Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday February 16, 2017

After weeks of waiting and handwringing, the time has finally come on Open Sources Guelph to deal with something you’ve been on the edge of your seat expecting: the arrival of first politician interview from outside Guelph. Kitchener-Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife will be our special guest this week, the first of what we hope will be many sitting MPs and MPPs from the immediate area to join us on the show. We’ll also talk about that other hotly anticipated meet-up, the one between the King of Selfies and the Reality TV president, and then things will get serious about the future of Guelph Hydro.

This Thursday, February 16, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

1) Beauty and the Beast. Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump finally met in Washington Monday and by all accounts it was the most boring day of the Trump era so far, and that was a complement. Trudeau and Trump met to talk about trade, and helping women go further in business, which was followed by a curt and relatively drama free press conference where the toughest questions came from Canadian reporters. So all’s well that end’s well, that is unless you’re Michael Flynn. While Trudeau left Washington smelling like roses, the drama in the White House sunk to a new low. So what’s the take away of this first bilateral meeting, and what do we make of the turfing of Flynn?

2) The Power of Won. Wednesday night was a very special meeting of Guelph city council, one that would start to decide the fate of Guelph’s hydro utility. For months, the City has been getting feedback as to whether or not the Guelph Hydro Electric Systems Inc. should be sold, merged, left alone or be used to buy up other utilities. A special committee has decided that the best bet is to either sell Hydro or merge it with another company, but now the decision is in City Council’s hands as they must choose whether to proceed down that road, or end it here and now. You can probably guess what the majority of the people think (and Scotty for that matter), but what about council? What are they going to do in the face of this new report? We’ll discuss all the latest developments.

3) Fife Expectancy. For the first time, an area MPP not from Guelph will be appearing live on our air. Open Sources is pleased to welcome Kitchener-Waterloo Member of Provincial Parliament Catherine Fife to the show. Fife is notably the only elected member of the NDP from our immediate area in either the provincial or federal legislature, but she has years of political and community involvement to her credit, from her days with the Waterloo Region District School Board to her unexpected victory in a 2012 by-election claiming the seat of former Conservative cabinet member Elizabeth Witmer. We’ll be talking to the NDP member about a number of topics including the ongoing concern including hydro prices, her work as economic development critic, and the priorities of the provincial NDP in the upcoming session at Queen’s Park. We’ll also be happy to take listener questions as always, and if you’ve got any of those, feel free to post them below.