Guelph Politicast

GUELPH POLITICAST #78 - Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis

May is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Ontario. Isn't it sad that sexual assault is still such a scourge in society at this point in our history that we have to have a while month to raise awareness about it? I think we can all agree on that, but so long as the need is there in our area, there will be the Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, now helping women in our area for over 40 years.
Women in Crisis is marking its 40th year in service in the Guelph and Wellington area this year. What began as eight women volunteering for a new rape crisis line at the University of Guelph has now expanded to include the Marianne’s Place shelter, the Transitional and Housing Support Program, the Family Court Support Program, the Rural Women’s Support Program, the Sexual Assault Centre, and, of course, the 24-hour Crisis Line. This isn't a sign that these problems are getting worse, but rather that we've come to understand them better over the last four decades, but there's still a long way to go.
On this week's second Politicast, Sexual Assault Counsellor Hannah Graves, and Public Educator Jessica St. Peter, join me to talk about how Women in Crisis has changed over the last 40 years, their campaign this month to raise awareness and education about what consent really means, and how the justice system still fails to understand sexual violence and give survivors the support they need. The Globe and Mail reported earlier this year that 1 out of every 5 rape cases brought to police forces across Canada were being marked as "unfounded," which begs the question: are we making any actual progress in helping survivors?
This is some of the ground we cover in this week's Guelph Politicast, as we try to bring some local awareness to Sexual Assault Awareness month.
You can learn more about Women in Crisis, or get involved by contacting them at their website or by calling 519-836-1110. If you have experienced or are experiencing physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse and/or stalking, you can avail yourself of Women in Crisis' services 24 hours a day by calling 519-836-5710 or 1-800-265-7233.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
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.

GUELPH POLITICAST #77 - The 2Rivers Festival

Water is very important to Guelph, and to prove it we have a two-month long festival dedicated to the awesomeness of our city being here at the intersection of two rivers. Hence, the 2Rivers Festival, which is now running through the rest of the month and on into June, and will now be discussed on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast.
Now you'll recall that water was a big subject of conversation last fall, hundreds of people made themselves known that they were concerned about the protection of water resources from those that want to exploit it. But that's politics, the theme of 2Rivers is more about celebration and education, marking the beauty and significance of the Speed and Eramosa Rivers. It's a pretty important spot this place where the rivers meet, two months worth of commemorations important!
The 2Rivers Festival is now in its fifth year, spanning the months of May and June with a variety of outdoor activities including educational programs about the local birds and bugs, appreciation in the forms of hikes and bike tours, and right in the middle there's one of the oldest annual environmental activities in the city, the 2Rivers Clean-up (formally known as the Speed River Clean-up). The people putting together all this on an annual basis are volunteers, and two of them are guests on this week's podcast, Sue Rietschin and Paul Botros.
In talking about the 2Rivers Festival for this week's Politicast, I asked Sue and Paul about organizing the festival every year, how they co-ordinate the various groups and volunteers that take part, and why they think Guelph's rivers are so central to its identity. So if you haven't already, download this podcast and take it with you for a sunny walk or stroll down by the river with this new Guelph Politicast.
Festivities are currently underway, and will continue through May and June. For a full schedule of events for the 2Rivers Festival check the website for details and the program guide by clicking here.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
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 - May 4, 2017

This week's Open Sources Guelph will not begin until we're shown to our villa. But seriously, unlike a certain luxury music festival organized by the man that gave us "Thug Lovin'", or a certain American administration that we could name, this week's show will run like a Swiss watch. No guest this week, but we're going to have lots of discussion about 105 days of Trump, ranked ballots, refusing to pay rent, and why some people this week proved why their best work is behind them. 
This Thursday, May 4, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) (100) Days of Bummer. After marking 100 days with an old-fashioned rally with all his classic tropes and memes, President Donald Trump started his second hundred days opining the fact that Andrew Jackson died 16 years too soon to stop the Civil War, while his budget department tried to turn the fact that none of 45's goals were achieved in the Congressional budget deal into a win. In the meantime, the Russian interference investigation ramped up again, and the third attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare seemed doomed to failure thanks to mixed messaging and an intractable divide between the Freedom Caucus and moderate Republicans. Once more unto Trumpland, dear friends.
2) London Polling. The Ontario government opened up the possibility last year, but London has now become the first municipality in not just our province, but across the country, to move to a ranked ballot system. The vote seemed to be along a generational split, with rookie councillors in their first term voting in favour while veteran councillors sat opposed, but in the end, council embraced the future, and just under the deadline to arrange it for 2018. We'll look at why London went where no one else in Ontario has gone before, even Guelph, even though the Province of Ontario has opened the door wide for municipalities to make the leap.
3) Rent Control. People in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood are going on strike! Not against their employers, no, but against the management company that maintains two apartment buildings in the area. The residents are charging that the company  is raising rents while letting their buildings fall apart, which the tenants say is a conscious move on the part of their landlords to force them out and charge even higher rent. So they're going to hit the property owners where it hurts, the wallet. They're withholding $25,000 in monthly rent until the managers agree to no more rent increases and address needed repairs, but will it work? And if it does, will it catch on?
4) Free Fyre. What was supposed to be the hottest spot on a warming planet, saw hundreds of people got on planes and head to the Caribbean last Thursday for the most exclusive party of the year. So what does a $100K ticket price get you? Luxury accommodations in FEMA shelters, a crappy cheese sandwich, and half the top-billed ticket bailing before the show even started. As attendees tried to compare their situation to the plight of refugees, the rest of us enjoyed the proxy torture of over-privileged millennials who stupidly put their faith in Ja Rule, who apparently is still around. Were we a bit too eager to enjoy the suffering of people that put their faith in Instagram spokesmodels, or is their a real story here?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

Open Sources Guelph - April 27, 2017

It's a bit late, admittedly, but since we don't control time here on Open Sources Guelph (yet) we're going to make this Thursday Earth Day, and mark the occasion with a discussion with a couple of local environmental advocates. On top of that, we'll be talking to another NDP leadership candidate who was in town last week, and we'll be discussing a pilot project from the Ontario government to give the poor more certainty in these highly uncertain times. 
This Thursday, April 27, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Charlie in Charge. Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was one of the first "big gets" we had here on Open Sources, and when he was in Guelph last week we made sure to get him again. Angus was in town to rally support for his leadership bid for the Federal New Democrats, the second of the five major candidates to visit the Royal City in the last month. While meeting with a small group of local politicos, we got the chance to talk to Angus about bringing honour back to politics, turning local issues into national priorities, and why simply giving lip service to change isn't enough anymore.
2) Basic Instinct. Following the example of other jurisdictions, Ontario has decided to experiment with a guaranteed basic income. Three cities in Ontario, including nearby Hamilton and Brantford, have been chosen as test sites for the new initiative that will aim to close the income gap by giving people enough money to live on with none of the usual string attached. It's a bold move, and one that a lot of anti-poverty activists have been pushing for, but will it make the difference needed for people below the poverty line? Also, is the Wynne government really serious about this, or are they trying to outmanoeuvre the NDP on the left after the New Democrats announced their universal Pharmacare plan?
3) Local Solutions. This past Saturday was Earth Day, and a fairly depressing one given recent events. Any progress meant to address global climate change at an international policy level in the last couple of years seems stymied by the election of a climate denying president in the U.S., and the growing focus on nativist populism in the west. So what are people doing? Returning to local solutions, it seems. We'll welcome Shayne Ward of Plastic Free Guelph and Susan Carey of Transition Guelph to the show to talk about fighting for environmental justice by doing the little things - banning straws, starting a tool library and repair workshops - and whether there's still hope in these disappointing times.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

GUELPH POLITICAST #76 - Charlie Angus in the Green Room with a Story

This time next month, the federal Conservative leadership race will be concluded, and we will know who the new leader of the Opposition is going to be. But when that race is over, there's still one more left to go, the competition for the leadership of the NDP, and there's a 1-in-5 chance that Charlie Angus will get the job.
Angus was in Guelph last Thursday in what might euphemistically be called "Charlie Angus Day." Angus made multiple stops around town, from a breakfast town hall to a local high school to a small gathering of curious politicos at the Bookshelf Green Room. This week's Guelph Politicast was recorded there as Angus tried to make a case for social justice, less cynicism, and more than just saying the word "reconciliation" in regards to how we treat our First Nations friends.
So in this week's Politicast, Angus reads from his book Children of the Broken Treaty, talks about why he's idealistically in love with Canada, how we need to find the will to enact progressive change, and how the people in industry he's talking to are preparing and waiting for the day that the government is finally going to lower the boom. He also makes a case for fairness, and how we need economic justice along with environmental justice, and how the two go hand-in-hand.
So let's go up to the Green Room and back in time a week, grab a coffee and listen to Charlie dream. Here's this week's Guelph Politicast.
To find out more about Charlie Angus' leadership campaign for the federal New Democratic Party, you can click here. We will also have an exclusive interview with Angus on tomorrow's Open Sources Guelph at 5 pm on CFRU.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
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 - April 20, 2017

With just a couple of days till the French go to the polls in a very consequential election, it was inevitable that we were going to talk about it on this week's Open Sources Guelph, so perhaps seeing how much fun they were having, Theresa May decided that she would call an election too in the United Kingdom. We're going to talk about those two races on this week's show, and then in the second half we'll bring things back home as we get to know another area Member of Provincial Parliament.
This Thursday, April 20, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) English MacGuffin? In a surprise move following the Easter weekend, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election about three years ahead of schedule. Why? She needs a strong mandate in order to get the best deal in the Brexit, she says. One would have thought that the referendum on the matter almost exactly one year ago would have settled that, but there you go and now Britons, Scots, the Irish and the Welsh will all head off to the polls in June. Is May looking for political cover on the controversial matter of Brexit, or is she just taking political advantage of perceived weaknesses among the opposition?
2) The French Connection. Meanwhile, across the Channel, the French are going to the polls this Sunday with the precarious race to replace Francois Hollande seen to have a high potential for a populist style upset akin to votes in favour of Brexit and Donald Trump. The National Front’s Marine Le Pen has politicos across Europe sweating because her victory will surely mean a France pullout of the E.U. and a likely collapse of the Eurozone, and now that polls are showing a tight race between her three competitors: independent Emmanuel Macron, Republican Francois Fillon and Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon. Is the failure of the European Union almost complete, or is France going to turn the populist tide?
3) Harris Spiel. In exactly one week, the Ontario government will deliver its budget, the first in a long while that will be deficit free, according to the Finance Minster. A cause for celebration, right? Well our guest this week might disagree. Michael Harris is the Progressive Conservative MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga, and he's one of Premier Kathleen Wynne's most vocal critics. We'll talk to Harris about his budget expectations, the government's move on out of control housing prices and auto insurance, and the moves his own party is making as they look to next year's general election and the strong possibility that they might be taking the government side of legislature.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

GUELPH POLITICAST #75 - Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington

Guelph's status as a volunteer friendly community is almost as renown as our environmental stewardship and our musical devotion. April is that time of year to remind us of who helps make a community, and that is the people who give up their own free time to give back to that community, and who better to share that point of view that the people of the Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington?
This week on the Guelph Politicast, I'm joined by Christine Oldfield, Executive Director and Kim Cusimano, Communications & Program Coordinator of the Volunteer Centre. They took time out of their busy schedules to talk about volunteering in the Royal City, how the Volunteer Centre fits into it in the grand scheme, and about National Volunteer Week, which not-coincidentally is next week.
In this week's Politicast, we will lean on Oldfield and Cusimano's experience to learn why Guelph is such a great place to volunteer, the Centre's upcoming commemorations of not just National Volunteer Week, but Canada's 150th birthday, and how the Centre will soon be launching a rebranding effort to continue their good work: connecting volunteers to volunteer opportunities of all types and sizes across the City of Guelph.
So if you'd like, volunteer to download this week's Guelph Politicast and learn more about volunteering!
National Volunteer Week is April 23-29 this year, and there are many ways you can get involved including the Time to Give Breakfast, which takes place on Friday April 28 at 7:30 am at the Delta Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre. You can interact with the Volunteer Centre through its website, Facebook, and Twitter feeds.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
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 - April 13, 2017

This week on Open Sources Guelph we talk to the man who's the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada! You know, if those other 13 people in the race get out of his way. We are happy on this week's show to be able to talk to Rick Peterson, the bilingual maverick businessman that's making a serious play to be the head of Canada's blue team. Before that though, we'll address the maverick foreign policy of "45" and the maverick action of Guelph's city council to put the kibosh on online voting.
This Thursday, April 13, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Regime of Consciousness. Despite his stance of "America First" and his vehement Twitter tirades against getting involved, President Donald Trump launched a cruise missile attack on Syria following a poison gas attack on civilians perpetrated by the government of Bashar al-Asaad. So what happened? What happened to make Trump do a total 180 on his foreign policy (such as it is)? Good question, but so is the question of why all of Trump's top foreign policy advisors are giving a different message on the matter? And if the missile attack is part of a new policy, where's the rest of the policy?
2) Hope Votes. In a surprise move at last week's Committee-of-the-Whole, Guelph's city council decided to put the kibosh on internet voting for the 2018 due to concerns about the integrity of the voters' list. Administered by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) there's evidently a lot of people that are on the list that shouldn't be, an opportunity that's easy to exploit for unscrupulous people looking to throw an election. At the same time, there's an accessibility argument for online voting, and the fact that nearly one-third of the ballots cast in the last election were done so online. So what is the City going to do? Can we balance security and accessibility?
3) Rick Rolled. There are two people in the Conservative Leadership race with a business background and no previous federal political experience. One is an accomplished Canadian businessman, a venture capitalist that has helped small and medium sized businesses grow and develop, and has some crazy business-minded ideas about how to shake up the country and its right leaning party. And the other is Kevin O'Leary. Yes, Peterson is only businessman in this race that actually seems serious about the race, and we'll talk to him about his ideas to spur economic growth in Canada, how he plans to make the Conservative Party more appealing to women and urban dwellers, and why he's Maxime Bernier's second choice for the leadership.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

Open Sources Guelph - April 6, 2017

It's another week on Open Sources Guelph, and there's a lot of Canadian political news to get to. First, a couple of exclusives! We'll have a first hand account of the the latest Conservative leadership debate this past weekend, plus an interview with one of the people running for the NDP leadership race (albeit the topic is a very specific issue). In the back half of the show, we'll talk about changing the rules of the game in the House of Commons and why everybody's so mad about all the money other people are making.
This Thursday, April 6, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) The Debate Escape. The 14 candidates for the Conservative Party leadership gathered Sunday to debate at the Eglinton Theatre. Did we say 14? Because only 13 showed up. Yes, Kevin O'Leary had to "spend time with his wife" (and talking about American healthcare on MSNBC apparently), so it was a baker's dozen on stage in Toronto, and the round lead by former Finance Minister Joe Oliver showed all shades of blue as social conservatives took on fiscal conservatives who took on Red Tories who took on centrist pragmatics. And unlike previous leadership debates, a member of the Open Sources team was there to observe and report.
2) Nathan For You. When he's not being the MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, or running for the leadership of the New Democrats, Nathan Cullen is going across the country to promote electoral reform. So naturally one of his stops was Guelph, the birthplace of fighting for electoral reform in Canada (it seems). ER is the issue that won't go away for Justin Trudeau, and Cullen is going to keep pushing it for the next two months as the report prepared by a special parliamentary committee comes up for a vote at the end of May. Cullen is trying to rally support from the voters themselves, so we asked Cullen about that and the seemingly undying demand for reform in an exclusive interview during his Guelph stop.
3) House Rules. Meanwhile there's another kind of reform being discussed on Parliament Hill that hasn't received a lot of attention, and it concerns what government does in the House once they've been elected. Amongst the recommended changes are the elimination of the Friday session, electronic voting in the House, and the power for the Speaker to split omnibus bills. Some of that is not particularly earth-shattering, but then there's the other stuff like cutting down time for debate, longer wait times for answers to the opposition's written questions, and limiting filibusters in committee. So are the Liberals grabbin' for more power, or can they make a case that this will improve our democracy?
4) Nickels and Dimes. Two big compensation stories made the news this week, on the one hand Bombardier executives stirred up anger as they cut jobs, beg for federal bailouts, miss important deadlines, and yet cut huge multimillion dollar bonuses for themselves. Meanwhile, the Government of Ontario released the numbers from the annual "Sunshine List" highlighting all the provincial employees that make $100,000 or more. People seem to get pretty riled up about public administrators making six figures, but they get downright angry about businessmen giving themselves millions of dollars of corporate welfare. We'll talk about why money matters.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

GUELPH POLITICAST #74 - The Central Student Association

Today is the last day for University of Guelph students to vote in a run-off election for next year's President of the Central Student Association. It's no small position, but getting undergrad students to vote for the person representing them to the university admin, the provincial and federal governments, and on all matter of student issues is no small feat itself. Fortunately, next year's slate of Vice-Presidents is already in place.
On this week's Guelph Politicast, we bring together VP Student Experience Emily Vance, VP Academic Becca Cheskes, and VP External Kayla Weller. All three were handily elected in the main CSA election back in mid-March, and, as you'll hear, they're all eager to get down to business. This will be an interesting year for the CSA. The recent decision to go from a co-operative governance structure to a more traditional hierarchical one did not come without controversy, but where others see controversy, Vance, Cheskes and Weller see opportunity.
The three talk about what their goals and challenges are for the next year on this week's podcast. Obviously, they're going to be at the forefront of explaining the changes to Guelph Transit to their fellow students, and they'll be on-hand this summer as the renovations begin on the second floor of the University Centre. Along with that, there's the existential problems of increasing tuition, increasing fees, increasing textbook prices, class sizes, and stress. Mental health is a big issues that also comes up in conversation, as does the controversy around Jay Rojas, who lost the presidency last month by just over 100 votes despite being the only candidate.
So let's talk to the VEEPs and all their wonderful ideas and expectations for the year ahead. For students, this is a great chance to get to know your new representatives, and for everyone else, you can remember back to a simpler time when the political world was full of possibilities, just like every episode of the Guelph Poltiicast!
If you're so inclined, you can keep up with the CSA by-election here, and you can keep up to date will CSA goings on here.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
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.