Cross Country Checkup
[2] Every week, the show features a lively discussion on an issue of national interest or importance and invites listeners to call in with their opinions and thoughts.Close to half-a-million listeners tune in every Sunday afternoon to hear a lively exchange of ideas between callers and invited guests, and a broad cross-section of opinion on the topic of the day.The show was first broadcast on May 16, 1965,[3] when it was started to provide a nationwide forum to discuss the then-proposed national health insurance system now in place in Canada.The first host was CBC Montreal announcer Bob Cadman, and its first guest was Dr Victor Goldbloom, then president of the Canadian Medical Association.[4] Subsequent hosts have included Brad Crandall, Moses Znaimer, Percy Saltzman, Betty Shapiro, John Dafoe, Pierre Pascau, Harry Elton, Elizabeth Gray, Wayne Grigsby, Dennis Trudeau, Augusta La Paix, Dale Goldhawk, Peter Downie, Royal Orr and Rex Murphy, who maintained the position for 21 years.