Guelph Politicast

GUELPH POLITICAST #434 – The Year at Council So Far (May-August)

So has anything interesting been happening at Guelph city council lately? Of course, there has! We've already covered the first third of 2024 on a previous podcast, and we will now visit that middle third, a period of time that is supposed to be more of a laid back political time as people rest and recreate over the summer. But no! The last four months at council have been all business, and this is the business!!
Now are things you can expect ever year around the midpoint. The annual shareholders meeting for Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc and Guelph Junction Railway for example, or the presentation of the audited financial statements from the previous fiscal year. There's also constantly a new batch of new planning amendments to look at, which is key to answering the housing crisis.
Speaking of housing, this issue was the spectre that haunted much of council business this whole year. In terms of specifics from the last few months there was the Guelph Tiny Home Coalition, a proposal to sell off parcels of parkland, and the unexpected late summer return of the Public Space Use Bylaw. From the fate of the Drill Hall to the return of online voting in 2026 and all points in-between, this was council's business the last four months.
Let's catch up with council business on this week's Guelph Politicast!
As always, city council is meeting every week, so for full coverage keep coming back to Guelph Politico for all the previews, recaps and live coverage, and get all Guelph news sent directly to you inbox four times a week by subscribing to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet newsletter on Substack.
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 #484 - September 12, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph there's discord, and so soon in the school year! If you had the NDP 86'ing there formal agreement with the Liberals on you 2024 Bingo Card, we've got good news, but if you're a right-wing YouTuber with some bank then we've probably got some bad news for you. If you're a fan of dedicated public servants though we've got good news because we're talking to one of them in the back half of the show.
This Thursday, September 12, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
On a Singh and a Prayer. Last week, Jagmeet Singh announced that the NDP were abandoning the confidence and supply agreement with the governing Liberals, which immediately sprang to mind thoughts of an election. Singh says no, but now everyone wants to know what the point of quitting the deal was if we're not going to the polls anytime soon. Meanwhile, Justin Trudeau's caucus is meeting this week hoping for some good news before Parliament begins. Is there any?
From Russia With Cash. The U.S. Department of Justice last week unsealed indictments involving a Russian influence campaign that included YouTubers like Tim Pool, Benny Johnson and Dave Rubin all being paid thousands of dollars to spread disinformation. And yes, there is a Canadian connection because Tenet Media, the company at the centre of the scheme, is co-owned by Lauren Chen, who loves to be seen with Conservative politicians in Canada. Should we concerned about whose influencing Canada's YouTubers?
Mike Check. While the Liberals, the Conservatives and the NDP all slug it out to decide who's going to pull the plug on the 44th Parliament, one of the House's only two Green Party members is thinking about business as usual. Kitchener-Cente MP Mike Morrice joins us again this week to talk about fighting for more housing, getting real funding for the new Canadian Disability Benefit, and the environmental stakes of the coming election, whenever it is.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #356 - September 11, 2024 (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice)

This week on End Credits, we're haunted! It's about a month early but we've got a tale of ghosts and goblins as we once again re-unite with old movie friends who are back after a long absence. So yes, we're reviewing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice this week and speaking of old friends, we will talk about the varied and intricate career of that film's very talented leading ghoul.
This Wednesday, September 11, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Keaton Alive! The star of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is Michael Keaton, a man who's had an impressive 50 year career in Hollywood that has had some very big highs and some very low lows. Keaton has played manic, and he has played serious. He's played a superhero, a supervillain, and an actor who's haunted by his superhero persona. He's also played a newspaper man a couple of times, so to start this week's show, we'll talk about the reel Michael Keaton!
REVIEW: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). It's been nearly 40 years since "The Ghost With the Most" propelled Tim Burton to being one of the most bankable filmmakers in Hollywood. It took a while but Beetlejuice is back in a sequel so nice they named it twice. When the Deetz family returns to their old home in Winter River, it opens up some old wounds including the ones caused by a certain ghoul in black and white stripes. Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara are joined by Jenna Ortega and a host of new actors, but is the most they can do?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #433 – Born to Run the Run Part 2 (feat. Betty Stone)

Sometimes in this business, you go looking for the story and sometimes the story finds you... Last week, former Terry Fox Run organizer David Picard talked about his years of work putting this event together, and then he offered an opportunity: How would you like to hear from the woman that started it all? This week, we learn about the beginning of the Terry Fox Run and we'll learn how she did it.
Terry Fox died at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. B.C. on June 19, 1981; he went into the hospital complaining of chest congestion and then he developed pneumonia. He fell into a coma and died nine days later. Terry had to abandon his Marathon of Hope the September before because the cancer was in his lungs, and he literally couldn’t run any further than Thunder Bay. It was 143 days and 5,373 kilometres after his history making run began.
The first Terry Fox Run in his honour happened just over two months after he died. Over 300,000 people across Canada took part raising $3.5 million, which was a down payment for the $850 million that the run has raised since that time. It’s hard to believe something this long-lasting and influential was slapped together in just a few months, but that’s what happened in the summer of ‘81, and Betty Stone was the person in Guelph who heard the call. This week, she’s going to tell us how she answered.
Betty Stone joins us on this week’s podcast to talk about her background as a teacher at King George School in Guelph, how an idle conversation before the start of the school year lead to the first Terry Fox Run, and how it quickly became a whole community effort. She will also talk about how something this big was organized in the pre-social media age, the outsized role of schools in supporting the Terry Fox Run, and why we still need heroes to look up to.
So let's talk about the beginning of the Terry Fox Run on this week's Guelph Politicast!
This year’s Terry Fox Run will take place on Sunday September 15 at Silvercreek Park at the corner of Wellington and Edinburgh. You can sign up to take part in the Terry Fox Run at the website for the Terry Fox Foundation, and you can follow the Guelph organizers on Instagram. If you have any questions about the run you can send to Theresa McGeragle at terryfoxrunguelph [at] gmail.com. To here last week's podcast with David Picard click here.
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 #483 - September 5, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's back to school time! In the spirit of learning and continuing education we will open our minds and exercise our takes by tackling the big news stories of the week including a return trip to the Middle East where war and peace continues to be top of mind, and then there's matters of immigration making the headlines here in Canada. More locally than that, we will talk about recent changes to government policy on safe consumption sites.
This Thursday, September 5, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Impasse. Over the weekend, six Israeli hostages were found dead in Gaza and they were recently killed too. It's a reminder that a) This is crisis now nearly a year old, and b) Despite numerous attempts to reach a ceasefire, no deal has been secured. The frustrations of the Israeli people are now overflowing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and at the same time, the WHO is now fighting a polio outbreak in Gaza, which is a reminder that Israel isn't the only one suffering. What's next?
Come From Away. Counting down to a federal election that will take place this time next year, it seems increasingly clear that one of the major issues is going to be immigration and the temporary foreign worker program. Blame for all matter of things, from job opportunities to tuition costs to affordable housing, have been put on immigrants, and it seems like no politician is above raising this straw man. What is the truth about Canada's needs and responsibilities when it comes to immigration?
Out of Site. Last month, the Ontario government announced the closure of several safe consumption sites, including the one that operates here at Guelph Community Health Centre, and it was just in time for Drug Poisoning Awareness Day. This week, we will be joined again by manager of the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy Jean Hopkins who will tells us about what comes next for the Guelph CTS, her concerns for people who use substances in Guelph, and this general reversal of compassionate care.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #355 - September 4, 2024 (Alien: Romulus)

This week on End Credits, we're going back to school, and back to space. In space, no one can hear you scream, but they can hear you rave, and on this episode we will see if there's anything to rave about with Alien: Romulus. That was one summer movie we missed talking about before Labour Day, and we will also talk about some of the others movies we missed.
This Wednesday, September 4, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Summer Lovin'! It''s first show of the fall, or September at least, so that means it's time to leave summer, and summer movies, behind... After one last segment. To begin this week's show, we're going to talk about some of the films we didn't get a chance to do a full review for over the last few months, and we missed a lot. So join us for a quick trip through the summer movie box office, from scary movies to apes and a trip to the Old West.
REVIEW: Alien: Romulus (2024). In Alien: Romulus, six people leave their odious, precarious existence working for The Man on the planet Jackson's Star and make their way to an orbiting space station to find the tools they need that will take them to a better life on a new world. And then they find some xenomophs instead. Fede Álvarez takes his turn with this venerable franchise, and this seventh movie in the Alien series (ninth if you count the Alien Vs. Predator movies) made a big splash last month, so now we will offer our analysis.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #432 – Born to Run the Run (feat. David Picard)

The first Terry Fox Run took place in 1981, just a few months after the young man it’s named after passed away, and a little over a year after his Marathon of Hope came to an abrupt end. Over the last 43 years, millions and millions of dollars have been raised for cancer research, including over $1 million from Guelph alone, and all of this was done through the power of some very passionate volunteers. This is the story of one of them.
Tuesday July 22, 1980 was “Terry Fox Day” in Guelph, it was the day that the man himself passed through the Royal City while on his Marathon. He ran through town, stopped at city hall and was welcomed by Mayor Norm Jary and other dignitaries, and then continued on his way down the road to Halton Hills. It was a little over a month later when Terry called it quits, though not by choice.
One of the people inspired by Terry’s run was David Picard, and he started running too. He organized a run at the Ontario Reformatory where he worked, and then when the OR closed he started organizing the city run. The passion is still there after over 40 years, but Picard is now passing the torch to someone new with this year’s Terry Fox Run, but today he’s making a pit stop on this podcast.
Picard joins us to talk about his history with the Terry Fox Run, why he’s stayed with it all this time, and why he’s now ready to hand off the reins to someone new. We will also talk about his collection of memorabilia, and Picard’s experience following in Terry Fox’s footsteps. After that, he will discuss the ins and outs of organizing the Terry Fox Run, the outsized roles that school students play in its success, and why the community keeps coming out year after year.
So let's run for a good cause on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
This year’s Terry Fox Run will take place on Sunday September 15 at Silvercreek Park at the corner of Wellington and Edinburgh. You can sign up to take part in the Terry Fox Run at the website for the Terry Fox Foundation, and you can follow the Guelph organizers on Instagram. If you have any questions about the run you can send to Theresa McGeragle at terryfoxrunguelph [at] gmail.com.
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 #482 - August 29, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're getting our bearings. In this late summer mode, we're looking to the coming election south of the border and the constantly changing game there, meanwhile on this side of the border the Federal Liberals are hoping that they have enough juice to change their own game. Meanwhile, here in Guelph, the game is "musical chairs" and the players are Guelph city council and community members experiencing homelessness.
This Thursday, August 29, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Whale's Head Revisited. One week after the DNC, U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris continues to capitalize on the momentum and energy that has followed her takeover as the Democratic presidential candidate in July. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been floundering, once again threatening to withdraw from planned presidential debates. Even the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., freshly accused of new animal cruelty involving a whale and a chainsaw, hasn't helped. We'll catch up with the U.S. Election.
Halifax of Life. The Federal Liberals met this week in Nova Scotia for the annual cabinet retreat, and although the rumour about a shuffle didn't pay off, there were announcements about tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, the disposition of federal land for housing, and a meeting with U.S. officials about defense. With one year to go before the next election, Justin Trudeau et al are hoping to stop the bleeding, but is there anything they can do to convince Canadians that we've turned a corner?
Lost in Public Space. Back in February, Guelph city council heard a proposed bylaw for the use of public spaces in the city, an attempt to control the location and number of homeless encampments. The bylaw is back this week, and it isn't any less controversial six months later, so to help us figure that out what happens next we're joined by Ward 4 Councillor Linda Busuttil who will talk about the local fight to end homelessness, and the mixed messages she heard last week with the Ontario government at the AMO Conference.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #354 - August 28, 2024 (Sing Sing)

This week on End Credits, we're back! Well rested after summer vacation, we're going to spend this first episode back going to movie jail, or rather a movie set at a jail. Join us as we journey to Sing Sing and an early contender for best picture of the year, and there's about to be a lot of competition for that title because Fall Movie Season is here, and we'll preview it.
This Wednesday, August 7, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Fall Movie Preview. Okay, so it's been a lacklustre year at the movies so far, but that's about to change because Fall is here! With the biggest film festivals gearing up, and awards season coming into view, studios and distributors have been saving some of their best bets for the last four months of the year. From passion projects, to nostalgic runs, and some blockbuster returns, we will talk about the anticipated hits of Fall 2024!
REVIEW: Sing Sing (2024). At New York's notorious Sing Sing prison, there's a program called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), a theatre troupe made up of the inmates there. Yes, Greg Kwedar's new film is based on a true story, but it also features some of the men that lived it. Led by Coleman Domingo, the cast of RTA grads tell their story as they mount an original production, balancing the humanizing power of the arts and the dehumanizing conditions of prison. So is the play the thing that makes a good movie in the case of Sing Sing?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #431 – Space, Supply and Stigma (feat. Jean Hopkins and Leandra Gilbert)

As we do at the end of August, we’re marking Drug Poisoning Awareness Day, and it hasn't been a great week for the people fighting this issue. Last week, the Ontario government decided that no safe consumption site can be within 200 metres of a school or daycare, including the one at Guelph Community Health Centre. The drug poisoning crisis is not getting any better, and now there’s the possibility that it’s going to get worse.
In 2023, at least 62 community members died due to substance-related fatalities Guelph and Wellington according to new data from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. This is the highest number of lives lost on record. This is on top of the fact that someone dies from drug poisoning every two-and-a-half hours across Ontario. The conditions are dire, any progress being made is slow going, and there's the constant presence of stigma to overcome.
What’s been clear in the last several weeks is that this community is reaching what Dr. Erin Dej called “compassion fatigue”; fed up with the crisis, people just don’t want to see it anymore, and now their leaning on the policies of “Just Say No”, which never worked in the first place. This week's podcast was recorded before the announcement about safe consumption sites, but as you will hear, it's another pressure that community activists didn't need right now.
Our guests this week are Jean Hopkins, manager of the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy, and Leandra Gilbert, a peer support worker at Guelph Community Health Centre. They talk about the most recent health alert about the drug supply, and the difficulty trying to end the stigma around substance use in the community. They will also talk about the timing of the public space use bylaw debate, fighting the crisis with a patchwork response around the province, and what they would do to remake the system to better fight drug poisonings.
So let's talk about the current state of the Drug Poisoning Crisis on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy at their website, and you can learn about the Consumption and Treatment Site and other services at the Guelph Community Health Centre site at their website. If you’re listening to this on Wednesday, the annual commemoration of Drug Poisoning Awareness Day is Thursday at noon in St. George’s Square in downtown Guelph.
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.