Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 19, 2016

We’re going into the first long weekend of the summer, but that doesn’t mean that we’re slowing down on Open Sources Guelph. This week’s show will tackle issues of leadership, and issues of justice; the complexities of hosting a party when your own house is on fire, and the complexities of local energy strategies. Before letting it all hang out on the patio, we’re going to cram it all back into our thinking caps as we deal with another busy week in politics, and political issues.

This Thursday, May 19, at 5 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and fill-in co-host Candice Lepage will discuss:

1) Now It’s a Race. Three former cabinet ministers have all now thrown their hats in the ring for the leadership of the federal Conservative Party: Simcoe-Grey MP Kellie Leitch, Beauce MP Maxime Bernier, and Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong. All three are looking to accept the challenge or rebranding Canada’s right and distinguishing the party following Stephen Harper’s election loss last fall. Pundits say they’ve got a long road ahead of them if they want to make that impact, chief among them is the fact they’re the early contenders and all eyes are on party stalwarts like Jason Kenney and Peter MacKay. We’ll proctor these candidates, and look at how the CPC has tried to change itself in a post-Harper era.

2) Olympic Siege. The 2016 Summer Olympics will begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in a matter of weeks, but what kind of Olympic will it be? Along with the usual concerns that venues might not be ready in time, comes a uniquely Brazilian mess of a presidential impeachment trial, high unemployment, concerns over the Zika virus, and a highly polluted water way meant to hold several key Olympic aquatic events. Given all that, it’s not hard to believe that some people have called for the delay of the games, but it seems that it’s full speed ahead in Brazil. So is the 31st Olympiad an impending disaster, or is it merely flirting with disaster?

3) Mercy for Michael? Almost two years after being convicted of aiding and abetting Pierre Poutine (whoever that is), Michael Sona went to the Ontario Court of Appeal Wednesday to see if his sentence would lessened or increased depending on who could be the more persuasive. At the same time, a piece by Michael Harris on iPolitics highlighted just how low Sona got in the weeks and months after he was identified as a perpetrator in the attempted voter fraud on Election Day 2011, and it wasn’t a pretty picture. Has Sona suffered enough? And how could he have not given up any of his alleged co-conspirators?

4) Spent Energy. The contentious topic of energy and its distribution came to Guelph city council this week, and it was combined with the equally contentious issue of the apparent misspending of city money. District Energy, a project to create long term sustainable energy in two sectors of town, has not delivered the return on investment hoped for, and the city, as shareholder, was looking for explanation in a special meeting of council Monday. The somewhat convoluted organization structure and nearly 20 years of bold new projects and shifting management priorities have created quiet the confusing mess that’s hard to wrap one’s head around. But we’ll try anyway.