Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph #368 - March 10, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're flying the yellow and blue. We're heading back to Ukraine to talk about the latest war developments and the refugee crisis, and we're going to talk about the local response with the head of Guelph's Ukrainian Catholic Church. Down at Queen's Park meanwhile, it was a week of saying a pre-election "goodbye" to some our favourite and least-favourite MPPs.
This Thursday, March 3, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Not Another Refugee Crisis. Things are heating up with the war effort in Ukraine. Russia is intensifying their efforts, but they still haven't taken the country even two weeks after the start of the war. As usual, the real cost of war is on the human scale. The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine is nearly two million, but as we've seen, not all refugees are created equal. Will the Ukraine crisis change how we treat refugees from other parts?
The New Adventures of Old Christine. In a surprise revelation last Friday, Health Minister Christine Elliott announced that she will not be seeking re-election in June. On the one hand that shouldn't be a surprise, it's been a long two years for the *Health* Minister, but on the other hand, she's joining a dozen other Progressive Conservative MPPs in not running. We'll talk about that, and we'll talk about another high-profile resignation too.
Father Andrij Knows Best. Last Sunday, the Guelph community rallied to support the people of Ukraine with their voices and with their pocket books. The event was organized by parishioners with the Holy Protection of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church, and this week we're joined by Father Andrij Figol who will talk about the human costs of war, and how his church is working to rally support with the Guelph community.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #238 - March 9, 2022 (Licorice Pizza)

This week on End Credits we're going back to a time of social tumult and high gas prices. History comes around again in Licorice Pizza, the Academy Award-nominated new film from acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson. Before that, staying in the worlds of the man called PTA, we will consider some of the greatest characters he's ever created.
This Wednesday, March 2, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
PTA's People. Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the most acclaimed American filmmakers of the last 25 years. Each one of his nine films have been fairly perfect on their own, so ranking them would almost be a moot point, but those movies are filled with completely unique and compelling characters. So this week, we talk about the oil men, professional gamblers, adult film stars, and wayward young people that make up PTA's best characters.
REVIEW: Licorice Pizza (2021). For his ninth film, Paul Thomas Anderson returns to the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s, where child star Gary is making the transition to ambitious entrepreneur at the age of 15. Then he meets Alana, a direction-less young woman in her mid-20s who strikes up a friendship with Gary, although she insists that it can never, never, ever get romantic. Anderson's new movie tests the limits of good taste and appropriateness by 2022 standards, but how does it stand as a film, and in the PTA pantheon?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #314 - The Environment, an Election, a Premier, and His Politics

Just in time for this podcast, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released another report last week, which was described by UN Secretary-General as "an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership." So what's the current provincial government’s record on fighting climate change, and with an election that's now less than three months away?
The Provincial government under Premier Doug Ford has been very active on the environmental file, from dismantling the province’s clean energy initiatives to MZOs, but is any of that going to matter when it's time to vote? The provincial response to the COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly be *the* issue of the 2022 Provincial Election, but that doesn’t mean that environmental issues should be ignored.
Of course, these issues have been discussed in the media, and among environmental activism groups, not to mention inside the halls of Queen's Park. The Auditor General reported back in November that in two years the Ontario government had only completed six of 22 recommendations to improve climate outcomes, so if you feel like the Ford government is not committed to fighting climate change, you’re not alone. This week we’re joined by one of the people who’s very concerned about that lack of action.
Keith Brooks, Programs Director for Environmental Defence, will join us to talk about what grade he’s giving the Ford government and whether climate change is going to be a big enough issue in the coming election. He will also talk about the the different topics under the environmental file and where the Ford government is most vulnerable. And finally, he will discuss lessons learned from the pandemic about fighting climate change, and what Environmental Defense will be doing before June 2.
So let's talk about the Ontario government's report card on environmental issues in this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
To learn more about Environmental Defence and their various programs and advocacy efforts, you can find them online. To learn more about environmental issues, and their bearing on the upcoming provincial election, Guelph Wellington Coalition for Social Justice will be dedicating one of their Informed Democracy town halls to that topic, and it will be on Wednesday April 20.
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 #367 - March 3, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's a lot of bad news. Internationally circumstances force us to go back to Ukraine where the war still rages and shows no sign of stopping. More locally, we go back to Nova Scotia to talk about the inquiry into one of Canada's worst crimes, if not *the* worst crime. In more positive news, we will happily welcome another one of our local upcoming provincial election candidates to the show.
This Thursday, March 3, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Putin His Place. The War in Ukraine is not going the way Vladimir Putin wanted it to as Ukraine has held up surprisingly well against the onslaught, and almost one week later, Russia had still not take the capital city. But while the west has been united in support, and in sanctions, it seems to have not deterred Putin from a destructive course that will, at the very least, see thousands of Ukrainians dead. So what happens next?
The Inquiry. Almost two years ago next month, a lone gunman raced around rural Nova Scotia on a 13-hour killing spree that resulted in 23 dead (including the shooter) and three others injuried. So what went wrong, and what failures in law enforcement led to the worst mass shooting in Canadian history? That's exactly what an inquiry is now looking into, but are they going to find the answers everyone wants?
Peter Plan. If you listen to this show, then you probably know that there's a provincial election in a couple of months. The candidates are getting ready to make their case that they're Queen's Park ready, and one of those people in Guelph is Progressive Conservative candidate Peter McSherry. We'll talk to McSherry about why he's running, what his issues are, and what he's looking forward to out on the campaign trail.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #237 - March 2, 2022 (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022)

This week on End Credits, the horror continues. We pass from Ghostface to Leatherface as we warm up the Netflix machine to check out another horror legacy-sequel in the form of Texas Chainsaw Massacre (no The). Before getting into that, we will head back to Gotham City on this Batman eve to talk about all the other movies that bear his name, and rank them!
This Wednesday, March 2, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Run the Series: The Batmen. This Friday, Matt Reeves' take on the Dark Knight will be released in theatres in the highly-anticipated (and three-hour long) The Batman. In anticipation of the emergence of this Batman, we spend the first part of the show ranking the other movie Batmen. There have been 10 other named Batman movies released in cinemas over the last 60 years, and we will run the series on which Batman is best, and which one is worst.
REVIEW: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022). In 1974, director Tobe Hooper took a small cast and crew into the middle-of-nowhere Texas and for a few thousand dollars created one of the most frightening, visceral and influential horror movies ever: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Forty-eight years later, the ninth movie in the franchise aims to re-launch the series again as a bunch of hapless influencers move to a Texas ghost town where a certain chainsaw-wielding butcher still lurks looking for fresh meat. Does he find it? Do we?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #313 - Still COVID with Dr. Mercer (Winter Edition)

As you click play on this episode, we’re officially in a new phase of the pandemic. More restrictions were lifted on March 1, and Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is assuring us that it's only a matter of time now till our masking days are behind us. So it’s good news, right? Maybe. Let's ask *the* local expect if the reason for optimism is real!
In our last edition of “Still COVID” back in November, “Omicron” was just another Greek letter. That changed pretty rapidly just a couple of weeks later when that variant started ripping through the population, prompting another brief lockdown in January. Our hospital had three different outbreaks since December, most public health workers spent their Christmas vacation handing out boosters, and let’s not forget those long line-ups for rapid tests.
But now things are looking up. Case counts are going down in general, and so are the number of patients in hospital and in the ICU. As of March 1, all proof of vaccine mandates were lifted here in Ontario, and the state of emergency in Guelph was declared over. On top of that, spring is almost here, and that means a seasonal decrease in COVID cases. So can we now look at COVID-19 as just another seasonal illness?
That’s definitely one of the things we want to talk to Dr. Mercer about. She will also talk about what we learned from the Omicron wave, and her thinking about when her public health order about masking might be revoked. She will also discuss whether the most vulnerable in our population are getting enough consideration as we’re re-opening, when school restrictions might be rolled back, and what the future of COVID might look like going forward.
So, for the eighth time in two years, let's talk COVID with Dr. Mercer on this week's Guelph Politicast! 
You can stay on top of all the latest COVID-19 precautions and statistics at the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health website here. If you're interested, there's a (still virtual) Board of Health meeting on Wednesday March 2 at 2 pm, and you can see the agenda 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, 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 #366 - February 24, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're in search of peace. There's some of that in Ottawa now, but it's by no means a guarantee that it's going to last, which is why we're dedicating the first half to the show to the Freedom Convoy fallout. Elsewhere, we're looking at Schrödinger's war in Ukraine, plus the unofficial kick-off of the 2022 Ontario Provincial Election (though it's really just the start of the new legislative session).
This Thursday, February 24, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Truck Hunt. In a sometimes difficult to watch police action over the weekend, the Freedom Convoy was cleared out of Ottawa at the same time Members of Parliament were debating the use of the Emergencies Act. Now, we're in the aftermath. Some truckers are standing by outside Ottawa city limits waiting for an opportunity to return while many of the organizers are staying in prison for a while. So what comes next?
Apt Putin. Any hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin would back down from invading Ukraine was all but lost this week as Putin signed an order sending Russian forces into separatist areas of the country and declaring them independent, except Putin doesn't have that authority. Western nations are now scrambling to put new sanctions on Russia, but at this point does Putin even care, and what does he really want?
Licence Sticker to Kill. The Ontario Legislature open its last session before the election on Tuesday, and while opposition members in Queen's Park wanted to talk about the last few weeks of excitement in Ottawa and Windsor, Premier Doug Ford took a powder and instead announced the end of license plate sticker renewal fees. Good election move if you want to win the GTA again, but can Ford win playing politics as usual?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #236 - February 23, 2022 (Scream ’22)

This week on End Credits, things are getting stabby. Get the popcorn ready, sharpen your knife, and slip on your Ghostface mask, because this week we're heading back to horror town for some more meta-textual movie commentary with Scream 5, or rather just Scream. Unfortunately, there's also some real-life death to talk about, in this case a famous Canadian director.
This Wednesday, February 23, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
For Ivan. There was sad news for movie fans following the Super Bowl last week, the death of preeminent filmmaker Ivan Reitman. A comedy legend, Reitman brought many great films to the big screen as both a director and a producer including Meatballs, Animal House, Kindergarten Cop, and, of course, Ghostbusters. To kick off this week's show, we will look at some of Reitman's career highlights, or at least the highlights that have nothing to do with bustin' ghosts.
REVIEW: Scream (2022). Just over 25 years ago, the original Scream movie became a worldwide sensation, and it launched a franchise that's still chugging along with this, its fifth chapter. The residents of Woodsboro are plunged into another slasher mystery, and the knife is pointing at a woman with a dark secret that ties her back to the original murders in 1996. The new killer (or killers) are trying to create a legacy-sequel, a new generation of victims must figure out who they can trust and how they can survive, and we must figure out if the movie is worthwhile.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #312 - It’s in the Wastewater!

The University of Guelph has been one of the leaders in COVID-19 research, and in the wake of Omicron, one specific area research took on new importance as the regular channels of COVID testing were overwhelmed. The future of monitoring COVID-19’s prevalence and resilience may be in wastewater testing, and we have the man that could write book on it if he weren't so busy.
This week, we're joined by Dr. Lawrence Goodridge, who holds the Leung Family Professorship in Food Safety in the Department of Food Science and is the director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety. His research has focused on food-borne pathogens, antibiotic resistance and food fraud, but it turned out that his work was transferable to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thanks to the work of Dr. Goodridge and his colleagues, wastewater testing has become a fairly reliable indicator of how bad COVID-19 has spread in our community, and finding where the new cases are, which has been very important due to a lack of PCR testing and the surge in the number of new Omicron cases. More than that, wastewater testing could be key to stopping future waves of the virus' and protecting public health in other areas.
 Dr. Goodridge will talk to us about how wastewater testing of COVID-19 works, why it works, and how the global pandemic managed to accelerate the development of the science around it. He also talks about how wastewater testing is being used in public health reporting, and the challenges and limitations when it comes to scale. He will also discuss how this research can continue to be used as we work to the end of this pandemic, and how wastewater testing can be used to prevent the next pandemic. 
So let's go behind the science on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can read about Professor Goodridge’s work with wastewater testing at the University of Guelph’s website. You can also see the results of regular wastewater COVID-19 testing on both the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health website and the University of Guelph website, and those numbers are update every day Monday through Friday.
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.
Photo courtesy of the University of Guelph

Open Sources Guelph #365 - February 17, 2022

This week, Open Sources Guelph is going back to the convoy. Brace yourselves. A lot has changed since we last talked about the politics of these anti-mandate protests, and all levels of government have given us a lot to chew on these last few days. So there's that, plus we will talk about the hate and scorn cast against the Canadian media. For the second half of the show, Mike Schreiner's back just as you knew he would be.
This Thursday, February 17, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Truck the Police. For the third week in a row, so-called truckers are occupying Ottawa around Parliament Hill, but the end may be in sight. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the invoking of the Emergencies Act, the Ambassador Bridge was cleared, and Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly is out. But what about those cops we've seen in viral videos showing support for the convoy? Can we trust they're working to a solution?
The Hate They Give. The Canadian Association of Journalists last week released a report called "Poisoned Well", a roundup of the online hate and abuse being heaped upon Canadian journalists, and the news is especially bad if you're a woman or racialized. Criticism is fine, but there's a real threat against the health and safety of journalists who are just trying to do their jobs, so what needs to change?
The Green Plight. As noted above, the landscape has changed quickly when it comes to the Freedom Convoys in Ottawa and Windsor, and at the same time, Premier Doug Ford has announced a rollback of public health restrictions starting today. Guelph MPP and Green Party leader Mike Schreiner will join us today to talk about fighting misinformation, whether Ford's being reactive, and what comes next in the pandemic recovery.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.