Category: Guelph Politicast

GUELPH POLITICAST #500 – Unfinished Agendas (feat. Karen Farbridge)

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It’s been over 10 years since Karen Farbridge left office, technically defeated in the 2014 election by then one-term City Councillor Cam Guthrie. It ended up being an end to her days in elected office, but Farbridge isn’t gone, and she certainly isn’t forgotten, and in the last few weeks she’s been the one doing the remembering with a new series of Substack newsletters about lessons she learned from her career in politics. But what more can she tell us? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #500 – Unfinished Agendas (feat. Karen Farbridge)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #498 – The Problem With Ontario’s Jails (feat. Justin Piché)

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Since the Ontario provincial election in February, we’ve spent a lot of time on this podcast trying to shine a light on some of the under-reported issues that the provincial government is ignoring, or actively making worse. Law and order though? That’s supposed to be under the Ford government’s bailiwick as they sell us a story of rampant criminality set loose on Ontario, but what if the real crime is happening inside Ontario’s jails? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #498 – The Problem With Ontario’s Jails (feat. Justin Piché)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #497 – Park Stewards Never Say “Die” (feat. Margaret Middleton)

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We often hear how a budget tells us what a city values, and one of the things that residents clearly valued in the City of Guelph budget was funding for the park stewards program. We often talk about environmentalism and civic pride as big reasons to live in Guelph, so is the park steward program the ultimate expression of that, and if it is, why didn’t we talk about it before we almost lost it? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #497 – Park Stewards Never Say “Die” (feat. Margaret Middleton)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #496 – Still Taking, Just More Easily (feat. Theresa McClenaghan)

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There was a lot of celebrating this time last year when it was announced that Blue Triton was closing their water bottling operations across Ontario, including the one down the road in Puslinch. Current events have conspired to put water taking issues back on the frontburner but between concerns about the impact on renters in Bill 60 and the undermining of local oversight of school boards in Bill 33, is there any room on the agenda for protecting our water? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #496 – Still Taking, Just More Easily (feat. Theresa McClenaghan)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #495 – Civic Advocacy Still Works! (feat. Ken Thompson & Susan Watson)

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If there’s a reason that Guelph City Council opted to proceed with a vacant home tax a few weeks ago, at least some of that credits goes to Get Involved Guelph who have been raising concerns for years about the number of houses in the Royal City staying empty, especially in the midst of a housing crisis.  Well, the City of Guelph finally agreed that it’s time to act, so what does Get Involved Guelph do for an encore? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #495 – Civic Advocacy Still Works! (feat. Ken Thompson & Susan Watson)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #494 – Electoral Reform? It Could Still Happen (feat. Kevin Bowman)

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It was about 10 years ago this time that Justin Trudeau strode up to Rideau Hall and made history being sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister. There was a lot of hope about what the future of Trudeau’s premiership held, but perhaps no other constituency were hit harder by the political realities of the Trudeau-mania hangover than electoral reform activists. Can changing our voting system still possibly get a fair hearing? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #494 – Electoral Reform? It Could Still Happen (feat. Kevin Bowman)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #493 – They’re Coming for the Conservation Authorities… Again (feat. Phil Pothen)

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Since they resumed sitting the week after Thanksgiving, the Government of Ontario has been throwing a lot at us, and then on Halloween they proposed sweeping changes to conservation authorities in Ontario. If it feels like we’ve been here before we kind of have, and while conservation authorities have weathered provincial meddling before, can they survive it again? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #493 – They’re Coming for the Conservation Authorities… Again (feat. Phil Pothen)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #492 – A Broken Political Scene (feat. Doug Craig)

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It was about this time two years ago that former Guelph CAO Scott Stewart told city council in an open meeting that there needed to be a new deal for Ontario municipalities; that they were trying to solve 21st century problems with 19th century rules. As Guelph tackles another difficult budget season, one regional councillor is putting this issue in stark terms: Ontario’s councils are “on the verge of life support”! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #492 – A Broken Political Scene (feat. Doug Craig)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #491 – The Science of the Guelph Lab (feat. Dr. Elizabeth Jackson & Jodie Sales)

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You might not have heard of The Guelph Lab, but you’ve definitely seen the fruits of its research. From food insecurity to public washroom access downtown, The Guelph Lab highlights s unique partnership between the City of Guelph and the University of Guelph by taking academic research power and applying it to problems facing our municipality. This week, we’re going to take a peek under the hood to learn how they do it… Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #491 – The Science of the Guelph Lab (feat. Dr. Elizabeth Jackson & Jodie Sales)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #490 – Climate Action is Back on Menu! (feat. Donna Jennison)

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Climate change, despite the inference, is not a hot topic, politically speaking. We had two big elections this year and you can probably count on one hand how many times the environment came up in conversation. Perhaps the time has come for a re-examination of our priorities: Can Guelph still be a climate leader in a political time when no one wants to talk about climate change? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #490 – Climate Action is Back on Menu! (feat. Donna Jennison)” →