The 905er Podcast
The 905er is a news, politics and discussion podcast for the GTHA region focusing on the region outside central Toronto where 4 million people live, but where news coverage and discussion hardly exists. Presented by Roland Tanner and Joel MacLeod, long-time activists, volunteers and sometimes even wannabe-politicians, we aim to provide a lively weekly podcast featuring interviews with people in the news, round-table discussions, analysis and more. It aims to be intelligent, though-provoking, lively and entertaining. Get bonus content on Patreon
226
Todd Coleman Explains the Future of COVID-19
As the Omicron variant continues to paralyze the 905 and all of Ontario, we asked epidemiologist Dr Todd Coleman what we should be doing to live with COVID-19 as we enter the third year of this pandemic.Todd Coleman received his PhD in Epidemiology ...
40 min
227
The 905 Round-Up - Poor Media & Last Developmen...
For this episode of The 905 Round-Up, Roland and Joel look at a story from Durham on the far side of the region and ask why didn't the local media cover it better? And on that note, why doesn't the local media in the 905 do a better job of c...
41 min
228
Brenda Agnew Tries to Fly the Pride Flag at the...
Download episodeOne of the biggest stories we have covered since this podcast began was last year's decision by Halton Catholic School Board over a motion brought that, if passed, would have seen the Pride flag fly over Halton's Catholic Schools dur...
39 min
229
The 905 Round-Up: Covid Deja Vu, Lawn Sign Loop...
Roland and Joel are back at it!Our first episode of 2022, has our intrepid hosts looking down the barrel of another lockdown and shutting of schools to mark the start of the year. At this point it's clear our provincial government in Ontari...
37 min
230
The Year 2021 in Review
Here it is! Our last episode of #2021!Joel and Roland look back on the year that was and select our top three stories that we'll be keeping an eye on in #2022.We look at the HCDSB Pride Flag debate, the impact the Federal election will have on...
47 min
231
Urz Heer Shares How a Peel Community Turned the...
This is our Penultimate episode before the holidays. So we wanted this to be a good news story.Back in January, we did an episode on Peel Region's struggles with COVID-19. At that time Peel was an epicentre of the pandemic struggling to ge...
35 min
232
The 905 Round-Up: Cabs, Council and Politics
We look at what we learned from our explosive interview with Scott Wallace of Burlington Taxi. Where is the outrage from Burlington City Council towards the failure of staff to follow through on its directive?Then Joel and Roland look at a ...
41 min
233
Scott Wallace of Burlington Taxi Sets the Recor...
On November 26th Burlington Taxi, which began operation 53 years ago, shut down for good, leaving many local services and the residents who depended on them without any immediate replacement means of transportation.In the days that followed, it ...
42 min
234
The 905 Round-Up: Hospital Short Changes and Ba...
In this episode of The 905 Round-Up, Joel and Roland take a look at Peel region. Specifically, the fact that while Mississauga is getting massive funding for a badly needed hospital. To the tune of $3 billion. While its neighbour to the north is g...
34 min
235
Graham Crawford Shares what Hamilton Thinks of ...
It is a tumultuous time in Hamilton, with major stories concerning the city's present and future cropping up every week. Events such as the recent violence associated with the clearing of the homeless living in J. C. Beemer Park, the successful Stop ...
39 min
236
The 905 Round-Up: Park Protests and Political P...
Over the weekend saw violence erupt in J.C. Beemer park in Hamilton over the tent encampments there. Protesters from Hamilton Encampment Support Network clashed with police. The details are being investigated by the province's SIU. H...
42 min
237
Lisa Kearns Discusses Why 905 Cities Need a Bet...
Today's episode goes to the heart of the planning and development debate in the 905.The new council elected in Burlington in 2018 has undoubtedly achieved significant change to Burlington’s downtown planning framework, and extracted major co...
45 min
238
The 905 Round-Up: A Grassroots Victory & First ...
This week saw a major victory for the grassroots organizers to protect the remaining rural area of Hamilton from development. Hamilton City Council voted not to expand it's Urban Boundary. This came after a sustained grassroots pressure...
35 min
239
How Do We Get Daycare Funding in Ontario?
Something all parents are all too aware of is the price of daycare. Not just in #the905 but across the province. In some cases, the cost is comparable to a second mortgage on a family's expenses.Finally, the federal government is getting a...
27 min
240
The 905 Round-Up - Bad Democracy and Civil Wars
Today Joel and Roland look over the Minister of Municipal Affairs finally moving the Urban Growth Centre. Spoiler it's a gift that's actually not a gift. The devil is in the details and it appears that Burlington is probably not getting what it...
43 min
241
The Need for a Living Wage in the 905
This month the Ontario government announced it would be raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. A reversal of the decision to cancel the minimum wage increase when they came into power four years ago.As the Ontario economy recovers from COVI...
42 min
242
The 905 Round-Up - Bad Councillors and Redrawn ...
Today Roland and Joel discuss the recent report by the Hamilton Integrity Commissioner on Councillor Terry Whitehead's conduct. Spoiler alert...it's not a favourable one. Both our hosts discuss the antics that go on at City Hall and what ou...
35 min
243
The 905 as Inspiration for Thrills
Something we take for granted in the 905, is how unique a setting our own backyard can be. It can be a terrific backdrop to our imagination and whisk us away on adventures. One local Burlington author has done exactly that.Doug Cockell is a local ...
31 min
244
The 905 Round Up -Disappointing Development and...
Burlington is in a pickle. Recently the Ontario Land Tribunal ruled in favour of developers at Lakeshore and Pearl to increase their height to 29 stories. Over the objection of council and citizens. This sparked a public statement from the...
30 min
245
The Fight To Protect the Greenbelt from Highway...
In recent days Doug Ford and the PC government have been doubling down on their intention to build Highway 413, an additional radial highway planned to run almost entirely through Green Belt lands from Halton at the 407 and Winston Churchill, bet...
46 min
246
905er Round-Up - Sprawl, Bikes, Vaccines and Pe...
Coming off our episode this week with Stop Sprawl Ham ONT, Roland looks at using bike share and cycling as an innovative tool to help curb sprawl in 905 communities.Afterwards, Joel questions if the current Ontario government is giving up on...
38 min
247
Nancy Hurst of Stop Sprawl HamONT Draws the Lin...
If you've been following Hamilton municipal politics recently, then no doubt you are aware of the contentious debate over whether or not the city should expand its urban boundary. The small sliver of land of viable farmland that exists between ...
42 min
248
905 Round Up - Del Duca Makes a Statement, and ...
On this episode of the 905 Round Up we are focusing on politics.This past weekend, Ontario Liberal Party leader Steven Del Duca made a bold proclamation. Declaring that ranked ballots would be returning not just as an option for Ontario mun...
32 min
249
Kristin Archer Tells Us What‘s Cool About Hamilton
Cities are made up of more than just buildings and roads. It's the people and the entrepreneurs that live and work in them that come together to create something unique. Each city has its own quality that makes it what it is. Montreal, Toronto...
41 min
250
Rebroadcast - Jason Cassis Opens Up About Openi...
Originally aired - July 15 Almost exactly a year ago, Jason Cassis of Equal Parts Hospitality was one of the first guests on the 905er Podcast, discussing the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry. He returns now to give us an update on al...
43 min