Guelph Politicast

Adam A. Donaldson
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The home of Guelph Politcast, Open Sources Guelph, and End Credits

  1. 1d ago

    GUELPH POLITICAST #527 – A Pratfall in Puslinch? (feat. Justin Wilson)

    Remember MZOs. Early on in the Ford government, Ministerial Zoning Orders were the hot thing to cut through red tape and get construction started faster by overriding public planning procedures, like the one being sought now for a one million square foot facility on zoned agricultural land in Puslinch. As upper levels of government accelerate pro-business policies and override environmental concerns and assessments, can one group of activists still win? It’s been a while since we’ve had to deal with the overuse, and maybe the misuse, of the Ministerial Zoning Order. The Ford government issued a record 120 MZOs between 2018 and 2024, which prompted the auditor general to say in December of that year that the process needs an overhaul, not the least of which because only 12 per cent of those projects made it to completion. Some, like the glass plant in Stratford, never even got started. That’s why the MZO being sought by Danby and Upper Canada Forest Group for a new headquarters in Puslinch is so fraught. Local residents are concerned about putting something this big on sensitive agricultural land and right next door to the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada, plus there are issues around road access and the more appropriate employment lands zoned nearby. One group has managed to stop the project this far, but are they ready for this fight to go all the way to Queen’s Park? Justin Wilson of Help Protect Puslinch will join us on this edition of the podcast to talk about the group’s objections to the project, the practical planning reasons why the town council has repeatedly rejected the project, and balancing growth and small town charm in Puslinch. He will also talk about the room for compromise on this issue, whether they've had a chance to talk to Danby CEO Jim Estill directly, and the lessons learned from other MZO fights. Also, are Wilson and his associates NIMBYs? So let's talk about the latest MZO fight in our own backyard on this week's Guelph Politicast!  You can learn about the group Help Protect Puslinch at their website, and you can follow them on social media on Facebook and on Instagram. If you’re listening to this on Wednesday and you want to get involved, that public meeting we talked about is tonight at the Puslinch Community Centre at 7 pm. To learn more about the Small Change Fund, you can go to their website. The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, TuneIn 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.

    40 min

  2. 3d ago

    Open Sources Guelph #571 - May 28, 2026

    This week on Open Sources Guelph we get into some trouble, but not the kind that bars you from campus. The strange doings of YouTube pranksters and influencers is one of the topics this week, and so is the reaction to the latest court decision about encampments and their legality. For the interview, we will talk to a transit advocate about a piece of provincial legislation that you might have missed in the news. This Thursday, May 28, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: Cockamamie, Notwithstanding. Last week, an Ontario court said again that the Region of Waterloo can't evict an encampment of unhoused people from the site of a proposed transit hub in Kitchener. To say that Premier Doug Ford was apoplectic about the decision is something of an understatement, and that he's open to using the notwithstanding clause to make the eviction happen, but are we really just this devoid of ideas about how to help the homeless? Off Campus. Last fall, a YouTube prankster came to campus at Ontario Tech, crashed a lecture and made some curry on a portable hotplate before starting a food fight. Probably not a great time for anyone in that classroom, and it wasn't the first time Fique Ayub Fique made a nuisance of himself at Ontario Tech. Now the university is threatening to sue him for damages, but is that the right response to this kind of disruption, and what is the impact on the openness of campus life for everyone else? 98 of the Furious. Have you heard about Ontario's Bill 98, the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act? The main point was to find new ways to accelerate housing construction, but buried in the act were some incredible new powers for the Ontario government to hold over regional and municipal transit agencies. We will be joined by August Pantitlán Puranauth from TTC Riders to talk about why we should all be concerned about what Bill 98 is cooking up for transit users in Ontario. Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

    58 min
  3. End Credits #443 - May 27, 2026 (Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu)

    6d ago

    End Credits #443 - May 27, 2026 (Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu)

    This week on End Credits, for the first time in a while, the Force is with us! If you haven't guessed already, we will be reviewing the 13th entry in the sci-fi adventure franchise, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which you can now see in a theatre near you. And if we're watching a new Star Wars movie, then what better time is there to hand out The Star Wars Awards?! This Wednesday, May 27, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss: The Star Wars Awards. How can we celebrate the return of Star Wars to theatres everywhere? we could do a ranking of all 12 previous movies in the franchise, but that seems kind of simple, and we have to recognize that Star Wars isn't just a movie series, it's a cultural touchstone. So to mark this week's new release we will hand out the first annual (?) Star Wars Awards in five different categories, from Best Lightsaber Fight to Star Wars MVP! REVIEW: Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu (2026). It's been seven years since we last saw a new Star Wars movie in theatres, and this one is about a masked bounty hunter and his little buddy. Based on the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian and Grogu follows the continuing adventures of Din Djarin and his sidekick sometimes known as "Baby Yoda" as they chase warlords, gangsters and sometimes fellow bounty hunters across a galaxy far, far away, but does this first big screen outing for the franchise re-establish Star Wars former box office and creative glory? End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

    57 min

  4. May 27

    GUELPH POLITICAST #526 – What's Next 2026? The Transit Struggle (feat. Steve Petric)

    This term has presented a lot of challenges to transit and transit users, not the least of which was ridership recovering following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has, thankfully, not only returned but grown in the last four years. Logistically speaking though, there are other challenges to transit that have stacked up including financial pressures, but what else is coming for transit in the next four years? Coming into this term of council, there was a lot to look forward to with Guelph Transit: investments to modernize transit routes, new real time update signs, new apps and tech, and a new fleet facility that would house this growing fleet of EV buses. The reality though is that whole portions of the Future Ready Action plan were delayed, the OnYourWay app will be discontinued this summer due to ongoing problems, and the construction on that new fleet facility has only just begun. While Guelph has struggled to keep up with its transit promises, there’s been a lot of new pressure on transit too from the creation of major transit areas, the lack of new regional transit connections, especially on the weekend, and the passage of Bill 98, which gives a number of new powers to the provincial government that they can exercise over transit authorities and municipalities. Transit cannot be treated as some small issue in this election, but are our local candidates ready to make it a priority? Lending us some insight is to Steve Petric, the co-chair of the Transit Action Alliance Guelph, or TAAG. He will talk about if we’re better off now than we were four years ago with transit service, and the reasons why we’ve seen an increase in ridership. Additionally, he will discuss transit management, and the disconnect between transit’s issues and the first-hand experience of council. Also he will discuss the concerns about Bill 98 and what TAAG is planning in terms of advocacy this fall. So let's talk about transit now and the next four years on this week's Guelph Politicast! You can learn more about the Transit Action Alliance Guelph at their website, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to their Substack newsletter here. You can comment now on the Guelph Transit: Future Ready Action Plan update by visiting the City of Guelph’s Have Your Say page. To learn more about the potential impacts of Bill 98 from the transit advocacy group TTC Riders 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 Apple, TuneIn 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.

    43 min

  5. May 25

    Open Sources Guelph #570 - May 21, 2026

    This week on Open Sources Guelph we manage the chaos. Even a simple candidate nomination meeting in the Toronto area did not go as planned for any of the people involved, and that's to say nothing of the reporting of war crimes against Palestinians in the so-called "paper of record". But if you're looking for provincial chaos, look no further that one of our western provinces, and our guest this week is going to lend some of his insights into it. This Thursday, May 21, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: South By Scarborough Southwest. A simple nomination contest in a Toronto riding to fill a vacancy at Queen's Park has turned into a tale of dysfunction and possible skullduggery. For Nate Erskine-Smith, winning the nomination was supposed to be a lift off of sorts to becoming the new Liberal leader, but now he's throwing around accusations that his 19-vote loss for the Scarborough Southwest nomination was a hatchet job. Are the Ontario Liberals okay? From Israel with Lawfare? After long being only the subject of reports from U.N. and human rights groups, allegations of sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners by Israeli Defence Forces finally made the pages of The New York Times, which has prompted Israel itself to cry, "lawsuit". In other news, a group called the Israel Law Center has threaten to sue the Canadian Museum of Human Rights because of a new exhibit about the creation of Israel from the Palestinian perspective. So this is lawfare, right? Wild Wild Rose Country. A couple of weeks ago, we tried to dip into Alberta politics but it was hard for two Ontario lads to make heads or tails of that crazy scene, so now we've brought in a stringer. For this episode, we're joined by Jeremy Appel of The Orchard newsletter, the man who broke the news about the Alberta voters' list and The Centurion Project, to lend his perspective on the state of Alberta politics, what Danielle Smith is thinking, and why Naheed Nenshi can't seem to make a play. Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

    57 min
  6. End Credits #442 - May 20, 2026 (The Devil Wear Prada 2)

    May 22

    End Credits #442 - May 20, 2026 (The Devil Wear Prada 2)

    This week on End Credits we're going to work it. No one would accuse this podcast of being fashionable, but with this episode we head work our way back to style in addition to our usual substance by reviewing The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is now in a theatre near you. And since we're going back, let us also go back in time to the Summer of 2006 for another draft! This Wednesday, May 20, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss: Summer Movies of 2006 Draft. Twenty years ago from this summer, we watched as the Pirates of the Caribbean fought for a dead man's chest. Tom Hanks raced around Paris search for the Da Vinci Code. The X-Men took their last stand (not really). Superman returned, and so did the clerks. The house was a monster, the ex-girlfriend was super and the Devil wore Prada. These are among the movies we might draft as we go back to the Summer of 2006! REVIEW: The Devil Wear Prada 2 (2026). Based loosely on legendary (infamous) Vogue editor Anna Wintour, the original The Devil Wears Prada followed an aspiring journalist played by Anne Hathaway going to work for a demanding magazine editor played by Meryl Streep. Now, 20 years later, Hathaway and Streep, plus co-stars Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt, all return for an encore as Streep's Miranda needs Hathaway's Andy to rescue her reputation, and her magazine, in the midst of PR crisis, but is The Devil still as delicious with the second bite? End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

    57 min

  7. May 20

    GUELPH POLITICAST #525 – Election Skullduggery Already? (feat. Dylan McMahon)

    On Friday, Guelph Politico received a video of someone accessing the website "michellebowman.ca". Michelle Bowman is a candidate running in Ward 2 in this fall’s municipal election, so one would think that if you typed in her name with the domain extension ".ca" that it would lead to her website. It doesn't. Barely three weeks into this election, do we already need to have a conservation about the rules and ethics of running for local office? A second source on the weekend then provided Politico with a link to a website set up by someone who was declaring themselves as a council candidate, although they had not yet filed their nominations papers. Concerning here was the inclusion of a donate button when the election rules state that you cannot collect donations, or spend donations on campaigning, until you’re a registered candidate in the mayor, council, or school board trustee elections.  So how concerned should we be about these recent develops? Is there already election skullduggery afoot less than a month into this municipal election? That’s tough to say. In so much as people are invested in knowing who wants to form the next city council and what they intend to do with that position, people are also invested in making sure they do it the proper way. Should we be guarded for more people testing the system over the next couple of months? To learn more about where the lines are this election, we will seek out the advice of Dylan McMahon, Guelph’s city clerk and essentially the chief electoral officer for municipal elections. We turn to him with these two situations that arose over the weekend: Is it improper for someone else to own the domain of a candidate, can you raise money and campaign before you are officially a candidate, and what can you do if you have a cause for concern in the way some candidates are running? So let's talk about election concerns on this week's Guelph Politicast!  If you have questions or concerns about the election or the election rules, you can go to the City of Guelph’s website or can call the clerk’s office at 519-837-5625 or send an email to guelphvotes@guelph.ca. If you want to learn more about available domain names, or learn what legal recourse you have if someone’s using your name as a domain name, you can go to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority website. In one last note, Guelph Politico reached out to Thai Mac, the owner of Caught in Guelph, to get comment about whether or not he owns the domain "michellebowman.ca", but he did not respond before press time. The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, TuneIn 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.

    33 min

  8. May 18

    Open Sources Guelph #569 - May 14, 2026

    This week on Open Sources Guelph, things get heavy. We've got back-to-back interviews today with two different guests, both of who are going to get into topics around sexual violence and need to do more for survivors. First, we will talk to an advocate who wants to give survivors more options to get justice for themselves aside from the court system, and then we will talk to a provincial politician trying to improve the criminal justice system we have now. This Thursday, May 14, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: Listener discretion is advised: Today's show contains conversations about sexual violence and the effects of sexual violence. When the Justice System Isn't Enough. Recent high profile sex assault trials involving Hockey Canada players, Jeffrey Sloka, and Frank Stonach have shown that justice is still hard to obtain for survivors using the system as its presently built. To help us mark Sexual Violence Prevention Month, we will be joined by Lola Graham from the Ontario chapter of Survivors 4 Justice Reform about why survivors should have the option to seek restorative justice and not just the court kind. The CONestoga Game(?). Last week, the Ontario government announced that they were putting an administrator in charge of Conestoga College due financial mismanagement, and one of the people caught off-guard by the move was Catherine Fife, who's the MPP of Waterloo. Fife will join us again to talk about the fallout from Conestoga, the impact on students, and her legislative quest to get justice in the legislature for survivors of sexual assault. Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

    57 min
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About

The home of Guelph Politcast, Open Sources Guelph, and End Credits

Information

  • Creator
    Adam A. Donaldson
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2026
  • Episodes
    300
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2013 Adam Donaldson. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Guelph Politicast

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