Guelph Politicast

GUELPH POLITICAST #415 - Doors Open Preview

Doors Open Guelph is one of dozens of similar events across Ontario that celebrates local history and heritage by throwing open the doors to buildings that are typically pretty inaccessible to the general public. There’s no shortage of history and heritage nerds in Guelph who all have their favourites so how are the sites chosen, why are they chosen, and why are these buildings on the 2024 tour?
The Ontario Heritage Trust started organizing Doors Open events around the province in 2002 and Guelph started doing it’s own a few years after that and it’s been a regular appointment every April. Well, almost every April. You might recall that there was a pause in going to strange places four years ago with the COVID-19 pandemic, and while that means there are still no tours of private homes that doesn’t mean there’s no shortage of juicy stops on this year’s tour!
On Saturday April 27, a dedicated group of community volunteers will be ready to receive you at nearly dozen different places around Guelph. You can go from duelling city halls downtown, to the home base of the Guelph Black Heritage Society; from Dublin Street United Church, which is marking their sesquicentennial this year, to the literal end of the line at the mausoleum of Woodlawn Memorial Park. Also, you can blind yourself with science at the Guelph Research and Development Centre on Stone Road!
This week, we're joined by Susan Ratcliffe, who is one of the organizers of the annual Doors Open Guelph, and she will take us through the program to talk about each property, the secrets it holds, why it was chosen, and what you’re going to see when you get there. We’re also going to discuss how Doors Open is organized, how the program comes together every year, how pandemic concerns are still impacting what appears, and Ratcliffe’s personal, favourite pick from this year’s line-up. 
So let's learn more about these Doors that will Open on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can take part in Doors Open Guelph at all the locations we discussed on Saturday April 27 from 10 am to 4 pm, and you can get the full of locations and addresses at the City's website. You can also take part in Doors Open After Dark, which takes place the day before from 5 pm to midnight at the Guelph Civic Museum.
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 #466 - April 11, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're still recovering from eclipse fever! More earth-bound matters are our concern this episode, and that means talking another trip to the Middle East to talk about the war inside Gaza, but it also means acknowledging that we've got defence problems closer to home too. In the back half of the show, our concern is going to be about work, and the people coming here to work.
This Thursday, April 11, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
180 Days. It's now been a little over six months since Hamas fighters launched a terrible terror attack on Israel, but in that time any sympathy seems to have faded due to Benjamin Netanyahu's disproportionate counteroffensive. Even U.S. President Joe Biden seems ready to put conditions on aid as sources inside the Israeli government says the date for the invasion of Rafah has been set. So what now?
The Two Per Cent Solution. The Government of Canada this week announced billions in new defence spending, but despite that we will still fall short of the NATO pledge to dedicate two per cent of our GDP to the cause of our own security. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to play it cool and say that more could be coming, but the pressure is on for Canada to carry it's weight in the Alliance. Is this enough?
Migrants at Work. With the planting season here, more migrant workers will be arriving in surrounding communities to help with the busy and strenuous tasks that come with farming. But there's more than one type of migrant worker, and they are facing all kinds of challenges as they're going about their jobs and to help us sort all that out, we will be joined by Kit Andres from the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #336 - April 10, 2024 (Monkey Man)

This week on End Credits, it's the Year of the Monkey! Well, technically it's not the year of the monkey for another four year, so maybe it's the week of the monkey, and a year for revenge!! On this show, we're going to review the new action thriller Monkey Man, which is all about revenge fights, and we're going to take a moment to talk about the best movie revenge fights so far!
This Wednesday, April 10, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Best Served Cold. Monkey Man is a tale of revenge, but so are a lot of movies. They say that the best revenge is living well, but most of the time it seems that the best revenge is fighting as many guys as possible between you and the source of your betrayal. Before getting into Monkey Man, we will talk about other movies were the best revenge is not served cold, it's served with a kick-ass fight and lots of over the top and sometimes gratuitous violence!
REVIEW: Monkey Man (2024). Rescued from the ash bin of the Netflix algorithm by Jordan Peele, Dev Patel's directorial debut Monkey Man is now in theatres everywhere. The story follows a man seeking revenge on the corrupt police chief that murdered his mother, which leads him into the deep rot of India's political and societal systems that keep the people under thumb. It's been, perhaps unfairly, described as "John Wick in India" but it's been impossible to not admire Patel and his vision, especially as a first-time filmmaker. But did it work for us?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #414 - Tiny Homes, Big Impacts

We’ve heard a lot about tiny homes lately as the housing crisis has gotten worse, but they’ve been a thing for a while. Somehow, it’s both a niche real estate trend, and a new innovation in accommodating Canada’s unhoused population, but it’s the latter that we’re interested in today because we're going to talk about one of Guelph's two tiny home projects meant to tackle homelessness.
In Kitchener, there was this idea called A Better Tent City. In 2020, various community partners teamed up to turn an industrial lot into a community of tiny homes that would offer low barrier housing with access to hygiene and sanitation facilities, and connection to services and healthcare on a path to stable housing. It also gave the opportunity for shelter to people who have partners, or companion animals, neither of which are allowed in your typical, traditional shelter.
Kitchener’s success with Tent City has been an inspiration for communities around Ontario and across Canada, and that includes Guelph. Mayor Cam Guthrie used his Strong Mayor Powers to direct City staff to start to develop a plan for A Better Tent City-style encampment, and while that plan is in progress, a group called the Guelph Tiny Homes Coalition announced that they had already starter their own project and they're out to prove that a housing first solution is the best solution.
Liz Hales, who is one of the organizers of the Guelph Tiny Homes Coalition, joins us to talk about the reasons she wanted to take part in this project as a nurse practitioner, the paradigm changing idea that housing is healthcare, and why having a permanent place to live is key to assuring a property recovery from medical procedures. She will also discuss who all is on this team, what they’re doing right now in terms of organizing, and what kind of help they’re looking for and when they need it.
So let's talk tiny on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
To learn more about the Guelph Tiny Homes Coalition, you can go to their website. Under the “Get involved” tab you will find a link to that volunteer form where you can give the group your information and where you want to help out. As for the City of Guelph project there’s a deadline of April 26 to hear from property owners who have land within one kilometre of downtown that they’d like to donate. If this sounds like you, send an email to purchasing [at] guelph.ca.
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 #465 - April 4, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're feeling hungry... Hungry for the news! To begin with we will look 75 years into the past to when the last piece of Canada fell into place, and speaking of piece, we'll talk about the people who get the bigger parts of paycheque pie. It's going be no piece of cake for the people that fight forest fires in Ontario this summer, but there could be a sour lemon in the U.S. election. 
This Thursday, April 4, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Diamond Jubi-Newfie. Exactly 75 years ago last Sunday, Newfoundland and Labrador became the 10th and (so far) final province to join the Canadian confederation. It wasn't an easy process, and the people of Newfoundland only voted to join after two referendums, and by a bare majority. We'll talk about why there still seems to be a debate about whether those voters in 1949 made the right call.
Let the Sunshine In. Last week, the Ontario government released the annual Public Salary Disclosure, aka: The Sunshine List. Introduced in 1996, it provides a list of public servants that make over $100,000, and it's a hot button topic for people that don't like how government employees make such a nice living, and that goes double in an affordability crisis. Still, do we put to much emphasis on all that "Sunshine"?
Fire Storm. It may not look or feel like it right now, but spring is here and that means firefighters in Ontario's north are getting ready for another busy fire season. At issue though is whether or not the provincial government is taking the danger seriously enough because everyone from opposition parties to the firefighters' own union says they're not. What will it take to get real government action?
Spoiler Alert? Last week, independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, the independently wealthy ex-wife of one of the Google founders who has no experience in public service. Polling suggests that RFK Jr.is getting a lot of use out of his last name and less from his status as a well-known anti-vaxxer, so will Kennedy be spoiler, and whom will he spoil more?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #335 - April 3, 2024 (Road House 2024)

This week on End Credits, we wanna fight! Now this is typically a collegial show where the hosts get along, so when we talk about fighting it's usually in relation to a movie, and this week we're watching all the fighting with Road House. Now this movie is a remake, and while he was a lover *and* a fighter, we will pay tribute to the star of that original Road House movie.
This Wednesday, April 3, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Saint Patrick's Day. In 1989 Patrick Swayze starred in the original Road House, which was an interest role for him coming out of his then-recent hit playing sexy and graceful and romantic in Dirty Dancing. It's hard not to think about either Road House or Dirty Dancing when it comes to Swayze's greatest hits, and though he tragically passed away fairly young in 2009, he still stands pretty tall as one of Hollywood's most interesting modern leading men. We will talk about his greatest roles.
REVIEW: Road House (2024). The larger points are pretty much the same, big trouble at a road side bar and the one bouncer that's got to unravel it, but Doug Liman's remake takes, if you will, some bigger swings. Jake Gyllenhaal subs for Patrick Swayze as the bouncer, but this time he's a former MMA fighter who's drifting from place to place trying to avoid a fight till some rowdies harassing this small town bar finally push him too far. Gyllenhaal is one oddest leading men working today, so does Road House use his manic weirdo energy well enough as he beats guys to a pulp?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #413 - ARCH is Gone But Their Services Remain

HIV/AIDS Resources and Community Health, or ARCH, suddenly announced its closure last week. Losing ARCH impacts a wide variety of people in Guelph and area, whether that’s HIV prevention and care, needle exchanges and harm reduction, or gender affirming and trans healthcare. For these people, ARCH has been the first and only place they could turn for help, so who's going to fill the void?
The short answer is a team-up of the Guelph Community Health Centre and the AIDS Committee Of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area, otherwise known as ACCKWA (pronounced "aqua"). They have big shoes to fill because ARCH was a pretty big part of the local healthcare picture for decades, emerging at a time when there was not just a tremendous stigma for people diagnosed with HIV, but when an HIV infection was almost certainly a death sentence.
ARCH was radical at the time of its inception, inclusive, sex-positive, anti-oppressive, and focused on harm reduction as a first line of defense. And for members of the queer community, ARCH was very important, especially in the realm of gender-affirming care because many trans activists will tell you that even in 2024 it’s hard to find a doctor that will take you as you are and not what you were born as biologically. That's a lot for one group to cover, so we're getting two!
This week, we're joined by Guelph CHC executive director Melissa Kwiatkowski, and ACCKWA executive director Ruth Cameron, who are here to talk about logistics. They'll discuss the changes to the delivery of services formally covered by ARCH, the division of labour between CHC and and ACCKWA, and how new clients needing those services can best access the help they need. Also, we will talk about the ongoing need for HIV/AIDS education and awareness and the growing number of services covered by CHC.
So let's get into the change face of care in Guelph on this week's Guelph Politicast!
If you are a patient receiving HIV or gender-affirming care, or if you take part in the needle exchange programs, you shouldn’t notice too much of a change in your service. But if you have any questions or concerns, you can get in touch with Guelph Community Health at 519-821-6638 or info [at] guelphchc.ca, or you can get in touch with ACCKWA at 519-570-3687 or by visiting 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, 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 #464 - March 28, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph we're all about the bling, bling! Money matters matter to us this week as we tackle the debate around the carbon tax and the follow-on debate about confidence, and then we will talk about the updated fiscal picture of Ontario and our brand new provincial budget. Also, w will get some straight dope about current political conditions in Guelph direct from city hall.
This Thursday, March 28, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Wax on Axe the Tax. Last week, the federal Conservatives tried to bring down the governing Liberals by forcing a repeal of the carbon tax increase on Monday, which naturally failed. At least in the short term. The political trends seem to indicate that Pierre Poilievre is going to win the next election, and it's on the back of the carbon tax he's going to do it, but do voters have a firm sense of the situation?
Red Ink Tories. The Ontario budget for 2024 was released on Tuesday, and it was big. The amount of money that the Government of Ontario is spending is bigger than ever, and so is the deficit, or rather it's bigger than Queen's Park originally intended this time last year. We'll talk about the highlights and the lowlights of this year's Ontario budget, and how Guelph was affected.
We Got Ward 5 On It. It's been a while since we had a member of city council on the show, so there's a lot to catch up on. Naturally, we went to one of the councillors that represents Ward 5, CFRU's district, and talk to Cathy Downer. From questions about protesting government interference, to a vacancy tax proposal, to the protection of local heritage assets, we will dig into all that more with Councillor Downer!
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #334 - March 27, 2024 (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire)

This week on End Credits, we ain't afraid of no ghost... busters movie review. In the spirit of Easter and themes of rebirth and rising from the dead, we head to movie theatre to check out a terrifying return in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Along similar lines, we will go back in time to the year 1984 to look at two movies and an open weekend paradox that crosses the streams!
This Wednesday, March 27, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
The Battle of '84. On the same weekend in June 1984, two similar but very different movies opened in theatres everywhere; one was Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters and the other was Joe Dante's Gremlins. Both have elements of horror and comedy, but perhaps the films slide more to one side or the other, and yet one thing is clear: Two major releases this similar would never get released on the same weekend in 2024! So we will decide, once and for all, who's superior.
REVIEW: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). For 40 years now, we've been asking. "Who you gonna call?" and we have occasionally got an answer, but in this movie, *everyone* answers the call. Almost anyone that's even been, thought about or tangentially connected to the Ghostbusters returns for Frozen Empire, in which the ghostbusting Spengler family fight a giant snow demon and their own internal dysfunctions. They've spent a lot of years trying to turn the Ghostbusters into a massive action/adventure franchise, so does this busting end up feeling good?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #412 – A Climate Action Check-In

The City of Guelph has two goals, one to be a net zero community by 2050 and the other to be 100 per cent powered by renewable energy at the same time, and while 2050 is still a good 26 years away, it’s going to get here sooner than we think. This week, we're going to go over the climate action report card, how is Guelph doing as we're trying to turn the tide?
From the moment Guelph city council established their net zero and 100 per cent renewable goals in 2021, local climate activists have been asking to see a plan and interim goals. Guelph has a reputation for being one of the most environmentally-friendly cities in the county, but the devil’s in the details and people have been wanting City Hall to do go beyond bike lanes and electric vehicles. 
There’s also a matter of logistics. City hall has been trying to help us out with things like the Guelph Greener Homes program, which offers interest free loans to homeowners to make environmentally-friendly renovations, but that’s only going to help about 600 households; Guelph has 55,000. And then a new controversy arose this week with the Ontario government preparing to override a decision of an Ontario Energy Board, forcing city councils around the province to weigh in.
What a perfect time to be joined again by Evan Ferrari, who is the executive director of eMERGE Guelph, an environmental consultancy. Ferrari will tell us about the current state of Guelph’s conversion to net zero, and how there’s still a lot of work to do. Also, he will talk about how climate action is getting lost in the housing and affordability crisis, and the hiccups in the shift to EVs. And finally, he will look at how the climate deniers have changed the game with new talking points. 
So let's look at where we are in the local climate fight on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the advocacy and services of eMERGE at their website, or by following them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin. You can learn more about the City of Guelph’s Greener Homes program at the City’s website. Also, to learn more about the natural gas decision of the Ontario Energy Debate at council this week, you can catch the meeting coverage on Guelph Politico.
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.