Open Sources Guelph - February 13, 2020

02/17/20 • 52 min

This week on Open Sources Guelph, there's friction. When Canadians leave home, interesting things seem to happen, which may be the least controversial thing we discuss this week. Next, things are far from cool as the debate over constructing a pipeline hits an all-new level of agitation, the contest to find a Democratic candidate is still as contentious as ever, and we'll wrap up by talking about how we should react when controversial figures get some bad news of their own.

This Thursday, February 13, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

Some Canadians Abroad. It was a busy week for Canada's political leaders who decided to get out of the country to take care of business. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Africa to do a little wheeling and dealing to secure a U.N. Security Council seat. On this side of the ocean, Premier Doug Ford went to Washington to make a few deals of his own, and in the process endorsed Donald Trump's re-election, which did him no favours. So did good come from all these Air Miles?

Hereditary Briefs. As the RCMP started to try and clear the protestors in the territory of the Wet'suwet'en people, it seemed like the country itself erupted in protest. In many parts of Canada, including our own backyard, people are engaging in acts of civic disobedience in solidarity with the hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en, but is anyone in power listening? Is there any move that can be made that will be that will satisfy all sides of this stalemate?

Bernie Blow. With two votes of the way, the race to name a Democratic nominee for President is becoming a little clearer. The first place friction lies between progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, and the moderate midwestern Mayor Pete Buttigieg, but Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has shown that she's far from out of this race even while former Vice-President Joe Biden seems to have been largely removed from the conversation. So do we have a pretty good idea about who the nominee will be, or are there still some surprises left?

Crossing Jordan. Last weekend, it was announced that University of Toronto professor and provocateur Jordan Peterson has been in Russia dealing with complications from a serious drug addiction. Last week, it was announced that shock jock Rush Limbaugh was diagnosed with stage four cancer, and then controversial columnist Christie Blatchford passed away this week from her own cancer struggle. How are we supposed to talk about controversial figures when bad things seem to befall them?

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

This Thursday, February 13, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

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

Previous Episode

End Credits - February 12, 2020 (Birds of Prey)

This week End Credits is golden because we're deconstructing Oscar night, which was full of surprises just not necessarily on the basis of who was going to win the awards. We're also going to talk about some new trailers, and the passing of Kirk Douglas, and for our movie review this week, it's a gloriously fun flick with a horribly long and exaggerated title.

This Wednesday, February 12, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:

Golden Bong. This past Sunday, Hollywood handed out the Oscars, and it was more or less an unsurprising affair in terms of the winners. The surprising part though was that the Bong Joon Ho movie Parasite took home Best Picture, the first international film to take that honour. So is this a sign that the Oscars are changing? And what about that pointedly diverse show they put on?

Ben Saw Minions. This week in new trailers sees quite the variety. Ben Affleck tries to heal himself by coaching basketball (or something), those little yellow pill guys return in the newest Minions entry, and Chris Rock teams up with Samuel L. Jackson for the latest entry in the [checks notes] Saw franchise?!

Douglas' Streak. When Kirk Douglas passed away last week, he did so as one of the last actors from Hollywood's golden era. His career was legendary, his mark on the business is indelible, but there were some shadows in his history too, which always makes conversations about the legacy of a figure like Douglas more dicey. So what will that legacy be?

REVIEW: Birds of Prey And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020). Margot Robbie may not have won an Oscar last weekend, but she did get her own comic book movie franchise. Birds of Prey kicks off with a great deal of flourish and panache as Robbie's Suicide Squad character Harley Quinn gets spun off into her own adventure featuring four other Gotham City women who collectively know that they don't need a Batman to come and save them.

End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

Next Episode

GUELPH POLITICAST #210 - On Development Part III: Why Not YIMBY?

An ongoing segment here on the Politicast involves taking a closer look at development issues, and this week's timely entry of the series will look at the under-appreciated cousin of NIMBYism, YIMBYism! NIMBY, or "Not in MY Backyard," dates back to the 80s, and has become a controversial term when it comes to growth in Ontario's cities, but one group in Waterloo Region is now trying to turn the tables.

"Yes in My Backyard" is more than just a statement, it's now an advocacy group out of Kitchener-Waterloo that’s seeking to be the opposite of the widely recognized NIMBY. They see NIMBYism as an impediment to the development of more affordable housing, and have taken it upon themselves to advocate for changes that will allow the construction of more housing, and more types of housing, which will hopefully address homelessness in Waterloo Region.

This episode of the show arrives a little over a week after a planning meeting of Guelph City Council where a 25-storey tower downtown, and another proposal for nearly 700-unit development in the west end, both got stern and full-throated opposition. It was for the usual reasons: more traffic, ugly buildings, ruining the character of the area. Only a few had the gall to make the point that many of these proposed units were intended for rentals, which is a market that desperately needs more capacity. That's speaking the language of YIMBY!

On this week's podcast we're going to hear from YIMBY co-founder Martin Asling about the creation of Waterloo Region YIMBY, and what he thinks his group can do to promote affordable housing where others have failed. He also talka about the challenges of NIMBYism, and what talking points work best in trying to combat it. And he will discuss the roadblocks in the system, the goals of Waterloo Region YIMBY, and how sometimes, in planning, perfect becomes the enemy of the good.

So let's talk about the proverbial backyard on this week's Guelph Politicast!

To learn more about his group, Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard, you can join their Facebook group here. If you would like to get involved, you can also follow WR-YIMBY on Meetup by clicking here.

The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.

Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.