The 905er Podcast

Tonight will be a momentous night for the Halton Catholic District School Board. For weeks, the board has been wrestling with itself over whether or not the Pride flag ought to be raised over its schools. A motion brought by Trustee Brenda Agnew under the title "Supporting Our Diverse School Community" would direct the Pride flag to be flown over HCDSB schools and mandate a safe space poster in every class "to ensure that students in the 2SLGBT community are supported throughout the school year". This motion has attracted the support of numerous parents and students, who have written letters or registered to delegate in support for the motion. However, others have expressed opposition to the flag, claiming it is not in line with the tenets of Catholicism. The motion has divided the Catholic community in Halton, Ontario, and the debate has raised questions once again about the place of publicly funded Catholic education in the province. We invited a former Halton Catholic School Board graduate, Niamh Shallow, onto the podcast to give her perspective. Niamh is a third year Sociology major at Trent University, and has written in support of trustee Agnew's motion, and will be part of a delegation in favour of the motion at the HCDSB board meeting on Tuesday evening. Joining her is Deirdre Pike. 905er listeners will remember Deirdre from our episode on Hamilton Universal Basic Income pilot project. She is also a recent nominee for an Ontario Newspaper Award for her column in The Spectator. Today she joins us as an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights who is also a practising Catholic. https://www.thespec.com/authors.pike_deirdre.html You can watch the HCDSB Board Meeting Live on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs1eFo6E0Cm7B2TwyDNIzMw The meeting agenda, including letters and delegation notes in support and opposition to the motions can be downloaded here: https://www.hcdsb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/BOARD_2021_04_20_REPORT.pdf Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don’t forget to check out 905er.ca, even if you get the podcast delivered to you automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

They didn't pave Paradise. Instead the City of Hamilton released 24 billion litres of untreated sewage into it. Thursday's episode covers three 905 stories: the latest changes of direction on our schools and an education minister with egg on his face; $5 million for Burlington City Hall's front yard; a new stinky mess in Cootes Paradise. But don't worry, the rotting mass of odiferous gunk is 'just algae', although that algae may be a product of damage caused by the sewage spill. Joel and Roland roll up their sleeves and dive in, so you don't have to. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don’t forget to check out 905er.ca, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 should have approached [COVID-19] aggressively.""Now the scale has moved.""A target on our back.""Commodification and privatization.""A freight train that has already left the station.""They don't know how the system works." These quotes, taken from a wide-ranging discussion with Andrea Grebenc, chair of Halton District School Board, and Patrick Murphy, Chair of Halton Catholic District School Board, in an episode recorded on April 8th, illustrate the frustration felt by schools boards as they face a provincial government that doesn't listen, and doesn't understand Ontario's education system. In a frank discussion, neither chair shied away from stating the failures in the provincial government's COVID-19 response, its problematic view of teachers and the education system, and the apparent plans to use COVID-19 as a tool to make online learning a permanent feature of Ontario's education. When we recorded this episode, Stephen Lecce, minister of Education, was still insisting schools were safe and would remain open, despite the renewed lockdown. On April 11th, in an open letter sent to all parents in Ontario, he repeated the assertion that 'more than 99 per cent of students and staff do not have an active case of COVID-19', a statistic that hardly inspired confidence at any school with more than 100 students. A day later, the province announced all schools were to close until further notice. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don’t forget to check out 905er.ca, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Joel and Roland tackle the latest Covid news in the 905 - and there's plenty of it. Peel's Medical Officer of Health possibly signalled a breaking point this week where regional public health officials demonstrated their lack of faith in provincial policy, and their willingness to overrule it, when he closed down Peel's schools. Spending on park 'ambassadors' in Burlington raises questions about municipal priorities when malls are open and crowded, but a city hall choses to police people doing something research suggests is extremely low risk - visiting a park. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

San Grewal, award-winning journalist and founder of The Pointer (https://thepointer.com/) joined Joel and Roland to talk about legacy media's and politicians' lack of interest and knowledge about the 905 region, even while the stories that affect the 905 are the biggest in the entire province right now. Hours later, Peel's Medical Officer of Health made one of the clearest statements yet about the failure of the Ford government to make the right decisions for cities like Brampton and Mississauga, when he decided to close down Peel's schools. San gives a passionate and articulate account of why the 905 matters in an episode you won't want to miss. Follow San Grewal and The Pointer at @sangrewal1 Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don’t forget to check out 905er.ca, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

While Joel and Roland were recording this podcast, twice, due to technical problems, news was emerging of what appears to be a third lockdown starting this Easter Weekend. Our intrepid hosts give their reactions to the latest reports - which were yet to be confirmed at the time of recording. A provincial policy of confusing grey areas seems to be sending us all back into grey zones. Is their any truth to the premier's attempt to blame everything on Ottawa? Why are mass vaccination locations sitting empty on some afternoons? A little bit of frustration leads to some colourful language. But at least it's not grey, eh? Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don’t forget to check out 905er.ca, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 pay attention to politics in inverse proportion to the extent it affects our lives. The political junkies among us religiously watch Power and Politics and have complex and well-informed opinions about what’s going on this week in Ottawa. But the same political junkies often struggle to remember the name of their city councillor. And yet at both city and regional councils, councillors make decisions that affect our lives every single day in a way the federal government seldom does. This dichotomy between the real and imagined job of local government politicians is something we wanted to explore further. To do so we were pleased to welcome Councillor Shawna Stolte, who represents Burlington's Ward 4, and who was first elected in 2018. The result is not a political interview. It’s not about policies or decisions, successes or failures. It’s an interview about understanding what it’s like to be a municipal politician from a municipal politician’s perspective, because we think to have better local government we first need to understand much better how local government works. With a special guest appearance from Roland's sump pump. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don’t forget to check out 905er.ca, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Media is talking elections, and, whether it makes sense or not, history suggests that someone will blink and force a federal election before long. The 905 region could well play 'kingmaker' again. But is our region getting the attention and credit it deserves for it's outsized influence on elections, and the contrasting needs and motivations that shape the 905 cities' poulations? Which party would stand to win most from an election, and is there any significant hunger for change? And, it's budget day in Ontario. Are the arguments about debt over now that every level of government is increasing their deficit? And where did that Highway 413 line item go? Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don't forget to check out 905er.ca, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Where Ontarians are moving is moving. Mike Moffat joins us to explore how, as the seemingly never-ending upward spiral of housing costs in the GTHA continues, and the population increases rapidly, many Ontarians are looking further afield for housing, with the result that some unexpected areas have become among the fastest-growing cities in the province. For instance, London and Woodstock. These are places that haven't necessarily planned for rapid population growth, and don't necessarily have the jobs and economic growth that would traditionally be expected to attract new residents. So what's going on? What is driving this unexpected change? What are Ontarians looking for? What effect has Covid had on this trend? What does it say about affordability in the 905 region, and what do we risk if we don't get to grips as a society with the need for a ready supply of housing for all income groups? Mike Moffatt is Senior Director, Smart Prosperity and Assistant Prof, Ivey Business School. You can find much more on this subject and others at https://mikepmoffatt.medium.com/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don't forget to check out 905er.ca, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

MPP Sam Oosterhoff apparently found the provincial advice to cover his mouth with a piece of paper or cloth overly arduous last year, and was proudly photographed ignoring the rules the rest of us are expected to keep. But this week he has again shown he is willing to advocate government control of a far more intimate part of women's anatomy. Why won't the premier get to grips with his unruly backbencher? Joel and Roland also look at the uneven vaccine rollout, and the missed opportunities to target vulnerable first nations residents in cities like Hamilton, and how the hard-hit Peel Region has been excluded from a trial which would have made the Astra Zeneca vaccine available to hundreds or thousands of Peel residents. Today's obscure musical references in the title come courtesy of Jethro Tull and Ben Folds. Requests for explanations of whatever Roland is going on about can be directed to [email protected]. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don't forget to check out 905er.ca every so often, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

One of the reasons we began this podcast was to counter the perception of the 905 region as culturally irrelevant. We simply couldn’t accept that a region of 4 million people - larger than some small countries - should be routinely perceived as being uninteresting from the perspective of art and culture. And of course, there is a huge amount of innovative and exciting work happening for among of our regions different communities for anyone who cares to look. This week we’re speaking to Burlington Artist Briar Emond about what it’s like to be an artist in the 905 Region, amazing organizations and services open to the public and artists alike for people wishing to learn more or get involved in the visual arts. And of course, it’s impossible to talk about any subject these days without mentioning Covid, and Briar has some interesting, unexpected and illuminating lessons to draw from a time where we are all forced to spend more time looking at our walls. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don't forget to check out 905er.ca every so often, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We try to post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Like many subjects we've covered over the last six months, we're only too aware that other people are more informed on the subject of gender equality and an end to violence against women. But there's an important point. Men too often view 'women's issues' as something that they don't have to worry about. That's the reverse of the truth. Only men can fix the appalling levels of violence against women. And men have to be champions of, rather than passive spectators to, the changes needed to break down glass ceilings, and be vocal in challenging outdated male language and attitudes whenever they see it. That means not staying silent when we hear 'locker room' talk, and challenging friends and relatives who persist with outdated and sexist opinions. As a continuation of our coverage of International Women's Day after our Tuesday Episode with Hon. Paddy Torsney, we hope, in a small way, we've been able to make the point about the responsibility we have as men to bring about overdue change. 4Rb2cCvlz0v1vZ1PgwC2 4Rb2cCvlz0v1vZ1PgwC2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Every International Women's Day in the 905, Paddy Torsney organizes and host an IWD Breakfast Event. The event focuses on the highlights and accomplishments of women of note in the region. This year marks a significant milestone of 25 years. We wanted to talk about this accomplishment, and the importance of International Women's Day for our society. As well as the impact adding more women to leadership roles can have for our society. Paddy is a long time friend of both Roland and Joel, she is a former Member of Parliament for Burlington, and is currently the Ambassador of the Interparliamentary Union to the United Nations in New York City. She splits her time between the 905 and the Big Apple, and we are grateful for her to take time from her schedule to talk with us. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don't forget to check out 905er.ca every so often, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We try to post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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's taken almost six months to get here, but Roland and Joel reflect on the journey so far. Its been a winding path, but a lot the help comes down to our Patreon supporters. Their support has helped us grow this into what it's become so far. We are grateful for their support. This podcast has provided us a chance to talk about the forces that are shaping the region, and talk with the people who are influencing what that shape becomes. We hope to continue this for another 50 episodes and beyond. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don't forget to check out 905er.ca every so often, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We try to post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Three stories, all relating to decisions and actions of the provincial government, and all directly affecting our region. Who said what, when with COVID-19? Did the politicians overrule the scientists? I the province trying to blame Dr Williams for their own failings, or do they have a point that he was slow to acknowledge what other scientists accepted much earlier in the year? Is the province running scared on Highway 413? Recent statements by the House Leader suggest maybe. Is there anything that can't be solved by letting wealthy developers and business owners donate twice as much to political parties? Asking for a friend. But did the province do a good thing on 3rd-party advertising? Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don't forget to check out 905er.ca every so often, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We try to post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Joel and Roland talk share their admiration for the Community Climate Council's webinar on Highway 413, get all misty eyed about the idea of after-work drinks in a pedestrian-friendly downtown, and then discuss a rare win for the City of Burlington at LPAT - why it was a win, and whether it will stay a win. Spoiler alert - probably not. Finally they discuss Halton Region's unanimous request to the Province and whether, for once, the Region is actually making a fair point. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Don't forget to check out 905er.ca every so often, even if you get the podcast delivered to your automatically. We try to post additional news and stories there when we can, and welcome submissions and ideas for additional content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

A roundup of news from around the 905 with Joel and Roland, including the province's surprise announcement that it's considering an expansion to the Greenbelt ... coincidentally announced in a week it was taking a lot of heat regarding its plans for a new Highway 413. Hamilton Council decides to spend $20,000+ on a cause it admits is lost. Meanwhile a councillor reminds us that we're all lazy and can't be trusted. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Opposed to Highway 413? We're taking part in a webinar today February 23rd with Community Climate Council on Highway 413. If you are interested in learning more, there is also an event on Thursday 25th February. Registration for both events is at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/highway-413-webinar-registration-141200391171 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

In part two of our episode this week we continue our conversation with Abisola Asha and Malik Scott of Students Speak Up YCDSB, and Greg Dongen of Hamilton Students for Justice. Make sure you listen to this episode to hear Abisola, Malik and Greg share their experiences of daily routine racism in our school systems. Find out more about Students Speak Up YCSDSB at https://www.instagram.com/studentsspeakupycdsb/ Find out more about Hamilton Students for Justice at https://hs4j.ca/ Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

In a two part episode this week we speak to Abisola Asha and Malik Scott of Students Speak Up YCDSB, and Greg Dongen of Hamilton Students for Justice. Abisola, Malik and Greg have been at the forefront of recent stories about widespread and institutional racism in Hamilton Wentworth and York Catholic District School Boards. In York, Students Speak Up organized a student strike to protest racism in November. Last week in Hamilton, after the allegations of racism by trustees by a former student trustee Ahona Mehdi were substantiated by an independent investigation, the trustees who the report criticised astonishingly voted not to censure themselves (they have since been forced to backtrack, but no formal censures have yet been announced). For people who have never been on the receiving end of racism, the powerfully argued and eloquently expressed words of Abisola, Malik and Greg may well ask uncomfortable questions - about our assumptions, about the society we have created and about our views of Canada. We have a duty to start listening and not telling, on matters of race and so much more. Please listen to these three extraordinary young adults - who have so many important things to say to people willing to listen and learn. Find out more about Students Speak Up YCSDSB at https://www.instagram.com/studentsspeakupycdsb/ Find out more about Hamilton Students for Justice at https://hs4j.ca/ Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Today we are talking about schools again, and it seems that education in the 905 Region is seldom out of the news. This week’s story revolves around the appointment in York Catholic District School Board of someone with only three years of experience as a teacher - at a private school, after a long career in the private sector - under rules introduced this summer by the provincial government. The appointment has provoked outrage among many parents and students. To dig into why there has been such a negative reaction, we invited back Cindy Cosentino, who was our first ever podcast guest in August last year. Cindy retired last year after 32 years as an elementary and high school teacher in the Hamilton and Halton School boards, including periods working at the ministry of education, and has been kind enough now to provide the benefit of her extensive experience and understanding of Ontario schools for a second time. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Friend of the podcast Joey Coleman, editor of Hamilton's crowdfunded The Public Record, returns to discuss the latest goings on at Hamilton City Hall, including a potential Charter of Rights and Freedoms violation via a move to prevent letters critical of the councillor conduct. Then we look at the disturbing pattern of seemingly excessive and counterproductive hostility towards any avenues by which citizens might be more involved or provide comment on what is happening at Hamilton City Hall. Wherever you live, we highly recommend listeners check out The Public Record at thepublicrecord.ca for its insight into a City Hall in crisis. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Zooming out from Tuesday's interview with Chair Jeff Knoll of the Halton Police Services Board, Joel and Roland reflect on the growing importance of podcasts in providing a place for long-form interviews with public figures. They also discuss the wider implications of the spate of resignations following on from Rod Phillips' resignation. Public frustration, anger and a desire for punishment for those found contravening the expectations placed on us all is understandable, but does it risk acting as a distraction from far more crucial issues to the life and death of Ontarians during COVID? Correction and Clarifications: Careful listeners will notice that Roland mispronounces Chair Jeff Knoll's surname several times. This is the kind of brain cramp Roland specializes in, and he apologizes to Chair Knoll. For those running a sweepstake on how many weeks it would be before Roland had to apologize to somebody for saying something dumb, the answer is 26. Congratulations to all the winners. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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's understandable at a time when so many are being asked to give up so much - including financial security and the ability to care for loved ones in their time of greatest need - that most Canadians have little patience for people in positions of leadership who feel they are exempt from the rules and standards of behaviour being demanded of us. Amid the scandal and resignation of Ontario finance minister Rod Phillips and the subsequent resignation or firing of multiple other politicians and prominent public servants, the discovery amid tragic circumstances that Halton Police Chief Steve Tanner was in Florida appeared to be another straightforward case ... why should the chief be treated any differently to anybody? And a resignation did follow - but of Rob Burton, chair of the Halton Police Services Board, who had given Tanner his blessing to travel, not the chief. In today's episode Joel sits down with Jeff Knoll, new Chair of Halton Police Services Board and longstanding councillor for Oakville's Ward 5, for a lengthy interview. Councillor Knoll answers the questions the public have been asking about why Chief Tanner still heads Halton Police today. Roland did not take part in today's interview as he currently provides database consultancy services to a non-profit organization of which a member of Councillor Knoll's family is Executive Director. Finally, Roland Tanner and Chief Steve Tanner are not related and have never met. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Expanding on our conversation with Sarah Buchanan of Environmental Defence earlier in the week, Joel and Roland ask why the Ontario government is so determined to build roads. What is the logic, who does it help, and does the revolution in working from home arising from COVID-19 promise a permanent change in commuting habits that a smart government might seize upon? Along the way we ask 'when did Conservatives stop being a party the believed in efficiency?' and 'what would happen if political parties treated the public like adults who can understand complex concepts?'. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Special thanks for background research on this week's episodes go to Gayle Lawes. Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Our interview today is with Sarah Buchanan, Ontario Climate Program Manager with Environmental Defence (https://environmentaldefence.ca/), one of Canada's leading environmental advocacy groups, about the revived proposal for a new 400 series highway between the 400 north of Vaughan and Halton. Sarah explains why the highway plan was cancelled back in 2018, the threat it poses to the Greenbelt, and who stands to benefit most if the highway is built. We'll give you three guesses ... Thanks to those who help us put this together: Special thanks for background research on this episode go to Gayle Lawes. Thanks to our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Our previous episode gave us a lot to talk about, in terms of the housing and eviction crisis that is looming here in the 905 and the province as a whole. Joel and Roland sit down to examine a possible solution to the supply and demand problem of housing in the province. As well, they take a look at development as it currently stands and whether or not it truly meets the needs of our communities. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Alyssa Brierley, Executive Director of the Centre for Equality Rights in Accomodation, joins us to discuss the waves of evictions that have been happening in Ontario since the summer under the auspices of the Landlord and Tenant Board, despite assurances earlier in the year about protections for tenants in financial difficulties because of the pandemic. These evictions are carried out via an online video process that places many tenants at a strong disadvantage. Then we go on to discuss the wider issue of affordable housing, why housing affordability has become such a large problem in the 905 region, and what possible solutions to provide a supply of affordable housing might be. You can find out more about CERA's work at https://www.equalityrights.org/ Thanks to those who help us put this together: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 2021 began, a torrent of news came forward that a number of leaders in our communities, from the federal to the provincial and now we've learned the municipal levels weren't following COVID-19 protocols. Namely that they left the country for personal recreation. Joel and Roland talk about this abdication of leadership on the part of those who are trying to lead us through this pandemic. Then, Joel and Roland look to the atrocious events on Jan 6th at the US Capitol and wonder can that happen here in Canada. (Spoiler: It can and it's already here). They talk about the dangers of playing footsie with radicalism for the sake of political points and what politicians and the public need to do here in Canada to prevent what we saw in the states from happening here. Thanks to those who help us put this together: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 case numbers continue to rise in the 905 region. Specifically in Peel region, one doctor has highlighted a glaring gap in the province's COVID-19 communication strategy. Dr. Amanpreet Brar recently wrote an opinion piece in The Toronto Star highlighting the lack of use of multicultural media in Peel region to help communicate vital COVID-19 information to the communities in the region. It is estimated that close to 60% of the population of Peel region do not consider english as their native language. These communities rely on multicultural outlets to educate and inform themselves on a variety of topics. Therefore the lack of use of them to communicate important information during a global pandemic is surprising. We sat down with Dr. Brar to discuss this matter and the impact it has had on various ethnic groups within Peel region and how that has hurt our pandemic efforts thus far. Read Dr. Amanpreet Brar's Opinion Piece here. Also see her work here: @BramptonCovid Thanks to those who help us put this together: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Our listeners have requested this topic of a while, and we thought it'd be a good time to do this episode. Many future political campaigns are a few years away. But it takes time and preparation to do a good job. We talk today about what it takes to be a candidate for political office, and what goes on behind the scenes. Shannon Gillies joins Roland and Joel, to give her insight as a former municipal candidate in Burlington. All three have had experience either behind the scenes or as a name on a ballot. Shannon, Joel and Roland provide a unique insight into what it's like knocking door to door asking for votes and what they learned along the way. If you're thinking of running for political office in the near future this is an episode you don't want to miss! Thanks to those who help us put this together: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 are back at it! After a brief break for the holidays, Joel and Roland are back to talk about what's in the headlines at the start of 2021! Friend of the podcast Shannon Gillies joins us to give a new perspective on the headlines. We talk about Rod Phillips jaunts to the tropics, politicians who like to do the opposite of what they say, vaccine roll outs, and one of us makes a bold prediction for the coming year! Find out who by listening! Thanks to those who help us put this together: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

In the final two episodes of 2020, Joel and Roland look back over the first six months of the 905er podcast and themes that emerged. In part two, it's Joel's turn to pick the stories that he enjoyed most. Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

In the final two episodes of 2020, Joel and Roland look back over the first six months of the 905er podcast and themes that emerged. In part one, Roland picks the episodes that stood out most to him. Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining our growing team. Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Continuing our December theme of finding some positive lessons from 2020, Joel and Roland speak to two of the 905 region's religious leaders, Rabbi Stephen Wise of Shaarei-Beth El Reform Synagogue in Oakville and Canon Stuart Pike, rector of St Luke's Anglican Church in Burlington. Rabbi Wise and Canon Pike describe how Covid has affected their congregations, and how they adapted to meet the challenges of 2020 as religious and community leaders. Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 first undisputed case of what later was named COVID-19 was seen on December 1, 2019 in Wuhan, China. One week over a year later, the first vaccine has been approved for use in Canada following clinical trials involving almost 44,000 participants showed 95% efficacy. In a dark year for so many, Joel and Roland discuss this apparently clear reason for celebration as we enter the Holidays, what it says about scientific research and investment in education, and the ability of our global community - sometimes despite the best efforts of our global leaders, not because of them - to do extraordinary things when we put our minds to it. Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Trevor Poczynek and Sandy Stark's part time hobby on Facebook may have helped hundreds of restaurants in the 905 from going under during the pandemic. We talk with them about ONRestaurants+ and their plans for the future. Listen to the podcast and check out OnRestaurants+ for your part of the 905. Burlington Hamilton Oakville Also mentioned in this episode are some Facebook groups run by other people serving a similar purpose, two of which are: Niagara Durham Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 we wind down each year, we tend to reflect on what has passed. Let's face it though, 2020 has been a year most of us would wish we'd forget. We'll take a moment to do that reflection on a future episode. However, we've decided that for the month of December, we will focus on more upbeat and optimistic stories to share with you. To kick it off, Roland and Joel reminisce a bit about their personal holiday stories, as well as some interesting holiday trivia you may or may not have known about the 905 region. Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics – perfect fifths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Dylan Buskermolen is originally from Burlington and was studying at Queen’s University with plans to pursue a law degree when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. The diagnosis changed this life, and while it has brought enormous challenges that he is still having to confront, it has also led Dylan in positive directions in his life and career that he never considered before. Read more about Dylan at https://dbuskermolen.com/ Canadian Cancer Society: https://www.cancer.ca/ Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics - perfect fifths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Leading on from Tuesday's episode looking at the proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities, Joel and Roland discuss the connection between political donations and the policy priorities of the Ford government. If any single subject can be said to encapsulate the priorities of the provincial government since 2018, it must be the efforts to weaken the legislative checks and balances on what can be built where, and who gets to have a voice in shaping development proposals. Bill 108 was described by the Mayor of Oakville in 2018 as 'Developer Welfare'. This year's budget omnibus (Bill 229) contains 'pay to slay' legislation that weakens wildlife protection, and undermines protections provided by conservation authorities. The cast-iron protections on the green belt have been weakened multiple times. Municipalities face impossible deadlines to respond to development proposals that are inevitably appealed or settled by negotiations that routinely exceed planning limits and give the developer most of what they want. Why? Does this benefit average Ontarian? Was this a priority for voters in 2018? Or is it more to do with where the PCs see their most generous financial donations coming from? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 are joined this week by Haassan Basit, CEO of Conservation Halton, and Janet Sumner, Executive Director of CPAWS Wildlands League, to talk about the province's proposed major changes to the powers of Conservation Authorities in Ontario as part of the budget 'omnibus' Bill 229, which, it is argued, weaken key protections that ensure safe development and prevent flooding. We explore the proposals, the justifications provided by the province and the implications for safe development in the 905 region with Hassaan and Janet, in the context of other changes made to planning laws and regulations since 2018. Listeners wishing to know more or express their view on the proposed changes to their MPP and the provincial government should visit the following links: https://loggingscars.ca/take-action/ https://ontarionature.good.do/conservationauthorities/send/ https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/71104/action/1 Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics - thelonious thumps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Joel and Roland discuss the latest changes to COVID-19 restrictions across the 905 and ask whether we could have avoided reaching this stage with some better planning from the province and less dickering from some municipalities. Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics - ripping yarns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Laura Meffen and Jill Davis are not doctors. Nor are they nurses or PSWs. But nobody knows the price to be paid for being on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic better than they do. Residents in long term care, and the family members who love them, are paying a heavy price for our debates about what should be opened or closed and the province's focus on the needs of business. More relaxed levels of social isolation for the rest of us mean that the most basic levels of human contact are forbidden to them. Many residents are forced to live for months in something akin to solitary confinement. When politicians or the public make the bad decisions, they pay - in levels of isolation from loved ones that border on inhumane. Listen to Laura and Jill's heartbreaking accounts of COVID-19 and long term care in the 905. (This episode was recorded before the provincial government's recent extension of 'Red Level' to most of the 905 Region, and it's adjustment of the restrictions in place under each level, following allegations that the restrictions were too lenient and that they ignored advice from Ontario Public Health.) Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics - nuclear fusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 talk to Alex Fitzgerald-Black of the Juno Beach Centre headquartered in Burlington, about how the centre came to be, its mission, and the challenges of COVID-19. Make sure you check out the www.junobeach.org, which provides a fantastic resource for anybody wishing to learn more about Canada's role in the second world war. Also take a listen to the Juno Beach Centre's own podcast, available here. The museums we spoke to in episodes 20 and 21 for Remembrance week do fantastic work, and depend on public support to keep Canada's history alive. They need help to get through Covid. You can donate at https://www.warplane.com/ and https://www.junobeach.org/donate/ Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting the 905er with a monthly donation enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining! Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics - superheated audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

This week we talk to Dave Rohrer, CEO of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (warplane.com) in Hamilton about their mission in preserving Canadian history, and the challenges of COVID-19. Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them at https://www.patreon.com/the905er. Supporting us with a small monthly amount enables us to do this podcast, to make it better and better, and to make sure it reflects your priorities. Please consider joining. Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics - righteous jazz-funk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Our Thursday episode this weeks looks back at our fascinating interview with Sean Vanderklis and Karl Dockstader earlier this weeks. Joel and Roland discuss what they learned, and the our institutions are weighted against allowing Canada's First Nations getting a fair hearing. Political leaders, the police and judges have all demanded the protesters from the Six Nations Reserve outside Caledonia vacate the disputed property before they can 'sit at the table' to discuss the claims at issue. But what table? And does anybody believe that if the Haudenosaunee community agrees to play by the province's rules and vacate Mackenzie Meadows/1492 Land Back Lane it will be followed by good-faith negotiations nation to nation? And on the subject of 'faith', perhaps the Haudenosaunee should club together and make a generous donation to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. That certainly seems an effective way to get the Premier's ear. Joel and Roland discuss the news that Charles McVety, a extreme evangelical Christian with a long history of vocal bigotry towards LGBTQ+ people and Muslims, appears to be in line to receive some favourable legislation. McVety has been pursuing recognition for Canada Christian College in Whitby as a University for decades, but was repeatedly rebuffed by Ontario governments of all stripes on the basis that the college's degrees were (quote) "useless". But McVety was a prominent donor and supporter of Doug Ford's leadership campaign, and the government has been quietly preparing the way to pass legislation elevating the College to University status, with the rights to issue degrees in the Arts and Sciences. Is the legislation a reward for a loyal supporter? Is a bigot being given a formal stamp of approval of the Ontario government? You can support our work here at The 905er by contributing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/the905er Thanks to: Our founding patrons! You can join them! Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics, dank sounds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

This week's episode we travel 15 minutes south of Hamilton to Caledonia. This year as seen a second dispute over land development arise between a planned housing project called MacKenzie Meadows, and the Haudenosaunee peoples of the nearby Six Nations Reserve. For the people of Caledonia, this is the second dispute over development in 15 years. For the Haudenosaunee people, this dispute has been ongoing since their ancestors signed the Treaty of 1784. This dispute goes to the heart of Canada's reconciliation with the First Nations who live here. How do we reconcile Treaty rights and a path to move forward. These are big questions and we aren't naive to believe we can solve it on a podcast. However we can educate ourselves on the matter. Which is why we welcomed to the podcast Sean Vanderklis and Karl Dockstader co-hosts of the One Dish, One Mic radio show on AM 610 CKTN each Sunday. They were both 2020 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships recipients and have been covering this topic for since the latest dispute emerged. Their journalism on this topic has proven to be enlightening and informative, and our discussion helped shine the light on some of our own ignorances and blindspots on this complicated subject. One Dish One Mic - https://twitter.com/OneDishOneMic You can support our work here at The 905er by contributing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/the905er Thanks as always to: Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics, rank beats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

With last week's stunning news that the province intended to take away municipalities right to consider ranked ballots, we reached out to multiple politicians who had been at the forefront of adopting ranked ballots, or, in Burlington's case, beginning the process of public consultation. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward generously made herself available for a long interview on the importance of municipalities being able to make their own decisions on subjects like local democracy, and discusses some of the wider context of the need for municipalities to be allowed to be responsible to their voters. Mayor Meed Ward also answered our questions on a major story which arose after we invited her onto the podcast: the letter written to Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, requesting that Halton not be returned to modified Stage 2 lockdown, and claiming that evidence did not support any such move. The letter (extract below) appears to directly criticize an alleged preference of the Halton Health Officer, Dr Hamidah Meghani to put such a lockdown in place. Extract for the MPPs/Mayors Letter to Dr. David Williams Chief Medical Officer of Health The letter was signed by two Halton region PC MPPs, Jane McKenna (Burlington) and Parm Gill (Milton), and also signed by Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr, Marianne Meed Ward, mayor of Burlington and Gord Krantz, mayor of Milton. It should be noted that several Halton Region politicians did not sign this letter, including PC MPP for Oakville-North Burlington Effie Triantifilopoulos, PC MPP for Oakville Stephen Crawford, Mayor Rob Burton of Oakville and Mayor Rick Bonnette of Halton Hills. However all the Halton Region Mayors signed a separate letter directed to Premier Doug Ford. This separate letter was worded quite differently, was addressed to a politician rather than an independent health officer, and excluded the criticism which appears to be explicit in the letter signed by the MPPs. Mayor Meed Ward answers these questions and many more. At the end of the episode Joel and Roland give their takes on what they feel might be the backstory to this letter, consider if it amounts to political interference, and ask what the tells us about how the province is handling the second wave. They also do a little bit of fact checking on some of the statements coming out of different levels of government with regard to this letter. Sign Up to Support the 905er! Become a Patron! We are delighted to be bringing you a type of coverage we believe is entirely new to the 905 Region. Podcasts allow for in-depth interviews with people who are usually reduced to sound-bites in traditional media. In the 905 Region is unusual for the people at the forefront of our news to be asked to sit down to answer questions. Since we launched a just a few months ago, we have published 30-40 minute interviews with: The people who run our cities: School Trustees, Councillors and Mayors. The people trying to change our cities for the better: leading activists for Black Lives Matter, Basic Income, democratic reform, writers, thinkers, entrepreneurs and innovators. The people who are experiencing and writing about what's happening in our cities: great journalists, people with decades of experience covering the way our City Halls work, people whose lives have been affected by stories in the region - sometimes tragically, and sometimes with positive results. We're doing this with a tiny team of people volunteering their time. If you would like to help us support the cost of producing this podcast, and help us improve and expand the quality of what we are able to do, please consider supporting us with a small monthly donation via Patreon. For more details, visit the 905er.ca website. In the weeks ahead we'll be introducing a range of benefits for our patrons. Join now to be one of our first '905 founders'! Watch this space! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Jesse Helmer is deputy mayor and councillor in London, Ontario. He is one of a tiny handful of Canadians - all in London - who have experience of being elected by both "First Past the Post" and "Ranked Ballot", in 2014 and 2018. He was a leading advocate for the adoption of ranked ballots in Ontario. He was shocked to discover at the same time as every other Ontarian that the provincial government had decided to ban ranked ballots as part of its omnibus bill, which is ostensibly about Covid-19 recovery. Why did the province want to take this power away from municipalities? Did the province consult anybody? Did they even speak to anybody in London? In the first of another 'two part' podcast this week, Councillor Helmer joined us to answer questions on why he thinks the province has made this move, whether the government's claims about costs are realistic, and what the real experience of a ranked ballot election was like. Unlike the provincial government, The 905er Podcast actually asks the people involved. If you'd like to support the 905er and help us provide ever-better coverage, you can! Check out 905er.caWe'll have announcements very soon on what you can do to help build the 905er. Thanks as always to: Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics, rank beats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

This week's Thursday episode follows up on Tuesday's discussion with Mike Gibbs about the province's messaging on Covid-19, and what appears to many to be contradictory and confusing statements about about what we should all be doing to keep each other safe. Each week we talk about 'other news' in the 905. But what is this week's other news? Yep, it's the Covid-19 second wave, and it increasingly looks like the 905 won't get off as lightly as it did in the spring. Why? Is it a non-compliant public, or is it mixed messaging that still suggests smaller social gatherings, restaurants and gyms are acceptable when those same venues are overwhelmingly where the virus is spread? Prizes will be awarded to the first Gen-Xer to identify the inspiration for today's episode title. Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to 905er Towers. Or Google 'The Pixies'. Thanks as always to: Gayle Laws: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineer, podcast consultancy. The Quadrafonics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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

Mike Gibbs is a former communications staffer with Public Health Ontario. He experienced Toronto's SARS outbreak first hand and has worked on pandemic planning in public health offices across the country. He has been highly critical of the current Ford government’s handling of COVID-19 communications and is author of a Twitter account (@Mikeggibbs) that provides Covid-19 policy opinion from an informed perspective. We invited him on to the podcast this week to share his expertise about how we got where we are today, and what is needed to get through this pandemic. With thanks to our 905er volunteers and friends: Gayle Lawes: research Wendy Nicholson: sound engineering and podcast consultant. The Quadrafonics: bringing the funk. Don't forget to check out 905er.ca, and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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