The 905er Podcast

Well its that time of year again. As we close out 2025 we look back at what was. And what a year it was. Two general elections to start us off. The political landscape shifting dramatically for two major parties. One at the federal level and the other at the provincial. And of course all of this under the threat of tariffs aimed at crippling our economy. Brought on by our once most trusted and valued ally. What will 2026 look like with America under the rule of the impulsive Donald Trump? I think it’s easy to say that 2025 has been a change year. No matter what, from here on out, things aren’t really going to be the same. So all that being said, what was the greatest story of 2025? The biggest scandal? And what should we expect for the future? Well to dive into these questions and more, I asked a few friends back to the podcast to discuss the year that was. Joining me today are Theresa Lubowitz, former Queen’s Park staffer, principal of Lightbulb Narrative and host of the Progress Canada Podcast Opposite her, is Nathaniel Arfiin, one of the key organizers of the New Leaf Liberals who challenged former Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie’s leadership and forced her resignation. I invited them to join me today and look back on the year that was and what we should look forward to in 2026. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doingwhat we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keepimproving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠.We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get memberbenefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainlyfunding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, the Ford government passed Bill 60. The Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act. According to the Ontario government, this will grow the rental supply in Ontario and take care of bad actors in the rental market. Critics, however, say all this will do is hasten evictions and exacerbate the homeless crisis in our cities. One organization is Acorn Canada. Who had one of their members infamously ejected from the legislature with Doug Ford calling on him to 'Get a Job'. I reached out to Acorn to invite them on to this episode to talk about why they think that Bill 60 will make the housing situation in Ontario even worse than it already is. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doingwhat we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keepimproving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠.We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get memberbenefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainlyfunding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The falls as seen the Doug Ford government defend itself from scandal after scandal. Elected board trustees are being replaced with hand-selected Tory loyalist supervisors, who are being promised $350,000 a year. The Skilled Development Fund is being turned into a transfer of tax dollars to whoever donated the most to the Ontario PC's coffers. Recently, $75 million was spent on an ad campaign that ended up derailing the Tariff talks. All of these issues should be enough to brand the Ontario PC party in scandal for a generation. However, according to the polls, they are riding high. Where is the opposition on this? Have they given up? We asked Frank Domenic to return to the podcast to discuss what's going on at Queen's Park and just where exactly the opposition is in Ontario politics. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doingwhat we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keepimproving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠.We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get memberbenefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainlyfunding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this summer, we presented an episode on the Sound of Music festival. The free music festival is held each Father's Day weekend in downtown Burlington. The event has attracted big names in the past, like The Trews and The Arkells, to grace their stages. However, since COVID, the costs have risen steadily, and sponsorships have not kept pace. The festival is in dire straits, with 2025 possibly being the last unless a new model is discovered. To that end, the Festival went to the City of Burlington council to find a way to preserve the funding in some capacity. The City voted down the proposal. At the same time, the City has reached out to citizens to see what they want in a new Festival organizer going forward. What is the future of the festival in Burlington? Is there enough time to find a new organizer for next year? Is the Burlington City Council willing to let this icon of the community die? To answer these questions and more, I invited Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns to explain the city's decision-making process and what the city is hoping for going forward. Our previous episode with Brent Kinnaird from the Sound of Music Festival can be found here: https://905er.ca/2025/09/who-will-save-the-sound-of-music-festival/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The embattled Marineland, a Niagara Falls theme park, made news again this month. As we discussed in our previous episode on the matter, Marineland is nearing the end of its existence. Brought down by animal welfare scandals and changing perceptions of animal attraction parks. Currently, the park is closed, no longer generating revenue, and, according to its remaining shareholders, it is unable to pay its bills. But it's one valuable asset remains, it's real estate. The only problem is that real estate could be worth billions if it were not for the animals remaining on the property. Marineland sought to fix that by transferring thirty beluga whales to China, where they would live out the remainder of their lives. However, the federal Liberal government decided otherwise. The Minister in charge of that decision denied Marineland's request. In response, Marineland cited that the deaths of said belugas would be on the Mark Carney government's hands. St. Catharine's MP, Chris Bittle, though, took issue with that statement and issued his own response. Citing Marineland as a stain on Niagara Falls, and putting the welfare of the animals back on the park's ownership. As a follow-up to our previous episode on the matter, Joel reached out to Chris Bittle to invite him on to discuss the government's reasoning in denying the request, and his views on the state of Marineland as it stands currently. Furthermore, we explore what options are available to ensure the welfare of the remaining wildlife at the park. Our previous episode on Marineland is here: https://905er.ca/2024/10/does-marineland-have-a-future-in-ontario/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doingwhat we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keepimproving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get memberbenefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainlyfunding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here we are with part two of our series examining school board reforms. The Ford Government is keen on eliminating trustees from Ontario school boards. As of the recording of this episode, Minister of Education Paul Calandra has removed elected trustees from four school boards in the province. Appointing a supervisor to oversee decision-making at the board level. In our previous episode, we had Nokha Dakroub explain why she thought trustees ought to be appointed rather than elected in the province. For this episode, we have Andrea Grebenc, former Chair of the Halton District School Board, to explain why electing our School Board Trustees ought to remain an important part of our democracy. And to help ensure a better education system for all of our children. Our previous episode with Nokha is here: https://905er.ca/2025/10/do-we-need-school-board-reform-with-nokha-dakroub/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doingwhat we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keepimproving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get memberbenefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainlyfunding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ontario government has been busy over the last few weeks. Many wheels are in motion, including traffic cameras being forcefully removed from municipalities, as well as another brewing scandal involving the Skills Development Fund. However, there is one that we wanted to focus on for the next two episodes, and that is the question of the removal of school board trustees from multiple boards in Ontario. Minister of Education, Paul Calandra, has hinted that he might remove the positions from all school boards in the province. This, of course, has sparked a bit of debate. The elimination of a democratically elected position is indeed something that should not be taken lightly. However, is it the right one regardless? That's something we're going to examine over the next two episodes. We'll interview two former school board trustees from the 905. Each with opposing views on the matter. The hope is that you'll be able to come up with your own opinion, free from spin. Today's episode is with Nokra Dakroub, who wrote an Op-Ed in the Toronto Star, advocating for the elimination of elected trustees. Instead, advocating for an appointed board, akin to that of a police board. Responsible solely for making decisions on the application of tax dollars towards local schools' needs. You can find Nokra's Op-Ed here: I was a school trustee. The role isn’t working as it should It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, the Labour movement has struggled to find its footing. For decades, governments have compelled unions to return to work or to mediation. All the while, eroding the strength of both public and private sector unions. This has happened concurrently with diminishing buying power and wages for workers across Ontario. That trend has stopped, though. The recent actions of Doug Ford's invocation of the Notwithstanding Clause to force CUPE back to work, as well as the Federal government's legislation mandating flight attendants to mediation, were met with a defiant no. This line in the sand has sparked a revival of the labour movement in the province drawing a line in the sand. I reached out to discuss this newfound confidence with the President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Laura Walton. I speak with her about the new strength the movement has found, as well as LiUNA's parting from the OFL over their treatment of Doug Ford. As well as the future of labour in general in Ontario. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all know how difficult it can be to focus on the day ahead of us when we don't have a full belly. Hunger is a pretty good distraction from us succeeding in our day. Imagine if you're a kid, then, trying to focus on learning math, science, history, geography, as well as participating in phys-ed on an empty stomach? Too many kids go to school hungry, for multiple reasons. Which is why the federal government created the National School Food Program. Where federal tax dollars are sent to the provinces and territories, who in turn pass it along to third-party providers to ensure our kids start the day with full bellies. However, does it work? Or work well? We asked Sarah Keyes and Heather Thoma from the Ontario Chapter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food if the money we are sending to Ontario is getting where it's supposed to go. As well, if it's doing what we expect it to. https://www.healthyschoolfood.ca/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why settle for a cramped home office when you can take your Zoom calls beside a roller coaster? Digital strategist and content creator Ryan Zeitz joins Joel to share how he turned Canada’s Wonderland—the GTA’s iconic amusement park—into his summer “home office.” Ryan walks us through: How a spur-of-the-moment season-pass purchase became a full-blown remote-work experiment The hacks that make a theme park surprisingly productive (yes, reliable Wi-Fi and quiet corners do exist) Why breaking routine in a post-pandemic work world can spark fresh energy and creativity What his viral TikTok series reveals about the future of flexible work and the places we choose to call an office Whether you’re curious about hybrid work culture, love a good behind-the-scenes amusement-park story, or just want inspiration to shake up your own nine-to-five, this episode is a ride worth taking. Follow Ryan and his projects: ryanzeitz.ca Mental HELLth Comedy Night in Support of CMHA Toronto tickets are here: It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I finally get to tackle a topic that’s been on my mind for a while: dead malls. You’ve probably noticed them too — those once-busy shopping centres across the 905 that now sit half-empty, a shadow of what they used to be. I’m joined by urban researcher and writer Sean Marshall to dig into why this is happening, what it means for our communities, and whether there’s actually a future for these spaces. We talk about how malls went from being the centre of suburban life to fading into irrelevance, and what might replace them as developers and cities scramble to reinvent these properties. If you’ve ever hung out at the food court, worked your first retail job, or just killed time wandering the mall, this episode will make you think differently about what’s happening to these familiar spaces. SeanMarshall.ca It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ontario Liberals have been dealing with a lot of drama since February. A less-than-stellar performance, failed to deliver them out of third place in the Ontario Legislature. Their leader, Bonnie Crombie, failed to win her seat. The only gain that was won was a return to official party status. As we discussed with Nathaniel Arfin, of the New Leaf Liberals before our summer break, this was unacceptable. As is often the case in Liberal circles, the knives are out for their leader. Bonnie Crombie has spent her summer vacation travelling the province trying to quell dissension in the ranks and keep her position as Ontario Liberal Party leader. Is it working? Well, we will find out this weekend at the party's AGM on Saturday. During that meeting, Ontario Liberals from across the province will vote on whether or not Crombie should stay on as leader, or should another leadership race be triggered. With such stakes on the line, I thought it would be good to talk with an expert on Ontario politics. So to do so, I reached out to Sabrina Nanji, of the QP Observer, to talk about the summer of Ontario Liberal infighting, who might succeed Crombie, and what is at stake for the third-place party of Ontario. https://905er.ca/2025/07/nathaniel-arfin-talks-about-the-new-leaf-liberals/ https://qpobserver.ca/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Burlington Sound of Music Festival is a staple in the 905. Over the Father's Day weekend, Canada's largest free music festival is held on the shores of Lake Ontario in Burlington. Acts such as The Trews, The Arkells, Big Wreck, Walk Off the Earth, and Finger Eleven have all graced its stages. In recent years, troubled times have come to the festival. Keeping this festival free has become harder and harder to do. The situation has become so dire that this year's festival might be its last. That is, unless private sponsors come forward to help keep this legendary event going. To talk about the situation the festival finds itself in, we've invited to the podcast Brent Kinnaird, the Executive Director of the festival. You can find out more about the festival on their website, as well as how to support it on their website here: https://soundofmusic.ca/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've covered the issue of Municipal Councillors bullying their fellow elected officials and even staff. The problem has seemingly always existed in politics. However, nothing is really done about it, because, well, there is no HR department for those we elect. They are held accountable for their actions, truly, once every four years at the ballot box. Not surprisingly, this has resulted in a system that is woefully inefficient at maintaining civil politics. The matter has been raised a few times at Queen's Park to amend legislation and make it easier to hold such misbehaviour to account. Yet no legislation has actually been passed. In this current legislative session, Bill 9 has been brought forward to deal with this matter again. A grassroots group called The Women of Ontario Say No has been working hard to highlight the need for this legislation. To talk about the work this group is doing and the importance of finally getting this legislation across the finish line, we've invited to the podcast Emily McIntosh, the organizer of this movement. https://www.thewomenofontariosayno.com/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February Ontario saw a provincial election that returned the province essentially to the status quo. Doug Ford remained Premier, Marit Stiles remained Leader of the Opposition, and well Bonnie Crombie still didn’t have a seat in the legislature. The Ontario Liberals have returned to official party status with some new faces sit in the legislature. Ontario Liberal Executives are proclaiming this as a huge win for the party. However, the fact that this is the only victory the party can claim from the election isn’t sitting well with a number of grassroots Liberals. They were looking for a return to power. The fact that they are still a distant third place party in the legislature does not sit well with them. These failures are being blamed solely on the leader Bonnie Crombie‘s lacklustre performance. The fact that she did not win her own seat does not help her case with them either. They are calling themselves the New Leaf Liberals, and we invited on to the podcast one of their organizers, Nathaniel Arfin, from Burlington in the 905 to discuss this movement, what they hope to achieve and where they hope to take the Ontario Liberal Party. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are we going to do with the unhoused of the 905? That is becoming the question on the minds of every municipality in the region. Last week, we had St. Catharine's Mayor Mat Siscoe to discuss Niagara's housing plan. In that episode, we mentioned the encampment bylaw that the city enacted. To say that this is a controversial bylaw is an understatement. A critic of the bylaw is Sean Vanderklis, a friend and previous guest of the podcast. Sean was the host of the One Dish One Mic podcast and is an indigenous journalist and advocate in the Niagara region. He has been critical of the approach to unhoused encampments in the region, in particular with the treatment of indigenous people. Frankly, the image of police forcibly removing First Nations people from land they are living on is not one we would think any government in Canada would want to repeat. However, the safety of public parks and spaces needs to be maintained for all residents of the city. So, what do we do to remedy this dilemma? Well, that's what we discussed in this episode with Sean. https://905er.ca/2020/11/18-sean-vanderklis-and-karl-dockstader-converse-about-caledonia-2/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠buy us a coffee⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week we listened to Mayor Carolyn Parrish’s plan to build housing in Mississauga. Today, we travel down the QEW to St. Catharine’s to talk with Mayor Mat Siscoe about the recent actions Niagara Region has undertaken to work on the housing file. Last month, the region passed a plan to fund subsidized housing for low-income individuals. As well St. Catharines passed a by-law enabling the city to remove encampments from public areas. A move that followed up on our previous episode with the mayor. We invited Mayor Siscoe back to the podcast to talk about these changes to Niagara Region and St. Catharines and see how this part of the 905 is trying solve the biggest crisis of our generation. Our previous episode with Mayor Siscoe is here: https://905er.ca/2024/11/mayor-mat-siscoe-backs-his-decision-to-request-the-notwithstanding-clause/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish was elected in a by-election to replace Bonnie Crombie, she came into office during a runaway housing crisis. Upon taking office, one of the first actions she undertook was to create a Housing Task Force to review Mississauga's by-laws, zoning and policies to find ways to spur new housing development. Talking with city staff, developers, and stakeholders, this was a comprehensive mission to identify the barriers to addressing the crisis of a generation. 100 days later, that task force delivered its recommendations, and the city council enacted them. The result has seen a boost in housing starts, particularly rental purpose builds. To discuss this approach, we sat down with Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish to talk about the task force and its goals for reshaping Mississauga. Our Previous Episode with Mayor Parrish is here. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Ford is hellbent on building a tunnel under the 401. It's his magic solution to solving gridlock traffic in the 905, by moving millions of cars and trucks underneath Toronto. Right now, no price tag has been placed on this massive project. However, all experts have put it into the many billions of dollars. Not to mention the feasibility of building it in the first place. At the cost to the taxpayer, so high, we've often questioned the logic of this public works project. Traffic is a problem, no doubt, but is this the solution to our woes? Well, one person seems to think we can do better. With the tools already available to us. Spacing.ca editor John Lorinc has written a piece for the magazine highlighting how better funding and planning of GO Transit along the northern communities of the 905 can help alleviate much of the congestion we are experiencing. At the cost of millions to increase bus service between communities, we can save billions over the single use of a tunnel. I invited John on to speak about his thoughts and how we can get moving again in the 905. John's Piece in Spacing John's Piece in The Star It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. ⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠. Or, why not ⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the country moves on from the latest federal election, some ridings are still being counted. Several ridings' final vote counts were so close that a recount was conducted to determine who the elected MP was under our rules. Normally, this is done fairly and with little drama. However, this time around, conspiracy theories are being thrown into the mix. Bad-faith actors are trying to undermine the process by spreading rumours that Elections Canada denies ballots or adds them to the final tally. The facts are that our elections are some of the most transparent and definitive electoral processes on the planet. Our elections are reliable. An example of which happened right here in the 905. The newly created riding of Milton East - Halton Hills South and forth between Conservative Parm Gill and Liberal Kristina Tesser Derksen. At the end of the day, Kristina Tesser Derksen won by only 21 votes. We invited Laura Steiner of the Milton Reporter to talk about what has been happening in Milton and to set the record straight on the reliability of our electoral process. https://miltonreporter.ca/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. ⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠. Or, why not ⁠buy us a coffee⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only one month ago, we interviewed Jill Promoli and Alvin Tedjo to discuss the alarming situation of rising measles cases in Peel Region. Since that interview, case numbers have steadily risen in Ontario. As the time of recording this episode, over 1400 cases have been reported and that number doesn't seem to be slowing down. Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Health Silvia Jones and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kiernan Moore seem reluctant to take direct action on this file. Rather, deciding to serve platitudes and a shoulder shrug to encourage vaccine uptake in communities affected by this outbreak. How did we get to this point? Well, we invited Globe and Mail health columnist Andre Picard to the podcast to discuss how we let one of the most preventable illnesses on the planet get away from us and what needs to be done to get back in control of this public health crisis. Our previous episode on measles is here: https://905er.ca/2025/04/measles-is-making-a-comeback-what-are-we-doing-about-it/ You can read Andre Picard's column in The Globe and Mail here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/andre-picard/ And visit his website here: https://www.andrepicard.com/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the federal election, we had to stop covering some local issues. That didn’t mean we didn’t keep an eye on what was going on in the 905 City Halls. One particular story caught our eye in Hamilton. In early April, a long-awaited report was released. The Mayor’s Task Force, consisting of 5 volunteers, reported on the gap of distrust between Hamilton’s City Hall and its citizens. Approximately 80% of respondents found that City Hall lacked transparency and accountability, and as a result, Hamilton’s City Council has not won the trust of the people it serves. This came as a bit of a blow to the council that was elected on a ‘Change’ platform. With only a little over a year left to go in their mandate, is this too little, too late to change the tide? And what will it take to rebuild trust in Hamilton? To talk about all, we sit down again with Joey Coleman of The Public Record to discuss all of this. https://thepublicrecord.ca/ It takes money and time to produce this podcast. We love what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. ⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠. Or, why not ⁠buy us a coffee⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A short but to the point episode this time around. With the dust of the federal election finally settling, it’s time to look to the future of Canada and the 905. Joel gives his brief summary of what comes next for each political party. It takes money and time to produce this podcast. We love what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we head into the final week of the 2025 federal election, the desperate are coming out of the woodwork. Elections are democracy at its purest. Candidates and parties put forward their best to persuade us to vote for them. A key part of that process is the all-candidates' debate, a tradition going back to the town square. The public is able to pose questions to candidates and hear straight from them what they think are the solutions to the problems we face. In Burlington, that tradition was ended because of the People's Party of Canada's supporters. At Port Nelson United Church, an all candidates debate was canceled at the last minute, because according to the organizers, a convoy organized by the Peoples Party of Canada was going to protest. Rather than risk the safety of attendees, the Church decided to cancel the event. Roland comes back to talk with Joel about this form of intimidation and what it means for our democracy. It takes money and time to produce this podcast. We love what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With only a few weeks left before the federal election, we ought to have a good idea of who the candidates are and what each party will be like for the next four years. The decision is looming, and a choice will need to be made. However, how do we know we're making the right choice? Ironically, just before the election, Joel read a book called Too Dumb For Democracy, by former guest David Moscrop. The book is a fascinating insight into how we construct our political behaviour. Many factors, from biology to our personal histories, to our environment, all contribute to how we choose who we vote for. We thought it would be interesting to invite David back to discuss the book in general, as well as how we can apply it to this election cycle. https://www.davidmoscrop.com/ You can find our previous episode with David here It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the federal election happening, a front-page news story from here in the 905 is not getting much attention. The Toronto Star for the past week has published a series of articles on abuse and inhumane conditions at Maplehurst Correctional Facility in Milton. The facility is an Ontario-owned and operated jail, where most inmates are charged with crimes and are awaiting their day in court to have the charges proven in a court of law. It is important to highlight that the majority of these inmates are still considered innocent in the eyes of the law. The stories have focused on conditions in which the facility is over capacity, leading to overcrowding in cells. Toilets are backed up for weeks on end, leading to inmates being forced to use noodle cups instead. Lack of basic needs like toilet paper abounds. And one inmate reported a rash on their body, due to not being able to shower regularly. The big standout issue, though, is the reporting of the use of the Institutional Crisis Intervention Unit, the Riot Squad, to strip search and punish inmates in December of 2023. We reached out to the investigative reporter who is covering this story to come on and talk about this in depth. Joining Joel today is Brendan Kennedy from the Toronto Star, to discuss how this happened at Maplehurst, what led to this culture and what is being done or not done to address the issue. Brendan's journalism can be found here: Ontario's Jails are Deadlier than Ever - and This One is Worst in Every Respect She thought leaving her nephew in jail would help him get clean. His fatal overdose raises hard questions about how drugs get inside ‘Welcome to Wong-tanamo Bay’: Maplehurst jail officials conspired to ‘cover up’ mass strip-search of inmates, court document alleges It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It feels like we were settled on the case for vaccinations after COVID-19. Their efficacy and safety are reliable. And they are the best way to prevent public health outbreaks of preventable diseases. We all remember the pandemic, lockdowns, and the toll that all took on us. So why are we seeing a resurgence of measles in Peel region, along with other areas of the province? Outbreaks of measles are being reported by public health agencies, predominantly amongst unvaccinated populations. Public Health agencies are putting out the warning for all people to get their vaccinations updated. However, could more be done? What are the consequences if we don't take the necessary actions? To talk about why a vaccination campaign is so important, as well as what Peel region is doing to get ahead of this situation, we invited to the podcast Alvin Tedjo, Mississauga Councillor, as well as Jill Promoli, a vaccination advocate. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just when we think we're out, they pull us back in. Back into election season that is folks! Less than a month out of the Ontario provincial election, Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney has called a federal election for April 28th. Last year, the idea of a federal election struck terror in the hearts of Liberals across the country. However, in only a month, Mark Carney has flipped the script on Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. The Liberal Party is leading in the polls and the idea of a fourth term is not out of the question. All of this is based on one question of who is best to deal with American President Donald Trumps, threats against Canada? We here in the 905 are only an hour away from the American border, which puts us on the front line of this unprecedented period in Canadian-American relations. So what do we do now? Well to talk about this moment, I sit down with a long-time friend of the podcast Laura Babcock. Laura is the host of The O-show and President of the Powergroup. The O-Show It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is impossible to not hear a story from your city, town or neighbourhood about a car theft. You can find doorbell cameras of thieves stealing cars right out of a driveway in the middle of the night. Or you can hear stories of cars being stolen in mall parking lots. Auto thefts are an organized, big business in Ontario. Pressure is on for definitive action to be taken on auto thefts in Canada. Police have been saying stricter penalties are required to send a message of deterrence to criminals. To make sure that criminals pay the price when they are arrested and to truly break up these organized crime rings. In Halton, Chief of Police Steve Tanner issued a statement in February stating clearly that the federal government needed to implement tougher penalties for those found guilty of auto thefts. Will that be enough to put an end to this scourge in the 905 and Ontario? To find out, Chief Tanner joins the podcast to talk about this and give us the facts. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Canada with on-again-off-again tariffs. Canada has in turn replied with reciprocal tariffs on American products. We are entering into an unprecedented period of antagonism between Canada and the United States. What was once the most prosperous trading relationship in the history of the world is being dismantled arbitrarily by the American government. What will this mean for Canada, Ontario and the 905? To discuss this we invited to the podcast Chris Emanuel, President of the Central York Chamber of Commerce as well as Terry Caddo, President of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce to talk about what lies ahead for our region, province and country in a trade war. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We recorded this episode the Friday morning after the 2025 Ontario Election. It was an election that didn't see the dynamic at Queen's Park change all that much. Doug Ford and the Ontario PC returned with a third majority mandate, Marit Stiles and the NDP returned to the official opposition, and the Ontario Liberals returned as the third-place party. The biggest shock of the night was the fact that Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie failed to win not just her seat in Mississauga but any seat in Peel region. A fact that flew in the face of the promise she made to Ontario Liberals when they elected her as leader. That she would be able to win the 905 region handily. What does this failure mean for the party's future and Bonnie Crombie, and what can we expect going forward? To answer some of these questions and more, we invited Theresa Lubowitz back to the podcast. A former communications staffer for Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberal Party, to give her insight on the path forward. What is the Future of the Ontario Liberal Party? It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are into the final week of this Ontario election. It seems that people are finally starting to check in to the fact that we are having one, and we're starting to see some change in the polls. But is it enough to change the government? What happens if nothing changes? What would happen to Bonnie Crombie or Marit Stiles's leadership? Both made promises to their members but are they going to be able to deliver this election? We invited back to the podcast Ahmad Elbayoumi, from Policorner.ca. Ahmad has been covering the Ontario election in detail and we welcome him to talk about what's at stake for the various parties this election day. And what might come after all the ballots are counted? Policorner.ca It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As this Ontario Election moves, the polls slowly shift away from Doug Ford's Ontario PC. Is there time for the opposition parties to capitalize on this trend? Or will the opposition once again split the vote? That's the risk in our first-past-the-post system. Without the anti-Ford vote coalescing around one party or leader at the moment, those who want a change in government are forced to consider strategic voting. The question is, does this work? Well, one person is hoping it will. JB Burrows of TikTok fame has created a website to help progressive voters make the best strategic vote in their riding this election. His website Smartvoting.ca aims to let voters know which party is best positioned to unseat the incumbent Ontario PC choice. Will it work? Well, we sit down and talk with him today to find out. https://smartvoting.ca/ Our Episode on the London Municipal Ranked Ballot Election It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Ontario Election moves a long, we seem to drifting further and further away from the issues that were prominent in our provincial dialogue only a few months ago. Housing, development fees, homelessness. These were the things that we were covering in previous episodes. The matters which were front and centre for many 905ers. Going so far as to potentially invoke the notwithstanding clause to deal with encampments in cities. So why isn’t this the top issue of this election? What is it that our municipalities are looking to hear from the party leaders that will help them deal with the supposed top issue of Ontario? To talk about that we invited on to the podcast Jonathan Scott, Councillor for Bradford West-Gwillimbury. To hear from the municipal government perspective about what a provincial government ought to be doing. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills.You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been a whirlwind 2025, and we're only through January. Trudeau resigned, sparking a Liberal Leadership race, and most recently, as this podcast is being recorded, President Donald Trump is imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, sparking a trade war in North America. In the shadow of all of this, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has decided to call an election. Citing the need for a strong mandate from the Ontario people to deal with Donald Trump. Despite the fact, that he has an overwhelming majority already. There has never been a greater level of uncertainty in our provincial politics at this time. We wanted to take a moment and get a lay of the land for what is going to be a wild 27 days in Ontario. Sabrina Nanji of the QPObserver joins us to talk about the provincial election. Why it's happening and whether this gamble on the part of Doug Ford is going to blow up in his face? Can Bonnie Crombie and Marit Stiles take advantage of this to win government? You can read Sabrina Nanji's fantastic work here: QPobserver.ca It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, the CBC broke a story detailing how Loblaws and Sobeys were overcharging customers for meat, but underweighting the amounts sold. With the cost of living increasing this was a blow to their brand and hurt consumers where it matters most. What was most shocking perhaps about the story is how it wasn't that shocking at all. This isn't the first time Loblaws and Sobeys were caught in a price-fixing scheme. In 2018, it was discovered that they were fixing the price of bread in their favour, which led to them admitting their fault and Loblaws paying out $500 million to customers in the form of prepaid cards. It is clear that this behaviour isn't an isolated incident. The rising price of groceries and this kind of behaviour spurred our guest today to take action. Emily Johnson is the organizer of the Loblaws boycott. We had her on previously to discuss the boycott just after she met executives with Loblaws. We invited her back again to talk about this latest news and what powers people need to tackle this exercise in corporate greed. The CBC Article on the Meat Pricing Scheme at Loblaws and Sobeys CBC Article on Bread Pricing It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether or not we're going to an early provincial election has been hanging in the air over Ontario for a few months now. Doug Ford has been playing coy with will he won't he'll call one. However, the hints that he's keen to have been in the news recently. His government has announced several big policy initiatives. Minister of Energy, Stephen Lecce announced that the Ontario PC government will be building more wind farms and solar projects in rural Ontario. As well as a green energy home retrofit tax credit, for windows, doors and other energy-saving upgrades. Including Solar panel installation. And most recently, Doug Ford instructed Metrolynx to invest in "GO Transit 2.0." A lot of this should sound familiar to you. All of these projects were what Doug Ford initially ran on dismantling from then-Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne in 2018. Ford campaigned on the premise that these projects were costly to Ontario taxpayers and bad policy from the then Ontario Liberal government. So where did this 180 come from? To discuss this reversal 6 years later, we invited back to the podcast Kathleen Wynne. We ask her about this sudden change in heart from Doug Ford and why the Ontario Liberals brought in these policies to begin with as well as what could have been had Ontario not hit pause on these projects 6 years ago. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy New Year 2025! We are back in the saddle for what is shaping up to be a huge year in Canada, Ontario and the 905. As we start the new year, we found some good news to reflect on. Rents in the 905 are dropping. As more and more inventory comes onto the market the laws of supply and demand the price of rent is dropping. After that, we look at Hamilton Wentworth District School Board's decision to hire private investigators to go after teachers they suspect are taking unjustified sick days. We ask...' who cares?' With only 11 sick days permitted, why not let adults take care of themselves? No other profession would accept this so why should teachers? Toronto Star Article on Rents Six Hamilton-area education stories to watch in 2025 It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coming off our previous episode with Evan Scrimshaw, the Ontario Liberals announced a major part of their housing platform. Their plan would eliminate development charges from municipalities, replace them with a provincial fund, end the Land Transfer Tax for new home buyers and bring in phased-in rent controls for renters. Is this what progressives seek to win themselves to the Ontario Liberals? And are we going to be eating our words after our previous episode? Well yes and no. We discuss why this is good and its shortcomings in actually getting housing built. Our second story focuses on how Premier Doug Ford of all people in Canada is the one punching back at President Donald Trump. In retaliation to Trump's proposed 25% tariffs, his promise to cut off electricity to American states is the standout statement in what is shaping up to be a trying time between our two countries. Joel walks back his initial statement on social media and both of our hosts ask, is this what's needed? Ontario Liberal Housing Plan Doug Ford on Donald Trump It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ontario Liberal Party attempted something of a rebrand of their leader, Bonnie Crombie at the start of December. At their leadership dinner fundraiser, the party brought in $1.65 million for their coffers before an expected spring 2025 Ontario election. However, what made headlines was her keynote address where she broke ranks with their federal cousins and denounced the Carbon Tax, calling it a mistake and vowing not to implement one should she become Premier. This after years of the Ontario PC's branding her as a Trudeau Carbon Tax Liberal. In addition to that announcement, Bonnie Crombie also announced her support of funding police departments across the province. This is on the heels of many runaway policing budgets, as municipalities struggle to get their finances under control. This sharp turn to the right, in search of chipping away at Doug Ford's base, has alienated many progressives in Ontario. Many of them are Ontario Liberal supporters who now feel alienated from the party. Will this rebranding of Bonnie Crombie 2.0 pay off? To discuss this, we invited onto the podcast Evan Scrimshaw of Scrimshaw Unscripted. Evan has been openly critical of the Ontario Liberals as of late and his recent substack article has taken to task this recent strategy of the Ontario Liberals and made us question how viable their chances are of winning a majority of seats now in the 905. Evan's Article on Scrimshaw Unscripted is here CBC's Article on Bonnie Crombie's Leadership Dinner It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Police budgets are the biggest line item on any municipalities budget. It would logically follow that it would also be the most scrutinized. As it turns out it is virtually impossible to openly criticize and debate the use of tax dollars when it comes to policing in Ontario. This is something our guest today resigned their position on Peel's Police Board for. Newly elected Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish resigned from the Peel Police Board over a proposed 23.3% budget increase which would lead to increased property taxes for Mississaugans. Something as Mayor, she was concerned with but not allowed to discuss openly due to the code of conduct for Police Board members not being able to openly criticize decisions. We discussed a similar issue with Hamilton Councillor Cameron Kroetsch when he was disciplined by the Hamilton Police Board over his objections to their proposed budget increase. If duly elected municipal officials cannot publicly debate the spending of public tax dollars what does that mean for oversight or accountability? These are some of the questions we put forward to Mayor Parrish as she joins us today on the podcast. Our episode with Cameron Kroestch on the Hamilton Police Board can be found here. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We rarely expect to return to the topic so soon when we air our episodes. However, that was the case with our last episode with St. Catharine's Mayor Mat Siscoe. We spoke with him about his reasons for signing a letter with 12 other Ontario Mayors requesting Premier Doug Ford give municipalities the power under the Notwithstanding Clause to remove homeless encampments from public parks and spaces. This proved to be a controversial debate. We were happy to have Mayor Siscoe on to provide his reasoning and give this topic the discussion it deserved. Following the release of that episode though, a rebuttal letter was released signed by 40 councillors from municipalities across Ontario. The letter laid out the clear opposition to the Mayor's request for the notwithstanding clause to be used and made a direct appeal to the Premier to refuse their request. One of the signatories to that letter was Councillor Haley Bateman. Councillor Bateman represents St. Catharines in the Niagara Region. As Councillor Bateman and Mayor Siscoe represent the same constituents they would also be familiar with the details of St. Catharines' homeless population. We thought this would be a good apples-to-apples examination of the issue. As such we welcome to the podcast Councillor Haley Bateman of St. Catharines to discuss why she thinks the notwithstanding clause is a step too far in dealing with the homeless encampments in our cities. Last week's episode with Mayor Mat Siscoe is here. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 31st, 12 Mayors from across Ontario wrote a letter to Premier Doug Ford, requesting more powers to deal with the growing homeless and encampment crisis in our cities. Five of those mayors were from 905 cities. In the letter, the mayors went the extra step to request the Notwithstanding Clause be used if necessary to give them the ability to override court decisions regarding the Charter Rights of homeless. Needless to say this has proven to be a controversial point. Some have gone so far as to say it’s an overreach of government and a step too far. Mayors on the other hand are saying they have exhausted the limited powers granted to them to deal with this problem. We wanted to reach out to one of the signatories from the 905 to find out what made them decided to request such a controversial and impactful option with the Notwithstanding Clause. Joining us today is Mayor of St. Catharines Mat Siscoe, who outlines his argument for why this option needs to be on the table. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the better part of a decade, municipalities have been expected to chip in a portion of new hospital infrastructure. This practice was brought in under the previous Ontario Liberal government and is continued by the current Ontario PC. When hospital infrastructure runs upwards into the billions of dollars this can become quite the burden on a municipality's bottom line. This issue came to the forefront last week during Mississauga City Council's deliberation over whether or not to fund the Trillium Health Partner's request for $450 million to help fund the Peter Gilgan Hospital redevelopment. The main reason cited was that the funding of health care is the sole responsibility of the province. Municipalities do not have the funds or fundraising mechanisms to invest in healthcare infrastructure of this size. According to the city, to fulfill this request would mean that the city would need to raise property taxes to pay off the debt for many years to come. Stepping back away from this specific issue, the matter of municipalities paying for what is essentially the province's responsibility is one that we keep coming back to time and time again on this podcast. If this is going to be the expected model going forward, then perhaps a new deal for cities is required. To discuss the city's rationale, and the matter of who pays for what in Ontario, we invited back to the podcast Alvin Tedjo, Mississauga City Councilor for Ward 2. He joins us to give us insight into how the city is pushing back on the province's pressure to fund their responsibilities and to discuss why Ontario's cities need new ways to fund their responsibilities. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There have been a few stories that popped onto our radar recently that made us think we ought to do a 905 Round-Up Episode to cover them all. In the course of our discussions about them though, we discovered a common thread. All of the problems we discuss are a result of the poor decision-making of the Ontario PC Government. The Mississauga LRT project is under threat of not being completed due to questions of where funding to pay vendors and suppliers will come from. The funding has turned into a mess of who's owed who and who is paying for it. Metrolinx is the Ontario government's transit corporation in charge of this project so why isn't the province stepping in to sort this out? Another project that the current government is leading to failure. In Hamilton, The Spec reported how a new distribution model for home care supplies has left major gaps in the way they are distributed to patients. The result is that patients and home care providers are not operating with the tools they need. All due to the current government's need to upend the old way of doing things, resulting in a mess. Lastly, we look at the fact that Burlington is raising property taxes again. We face the reality that it's due to the Ford government's upending the municipal funding formula but not replacing it with a new model for 905 municipalities to operate with. What is the common thread we mentioned at the beginning of this note? We describe it as malicious incompetence. Listen to the episode to understand what it means. Hurontario LRT track trouble and delays threaten credit rating, completion timeline ‘We’re panicking,’ says home care co-ordinator dealing with supply shortage crisis with ‘no end in sight’ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As reported by Global News earlier this month, an internal document to then Minister of Education Todd Smith states that the province could be facing a teacher shortage. Too many teachers are leaving the profession with fewer new teachers joining their ranks. The Ministry of Education is predicting that as early as 2027 we could start seeing a gap in available teachers and the number of students. If this continues we could see an already burdened education system stretched to its limits. The current Minister of Education Jill Dunlop says that this looming crisis will be addressed by dealing with absenteeism as well as shortening the time for teaching candidates to get in front of classrooms. Our guest today though has a different viewpoint. Karen Brown is the president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. Previously she was on to discuss the issue of violence against teachers in the classroom. Today she joins us to expand on that topic and discuss why Ontario has enough teachers. Just the province isn't stepping up to the plate to make the profession attractive to the qualified. Classroom Crisis: Ontario student, teacher disparity to ‘widen’ more, internal document warns Previous Podcast: Karen Brown of ETFO Talks Violence in Our Schools It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week saw news that another beluga whale died at Marineland. For years now, the Niagara Falls-based theme park has been under intense scrutiny, after evidence of animal mistreatment and deaths have emerged at the park. The Ontario Solicitor General has stated that the park is under inspection by the province but will not divulge what it has been examining or looking for. Meanwhile, the park has reduced its operations to a mere shadow of its former glory. The idea of Marineland overcoming its current woes and becoming a prestige destination attraction in Ontario is long gone. As people speculate on what the future of the park will be, the remaining Beluga Whales and Dolphins welfare is questioned. We invited on to the podcast the whistleblower who brought to light the mistreatment and condition of the animals at Marineland, Philip Demers to discuss the current state of the park and what its future might be. His not-for-profit organization to protect marine animal life is called UrgentSeas, and today he joins us to talk about Marineland https://urgentseas.org It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month the Ontario Liberal Party held their AGM in London. Normally this isn't newsworthy, but this time a few items put it on our radar. Policy proposals to change the nature of the party's provincial council, limiting the number of Young Liberals on it, as well as potentially changing the leadership review process allowing current Leader Bonnie Crombie to stay on, even if she does not deliver for Ontario Liberals in the next election. The proposals ultimately failed. However, the fact that such divisive motions made it as far as they did caught our attention. Furthermore, accounts from the AGM show a party that is not unified together. A problem for the Ontario Liberals as it appears Premier Doug Ford may try to call an early election early next year. So what actually went down in London? To get the inside scoop, we reached out to Ahmad Elbayoumi, the publisher of the Policorner.ca substack. Ahmad is a political reporter, covering Queen's Park politics for the last four years and is now an independent journalist. He was one of a handful of journalists to cover the AGM and published a detailed account of what he saw. We asked him to come on the podcast to give his account and insight into what is happening to the Ontario Liberal Party leading into a potential election in 2025. Policorner Substack on the Ontario Liberal Party AGM It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last week has seen many out-of-touch comments on the part of Ontario's Premier, Doug Ford. A visit to Hamilton saw him brush off criticism of his failure of the housing file by stating that the plight of homeless encampments in 905 cities would be solved if those living there got off their quote 'A-S-S' and applied for jobs. The fallback position of him to a Ronald Reaganesque quote demonstrates how out of touch he is with the problems his lack of action has caused on the number one problem of the province. Not letting that statement stand alone though, later in the week, Ford announced a multi-billion boondoggle in the waiting of promising to build a tunnel under the 401 from Brampton to Scarborough to alleviate traffic on Canada's busiest stretch of highway. Rough estimates state that it could cost over $100 Billion. Not to mention the fact that government projects never end on time. The money could be spent infinitely more wisely and have a better impact on Ontarians. This week we have to look at the staggering incompetence and realize that when it comes to the people of Ontario, we are last in priorities for this Ontario PC government. Doug Ford's A-S-S Comment Doug Ford's announcement of the 401 Tunnel It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It seems that downtown Hamilton has been under fire for the last few months. The federal tax court recently shut down citing gun violence. Tent encampments are a feature in city parks, and most recently the President of LiUNA made the outrageous claim that busloads of homeless people were being brought into the city to take advantage of services in the downtown core. The problems downtown Hamilton is facing are monumental. Development of affordable housing is desperately needed, as well as encouragement of economic development. These problems didn’t pop up overnight. They have been stewing for decades. And are the result of a myriad of policies from all levels of government. However, that is no excuse to stop trying to solve the problem. But are our government’s up to the task? To talk about the task ahead and to help sort through the hyperbole we invited back to the podcast downtown councillor for Hamilton, Cameron Kroetsch. Cameron is the councillor for Ward 2 and has been most vocal on many of the issues affecting the downtown of Hamilton and what needs to be done to change the course It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices