Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph #482 - August 29, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're getting our bearings. In this late summer mode, we're looking to the coming election south of the border and the constantly changing game there, meanwhile on this side of the border the Federal Liberals are hoping that they have enough juice to change their own game. Meanwhile, here in Guelph, the game is "musical chairs" and the players are Guelph city council and community members experiencing homelessness.
This Thursday, August 29, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Whale's Head Revisited. One week after the DNC, U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris continues to capitalize on the momentum and energy that has followed her takeover as the Democratic presidential candidate in July. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been floundering, once again threatening to withdraw from planned presidential debates. Even the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., freshly accused of new animal cruelty involving a whale and a chainsaw, hasn't helped. We'll catch up with the U.S. Election.
Halifax of Life. The Federal Liberals met this week in Nova Scotia for the annual cabinet retreat, and although the rumour about a shuffle didn't pay off, there were announcements about tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, the disposition of federal land for housing, and a meeting with U.S. officials about defense. With one year to go before the next election, Justin Trudeau et al are hoping to stop the bleeding, but is there anything they can do to convince Canadians that we've turned a corner?
Lost in Public Space. Back in February, Guelph city council heard a proposed bylaw for the use of public spaces in the city, an attempt to control the location and number of homeless encampments. The bylaw is back this week, and it isn't any less controversial six months later, so to help us figure that out what happens next we're joined by Ward 4 Councillor Linda Busuttil who will talk about the local fight to end homelessness, and the mixed messages she heard last week with the Ontario government at the AMO Conference.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #354 - August 28, 2024 (Sing Sing)

This week on End Credits, we're back! Well rested after summer vacation, we're going to spend this first episode back going to movie jail, or rather a movie set at a jail. Join us as we journey to Sing Sing and an early contender for best picture of the year, and there's about to be a lot of competition for that title because Fall Movie Season is here, and we'll preview it.
This Wednesday, August 7, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Fall Movie Preview. Okay, so it's been a lacklustre year at the movies so far, but that's about to change because Fall is here! With the biggest film festivals gearing up, and awards season coming into view, studios and distributors have been saving some of their best bets for the last four months of the year. From passion projects, to nostalgic runs, and some blockbuster returns, we will talk about the anticipated hits of Fall 2024!
REVIEW: Sing Sing (2024). At New York's notorious Sing Sing prison, there's a program called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), a theatre troupe made up of the inmates there. Yes, Greg Kwedar's new film is based on a true story, but it also features some of the men that lived it. Led by Coleman Domingo, the cast of RTA grads tell their story as they mount an original production, balancing the humanizing power of the arts and the dehumanizing conditions of prison. So is the play the thing that makes a good movie in the case of Sing Sing?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #431 – Space, Supply and Stigma (feat. Jean Hopkins and Leandra Gilbert)

As we do at the end of August, we’re marking Drug Poisoning Awareness Day, and it hasn't been a great week for the people fighting this issue. Last week, the Ontario government decided that no safe consumption site can be within 200 metres of a school or daycare, including the one at Guelph Community Health Centre. The drug poisoning crisis is not getting any better, and now there’s the possibility that it’s going to get worse.
In 2023, at least 62 community members died due to substance-related fatalities Guelph and Wellington according to new data from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. This is the highest number of lives lost on record. This is on top of the fact that someone dies from drug poisoning every two-and-a-half hours across Ontario. The conditions are dire, any progress being made is slow going, and there's the constant presence of stigma to overcome.
What’s been clear in the last several weeks is that this community is reaching what Dr. Erin Dej called “compassion fatigue”; fed up with the crisis, people just don’t want to see it anymore, and now their leaning on the policies of “Just Say No”, which never worked in the first place. This week's podcast was recorded before the announcement about safe consumption sites, but as you will hear, it's another pressure that community activists didn't need right now.
Our guests this week are Jean Hopkins, manager of the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy, and Leandra Gilbert, a peer support worker at Guelph Community Health Centre. They talk about the most recent health alert about the drug supply, and the difficulty trying to end the stigma around substance use in the community. They will also talk about the timing of the public space use bylaw debate, fighting the crisis with a patchwork response around the province, and what they would do to remake the system to better fight drug poisonings.
So let's talk about the current state of the Drug Poisoning Crisis on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy at their website, and you can learn about the Consumption and Treatment Site and other services at the Guelph Community Health Centre site at their website. If you’re listening to this on Wednesday, the annual commemoration of Drug Poisoning Awareness Day is Thursday at noon in St. George’s Square in downtown Guelph.
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 #481 - August 22, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're back! We're done with our usual summer vacation and we're eager to hop back on the never ending news cycle to talk about all things breaking and unbreaking. Here in Ontario, there was a big meeting of all the municipalities this week in Ottawa, and abroad in eastern Europe there was a big move in the war happening there. For the interview this week, we're also talking about a big move, a move that someone's trying to make happen right here at home.
This Thursday, August 22, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
AMO Shorts. This week is the annual conference for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario or AMO. Representatives from the federal and provincial governments join councillors and staff members from municipalities around Ontario to talk about the issues facing cities, which are pretty substantial, but the appearances by provincial party leaders on Monday sounded more like the start of a campaign then a search for answers. So what came out of AMO?
Ukraine Strikes Back. The seemingly unending stalemate between Ukraine and Russia got a little more loose in the last couple of weeks after Ukraine sent troops into Russian territory and they now occupy portions of the Kursk region, the first time since World War II that foreign troops have held Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin seems stymied again as the war he thought would be brief is now almost three years old, but is this game changer we've been waiting for?
Wilmot Gonna Take It! There's something fishy going on up the road in Wilmot, a developer is trying to secure 770 acres of farmland for some kind of development, but the people who own and operate the threatened farms have no idea which level of government is threatening their livelihood: the Region or the Province. Alfred Lowrick, spokesperson for the Fight for Farmland Group, and Kevin Thomason, vice-chair of the Grand River Environmental Network, will join us this week to talk about what might be the next provincial development scandal in the making.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #Repeat - August 21, 2024

This week on End Credits, we’re gone. Gone fishin’? Maybe, we don’t watch the co-hosts every minute, especially when they’re not on the air. Yes, it’s that time again, time for the mid-August break. So while we’re breaking, we’ve got some cool – what the kids used to call – “repeats” for you. Get your road maps and your road snacks, because this week we’re vacationing!
Let’s Get Goofy! Summer is a time for watching movies, no doubt, but it’s also a time for hopping in the car with the family and hitting the road. It’s a big world out there, with so much to do and so many things to see, so get out of your dreams and into that car. And while you’re driving, listen to some classic End Credits entries, because if you can’t see a movie, you should at least take some time and listen to us talk about them. See you in a couple of weeks!
Programming Note: End Credits will return with new episodes on August 28.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – Mike's Homes (feat. Mike Schreiner)

Housing. It's an easy problem to diagnosis but it's a hard problem to solve it seems, and that has seems to have stopped the Government of Ontario from even trying. Cabinet ministers have probably been getting an earful about that this week at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, but there's one member at Queen's Park that still hasn't given up, and you will never guess who...
This past February, we were joined on the pod by Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader. The topic was his private member's bill, the Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act, or Bill 156, which aims to change planning rules across Ontario to allow for fourplexes and four story apartments in neighbourhoods and allow for mid-rise buildings ranging from six to 11 stories on transit corridors and main streets. 
Now, there's been no movement on Bill 156 since it was sent to committee in February, but it seems like the Ontario government isn't doing much to try and fill the void by bringing any new policy of their own. Now, seven months after this first went to air, Ontario cities are even more desperate for housing solutions that will help alleviate the pressure on them, so can Schreiner's ideas still be the solution we're looking for?
This week you will listen to Schreiner talk again about his thoughts on how the housing crisis got this bad, the elevator pitch for the bill, and why he thinks it’s a good compromise to create density while maintaining neighbourhood character. We will also talk about municipal politics with planning, and how the bill tries to prevent NIMBYism. He will discuss “sharing the pain”, the other factors in housing like labour and the economy, and Schreiner’s expectations for the debate next week.
So let's chat again with Mike Schreiner on the subject of homes on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about Bill 156, the Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act, at the Green Party of Ontario’s website. The Ontario legislature will not sit again until after Thanksgiving, which is assuming that we don't end up going to the polls before then. Also, look for news coming out of this week's AMO conference in Ottawa.
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, Google, 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 Digest - August 15, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we’re taking a break, and it’s the same for next week (or last week depending on when you’re reading this). Yes, the time has come for our usual summer vacation, but we’re not leaving you hanging! As we recharge our senses and collect your thoughts, you will be treated to a long-running tradition in the production of rich media: The rerun. As we cash-in some of our vacation days, you will be entertained by the ghosts of Open Sources’ past.
Taking a Break from Some of Our Worries. So July was a lot. An incumbent president decided that it was best that he not run for re-election, and an Ontario premier did the impossible and caused a strike at the LCBO. At the same time, Doug Ford is also trying to explain why he closed the Science Centre, why so much of this province’s health matters are being handled by Shoppers Drug Mart, and whether or not we’re going to have an early provincial election. No wonder he’s worked up such an apatite. Then again though, so have we. See you in a couple of weeks.
*Programming Note: Open Sources Guelph will return with new episodes on Thursday August 22.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #Repeat - August 14, 2024

This week on End Credits, we’re gone. Gone fishin’? Maybe, we don’t watch the co-hosts every minute, especially when they’re not on the air. Yes, it’s that time again, time for the mid-August break. So while we’re breaking, we’ve got some cool – what the kids used to call – “repeats” for you. Get your road maps and your road snacks, because this week we’re vacationing!
Let’s Get Goofy! Summer is a time for watching movies, no doubt, but it’s also a time for hopping in the car with the family and hitting the road. It’s a big world out there, with so much to do and so many things to see, so get out of your dreams and into that car. And while you’re driving, listen to some classic End Credits entries, because if you can’t see a movie, you should at least take some time and listen to us talk about them. See you in a couple of weeks!
Programming Note: End Credits will return with new episodes on August 28.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – How the Greenbelt Was Won (feat. Kevin Thomason)

It was about this time last year that the so-called Greenbelt scandal blew-up. Although the issue had been simmering since fall 2022, the persistent efforts of journalists and activists to get to the bottom of the decision to separate and sell-off portions of protected land resulted in the land being restored, the minister responsible replaced, and the RCMP looking into whether or not anything criminal happened.
It started with the Ontario government’s plan to remove parcels of the Greenbelt and allow for new housing developments there despite Doug Ford’s promise that his government would not touch the Greenbelt. Here in Guelph, hundreds and hundreds of people came out on a cold Sunday morning to express their outrage, and so did people in other cities across Ontario, an it was an outrage that didn't burn out over the months that followed.
Then things started changing last summer. Ontario’s auditor general released a scathing report into how the Greenbelt land swap came about, and that started a chain of events ending with Ford putting all that land back. This was a few weeks after a massive protest outside Fordfest at Bingemans in Kitchener, which was organized in part by the Grand River Environmental Network. They pushed hard to save the Greenbelt, but they’re still pointing out that there’s a lot of work left to do.
This week we’re joined again by Kevin Thomason, who is the vice-chair of the Grand River Environmental Network. He’s going to talk about how GREN worked hard organizing people, why so many people took the encroachment on the Greenbelt so personally, and why Fordfest in Kitchener was Doug Ford’s Waterloo, so to speak. We will also talk about why climate change isn’t a bigger issue after the wildfire season we just experienced, and whether the provincial government has learned any lessons in the last year.
So let’s take another victory lap for the Greenbelt on this week’s Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the Grand River Environmental Network at their website.
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, Google, 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 Digest - August 8, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we’re taking a break, and it’s the same for next week (or last week depending on when you’re reading this). Yes, the time has come for our usual summer vacation, but we’re not leaving you hanging! As we recharge our senses and collect your thoughts, you will be treated to a long-running tradition in the production of rich media: The rerun. As we cash-in some of our vacation days, you will be entertained by the ghosts of Open Sources’ past.
Taking a Break from Some of Our Worries. So July was a lot. An incumbent president decided that it was best that he not run for re-election, and an Ontario premier did the impossible and caused a strike at the LCBO. At the same time, Doug Ford is also trying to explain why he closed the Science Centre, why so much of this province’s health matters are being handled by Shoppers Drug Mart, and whether or not we’re going to have an early provincial election. No wonder he’s worked up such an apatite. Then again though, so have we. See you in a couple of weeks.
*Programming Note: Open Sources Guelph will return with new episodes on Thursday August 22.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.