Guelph Politicast

GUELPH POLITICAST #154 – The Transit Pass with TAAG

It was quite a year for transit issues. An election year, actually. It seemed like, for once, people at City Hall were actually listening, and that transit users were being heard about all the issues, and the ongoing problems. So did we accomplish anything, and what's coming up now in the new year? That's why TAAG is here!
The Transit Action Alliance of Guelph, or TAAG, is teaming up with Guelph Politico for this semi-regular new series of podcasts about transit issues. TAAG was formed this past summer with the intention of creating a collective voice of advocacy for more, better, and accessible transit. Hopefully, the "Transit Pass" edition of the Politicast will be a way to keep transit issues front of mind.
Looking back at the year that was in transit, we dealt with the start of the Transit Service Review, on which all hopes for solving transits issues has been placed. There was the changes to the schedules for a couple of bus routes that prompted a blowback from people that use route #3. There was also "Paper-gate," the controversy over the City pulling paper schedules from bus stops and then having to put them back following the uproar. Also, the Transit Manager quit almost a year ago, and he's yet to be replaced!
Looking ahead, that Service Review is coming back later this month, what will it tells us, and will it tell us anything we don't already know? Will there be any new money for Transit in the upcoming budget deliberations? Will our leaders lose focus on transit issues now that the municipal election is behind us? And can we expect any real progress on creating more regional transit options?
TAAG Chair Steve Petric, Treasurer Barbara Sim, Membership Co-ordinator John Marchese, and Steering Committee Member Mara Bender all join us for this inaugural Transit Pass to get some insight on those questions and the long bus ride ahead.
So let's talk about the year in transit, not to mention the immediate future of transit, on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about TAAG by clicking here. The Transit Service Review will be released sometime around mid-January, and the special council meeting on the report will take place at 6 pm on January 29.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - December 27, 2018

If it's Christmas week on Open Sources Guelph, then you know what that means: it's time for the annual political movies show! We've got quite the quartet this year if you're looking for something to binge this break. From a surprisingly prescient 80s thriller to a modern sci-fi flick with a social conscience, and from an action hit set in the U.S. Capital to a hit piece by one of America's most well-known provocateurs, it's time for your favourite episode of the year!
This Thursday, December 27 at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Adam's First Political Movie Pick: They Live (1988). "A homeless drifter discovers a reason for the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor: a conspiracy by non-human aliens who have infiltrated American society in the guise of wealthy yuppies. With the help of special sunglasses that reveal the aliens' true faces and their subliminal messages ("marry and reproduce," "submit to authority"), our hero tries to stop the invasion. This satire of Reaganomics and the "greed is good" era also has one of the funniest (and longest) fight scenes in American cinema."
Scotty's First Political Movie Pick: Sorry to Bother You (2018). "In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) is struggling to make a living. He gets a job as a telemarketer, but it's not until a fellow black employee (Danny Glover) advises him to use his "white" voice, that Cassius becomes successful. He gets promoted to being a "power caller," which puts him on the upper floor, where he's provided all kinds of perks. However, he soon discovers that what he is being asked to do is morally wrong. His girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson) objects, even when CEO Steve Lift (Armie Hammer) offers him $100,000,000."
Adam's Second Political Movie Pick: White House Down (2013). "Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation’s government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country."
Scotty's Second Political Movie Pick: Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018). "Director Michael Moore predicted in July 2016 that Donald Trump would win the Presidency of the United States. That doesn't mean that having Trump as the President was the outcome he'd hoped for. In fact, it was very much the opposite. Deeply dismayed, Moore questions what lies ahead for the country. He talks to a variety of Americans about Trump and the seemingly hopeless state of affairs. He is told that if Trump were to be impeached, Trump's supporters would cause riots and violence around the country. It seems that's true, as Moore digs deeper into how and why Trump, a master distractor with his incendiary tweets, staff firings, and outright lies, still remains a hit with some Americans, while at the same time an embarrassment and liability for many."
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 6 pm on Thursday.

GUELPH POLITICAST #153 - Guelph Stuff: Year in Review

Had enough of this autopsy of the year 2018 that every media outlet is doing? Hold on you your butts because Guelph Politico's got one more: December's edition of "Guelph Stuff."
On this second edition of this new monthly "column" in the podcast, we talk about competing Top 5s. Guelph Politico contributor Eli Ridder offers his Top 5 news stories of the year, and we look at the Top 5 from Guelph Politico, which has already been posted. The criteria was simple: news stories about Guelph we think had the most impact this year.
By any metric, it was a very busy news year. We had two elections in 2018, a entirely new provincial government that shook up the province, social issues increasing in severity and shaking faith in the system, a rise in local crime including a summer streak of indecent acts, and on top it all was the usual friction over contentious issues and policy at city hall.
So whether you're about to enjoy 30 or 40 minutes of reminiscing about all that happened in 2018, or whether this is going to add to your anxiousness about seeing this year done at midnight on Monday, let this podcast be your farewell and adieu to everything that made up this 18th year of the 21st century. At least everything Guelph-related in 2018!
So let's review the year that was on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
If you're not tired of all this recap stuff yet, you can click here, if you haven't already, to read Guelph Politico's complete Top 10 News Stories of 2018!
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

End Credits - December 26, 2018 (Best of 2018)

t's the last episode of the year on End Credits, and you know what that means! Well, you should. Like all those professional critics, we too like to take stock at the end of the year, and look back fondly at all the great movies we saw. Submitted for your approval, each of us will give our Top 5 list of 2018.
This Wednesday, December 26, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, Candice Lepage, Vince Masson, and Tim Phillips will discuss:
The Best of 2018. It's always funny when you look back at a year of movies because it always turns out that there was more to love than you thought. For the End Credits gang this year, the list includes documentaries, period dramas, genre pictures, and yes, even a couple of superhero movies. From animated dogs, to secret triplets, and from undercover cops to a boy and his horse, this end of the year "Best of..." list might have something for everyone.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #152 - Paul Smith, Métis Writer and Activist

The Federal Election will soon be upon us, and part of the national conversation will focus on one specific group. For Canada's Indigenous People, are they better off now then they were four years ago? As with all things on this file, it's complicated.
As we look ahead though, it might be nice to take a moment to look behind. Way back in episode #40 of the Politicast, the featured guest was Paul Smith. A Métis writer and activist, Paul's opinions and insights have been read in the local papers here in Guelph, and on StraightGoods.com, as well as the old Beyond the Ballot Box radio show on CFRU.
Back in June 2016, Paul sat down with the Politicast to talk about the first eight months of the Trudeau government and the promise of "Sunny ways" in terms of relations with Canada's First Nations. Those "Sunny ways" though haven't been as sunny as they could have been though, and the news shows every day the overwhelming breadth of issues facing Indigenous communities.
Still, Paul seems hopeful. Perhaps it's unrealistic to expect the ship to be turned around 180 degrees in just four short years, but that doesn't mean that things aren't getting better for First Nations people. At least, that's the perspective from this week's guest. 
So on this edition of the podcast, we'll expand on that. We'll talk about the effect of the Trudeau government on Indigenous affairs, whether awareness counts as victory, and what the victories and challenges of Indigenous peoples in other parts of North and South America mean for Canada's First Nations.
We also talk about the ups and downs of the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the surprising answer that Paul has as to what the Conservative Party stand on Indigenous issues should be during the campaign to come.
So let's talk about the current state of Indigenous Affairs on this week's Guelph Politicast!
Stay tuned, because Indigenous issues will likely be a frequently discussed topic of conversation in the 2019 Federal Election.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - December 20, 2018

On this week's Open Sources Guelph, we go live one last time before 2019! After this week, we've got two weeks of holiday programming, which is good because we need the break from this political madness. The madness on both sides of the border spill into this week's show as we look at all the President's investigations in Washington, and all the scandals at Queen's Park racing to catch up. We'll also talk to the other new councillor on city council, and look back at the very busy first month of the new term.
This Thursday, December 20 at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Trump of Coal. As Donald Trump retreats to his tacky Florida resort for a few weeks of golf and schmoozing with his fellow rich jerks, he leaves quite the mess behind in Washington. His first national security advisor still waits to find out if he'll do time, his old lawyer and fix-it man is going to jail in the new year, two of his adult children and his son-in-law might be charged next, his charitable foundation has been disbanded under the assumption it committed massive fraud, and House Democrats are preparing a subpoena tsunami in the new year. With 17 different investigations going on, maybe Trump should stay in Florida...
Ontario Power Degradation. Meanwhile, in Ontario, Doug Ford is trying to beat Trump for the record number of ongoing scandals. This week, the government recalled the Legislature to pass back to work legislation preemptively before Ontario's hydro workers can go on strike, they cancelled funding for the College of Midwives, they cancelled some education funding, the integrity commissioner is probing the appointment of Ron Taverner to OPP Chief, and the people want sex ed to stay exactly as it is when the previous government passed the new curricula in 2015. What can we take away from the last week of Ford Nation 2018?
New From Ward 2! Guelph City Council has only been back in session for two weeks, but what a two weeks it's been! From a massive development in the west end, to the approval of cannabis retail locations, to an underpass trail beneath the Speedvale Bridge, there's been a lot of big calls, and some bigger calls are yet to come. That's a lot for a rookie councillor to handle, but this week, we'll check in with Ward 2 Councillor Rodrigo Goller to see how he's handling it. We'll talk to Goller  about how he's handling the learning curve, what he thinks of the council experience so far, and what we should expect coming up in the new year.
***Programming Note: Open Sources Guelph will air two holiday specials on December 27 and January 3 at the usual time.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 6 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 19, 2018 (Roma)

This week on End Credits, we work our way towards the end of the year by talking about one of the year's best films. (At least according to some critics.) We'll turn on Netflix again to watch Alfonso Cuarón's new film, Roma, an entry that will likely be discussed very often with Oscar season coming. Of course, the Oscars, and their lack of host, are still top of mind. We'll talk about that, film preservation, and women in film before the review. 
This Wednesday, December 19, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
A Post with No Host. Over a week since Kevin Hart fired himself as Oscar host, and there's still no one to succeed him after a series of his anti-gay tweets by the comedian were dredged up again. In the meantime, the nominations for the Screen Actors' Guild Awards were announced with many of the nods from last week's Golden Globe nominations getting the same honour (not to mention the same snubs). Do we need to be worried about awards season?
Women Take the Lead? A study by the talent agency CAA of movies released from 2014 to 2017 found that films where women were in the lead did better at the box office than ones where men were in the lead. Cool, right? Well, the study's not exactly what it appears, Megan Fox gets top billing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but is it a Megan Fox movie? Still, we can't ignore more proof that Hollywood is ignoring female movie fans to its detriment.
Saved for Posterity. For the 30th year, the Library of Congress has added 25 movies to the National Film Registry and this year it included classics like Jurassic Park, My Fair Lady, Cinderella, and The Shining. Lesser known films like The Navigator, Smoke Signals, Eve's Bayou, and The Days of Wine and Roses were also added to the list, as were early examples of the power of film preserved for 100 years. We'll talk about the new entrants.
Black Ditto. A movie based on the popular Avenger Black Widow (as played by Scarlett Johansson) has long been in the works, and Cate Shortland will bring it to life, but Marvel Studios looked at 65 different female directors for the job, including Lucrecia Martel. Well, Martel offered some insight into Marvel's directorial selection process, and it might not reflect too well on the company. Well talk about why Marvel might think girls can't direct action.
REVIEW: Roma (2018). Alfonso Cuarón's deeply personal story about his childhood in 1970s Mexico City, has been getting a lot of buzz, and understandably so. The touching story about the struggles of an Indigenous woman who serves as nanny for an affluent family in the neighbourhood that shares the film's title has won fans and praise in several different film festivals this year, and now it's available to all on Netflix. But does it live up to the hype, and the chances laid out for Oscar glory?
***Programming Note: End Credits will air two holiday specials over the winter break on December 26 and January 2 at the usual time. 
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #151 - Tim Gray, Environmental Defence

It's not news that the provincial government under Doug Ford can be controversial, but when the Ontario government introduced Bill 66 a few weeks ago it courted some major controversy as the worst fears of environmentalists were realized: developing the Greenbelt was on the table.
Bill 66, AKA: the Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act, is designed to "stimulate business investment, create good jobs, and make Ontario more competitive by cutting unnecessary regulations that are inefficient, inflexible or out of date," according to the provincial government.
It's an omnibus bill that alters numerous pieces of legislation, but among the most concerning for environmentalists are the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Protection Act, the Greenbelt Act, and Lake Simcoe Protection Act. According to Environmental Defence, the Act "threatens drinking water, undermines evidence-based city planning, and removes protection from toxics chemicals for Ontario residents."
It's probably why so many mayors and members of city council around southern Ontario have come out against Bill 66, or, at the very least, want Queen's Park to rethink it. And that includes Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie.
The purpose of Environmental Defence, according to their website, is "to challenge and inspire change in government, business and people to ensure a greener, healthier and prosperous life for all," and on that account Doug Ford has been keeping them very busy indeed. Tim Gray is the executive director, and despite the grave concerns about Bill 66, he's actually hopeful that the legislation will be stopped before the legislature returns full-time later this winter.
So on this edition of the podcast, we hear from Gray about why he's hopeful, why Bill 66 puts the Greenbelt at risk, what the Ford government’s environmental policy so far tells us about the next fights, and what concerned citizens can do if they want to help persuade the government to put Bill 66 back in a drawer.
So let's talk about environmental action and what happens next with Bill 66 on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
To find out more about Environmental Defence, you can visit their website here. The full debate on Bill 66 will take place in February when the Legislature returns as scheduled. February will also likely be the announcement of Mike Schreiner's private members bill protecting the Paris-Galt Moraine. Stay tuned.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - December 13, 2018

As a holiday treat, this episode of Open Sources Guelph is going to try an avoid any discussion about our old friends Don and Doug. For the first half of the sow, we're going to aim for an international flavor by talking about the wave of protests in Paris the last month, and the fact that there seems to be no way out for Brexit. Closer to home, we'll talk about advocating for a local detox centre, and the always fascinating topic of censorship... of Christmas songs.
This Thursday, December 13 at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Big Yellow Nasty. For the fourth weekend in a row, violent protests overtook the streets of Paris, tens of thousands of police and security officials clashed with tens of thousands of protestors as businesses, museums and major tourists attractions were all shut down in expectation. The so-called Yellow Jackets are from non-urban areas, small towns and rural parts of France. Wearing bright yellow safety vests, they've been protesting high fuel prices, Emmanuel Macron's tax cuts for the wealthy, and other issues among a growing list of concerns. Macron finally addressed those concerns this week, but is it too little too late?
Too Brexit to Quit. A Tuesday vote in the U.K. House of Commons was pulled at the near last minute by Prime Minister Theresa May. Why? It was likely going to fail as even members of the Conservative Party were going to vote against it. That would have triggered a confidence vote in the government and May, and that's unlikely a vote she was going to win thus leading to an election, with only three months left till the U.K.'s departure from the European Union. So now what? May is going back to Brussels with get a "better deal", but a better deal was always more fiction than fact. So what's next for Brexit?
Detoxic Avenger. Communities across Canada are struggling with issues of addiction and mental health, and it's not just about getting people off drugs or stopping them from getting hooked in the first place. How do we help people transition from addiction to life post-addiction? That would be the goal of the Medical Detox Centre, which a dedicated group of activists are looking to build in Guelph. We'll talk to Donny Hay about his advocacy for the Centre, why it's really needed in Guelph, and we'll talk about his own life story and why it's driving him to bring a detox centre to Guelph.
Battle of the Banned Songs. With several radio stations yanking "Baby, It's Cold Outside" from their holiday rotation, it's time again to talk about the lyrical content of songs that might be past their prime in the current, changing social atmosphere. It's hard not to hear the lyrics, which were first sung in the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter, and think that a song about a guy pressuring a woman into spending the night with him is a no-no in the MeToo era, but does getting rid of a song make us better? Remember when Clear Channel made up a list of songs to pull from rotation after 9/11? Are we more worried about the music than addressing the actual issues?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 6 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 12, 2018 (The Christmas Chronicles)

This edition of End Credits will be filled with the spirit of Christmas. We're reviewing what might be the new holiday classic, Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles, but in the news, it's the slings and arrows of awards season that has us concerned. We'll talk about the Golden Globe nominations, and the quick tenure of a new Oscar host. We'll also mark a notable anniversary, and why remakes are not necessarily Child's Play.
This Wednesday, December 12, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Golden Groats. The Golden Globe nominations have been announced, and it's the the usual collection of odd choices, and all stars as the Dick Cheney bio-pic Vice stands out at the early frontrunner in the awards race, and right behind it is A Star is Born and Green Book. But let's talk about who didn't get a nomination. Ryan Gosling can play the first man on the moon, but not get a nomination for it?! Mary Poppins Returns can be a Best Musical without the music being nominated?! We'll discuss the inconsistencies.
Hart of the Flee. Comedian Kevin Hart was all set to become the host of the 91st Academy Awards in February, but as is the style of the time, no one thought to check his social media accounts for anything untoward. So now the Oscars are without a host, and another takedown credited to past comments coming back to haunt has been pressed into the history books. Is anyone clean enough to host the Oscars?
Punished Again. Punisher: War Zone turns 10 years old this year. Not only was this the third film to feature Marvel's skull shirt-wearing vigilante, but it was a hard R-rated, ultra-violent action film that stands fittingly next to new hits like Logan and Deadpool, plus, it was directed by a woman! Marked as a failure when it came out in 2008, the same year as Iron Man and The Dark Knight by the way, we'll talk about why War Zone has became a cult classic.
Terse of Chucky. There's a remake of Child's Play in the works, and there's a TV series about the killer doll also in the works. One of these is being supervised by Chucky's creator, Don Mancini, and the other is not, and Mancini is kind of mad about that. Can you blame him? He's made Chucky his life's work, and MGM wanted him to rubberstamp their remake and let them put his name on it. Why aren't more creators this mad in remake happy Hollywood?
REVIEW: The Christmas Chronicles (2018). Imagine if Santa Claus was real, but instead of a jolly, old fat guy, you found out he was middle-aged, fit and kind of bad ass. In the Christmas movie you've probably been waiting for, two young people encounter not-that-old St. Nick and accidentally set things on a course for a cancelled Christmas. Can Santa and the kids stay ahead of the Chicago police, local street toughs, and an unhelpful public to rally the reindeer, find Santa's sack of presents and save Christmas? Surely you jest!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.