Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph #456 - December 28, 2023

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're taking the week off, and you probably are too. If you've entered the usual post-Christmas/pre-New Year's boredom, then this is the show for you because it's our annual Political Movies Show! For the last eight years, we've used one of our last shows of the year to talk about some of our favourite politically-minded movies, and this year will not be any different. So tune, drop out, and bring on the flicks!
This Thursday, December 28, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Adam's Pick #1: First Blood (1982). "A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers." Directed by Ted Kotcheff. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, and Brian Dennehy. You can stream First Blood on Paramount+ or rent it on VOD.
Scotty's Pick #1: Between Two Worlds (2021). "Based on French journalist Florence Aubenas's bestselling non-fiction work Le Quai de Ouistreham, investigating rising precarity in French society through her experiences in the northern port city of Caen." Directed by Emmanuel Carrère. Starring Juliette Binoche, Louise Pociecka and Steve Papagiannis. You can borrow Between Two Worlds from the Guelph Public Library.
Adam's Pick #2: JFK (1991). "New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story." Written and Directed by Oliver Stone. Starring Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and Sissy Spacek. You can rent JFK on VOD.
Scotty's Pick #2: Push (2019). "A documentary shedding light on the global phenomenon of the commodification of housing and consequent lack of affordability, especially through the eyes of Leilani Farha, a United Nations special rapporteur on housing who lives in Canada." Directed by Fredrik Gertten. You can stream Push on TVO's website or rent it on AppleTV.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #326 - December 27, 2023 (Top 5 of 2023)

This week on End Credits we say goodbye to 2023, and what a year it is. Great movie year? That's to be determined. As per usual at the end of the year, your favourite cast of characters on local radio will gather for a December celebration of the greatest movies of the year, and the pickings were actually pretty good. From tales of lost love to tales of greed and obsession, we will deliver the Top 5 of 2023.
This Wednesday, December 27, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, Tim Phillips, Candice Lepage, and Peter Salmon will discuss:
The Best of 2023. We have reached the end... of the year. You know what that means: Lists! As per usual for the last show of the year, the whole gang is here to talk about the best films that came out in the last 12 months. What rose to the top of cinematic taste in 2023? The story about a doll come to life, or Barbie? (That was a reference to M3GAN, by the way.) It was also a good year for Canadian movies, whether that was the tech story or the movie about the kid working in a video store. In any event, it's probably safe to say this guy didn't make the cut unless it's goofy accents for the win!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #403 – 2023: The Lousy Clip Show

On this holiday week, you're probably listening to a lot of reruns and year-end recaps on your podcast feed, and that's why Guelph Politico is demonstrating its incredible efficiency by combining both things into one podcast. This week, we will review the 2023 soundbites that made the news in Guelph; the announcements, the arguments and the silliness that helped define the last 365 days in the Royal City.
On this edition of the podcast you're going to hear from many different voices including our city's mayor, Cam Guthrie, plus our Member of Provincial Parliament Mike Schreiner and even the premier of the whole darn province. Their fates were kind of intertwined earlier this fall, and so was the commencement of construction on two big projects in Guelph.  Bike thefts, parks, pickleball, housing and so much more await you as this long-running series brings you a lousy clip show for holidays!
So let's listen to some clips on this week's Guelph Politicast!
Happy New Year! The Guelph Politicast will continue to roll our new episodes in 2024!!
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 #455 - December 21, 2023

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we've got one more before Christmas break. On this, the shortest day of the year, we will dig into this epically long strike in Quebec that looks to roll on into the new year, and we will also talk about everyone's favourite 2023 controversy, which is pronouns. For an additional Christmas present, we will end the year (of interviews) with another conversation with our local Member of Parliament. One of the last...
This Thursday, December 21, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
General Strike Back. Meanwhile in Quebec, labour strife is even more strify than usual. Teachers there have been on strike for weeks, and other government workers, including those in healthcare, had a week long job action last week and promised that if things don't change, there might be a general strike before the end of the year. Despite the support, many Quebec teachers are saying that they're worn our from the fight, so this Christmas, we give Scotty the gift of labour talk.
How Soon is Pronoun? The Canadian Press got a look at some of the letters that inspired the Saskatchewan government's move to create a pronoun policy, and here's a sample: "If New Brunswick can take a stand against this UN-backed deterioration of our society surely Saskatchewan can also take a stand as well." Great stuff. Scott Moe used the notwithstanding clause to pass the transphobic legislation earlier this year, and it looks like he did no consultation before he did it. We'll get the lay of the land.
Longfield's Deeds. It's been a long year on a number of fronts, and it's been a busy year at Canada's House of Commons. Our own local MP, Lloyd Longfield, has been feeling that length and this year he announced that this term would be his last, but that doesn't mean he's slowing down. Longfield joins us this week to talk about working on housing, healthcare funding, protecting carbon pricing, and the government response to the Israel-Hamas War, plus his to-do list before retirement comes in 2025 (if not before).
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits Holiday Special - December 20, 2023

This week on End Credits it's Christmas! Obviously. Maybe you're relaxing, or maybe you're out and about doing some last-minute shopping, but in any case, we've got your soundtrack. Like we do at this time every year, we've got the Christmas hits (sans that one from you-know-who) that will remind you of some of your favourite holiday movies. "Have yourself a merry little Christmas"? You will after this show.
This Wednesday, December 20, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Sounds of the Season. Every Christmas comes with your favourite holiday movies. Consider this touching tale: A young boy learns the value of family after getting left behind when they depart in a whirlwind for Christmas vacation. Fortunately, it's this point he finds his calling as a moral enforcer as he elaborately tortures two burglars who make the mistake of crossing paths with him. We all love Home Alone and it's blood thirsty idealism, and as usual this Christmas week we will highlight music from this and our other favourite holiday movies. Merry Christmas!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #402 – Christmas With Mark

It’s time for our annual fireside chat with a prominent member of the Guelph community, and since we’re run the gamut of local political leaders over the last few years, we turn to the new head of the hospital. It’s a massive challenge, but in keeping with the spirit of the season, and the need to help people who can’t help themselves, we're going spend Christmas week with the president and CEO of Guelph General Hospital, Mark Walton.
Walton hasn’t been the head of the Guelph General Hospital for even a year yet, but he had to hit the ground running. He’s already appeared at city council twice, once to talk about offload delays at the hospital, and the other to talk about how homelessness and poverty create more work for hospitals as lagging indicators. And then there's the ongoing demand for a new hospital facility, which is complicated, but it’s another one of those things that’s on Walton’s very busy desk.
But let’s back up for a minute, who is Mark Walton? Before coming to Guelph earlier this year, he served as the Senior Vice-President, COVID-19 Pandemic Response as well as the Regional Lead and CEO of Local Health Integration Networks in the region with Ontario Health. We always associate hospitals with people with stethoscopes, but there are a lot of people with all kinds of experiences and expertise who make hospitals work, and this Christmas, we’re going to talk to one of them.
So on this holiday edition of the podcast, we sit and chat with Walton about his background, and what brought him to Guelph. We will also talk about where pandemic planning fell short, and the paradox of running a hospital in that you have to make an attractive place that no one wants to visit. He will also talk about the hospital’s role in fighting poverty, how fighting the affordability crisis is changing his job, and what the future of Guelph General, and a future Guelph hospital, both look like.
So let's spend some quality Christmas time with the head of the hospital on this week's Guelph Politicast!
To learn more about Guelph General Hospital, you can go to their website, and you can learn more about fundraising to support the hospital at the website for the Foundation of the Guelph General Hospital. While you’re there, you can buy tickets for Black Tie Bingo or take part in some holiday giving.
And speaking of which, Merry Christmas to all you listeners. Thanks for tuning in all year and stay tuned as we keep cranking out new episodes over the holidays and on into 2024.
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 #454 - December 14, 2023

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's a time for gift returns. What? It's not even Christmas yet! Well, the provincial government has been doing a lot of returning lately, taking back policy that they themselves developed and they were at it again this week. We'll talk about that, plus the scapegoating of international students, and for the interview this week, we will roll out the red carper for one of the city councillors who represents CFRU at 1 Carden Street.
This Thursday, December 14, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Student Counsel. Last week, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that international students are going to need even more money in their pocket if they want to study here. International students are getting blamed for a lot: the housing crisis, more demand on food banks, etc, but what about the blame for post-secondary institutions that have been using international students like cash cows. Is there a way we can help students and without breaking the system?
Peel Back. Although they announced just six months ago the plan to dissolve Peel Region, the Ontario government announced this week that - Surprise! - they're not going through with it. This is the third major policy flip-flop for the provincial government recently, and it comes on the same week that the Province is also looking at getting some new green energy projects going, another flip-flop. Well, at least we'll now be able to buy beer at the corner store! We'll discuss all that.
A Christmas Caron. Guelph City Council has begun their holiday break with the approval of over 500 new units of housing. It's a pretty pointed comment on a year where housing was the big issue, and how municipal councils took much of the blame for being obstructionist in the creation of more housing. Ward 5 Councillor Leanne Caron thinks that's a bad wrap and she will join us this week to talk about Guelph's housing moves and why the issue is still more complicated than approving new developments.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #325 - December 13, 2023 (The Boy and the Heron)

This week on End Credits, we're going to Japan. Our friends on the other side of the Pacific are having quite a movie moment right now with two of the three movies in the Top 5 at the North American box office being Japanese. On this show, we're going to talk about one of those movies, The Boy and the Heron, and we're going to look ahead to some of the movies coming out next year, be they Japanese or not. 
This Wednesday, December 13, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Best of 2024. (Too Soon?) It's almost the end of the year, and while our Top of 2023 is still a couple of weeks away, it's never too early to talk about what some of the best movies of 2024 might be, or even just some of the movies that we're looking forward to. It's going to be an unusual movie release calendar next year with the Writers' and Actors' Strikes both creating delays, but if you look at what's coming you'll see that there's still a lot to look forward to. We're going discuss some of the movies to watch in the next 12 months.
REVIEW: The Boy and the Heron (2023). In 2013, Hayao Miyazaki announced that The Wind Rises was going to be his last film, and 10 years later, here we are with his latest film. The Boy and the Heron follows a lot of the same beats as previous Miyazaki works, but it's also been called his most biographical film, set during World War II as a young boy tries to find his way after the tragic death of his mother. In the midst of his grief, he's led to a magic kingdom by a gnome-like creature disguised as a grey heron, but will the boy find peace there, or more danger? For that matter, will our reviewers?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #401 - How the Greenbelt Was Won

There was a lot to complain about when it comes to the Ontario provincial government in 2023, but complaints were always the loudest when it came to the decision to open the Greenbelt to development. Thousands and thousands of Ontarians were unified in their desire to make the Greenbelt whole again, and then the strangest thing of all happened, they won.
It’s almost exactly one year ago that the first protests began in response to the Ontario government's plan to remove parcels of the Greenbelt and allow for new housing development despite Doug Ford’s promise that his government would not touch the Greenbelt. Here in Guelph, hundreds and hundreds of people came out on a cold Sunday morning to express their outrage and it wasn’t for the last time as protests continued all over Ontario for much of the last year. 
Then things started changing this past summer. Ontario’s auditor general released a scathing report into how the Greenbelt land swap came about, and that started a chain of events ending with Ford putting all that land back. This was a few weeks after a massive protest outside Fordfest at Bingemans in Kitchener, which was organized in part by the Grand River Environmental Network. They pushed hard to save the Greenbelt, but they're still pointing out that there's a lot of work left to do.
This week we're joined by Kevin Thomason, who is the vice-chair of the Grand River Environmental Network. He's going to talk about how GREN worked hard organizing people, why so many people took the encroachment on the Greenbelt so personally, and why Fordfest in Kitchener was Doug Ford’s Waterloo, so to speak. We will also talk about why climate change isn’t a bigger issue after the wildfire season we just experienced, and whether the provincial government has learned any lessons in the last year.
So let's take a victory lap for the Greenbelt on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the Grand River Environmental Network at 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, 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 #453 - December 7, 2023

This week on Open Sources Guelph, are we even real? Maybe this show has been one, big nine-year conspiracy. Not that we're trying to put thoughts in your head, but it turns out that we don't even really need to try that hard because so many us are ready to believe a conspiracy theory. We're going to talk about that, and we're also going to talk about the latest from the war between Israel and Hamas. Closer to home, we're going to talk to the newest member of the Ontario Legislature.
This Thursday, December 7, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Back to Your Regularly Scheduled War. Despite the accomplishment of a nearly one-week long ceasefire and prisoner exchange, the fighting is back in Gaza and it's even more fierce as Israeli Defense Forces are now moving on the southern end of the Strip. The difference this time is that Israel is feeling the heat. The international community that was once so supportive is now trying to get Benjamin Netanyahu to take it easy, but can the pressure work?
We Want to Believe. The polling firm Leger has discovered something interesting: An almost shockingly big number of Canadians believe in at least one conspiracy theory. That includes five per cent who think the Earth is flat, and 11 per cent who think humans never landed on the moon, which is to say nothing of the 34 per cent who think the government is withholding a cure for cancer. How concerned should we be about the electorate's inclination towards conspiracies?
Take a Clancy on Me! It was big news last Thursday when it was announced that Aislinn Clancy would become the new MPP for Kitchener Centre, beating her nearest competition by just over 5,000 votes. It creates a Green Party beachhead in southwestern Ontario between Clancy, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner, and Kitchener Centre MP Mike Morrice and now everyone's looking at Kitchener and wondering, "How did they do it?" Clancy will join us this week to talk about how she helped turn Kitchener Green and what comes next when she joins Schreiner in the Legislature.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.