Guelph Politicast

GUELPH POLITICAST #442 – The Aftermath Downtown

Last week, the reality of the Public Space Use Bylaw came into effect with the formal eviction of everyone in tents from St. George’s Square. The square is clear now of tents, but the people who lived in those tents have not disappeared or found permanent homes. In fact, they’re more vulnerable than ever, and even before the eviction last week, they were hurting. This is a story about the human toll of the Public Space Use Bylaw.
The weekend before the eviction, two young people died in tents in the square, two of the increasing number of people in this community who have died from drug poisoning, or what we’ve typically in the past called an overdose. A vigil was planned for Monday night to offer a space to grieve for the friends and family of Jen, Miles and four others who have passed away in the last few weeks. Over 100 people showed up to remember.
In the midst of this expression of grief was a powerful reminder that the people who lived in a tent in St. George’s Square were not some problem to solve. They were human beings, and they had their struggles, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t loved and that they won’t be missed. It was extremely powerful and emotional for everyone there and hopefully a reminder that these are people in need of help and support, and now, some of them are gone forever.
So on this week’s pod, you’re going to hear from some of the people who were there on Monday night, like Jacky, who’s struggled with homelessness and has since found a home in the new Shelldale project, and she will talk about her thoughts on the eviction from St. George’s Square. You will also hear from Bear and Marnie who were friends with the young people who died two weeks ago and will talk about what they left behind. And then you will hear sound from the vigil itself.
So let's hear some of the voices from downtown on this week's Guelph Politicast!
Thanks to Your Downtown Guelph Friends for facilitating the arrangement of the vigil, and thanks Jacky, Bear and Marnie. If you’d like to help folks in need Your Downtown Guelph Friends, the Royal City Mission and the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition are good places to start, whether you have extra money or supplies, or simply want to offer you time. The Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy is also fundraising to create a permanent memorial to all those who’ve died from drug poisoning, and you can learn more here.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, TuneIn and Spotify.
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #493 - November 14, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're doing some real analysis. Look at that picture above, are you scared? Sick? Shocked? Disappointed? All of the above? Then this week's show might be of some interest as we try to dissect the most recent American election for something usable going forward. Closer to home, we're talking to a member of city council about this year's unusual budget process.
This Thursday, November 14, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Autopsy. Still recovering from last week's surprise election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States, he started this week appointing the MAGA goon squad version of the '27 Yankees to key cabinet posts. So in the midst of our shock, we will take a break from breaking news to learn some key lessons from this U.S. election and how they might be applied to future elections, including ones here in Canada. Get your scalpels out because it's time to talk about how it all went wrong.
Cash Back. It's budget time at city hall and there's a lot to dig into because it was only supposed to be a budget confirmation year. Mayor Cam Guthrie and Strong Mayor Powers changed all that though, and Guelph staff were pushed to get the total levy increase under four per cent for 2025. Ward 2 Councillor Rodrigo Goller will join us this week to talk about his thoughts when it comes to this budget, and budget process, as well as his own disappointment about the fireworks bylaw he was pushing to overhaul.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #365 - November 13, 2024 (Conclave)

This week on End Credits, we're praying, and we think our prayers were answer (?) What we wanted in these difficult times was an election where maybe the good guys win, and perhaps we got that with the movie Conclave, which is about the surprising politics of choosing a new pope. And speaking of popes, we will talk about other men and women of God... in the movies.
This Wednesday, November 6, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
God Bless the Movies. Faith is an interesting topic for the movies, and it can be interpreted through just about any genre. There are deeply serious dramas about people of faith, there's an entire comedy franchises built around the idea that God is a funny old man, and you can't really talk about religious movies without reference the entire exorcism subgenre. So before getting to this week's religiously-themed movie, we will talk about some of the others.
REVIEW: Conclave (2024). This week's movie is about a bunch of men who are each trying to undermine and outmanoeuvre each other as they vie to become one of the most powerful leaders of the world: The new pope. Edward Berger follows up his Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front with a different kind of warfare: Can a good man be the head of the world's one billion Catholics. Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci lead a talented cast through the most important election of their lifetimes. But how do we like going along for the ride?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #442 - The War on Bike Lanes (feat. Mike Darmon & Adrian Salvatore)

If you feel like active transportation options are under siege at the moment, you’re not alone. The Ontario government is coming for municipal bike lanes while cities like Guelph, facing unprecedented financial barriers, are seeing robust active transportation networks as a “nice to have”. We've spent the last few years trying to undo decades of building our cities around the personal automobile, but is the war on bike lanes finally here?
In September, the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation held an unusual event, a ghost ride in honour of Susan Bard who was struck by a car and died from her injuries while riding her bike on Victoria Road North. Before the ride, Mike Darmon told everyone gathered at city hall that he hoped that this would not be a regular occurrence, but the death of Bard was as a sign that these are not safe times on Guelph roads.
At around the same time, there started to be rumblings about new legislation at Queen’s Park, a law that would stop municipalities from installing new bike lanes on major arterial roads, and then removing some of the ones already there. It seems that in some quarters, the blame for congestion on Ontario roads is all this quote-unquote useless space for bike lanes, so they have to go. Also, here in Guelph were scaling back on some investments in active transportation, at least the off-road variety in trails and parks.
To look at all this, we're joined by the two public faces for GCAT, Mike Darmon and Adrian Salvatore. They will talk about increasing concerns about safety on Guelph’s roads, and the way we think differently depending on our mode of transportation. They will also talk about how to understand bike lane use, why the statistics the Ontario government cites are flawed, and whether bike lane use should be viewed through a road safety lens as well as an infrastructure one. And finally, what's next for GCAT?
Let's dig into this War on Bike Lanes on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can stay connected to the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation at their website, or on the socials @activeguelph. If you’re concerned about active transportation infrastructure, budget delegation night is Tuesday November 19 at 6 pm, and you have until this Friday at 10 am to sign up as a delegate on the City’s website. Bill 212 - Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act is currently before the standing committee at Queen’s Park, and the public comment period closes on Wednesday November 20.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, TuneIn and Spotify.
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #492 - November 7, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph we're in a recovery phase. On Tuesday, we saw the end of an epically long election that had more ups and downs than the scariest roller coaster, and hopefully there will be some solid results to discuss. Closer to home, we will look at the latest non-solution to Ontario's homeless crisis and the latest unfounded attack on Canada's trans community from the likeliest source.
This Thursday, October 31, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Is it Over? By the time you're reading this you might know who the 47th President of the United States is going to be. Perhaps you might even know the which party will form the majority in the House of Representatives and/or the Senate. So is there reason for optimism? The ultimate showdown between the current Vice-President and the disgraced former President has been a slugfest and no matter how it turned out, it's only the beginning of the story, not the end. So what happens next?
Clause of Defeat. Cities and towns all over Ontario have to deal with a growing number of encampments, unhoused people who are either weary of the shelter system or cannot find shelter accommodations to suit their needs. It's been tough trying to find accommodation for these people, but some mayors and the Premier of Ontario have a radical idea: Use the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution to stop courts from stopping the forced eviction of encampments. Is this really all we can do for the vulnerable?
Silence of the Trans. Last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced three new pieces of legislation: one to restrict gender-affirming treatments for youth, one to require parental consent for pronoun or name changes in schools, and one to limit participation in competitive female sports to athletes who were female at birth. This in spite of the fact that voters in New Brunswick just rejected their anti-trans government and the government in Saskatchewan took a hit for their similar stance. So why is Smith going back to the anti-trans well?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #364 - November 6, 2024 (Venom: The Last Dance)

This week on End Credits even we can't escape election fever. As we recover from what was (likely) a very busy night of returns from the U.S., we will focus on the movies about American presidents, the real ones. And if you need a break from the ordinary, there's always the tale of a man and his space alien as we dig into the latest adventures of Venom in The Last Dance. 
This Wednesday, November 6, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Ballot Box Office. This week, American voters went to the polls to choose their next president, which, by the time you're reading this, has been revealed to be Vice-President Kamala Harris or the other guy. But there have been 46 men who've previously been President of the United States, and they've all appeared in movies as characters at one point or another. Before the main review, we're going to make some political endorsements of our own.
REVIEW: Venom: The Last Dance (2024). Tom Hardy is back with Tom Hardy, for the third adventure of a washed up journalist named Eddie and his best friend who is a pile of black space goo that eats brains when unleashed. In this adventure, Eddie and Venom are on the run through the backroads of America, but an unseen power from outer space wants something they have and they're ready to burn down the Earth to get it. But who cares? Don't we really just want to see Tom Hardy talk to himself for two hours?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #441 – The AAC Spills the Tea (feat. Lorelei Root)

Watching the Accessibility Advisory Committee meetings over the last several months there’s a particular undercurrent that some members of the committee feel like they’re not being listened to, and that there was a disconnect between their expectations and what City of Guelph staff wanted them to do. And then came the Public Space Use Bylaw and the waters got even choppier.
At their February meeting, the AAC passed a motion asking for some dedicated engagement of their own on the topic of the Public Space Use Bylaw. Part of the AAC’s role is to advise council on policy and how it might impact the disabled community in Guelph, and there are a lot of people among the unhoused population who have some kind of disability.
But as you know, the Public Space Use Bylaw never came back for engagement with anyone, it was dropped on an unplanned meeting of council in late August where it was approved by council and then put into effect at the beginning of last month. The October meeting opened with an uncomfortable rake out over the AAC’s disappointment, and the belief that once again that they were not listened to about a vital matter of accessibility and the protection of the rights of the disabled.
So following up on all of this, we're catching up this week with Lorelei Root, who is the chair of the Accessibility Advisory Committee. She will talk about what happened around the scheduling of October’s meeting, staff’s discomfort talking about process in open session and why she and the vice-chair thought it was important to air all this in the public. She will also talk about the feedback the AAC wanted to give around the Public Space Use Bylaw, and whether the committee has now won its hard fought autonomy.
So let's talk again about fighting for accessibility on this week's Guelph Politicast!
The Accessible Advisory Committee will meet again on Tuesday December 17, and you can catch up on the coverage of all of this year’s meetings so far on Guelph Politico. According to reports, eviction notices have been handed out to people encamped in St. George’s Square and they have until next Wednesday November 13 to move. Stay tuned for updates as they develop.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, TuneIn and Spotify.
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #491 - October 31, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're dealing with our Trump Derangement Syndrome. One more week till the vote's over in the United States, and there's a lot to catch up on. The vote is already over in Saskatchewan, but there's a new one brewing in Nova Scotia to talk about. More locally, international students are getting a lot of blame, but we're talking to someone who says that they really need our assistance.
This Thursday, October 31, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
We've Got Five Days On It. It's been a while since we talked about the U.S. Presidential Election, so has anything weird been going on? Of course there has! Donald Trump staged a sequel to the 1939 pro-fascist rally at Madison Square Garden, while Vice-President Kamala Harris returned to the scene of the crime on January 6 to make her closing case. And yet, the polls are obnoxiously too close to call, and there are all those down ballot races to worry about too. So DEFCON-1 time, right?
Houston, We Have an Election! More election fun across Canada with a stop in the prairies and a surprising trip back to the east coast. In Saskatchewan Scott Moe managed to keep his majority, but it is a smaller majority with the NDP under Carla Beck getting 13 seats strong. Meanwhile, Premier Tim Houston dissolved the Nova Scotia legislature, initiating a snap election one whole year early and in violation of the fixed election law he put in place in 2021. We'll talk about more non-Ontario provincial elections.
Save Our Students. A media conference in Brampton last week pushed action from the federal and provincial governments on a serious problem: International students being sexually exploited or used for human trafficking. We know that trafficking is a serious issue, and we know that international students are especially vulnerable so this week we're joined by Brampton City Councillor Rowena Santos. She is spearheading the efforts to protect students from being prayed on by unscrupulous landlords and she will  tell us how we can help.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #363 - October 30, 2024 (Halloween/Horror Movie Draft)

This week on End Credits, we mark Devil's Night. Our new favourite holiday! In honour of this year's end-of-October commemorations, and perhaps to offer some relief from the sturm und drang of modern living, we present a festival of fear! A celebration of screams, if you will! So settle in as we summon the scares because this is Halloween!
This Wednesday, October 30, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, Tim Phillips, Peter Salmon, Candice Lepage, and special guest Mike Ashkewe will discuss:
Halloween/Horror Movie Draft. It's the most wonderful time of the year... For some. So it's to those people that we dedicate this special episode of the show, the Halloween/Horror Movie Draft. The entire gang is here, plus a special guest ringer, to put the season in proper perspective by talking about our favourite horror movies in a set of six carefully selected categories. Join us as we talk about all the monsters, mayhem, killers and cadavers that make this time of the year so special, right up to the granddaddy of the them all...
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.
Photo courtesy of Trancas International.

GUELPH POLITICAST #440 - The Wheels Off the Bus? (feat. Scott Bate)

If you think traffic and travel are bad now, it might not compare to what awaits if Guelph Transit workers go on strike, or are locked out by the City. It could be worse. In so much as these things never happen at the best possible time, it might be even worse for Guelph Transit now as they hit new ridership records and try to justify increased expenses as City Hall is looking to save pennies. So is transit job action a foregone conclusion?
You may remember the last time there was job action around Transit. It was late summer 2014 and Guelph ended up going more than two weeks without a transit system. Ten years ago, the city was different. This was before the 99 Mainline, before Conestoga was more of a draw, and before Guelph Transit broke two different ridership records in the same year. A shutdown stemming from job action will throw all that progress away.
So what’s at stake? Basically, the workers are looking for a cost of living increase and a pathway to a better work-life balance. Driving around town is hard enough, but trying to put a happy face on City policy, maintaining customer service, proctoring fares and helping people find their way using an app that Transit has no investment in? Is it so surprising that workers are looking for a raise?
Scott Bate, who is the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1189, will join us this week to lend some insight into these matters. He will tell us about a day in the life of a transit worker, what they’re bargaining for, and why they don’t plan on accepting any concessions from management. He will also talk about what’s going to happen when time runs out for the no-board report, and why they’re trying to get the word out early about a potential job action.
So let's talk about job action on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
The no-board report expires on November 7 at which point the union can strike, the City can lock them out, or the whole thing might go to arbitration. So what way is it going to go? We’ll have to wait and see, so stay tuned to Guelph Politico for any updates and keep on an eye on the social media feeds of both the City of Guelph and Guelph Transit respectively.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, TuneIn and Spotify.
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.