Month: July 2015

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 30, 2015

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Things are about to be serious. All the political world (in Canada at least) is toying with the possibility that the 2015 Federal Election may starts as soon as this coming Sunday. That’s fine. Eleven weeks of campaigning can be brutal, but we here at Open Sources Guelph we can handle it, and this week we’ll continue the prep work by talking about the serious, and not-so-serious, issues that have popped up on our political radar this week. Senate reform, and big candidate news occupy the first half, while some new ugliness south of the border and the future of getting hither and yon make up the back half. So what specifically will we be talking about his week? Let’s find out. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 30, 2015” →

I’m Just Not Ready to See This Ad Again

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A new poll released today said that the people trust NDP leader Tom Mulcair to manage the economy better than any other federal leader. I saw the story this morning on one of the cable news channels, and while this should be concerning to the Prime Minister and his party, when the news went to commercial, what did I see? For the umpteenth time, it was “The Interview” ad featuring four Canadians deciding that Justin Trudeau is just not ready to be prime minister. Fair enough, but with each passing day, voters seem to be deciding that they’re also just not ready for four more years of Stephen Harper. Continue reading “I’m Just Not Ready to See This Ad Again” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 23, 2015

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This week on Open Sources Guelph, we like people who are respectful to their opponents, whether they were captured or not. We also like it when the government makes it rain. In these hot, sunny, summer days, the government’s giving out cheques, but we wouldn’t go shopping with those extra dollars just yet. Robocalls are back in the news, not that it matters if you’re reading this abroad because you’re not going to be voting anyway if you’ve made your home outside of Canada for five years. It’s the dog days of summer, but we’re not dog-eared at all. It’s time to break down this week’s Open Sources. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 23, 2015” →

May Excluded from Two Federal Leaders’ Debates

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The hornet’s nest kicked over by the Conservative Party opening up multiple bidders for leaders’ debates in the upcoming election has had at least one positive effect for Stephen Harper, Green Party leader Elizabeth May has been excluded from at least two debates now, the one hosted by the Globe and Mail and the other a foreign-policy debate hosted by Munk Debates. Continue reading “May Excluded from Two Federal Leaders’ Debates” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 16, 2015

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Riddle me this, riddle me that, who’s afraid of this week’s Open Sources Guelph? The answer is everyone, we’re too powerful now. But seriously folks, we have serious questions and we’re going to take a break from breaking news on this week’s show to consider some of those big questions about this Fall’s Federal Election. Issues, tactics, controversies, and perhaps even a frightening glimpse of the future (depending on your point of view) are all on the table as we anticipate a very contentious campaign in the coming weeks. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday July 16, 2015” →

Poll Suggests We Want Change But Don’t Fear It

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The Conservative campaign narrative in 2011 was that Canada’s economic condition was too precarious and that political stability was needed to insure we weathered the storm. Barely three years after the largest financial collapse since the Great Depression, that message really played well, and the net result was that after two successive minority Parliaments, the Conservatives won their majority. All signs point to the Conservatives playing a similar game in 2015, but the effect – making Canadians afraid of change – doesn’t seem to be working this time. Continue reading “Poll Suggests We Want Change But Don’t Fear It” →