Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 12, 2016

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we tackle three tough issues with no easy answer, and one easy topic that’s tough to wrap your head around. The latter refers to the unexpected outcome of the American presidential primary, one half of which was firmly resolved last week with the reality TV star clinching the win. The other three topics cover international finance, the growing spectre of environmental catastrophe (and whether it’s right to politicize that), and the public transit system in the Royal City.

This Thursday, May 12, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

1) More Paper from Panama. Although it didn’t make as much of a splash as the first round of leaks, a new batch of documents from the so-called “the Panama Papers” revealed more details about other rich people banking their money offshore. The Canadian Revenue Agency has received the more than 2.6 terabytes of data – or 11.5 million files – that make up the Papers, and according to Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier, the government’s now going over them looking for homegrown tax scofflaws. Early releases show over 600 Canadians mentioned in the papers, and that’s beside the already released revelation of the Royal Bank of Canada’s mention in the scandal. Will Lebouthillier’s promise that “nobody will be able to hide” from criminal charges come to pass, and even more unlikely, might the wealthy be shamed now into paying their fair share?

2) Flap Over Fire. The wildfire that spread through Fort McMurray and the surrounding area has occupied our collective minds for the last week as the country has rallied behind the tens of thousands affected in what will likely be Canada’s worst ever natural disaster. But what about the causes of the fire? Some politicians have tried to shoehorn discussion of climate change into the news, but the media’s been gun shy about opening up that debate while lives were at stake. With weeks of summer-like temperatures in Alberta and a drier than average winter cross-country, is it so unreasonable to suggest that part of the Fort Mac discussion should be about the cause of the fire?

3) Trump Triumphant. Since the last time we discussed the 2016 U.S. Presidential race, billionaire blowhard Donald Trump secured the presumptive nomination of the Republican Party with Ted Cruz and John Kasich suspending their campaigns. All eyes, or at least half of them, now turn to the general election race as Trump sharpens his attacks against Hillary Clinton (and by proxy Bill Clinton) while the party around him comes to terms with whether or not they’ll back him or sit this election out. Already two former presidents and the two previous nominees have said they’ll miss the convention, while Speaker Paul Ryan struggles with what he’s going to do. The war maybe over, but is another war beginning?

4) Bus-ted? Last December, city council approved a series of budget rollbacks to Guelph Transit service including one-hour service on stat holidays, but the cancellation of peak service for the summer has taken things up a notch. People are noting an uptick in missed transfers, and idling by drivers. Transit management says they told council that this would be the result, but some have speculated that the situation is being exacerbated by the the transit union, who are protesting cut hours. Why can’t Guelph make its Transit system work? We’ll also talk about the latest personality conflict amongst councillors.