Guelph Politicast

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.

Open Sources Guelph #463 - March 21, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's starting to feel like the bad guys are winning. It's certainly true that a bad guy won in Russia this week, and he has a friend in the United States who he wants to join him in all the winning, but that's still be determined because that guy's got bigger problems. In terms of the smaller problems, we'll have a guest on to talk about solutions.
This Thursday, March 21, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Totally Vlad Show. In an election outcome that was assured long before a single vote was cast, Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term as the President of the Russian Federation, which means he'll be in charge for a period longer than even Joseph Stalin. While Putin secures his continued dominance in the Kremlin, countries in eastern Europe are preparing for war so where does Russia go from here?
"Bloodbath" and Beyond. Donald Trump did it again, threatening America with violence in the event that he doesn't win the U.S. presidential election this fall. But maybe he was just lashing out because he's seemingly run out of gullible suckers who will cover his legal costs as he faces the possibility of having his assets seized by the New York Attorney General. We will catch up with some American politics.
The Fraud Squad. March is Fraud Prevention Month; in fact, 2024 marks the 20th annual observance of the occasion. These are very fraud-y times indeed with reports coming in all the time about someone losing money to a cryptocurrency scam or losing thousands of dollars to someone posing as their grandchild's criminal lawyer, but there are ways you can protect yourself. Jeff Horncastle from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre will join us to talk about how.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #333 - March 20, 2024 (Love Lies Bleeding)

This week on End Credits, we're going to get swoll! Prepare to enter the exciting world of bodybuilding and queer romance in the late 1980s with the new neo-noir movie Love Lies Bleeding, and for all the K-Stew fans out there, we will pay tribute to your favourite actress' career by talking about some of her greatest hits!
This Wednesday, March 6, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
The Taming of the K-Stew. Kristen Stewart has been in the movie-making business for the 25 years now, and while most people know her from the big stuff like the Twilight films, and her Oscar-nominated turn in Spencer, she's actually had a lot of different roles in a lot of different kinds of movies. Before we get into Stewart's new film, we will talk about some of her old ones, which Stewart performances are among her best after her first quarter-century in the biz?
REVIEW: Live Lies Bleeding (2024). Not to be confused with Drive-Away Dolls, another period movie about lesbians caught up in some criming, Love Lies Bleeding embraces its film noir roots for all its heartache and violence and fatalism. Bodybuilder Jackie arrives in town and meets gym manager Lou, and just when they think they might escape and find happiness together, they realize that they're both bound by a dark fate, and the dark criminal underbelly of their border town. So do we love Love Lies Bleeding, or do want we let it bleed?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #411 - Raw Audio News

The last few weeks have been busy news weeks, so on this edition of the podcast we're going to lift the veil of news gathering and take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage the media gets made. To do that, we're going to talk to an Ontario cabinet minister about promises, hear from local fire officials about safety, and discuss how best to not get scammed.
First up, we will go back to last Thursday when Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra was in Guelph announcing that we were receiving $4.68 million for our progress in achieving local housing targets. While Calandra was here, he was asked about the premier's past comments about Guelph and our own desire for the provincial government to take a housing pledge. Hear how he answered.
On that same day, there was a media availability in front of a house on Edinburgh Road South. It was the site of fatal fire last week that cost two people their lives, and it seemed to happened because there was a definite lack of smoke detectors in their home. You will hear from Guelph Fire Chief Brian Arnold and Ontario Fire Marshal Jon Pegg about why you need to put safety first.
And finally, a sneak peak for the next edition of Open Sources Guelph! This is Fraud Prevention Month, which is still happening every March since it was first held now exactly 20 years ago. Sadly, fraud has not gone away and it's only seemed to become bigger business, and that's why we wanted to talk to Jeff Horncastle of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and you will hear him talk - in part - about how to stay safe from scammers.
So let's listen to the news as it happened on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about all of these stories on Guelph Politico. You will be able to hear the full interview with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's Jeff Horncastle on Open Sources Guelph, which airs tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 pm on CFRU 93.3 fm or cfru.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, 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 #462 - March 14, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we throw ourselves into international drama. From civil unrest in Haiti, to the ongoing disaster that's still unfolding - and might yet get worse - in Gaza. Also, there's a princess missing in England, and can you believe that's going to be the *last* segment?! Also, closer to home, we've got another great government attempt to regulate the internet to discuss.
This Thursday, March 14, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Know Haiti. For the last few weeks, a coup d'état has essentially been in progress in the Caribbean country of Haiti. This week, Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to resign once a transitional council is in place after gangs seemingly took control of vast portions of the county, including the capital Port-au-Prince. Is Haiti finally about to turn a corner, or is this just more chaos as Haitians pay the price for centuries of colonialism?
Rafah on the Brink. The holy month of Ramadan has begun, but the full blown assault on the Rafah area of Gaza has yet to begin as Israel threatened (as of this writing). In the west, President Biden is drawing red lines despite affirmations about protecting Israel, while Benjamin Netanyahu says he's not listening to those concerns. Is a turn coming for the war in the Gaza Strip?
Harm Offensive. The Government of Canada has introduced a bill called the Online Harms Act, which will create a new regulator separate from the CRTC, that will focus on overseeing digital safety with particular emphasis on protecting children and youths from internet exploitation. Still, this government has not had a lot of success regulating internet stuff, so will this bill deliver the right results?
Stuck in the Middleton With You. The Princess of Wales had abdomen surgery earlier this year, nothing major the Palace said, and then she took a powder from public appearances. With conspiracy theories on the rise, the Firm released a photo of Princess Kate and the kids, but what's that meme? It's a fake! So we're forced to ask the question: How were they so stupid, and why do we care so much?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #332 - March 13, 2024 (Perfect Days)

This week on End Credits, we search for perfection. It's hard to find, difficult to describe, and different for everyone, but if there's one thing that many critics can agree on, it's that the new film Perfect Days is pretty close to perfection. We will let you know if we agree with that assessment, but also under the topic of perfection, we will revisit another blast from our 80s past.
This Wednesday, March 6, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
This is Spinal Tap... at 40! Forty years ago this month, a small movie was released and while it didn't hit so hard at the time, it ended up having a huge impact in the long-term. Rob Reiner's first film, This is Spinal Tap, introduced the concept of the mockumentary, a documentary-style movie about a subject matter that's made up, in this case the British hair band Spinal Tap. This week, we will talk about the lingering effect of The Tap and take our nostalgia all the way up to 11.
REVIEW: Perfect Days (2024). What initially began as a tourism project to promote Tokyo's splendid new public toilets became a movie worthy of nomination for the Best International Feature Oscar! The legendary German director Wim Wenders takes us into the life of Hirayama, who spends his days keeping those toilets clean and enjoying a quiet life filled visits to his favourite haunts, taking pictures of trees in the park and his favourite American music on cassette tapes. In short, all of Hirayama's days are perfect days, but what happens when fate intervenes?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #410 – Buses and Trains Wanted!

As listeners familiar with the work of Guelph Politico are aware, improved transit is a pretty big part of the mission, and more often than not, we’re talking about local transit. But did you know that transit can take you to places outside of Guelph’s urban boundaries? This is somewhat tricky because regional transit, both to and from Guelph, is lacking, and we're not alone. That’s where a new advocacy group wants to make a difference.
Before looking at the pan regional picture, let’s look at what you have when it comes to getting out of Guelph on a bus or a train. First, you’ve got the Kitchener Line GO Train. Then there are several GO bus routes including ones to Toronto, Milton, Mississauga, Hamilton and Waterloo. There’s also RideWell and the Guelph Owen Sound Transit but almost all those options don’t run on the weekend.
What’s weird is that the demand is clearly there for more service. The Hamilton-Waterloo bus was an immediate success, and social media is littered with pictures of packed bus platforms at the Mount Pleasant GO Station on the weekends as people wait to head further west. Those of us who live at the far end of the GTHA and beyond continue to struggle, and are often left to our own devices to fill the gaps, plus no one’s looking at the broader regional picture...
...Until now. This week, we're joined by Haadhi Faizal, the founder of the advocacy group, More Transit Southern Ontario, who's going to talk about the gaps in regional transit, the difficulties of trying to pick your battles when there are so many, and how trying to co-ordinate between the municipal transit systems is part of the problem. He will also talk about building density around transit stations, and how we can get more people involved in the fight for more and better transit.
So let's talk about more buses and trains on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about More Transit Southern Ontario at their website or by following them on @MoreTransitSO on Twitter and YouTube. In terms of local regional transit expansion, there’s an open house for the business cases to build a rail line connecting Union Station and Cambridge through Guelph on Thursday March 21 from 6 to 8 pm at City Hall. There’s a virtual meeting on Tuesday March 19 too, and you can get all that information at engagewr.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, 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.