Guelph Politicast

GUELPH POLITICAST #355 - ...The Rest of the Year at City Council

Here's the first episode of the podcast for the year, and what are we talking about? Stuff that happened in the year that just ended! Before we let 2022 go for good, we're going to go around the horseshoe, the one in the council chambers at 1 Carden Street, one more time. There weren't that many council meetings between September and December, but that doesn't mean nothing interesting happened.
There were exactly a dozen meetings at Guelph City Council between the time councillors breaked for summer and the time they adjourned for the year in December. Obviously, there was an election in between, which meant there was a mid-season cast shake-up. We said goodbye to five of our favourite council characters and we said hello to five new ones!
In terms of the substance (the storylines?) there were some surprises this fall, but not all of them came courtesy of the councillors themselves. The Government of Ontario cast a very big shadow on these last dozen council meetings with their rapid and massive changes to planning policy and the governing rules of council. There was also the spectre of ongoing internal friction when it comes to heritage matters.
Those are just two of themes that will stick out on this council recap episode of the podcast. We will re-visit pre-election conundrums around a massive redevelopment on the old Days Inn property and an emergency re-work of the single-use plastic policy. Post-election, we dive into the repercussions of Bill 23, the heritage versus homes debate around Fife Road, some big changes to a couple of key City advisory committees, and so much more!
So let's cover the small number of highly impactful council meetings from Fall 2022 in this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
The 2023 slate of council meetings begins on Tuesday January 11 with a workshop and a Committee of the Whole meeting. To see those previews, and to stay up to date with the latest developments, keep visiting 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, Stitcher, 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. #407 - December 29, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we come to the final episode of the year. As fans of our show know, when the time comes for the last show of the year, then it's time for the awards. The campaign is completed, the votes are in, and the trophies have been polished and stamped. So put on your tux, book your limousine, and pop the champagne as we usher in the new year with the OSGenies (Thoughts on the name?).
This Thursday, December 29, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Worst Politician of 2022. The proverbial pickins are never slim in this category, and 2022 has once again been an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the worst people in politics. From across the ocean and a record setting tenure in terms of a premiership, to someone closer to home who just got hired to be as crazy as they want to be (it seems), our first award goes to the worst of the worst!
Good News Story of the Year. Good news? In 2022? Sure, you can find some if you look hard enough. Actually, you don't have to look that hard, and neither did we. It turns out that the bad news stories might be a source of good news depending on how people are reacting to them, and at the same time things didn't get as bad as they could have thanks to the most basic sort of activism: Voting! It's all good news!!
Dumpster Fire of the Year. Oh yeah! We didn't start the fire, but we certainly warm ourselves from the flames, and 2022 was no exception with this fan favourite category. Many dumpsters were set ablaze this year, and we have narrowed it down to two, whether that's the one that affects us everyday, or the one that got way out of control earlier this year in locations all around the country.
Best Politician of 2022. For everything, there is an equal and an opposite, and if there is a Worst Politician of the Year then there must also be a Best Politician of the Year. Yes, there are a few political people in this blessed world who appear to be as good as their word, and are putting some solid effort into trying to make the world a better place, from a leader literally in the middle of a war zone to some folks closer to home!
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #277 - December 28, 2021 (Top 5 of 2022)

This week on End Credits, we come to the end... of the year! That was a close one, but so was the race to the number one spot in our 2022 Top 5 lists. Yes, since it is the last show of 2022, we will all be joining you this week to talk about our picks of the best films of the year, why they're the best, and why you should be checking them out over the new year!
This Wednesday, December 28, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, Tim Phillips, Candice Lepage, and Peter Salmon will discuss:
The Best of 2022. Like every year, the last show of 2022 is dedicated to not just one movie, and not just some movies, but the Best Movies of the Year! The entire panel is here, they have prepared their lists and checked them twice, and they are ready to lay out what - in their learned opinions - are the Top 5 movies of the year. From a Viking legend to a sci-fi western, from a tale of a shell to the tale of one of the most famous actresses of all time, we will run down the lists, which may also included an unexpected trip through the multiverse.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #354 – 2022 Year in Review

There were good news stories, bad news stories, and some very bad news stories. Progress was made in some quarters, and there was regression in others. It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. It was a long 12 months in some ways, but they all seemed to pass by very, very quickly in the grand scheme of things, so what is there left to say about the year 2022? We’re going to find out!
So there were two elections this year, but both sets of elections were stymied with much lower voter turnout than our worst case scenarios had envisioned. And speaking of worst case, how about that Bill 23? It was announced the day after the municipal election, and probably caused worse hangovers than any of the celebrating done by the election’s winners - or losers - the night before.
Remember when we had another lockdown first thing in January? That was quickly added to the justification for the Freedom Convoy, and support for that was pretty strong locally. Those protests would peter out by the spring, but some people would try to turn their anti-mandate activism or other far-right ideology into electoral candidacy in the fall. In the end 2022 created a lot of concern for members of the community who are part of marginalized groups.
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg on this week’s edition of the podcast as Open Source's Guelph co-host Scotty Hertz joins us to offer some last words about this election year, and some opening thoughts about the new council term. We will also talk about why the homelessness issue became easier to see in the last year, plus cyber attacks, healthcare issues, local hate crimes, and the changing of the guard at various Guelph organizations in the last several months.
So let's talk about 2022 one more time on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
Reminder: you can listen to Open Sources Guelph every Thursday at 5 pm on CFRU 93.3 fm or cfru.ca. If you miss hearing the show on terrestrial radio, you will be able to catch it on the Guelph Politicast channel as usual on Monday. And stay tuned for more new episodes of this podcast and other shows as we kick off 2023 this Sunday.
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, Stitcher, 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 #406 - December 22, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's holiday time and you know what that means. For the last seven years, we've dedicated the last episode before Christmas to some of our favourite political movies, and year eight will be no different. Before you are four titles for your consideration, some of them are recent, some of them are very recent, and at least one title is from the tumultuous Sixties. Shall we stream?
This Thursday, December 22, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Scotty’s Pick #1: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). "Offered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton." Directed by Shaka King. Starring LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons and Daniel Kaluuya. You can now stream Judas and the Black Messiah on Netflix or rent it on VOD.
Adam’s Pick #1: In the Heat of the Night (1967). "A black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case." Directed by Norman Jewinson. Starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. You can now stream In the Heat of the Night on Super Channel or rent it on VOD.
Scotty’s Pick #2: Freelancer on the Front Lines (2016). "This fast-paced documentary follows Canadian freelance reporter Jesse Rosenfeld’s journey across the Middle East. Having made the region his focus, Rosenfeld shows us the thorny geopolitical realities on the ground and explores how journalism practices have changed in the age of the Internet." Directed by Santiago Bertolino. You can now stream Freelancer... on the NFB app.
Adam’s Pick #2: The Purge: Anarchy (2014). "Three groups of people intertwine and are left stranded in the streets on Purge Night, trying to survive the chaos and violence that occurs." Written and directed by James DeMonaco. Starring Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo and Zach Gilford. You can now stream The Purge: Anarchy on Starz or rent it on VOD.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits Holiday Special - December 21, 2022

This week on End Credits, we're on holiday break. While we're out there shopping, and celebrating, and making things merry and bright, our voices will still ring out across the airwaves along with some of your favourite Christmas songs that will remind you about your favourite Christmas movies. In case you forgot what we did last year at Christmas, we're doing it again!
This Wednesday, December 21, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Sounds of the Season. If it's the week before Christmas, then it's time for our annual Christmas movie music show. In a way, we've kind of been building up to his with recent feature reviews of A Christmas Story Christmas and Spirited, but those aren't the classics. This episode is about the classics, or rather music from the classics. Are you dreaming of White Christmas? Is the fire so delightful? Ready for a little Jungle Bell Rock? Well, this is the episode you've been waiting for because it means that Christmas is almost here! Tune in, drop out, and bring on the egg nog!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #353 – Christmas With Lloyd

For the last couple of years, we’ve used the Christmas week episode of the podcast to sit down with an influential Guelphite and talk a little more broadly about life and politics while looking back at some of the year’s highlights. This week’s podcast interview comes to you via a Zoom call from the hallways of Parliament Hill, which was the site of what the Canadian Press calls the Biggest Story of the Year.
Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way: 2022 was the year of the Freedom Convoy. No question. For three weeks earlier this, Downtown Ottawa was ground to a standstill as hundreds of people and dozens of trucks set up residence to protest, well, pick your cause. Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield was one of the members who voted in favour of invoking the Emergencies Act, so how does he feel about that now?
Closer to home, Longfield is one of the members of Mayor Cam Guthrie’s special downtown advisory group, which was set up to find immediate to long-term solutions to homelessness and mental health issues in the core. Now, some major supportive housing projects in Guelph currently under construction have benefited from Federal investment, but just how much can the Federal government do about very local circumstances?
We’ll ask Longfield those and some other questions on this holiday edition of the pod. He will talk about his takeaways from the year that’s coming to an end and his personal experience with the Freedom Convoy earlier this year. He will also talk about working on Guelph issues and getting a new deal for Canada’s cities. Plus we will discuss what’s coming issues-wise in 2023, and what his Chamber of Commerce experience is telling him about the economic outlook in the next year. 
So let's tuck in for Christmas with our local MP on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can reach out to our area MP at his website, or on social media @lloydlongfield on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, or @lloyd.longfield on Facebook. Look for Longfield around town over the next month as the House of Commons will not sit again until January 30.
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, Stitcher, 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 #405 - December 15, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we start wrapping up the year in the same way we started it: political rancour and insurrection! We will briefly pause to consider the potential ramifications of the Federal Liberals winning a Liberal riding in a by-election, and then we will dive into the plot to overthrow Germany. In the back half of the show, we will talk to a fired up Green politician who has some end of the year thoughts.
This Thursday, December 15, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Mississauga Learning. The ballots are counted and to absolutely no one's surprise, former Ontario Minister of Finance Charles Sousa was elected the new Liberal MP of Mississauga-Lakeshore. One could make a story of Pierre Poilievre's first test of leadership , but isn't the more interesting story the fact that 40 people all ran for this seat. What are we to make of this rare two page ballot in this weirdly timed by-election?
They Coup Too Much. Out of Germany is the perhaps the worst instance of online misinformation leading to an attempted government coup since January 6, 2021. A group made up of German aristocracy, QAnon adherents, and (sigh) neo-Nazis were arrested for plotting to remove the German government and they were driven by very specious rationales. How worried should we be about these delusional attacks?
Mike Out. At the end of a very busy, and very consequential session at the Ontario Legislature, we're once again joined by Guelph MPP and Green Party leader Mike Schreiner. From misusing the Constitution to stop education workers from striking, to the move on the Greenbelt, to the changes to the municipal democratic order, there's a lot to talk about and Schreiner is definitely going to have a lot to say.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #276 - December 14, 2022 (Bros)

This week on End Credits, we're going to believe in love again. Or, at the very least, we will believe that you can rediscover interesting movies on VOD even though they're not successful at the box office. Speaking of which, we're going to review the queer rom-com Bros, and we're also going to talk about movies that might be a success (or failure) in the new year.
This Wednesday, December 14, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
2023 and Me. It's almost the end of the year, and you know what that means? Yes, that means end of the year Best-of lists, and we'll get there in a couple of weeks, but for now we will do the other thing and look ahead to 2023. There are a lot of interesting movies in the proverbial oven being baked for the next 12 months including the return of a great boxer and a film about one of the world's most famous toys, plus a reprise by the world's great archaeologist/adventurer.
REVIEW: Bros (2022). Did someone actually tried to make the great American gay romantic comedy? That seemed to be the goal of Bros, a production of Judd Apatow from the director of Neighbours and The Five-Year Engagement. Billy Eichner, who co-wrote the script, stars as Bobby, a commitment-phobic gay man who doesn't believe in true love until he meets Aaron, a lawyer who's also emotionally unavailable. Can these two crazy kids get their act together and then get together? I'm sure you already know the answer, and we'll share our thoughts about it.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #352 - The Long Arms of the Roe Decision

It was a big year for abortion after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June ended the universal right to a legal abortion in the United States. But why do we care up here in Canada? Protests in the U.S. this summer were echoed by ones here in Canada, including a gathering here in Guelph, and the reason why is pretty obvious: We have our own issues with abortion access.
If you’re a woman or pregnant person in Guelph and you want to get an abortion for whatever reason, what do you do? Where do you go? Is there anywhere inside the city limits of Guelph you can seek a surgical abortion? The answer is no, and that’s one of the reasons why the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court hit so close to home. Even though abortion laws are drastically different in Canada, we have many of the same problems of access.
You see, abortion services tend to be close to big cities, and our big cities tend to be concentrated in the southern most areas of the county. Getting to these cities is an issue because our regional and national transit networks are lacking, and what if you need more than a couple of hours of care, or time off work, or childcare? Phrased this way, you can understand why women’s rights and health advocates are worried and how restricting abortion access anywhere can impact us here in Canada.
On this week's podcast we're joined by TK Pritchard, who is the executive director of the SHORE Centre in Kitchener to about those impacts. They will tell us about what options people have accessing family planning services locally, and why not all options should be considered equal. They will also talk about how the U.S. Supreme Court embolden anti-choice actors here in Canada, and why we need to make abortion a part of the total healthcare conversation. And finally, Pritchard will talk about why family planning is about more than just abortion.
So let's talk about why issues of abortion access are a Canadian issue too on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the SHORE Centre in Kitchener including a list of their services and how you can access them at their website, and follow Pritchard on social media @TKPritchard. If you’re interested in advocacy to increase abortion access in Guelph and Canada, you can seek out the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, or the National Abortion Federation Canada.
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, Stitcher, 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.