Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph #461 - March 7, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're going back to the 80s. The 18th Prime Minister of Canada passed away last week and we will talk about his impact between then and now, and speaking of the 80s, we've also got to talk about Trump again. In the back half of the show, there was good news about the pharmacare, and we will try and find some good news for the women out there in advance of their day.
This Thursday, March 7, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Life of Brian. Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney passed away last week and he will be honoured at a state funeral on March 23. But what will Mulroney be honoured for? A lot of people have pointed to his successes fighting acid rain and apartheid while others have pointed to his constitutional failures, neo-liberal economic policy and the collapse of his political party once he retired. Will the real Brian Mulroney legacy please stand up?
Super Tuesday's Child. This past Tuesday was Super Tuesday in the United States as 16 states held their primary on a single day. It was widely suspected that Donald Trump would secure the Republican nomination, so all eyes were on the future of Nikki Haley, and the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court who ruled that Trump gets to stay on the ballot in places where he was removed. Where does U.S. politics go now?
Down on the Pharm! Last week, the federal government revealed their national pharmacare plan. The policy, which was a key demand from the NDP for their confidence and supply agreement, will begin by covering contraception and diabetes drugs and then set up a process by which other drugs are added. Should we be excited about this progressive development, and will it be a selling point for this tired Liberal government?
Women's Day Economics. Friday is International Women's Day, and there are themes every year for the occasion. For 2024, the United Nations has set the theme, "Invest in women: Accelerate progress", meaning that we need to empower women who are so vulnerable to many different economic factors. From the "pink tax" to fact that women took the brunt of job losses in the pandemic, we will talk about finding equity in the economy.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #331 - March 6, 2024 (Dune: Part Two)

This week on End Credits, the movies are back! Obviously, they never went away, but after a fairly dry year at the movie theatre so far, boy we're we back last weekend with the arrival of the the long-awaited second chapter of Dune! If that's not exciting enough for you, there are some huge movie awards being given out next weekend, and we're very excited to talk about them!
This Wednesday, March 6, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Flight of the Awards. The Oscars are coming! The 96th annual Academy Awards ceremony is this weekend, and it almost goes without saying that this is going to be a big weekend for Oppenheimer. All the odds-makers are saying it's a good bet that Christopher Nolan's hit about the father of the atomic bomb is the one to beat, and it's been pretty unbeatable this awards season indeed. We'll talk about whether those odds will hold and the other bets around this year's Oscars.
REVIEW: Dune Part Two (2024). When we last left Dune, Paul Atreides and his mother had found sanctuary with the Fremen, the indigenous population of the planet Arrakis , and now Paul must decide whether to embrace his destiny as their saviour even if that means starting a holy war that sets fire to the universe. If may look like your standard big-budget, Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, but Denis Villeneuve doesn't do conventional, and Dune's not your average cinema spectacle, so after a gangbusters opening weekend, we're going to talk about our thoughts about Dune: Part Two.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #409 – Advanced Repeat

It's rare these days to work in the same place for over four decades, but when you go to the Guelph Public Library this week you may notice that one long-time face is no longer around. Maybe you didn't notice because you were so obsessed with the thought of heading into the DVD stacks to find more Denis Villeneuve flicks, high on the hit from Dune: Part Two. If any of this sounds right, this podcast is for you!
First, we will insert a little End Credits action into this show by replaying the definitive ranking of Denis Villeneuve movies pre-Dune from September 2021. The Quebec-born director has risen through the ranks from being the darling of homegrown Canadian cinema to being a major Hollywood filmmaker, but American reviewers ignore those quirky first Canadian flicks. We don't!
After that, we will re-play our interview with now former-Library CEO Steve Kraft from last September where he talked about his career, why he wanted to become a librarian in the first place, and how technology has changed what a library is all about. He also talked about the Library’s future, from the new building to all the branches, plus he discussed the demand for library programs, and if there’s anything libraries can’t do.
So let's talk books and movies on this week's Guelph Politicast!
The Guelph Public Library Board of Directors has formed a CEO recruitment committee and they will be dedicated to hiring a new CEO sometime later this year. Dune Part Two is no in theatres everywhere and you can listen to the full review on this week's episode of End Credits.
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 #460 - February 29, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's Leap Day! Recorded for posterity, episode #460 of this show is being released on Leap Day, February 29, 2024. This year February added an extra day, and on this show we're adding to the discourse! We're going to drop in on our friends at the Ontario Legislature, and then we're going to talk to a friend from the trans community to see how they're coping with current events.
This Thursday, February 29, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Weak in the Fees. This week, the Government of Ontario announced that they're pumping $1.3 billion in extra funding into the province's universities and colleges, and this after Premier Doug Ford reportedly canned a decision to hike tuition fees by five per cent over three years. And yet, the biggest controversy of the week involves judicial appointments and accusations of patronage. We'll catch up with all the fun at Queen's Park.
The Johnstone of Destiny. Canada’s queer and trans communities are feeling besieged lately with many provincial governments trying to legislate parental rights and/or are openly discriminating against LGBTQ+ people. This week, we're joined by Fae Johnstone, a trans activist and the executive director of the Society for Queer Momentum, who's going to tell us about how they maintain hope that we’re still on the progressive road to equality.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #330 - February 28, 2024 (Drive-Away Dolls)

This week on End Credits, we're on the road again. The last few weeks of winter hardly seems like a good time for a road trip, but maybe that's the point. It's time to get in the car and drive with the Drive-Away Dolls and our old friend Ethan Coen, but before that we will talk about all the movies they aren't entirely sure they want you to see as we reach the end of "Dumpuary."
This Wednesday, February 28, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Dumpuary Jones. We've reached the end of February (though technically nearly the end because it's a leap year), which also means it's the end of "Dumpuary". It's the time of year where Hollywood studios dump the movies that they think can make some money but are too embarrassed to release in the harsh light of summer or Christmas. So for the first part of the show this week, we will hail some Dumpuary classics both past and present!
Drive-Away Dolls (2024). As you may recall, the famous filmmaking fraternity the Coen Brothers are taking a break from each other. A couple of years ago, Joel made The Tragedy of MacBeth, and Ethan made this, a 1999-set road trip comedy about a pair of young women finding themselves on the road to Tallahassee and finding something mysterious and tantalizing in the trunk of their borrowed car. If you like Classic Coens like Raising Arizona or Burn After Reading, you will probably see a lot to recommend in Drive-Away Dolls, but is one Coen Coen enough?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #408 - Greg Dorval Has Things to Say

One of the problems covering issues of homelessness in the media is that it’s hard to find people to be the face of those issues. You see this in just about every news story, “person X is experiencing issue A”; it’s a way of personalizing the issue and making it relatable to the audience, and it’s one of the reasons why the homelessness crisis is so unrelatable. That’s where Greg Dorval entered the picture a few weeks ago.
As government representatives and social services agencies got together for a two-day Health and Housing Symposium at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre, Dorval pitched a tent in the back of the Wellington County Administrative Centre. Dorval had decided to become an ambassador for the people living rough in Guelph, and his point was clear: We’re here, and we need assistance greater than what’s been received.
Dorval also set up shop in advance of a special meeting of city council, one that discussed a new bylaw that regulated the use of public spaces on City-owned property. Developed in 11 days, City of Guelph staff felt like they were trying to walk a fine line between human rights and safety concerns, but people living rough and their advocates saw it as an attack on people who had no place to go. Dorval was one of the delegates at that meeting, but he still has more to say.  
On this edition of the pod, we catch up with Dorval as he talks about how he felt sitting through the rest of the meeting, and trying to find some peace of mind when people are saying unkind things about people living rough. He will also talk about his initial uncertain interactions with Wellington County staff and how he turned that into a path forward on the issues. And finally, he will talk about the need for continuity of care, and how we wants this to be the last winter anyone lives in a tent in Guelph.
So let's hear more from Greg Dorval on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
Greg Dorval continues to take up residence in St. George’s Square to demonstrate for more assistance for people who are unhoused. The City of Guelph’s Public Spaces Use Bylaw is on hold for the time being, and there will be a third day of the City and County’s housing symposium that will be open to public participating sometime in April. Thanks to Bry Webb and Christopher Currie at CFRU for setting up time in studio to record in studio even as a band warmed up!
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 #459 - February 22, 2024

This week Open Sources Guelph is dealing bad news. What else is new? From critics silenced to cities under siege, we're reminded that there's a world full of danger and destruction out there, which are two things that are closely associated with a specific man who was once President of the United States, and might be again. Meanwhile, closer to home, an old man is almost literally yelling at clouds.
This Thursday, February 22, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Alexei. They finally did it. After years of trying, Vladimir Putin and his appendages in the Russian state were finally able to eliminate his biggest critic, Alexei Navalny. The lawyer-turned-agitator "died suddenly" in one of the worst prison in all of Russian, and coincidentally just a few week ahead of a national election and the second anniversary of the Ukraine invasion. So where does Russia go now?
Rafah. The next front in Israel's war against Hamas seems to be the city of Rafah, but as the IDF are promising to launch their campaign just before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, the Israeli government is facing for blowback from the international community who are calling for a ceasefire and the resumption of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Nearly five months into this war, is there any chance that Israel will listen?
Oh Carolina! This weekend is the South Carolina Republican primary, and it's widely expected that Donald Trump will win. It will be just about the only winning that Trump's experienced recently after being told he doesn't have total immunity, he has to pay $364 million in fines for the way he did business in New York, and there are still so many court cases to go. So why does Trump look unbeatable?
They Call Me Mr. Tibbits. So the head of Conestoga College called his colleague from Sault College a "whore" last week in an actual interview with the press. Tibbits, along with many Ontario college leaders, has been on the defensive for the drastic increase in the number of international students enrolled, but is this ad hominem attack a sign of the stress getting to Tibbits, or is just a sign he should retire?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #329 - February 21, 2024 (Maestro)

This week on End Credits, we're back! Good thing Hollywood is so royally messed up due to several months of strike action last year that we haven't missed much!! So in our first episode back we're going to check one of this year's big Oscar nominees, Maestro, and we're going to go back in time to re-visit an Oscar-nominee from 40 years ago, Footloose (you read that right).
This Wednesday, February 21, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Footloose at 40! It's old versus young, rock 'n' roll versus classical, avant garde versus traditional. It's Footloose! Released 40 years ago this week, the Herbert Ross movie sees Kevin Bacon as Chicago transplant Ren, who arrives in small town America where dancing's against the law. Ren wants to use his fancy feet but a town full of small minds stand in his way, and a cinema classic is born. But now, four decades later, we wonder how Footloose shakes out.
REVIEW: Maestro (2023). You may not know the name Leonard Bernstein, but his impact on music in the mid-20th century is undeniable. He brought classical music to kids in New York, he wrote the score for On the Town and West Side Story, and he was a master of the art of orchestra conducting. In fact, Bernstein was such a master he stymied two of them when it came time to tell his story - Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese - so it falls to Bradley Cooper and his eternal search for Oscar glory, to do the Maestro right. So did Cooper deliver a masterpiece, or a flop?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #407 - Mike's Homes

When the Ontario Legislature resumed sitting this week, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner wasn’t sitting alone as the only Green member. The fact that Aislinn Clancy won handily in Kitchener Centre might be a sign that people are interested in listen to Green ideas, and the Legislature will get a chance to show they they’re listening next week by sending Schreiner's private member's bill to committee and naturally, he thinks they should!
Bill 156, the Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act, changes planning rules province-wide to allow for fourplexes and four story apartments in neighbourhoods and allow for mid-rise buildings ranging from six to 11 stories on transit corridors and main streets. The bill would also let these changes stands by not allowing them to be taken to the Ontario Land Tribunal for review, a process that can delay projects for years. It would be a game changer.
Now, some of this work is being done on the local level, Guelph included. But you’ll hear from Schreiner this week that while these are positive developments, it’s hard to make permanent planning changes one municipality at a time, especially when they can be appealed to the OLT. So doesn’t it make sense to change it province-wide all at the same time? Schreiner is banking on the idea that it does, and this week, he’s going to try and sell it to you on this very podcast. 
Schreiner will talk about his thoughts on how the housing crisis got this bad, the elevator pitch for the bill, and why he thinks it’s a good compromise to create density while maintaining neighbourhood character. We will also talk about municipal politics with planning, and how the bill tries to prevent NIMBYism. He will discuss "sharing the pain", the other factors in housing like labour and the economy, and Schreiner’s expectations for the debate next week. 
So let's talk about Schreiner's bill with the author himself on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about Bill 156, the Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act, at the Green Party of Ontario’s website. As you heard, Bill 156 will come up for second reading next Wednesday, February 28, in the Ontario Legislature, which returned to work yesterday for the opening of the winter sitting.
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 #458 - February 15, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're not feeling the love this day post-Valentine's. We're going to start local where the Mayor of Guelph declared himself strong, and just in time for a very complicated and emotional meeting about public policy around encampments. Also (sorta) local, we will talk about the impact of the latest round of media job cuts and then it's off to Queen's Park for another adventure!
This Thursday, February 15, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Stronger Than Yesterday. Last week at the annual State of the City, which is mostly a networking opportunity and a chance for the mayor to talk up Guelph, Cam Guthrie announced that he's a strong mayor now. Using powers granted by the provincial government, Guthrie said that he's doing it to advance some key policy objectives on housing and homelessness, but is he sacrificing local democracy to achieve them?
Camp of Approval. Across the country, there seems to not be a war on poverty, or a war on homelessness, but a war on encampments. Here in Guelph, the battle space was the council chambers this week as council debated a bylaw to rid public spaces like St. George's Square of homeless encampments. We will talk about how Guelph's response is a microcosm of government failure on the issue of housing.
The Bell Tolls. Last week, Bell Media announced that they were cutting nine per cent of their workforce. In practical terms, that means no more noon hour news for anywhere other than Toronto, and no weekend news for anywhere that's not Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. People are taking this as another bad sign for local journalism, so how can local news be saved and why does nobody seem to want to fix it?
124 No More. Next week, the members of the Ontario legislature will roll back into Queen's Park for more law-making, which will now include the repeal of the highly-controversial Bill 124. An Ontario appeals court confirmed it was unconstitutional, and the Ontario government seemed to decide to give up. That's just one of the many controversies coming to Toronto next week, and we're going to try and dig into them all!
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.