Guelph Politicast

This week on End Credits, things are getting bittersweet. We will return to the sorted land of Norway where life imitates art imitates art in the smash Cannes success, Sentimental Value. We will also continue our contemplations on the year that's still here for another 27 days by looking at what he noticed about the movies over the last 11 or 12 months.  This Wednesday, December 3, at 3 pm, Adam A...

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? A...

This week on Open Sources Guelph it's all going according to plan. Sort of. At least that's what the Prime Minister of Canada wants us to think as he seeks out foreign investment around the globe. Closer to home, trouble is brewing for his provincial counterparts in Quebec, while even more closer to home we will talk to the head of Guelph city council about all the things he can't or won't do when...

This week on End Credits, we're off to see the Wizard. Again. Inevitably, we return to the Land of Oz and all of our old, familiar friends who are back on the screen just in time for awards consideration in Wicked: For Good. And since we're getting close to that year end mark, we're going to make our best guess about what other movies we've yet to see that might be among the best. This Wednesday,...

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...

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're thinking globally and poding locally. Environmental issues are on our minds this week as we tackle a new pair of interviews, first with a delegate at the annual climate conference where there's so much hope for an organized action on climate change, and then, closer to home, we will talk to the Green Progressive that wants to make fighting climate change the...

This week on End Credits we're heading back to space! Leaving the bounds of Earth behind, we go to the stars looking for old friends and familiar faces. First, we will stop by Pandora, setting for James Cameron's very successful sci-fi series Avatar, and then we will head to Genna where the wildest game in the galaxy is waiting for a hunter in Predator: Badlands. This Wednesday, November 12, at 3...

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 Guel...

This week on Open Sources Guelph, the thirteenth is unlucky for some, even though it's a Thursday. Luck is definitely not on the side of the leader of the federal opposition, unless we're talking about bad luck of course, and coming off Remembrance Day there was some rare controversy that might have been blown out of proportion. For the interview, we've got someone looking for some luck as he trie...

This week on End Credits we're feeling the music! Our focus on this episode is musicians and movies about musicians with two very specific examples. First up, we will revisit a biographical movie from 2005 about a man with a trouble past and even more troubled present as he struggles with stardom, and a new movie from here in 2025 that covers... much of the same ground. This Wednesday, November 12...

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...

This week on Open Sources Guelph we witness history. The good kind. Before heading south of the border to talk about some rare encouraging news (we won't call it good), we will talk about the latest test for the new Prime Minister and Government of Canada with their first budget. In other news, we will look at a possible schism here in Ontario between two different groups of conservatives who have...

This week on End Credits, we work smarter and party harder. Since this episode intersects with the start of our local documentary film festival we will talk about documentaries you can watch that don't require a festival pass, but they do maybe require a streaming subscription. Speaking of streaming, there's a party on Amazon Prime and we're inviting ourselves to check it out. This Wednesday, Nove...

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? According to Minister of the Env...

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're getting more literate. While we go to air on the eve of All Hallow's Eve, the only think that's really haunting is the growing threat of misinformation so good it's hard to tell the difference between what's fake and what's real. We will talk to someone who has some ideas about how to fight it, but before that we will hear from a member of city council who h...

This week on End Credits, it's time again to gather our friends for an annual festival marking the return of the ones who've passed before. Of course, we're talking about the Halloween Horror Movie Draft! Once again, we will be lining up our players in a contest of wits as we pit our favourite ghost stories, remakes, and based on a true spooky tale selections against each other! This Wednesday, Oc...

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 verg...

This week on Open Sources Guelph we work hard, but not as hard as the Ontario government, which is trying to do a year's worth of legislating in seven week or (likely) less. And since we're talking about provincial politics, we will head out east where there's a new Progressive Conservative government in charge for the first time in a decade. Closer to home, we will welcome a local councillor who'...

This week on End Credits we seek divine intervention, and one week till Devil's Night at that. For the movie this week, we will pray to Keanu Reeves who will deliver us from the gig economy in the new film, Good Fortune. And in the first part of the show, given the bounty of new movies we've received, we will talk about some other choice flicks!  This Wednesday, October 22, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donald...

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 t...

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're eating news leftovers. First, we will catch up with the latest develops in Gaza where there's now a precarious peace, and we will also talk about the early phase of the race to find a new leader for a federal party. For the interview, we engage in another annual fall tradition, the late return to Queen's Park for another truncated sitting that solves none of...

This week on End Credits we eat leftovers... from the Toronto International Film Festival. We will talk about this year's opening night film, John Candy: I Like Me, which you can now stream on Amazon Prime Video. And speaking of Candy, we will talk about the work he did along with some other very talented people who got their start on a seminal Canadian sketch comedy show. This Wednesday, October...

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? Back in May, City...

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're thankful that dysfunction is a national phenomenon. We will head out west where there is inter-party friction in British Columbia's official opposition, and then we will look at a dispute between teachers and a provincial government in an entirely different part of the country. In even more serious news, we will mark the second anniversary of a devastating w...

This week on End Credits we're ready to rock! Of perhaps we should say we're ready to Kpop. You know it, and maybe you love it, but this week we will finally catch up on the phenomenon called KPop Demon Hunters, which you can now watch on Netflix in regular and sing-along versions. Also, we will talk about other great animated movies you should see.  This Wednesday, October 8, at 3 pm, Adam A. Don...