Guelph Politicast

GUELPH POLITICAST #324 - Remember Autism?

Back in the early days of the Ontario government under Doug Ford it looked like their autism policy might sink them. Their initial approach to funding and support for kids with autism had the effect of uniting the entire autism lobby against them, and then the pandemic happened, and all of healthcare - from emergency to long-term care - was thrown under the microscope. So where are we on the autism file?
Back in 2019, Ontario’s new PC government had a very PC idea: Give parents a lump sum annually and let them find the care they need. The problem is that some children on the spectrum need a lot more care than a small annual stipend can provide, and that fact riled up parents who were already used to years of struggle and toil to get government assistance. They were angry.
Meanwhile at Queen's park, there have been three different government ministers tasked to manage the autism file in the last four years, forcing the parents of children with autism to constantly start again. And then as the Province was mostly pre-occupied with the pandemic, the wait list for autism therapy grew to 53,000 people. So it's no wonder why parents like Angela Brandt, president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, want change this election.
Brandt joins us on this week's podcast to talk about the fight for autism funding, and how the pandemic affected both the kids and the advocacy on their behalf. We also talk about whether any of the parties have a good autism policy in their platform, and how candidates can best earn the vote of people worried about autism spending. Also, Brandt will discuss the difficulty of raising awareness during a pandemic, and how the coalition is hoping to change minds and make autism a priority before June 2.
So let's give autism some attention on this week's Guelph Politicast!
If you want to learn more about the Ontario Autism Coalition, you can visit their website. If you want to follow their advocacy, or lend your support to the cause, use the hashtag #50KisNotOK on social media.
If you’re interested in hearing from the candidates, we’re hosting all the Guelph candidates over the next couple of weeks on Open Sources Guelph, and we will also be hosting the candidates in the riding next door in the Wellington-Halton Hills Politicast on Saturdays.
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 #377 - May 12, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's almost all election, all the time. In the first part of the show, we're going to talk about the latest Ontario election news from around the provincial campaign trail, and in the back half we will have our first local candidate interview. In between through, we're heading back to the U.S. where they're got a whole new calamity if you're a fan of reproductive rights for women.
This Thursday, May 12, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Men Who Stare at Votes. We're now in the second week of the election campaign, the opening moves are done and it's time for the middle game. The party leaders are spread out around our massive province with Steven Del Duca releasing the Liberal's platform, Andrea Horwath and Mike Schreiner doing swings through the north, and Doug Ford feeling so confident that he took Monday off. We'll talk about the latest.
Roe in the Dark. A (not Guelph) Politico story revealed a leaked draft from the U.S. Supreme Court effectively repealing Roe V. Wade, the landmark case that made abortion legal in the United States. Pro-Choice advocates have been galvanized the last week as America's anti-abortion wing has been more concerned about the leak than the fact that their 50-year mission has finally come to fruition. So what happens next?
Burnett What You Know. Finally, we start to hear from the local candidates running in this provincial election! Perhaps fittingly given the party's history in Guelph, we kick things off with Communist candidate Juanita Burnett, who will talk to us about her party's platform, "A people's alternative for Ontario", and why a Communist voice is an important one to hear in this very busy campaign field.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

WELLINGTON-HALTON HILLS POLITICAST 2022 - Ron Patava, Consensus Party Candidate

What is the Consensus Party? In short, they want to get rid of the party-based political system because they think partisan politics are making it hard to pass meaningful, representational democratic change. Yes, you heard that right, they want to get rid of all political parties, and yes, they understand the irony of forming a political party to get rid of political parties.
The exact mechanics of how government will work without political parties will be left for Consensus Party candidate Ron Patava to explain. His party first took those ideas for a test spin in 2018 with 10 candidates across Ontario, and in this election they have 18 in all, so they must be on to something, right? We bemoan partisan politics, and the way they divide us, so it might makes sense to people to just get rid of it all. Patava's banking on that kind of thinking! 
The candidate himself is a retired businessman who's held management roles with CIBC, Rogers Communication and Manulife, and when he’s not pursuing his continued education at York University, he’s playing hockey or doing some curling. He’s also been concerned about top down leadership in politics, and has been looking for alternative proposals. He wanted something more flexible, more grassroots, and definitely outside the box, and now, he’s running on it. 
On this edition of the podcast, Potava will talk  us about why the Consensus Party made sense to him, how a Consensus government would work, and why it doesn’t sound as chaotic as you might think. And since there's no platform per se, Patava will talk about the issues that matter to him, and why supporting municipalities and strengthening local democracy is the other important part of the Consensus Party’s platform. Last, but not least, does Patava think he has a shot of winning in Ted Arnott country?
So let's talk about consensus on this edition of the Wellington-Halton Hills Politicast!
To learn more about Ron Patava and the Consensus Party, you can visit their website here.
NOTE: You will be able to hear interviews with all of the Provincial election candidates running in Guelph every Monday on the podcast version of Open Sources Guelph, and every 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, 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.

End Credits #247 - May 11, 2022 (The Worst Person in the World)

This week on End Credits, love is in the air. It doesn't sound like a romantic comedy of any sort, but we will be reviewing The Worst Person in the World, which is about as unconventional as conventions get in the realm of romantic comedies. Along similar lines, we will also be talking about some of our favourite unconventional romantic comedies.
This Wednesday, May 11, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Un-Con-Rom-Coms. This week's pick fits comfortably in the sub-subgenre of unconventional romantic comedies, meaning movies that are funny, and are about romance, but don't fit well in the basic set-up of a couple meets, they fall in love, they encounter some kind of barrier that keeps them apart, and then they overcome it in the end. Real-life isn't so simple, and neither are the movies we choose for our un-con-rom-com picks.
REVIEW: The Worst Person in the World (2021). The final part of Joachim Trier's Oslo Trilogy got a lot of interest from critics and award shows earlier this year, but is it well earned? In the film, we follow Julie (Renate Reinsve), a twenty-something single woman who suffers the slings and arrows of two relationships with two very different men while she struggles to figure herself out. Told in 12 different chapters, plus a prologue and an epilogue, is The Worst Person in the World a story of millennial angst, or is it a story of brazen selfishness? Does it matter?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #323 - Students Want to Be Seen This Election

If we talked about Ontario public schools last week, then it should follow that we talk about Ontario post-secondary issues this week. The pandemic generation, if we can coin such a phrase, are coming of age, and they’re bringing with them the scars and accomplishments of surviving the experience, but are they feeling seen in this provincial election? We’re going to ask one of their representatives.
Let’s consider the last four years for post-secondary students in Ontario: Pre-pandemic there were the usual concerns about increasing tuition fees, a renewed push for action on climate change, and a burgeoning mental health crisis (see this piece on Narcity). Then there was the Student Choice Initiative, which allowed students to opt out of funding a long list of campus groups from student governments to the student press to student clubs. 
The court would later decide that the Student Choice Initiative was unconstitutional, but by the time the Ontario government finally abandoned the matter, there were other, bigger fish to fry. COVID-19 not only created new challenges for post-secondary students, it exacerbated the old problems, things like housing, mental health, cost of living, food insecurity, and the cost of education itself. Students' interests reflect a wide diversity of issues, so let’s talk to someone who knows students. 
This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Mitra Yakubi, the recently elected chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario. She will talk about why it feels like students are being ignored on the campaign trail, and why climate change is the most important issue for students this election. She also discusses the resiliency and mental health challenges of young people during and after COVID-19, and how food insecurity may be the underappreciated issue of the campaign.
So let's talk about student life on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario at their website. You can also follow the CFS’ advocacy efforts on their social media feed @CFSON, and by following the hashtag #DemandOutFuture.
If you’re interested in hearing from the candidates, we’re hosting all the Guelph candidates over the next couple of weeks on Open Sources Guelph, and we will also be hosting the candidates in the riding next door in the Wellington-Halton Hills Politicast on Saturdays.
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.
Image from Queen's Park student protest in March 2019 courtesy of Eli Ridder.

Open Sources Guelph #376 - May 5, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we get to finally unleash our pent up election frustration. The Ontario campaign is finally underway, and we will talk about the stakes before we get a chance to talk to the candidates. We will also, for obvious reasons, have an update about the war in Ukraine. In the back half of the show, a Guelph city councillor might be making his final appearance as a Friend of OSG.
This Thursday, May 5, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
This Means [Declaring] War. Proving again that things are not going his way, there's rumblings out of the Kremlin that Russian President Vladimir Putin will *declare* war on Ukraine next week on Victory Day. But wait, hasn't Russia been fighting a war in Ukraine for almost three months? Not according to them, it's a "special operation." Anyway, we'll talk about this, plus Mariupol's last stand in this week's Ukraine update.
The Writ and the Pendulum. At almost the 11th hour, Premier Doug Ford shuffled over see Ontario's Lieutenant Governor and asked her to dissolve the legislature to start the provincial election. Unofficially, the election's been underway for weeks, if not months, but the campaign buses are now on the road, and the 30-day countdown is on to E-Day and whatever results there will be. We'll talk about all the news from Day #1.
Salisbury's Stake. The nominations for the 2022 Municipal Election opened this week, but one current councillor used the occasion to announce his intention not to run. Ward 4 will say goodbye to Mike Salisbury later this year, but for this week, we will talk to the esteemed west end councillor about his career highlights, his thoughts on this week's council debates, and his recent success as an international multimedia artist.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

WELLINGTON-HALTON HILLS POLITICAST 2022 - Diane Ballantyne, NDP Candidate

Wellington-Halton Hills is a big riding, extending from Puslinch to Centre Wellington and out east all the way to Erin and Halton Hills, so experience counts, and it's hard to get more experience than Ted Arnott who's represented the area since 1990. Can anyone challenge 32 years of longevity in what's a fairly safe Conservative riding? Diane Ballantyne would like to volunteer.
Make no mistake, this is an uphill climb for the NDP candidate, who's running for the second time to represent Wellington-Halton Hills at Queen's Park. In 2018, Ballantyne finished in second place, and increased the share of the NDP vote in the riding by nearly 10 per cent. Not too shabby, but Arnott secured 54 per cent of the vote. Arnott would go on to become Speaker of the House, and Ballantyne would go one to win election as the Ward 6 councillor on Wellington County council. 
Now it's time for the rematch, but is Wellington-Halton Hills in the market for a change? It's hard to have a better NDP-friendly resume than Ballantyne, who, aside from her position on County Council, is also a teacher at Centre Wellington District High School, sits on a committee with the College of Nurses of Ontario, and is a board member of the United Way of Guelph-Wellington-Dufferin. And on this first edition of the Wellington-Halton Hills Politicast, Ballantyne will make her case to cap Arnott's run at eight terms.
Ballantyne joins us to talk about why she's running again for this office, why Arnott offers such stiff competition, and what it will take for NDP leader Andrea Horwath to become the next Premier. She will also talk about the issues facing Wellington-Halton Hills, and how they compare with the issues facing other parts of the province. Also, she'll discuss whether or not COVID-19 will be a factor in the campaign, and how she intends to make a winning impression on the campaign trail.
So let's head back to that riding next door on this premiere edition of the Wellington-Halton Hills Politicast!
To learn more about Diane Ballantyne and her campaign, you can visit her website here.
NOTE: You will be able to hear interviews with all of the Provincial election candidates running in Guelph every Monday on the podcast version of Open Sources Guelph, and every 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, 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.

End Credits #246 - May 4, 2022 (The Adam Project)

This week on End Credits, we're watching the clock. Just in time for the start of the summer movie season, we're staying at home to watch the new Netflix time travel adventure The Adam Project. And time travel sounds like magic, right? Well, speaking of magic, we will spend the first part of the show talking about our favourite wizards another other magic-users.
This Wednesday, May 4, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
The Wizards and Us. This week, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness opens in theatres everywhere, which got us thinking about all our favourite movie wizards. It turns out that the term "wizard" is tough to define, are witches wizards? Are magicians? Are Jedis? For our purposes today, let's say "yes" and as we recount our favourite wizards, we will look to the realms of fantasy, animation, superheroes, and evil stepmothers.
REVIEW: The Adam Project (2022). You may have heard that Netflix has been having a hard time of it lately. The streamer might have 99 problems right now, but The Adam Project ain't one. The latest film from Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Reynolds (the team behind Free Guy), tells the story of a time traveller who runs into his younger self while on a rescue mission to save his wife whose stuck in the past. The film looks slick and fun, but it's also got the immeasurable appeal of Reynolds, Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, so it's a winner, right?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #322 - Education is an Issue

Covering education issues has been weird the last couple of years during the pandemic; while keeping schools open for in-person learning was a priority, teachers felt that their concerns weren't being heard. Now, education is struggling to be made an election priority, and education workers have been trying to put their concerns back on the frontburner since March 2020, so this seems like an interesting place to begin a provincial campaign.
Ironically, education issues were very front of mind on the provincial agenda just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of Ontario’s education unions were undertaking job action with rotating strikes, but then COVID-19 arrived on our shores and schools were shut down, along with the job action. Questions about schools moved away from resources and jobs to making schools safe for in-person learning.
Oddly enough, the concerns about keeping schools safe from COVID, and just making our education system better, are not mutually exclusive goals. What is the effort to improve ventilation and air quality in school buildings but an admission that those facilities need billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements? Going into an election season, teachers are concerned that they're long-standing issues won't get air time, so we're going to give them some. 
This week we're joined by Karen Littlewood, the president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Association (OSSTF) to talk about what might have happened with the teachers’ strike if there was no COVID-19 pandemic, and how education is in danger of not being treated as a priority in this election. She will also talk about the rural/urban divide in education issues, the infrastructure backlog for schools that has nothing to do with COVID, and what education workers are looking for in a candidate and a party.
So let's do some online learning about education issues on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can see the OSSTF’s 2022 education platform, “Strengthen Public Education - Rebuild Ontario" at their website. If you’re interested in hearing from the candidates themselves, we will be hosting all of the Guelph candidates over on Open Sources Guelph in the weeks to come, and we will also be marking the return of the Wellington-Halton Hills Politicast starting this Saturday.
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 #375 - April 28, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're anxious. It's like, when are we going to get to the fireworks factory Ontario Election?! That's going to be one of our topics this week, and we will also talk about the "OK Groomer" push on the far-right, and we'll have the latest from Ukraine. Interview? We've got one of those too, and this week we sit down with a Federal cabinet minister.
This Thursday, April 28, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
All the Money in the World. By the time the show airs this week, you will know what's in 2022 Ontario Budget, but we will not. Of course, the budget specifics are secondary to the fact that all the major provincial parties spent the week making big campaign-style announcements in a dress rehearsal for the official start of the election sometime next week. So how are the leaders lining things up for the voters?
Groom Raider. You may have heard about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' war on Disney, an overreaction to a tepid negative response by the media conglomerate to the Florida government's "Don't Say Gay" bill. Well, Canada is not immune to this right-wing laundering of inclusivity as a gateway to grooming kids for pedophiles, a trope that's as old as any anti-gay, anti-trans rhetoric. How can we stop it?
Innovate and See. As we continue through this post-COVID economic recovery, people are looking for great new innovations like green tech opportunities, or Guelph and Wellington's push to create a circular food economy. Generating support for these innovations is the portfolio of Helena Jaczek, the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and she joins us this week.
United We Fail. In a strong show of support, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Ukraine and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in-person. Austin later met with over 40 U.S. allies at the American base in Ramstein, Germany where the leaders, including non-NATO countries like Japan and Israel, all pledged ongoing support for Ukraine. So can Russia be dissuaded?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.