The 905er Podcast

Well its that time of year again. As we close out 2025 we look back at what was. And what a year it was.  Two general elections to start us off.  The political landscape shifting dramatically for two major parties.  One at the federal level and the other at the provincial. And of course all of this under the threat of tariffs aimed at crippling our economy.  Brought on by our once most trusted and...

Last week, the Ford government passed Bill 60. The Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act. According to the Ontario government, this will grow the rental supply in Ontario and take care of bad actors in the rental market. Critics, however, say all this will do is hasten evictions and exacerbate the homeless crisis in our cities. One organization is Acorn Canada. Who had one of their members infamous...

The falls as seen the Doug Ford government defend itself from scandal after scandal. Elected board trustees are being replaced with hand-selected Tory loyalist supervisors, who are being promised $350,000 a year. The Skilled Development Fund is being turned into a transfer of tax dollars to whoever donated the most to the Ontario PC's coffers. Recently, $75 million was spent on an ad campaign that...

Earlier this summer, we presented an episode on the Sound of Music festival. The free music festival is held each Father's Day weekend in downtown Burlington. The event has attracted big names in the past, like The Trews and The Arkells, to grace their stages. However, since COVID, the costs have risen steadily, and sponsorships have not kept pace. The festival is in dire straits, with 2025 possib...

The embattled Marineland, a Niagara Falls theme park, made news again this month. As we discussed in our previous episode on the matter, Marineland is nearing the end of its existence. Brought down by animal welfare scandals and changing perceptions of animal attraction parks. Currently, the park is closed, no longer generating revenue, and, according to its remaining shareholders, it is unable to...

Here we are with part two of our series examining school board reforms. The Ford Government is keen on eliminating trustees from Ontario school boards. As of the recording of this episode, Minister of Education Paul Calandra has removed elected trustees from four school boards in the province. Appointing a supervisor to oversee decision-making at the board level. In our previous episode, we had No...

The Ontario government has been busy over the last few weeks. Many wheels are in motion, including traffic cameras being forcefully removed from municipalities, as well as another brewing scandal involving the Skills Development Fund. However, there is one that we wanted to focus on for the next two episodes, and that is the question of the removal of school board trustees from multiple boards in...

For years, the Labour movement has struggled to find its footing. For decades, governments have compelled unions to return to work or to mediation. All the while, eroding the strength of both public and private sector unions. This has happened concurrently with diminishing buying power and wages for workers across Ontario. That trend has stopped, though. The recent actions of Doug Ford's invocatio...

We all know how difficult it can be to focus on the day ahead of us when we don't have a full belly. Hunger is a pretty good distraction from us succeeding in our day. Imagine if you're a kid, then, trying to focus on learning math, science, history, geography, as well as participating in phys-ed on an empty stomach? Too many kids go to school hungry, for multiple reasons. Which is why the federal...

Why settle for a cramped home office when you can take your Zoom calls beside a roller coaster? Digital strategist and content creator Ryan Zeitz joins Joel to share how he turned Canada’s Wonderland—the GTA’s iconic amusement park—into his summer “home office.” Ryan walks us through: How a spur-of-the-moment season-pass purchase became a full-blown remote-work experiment The hacks that make a the...

This week, I finally get to tackle a topic that’s been on my mind for a while: dead malls. You’ve probably noticed them too — those once-busy shopping centres across the 905 that now sit half-empty, a shadow of what they used to be. I’m joined by urban researcher and writer Sean Marshall to dig into why this is happening, what it means for our communities, and whether there’s actually a future for...

The Ontario Liberals have been dealing with a lot of drama since February. A less-than-stellar performance, failed to deliver them out of third place in the Ontario Legislature. Their leader, Bonnie Crombie, failed to win her seat. The only gain that was won was a return to official party status. As we discussed with Nathaniel Arfin, of the New Leaf Liberals before our summer break, this was unacc...

The Burlington Sound of Music Festival is a staple in the 905. Over the Father's Day weekend, Canada's largest free music festival is held on the shores of Lake Ontario in Burlington. Acts such as The Trews, The Arkells, Big Wreck, Walk Off the Earth, and Finger Eleven have all graced its stages. In recent years, troubled times have come to the festival. Keeping this festival free has become harde...

We've covered the issue of Municipal Councillors bullying their fellow elected officials and even staff. The problem has seemingly always existed in politics. However, nothing is really done about it, because, well, there is no HR department for those we elect. They are held accountable for their actions, truly, once every four years at the ballot box. Not surprisingly, this has resulted in a syst...

In February Ontario saw a provincial election that returned the province essentially to the status quo. Doug Ford remained Premier, Marit Stiles remained Leader of the Opposition, and well Bonnie Crombie still didn’t have a seat in the legislature. The Ontario Liberals have returned to official party status with some new faces sit in the legislature. Ontario Liberal Executives are proclaiming this...

What are we going to do with the unhoused of the 905? That is becoming the question on the minds of every municipality in the region. Last week, we had St. Catharine's Mayor Mat Siscoe to discuss Niagara's housing plan. In that episode, we mentioned the encampment bylaw that the city enacted. To say that this is a controversial bylaw is an understatement. A critic of the bylaw is Sean Vanderklis,...

Last week we listened to Mayor Carolyn Parrish’s plan to build housing in Mississauga. Today, we travel down the QEW to St. Catharine’s to talk with Mayor Mat Siscoe about the recent actions Niagara Region has undertaken to work on the housing file. Last month, the region passed a plan to fund subsidized housing for low-income individuals. As well St. Catharines passed a by-law enabling the city t...

When Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish was elected in a by-election to replace Bonnie Crombie, she came into office during a runaway housing crisis. Upon taking office, one of the first actions she undertook was to create a Housing Task Force to review Mississauga's by-laws, zoning and policies to find ways to spur new housing development. Talking with city staff, developers, and stakeholders, thi...

Doug Ford is hellbent on building a tunnel under the 401. It's his magic solution to solving gridlock traffic in the 905, by moving millions of cars and trucks underneath Toronto. Right now, no price tag has been placed on this massive project. However, all experts have put it into the many billions of dollars. Not to mention the feasibility of building it in the first place. At the cost to the ta...

As the country moves on from the latest federal election, some ridings are still being counted. Several ridings' final vote counts were so close that a recount was conducted to determine who the elected MP was under our rules. Normally, this is done fairly and with little drama. However, this time around, conspiracy theories are being thrown into the mix. Bad-faith actors are trying to undermine t...

Only one month ago, we interviewed Jill Promoli and Alvin Tedjo to discuss the alarming situation of rising measles cases in Peel Region. Since that interview, case numbers have steadily risen in Ontario. As the time of recording this episode, over 1400 cases have been reported and that number doesn't seem to be slowing down. Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Health Silvia Jones and Chief Medical Off...

During the federal election, we had to stop covering some local issues. That didn’t mean we didn’t keep an eye on what was going on in the 905 City Halls. One particular story caught our eye in Hamilton. In early April, a long-awaited report was released. The Mayor’s Task Force, consisting of 5 volunteers, reported on the gap of distrust between Hamilton’s City Hall and its citizens. Approximately...

A short but to the point episode this time around. With the dust of the federal election finally settling, it’s time to look to the future of Canada and the 905. Joel gives his brief summary of what comes next for each political party. It takes money and time to produce this podcast. We love what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. Yo...

As we head into the final week of the 2025 federal election, the desperate are coming out of the woodwork. Elections are democracy at its purest. Candidates and parties put forward their best to persuade us to vote for them. A key part of that process is the all-candidates' debate, a tradition going back to the town square. The public is able to pose questions to candidates and hear straight from...

With only a few weeks left before the federal election, we ought to have a good idea of who the candidates are and what each party will be like for the next four years. The decision is looming, and a choice will need to be made. However, how do we know we're making the right choice? Ironically, just before the election, Joel read a book called Too Dumb For Democracy, by former guest David Moscrop....