The Craig Needles Podcast

There's been lots of talk in the media and on social media about the micro modular homeless shelter on Cheese Factory Road in south London. Is it working? Do people want to live there? Time to separate some fact from some fiction. London Mayor Josh Morgan and project manager Chris Green joined Craig at the Covent Garden Market studio to talk about rules at the site, how they're battling isolation...

In the midst of all the turmoil at the Thames Valley District School Board over the last 18 months, educational assistants have been in classrooms trying to keep learning happening - despite labour strife and shrinking staffing numbers.  Rebecca Avey, President of CUPE Local 7575 joins Craig on the podcast to talk about what a regular school day is like for EAs, why they need more people on staff...

The London Health Sciences Centre says 288 nursing positions at the hospital will be eliminated as they continue to battle a large deficit. However, there won't be any layoffs - the positions will be eliminated over several years via attrition. Supervisor David Musyj joined Craig on the podcast to explain how the plan will work, how they hope to limit the impact on patient care and why this move i...

The 2026 municipal election could be a real snoozer in London - unless it isn't? City Hall writer Mike Donachie joined Craig to breakdown the latest important issues at city hall - and how they may impact our upcoming vote. Will Josh Morgan have a cakewalk to re-election? How many councillors will be back in 2027? Is Susan Stevenson being underestimated by her opponents? These questions and more o...

London's home builders have laid off nearly 6,000 people as production stagnates for a variety of reasons. That number could increase rapidly. How did we get here and what can we do about it? London Home Builder's Association CEO Jared Zaifman joins Craig to discuss those questions and look at the societal impacts of home ownership becoming more and more out of reach for people in the twenties and...

Friday Round Table! Craig was joined at the Covent Garden Market by city councillor and budget chair Elizabeth Peloza, former Thames Centre Deputy Mayor Kelly Elliott and former city council candidate Jeremy McCall. They breakdown the decision by the Ford government to cut off funding to the Carepoint supervised consumption site. Why do this now? What will the impact be? Craig also shares a theory...

A report done by St. Joseph's Healthcare London and some external bodies says the dog research being done by the hospital and Lawson was within the rules and not cruel to the animals involved. One of the whistleblowers who made the story public disagrees with those findings. "Alex" joined Craig on the podcast to explain the concerns about the report, why coming forward with the story was the right...

The supervised consumption site Carepoint has been operating in London since 2018. Now, the Ford government says they're going to shut it down in June. What will the public health fallout be? Dr. Alex Summers, the Medical Officer of Health in Middlesex-London, joined Craig on the podcast to explain what Carepoint actually does, the impact it has had on the health of the community, and what may com...

London Police are looking for information, after dozens of overdoses in the city's downtown. Is somebody giving out "free drugs" with the aim of killing people in the core? Is this a dealer experimenting with a new drug? Craig is joined by a panel of London Cares CEO Chris Moss, political insider and lawyer Matthew Newton-Reid and London Home Builders Association CEO Jared Zaifman to break down th...

We got more rats! Lots of talk about the rat situation in the east end of London at city hall this week, which makes sense. It's a pretty gross problem. So how did we get here? And what should we do about it? Dr. Brendon Samuels, a member of the environmental stewardship and action committee at the City of London, joined Craig on the podcast to discuss, and even provide some tips. Would quicker em...

Political insider Nathan Caranci and former Green Party candidate Carol Dyck joined Craig for this week's Friday Round Table. They debated Fanshawe College shutting down their south London campus as the feds slash international student numbers. Also, councillor Susan Stevenson wants to prevent city funded agencies from handing out pipes for drug use in and around the downtown core. Should council...

As councillors are set to debate a proposed high-rise near the intersection of Ridout and Kent - people who would have to move for the building to be constructed are set to receive a big offer. York Developments has offered the potentially soon to be displaced tenants $10,000 for their move if they get the go ahead to build a 30-storey, 500+ unit tower on the property. London Deputy Mayor Shawn Le...

Craig is joined at the Covent Garden Market studio by former city councillor Cheryl Miller and former YOU executive director Steve Cordes. They tackle the latest dispute about the homelessness crisis at city hall, where one councillor is questioning per bed spending totals. Then, a look at the way the safe supply (or, 'prescribed alternatives' as some are now calling it) is administered in London...

During a contentious debate over a proposed 30 floor residential high rise York Developments wants to build at the corner of Richmond and Kent Streets, there was talk of campaign donations from York employees potentially greasing the wheel for members of the planning committee to vote in favour of the plan. This was ruled out of order during the meeting - but should it be? Craig discusses the deve...

The Thames Valley District School Board remains in a time of transition. Trustees are sidelined, the province has put supervision in place, budgets under scrutiny and a director of education who plans on leaving his job. Lots happening! TVDSB Education Director Bill Tucker joins Craig on the podcast to talk about the board's future, his time back in the director's office, why education assistants...

Six months after controversial research involving dogs was snuffed out by Premier Doug Ford - St. Joseph's Heath Care and Lawson Research have released reports looking at what happened and what needs to change. The reports say the research was within medical guidelines and rules - but the communication within the institution and with the public was lacking in some cases. Roy Butler, President and...

A brand new Friday Round Table, as Craig is joined at the Covent Garden Market studio by Ward 13 city councillor David Ferreria, political insider Scott Collyer and consultant Mojdeh Azad. They look at job losses in the London region and the potential challenges for those looking or work on the horizon. Also, how can we create jobs in the downtown core? Then, a conversation about winter shelter ch...

The micro-modular shelter in south London is open! What impact ill it have? Is it in the right spot? How can we get more of them? Craig was joined in the studio by London Abused Women's Centre Executive Director Jennifer Dunn and community advocate Jeremy McCall to break down that story and some education matters. First, should high school students get LTC passes? It won't be easy to work out, but...

There's no way around it, the federal government's gun buyback program isn't working. Police services say they don't have the resources - or even the desire -to participate, so, where does that leave this? Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP Andrew Lawton - who worked with Craig for years - joins him on the podcast to break it all down, plus a conversation about bail reform. Is the federal government...

Two former London City Councillors - Roger Caranci and Cheryl Miller - joined Craig in the studio for this week's round table. First, they breakdown a CBC story about a man who was sent to London by health officials in Huron County because he was homeless . Are Ontario municipalities selling each other out in the fight against homelessness? Shouldn't the province act on this? Then, a look at Mayor...

There multiple several big discussions about London's homelessness crisis at city hall this week - and Ward 4 councillor Susan Stevenson helped bring two of them to the table. She joined Craig on the 434th episode of the podcast to break them all down. One was about when warming centres open and how cold it needs to be for that to happen. Stevenson explains how changing one word could mean the cen...

The 2016 Instagram trend seems to have made its way to London City Hall. Bus rapid transit is back! Council is asking the province for cash to put a bus rapid transit route on Wharncliffe Road that runs by Western and to Masonville Mall. Good idea? Or have we gone down this road before? Craig looks at that story with London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, United Way Elgin Middlesex CEO Kelly Ziegner and...

Flu season has been especially brutal this year with the Middlesex-London Health Unit tracking some large case counts. Why have so many people been getting sick? Dr. Jennifer Guthrie, a professor at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, joined Craig on the podcast to explain why this year seems to be worse than flu seasons past - and what you can do to avoid getting ill. The Craig Needles...

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig is joined in the studio by former Thames Centre Deputy Mayor Kelly Elliott, London Cares Executive Director Chris Moss, and organizational consultant Mojdeh Azad. They breakdown new numbers that show homelessness is on the rise -  85,000 Ontarians were homeless last year, up 8% from 2024. Craig and the panel talk about potential solutions, how bad this can...

It's the first Friday Round Table of 2026! Craig was joined at the Covent Garden Market Studio by former city councillor Cheryl Miller, political insider Nathan Caranci and former TVDSB trustee Matthew Newton-Reid. The panel looks ahead to the big political event in London this year - the municipal election. What will the key issues be? How much turnover will there be on council? Will Josh Morgan...