Guelph Politicast

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.

End Credits #235 - February 16, 2022 (The Lost Daughter)

This week on End Credits, we've got gold on the mind. Oscar gold. This year's nominations were announced last week, and in a timely bit of synchronicity we're reviewing one of the nominees. We're checking out Netflix's excellent new drama The Lost Daughter, and before that we're talking about the movies that did, and did not, get nominations.
This Wednesday, February 16, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Of Dogs and Dune. The nominations for the 94th Academy Awards were announced last week, and the winner so far, at least in terms of the most nominations, is The Power of the Dog. Jane Campion's post-modern cowboy story is the front-runner with 12 nods, while Denis Villenauvre's sci-fi epic Dune is a close second with 11. We'll talk about what the nominations mean, and we will also talk a little about this year's Golden Razzie nominations too.
REVIEW: The Lost Daughter (2021). Speaking of Oscar nominees, Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut scored three nominations, but did it deserve more? Based on Elena Ferrante's novel of the same name, The Lost Daughter tells the story of Leda, a professor on holiday in Greece who encounters a young mother that reminds Leda of her younger self. This leads to a fascinating story of self-reflection and recrimination featuring award-nominated performances from Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley, but is it fascinating for the audience?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #311 - Now More Than Ever, Freedom to Read Week

Freedom to Read Week is a chance to talk about issues of censorship and free expression, especially in the context of what we can read and access at our local and school libraries. There's been a lot of back and forth in the news lately about what young people should be allowed to read, or not, in their school library, so for this podcast, we got the biggest librarian we could find.
To mark Freedom to Read Week 2022, we're joined by Shelagh Paterson, the executive director of the Ontario Library Association. In the last month, there have been two big stories in the news about the content of school libraries. The first was about a graphic novel removed by a Tennessee school board for reasons not related to the narrative. The other was closer to home, with allegations of transphobia for a school board delegation about appropriate books for kids.
These are the ideal conditions for this year’s commemoration of Freedom to Read Week. A project from the Book and Periodical Council, Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That’s the logline, but what about the practical reality when it comes to what books go into libraries, and who gets to make the decision? 
Paterson will join us to talk answer that, and other questions. She will talk about the meaning of intellectual freedom and freedom of expression, as well as censorship,  and how we can deal with the misinformation and disinformation landscape without censorship. Paterson will also talk about how not all libraries are created equally, the digital divide in terms of access to information, and the other kinds of barriers that should remind us that not everyone’s access to information is equal.
So let's talk about Freedom Read Week issues in this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
Freedom to Read Week runs all next week from February 20 to 26, and you can find all sorts of materials here. You can also click here to learn more about the Ontario Library Association. If you want to cut out the proverbial middle man, you can visit your local branch of Guelph Public Library, and they can probably point you in the right direction of some challenging materials.
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 #364 - February 10, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're relieved to longer hear the honking of the horns. Not that we really heard them, but the thought of it kept us up all night. You know what else is keeping us up? How about the thought of a bilateral meeting with Pierre Poilievre and Boris Johnson? We will talk about those two in the first half of the show, and in the second half we'll talk Guelph business with the man from the (Ward) 6ix.
This Thursday, February 10, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Pierre Up There. It didn't take long for Pierre Poilievre to do what many Canadian politicos expected him to do and become the first person to enter the new Conservative leadership race. We'll talk about that, plus Candice Bergen's not-great first week as the interim leader of the party, and the politics of ending the pandemic with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
Chuck Boris? Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, their Conservative leader (and Prime Minister) Boris Johnson is under pressure from all sides, including his own, to offer answers, or, at worst, his neck, for a number of parties at 10 Downing Street that broke COVID lockdown protocols, including a social gathering that took place at the same time Queen Elizabeth sat alone at her husband's funeral. Is this the end of Boris?
Mark Tank. It was a busy week at Guelph City Hall, as Committee of the Whole talked about licensing short-term rentals like AirBnBs, initiating a Municipal Accommodation Tax to support the promotion of tourism, and a new program to get people interest-free loans so they can make green improvements on their homes. That's a lot to unpack, and this week Ward 6 Councillor Mark MacKinnon will give us a hand moving it.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #234 - February 9, 2022 (Jackass Forever)

This week on End Credits, are you ready for some good, old fashioned fun? Jackass, and the comedy there in, may not be to your taste (emphasis on "taste|), but it is a verifiable phenomenon, and now its back in a theatre near you with Jackass Forever. Before that, one of our co-hosts will choose what he thinks are the quintessential Jackass gags (emphasis on "gags").
This Wednesday, February 9, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
The Best (?) of Jackass. At the turn of the century, a new reality show emerged on American MTV. It featured a bunch of guys doing dangerous stunts that tested their strength, endurance, resiliency, and their gag reflex. Though it only lasted three seasons and 25 episodes, Jackass had long coattails and has become a certifiable brand, and it's latest chapter is now in theatres. Before we talk about that though, we're going to look at Peter's favourite bits.
REVIEW: Jackass Forever (2022). More than two decades after they first got together to test the limits of flesh and good taste, much of the Jackass gang, and some very brave newcomers, have gotten together to relive glory days and push themselves through all manner of stunts, both punishing and disgusting. It's no secret that the current movie business is obsessed with franchises, but Jackass?! Last weekend's box office winner fits the trend, but what does the success of Jackass tells us about life in 2022? Is Jackass the answer we're been looking for?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #310 - It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Canadaland once said of Kurt Phillips that he was hunting Nazis online before it was cool. Experts in online hate like Phillips have been very busy lately following the developments of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, which has now launched several branch convoy protests, including the most recent one on the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. How did it get this far?
For the people covering Canada's far-right the last couple of years, recent events are not that surprising. People angry about COVID-19 restrictions often become the willing pawns of neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, antisemites, and other far-right groups who see disaffection with the government as a gateway to their hateful ideology. If you see what’s happening in Ottawa and think it's a bunch of ill-informed yahoos making noise, you’re only partially right. 
No one knows that better than Phillips, who has been scouring the dark corners of the internet uncovering the Nazis and other far-right hate mongers since 2007. He was the founder and former lead writer for Anti-Racism Canada and he’s currently a board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, but when he’s not working humbly as a history and social sciences teacher in Alberta, he’s still a keyboard warrior exposing Canada’s far-right.
Phillips joins us this week to offer his analysis of what we are seeing in Ottawa and beyond. He will talk about how we got here, and why we should not be surprised about current events. He will also talk about some of the marquee players in the movement, and how you can tell the grifters from the true believers. And finally, he will discuss what happens next, and whether the mainstream media is up to the task of understanding what the convoy is really about and who’s driving it (pun intended).
So let's compare notes about Canada's far-right politics on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can follow Kurt Phillips @ARCCollective on Twitter to get up-to-date coverage and insight about the Freedom Convoy from his unique perspective. You can also see insight and analysis about Canada’s far-right movement at the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. Another good resource is Friend of the Politicast Dan Collen, who’s actually on the ground in Ottawa, and you can find his reporting @SpinelessL on Twitter.
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 #363 - February 3, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're occupying the airwaves starting at 5 pm, but we promise to give them up at 6 pm. Unlike some people, we know how to not wear out our welcome, but we also known Nazis are bad. We're going to talk about you-know-what in Ottawa, and the surprisingly fast and destructive effect on the Conservative Party, plus we'll have an interview with a provincial party leader.
This Thursday, February 3, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
You Nazi-n Seen the Last of Us. A weekend of protest turned into a week of protests not just in Ottawa, but on the border in Coutts, AB where people claiming to be fighting for truckers are doing them harm with delays. There were Nazi symbols, the desecration of national monuments, stealing food from homeless people, and lots of threats of death and rape for those following the rules. How did it come to this?
O'Toole of Denial. While the protestors came to Ottawa for the resignation of Justin Trudeau, it looks like they will have to settle for Erin O'Toole instead. The Conservative leader's support seemed to completely collapse in caucus after he (reluctantly?) met with members of the Freedom Convoy, displeasing the hard right and disappointing the centre. Is the real political winner this past weekend PM Trudeau?
Something to Drew On. There was another protest this past weekend in downtown Toronto that got significantly less attention, a protest against a war between the West and Russia over the Ukraine. Communist Party of Ontario leader Drew Garvie was there, and this week the reformed Guelphite will talk about the stakes of this spring's provincial election, pandemic changes to society, and why peace is not just a Federal issue.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.