Table of Contents

• Ivar Hamilton Talks New CFNY Documentary

• A Christmas Tradition Continues

• Best Thing I Listened To This Week

• Voice Over Work

I was editing a podcast recently and didn’t expect it to stop me in my tracks—but this one did.

Andrew Siegwart, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, hosts Forward Motion, the organization’s podcast. He’s the only CEO I’ll allow to host a branded show for the organization he runs—and this episode explains why.

His guest was Chris Biggs, who leads the Hospitality Program at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson). What started as a conversation about education quickly evolved into something much bigger: the compounding challenges facing the hospitality industry when it comes to attracting and retaining talent.

The causes are cumulative and familiar. The pandemic. Tuition freezes. Institutions leaning heavily on international students to make up funding gaps. Then government freezes on international student visas. Layer in a housing crisis and rising costs, and the result is a real, structural talent shortage.

The episode hit home for me because it made me think about my three sons.

One works as a server at Hy’s. Another works for the Canad-Inns Corporation. The youngest is moving to Calgary to work in hospitality services—position to be determined. All three are young, personable, and naturally good with people. They probably picked up that customer-service instinct from their dad and his friends—people who spent years figuring out how to entertain and engage audiences.

In today’s ever-expanding corporate world, customer service is often treated as expendable. It’s outsourced to far-off countries where wages are low and scam calls are high. Efficiency wins. Humanity loses.

What I appreciated most about this episode was its honesty. They spoke openly about the pressures on hospitality: the post-pandemic fallout, rising tuition, international enrollment colliding with housing shortages—and, at the same time, the growing opportunity in service-based work.

And yes, like everything else today, AI plays a role.

AI will eliminate many low-wage overseas jobs within the next decade—I know this because I can already use it to fix the mistakes Bell made installing my internet. But AI will never bring you a meal with care. It won’t personalize your hotel stay. It won’t give you a great massage or make you feel genuinely welcomed.

Think about the last great experience you had—at a restaurant, a hotel, or an event. Chances are it was memorable because it felt personal.

That’s the difference going forward. And it’s one no machine can replace.

Ivar Hamilton Talks New CFNY Documentary

A Christmas Tradition Continues

We are days away from the annual release of the Christmas Sound Off Podcast Episode with my good friend Terry Dimonte. This is the 10th year we have done this. We haven’t recorded it yet… but you’ll hear why we are cutting it close when you hear the episode. Thanks for downloading and listening to this and spending Christmas with me. If you would like to hear the first 9 episodes - go here.

And let me be the next to last to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy final few moments of Chunnukah.

Best Thing I Listened To This Week

There are a lot of predictions for the podcasting industry for 2026. The Podnews Weekly Review with James Cridland and Sam Sethi let loose a slew of podcast experts to shine a light to where the industry is going. They were kind enough to ask my thoughts which were included. Give it a listen over the holidays. As you know - I also host the Podcast Superfriends with my pals Jag in Detroit, Johnny Podcasts, Catherine O, and David Yas. We will be playing a round of Buy, Sell or Hold with some of my favourite predicitions. Join us January 6, at 5pm Eastern on YouTube.

Voiceover Info Here

I did some start up voice work for a station in the USA that has no completed their format flip - so I won’t go into detail about it. So if you are driving through Kentucky and you hear me - that’s me.