News and Politics with a Local Voice
Today both the Conservatives and the New Democrats released brand new ads, and they make a pretty clear statement that the 2015 election campaign is now unofficially underway. The battle lines are drawn here between the governing Conservatives and the upstart NDP: you’re either going to vote for strong, steady leadership, or you’re going to leave behind cynicism and embrace morning in Canada. Continue reading “Ad Wars 2015 – Part I”
It’s legal trouble and potential legal trouble on this week’s Open Sources Guelph. Not against us (hopefully), but the defendants include a colourful cabaret of characters including the City of Hamilton, nearly a dozen misguided Montreal teens and perennial defendant Omar Khadr. Meanwhile, one wonders if we might soon see former members of the Progressive Conservative government in legal trouble since they’ve been having shredders work overtime at the Edmonton Legislature when the voters decided to hand the keys over to the NDP. One might say the old guard was flipping the bird to oversight, though fortunately for them they didn’t post it on Facebook. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 21, 2015”
We’re chock full of surprises this week on Open Sources Guelph. We go from one surprise in the U.K., where the election went well for the incumbent but somewhat less well for everyone else, to surprise in Ontario where the guy least likely to succeed, succeeded, to surprise moves in Ottawa which may have a big impact on this October’s election. Somewhat less surprising is trouble with Ontario’s teachers, but what is suprising is that on a show co-hosted by the long-running host of CFRU’s The Working Week it took us this long to talk about it. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 14, 2015”
Several weeks ago, I wrote about the chances of Barrie MP Patrick Brown becoming leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and largely dismissed them. Surely, the PCs of our fair province wouldn’t go for the remix version of Tim Hudak over someone with the experience, tact, and legacy of Christine Elliott? I guess I don’t know Ontario PCs as well as I thought I did.
Winning handily by a margin of 61.8 per cent to 38.2 per cent, Brown now has the unenviable task of in just three short years rebuilding the PC Party in Ontario and making them election ready to unseat the ruling Liberals, who will likely still be lead by the Premier, Kathleen Wynne, in 2018. But the question is, can a federal backbencher with a decade-long career having seemingly done nothing to distinguish himself hope to combat two veteran provincial politicians on their own ground? Especially when he doesn’t have a seat in Queen’s Park yet? Continue reading “Him? Yes, Somehow, Patrick Brown is the Leader of Ontario’s PCs”
This week on Open Sources Guelph, Hell freezes over! Not really, but it did feel like a week where the impossible happened as the election results came back in Alberta. Meanwhile, it looks like Omar Khadr might finally get out of prisoner, but not if anyone in the federal government has anything to say about it. Same goes for parents rallying against changes to the sex ed in Ontario as that debates heats up all over again. And that brings us to a unique event in Garland Texas that seemed tailor-made to antagonizer and ended up doing just that. What a week! Let’s talk about it. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday May 7, 2015”
After taking a couple of weeks to do some special episodes about Earth Day and an interview with the Mayor, Open Sources Guelph gets back to talking about the issues, and there is so much to talk about. With elections abroad, elections at home, and elections still to come, there’s also the matter of social justice issues to consider, as our First Nations people and homeless populations face old problems that remain, as ever, unsolved. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday April 30, 2015”
In October 2014, Cam Guthrie was given a promotion by the voters of Guelph from Ward 4 city councillor to mayor. His campaign message of limited tax increases and fiscal transparency resonated with people, and as a result he was handed a decisive victory over incumbent mayor Karen Farbridge. But winning an election in one thing, being the city’s chief representative, advocate and ambassador is another bailiwick entirely. Now, just over six months since his election win, Mayor Cam Guthrie will join Open Sources Guelph for an hour of frank (and hopefully fun) discussion about his last 100 some-odd days on the job, and the challenges facing him and Guelph’s city council for the next few years. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday April 23, 2015”
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