty is to seek freedom and prosperity for Alberta.”

Stephan, who served as parliamentary secretary for constitutional affairs in Premier Danielle Smith’s government, promoted a petition earlier this year that pushed for a referendum on separation.

Albertans overwhelmingly rejected the idea of holding a formal referendum on separation Monday, with around 76 per cent voting to remain part of Canada.

“Canada could be the most free and prosperous nation on earth, but it is not,” Stephan said in his statement, which cited Texas as having a larger gross domestic product than Canada.

“The status quo is not the right way for Albertans.”

https://x.com/albertanumber1/status/2112351216265261083?s=43%3c/a

Even though Alberta will remain in Canada, hundreds of thousands voted in favour of asking the province to begin the process of separating.

The separatism question, one of 10 in Monday’s referendum, asked voters if Alberta should remain in Canada or if the provincial government should begin the legal process of holding a future binding referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.

Smith posed the question to address Alberta’s longstanding grievances toward the federal government, and the growing separatist constituency in her own party.

Four years ago, Alberta separatists worked to oust former premier Jason Kenney and get Smith elected leader of the United Conservative Party.

The party never campaigned on holding a separation vote in the 2023 provincial election, but this year Smith said a referendum was necessary to resolve the matter once and for all.

Smith, who said she voted to stay in Canada, said a 50 per cent plus one majority would mean no follow-up referendum for the rest of her government’s mandate.

When he promoted the petition, Stephan argued a referendum was about holding Ottawa accountable, citing “stupid laws and policies” that damage economic prosperity and “erode Albertans’ freedoms in favour of a nanny state.”

He said in his statement Monday that when next year’s provincial election arrives, he will have served more than eight years in politics and that it’s the right time to step back.

“Most families in Red Deer share conservative values, desiring freedom and prosperity for themselves and their children,” Stephan said in part.

“Thank you to for supporting my efforts to seek freedom and prosperity for Albertans, a blessed land that we love.”

— with files from Karen Bartko

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Bruised but not yet broken, Alberta’s separatist movement is turning its attention toe Premier Danielle Smith and the governing United Conservative Party.

As results continued to trickle in early Tuesday morning, the separatists’ defeat proved even more decisive than months of public polling predicted — with 75.7 per cent of Albertans voting to remain in Canada, and just 24.3 per cent voting to trigger an independence referendum.

It was a staggering blow to the separatist movement, and a massive win for the volunteers and politicians who campaigned for months against independence. The impact of the vote was less clear for Smith — who despite officially supporting the remain side, was seen as being sympathetic to the separatist cause and triggered the vote in the first place.

It doesn’t appear that Smith will get her wish that Albertans will simply accept the results of the referendum and move on.

Instead, Smith and the governing United Conservative Party (UCP) will have to contend with a motivated and more organized separatist movement turning their efforts to oust the premier and take control of the party.

Jeffrey Rath, one of the central figures in the separatist movement who had a hand in former premier Jason Kenney’s ouster, told Global News he will be pushing for a special general meeting of the party to remove Smith.

Rath said Alberta independence will never be realized as long as Smith, who he called an “avowed federalist,” remains leader.

“Moving forward from here, our hundreds of thousands of members and volunteers are going to be committed to taking back ownership of the (UCP),” Rath said.

“It’s time to have a serious discussion as to whether or not a supermajority of the United Conservative Party of Alberta want to continue to be led by a Federalist (in Smith) who’s in bed with Naheed Nensi, Mark Carney, Rachel Notley and the rest of the socialists and globalists that have literally been ruining this province and ruining this country.”

Polling released on the eve of the referendum suggested that the separatists’ biggest pool of support was found within the UCP ranks. Abacus Data’s findings suggest 52 per cent of UCP supporters would vote for a referendum, with just 44 per cent voting to remain

“By comparison, 93 per cent of NDP supporters would vote remain,” David Coletto, Abacus’ CEO, wrote in an analysis of the numbers.

“Indeed, 77 per cent of everyone who would vote (for a referendum) currently supports the UCP. The referendum continues to divide the governing party’s own coalition.”

The polling revealed UCP supporters are less likely than other partisans to feel a connection to Canada. Just 39 per cent of the party’s supporters expressed a strong attachment to the country, while 68 per cent of UCP voters feel a strong attachment to Alberta. More NDP voters (84 per cent) said they felt a strong attachment to Canada, while 42 per cent said the same about attachment to their province.

Another risk for Smith and the UCP is the political blowback for forcing Albertans to vote on independence in the first place.

While a strong current within their own party, Tuesday’s results clearly show that most Albertans do not have separatist sympathies. In forcing the issue, Smith risked wearing the separatist cause in voters eyes — while failing to satisfy the die-hard independence movement within her own party.

Polling aggregator 338Canada’s numbers suggest a tightening of the provincial horse race polls, with Naheed Nenshi’s NDP pulling within the margin of error with Smith’s governing party. That tightening of the provincial political race roughly coincided with Smith’s decision to put separation on the ballot.

With files from Global News’ Karen Bartko

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Unions representing tens of thousands of public sector workers in Ontario are racing to inject artificial intelligence safeguards into multiple contract negotiations, Global News has learned, as workers express concerns about how Crown agencies plan to use the technology.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents more than 200,000 public sector workers, said language around the current or potential use of AI is being introduced at nearly every bargaining table across the province.

“The implication of AI becomes more and more clear in almost every sector we represent,” said OPSEU President JP Hornick.

“We have teams working on bargaining guides around AI in almost every area I can think of.”

Hornick said among the top concerns are job losses, the replacement of job functions and employers potentially using AI to monitor work.

“We don’t want to see AI rolled out without workers’ voices being present,” said Hornick.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents nearly 310,000 workers in Ontario, has also created bargaining guidelines on AI to ensure protective language can be negotiated in collective agreements.

Local bargaining units are being told to investigate how AI is showing up in workplaces, to identify potential risks and review collective agreements for language clauses related to AI.

“Left unchecked, AI and other digital innovations can have harmful consequences for work quality and workers’ rights,” CUPE states on its website.

Among the demands: that employers should be prevented from collecting or using biometric data, emotional or facial recognition tools or any “human behaviour manipulation tool.”

CUPE also wants language to ensure that AI systems are controlled by humans and that employees will not be subject to any decisions made entirely by AI.

Unions like OPSEU have been met with some roadblocks around AI negotiations.

In August, contract talks between the union and the Ontario Hospital Association on behalf of 14,000 hospital employees went to arbitration, where the use of artificial intelligence in hospitals was a key point of negotiation.

OPSEU sought advance notice of hospitals’ “anticipated” use of AI, but the arbitration board rejected the union’s proposal. It claimed current contract language was enough to capture any technological changes related to AI.

It would be too “onerous,” the board also said, for hospitals to provide notice to the union about anticipated AI use.

“The use of A.I. in high-tech equipment is ubiquitous and is often guarded as intellectual property by third parties. It would be nearly impossible for hospitals to comply with notice requirements for the ‘anticipated use’ of A.I.,” the arbitration board said.

In late 2024, the Ford government introduced new directives on how ministries and agencies are expected to use artificial intelligence tools.

Those directives, which also apply to all public service workers, mandate that the use of AI must be “human rights affirming” and always transparent and accountable.

The Treasury Board Secretariat, which oversees labour relations between the government and the public service, said AI provides the Ontario Public Service (OPS) with tools to “modernize” and “improve how we work.”

The OPS, a spokesperson said, is “leveraging AI to drive innovation,” while also ensuring it’s used “safely and responsibly to safeguard the interest of the people and businesses of Ontario.”

The NDP, however, claims more than one million public sector jobs could be at risk if AI is fully implemented in the OPS.

“Despite these concerns, the Ford government hasn’t moved with any urgency to protect workers,” NDP Labour Critic Jamie West told Global News.

Instead, West said Premier Ford is focused on “making an all-in push on data centres” and “inviting American tech giants” to invest in Ontario.

“Throwing unions and workers into chaos as they try to get a handle on this rapidly evolving technology is unacceptable,” said West.

When asked if unions are correct to be concerned about AI in the public service, a spokesperson for Treasury Board President Kinga Surma said “issues that may be raised in collective bargaining are matters to be addressed by the parties through the negotiation process.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.