Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph #473 - June 13, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we won't say that democracy doesn't work, but it certainly seems to be malfunctioning. We will look to our friends in the EU who seem to be increasingly embracing authoritarianism, but things aren't too rosy on our own shores where a beleaguered Indigenous community here in Ontario has to take the government to court to get action. For the interview this week - and don't hate us - we're talking about landlord issues with a landlord.
This Thursday, June 13, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
All the Far-Right Moves. Elections for the European Union parliament took place last weekend, and while the EPP majority held, there were significant gains for far-right parties, which prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap election in France for the end of the month. More broadly, the election results were seen as another lurch towards a new western autocracy driven by anti-immigrant sentiment and economic malaise. How concerned should we be?
Narrows Pursuit. For decades, the Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek First Nation - more commonly known as Grassy Narrows - has suffered from the ill-health effects of mercury contamination. In fact, 90 per cent of the people living there are feeling the effects. Now, the people of Grassy Narrows are taking the federal and provincial governments to court for failing to protect their treaty rights and the decision will surely shake up nation-to-nation relations here in Canada. We'll dig into that.
Going SOLO. It turns out that everyone's fed up with the Landlord Tenant Board. A new group called SOLO, Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario, want changes to the board because systemic backlogs and delays are making it harder for them to get rid of problem tenants in a time when the housing crisis is putting pressures on all ends of the housing spectrum, including the small landlords. Board member Kevin Costain will talk to us about the changes that SOLO wants the provincial government to follow-up on.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #345 - June 12, 2024 (I Saw the TV Glow)

This week on End Credits, we watch TV. Sort of. Our movie in this episode is about people who watch TV and maybe watch a little too closely, but that's okay because there's allegory in them there hills! We're going to talk about the new sure-to-be cult classic I Saw the TV Glow, and we're also going to talk about summer movies the best way we can, with a draft!
This Wednesday, June 12, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
The Summer of '89 Draft. Without hyperbole, the Summer Movie Season of 1989 is the Best Summer Movie Season that there's ever been! It was the summer of Batman! Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! Do the Right Thing! Shag! (?!) A summer this good can only mean on thing: We need to draft!! To start this week's show, we're going to draft the movies from the Summer of '89 across five carefully chosen categories.
REVIEW: I Saw the TV Glow (2024). We've probably all been obsessive about a beloved TV show, but have you ever been so obsessed with a show that you thought it was real? That is perhaps the most basic plot description of I Saw the TV Glow, the second film from the very talented Jane Schoenbrun, but there's a great deal more going on. From commentary about obsessive fan culture to allegories about the trans experience, we will try to unwind all the implications of I Saw the TV Glow, but we might need a bigger show!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #422 – Walk The Line

For this week’s podcast, we’re taking it on the road! There are two big protests of a sort happening in Guelph right now, one is technically a strike, and the other is an encampment on campus. Both are local stories with implications beyond the city limits, both are examples of renewed interest in direct action, and both started at around the same time. So how are things going out there, and are these actions having an impact?
On May 27, nearly 1,000 workers at the Cargill plant on Dunlop Drive went on strike after 82 per cent of the members represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 175 rejected a deal with management. The primary issue, unsurprisingly, is the cost of living. Striking workers at Cargill Dunlop are angry, they're fighting for a small increase to their take home pay when just last year the company saw record profits. Their frustration is palpable.
Meanwhile, down at the University of Guelph, there are others experiencing frustration. The day after Victoria Day, a group of student activists set up an encampment to demand that the U of G divest from any company that does business with Israel, and work to end discrimination on campus. These demands have not been well received by the university who have spend more time trying various ways to get rid of the encampment as opposed to negotiating with the campers.
First, we will talk to Ashland Kearns and Melissa Bortolon, workers at the Cargill Dunlop facility and members of striking UFCW Local 175, who will tell us about how the strike is going in week three, what they’re on the picket lines for, and the pandemic impacts of working at the plant. Then, on campus, "Lavender", one of the encampment organizers, will tell us the reasons why the University of Guelph group started an encampment, the lack of engagement with the U of G admin, and the effort to get the full picture of the university’s investments.
So let's go on a field trip on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can follow the progress of the strike at the local’s website. And you can also stay up-to-date with what’s happening at the People’s Plaza on Instagram at UoGforPalestine. There will be a special convocation vigil on Friday June 14 at 3 pm.
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 #472 - June 6, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we don't take the law into our own hands, we go to court with some popcorn. On this episode, many of our news items intersect with justice matters as we talk about the deportation of a national pariah, the trial of a serial killer, a plea deal for a would-be mass murderer, and the unexpected result of a corruption trial in the U.S. Also, because a week can't go by without him sticking his foot in his mouth, we'll talk about Ontario's Premier.
This Thursday, June 6, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Diplomatic Doug. What was supposed to be a nice easy photo op at Sanofi's new manufacturing plant turned into the latest embarrassment for Ontario when Premier Doug Ford dabbled in some *light* racism while responding to a shooting at a north Toronto Jewish girls’ school. It's the latest hit against Ford and his government, but despite that the PCs are still fundraising up a storm and talk of an early election has still not gone away. We will talk about the latest Ford follies.
Crash Ban, Deport. The 2018 car accident that killed 16 people and injured 13 more from the Humboldt Broncos hockey team has a big tragedy for a Saskatchewan community. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was the truck driver responsible for the crash, and he's taken responsibility and plead guilty to having caused the crash, but now he faces deportation to India. Calgary Liberal MP George Chahal wants to fight it, but is it possible to find compassion for a man in spite of the circumstances?
Law & Order. In Winnipeg, Jeremy Skibicki is currently on trial for the murder of several Indigenous women in the area, some of whom have not yet had their remains recovered, and this on the fifth anniversary of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report. Meanwhile, up the road in Waterloo, Geovanny Villalba-Aleman has plead guilty to a stabbing attack supposedly driven by his belief in conspiracies around gender identity. Is justice being served?
34 For 34. After five weeks of trial and testimony, it took a New York City jury less than 10 hours to decide that Donald Trump is guilty of election interference for trying to cover up a one night stand with an adult film star. The historic occasion of the first former president becoming a convicted felon was somewhat muted by Republican defiance, but accusations of political bias in the Justice Department is hard to sell when the new trial this week involves the current president's son. So what next?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #344 - June 5, 2024 (Hit Man)

This week on End Credits, we're being careful about what we're pretending to be. Sly references to Vonnegut aside, things aren't quite that serious today as this episode tackles the lies we tell when we fall in love while pretending to be a contract killer in Hit Man. But the fun doesn't stop there because we're going to Tatooine and back with a return visit to the galaxy far, far away!
This Wednesday, June 5, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
The Phantom Menace at 25! It took nearly 20 years of waiting but Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace opened in theatres, and it happened now exactly a quarter of a century ago! At the time, the hype was so massive that everyone felt it, but the follow on negging by fans was almost just as massive. It's taken a long time, but the Star Wars prequels are having a renaissance, so how does The Phantom Menace stand now 25 years later?
REVIEW: Hit Man (2024). He stole scenes in Top Gun: Maverick, and he stole Sydney Sweeney's heart in Anyone But You, so with this much heat there's only one thing that Glen Powell could do: Play a nebbish college prof turned pretend hit man in a Richard Linklater movie. But don't get us wrong, it turns out that there's lots of heat in Hit Man as Powell gets in way over his head and falls in love with a woman that tries to hire him to wack her abusive husband. Can these two Texas boys - Linklater and Powell - put a little rom-com spice in our summer movie viewing?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #REPEAT- Have You Considered "Dark Tourism"?

There's been a lot of discussion recently about boosting Guelph's tourism profile. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities are working hard to rebuild their shattered tourism industries and Guelph is no exception, which is why the City of Guelph this week launched the Tourism Grants Program, designed to support the development and attraction of new tourism initiatives across Guelph. So here's an idea...
Last fall, Guelph Politico explored the possibilities of dark tourism in Guelph for a special Halloween episode of the show. The Royal City, with its relatively sunny disposition and progressive appeal, doesn't look like a bastion for all things morose or macabre, but that's the candy coating for a seedy underbelly. And, as a bonus, Guelph is already well on its way to being a dark tourism hotbed.
Our thriving dark tourism industry is largely grassroots. It’s people like Greg Taylor, and Jay Wilson, and Bonnie Durtnall, people who have turned their fascination with the dark corners of Guelph into a lucrative side hustle. But would it surprise you to know that the University of Guelph actually has a professor who studies dark tourism? Perhaps he might be able to answer this question: Is Guelph a dark tourism hot spot and we don’t know it?
This week, we’re joined again by Brent McKenzie, who is a professor in the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph. He will give us a formal definition of “dark tourism” and talk about the local examples of the trade. He will also talk about the grassroots nature of dark tourism, whether dark tourism can go “too far”, and some of McKenzie’s favourite dark tourism experiences whether they’re in Guelph or not
So let’s talk again about Guelph’s dark tourism future on this week’s Guelph Politicast!
There are many ongoing local dark tourism experiences in Guelph including Ghost Walk of Guelph, Jaywalking with Jay Wilson and his performance of “The Unfortunate Man” for which you can fine tickets at Eventbrite, and a wide variety of history walks and tours with Guelph Urbex. You can find information about the Tourism Grants Program at the City of Guelph 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, 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 #471 - May 30, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're all about elections. We're not having one across Ontario anytime soon, but the premier didn't rule it out last week. However, they are having an election right now in Mississauga, they're going to the polls next month to choose a new mayor. For the interview this week, we look to the United Kingdom where they're also having an election, and our guest has thoughts.
This Thursday, May 30, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Sum of All Beers. Doug Ford has done it again! He's made it easier to buy beer and spirits in corner stores around Ontario, presumably in celebration of having solved all of Ontario's other problems!! Sarcasm aside, Ford has actually created new problems for himself, including the Liberal revelation that the tab for free flowing beer may be in the billion dollar range. Is Ford now undone by beer?
A Mad Mayor 'Sauga. Mississauga is one of Canada's largest city, and there's presently a by-election there to replace now-Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie as mayor. Over 20 people are vying for the job including city councillor Alvin Tedjo, former MP Carolyn Parrish, and businessman Brian Crombie who is also Bonnie's ex-husband. With election day coming June 10, what political direction will Mississauga choose?
Rishi Rich? Last week, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called election for July 4, but some people are seeing it a sign of surrender after a decade of turbulent Tory rule. Since no one on this show is a U.K. resident, we're outsourcing to John McInally, a Scottish-born London resident, retired labour organizer and political activist. He will take the pulse of the electorate across the pond, and tell us why this election is more a referendum on Sunak than an endorsement of the Labour Party.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #343 - May 29, 2024 (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga)

This week on End Credits, we're speaking French to power! Well, not really. This episode is definitely France adjacent though, because there's a big annual film festival that just wrapped up there, and they premiered a great many movies over the last few weeks. One of them is the movie we're reviewing today, a prequel to a 10-year-old movie and a sequel to a 45-year-old one.
This Wednesday, May 29, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Yes We Cannes. Every year, the centre of the film world moves to the south of France. The Festival de Cannes is not like all the other film festivals, it's much more professional and serious and uptown than the ones with a public component, but that doesn't mean we can't still have some fun. To kick off this week's show, we're going to talk about the most buzzed about movies this year, including that one that was made by a madman. No, the other one.
REVIEW: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. In 2015, George Miller raised his post-apocalyptic saga Mad Max out of development hell with Fury Road, a propulsive, action-packed two-hour chase movie that introduced the great new heroine Furiosa. In this prequel to the sequel we see a young Furiosa, now played by Anya Taylor-Joy, as she's taken from her home and made a ward of various tyrants and gangsters as she becomes the most fearsome warrior in the wasteland. Big shoes to fill for Joy, but can Miller pull off another surprise hit of epic proportions?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #421 – This is Not a Drill Hall!

At next week's Committee of the Whole meeting, Guelph City Council will look at the fate of the Drill Hall; staff wants to put it up for sale, but there's at least one group in Guelph that wants to do something with it now. It's an idea called the Guelph Centre for Visual Art, and it could feature exhibition space, artist studios, educational and meeting space, and so much more. But does city hall share their vision?
This is a tale of two long-term projects. The first is a story about creating a centralized arts building in Guelph. Nearly 20 years ago,  a group called the Guelph Arts Platform tried to create to create a collaborative art space with cheap studios, exhibition areas, and networking opportunities, but for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the Great Recession, the project fell apart.
That brings us to the second part of the story, which is the Drill Hall. Constructed in 1866 so that members of the local militia could run drills (hence the name), the hall outlived its purpose by 1911 when the Armoury opened across the street. Over 100 years later, we still don’t know what to do with the Drill Hall, which is why City staff will be recommending that council authorize them to put it up for sale, but there is one group that wants to put the Drill Hall to some practical use as an arts centre. Can it be done?
Former city councillor Mike Salisbury and Lise Anne Janis think so, and they're leading the effort to establish the Guelph Centre for Visual Art. They join us this week to talk about the plan, why this time will be different, and why the centre should be considered key in discussions around downtown revitalization. They will also discuss government support for the arts, the stakes at Committee of the Whole next week, and why an arts centre matters in the middle of these tough economic times.
So let's drill to the bottom on this Drill Hall debate on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about the Guelph Centre for Visual Art at their website, and you can also follow them on Instagram. The Drill Hall will be discussed at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday June 3 and you can see the report now as part of the agenda, which you can find on the council page of the City’s website. You have until Friday 10 am to sign up to delegate or to send a correspondence.
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 Digest - May 23, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're looking for change. Everyone who's ever been a politician started out as something else, and as we're looking to next year's federal election, and an open seat here in the riding of Guelph, we've already got a couple of people looking for a career change. This week, we're talking to a labour activist and a city councillor who both want to be your next MP.
This Thursday, May 23 at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Folk-Dawson’s Creek. The next federal election is still more than a year-and-a-half away, at least if the confidence and supply agreement holds up. But even if it comes apart, the NDP in Guelph are ready because they have a candidate in place, and it’s Janice Folk-Dawson. A well-known and accomplished labour activist, Folk-Dawson will tell us about making the move to politics and why she wants to put the labour back into Canada’s labour party.
O’Fork in the Road. A couple of weeks ago, reps from Guelph and Wellington County met at the third session of the Health and Housing Symposium, and one of them was Ward 6 Councillor Dominique O’Rourke. On this week’s show, she will tell us what she got out of the symposium experience, and we will also talk about O’Rourke’s new political endeavour, a play to take her skills and experience to Ottawa as Guelph’s next MP!
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.