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. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday February 16, 2017” →

From Spannerbook: Parkamania

Spannerbook

Justin Trudeau is on another barn-stormy, petrol sucking national tour, popping up this past week in The North with a “Justin” branded parka that has just enough fur trim to appease the seal hunters yet not enough for the soft PETA types to scream murder outright. The ship of state sails on, straight down the centre in the ever consistent Liberal way – tacking starboard so that that Bay Street is not displeased yet occasionally veering to port to soothe the conscience of the glowing hearts of his amorphous middle class voters. He probably thought Iqaluit was far enough away from anyone who might want to keep harping on about the unceremonious ditching of electoral reform but even the Parka Plebs will not let it go.

justin-parka-2 The electoral reform promise may have been flushed but it’s still swirling around in the bowl. Justin is running out of rhetorical tricks and…

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Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday February 9, 2017

It’s a special occasion this week on Open Sources Guelph, and we’re inviting a lot of friends over to mark the day. What’s the occasion? Why we’re marking six and a half decades of Queen Elizabeth II’s rule, and we’re going to celebrate with our old friends in the Conservative leadership race, our good pals in the Trump administration, and all those both concerned and elated to making our little town by the two rivers an official “sanctuary.” Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday February 9, 2017” →

From Spannerbook: Get Back

Spannerbook

the-crumbling In the midst of the all consuming vortex that was The Inauguration, Tom Mulcair went to Hamilton to visit with some retired steelworkers in their union hall. People tend to always call it The Hammer now but those of us of a certain vintage know the place as Steeltown and remember the particulate haze of its glory days. The federal NDP seems to be trying to get back to where it once belonged but it might be a bit late for Tom himself. It’s uncertain as to whether this trip was his initiative or something the party brass decided would be a good mission to rediscover it’s raison d’etre. It would be a welcome homecoming for those holding out for a political hero or two.

The workers seem happy enough that someone is finally paying political attention to them. Thousands of pensioners at the once mighty Stelco are still left…

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Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday February 2, 2017

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we will have to once again confront tragedy, albeit closer to home. What’s been described by many as a terrorist attack has cast into sharp relief many of the political discussions happening around coffee shops and computers right now as people look to what’s happening south of the border and wonder if it shares some of the blame. We’ll dedicate the first half of the show to terrible news from Quebec, and then we’ll look at the (lack of) electoral reform here at home, and how events in Washington might now be having a negative impact on the Canadian economy. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday February 2, 2017” →

The Weekender: Let’s Talk About Let’s Talk

Motives are rarely unselfish, so when a massive media conglomerate dedicates an entire day to raising money to deal with mental health issues in Canada, we should have in the back of our heads that Bell Media is not a humanitarian organization. Obviously, they’re getting a tonne of press, and not just from themselves, for the fact that they’re giving a nickel for every tweet, share and the like for a whole 24-hour period to battle the stigma of mental health and combat its causes. Meanwhile, hidden beneath the self-congratulation, is a company that doesn’t care about its own people when they suffer from mental health concerns. Continue reading “The Weekender: Let’s Talk About Let’s Talk” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday January 26, 2017

So some staff happened this week. Too much stuff for a single episode of Open Sources Guelph, but since we only do one episode a week, that’s all you’ll get. So here’s what’s going down: a week full of American zaniness, the Canadian reaction on two key fronts, and some very serious talk about a year in First Nations affairs. We’ll try and decode all the official and unofficial things coming out of the White House, the fallout of how Donald Trump’s new direction affects Canada, and we’ll wrap up with an update about Aboriginal matters with our resident expert on Aboriginal issues. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday January 26, 2017” →