Open Sources (Ep. #546) Show Notes for December 4, 2025

This week on Open Sources Guelph things are not going according to plan. From Queen’s Park to Parliament Hill, our provincial and federal governments are missing the goal posts and are facing some rather harsh scrutiny. And speaking of scrutiny, we will talk to one of our city councillors about making the tough decisions that you probably didn’t like about next year’s city budget.

This Thursday, December 4, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

Pipeline Dreams. Last week (after deadline we might add), Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a deal that, theoretically, will see a pipeline built from the tar sands to the Pacific coast. So good news, right? Depending on your point of view. B.C. Premier David Eby registered his outrage about being cut out, First Nations want the deal torn up, and Smith, for some reason, was booed by her own party members. Is the pipeline deal dead before the ink is dry?

The King of Wasteful Spending. The Auditor General of Ontario released her annual report this week and… yikes! Focusing on healthcare, the report says – among other things – that OHIP is letting physicians overbill in the extreme, that the effort to expand the number of family doctors is desperately falling short, that there’s no discernible plan for the expansion of med schools, and that a billion dollars in PPE’s been written off after being allowed to expire. So what now?

Dual of the Caton. Guelph city council approved the 2026 budget last week, which is technically the mayor’s budget but they still get a say. There were two stories out of that budget, one was the nearly eight per cent likely increase for the year, and the second was the decision to not plow bike lanes this winter. Ward 1 City Councillor Erin Caton will join us now that they are on the other side to talk about making the tough calls and whether this is a budget they can run on.

Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of John Michael McGrath/TVO. 

Leave a comment