The 905er Podcast

It's the end of summer and Ontario and the 905 are returning to work and school.We thought it prudent to take a moment and look back on the summer that was. This summer, Doug Ford faced the first LCBO strike ever, suddenly shut down safe consumption sites across the province based on his gut feeling, and lost his Education Minister at the last minute just before the start of the school year. Normally this would be the cause for alarm and stress in the Ontario PC government. At least that's what probably should be happening if an effective opposition was present. Which begs the question: Where have Bonnie Crombie and Marit Stiles been all summer? Why haven't we seen the Ontario Liberal and Ontario NDP Leaders around the province much this summer? Have they blown their chance at making a good first impression with Ontarians in the 905?These were the questions we posed to Sabrina Nanji of the QP Observer. Sabrina is the publisher, founder and reporter for the QP Observer a substack that covers the ins and outs of Queen's Park politics. We've had her on before to talk and we welcome her back this episode to discuss why the opposition in Ontario has yet to find traction in the province and what the fall might look like for the Ontario Liberals and Ontario NDP.You can check out the QP Observer here: 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!

We are back from vacation folks!After some needed time off Roland and Joel are back to talk shop and of course the first you do when getting back to work is...cleaning out the ol' email inbox. In the process, we discovered an interesting email from a San Francisco start-up Optiwatt.Optiwatt is partnering with The Atmospheric Fund here in Ontario to offer an app that can lead to cheaper rates to charge electric vehicles in the 905. As the push for electrification of the auto industry intensifies, saving money on our energy bills is always a good thing. More importantly, saving money on charging new electric vehicles can help to make them more affordable to everyday consumers which in turn helps promote greener, less carbon-intensive measures on our environment—helping to take on climate change.Small things like this always catch our eye. We want to look at any measure to help us take on climate change. So in that regard, we reached out to Optiwatt to invite them to discuss what their app will do exactly, what their plans are for the electrification of North America, and ultimately why they decided to do this in the 905 of all places on the continent.If you'd like to learn more about the app you can visit their website at:https://www.optiwatt.comIt 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!

A day late, but hopefully not a dollar short. Joel is away, and for technical reasons the upload is a little later than usual, but hopefully you'll forgive us.Standing in for Joel, we have a return visit from Ajay Sharma, professor in the political science department at the University of Guelph, and a contributor to the Toronto Star on recent political events in Mississauga.We take a look at a couple of stories. First, the decision of the Canadian Tax court to unexpectedly and apparently unilaterally close its doors in Hamilton, citing the danger posed to its staff and users of the court following a recent shooting nearby. Nobody claims Hamilton is perfect, but should the court be allowed to get away with this claim unchallenged? Should a court, which can presumably call on the daily protection of the provincial and federal police, really 'give up' so easily?Then we take a look at the new regime in Mississauga, where it appears Carolyn Parrish's new mayoralty has been marked by a number of high-profile firings, followed by some high-profile resignations from people who've decided they want no part of the new order. And does the mayor have the power to do what's needed to handle the housing crisis?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!

The news moves fast and people are moving on from the flooding in the 905 last week. However, those affected by the intense rainfalls still struggle to make themselves whole again.Joel's neighbourhood was one of the most intensely impacted by flooding, and thus he attended a neighbourhood meeting with his city councillor to discuss what came next. What he took away from the meeting is that ten years ago, the province, region and city response to this level of damage was monumentally different. All levels of government seemingly mobilized to help put people together and supposedly to take measures to mitigate future flooding.Instead, the message is only the bare minimum will be done. Insurance is expected to pick up the tab, even though it won't cover all the damage for some. This echoed what Mark Cripps mentioned in our previous episode. As these climate change events continue to grow and become more common, the costs to people will mirror the severity. The question comes though, what happens when people who can't afford the costs are impacted? Are they to be written off as expendable?Last week's episode with Mark Cripps is here: https://905er.ca/2024/07/the-905-flooding-is-only-the-beginning/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!

Last week the 905 saw flooding that overwhelmed many parts of its respective cities. Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga and Toronto saw an estimated $3.1 billion in damage to infrastructure and homes.This isn't an isolated incident either. In the last few years, the region and Canada have seen an increase in the frequency and severity of storms and conditions affecting our communities. The fact is that this is exactly what scientists predicted would happen as a result of climate change. As we emit greater quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, our weather and climate will become more and more extreme.Unfortunately, the situation is too politicized to address it head-on. Politicians are making their careers on reversing climate change policies, and denialism runs rampant across all parts of Canadian society. There is one industry though that is taking it incredibly seriously. They are working on the numbers of what the true costs of this catastrophe will be. The insurance industry for years has been forced to pay out increasing sums due to climate change events.We've talked about this before on the podcast, but in light of recent events, we thought it prudent to revisit the topic. To that end, we've invited back to the podcast Mark Cripps from the Insurance Bureau of Canada to explain that whether our leaders are taking climate change seriously or not, the insurance industry is. So whether we like it or not, we're going to end up paying for it, one way or another.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!

It looks like this is going to be a dry summer for Ontarians.Just as schools let out, the government's talks with LCBO Unionized employees broke down. All LCBO retail locations are closed for the summer, leaving only grocery and convenience stores available for Ontarios to purchase wine or beer. For the union, this is to ensure that LCBO locations retain the sale of ready-to-drink cocktails from private retailers.The Doug Ford, Ontario PC Government isn't backing down. They are doubling down on moving ahead with greater privatization in the sale of alcohol to Ontarians, promising greater choice in the marketplace when it comes to where Ontarians can purchase their alcohol.However is this what this strike is actually about? Who gains from this strike action? And in fact, are Ontarians trading a publicly owned monopoly for a private one in alcohol sales? These questions are being asked by our guest, from the independent news site Corruptario. Morgan Grenfell is a journalist who has looked into the makeup of the board of the LCBO and uncovered several conflicts of interest when it comes to who gains from the strike, and whether or not they do have Ontario's best interests at heart.You can read the article from Corruptario hereIt 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!

The proposed Highway 413 is the Doug Ford government's landmark project. It has been promised for years by the Ontario PC, despite facing court battles and criticism from grassroots organizations and environmentalists. It has been heavily criticized for its effectiveness and the environmental impact it could have on habitats and farmland. Yet despite all this opposition, the project is still being pushed forward at the highest levels of the Ontario government.So with the pressure to move forward, one would think a plan and budget had been formulated for the project. Thanks to reporting by Emma McIntosh of The Narwhal, information has come to light about the lack of a solid plan and budget on this highway. Despite assurances that shovels will be in the ground next year to start the project, there is no budget, assessments or definitive plans on how this highway will be built or designed. So what does this mean going forward?We have Emma McIntosh on the podcast to discuss her article and what's next for the Ford Government's legacy project.Emma's article on The Narwhal Website is hereIt 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!

Last week, Premier Ford visited Burlington's small business community. The purpose of which, of course, was to find clout with the small businesses. In the lead-up to a potential election? Who knows. During the visit, however, Premier Ford was asked about Hamilton's LRT project, and when it would begin construction. Ford reiterated his government's support for the project, but the question remains...when will it start being built? For almost 6 years now, the LRT has been just a promise on paper. No tenders have been issued for work and ground has yet to be broken on King St. Yet Ford re-committed to the building of Hamilton's LRT. The catch though, is this comes in light of the government's failure to sufficiently fund the Ontario Science Centre, forcing it to close due to the risk of collapse. In June, a heat wave raised concerns about sufficient air-conditioning in Ontario schools and the Ford government refusing to commit the necessary money to ensure schools are suitable for children. Our point is that this government is tepid on actually spending money, even on items that some would deem crucial. So why would they want to spend money on Hamilton's LRT?After our break, we face facts that Conservativism is on the rise in North America. We recorded this episode the day after the disastrous debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the United States. Trump is going to be a real contender to become president. Here in Canada, we appear to be eager to select Pierre Poilievre as Prime Minister of Canada. And in Ontario, Doug Ford is riding high in the polls. Why is it, that we appear to be giving conservative right-wing authoritarian parties the keys to democracy for the foreseeable future? We have some theories, have a listen.The CHCH News Clip that we reference in the episode 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!