Guelph Politicast

End Credits #REPEAT - August 13, 2025

This week on End Credits, there is no End Credits. Well... there's going to be a show, but it's going to be an episode of End Credits that you've heard before, or probably heard before. Yes, if you've seen the calendar lately then you know it's time for our midsummer break. As usual, we're taking a couple of weeks off for August so that we can enjoy some summer sun!
See You at the Beach! It's been a busy year at the movies; we sinned with Sinners, flew with Superman, and we caught up with at least half of #PedroSummer. So we're pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, decided to take a couple of weeks off so that we can enjoy some time away from the screen, big and small. But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time. End Credits, as you know, means "friendship". See you in a couple of weeks!
Programming Note: End Credits will return with new episodes on August 27.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – The Good Old Guelph (feat. Stephen Robinson & Jack Mallon)

Guelph loves its cultural heritage! As we count down to the 200th anniversary of the city in 2027, we're seeing more and more of a focus on our local history, but there's something else happening in 2027... the elimination of the heritage registry. Any property listed, but not designated, on January 1, 2027 will be deleted. The stakes, and the workload, have never been this high!
That's the primary reason why it seemed fitting last fall to talk to members of heritage planning staff. Since the passage of Bill 23 in 2022, they've been in a mad scramble to preserve as much heritage as they can, as quickly as they can with a record number of approval already for 2025 and the year is only half over (at least in council terms). Coming up in the fall? Even more approvals and further progress on key files like the three heritage conservation districts. 
But since recording this pod things have gotten more complicated. Several designations have faced delay or deferral after objections brought to council based on the additional onus placed on the property owner due to the designation, and what seems to be a misunderstanding about the limitations of those designations. This may change in the fall as heritage planners pass more voluntary designations, but for now, is there a growing sense that they're doing too much, too fast? 
Stephen Robinson and Jack Mallon, who are heritage planners at the City of Guelph, joined us last December to talk about what kind of year it’s been for heritage, the status of all the heritage conservation district studies and the special controversy around the recent presentation about the OR Lands HCD. They’ll also talk about public engagement, why development is not a bad word, what’s coming up in 2025, and why we maybe need to start loving architectural brutalism(?).
So let’s dig into the very busy heritage file again on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
The next scheduled meeting of Heritage Guelph is on September 4, and in the meantime you can visit the heritage planning page on the City’s website to get the lowdown on various plans and strategies. For your information, you can see the Municipal Register of Cultural Heritage Properties here, and stay tuned for future engagement opportunities on the OR Lands, Downtown and Ward West Heritage Conservation District studies.
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 #REPEAT - August 7, 2025

This week on Open Sources Guelph, you are here, but we are not. The time has come for our annual summer sabbatical. Unlike certain former prime ministers we still have work to do, so we can only afford to take a quick two-week break before coming back with what will surely be a drama-packed fall schedule of scandals, near-scandals and straight up crises. So let's take a break from the craziness before it catches up to us again.
Be Normal. Welcome to summer vacation! We've made it through a lot in 2025 so far including two month-long elections, and the daily deluge of insanity from the present occupant of White House. There's been the start and stop of the trade war, the nonstop wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and some general anxiety about global crisis coming down the pipe next. Bad news is inevitable, and there will surely be more of it, but for the next two weeks tune in, drop out, and bring on some outdoor activities. See you in a few weeks!
*Programming Note: Open Sources Guelph will return with new episodes on Thursday August 21.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #403 - August 6, 2025 (Happy Gilmore 2)

This week on End Credits, we're hitting the links. Well, we're not hitting the links, at least not yet, but we will watch other people hit the links in the sporting sequel comedy Happy Gilmore 2, which you can now stream on Netflix. And since we're back in the realm of Adam "Sandman" Sandler, we will talk about the empire he built! 
This Wednesday, August 6, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
The Happy Madison Movie Draft. Adam Sandler is a movie-making machine. His production company, which is named after his first two movies, has been cranking out hits for himself and others for decades, and not just comedies either. In honour of the latest Happy Madison entry, we will talk about some of the best and brightest that they've put out over the years, from the regulars to the perhaps even the rare dramatic turn.
REVIEW: Happy Gilmore 2 (2025). Thirty years ago, a would-be hockey player became a golf sensation in the first of many big comedy successes from the House of Sandler. Now Happy is back on the links courtesy of the Sandman's long standing relationship with Netflix, but does he still have it? And by "it" we mean mass appeal and anger management issues. The usual collection of Sandler regulars and family members are all here for the mighty return of Happy, Shooter and all their friends, but will the audience come back for more?
Programming Note: End Credits will be running previously enjoyed episodes on Wednesday August 13 and 20. We will back with new episodes on Wednesday August 27. 
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #482 – Three For Fringe (feat. Bridget Cann, Christel Bartelse, and Julie Lyn Barber & Michele Dvoskin)

The Guelph Fringe Festival unfolds this weekend with 10 companies performing in three different venues over four days in downtown Guelph with 100 per cent of the ticket prices going back to the artists. These shows are experimental, personal, and unlike anything you will ever see anywhere else, and this week’s show is going to highlight three interviews from three different shows to tell you why Guelph Fringe is a can’t miss event for theatre fans and the theatre curious.
First, we will talk to Bridget Cann from Staccayto Staccato, the Toronto-based musical comedy troupe who staged last year’s Guelph Fringe "Big Buzz Award" winner, Make Up! The Musical. It’s a musical comedy show that’s completely made up! Using suggestions from the audience, they come up with a whole one hour musical with improvised characters, plots, places, and, of course, music.
Then, we will talk to Christel Bartelse, a Toronto-based actor/storyteller, comedian, and director and educator. Her show is A Woman of My Age, which Bartelse both wrote and performs, is her seventh solo production after ONEymoon, Chaotica and All KIDding Aside which have toured to fringe festivals all across Canada, and the U.S. and also to Edinburgh, the largest fringe festival in the world.
And finally we will talk to Julie Lyn Barber and Michelle Dvoskin. Turbulent Architect, written and performed by Barber and directed and dramaturged by Dvoskin, offers a candid, heartwarming, and hilarious guided tour of the chaotic inner workings of Barber’s mind. Barber is an actor, singer, director, choreographer, musical director, and the Head of Musical Theatre at Purdue University Fort Wayne while Dvoskin is a director, intimacy choreographer, performer, playwright and an associate professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance at Western Kentucky University.
On this week’s episode the four of them will talk about their shows, their inspirations, and the challenges in staging their production. We will also talk about their backgrounds, what makes a show “fringe”, and what they hope the audience will leave with when the show is over.
So let's talk about some of this year's shows at the Guelph Fringe Festival on this week's Guelph Politicast!
The Guelph Fringe Festival runs from Thursday August 7 to Sunday August 10. You can see the full schedule and buy tickets at their website.
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.
Programming Note: Guelph Politicast will be running previously enjoyed episodes on Wednesday August 13 and 20. We will back with new episodes on Wednesday August 27. 

Open Sources Guelph #530 - July 31, 2025

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're getting ready to go on summer vacation, but before that we've got some serious business, and in the case of one topic we mean really, really serious. We will once again tackle the ongoing tragedy in Gaza before coming back home to Ontario where education is on the menu again, from your local school board to post-secondary education. Also, we'll keep the education conversation going with this week's guest.
This Thursday, July 31, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
"The Worst Case Scenario of Famine..." Just when you think thing couldn't possibly get worse in Gaza, they do. The famine is now undeniable, to the point where even U.S. President Donald Trump couldn't deny it when asked. Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile says there is no famine, and this despite the fact that people on the ground in Gaza note that not only are people starving to death, they're being killed while trying to get what little food that's coming in. Is this finally enough?
33 and We. Before breaking for summer, the Ontario government revealed Bill 33, which will give them more power over school boards, universities and colleges and even children's aid societies. People have noted the shades of the Student Choice Initiative, which an Ontario court said was unconstitutional, but it also undermines local democracy (again) by overriding the authority of elected school boards. Is this the next great Ford government scandal we're not talking about yet?
Fife's Out. We haven't heard about long-term care in a while, but one MPP has been working on one part of that file for almost seven years now. Catherine Fife is trying again to pass a private member's bill to keep senior couple together in long-term care, which sounds simple but has become a year's long project. We will talk to Fife about it, and we will also talk to her about issues around post-secondary education, and how Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles talked about it during her leader's tour stop in the region this week.
Programming Note: Open Sources Guelph will be running previously enjoyed episodes on Thursday August 7 and 14. We will back with new episodes on Thursday August 21. 
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #402 - July 30, 2025 (Superman 2025)

This week on End Credits we are faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Get ready to pump iron, or make that steel, with the cinema's newest superhero in the bright and cheerful Superman. But is it one of the best movies of the year? TBD, in the meantime though we're going to talk about some other contenders!
This Wednesday, July 23, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
The Best of 2025... So Far! So we're a little late with this given all of our 400th episode festivities earlier this month, but it did buy us an extra month to take stock of the movie year so far. How are we doing? Well, we will dig into that very question by talking about some of our early contenders for the "Best of the Year" so far including something Canadian, something action-packed, something funny, and something sexy!
REVIEW: Superman (2025). It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... a reboot! James Gunn has flown the relative safety of Marvel (where he made the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy) and has taken on the massive task of creating a big, better DC Universe starting with Superman. This Man of Steel is less serious and dour than its predecessor, but Gunn's still injected a surprising amount of real world relevance. Plus, there's a super dog! There's a lot riding on Superman, especially as the comic book movie bubble is bursting, but can we still believe a man can fly?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #481 - The Business Climate (feat. Andy Veilleux)

Donald Trump’s return to the White House promised economic disturbances if not outright challenges, and this is on top of the challenges that already existed like supply chains, wages, turnover, and the high cost of housing and real estate. It’s also worth noting that these are not Guelph-specific challenges, but that's okay because the new president of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce is not from Guelph.
What will be impact when Trump slaps 35 per cent on tariffs on Friday? On the other hand, maybe Trump will initiate another pause on implementing new tariffs. Does it even matter at this point? Businesses big and small depend on stability because if things are stable, you make reasonable predictions for the future in regard to planning, growth, marketing and hiring. 
Andy Veilleux arrived in the president’s office at the Guelph Chamber the day after Trump retook the White House, and when we say “arrived” we mean from outside of town. His most recent job was as Director of Policy & Government Relations at the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, a community similar to Guelph in some ways, but very, very different in others. There’s a lot on Veilleux’s desk, so what does he intend to do about it while also adapting to life as a new Guelphite?
We will dig into all that and more on this week’s edition as Veilleux discusses his background and experience, why he made the move to Guelph, and what he’s learned about life in the city so far. He will also talk about the present business challenges, and why the Chamber of Commerce is about more than just business interests. Plus, he will discussthe importance of the University of Guelph to the city’s overall economic health, and what he wants his tenure at the Chamber to be about. 
So let's talk about business on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can follow him on social media @andyveilleux on Twitter and Instagram, and you can check out his poetry at his website. He will also be speaking at the Rotary Club of Guelph in their monthly meeting on Friday September 19 at the Italian Canadian Club, and you can register at the Rotary Guelph website. For more information about the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, you can find them at their website or on social media on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
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 #529 - July 24, 2025

This week on Open Sources Guelph everybody is fighting! Our national and provincial leaders are gathered to strategize and fight back in a trade war, while the leader of the opposition (in exile) is fighting for his political life so that he can get back into the national debate. Meanwhile, we will talk to an area Indigenous leader who's helping to lead the fight against legislation they got no say in by taking two different levels of government to court. Can't we all just get along?!
This Thursday, July 24, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Fifty Trades of Grey. At a meeting in Huntsville this week, Canada's First Ministers met with Prime Minister Mark Carney to talk about - what else? - the trade war with the United States. Donald Trump has made another one of his famous proclamations, 50 per cent tariffs will be put on Canadian goods starting August 1, but what can Canada do about it? That's a question no one can answer. Is there any way out of this mess, and is inter-provincial trade really the answer?
Battle River Front. As Carney looks at getting one over on Trump, Pierre Poilievre is looking to get back into the House of Commons. His route back to the chamber is through a by-election in Battle River-Crowfoot, a riding the Conservative candidate won in April with 83 per cent, so easy, right? Not so fast, because about 200 people are crowding the ballot for the August 18 vote, and Poilievre can't show weakness before a January leadership review. Can Pierre take his perch back?
Kill Bills. Last week, nine Ontario First Nations launched a constitutional challenge to both Bill 5 in Ontario and Bill C-5 nationally. The two omnibus bills make legislative short cuts for massive infrastructure projects, and they were passed without any consultation with First Nations leaders, who are now forcing the issue. This week, we're joined by one of those leaders, Chief Todd Cornelius from Oneida Nation of the Thames east of London, about the goals of the Constitutional challenge and the state of reconciliation in Canada.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #401 - July 23, 2025 (I Know What You Did Last Summer 2025)

This week on End Credits we're nostalgic. Not for our own past now 401 episodes in, but for our collective movie past. First we stop in the 80s and talk about everyone's favourite movie about accidentally getting seduced by a parent after travelling back in time, and then we will go to 90s where someone will always know about what someone else did last summer!
This Wednesday, July 23, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Back to Back to the Future... at 40! So for the first episode of our four-hundreds, we're going back to where it all started, the 80s! This month marks four decades since the release of Back to the Future, the time travel adventure comedy directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, and we will start this week's show by doing a deep dive into why the affection for this movie spans generations.
REVIEW: I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025). Speaking going back in time, this week's movie takes us back to the 90s. Sort of. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. return along with a new generation of hot young people who make a big mistake one summer night and start paying for it one year later... with extreme severity. Before we get the hook, we will head back to legacy town where we will learn again that while we might be through with the past, the past is not through with us. And neither is the guy with a fishhook!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.