Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph - December 26, 2019

It's the last show of the year, and you know what that means (at least you should if you're a fan of the show). This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's that time again for the annual movies show, as we look back at some of our favourite politically themed movies. This year, we've got a doc about the new class of politicians, a student council election, a slice of American political history, and a new film about social inequality.
This Thursday, December 26, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Adam's #1 Pick: Election (1999). "Tracy Flick is running unopposed for this year's high school student election. But school civics teacher Jim McAllister has a different plan. Partly to establish a more democratic election, and partly to satisfy some deep personal anger toward Tracy, Jim talks popular varsity football player Paul Metzler to run for president as well. Chaos ensues."
Scotty's #1 Pick: Knock Down the House (2019. "Four exceptional women mount grassroots campaigns against powerful incumbents in Knock Down the House, an inspiring look at the 2018 midterm elections that tipped the balance of power. When tragedy struck her family in the middle of the financial crisis, Bronx-born Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to work double shifts as a bartender to save her home from foreclosure. After losing a loved one to a preventable medical condition, Amy Vilela didn't know what to do with the anger she felt about America's broken health care system. Cori Bush, a registered nurse and pastor, was drawn to the streets when the police shooting of an unarmed black man brought protests and tanks into her neighborhood. A coal miner's daughter, Paula Jean Swearengin was fed up with watching her friends and family suffer from the environmental effects of the coal industry."
Adam's #2 Pick: Parasite (2019). "All unemployed, Ki-taek and his family take peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks, as they ingratiate themselves into their lives and get entangled in an unexpected incident."
Scotty's #2 Pick: Chappaquiddick (2018). "The scandal and mysterious events surrounding the tragic drowning of a young woman, as Ted Kennedy drove his car off the infamous bridge, are revealed in the new movie starring Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy and Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne. Not only did this event take the life of an aspiring political strategist and Kennedy insider, but it ultimately changed the course of presidential history forever. Through true accounts, documented in the inquest from the investigation in 1969, director John Curran and writers Andrew Logan and Taylor Allen, intimately expose the broad reach of political power, the influence of America's most celebrated family; and the vulnerability of Ted Kennedy, the youngest son, in the shadow of his family legacy."
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 25, 2019 (Best of 2019)

Merry Christmas! End Credits has a wonderful present for you in the form of our annual look back at the best cinematic offerings of the year. So cozy up next to the fire, unwrap some of those candied treats from your stocking, and follow along as we gush about all our favourite movies from 2019.
This Wednesday, December 25, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, Candice Lepage, and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Best of 2019. What a year! Would it surprise you to learn that it's been a pretty good 12 months at the cinema? Not for us, because we saw a lot of great movies this year, and now we're going to recount our Top 5. From detective stories, to social commentary, to relationship drama, to a slice of Hollywood history, and the most deadly game of Hide and Seek there's ever been, we'll reminisce about all the most wonderful movies of the year.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #202 - A Very Transit Christmas

Merry Christmas! (Though this is far from a holiday-themed podcast.) Yes, it’s a transit themed podcast this Christmas week as we go backward to the Transit Summit and Town Hall hosted by the Transit Action Alliance of Guelph (TAAG) that happened in November to hear from the three out-of-town guests who took part in the festivities.
First, there's Vincent Puhakka of the advocacy group TTCRiders. Puhakka has written for the Toronto Star, Torontoist, and Spacing Magazine; and promoted transit action on Newstalk 1010 radio and CBC Metro Morning. At the Transit Summit, Puhakka talked about some of the ways his group has been successful in promoting action on transit in Toronto, and how people can follow in their example.
After that it's Sean Marshall, who is a Toronto-based geographer and writer with an interest in public transportation, pedestrian safety, and local politics. Marshall actually appeared on the Guelph Politicast in advance of the Transit Summit, and he talks here again about the long-term challenges of transit development, how preconceived notions stifle innovation, how different transit options have had difficulty getting off the ground, and how we can all help them grow and expand. 
And finally, we’ll hear from Terry Johnson, who has been actively involved in campaigning for better bus and train services across Southwestern Ontario since 2011. He's served on the board of Transport Action Ontario for two years, and was elected national president of Transport Action Canada in May 2019. Johnson talked about Transport Action's efforts to raise awareness about the tremendous holes in transit service in Southwestern Ontario, including a report they wrote a couple of years trying to get more attention to the problem.
These three speakers layout an interesting case about getting to work on all that needs to be done to deal with the lack of transit options across the province. The challenges are certainly great, but at the same time they made the case that there’s a lot of different things people can do as advocates and users to encourage the creation of more transit options here, and around Ontario.
So let's talk about getting better transit options for Christmas on this holiday edition of the Guelph Politicast!
If you want to hear more from TAAG, you only have to wait until next week’s edition of the Guelph Politicast for a quarterly discussion on transit issues with TAAG, and our recurring segment, The Transit Pass.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, 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.
Photo Credit: TAAG Chair Steve Petric leading off the first annual Transit Summit and Town Hall.

Open Sources Guelph - December 19, 2019

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we take one last kick at the breaking news can before the holiday break. We'll tackle what's going on in Canada as the Prime Minister makes the end-of-year media rounds, we'll look at the latest from the quest to remove Trump from office, and we'll talk to the youths about how they're trying to help those that need the most help during the winter months.
This Thursday, December 19, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Parliamentary Holiday Special. The House of Commons hasn't done much in the new session, but they have found new controversy with Jody Wilson-Raybould, even as it turns out that she was right about SNC Lavalin all along. Meanwhile, on the other side of the House, things seem to have calmed down for the Conservatives one week after Andrew Scheer's resignation. We'll break down the latest.
...And Then There Were Three. The House of Representatives in the United States voted to impeach Donald Trump, which is just the third time in American History a sitting President has been condemned to a senate trial to determine if he's violated his Oath of Office and should be removed. It was a party line vote, but Trump handled the news with his characteristic grace and humility. So what comes next?
What About Your Friends? Winter has come, and people are understandably concerned about the people in our community that live out in the cold, and among them is a new group called Your Downtown Guelph Friends. The Friends will be taking part in the show today to talk about what they've learned from working with the people on Guelph's streets, and what they think they need in terms of housing.
***Programming Note: For the next two weeks Open Sources Guelph will air the annual holiday shows with the Political Movies show on December 26, and the Year-End Awards show on January 2.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 18, 2019 (Black Christmas 2019)

This week on End Credits, we're in a holiday mood. So we're obviously feeling Christmas (in a way) because we're reviewing the latest iteration of Black Christmas, but we're also in a giving mood because it's that time of year that Hollywood starts talking about giving out awards. To wrap up the last regular show this year, we'll also talk about Richard Jewell and Star Trek.
This Wednesday, December 18, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Awards Momentum. The annual Awards season is upon us with the announcement of the nominations for the Screen Actors Guild awards, and the Golden Globes. When it comes to the Globes though, the word is "disappointment," and that disappointment is in regards to the complete lack of female directors in a year with so many great potentials. So where are the ladies, Hollywood Foreign Press Association?
Jewell of Denial. Clint Eastwood's latest film, Richard Jewell, tries to salvage the reputation of the man that was falsely accused of planting the Olympic Park bomb in Atlanta in 1996, but it seems he throws a real-life journalist under the bus to do it. Why did Eastwood throw dirt on a dead journalist, and how does it play into false stereotypes about women reporters?
The High Side of 40. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released 40 years ago this month, and for much of those four decades, it's been characterized by Harlan Ellison's five-word review: "Star Trek: The Motionless Picture." So has the time finally come to look at the first Trek movie with fresh eyes and new appreciation?
REVIEW: Black Christmas (2019). The 1974 Bob Clark original Black Christmas is a benchmark for horror cinema, and inspired the creation of a whole new, highly successful subgenre called "the Slasher." The new 2019 version of Black Christmas has bigger ideas though, ideas about using the Slasher film as a way to talk about social justice and #MeToo issues, but can this Black Christmas stand on its own without the politics, or the brand name?
***Programming Note: For the next two weeks, End Credits will air the annual holiday shows with the Best of the Year show on December 25, and the Worst of the Year/Most Anticipated for 2020 show on January 1.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #201 - Guelph Stuff (2019 Year in Review)

 
What a year! A lot can happen in 12 months, and 2019 was no exception. Along with the usual business of city council, there were two different budget processes this year, plus all kinds of special meetings on issues like the strategic plan, the main library, and a City operations campus on Dunlop Road. That was just the tip of the iceberg, and the podcast.
On this week's podcast, we're joined by Bill Hulet of the Guelph Back-grounder website. Hulet is the willing participant in this 2019 version of the Guelph Stuff end of year round up, as we take stock of where we’ve been, where we are, and hopefully where we’re going. In other words, we get into some general discussion about the biggest issues of the year, and potential debates coming up in the new year.
For instance, in 2019 we had the big debate about calling a climate emergency that happened in the spring. That didn’t turn out how people thought it would, but the climate strikes continued throughout the year, and Upper Grand District School Board did end up taking the plunge. Climate change was also a big Federal Election issue, with the local Green Party landing a solid second place finish.
Speaking of other levels of government, there was a lot of new found pressure from the Province. Queen's Park passed budget cuts and then reinstated them, or changed regulations and quickly changed them back, or made grand sweeping changes to the way that services are delivered and then offered no follow up information to ease the burden. Running a City is hard enough, but the efforts to find efficiencies were markedly inefficient.
In other words, there's a lot to dig into; so many issues and so little time to cover them (though we'll make some extra time over the next couple of weeks). For now, we’re going to take a look at the election, infrastructure, cyber security, the climate emergency, the local fight against homelessness, and some of our best guesses about what might be coming in the year to come.
So let's look at the year in review on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can check out Bill Hulet’s work at the Guelph Back-grounder, and you can find him on Twitter here. Stay tuned to Guelph Politico for some end of the year lists and other pieces over the next couple of weeks.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, 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 - December 12, 2019

This week on Open Sources Guelph, Christmas comes early. At least it does if you want to hear sound bites from the six contenders that want to be the future leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario. They were all in Guelph last weekend, and we got them all on the record. Speaking of Ontario matters, we're also going to talk about the current situation with the teachers, and then we'll look to the other side of the pond and their current electoral situation.
This Thursday, December 12, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Boris' Day. As we go to air, the people in the United Kingdom will be going to the polls, and if you thought Russian interference in an election was a purely American phenomenon, well Reddit users have got some news for you! Redditors discovered that a leak of supposed trade documents is linked to Russian disinformation, which makes an even more difficult election ever more difficult. So what's going to happen when the votes are counted? Does Boris bounce back, or does Corbyn come with the upset?
Wrought for Teacher. If you thought last week's one-day strike by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation was the end of the labour strife with Ontario's teachers, think again. The OSSTF is looking again to a hold another one-day strike and they have submitted a list of demands to the Province in the hopes of diverting it. Meanwhile, the elementary teachers have escalated their job action with the second phase of a work-to-rule campaign, and the Catholic school teachers are planning job action of their own. How much longer can schools operate with this labour disruption?
Liberal Media. This past weekend, the Ontario Liberal Leadership campaign really got underway with the first debate between the six hopefuls, and it happened right here in Guelph. That debate was over two hours long, but afterward, we got the chance to spend a few minutes with all six of the candidates - Kate Graham, Mitzie Hunter, Michael Coteau, Steven Del Duca, Brenda Hollingsworth, and Alvin Tedjo - and chat with them about their odds of winning, and what the Liberals need to do to make a comeback in 2022.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 11, 2019 (Marriage Story)

This week on End Credits, we pick up another "For Your Consideration" entry for the annual awards race, and another hit in Netflix's quest for total Hollywood hegemony. We're reviewing Marriage Story, and we're also talking about the real life struggles of one working actor, plus new trailers, the Snyder Cut, and when a TV show is the best movie of the decade.
This Wednesday, December 11, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and special guest co-host Chris Aitkins will discuss:
Arabian Slights. Mena Massoud was in one of the stars of one of the biggest hits of the year, Disney's live-action remake of Aladdin. So why can't he get an audition? It's a major topic of discussion that Massoud hasn't tried out for a part since Aladdin came out, especially since Disney's making a new series out of a minor character from the film, but what about Aladdin himself?
TV on the Ratio. France's most well-known film magazine is Cahiers du Cinéma, and they love to start a contentious conversation about modern cinema. So is that why they named the miniseries Twin Peaks: The Return as the best film of the decade? Others, meanwhile, have called O.J.: Made in America one of the greatest films of the decade even though it's a 10-hour miniseries. Are we getting confused?
Snyder House Rules. It's the topic that just won't go away. This time it was Zack Snyder himself adding gasoline to the fire set by fans when he posted on social media a picture of film canisters supposedly containing the so-called "Snyder Cut" of Justice League. Still, the studio itself has indicated it's worth the money to finish the film, so will fans ever stop tilting at this windmill?
Bond, Black, and Busters. As we get to the end of the year, and we get to a lot of very anticipated new movies, Hollywood is going to remind you that there's always something new to look forward to. This week we're looking at the new trailers for the next James Bond, the long-awaited Black Widow solo adventure, and the next attempt to bring back the Ghostbusters.
 
REVIEW: Marriage Story (2019). Noam Boumbach's new film is called Marriage Story, but it's really about a divorce. Scarlett Johnansson and Adam Driver played a couple on their way to leaving each other, and the film chronicles the sometimes funny and sometimes painful journey that one takes when dismantling a marriage. People are talking about the film and the performances as Oscar-worthy, but does Marriage Story hit you with the right feels?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #200 - Mayor Norm Jary

When it came time to look at who should be featured on the landmark 200th episode of the Guelph Politicast, there was really only one answer. It's been almost 20 years since Norm Jary left city council, and it's been almost 35 years since he left the mayor's office, but it's hard to deny that the 37th Mayor of the City of Guelph still enjoys high approval ratings.
Why? This is what a 2010 Guelph Historical Society article had to say about Mayor Norm Jary's nearly 16 years in office as mayor:
“Mayor Jary's political success can be attributed to his belief in open, democratic civic municipal government that represents all the people in the community. His dedication to accepting a wide array of invitations to participate in local events gave the City a mayor that met local residents and heard their needs face-to-face. This practice enabled him to promote his belief that a mayor should serve the broad spectrum of the municipal population, not just special interests.”
Aside from those first principles of governance, Jary oversaw a decade of tremendous growth and change in the Royal City, from the construction of the Hanlon Expressway, the revitalization of downtown with the Eaton Centre, the restoration of the Wellington Hotel, the establishment of the Civic Museum and the Art Gallery of Guelph, and the opening of Stone Road Mall. We look at this tremendous slate of accomplishments from a time when we’re still talking about whether or not a new main library is a need or a want after 18 years of trying.
This week on the podcast, Jary will discuss how we was able to get so much done as mayor, and how he was able to engender trust and civility as both mayor and the news director of CJOY at the same time. We also talk about his unusual rise to the mayoralty and the factors that contributed to his success in the political arena. And we talk about the practicalities of leadership, how he balanced his two hats, managed controversy, and the ways the political discourse in his day compares to the discourse in ours. (Hint: It hasn't gotten better.)
So let's talk about the past and the present, and maybe the future, with former Guelph Mayor Norm Jary on this week's 200th edition of the Guelph Politicast!
If you’d like to read more about Norm Jary, and his political career, you can click here to see Dr. Debra Nash-Chambers's article at Guelph Historical Society website. Perhaps over the holiday break, you can visit Norm Jary Park, which is at 22 Shelldale Crescent west of Dawson Road.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, 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.
Photo Credit: Mayor Jary at the re-opening of the Victoria Road Recreation Centre in Summer 2017.

Open Sources Guelph - December 5, 2019

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're getting back to basics. Scotty Hertz will be back at the controls as we catch up with old friends in Ottawa, and old friends in Washington D.C., and the surprising way both those friends crossed paths this week. After that, we'll talk to another old friend from Guelph City Council and ask about the recently wrapped up budget process at City Hall.
This Thursday, December 5, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
From Justin to Petty. The House of Commons went back into business this week, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got an early start by flying to London to attend a NATO meeting, and guest star in one of Donald Trump's long, rambling, steam of consciousness press conferences. Back at home, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has somehow established himself as the Minister for National Unity, and Conservative leader Andrew Scheer still has a job. We'll catch up on a busy week in Canadian politics.
Impeachment Proposal. Speaking of Trump, he's not having such a good time closer to home. The House Intelligence Committee delivered its report and recommended to the Judiciary Committee that they start drawing up articles of impeachment. The Judiciary Committee started their process Wednesday by hearing from constitutional scholars to lay the ground work that there's a lot of ground to impeach Trump on, but can it work? Is there any wiggle room to create enough political will to toss Trump from office?
The Budget Challenge. This week, Guelph City Council passed the 2020 operating budget under a myriad of complex challenges. From infrastructure spending, to the needs of the police, to the funding for hospital expansion, there was so much on council's plate this year that it nearly broke the table. It look a lot of horse trading, but the budget got done in what seemed like record time, and after Tuesday's contentious meeting, we'll be joined by Ward 3 Councillor Phil Allt to talk about this year's process and where the City goes from here.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.