The Craig Needles Podcast

London-Middlesex Community Housing has a lot of problems. Buildings that are falling apart. Pest infestations. Plumbing issues. But - are those things getting better? Is the organization turning a corner - even if they're staring down more than $100-million in repair bills? Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis and Ward 1 Councillor Hadleigh McAlister both sit on LMCH's board and joined Craig on the podcast to...

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig is joined by former Thames Centre Deputy Mayor Kelly Elliott, organizational consultant Mojdeh Azad and former Green Party candidate Carol Dyck to breakdown the week's top stories. They look at the misogynistic graffiti found in northwest London and analyze the way politicians and police have reacted to it - and discuss the safety of women and girls in our...

Six months after the London Transit commissioners were unceremoniously removed by council - is bus service in this city any better? Ward 11 councillor Skylar Franke, who is also the chai of the commission now, joins Craig for an update on where transit is in the city, how they hope to improve and what the future of the commission may look like. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought you by Downtown...

Craig welcomed London Cares Executive Director Chris Moss, political insider Ryan Gauss and former YOU CEO Steve Cordes to the studio to talk about the week's top issues. They tackle some developments in the homelessness space - including how the homelessness hubs are working and the ongoing issues with the building at Queen's and Adelaide. Then, they examine the latest at the Thames Valley Distri...

Ysni Semsedini, about a year into his role as CEO at London Hydro, joined Craig on the podcast to talk about his time on the job so far, your hydro bill, the city's grid, their affiliates and the future of the organization. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought you by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

It's the 400th episode of The Craig Needles Podcast! Craig welcomes former London city councillors Cheryl Miller and Roger Caranci to the studio, as well as political insider Devin Munro to talk about the week's top stories. They go over the brewing federal battle over the temporary foreign workers program and why the Carney Liberal clearly have a problem with the file. Then, they discuss the upda...

Well-known and infamous-to-some London property owner Shmuel Farhi joined Craig on the podcast for a wide ranging conversation. They tackle Farhi's purchase of Westmount Mall, why he builds far more in other communities than he does in London, his proposal to move London City Hall, separating some facts from some fiction and more. Craig also shares some of his past criticisms of Farhi's approach t...

Last Friday Round Table of the summer! Craig welcomed political insider Scott Collyer, organizational consultant Mojdeh Azad and London Home Builders Association CEO Jared Zaifman to the Covent Garden Market Studio to breakdown the issues of the week. They start with the state of public housing in the City of London. It is not good. A piece in the London Free Press this week shows buildings that a...

The United Way has released their Built for Good report and it's ambitious. They want to spend more than $60-billion to bring new affordable homes online, prevent homes from deteriorating, and keep people in the places they're living now. The CEO of United Way Elgin-Middlesex, Kelly Ziegner, joined Craig on the podcast to breakdown the report. What role should government play here? What about deve...

Summer is winding down! Craig was joined at the Covent Garden Market Studio by London Abused Women's Centre Executive Director Jennifer Dunn, political insider Nathan Caranci and community organizer Jeremy McCall for the second last round table of August. The group tackles stories like the provincial government openly musing about eliminating elected school board trustees, when HART hubs may actua...

Is the Thames Valley District School Board too big? Is it time to separate London's schools from the ones in Oxford and Elgin Counties? The Warden of Oxford County thinks to. Marcus Ryan joins Craig to talk about his ideas and how they've been received by politicians at the municipal and provincial levels. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

Craig welcomes London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis and former city councillor Cheryl Miller to the Covent Garden Market studio to breakdown the issues of the week. First, they tackle the ongoing debacle at St. Joseph's Health Care. In the wake of the National Post story about research done with beagle puppies, Dr. Lisa Porter, the scientific director and vice president of research at Lawson Research I...

Last week: National Post breaks story about puppies being kept in brutal conditions at St. Joseph's Health Care and Lawson Research. This week: Doug Ford kiboshes the entire project. Clearly, the Premier's move is politically popular, but was that the right decision? Or maybe it was more complicated than some believe? Maybe hospital leadership could have done more to mitigate the PR nightmare? Dr....

Some former TVDSB trustees are speaking out after the province turfed them due to financial irregularities at the board. Was poor financial planning from the province to blame for the board's red ink? Marianne Larsen says yes. She joined Craig on the podcast to discuss that and the events that led to the trustee model being scrapped in Thames Valley. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by...

Is downtown getting more safe? Do we need bail reform? How should LTC be managed? Should 16-year-olds be able to vote in Canada? Those questions and more on this week's Friday Round Table, as Craig is joined by political insider Devin Munro, former Green Party candidate Carol Dyck and community builder Jeremy McCall. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Downtown London and the Covent Gar...

Do we need bail reform? How is the legal system's backlog impacting London? Police Chief Thai Truong joins Craig on the podcast to discuss changes he'd like to see in the legal system, safety in London and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

Planning expert and regular podcast guest  Dr. A.J. Wray is leaving London to take a job teaching at the University of Tennessee. So, as he waves goodbye, Craig invited him on the podcast for some thoughts on where the city is, what the future might hold, and areas London needs to improve. The Craig Needles Podcast is presented by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

An unbelievable pair of lawsuits has been filed by London Health Sciences Centre. They allege several former executives and co-conspirators aligned to steal tens of millions of dollars via faulty contracts and a corrupt bidding process. Meantime, they say former CEO Jackie Schleifer-Taylor - among others - was altered to the scheme multiple times and did nothing to stop it. The hospital is hoping...

Craig is back from vacation and rather than getting back at it by talking about scandal, he wanted to focus on London organizations trying to help the community. First, Lisa McIntosh, the interim executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters London and Area joins the podcast to talk about what their organization does, the importance they have in the lives of kids in the community and why they nee...

Craig is joined by a panel of former city councillor Cheryl Miller along with political insiders Ryan Gauss and Scott Collyer. They breakdown the way London's council is structured. Should it be fulltime? Should we elect a Deputy Mayor in a city-wide election? Cheryl may have some Board of Control takes to share. Then, the province is taking over another four school boards in Ontario, is it time t...

On another 30+ degree day in London, Craig wondered - is this just going to be what the month of June is like from now on? Nobel Prize winning climatologist Dr. Gordon McBean from Western University and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction joined Craig on the podcast to talk about where our climate is going, what policy makers should be doing and some of the less obvious problems caused b...

Is the London Police open air drug strategy working? They - once again - are showing off a report saying that it is. Craig and the panel break it down on this week's Friday Round Table, as he's joined by Ward 8 councillor Steve Lehman, former federal NDP candidate Shawna Lewkowitz and London Cares Executive Director Chris Moss. Later on, the panel breaks down the City of London putting those porta...

After last week's blow up at city hall, Unity Project Executive Director Chuck Lazenby joins Craig to talk about the homelessness crisis, what's happening in the community, the next steps for the organization and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

The London tax increase seems like it'll get under 5% - a win for council or will there be fallout for services? Craig is joined in the studio by London Home Builder's Association CEO Jared Zaifman and organizational consultant to breakdown that story, plus turning city-owned parking lots into housing and some concerning job trends on this edition of the Friday Round Table. The Craig Needles Podca...

Ward 4 councillor Susan Stevenson is back in the news - this time because of a motion perceived by some to have questioned the integrity of some local social service providers. Stevenson says that is not the case, and joined Craig on the podcast to explain why she wanted to see some agreements the city completed with Unity Project, London Cares and Atlohsa. Why did Stevenson want to see these cont...