Every four years, Elections Canada runs a “Get Out the Vote” appeal that’s meant to encourage everyone to cast their ballot on the appointed day, but at best, it seems like only 60 per cent of us get that message. Is there a way to send that message better, and more to the point, are we sending out the wrong message and/or sending it the wrong way? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #183 – Getting Critical on ‘Get Out the Vote!’”
As we count down to the start of the 2019 Federal Election, we will likely see several special guests from the various political parties come to town, including the leaders themselves. Of course, you’ll recall that at least two party leaders have already come to the Royal City, in last week’s bonus episode you heard from one, and this week, you’ll hear from another. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #182 – Maxime Bernier’s Guelph Town Hall”
London has done it. Cambridge and Kingston might do it. But how about Guelph? How about the other 440 cities, towns and villages in the Province of Ontario? Because they can do it if they want thanks to the last provincial government! Get your mind out of the gutter because the “it” we’re talking about is ranked ballots for municipal elections. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #181 – Kevin Bowman, 123 Guelph”
Election season is almost here, so it would be realistic to expect that towns and cities across the country will be receiving special guests to help convince voters to turn one way or the other. Guelph has already had a few appearances from Federal party leaders, and one of them was Green Party leader Elizabeth May. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #180 – Elizabeth May’s Guelph Town Hall”
August is almost here, which typically means a slower pace of news coverage in Guelph since city council is taking the month off. To look at it another way, it’s the perfect time to stop, and take stock of the year so far before we dive into a very busy fall that has a federal election, and a lengthy budget season. You know what? It’s time for Guelph Stuff. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #179 – Guelph Stuff (Bernier, Library, and Council)”
Freedom of Speech. It seems like a simple idea, but there’s really nothing simple about it, especially when that’s not the term we use it for this concept here in Canada. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen a lot of discussion online about who was violating someone else’s Freedom of Speech, but are we really aware of what that term entails. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #178 – Freedom of Expression”
The slate of major party candidates for the riding of Guelph is complete, and of the five, just two of them have never before been a guest on the Guelph Politicast… Until now. Well, one of them gets scratched off the list this week, at least. Prepare to say “Hello” to Aisha Jahangir, who is one of those five people trying to become Guelph’s next Member of Parliament. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #177 – Aisha Jahangir, NDP Candidate”
There are a million stories in the Doug Ford era of provincial governance, and covering them all isn’t easy. One of the stories that has perhaps fallen through the cracks is the cuts to Legal Aid Ontario. In April’s provincial budget, funding to legal aid was cut by 30 per cent, and all $133 million of that took effect immediately. So now what? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #176 – Aid for Legal Aid”
It’s been three-and-a-half years since the Guelph Mercury last published, but for many people in our community, the loss feels as fresh today as it did on January 30, 2016. What a community looks like without a daily paper, and how it gets its news without that baseline has been a frequent topic of discussion, and it was again last week at the Guelph Civic Museum. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #175 – In Conversation at Guelph Civic Museum”
The Government of Ontario has recessed for the summer, but not before they passed the More Homes, More Choices Act, or Bill 108. You’ve probably heard a lot about Bill 108, or at least enough to know that it’s not as benign as the name of it implies. Yes, there will be some serious consequences from its passage, so let’s take a moment to figure out what they are. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #174 – Bill 108”
