The 905er Podcast

Tonight will be a momentous night for the Halton Catholic District School Board. For weeks, the board has been wrestling with itself over whether or not the Pride flag ought to be raised over its schools. A motion brought by Trustee Brenda Agnew under the title "Supporting Our Diverse School Community" would direct the Pride flag to be flown over HCDSB schools and mandate a safe space poster in ev...

They didn't pave Paradise. Instead the City of Hamilton released 24 billion litres of untreated sewage into it. Thursday's episode covers three 905 stories: the latest changes of direction on our schools and an education minister with egg on his face; $5 million for Burlington City Hall's front yard; a new stinky mess in Cootes Paradise. But don't worry, the rotting mass of odiferous gunk is 'just...

"We should have approached [COVID-19] aggressively.""Now the scale has moved.""A target on our back.""Commodification and privatization.""A freight train that has already left the station.""They don't know how the system works." These quotes, taken from a wide-ranging discussion with Andrea Grebenc, chair of Halton District School Board, and Patrick Murphy, Chair of Halton Catholic District School...

Joel and Roland tackle the latest Covid news in the 905 - and there's plenty of it. Peel's Medical Officer of Health possibly signalled a breaking point this week where regional public health officials demonstrated their lack of faith in provincial policy, and their willingness to overrule it, when he closed down Peel's schools. Spending on park 'ambassadors' in Burlington raises questions about m...

San Grewal, award-winning journalist and founder of The Pointer (https://thepointer.com/) joined Joel and Roland to talk about legacy media's and politicians' lack of interest and knowledge about the 905 region, even while the stories that affect the 905 are the biggest in the entire province right now. Hours later, Peel's Medical Officer of Health made one of the clearest statements yet about the...

While Joel and Roland were recording this podcast, twice, due to technical problems, news was emerging of what appears to be a third lockdown starting this Easter Weekend. Our intrepid hosts give their reactions to the latest reports - which were yet to be confirmed at the time of recording. A provincial policy of confusing grey areas seems to be sending us all back into grey zones. Is their any t...

We pay attention to politics in inverse proportion to the extent it affects our lives. The political junkies among us religiously watch Power and Politics and have complex and well-informed opinions about what’s going on this week in Ottawa. But the same political junkies often struggle to remember the name of their city councillor. And yet at both city and regional councils, councillors make deci...

Media is talking elections, and, whether it makes sense or not, history suggests that someone will blink and force a federal election before long. The 905 region could well play 'kingmaker' again. But is our region getting the attention and credit it deserves for it's outsized influence on elections, and the contrasting needs and motivations that shape the 905 cities' poulations? Which party would...

Where Ontarians are moving is moving. Mike Moffat joins us to explore how, as the seemingly never-ending upward spiral of housing costs in the GTHA continues, and the population increases rapidly, many Ontarians are looking further afield for housing, with the result that some unexpected areas have become among the fastest-growing cities in the province. For instance, London and Woodstock. These a...

MPP Sam Oosterhoff apparently found the provincial advice to cover his mouth with a piece of paper or cloth overly arduous last year, and was proudly photographed ignoring the rules the rest of us are expected to keep. But this week he has again shown he is willing to advocate government control of a far more intimate part of women's anatomy. Why won't the premier get to grips with his unruly back...

One of the reasons we began this podcast was to counter the perception of the 905 region as culturally irrelevant. We simply couldn’t accept that a region of 4 million people - larger than some small countries - should be routinely perceived as being uninteresting from the perspective of art and culture. And of course, there is a huge amount of innovative and exciting work happening for among of o...

Like many subjects we've covered over the last six months, we're only too aware that other people are more informed on the subject of gender equality and an end to violence against women. But there's an important point. Men too often view 'women's issues' as something that they don't have to worry about. That's the reverse of the truth. Only men can fix the appalling levels of violence against wom...

Every International Women's Day in the 905, Paddy Torsney organizes and host an IWD Breakfast Event.  The event focuses on the highlights and accomplishments of women of note in the region.  This year marks a significant milestone of 25 years.  We wanted to talk about this accomplishment, and the importance of International Women's Day for our society.  As well as the impact adding more women to l...

It's taken almost six months to get here, but Roland and Joel reflect on the journey so far. Its been a winding path, but a lot the help comes down to our Patreon supporters.  Their support has helped us grow this into what it's become so far.  We are grateful for their support. This podcast has provided us a chance to talk about the forces that are shaping the region, and talk with the people who...

Three stories, all relating to decisions and actions of the provincial government, and all directly affecting our region. Who said what, when with COVID-19? Did the politicians overrule the scientists? I the province trying to blame Dr Williams for their own failings, or do they have a point that he was slow to acknowledge what other scientists accepted much earlier in the year? Is the province ru...

Joel and Roland talk share their admiration for the Community Climate Council's webinar on Highway 413, get all misty eyed about the idea of after-work drinks in a pedestrian-friendly downtown, and then discuss a rare win for the City of Burlington at LPAT - why it was a win, and whether it will stay a win. Spoiler alert - probably not. Finally they discuss Halton Region's unanimous request to the...

A roundup of news from around the 905 with Joel and Roland, including the province's surprise announcement that it's considering an expansion to the Greenbelt ... coincidentally announced in a week it was taking a lot of heat regarding its plans for a new Highway 413. Hamilton Council decides to spend $20,000+ on a cause it admits is lost. Meanwhile a councillor reminds us that we're all lazy and...

In part two of our episode this week we continue our conversation with Abisola Asha and Malik Scott of Students Speak Up YCDSB, and Greg Dongen of Hamilton Students for Justice. Make sure you listen to this episode to hear Abisola, Malik and Greg share their experiences of daily routine racism in our school systems. Find out more about Students Speak Up YCSDSB at https://www.instagram.com/students...

In a two part episode this week we speak to Abisola Asha and Malik Scott of Students Speak Up YCDSB, and Greg Dongen of Hamilton Students for Justice. Abisola, Malik and Greg have been at the forefront of recent stories about widespread and institutional racism in Hamilton Wentworth and York Catholic District School Boards. In York, Students Speak Up organized a student strike to protest racism in...

Today we are talking about schools again, and it seems that education in the 905 Region is seldom out of the news. This week’s story revolves around the appointment in York Catholic District School Board of someone with only three years of experience as a teacher - at a private school, after a long career in the private sector - under rules introduced this summer by the provincial government. The...

Friend of the podcast Joey Coleman, editor of Hamilton's crowdfunded The Public Record, returns to discuss the latest goings on at Hamilton City Hall, including a potential Charter of Rights and Freedoms violation via a move to prevent letters critical of the councillor conduct. Then we look at the disturbing pattern of seemingly excessive and counterproductive hostility towards any avenues by whi...

Zooming out from Tuesday's interview with Chair Jeff Knoll of the Halton Police Services Board, Joel and Roland reflect on the growing importance of podcasts in providing a place for long-form interviews with public figures. They also discuss the wider implications of the spate of resignations following on from Rod Phillips' resignation. Public frustration, anger and a desire for punishment for th...

It's understandable at a time when so many are being asked to give up so much - including financial security and the ability to care for loved ones in their time of greatest need - that most Canadians have little patience for people in positions of leadership who feel they are exempt from the rules and standards of behaviour being demanded of us. Amid the scandal and resignation of Ontario finance...

Expanding on our conversation with Sarah Buchanan of Environmental Defence earlier in the week, Joel and Roland ask why the Ontario government is so determined to build roads. What is the logic, who does it help, and does the revolution in working from home arising from COVID-19 promise a permanent change in commuting habits that a smart government might seize upon? Along the way we ask 'when did...

Our interview today is with Sarah Buchanan, Ontario Climate Program Manager with Environmental Defence (https://environmentaldefence.ca/), one of Canada's leading environmental advocacy groups, about the revived proposal for a new 400 series highway between the 400 north of Vaughan and Halton. Sarah explains why the highway plan was cancelled back in 2018, the threat it poses to the Greenbelt, and...