Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph #474 - June 20, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're beating the heat with hard hitting punditry. To that end, we're knocking off some of the circus politics to talk about serious issues like foreign interference in our politics and the seemingly increasing gulf between police and reporters while they're on the job. For the interview this week, we're talking to one of the newer members of the Ontario legislature about how she's spending these 120 some-odd days of summer.
This Thursday, June 20, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Sum of All Interference. The word from Parliament Hill is interference, but nobody quite knows what to do about it. On the one hand Elizabeth May says no current MP is on the list of compromised Canadian politicians, but Jagmeet Singh says that's not true. Meanwhile, both Pierre Poilievre and Yves-François Blanchet are going the read-no-evil, see-no-evil route, which leaves Justin Trudeau who has to face down another crisis of confidence in his government's efficacy. So what does it all mean?
We Have Cop-cerns. A piece by Savanna Craig for Aljazeera outlines her concerns about the way that police are treating journalists covering protests in Canada after she was detained covering a pro-Palestinian protest in Montreal a few months ago. We've seen some of that in our own backyard when a Guelph Today reporter had his camera seized by the coroner's office while covering a car accident, so we must now ask the following question: Are police respecting journalists doing their jobs?
Clancy Feast. It was about seven months ago that Aislinn Clancy scored a big win for the Green Party of Ontario by securing a seat in Kitchener Centre, the second seat for the Greens. Since then, there's been a whirlwind of issues inside and outside the legislature, not the least of which is the possibility that all MPPs might have to run again in an early general election this fall or next spring. We're going to talk about all that with Clancy, as well as fighting for action on climate change in the middle of our first heatwave of the year.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #346 - June 19, 2024 (The Great Escaper)

This week on End Credits, we escape. Greatly! No we're not talking about the classic 1963 John Sturges' movie staring Steve McQueen, but it is about World War II and it is about an escape, and it was kinda great. Today, we're going to review the new bio-pic conveniently called The Great Escaper, and we're also going to talk about other movie escapes.
This Wednesday, June 12, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Great Escapes. Movies are full of great escapes, and this week's entry falls into that category (and not just because "great" and "escape" are in the title). Whether one is escaping literal confinement, or something a little more metaphorical, there are lots of movies about one person's unyielding quest for liberation. Whether that's confinement in a room, a city, a planet, or a weird moving maze, we will talk about great movie escapes.
REVIEW: The Great Escaper (2024). When the world marked the 70h anniversary of D-Day in 2014, a 90-year-old veteran named Bernie Jordan left his seaside nursing home in England, under his own steam, and made his way across the channel one last time to mark the occasion. Jordan's story has been realized in The Great Escaper, a heartfelt tribute to love and duty as seen through the eyes of a married couple played by the late-Glenda Jackson and Sir Michael Caine it what looks like his last movie. So this is an easy thumbs up, right?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #423 – Why Do We Care?

There’s a presidential election this year in the U.S., maybe you’ve heard about it, and like so much of American culture it threatens to block out the sun here, not to mention a lot of serious political issues we’re dealing with here in Canada. Why are we so obsessed with American politics and is it to the detriment of our own political enlightenment in this country?
We could intellectualize this by saying that what goes on in America is a sneak preview of what’s coming in Canada. The neo-liberal centrism of Bill Clinton presaged the arrival of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, the neo-conservative George W. Bush was followed by his Canadian equivalent in Stephen Harper, and many people are seeing a comparison between Donald Trump and Pierre Poilievre with the performative outrage over woke and a lean towards economic populism.
We also have a cross border alt-right feedback loop. Yes, you can say that something like the Freedom Convoy was fed by Trumpism and other appendages of the MAGA machine, but Canada has given them Gavin McGinnis, Lauren Southern, Jordan Peterson, and patient zero for the "Satanic Panic", Michelle Smith, was a resident of Victoria, B.C. So should we ignore American politics, or ignore them at our peril? Our guest this week spends part of his year in Florida, and he might have an answer!
Oliver Rockside, a Guelph Politico booster and friend, podcaster, and former colleague from the Gang of Four show on CFRU, joins us this week to talk about the state of play living in a gerrymandered area of Florida, what it’s like today talking to Americans, and whether or not he’s seeing some warning signs here in Canada that were following in their example. Also, are we too focused on American politics here in Canada, and does it have a negative impact on understanding our own issues in this county?
So let us consider American politics on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can check out the Oliver Rockside podcast universe by listening to his music show In Your Ear Holes, the Law & Order podcast The 27th Precinct, and the now complete Star Trek pod 78 Episodes 30 Good Ones. We will continue to dip into the American election for the next few months on Open Sources Guelph, which you can hear Thursday at 5 pm on CFRU.
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 #473 - June 13, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we won't say that democracy doesn't work, but it certainly seems to be malfunctioning. We will look to our friends in the EU who seem to be increasingly embracing authoritarianism, but things aren't too rosy on our own shores where a beleaguered Indigenous community here in Ontario has to take the government to court to get action. For the interview this week - and don't hate us - we're talking about landlord issues with a landlord.
This Thursday, June 13, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
All the Far-Right Moves. Elections for the European Union parliament took place last weekend, and while the EPP majority held, there were significant gains for far-right parties, which prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap election in France for the end of the month. More broadly, the election results were seen as another lurch towards a new western autocracy driven by anti-immigrant sentiment and economic malaise. How concerned should we be?
Narrows Pursuit. For decades, the Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek First Nation - more commonly known as Grassy Narrows - has suffered from the ill-health effects of mercury contamination. In fact, 90 per cent of the people living there are feeling the effects. Now, the people of Grassy Narrows are taking the federal and provincial governments to court for failing to protect their treaty rights and the decision will surely shake up nation-to-nation relations here in Canada. We'll dig into that.
Going SOLO. It turns out that everyone's fed up with the Landlord Tenant Board. A new group called SOLO, Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario, want changes to the board because systemic backlogs and delays are making it harder for them to get rid of problem tenants in a time when the housing crisis is putting pressures on all ends of the housing spectrum, including the small landlords. Board member Kevin Costain will talk to us about the changes that SOLO wants the provincial government to follow-up on.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #345 - June 12, 2024 (I Saw the TV Glow)

This week on End Credits, we watch TV. Sort of. Our movie in this episode is about people who watch TV and maybe watch a little too closely, but that's okay because there's allegory in them there hills! We're going to talk about the new sure-to-be cult classic I Saw the TV Glow, and we're also going to talk about summer movies the best way we can, with a draft!
This Wednesday, June 12, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
The Summer of '89 Draft. Without hyperbole, the Summer Movie Season of 1989 is the Best Summer Movie Season that there's ever been! It was the summer of Batman! Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! Do the Right Thing! Shag! (?!) A summer this good can only mean on thing: We need to draft!! To start this week's show, we're going to draft the movies from the Summer of '89 across five carefully chosen categories.
REVIEW: I Saw the TV Glow (2024). We've probably all been obsessive about a beloved TV show, but have you ever been so obsessed with a show that you thought it was real? That is perhaps the most basic plot description of I Saw the TV Glow, the second film from the very talented Jane Schoenbrun, but there's a great deal more going on. From commentary about obsessive fan culture to allegories about the trans experience, we will try to unwind all the implications of I Saw the TV Glow, but we might need a bigger show!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #422 – Walk The Line

For this week’s podcast, we’re taking it on the road! There are two big protests of a sort happening in Guelph right now, one is technically a strike, and the other is an encampment on campus. Both are local stories with implications beyond the city limits, both are examples of renewed interest in direct action, and both started at around the same time. So how are things going out there, and are these actions having an impact?
On May 27, nearly 1,000 workers at the Cargill plant on Dunlop Drive went on strike after 82 per cent of the members represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 175 rejected a deal with management. The primary issue, unsurprisingly, is the cost of living. Striking workers at Cargill Dunlop are angry, they're fighting for a small increase to their take home pay when just last year the company saw record profits. Their frustration is palpable.
Meanwhile, down at the University of Guelph, there are others experiencing frustration. The day after Victoria Day, a group of student activists set up an encampment to demand that the U of G divest from any company that does business with Israel, and work to end discrimination on campus. These demands have not been well received by the university who have spend more time trying various ways to get rid of the encampment as opposed to negotiating with the campers.
First, we will talk to Ashland Kearns and Melissa Bortolon, workers at the Cargill Dunlop facility and members of striking UFCW Local 175, who will tell us about how the strike is going in week three, what they’re on the picket lines for, and the pandemic impacts of working at the plant. Then, on campus, "Lavender", one of the encampment organizers, will tell us the reasons why the University of Guelph group started an encampment, the lack of engagement with the U of G admin, and the effort to get the full picture of the university’s investments.
So let's go on a field trip on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can follow the progress of the strike at the local’s website. And you can also stay up-to-date with what’s happening at the People’s Plaza on Instagram at UoGforPalestine. There will be a special convocation vigil on Friday June 14 at 3 pm.
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 #472 - June 6, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we don't take the law into our own hands, we go to court with some popcorn. On this episode, many of our news items intersect with justice matters as we talk about the deportation of a national pariah, the trial of a serial killer, a plea deal for a would-be mass murderer, and the unexpected result of a corruption trial in the U.S. Also, because a week can't go by without him sticking his foot in his mouth, we'll talk about Ontario's Premier.
This Thursday, June 6, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Diplomatic Doug. What was supposed to be a nice easy photo op at Sanofi's new manufacturing plant turned into the latest embarrassment for Ontario when Premier Doug Ford dabbled in some *light* racism while responding to a shooting at a north Toronto Jewish girls’ school. It's the latest hit against Ford and his government, but despite that the PCs are still fundraising up a storm and talk of an early election has still not gone away. We will talk about the latest Ford follies.
Crash Ban, Deport. The 2018 car accident that killed 16 people and injured 13 more from the Humboldt Broncos hockey team has a big tragedy for a Saskatchewan community. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was the truck driver responsible for the crash, and he's taken responsibility and plead guilty to having caused the crash, but now he faces deportation to India. Calgary Liberal MP George Chahal wants to fight it, but is it possible to find compassion for a man in spite of the circumstances?
Law & Order. In Winnipeg, Jeremy Skibicki is currently on trial for the murder of several Indigenous women in the area, some of whom have not yet had their remains recovered, and this on the fifth anniversary of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report. Meanwhile, up the road in Waterloo, Geovanny Villalba-Aleman has plead guilty to a stabbing attack supposedly driven by his belief in conspiracies around gender identity. Is justice being served?
34 For 34. After five weeks of trial and testimony, it took a New York City jury less than 10 hours to decide that Donald Trump is guilty of election interference for trying to cover up a one night stand with an adult film star. The historic occasion of the first former president becoming a convicted felon was somewhat muted by Republican defiance, but accusations of political bias in the Justice Department is hard to sell when the new trial this week involves the current president's son. So what next?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #344 - June 5, 2024 (Hit Man)

This week on End Credits, we're being careful about what we're pretending to be. Sly references to Vonnegut aside, things aren't quite that serious today as this episode tackles the lies we tell when we fall in love while pretending to be a contract killer in Hit Man. But the fun doesn't stop there because we're going to Tatooine and back with a return visit to the galaxy far, far away!
This Wednesday, June 5, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
The Phantom Menace at 25! It took nearly 20 years of waiting but Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace opened in theatres, and it happened now exactly a quarter of a century ago! At the time, the hype was so massive that everyone felt it, but the follow on negging by fans was almost just as massive. It's taken a long time, but the Star Wars prequels are having a renaissance, so how does The Phantom Menace stand now 25 years later?
REVIEW: Hit Man (2024). He stole scenes in Top Gun: Maverick, and he stole Sydney Sweeney's heart in Anyone But You, so with this much heat there's only one thing that Glen Powell could do: Play a nebbish college prof turned pretend hit man in a Richard Linklater movie. But don't get us wrong, it turns out that there's lots of heat in Hit Man as Powell gets in way over his head and falls in love with a woman that tries to hire him to wack her abusive husband. Can these two Texas boys - Linklater and Powell - put a little rom-com spice in our summer movie viewing?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #REPEAT- Have You Considered "Dark Tourism"?

There's been a lot of discussion recently about boosting Guelph's tourism profile. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities are working hard to rebuild their shattered tourism industries and Guelph is no exception, which is why the City of Guelph this week launched the Tourism Grants Program, designed to support the development and attraction of new tourism initiatives across Guelph. So here's an idea...
Last fall, Guelph Politico explored the possibilities of dark tourism in Guelph for a special Halloween episode of the show. The Royal City, with its relatively sunny disposition and progressive appeal, doesn't look like a bastion for all things morose or macabre, but that's the candy coating for a seedy underbelly. And, as a bonus, Guelph is already well on its way to being a dark tourism hotbed.
Our thriving dark tourism industry is largely grassroots. It’s people like Greg Taylor, and Jay Wilson, and Bonnie Durtnall, people who have turned their fascination with the dark corners of Guelph into a lucrative side hustle. But would it surprise you to know that the University of Guelph actually has a professor who studies dark tourism? Perhaps he might be able to answer this question: Is Guelph a dark tourism hot spot and we don’t know it?
This week, we’re joined again by Brent McKenzie, who is a professor in the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph. He will give us a formal definition of “dark tourism” and talk about the local examples of the trade. He will also talk about the grassroots nature of dark tourism, whether dark tourism can go “too far”, and some of McKenzie’s favourite dark tourism experiences whether they’re in Guelph or not
So let’s talk again about Guelph’s dark tourism future on this week’s Guelph Politicast!
There are many ongoing local dark tourism experiences in Guelph including Ghost Walk of Guelph, Jaywalking with Jay Wilson and his performance of “The Unfortunate Man” for which you can fine tickets at Eventbrite, and a wide variety of history walks and tours with Guelph Urbex. You can find information about the Tourism Grants Program at the City of Guelph 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 Guelph #471 - May 30, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're all about elections. We're not having one across Ontario anytime soon, but the premier didn't rule it out last week. However, they are having an election right now in Mississauga, they're going to the polls next month to choose a new mayor. For the interview this week, we look to the United Kingdom where they're also having an election, and our guest has thoughts.
This Thursday, May 30, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Sum of All Beers. Doug Ford has done it again! He's made it easier to buy beer and spirits in corner stores around Ontario, presumably in celebration of having solved all of Ontario's other problems!! Sarcasm aside, Ford has actually created new problems for himself, including the Liberal revelation that the tab for free flowing beer may be in the billion dollar range. Is Ford now undone by beer?
A Mad Mayor 'Sauga. Mississauga is one of Canada's largest city, and there's presently a by-election there to replace now-Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie as mayor. Over 20 people are vying for the job including city councillor Alvin Tedjo, former MP Carolyn Parrish, and businessman Brian Crombie who is also Bonnie's ex-husband. With election day coming June 10, what political direction will Mississauga choose?
Rishi Rich? Last week, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called election for July 4, but some people are seeing it a sign of surrender after a decade of turbulent Tory rule. Since no one on this show is a U.K. resident, we're outsourcing to John McInally, a Scottish-born London resident, retired labour organizer and political activist. He will take the pulse of the electorate across the pond, and tell us why this election is more a referendum on Sunak than an endorsement of the Labour Party.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.