Guelph Politicast

Although housing and homelessness has been THE issue for the last few years, it feels like they didn’t make a dent in the recently completed provincial election. As the news obsessively tracks the tariff war and Doug Ford’s response to Donald Trump’s latest drama, the struggles of growing unaffordability and homelessness seems to have taken a back seat., So now that the election is over, does anyone in authority still care about these issues? Back in December, Premier Ford held a media event at Queen’s Park. In the company of several mayors he announced the Ontario Restoring Safety to Parks and Public Spaces Act, a bill that expanded police powers in dealing with encampments and offered stiffer penalties for people who repeatedly break trespass laws and use illegal drugs in public. But just before the election call there was a turnaround, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing said that maybe it wasn't needed after all. Not wanting to take chances, the Ontario Coalition for the Rights of Homeless Peopl

It's four weeks of snow, promises, confusion, and apathy and after the longest shortest month of the calendar, we have finally come to this: Election Day! Now typically on Thursday there's a new episode of Open Sources Guelph, but because Election Day falls on Thursday, we're going to do it later, and we're going to do it live! Thursday February 27 at 8 pm, the Open Sources and CFRU News teams will go live to talk about the incoming results and immediate analysis as Ontarian choose their government for the next four years. Has Ford fumbled? Did Stiles slip? Will Crombie crush it? Will Schreiner turn his dynamic duo into the fantastic four? All questions will be answered including, why are we doing this again? For the Open Sources interviews with the Guelph candidates, click on the links below: Robert Coole, PC Party Carina Fraser, New Blue Mike Schreiner, Greens Cameron Spence, NDP Mustafa Zuberi, Liberals  Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

This week on End Credits, we're heading back into the wild! Things always get pretty wild when it comes to Oscar-season as one team of PR flacks tries to 86 the other, but things also get wild on an uninhabited island where even robots can enjoy a world without rules! On this show, we're reviewing The Wild Robot and we will talk about the Oscars! This Wednesday, February 26, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss: Not An Oscars Ballot. The 97th annual Academy Awards will be given out this Sunday live from Hollywood. Who will win? We'll get to that. Emilia Pérez has the most nominations, but not many fans among cinephiles who would much rather see honours go to Brady Corbet and The Brutalist or Sean Baker and Anora. To start this pre-Oscars show, we will lay out the ones we think will win the show, and the one's that should win. REVIEW: The Wild Robot (2024). Speaking of the Oscars, the movie we're reviewing this week is nominated for one. The Wild Robot debuted at the Toronto International F

It’s been four weeks since Doug Ford asked the Lieutenant-Governor to dissolve the legislature and it really hasn’t felt like anything has changed. Now, we will go to the polls on Thursday to decide who will form the provincial government for the next four years and despite all the issues, it feels like it’s still going to be the people who’ve run it for the last seven years. So what have we missed this election? Early voting last weekend registered a six per cent voter turnout across Ontario. Not great. Accessibility activists have noted that this winter campaign generally, and the last week of wicked weather specifically, have thrown up big barriers to participation for anyone that’s not able bodied, and wasn’t that the point? It sure seems like it was and the impact has been pretty visibly felt: How many election events have you been to? Out of the campaign trail it’s been rough going. The two likely successors to Doug Ford - Marit Stiles and Bonnie Crombie - have been straining to get attention. The Green

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we go mega! On this super-sized edition of the show, the last one before Election Day and the episode that opens three days of advanced polling, we will profile the three candidates we haven't covered yet. From the long-time campaigner running for the governing party, to an upstart trying to rebuild a Liberal stronghold, and a new face for a new party! This Thursday, February 20, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: Be Coole. You may not know Robert Coole, but he's been doing politics in Guelph for a long-time as a reliable and seasoned campaigner for local Conservatives, but now, he's in the spotlight as the PC Party candidate in this provincial election. Coole will join us to talk about why Guelph needs a voice in the next PC government, and why he's taking the spotlight after years of playing in politics behind the scenes. Mustafa: The Liberal Candidate. There are a lot of young people running for the Ontario Liberals, and Mustafa Zuberi is one of the

According to the latest polls, the governing PCs might be in minority government territory, and the spoiler might be a revitalized Liberal Party. In Wellington-Halton Hills it will be a big climb because while this seat is open, the Liberals finished fourth in a close race for second in 2022. Is there the possibility that without Ted Arnott on the ballot that voters might be willing to take a closer look at the man from Acton? When he was last elected in 2022, Arnott won more votes than the NDP, Greens, Liberals, and New Blue combined. Incumbency has its advantages, but so does longevity. How many people in Wellington-Halton Hills were voting for Arnott out of sheer habit? For 34 years at the Ontario legislature, Ted Arnott was always there. In fact, for some people living in Halton Hills and some parts of Wellington, Ted Arnott is the only MPP they’ve ever known Alex Hilson is one of those people. It’s interesting to note that two of the people running to replace Arnott are Halton Hills councillors. Hilson r

This week on End Credits, we find an America we're glad to call "Captain". Hey, we know that the United States is having its issues right now (and if you don't there's a show for that), but one them isn't finding a new Captain America! This week, we will enter a Brave New World, and we also talk about the fine art of starting over.  This Wednesday, February 19, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Mike Ashkewe will discuss: Remake, Reboot and Requel. Although it's not technically a reboot, it's pretty safe to look at Captain America: Brave New World as chance to restart a long-running franchise that's been struggling in recent years. This is not a new trend because Hollywood studios love their franchises, and when the audiences don't respond, that's when they pull out all the stops to get the series back on track. To start, we'll talk about our favourite do-overs! Captain America: Brave New World (2025). When we last left the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Deadpool and Wolverine met and fought (and fought). But don't e

In 2022, the three major Ontario opposition parties finished very closely together in Wellington-Halton Hills with the Liberals finishing 804 votes short of the second place NDP, and 82 votes short of the third place Greens. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise then that the Green Party of Ontario sees Wellington-Halton Hills as prime target for an upset this election, but can the party be that upsetting with so much on the line? If you follow Mike Schreiner’s campaign schedule, you will note that he’s oscillating between four different ridings: Guelph (obviously), Kitchener-Centre, Parry Sound-Muskoka, and, as you might have guessed, Wellington-Halton Hills. Whether the Green Party can win this riding will largely depend on their candidate, and in this case it’s a councillor from the literal and figurative centre of Wellington-Halton Hills. Wilton was first elected to Centre Wellington council in 2022 after growing up in the area, going to the University of Guelph and starting her own business in Fergus. She’s

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're not feeling the love. One day before Valentine's Day, we will dive into some of the biggest news of the day including a crazy person's plans for one of the most volatile regions on the planet. Back here at home, there's some concern about post-secondary spending, which is a provincial jurisdiction and that reminds us: We have an other election candidate to talk to! This Thursday, February 13, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: "We'll Own It." All quiet on the western front? Hardly. While the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is holding, it hasn't been easy and there have been some new wrinkles. Specifically, it's Donald Trump's threat to seize Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East", which he reiterated this week in front of the King of Jordan (who couldn't get out of the White House fast enough). So should we be worried about Trump's threats, or is it just another distraction? College-Level Economics. The new cap on international

There are seven people running in Wellington-Halton Hills, but only one of them is a party leader. If you’re looking at this election and are thinking to yourself that it’s pretty messed up that the premier can just call an election 16 months early and in the midst of several intermingling crisis, and that there should be a better way, then you might be the type of voter that Ron Patava and Consensus Party is looking for. Patava has previously been a guest on this podcast. He ran in Wellington-Halton Hills as one of a dozen Consensus candidates around Ontario, but in between then and now he has risen through the ranks to the leadership of Consensus. Not that Consensus is really focused on leadership, or course. It's meant to be a stirring call to have " a decision-making structure that involves and takes into account as broad a range of opinions as possible." Patava learned from this 2022 campaign: It’s not enough to be about building a new system, it’s about trying to do more to promote the types of change p

This week on End Credits, we celebrate this holiday of love with a movie about fights! If you're looking for something to watch with a sweetheart, and you don't want some soapy rom-com, you can always check out Love Hurts, and we'll talk about why (not?). Our topic will accompany the star of that film who once appeared in another more famous movie! This Wednesday, February 12, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss: Goonies Never Stay 'Unemployed'! The movie we're reviewing this week features Ke Huy Quan, who was one of the young cast members of a movie called The Goonies, which turns 40 years old this year. Many of the cast members are still working in the business, and they've all starred in some very interesting and distinctive projects. To begin this week's show, we will talk about some of those other efforts since Goonies are still employable! REVIEW: Love Hurts (2025). Ke Huy Quan was a successful actor when he was a kid, but as an adult he made a living in the industry as a fight cho

In some respects, Wellington-Halton Hills is the riding to watch this year because, for the first time in three decades. it’s competitive. Ted Arnott announced that he would not be seeking re-election at the end of the last term, and while the PC Party would like to hold on to this one, opportunity is knocking for the other major parties. Today, Ontario's official opposition will make their case for the riding next door! Of the four major party candidates in Wellington-Halton Hills, only one of them is not presently a politician with a municipal council. Between those four, there’s also an even split between candidates representing the urban side of the riding, and the more rural parts. Simone Kent is the from the rural side, and she's the one major party candidate who's not presently in a political office, but that's not to say that she doesn't keep busy. Kent has a unique resume being both a dairy farmer and an education worker. She’s stayed active in organizations like Centre Wellington’s environmental com

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're trying to project calm. It was a long weekend as we waited for a certain Florida Man who was inexplicably re-elected as President of the United States to blow up our economy, and we can't even avail ourselves of healthcare because that's in a terrible position in Ontario. So, what can we do to fix this? Our guest this week has some ideas and he wants you to elect him again to put them in action! This Thursday, February 6, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: Trade in Full. It was, as Shakespeare said, a tale of sound and fury signifying nothing. After announcing on Saturday that he would impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, U.S. President Donald Trump relented on Monday afternoon after both countries, essentially, promised to do things that they were already doing. Now, we're under a 30-day reprieve and who knows what happens then, even Donald Trump. So what happens when February ends? Sick? Oh. So there's an election right now, maybe yo

This week on End Credits, we head east, young man. As we continue our cinematic trip through this year's Oscar nominees, we stop in Poland for A Real Pain, which is now easy to stream on Disney+. Before that though, we will stop and consider the calendar. What month is this? Why it's Black History Month, and we will look at some examples of great Black film talent!    This Wednesday, February 5, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss: Black History Month Movies. This is our first show for February, so it seems right to spend a portion of it doing the obvious thing and that's pay tribute to Black History Month. So to begin this episode, we're going to choose two films made by two great Black filmmakers and talk about what makes them great and why you should seek them out on streaming. (Both are kind of romantic tales too for there's your Valentine's synergy too!) REVIEW: A Real Pain (2024). Cousins David and Benji go to Poland to see the country their now-dead grandmother was born, which is t

ACORN is on the frontline of fighting the housing and affordability crises for low and moderate income people and in Ontario they’ve invested a lot of attention lately on one bad guy, Michael Klein. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he's the so-called "King of Renovictions". Last week the two sides came face-to-face, sort of, at the Landlord Tenant Board, but don't think this is the end of the fight! On January 21st, Hamilton tenants living at 221 Melvin Avenue went to the LTB for the first of 20 such board hearings around a single respondent who’s bought apartment buildings around the Golden Horseshoe, Michael Klein. Klein’s pattern is clear: He buys a building, issues N13s, people move out of their rent controlled units, and jacks up the rent after some cosmetic change. He's even doing it here in Guelph with three buildings on Brant Avenue.  At the heart of Klein’s scheme is a misunderstanding on the part of tenants about their rights. An N13 is meant to be used when you need to demolish the rental

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we have to shake off the winter blahs and get into election mode! Doug Ford has called a snap election in Ontario for incredibly specious reasons, and we will get into that, and we will also get into an election issue that we should be talking about with a special guest expert on the subject. In other news, the federal Liberals are still trying to find a new leader. This Thursday, January 30, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: The Winter Soldier On. He needs a mandate. That's what Doug Ford has been saying all week and on Tuesday he visited the Lieutenant-Governor to dissolve the legislature 16 months early to hold a snap election in February. Now, instead of legislating the myriad of crises that already exists and are under his control, Ford is running to get a *mandate* to stand up against Donald Trump, which is a federal area of responsibility. At least the opposition parties have their sh*t together, right...? Are we doomed? The Magnificent Seven Si

This week on End Credits, we get wild! We will shine a light on a movie that seems to have missed most people's radar and it's all about embracing your inner animal, and other stuff. We're going to talk about Nightbitch, which you can stream now on Disney+ of all places, and we're also going to hit the metaphorical slopes out west and chat about a famous film festival. This Wednesday, January 22, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss: Sundance Hall of Fame. It's the biggest independent film festival in the world, which may be an oxymoron, but there's now doubt that for nearly 50 years, the Sundance Film Festival in Party City, Utah has been very important in finding and promoting major new films and filmmakers. With the 2025 festival now underway, we will talk about some of the all-time Sundance films across three different categories, and why they're so synonymous with the festival. REVIEW: Nightbitch (2024). What if a stay-at-home mother became so frustrated with her domesticity that sh

It’s hard to think of any aid agency busier these days than the Guelph Food Bank these days, and to prove it, they went to city council last November during budget delegation night to ask for help. It might come as a surprise to learn that the Food Bank has never received any government funding, but it's proof that food insecurity is now outside their control, and it’s the reason for changes that they’ve started to undertake. According to Feed Ontario, over one million people accessed a food bank in Ontario between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, which is an increase of 25 per cent over the year before and an 86 per cent increase since 2019-2020, the last year before the pandemic. To put that in context, one out of every 16 people in Ontario have been to a food bank lately, and if you think Guelph has escaped this deluge you would be wrong. That’s why the Guelph Food Bank went to city council last fall. With 4,000 individuals using the Food Bank each month, which is more than double since before the pandem

This week on Open Sources Guelph we're trying to avoid talking about You-Know-Who, but it's so very hard! Instead, we will talk around him by looking at at the Liberals who want to match wits with the new regime in Washington and their first major geopolitical challenge in the Middle East. In the interview, we're going to talk to one of the people that wants to be a part of the next government no matter who leads it! This Thursday, January 23, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: The Libs of This Rock. It looks like the line-up of candidates for the Liberal leadership race is set, and while former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney seems to be the proverbial frontrunner, there's a fairly diverse line-up in the offing including Chrystia Freehand, Karina Gould, Jaime Battiste, and Chandra Arya. Still, do any of these contenders have what it takes to not only lead the Liberals, but lead them to something that isn't a complete decimation in the next federal election? Ceasefire. After nearly

This week on End Credits there's a blast from the past and a sign of the times. Our movie today is a timeless story about someone who feels like the world has passed them by, and it features someone you might have forgotten. We will be checking out Pamela Anderson's return in The Last Showgirl and we will be saying goodbye to a real cinematic original!  This Wednesday, January 22, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss: David Lynch. Last week came the bad news that David Lynch passed away, a director so iconoclastic that an entire enigmatic style was named after him. You can't describe what makes a film "Lynchian" but you know it when you see it, and you've definitely seen it whether you know it or not. So to begin this week, we will say a very fond farewell to Lynch by talking about some of his finest works, at least of the feature film variety. REVIEW: The Last Showgirl (2024). Oscar hopeful Pamela Anderson?! This is the movie that may actually make it happen. Anderson was an icon of the 9