<p>A few things in the world of public education cropped up on our radar this week.</p><p>In the York Catholic District School Board, the Our Lady of the Lake Academy, saw students upset at what they viewed as an inappropriate presentation from a right-wing anti-abortion organization. The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethics gave a presentation in the school auditorium, as reported by City News contained graphic depictions of aborted fetuses and upset many students and teachers with its content. In light of its history with the PRIDE flag debate, we were pondering what was happening at YCDSB. How was this permitted to happen? And is this a symptom of a larger issue in Catholic education across the 905 and Ontario?</p><p>After the break, we look up to higher education and another new potential scandal emerging from the Doug Ford government. Despite being elected on a promise to stop cash-for-access fundraisers, it seems the Ford government can't help itself. As reported by The Trillium, this time it's Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop who is in the hot seat. This time seemingly encouraging donations from Presidents and Executive Directors of private colleges. The same private colleges which have encouraged a spike in foreign students in Ontario, to fill seats in what are essentially degree mills. Little credentials are being offered but big bucks are being taken in from foreign students. It is coming to light that these executives of the private colleges have been donating to the Minister and the Ontario PC party for some time now. What does this mean for higher education? Especially when their funding problems are coming to light due to the inaction of the Ontario PC government.</p><p><a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/02/22/ycdsb-high-school-students-left-shocked-after-graphic-anti-abortion-presentation/">The Story from City News on YCDSB</a></p><p><a href="https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/education-and-training/colleges-minister-raised-24k-from-private-college-execs-at-meet-and-greet-8319728">The Story from The Trillium on Min Jill Dunlops Private College Fundraisers</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p>The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes!</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The Doug Ford government is looking to protect political staffers in Ontario's city halls. As reported by The Spec on February 21, 2024, Minister of Municipal Affairs Paul Calandra will be tabling legislation that would see Mayors and Councillors thrown out of office for workplace harassment. Ontario Liberal MPP Stephen Blais had similar legislation defeated by the Ford Government, at the time Min Calandra cited that the voter should be the one with the final say to remove an elected official from office. So what brought about this 180 degree reversal?</p><p>Activists for better workplace protections in political settings have put pressure on the government to reverse their reversal. Our question is, does this go far enough? What about Queen's Park? Exactly how does the political workplace differ from an everyday workplace?</p><p>We thought it would be prudent to dive into this topic. To that end we invited to the podcast Jennifer Olchowy a former federal Conservative staffer, and Prof. Julie MacFarlane of the website:</p><p><a href="https://www.cantbuymysilence.com/">https://www.cantbuymysilence.com/</a></p><p>A group advocating for the end of Non-Disclosure Agreements in workplaces.</p><p>The Spec: <a href="https://www.thespec.com/politics/provincial/ford-government-says-law-to-punish-local-politicians-who-harass-staff-coming-soon/article_79feb4c5-dd4f-5c2a-9049-f55c32497add.html#tncms-source=hamilton-region">https://www.thespec.com/politics/provincial/ford-government-says-law-to-punish-local-politicians-who-harass-staff-coming-soon/article_79feb4c5-dd4f-5c2a-9049-f55c32497add.html#tncms-source=hamilton-region</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p>The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes!</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Lorraine Sommerfeld of Motherload and Driving.ca fame returns to discuss her new novel and the latest car craziness from Doug Ford.

<p>Anyone who has looked at the news in the past 6 months knows of the enormous shift in political leanings happening.</p><p>Polls from various sources have shown that an enormous shift is coming in the federal government. According to the polls, the overwhelming number of Canadians in the 905 and the country at large want Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party of Canada to form the next government.</p><p>However, on the ground, it's almost impossible to find someone who is eager for this shift in politics. We saw this as a sign of our social media bubble and thought it would be prudent to step outside and find a different perspective.</p><p>To that end, we welcomed Kerri Black, an entrepreneur, mother and wife from Hamilton. She is a former political agnostic who has said in recent years she's drifted right. While we're not sure that this conversation isn't going to change anyone's political leanings, it was a welcomed insight into what apparently the majority of people in the 905 are embracing.</p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p>The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes!</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>In previous episodes, we examined the City of Hamilton's flirtation with the Tiny Shelters project—a collection of shed-sized shelters with heat and power for the homeless to get back on their feet. However, the project has bordered on failing for the better part of last year. Hamilton City Council has yet to build support for the project and find a suitable location.</p><p>In the meantime, homelessness has continued to grow. Tent encampments are becoming increasingly common in Hamilton's parks and streets. It is becoming a crisis. In response, Hamiltonians look to their leaders for answers and plan to tackle this issue. To that end, Mayor Andrea Horwath has remained silent mostly on the file, failing to take leadership on the HATS project and refusing to declare a plan of action to address the encampments in parks. Mayor Horwath hasn't been visible on numerous issues facing Hamilton. The city is starting to notice, that their Mayor doesn't seem to take the lead on anything of importance at Hamilton City Hall.</p><p>One critic of the Mayor's lack of leadership is a long-time friend of the podcast, Laura Babcock. Laura has been especially critical of the Mayor's absence on the homelessness file. As well Laura has a unique perspective on the matter, having been volunteering with the homeless in Gore Park, getting to know the families, individuals and volunteers literally on the front lines of this crisis. She gives us her insight on the matter of what is happening on Hamilton's streets. She also helps us answer the question that is on everyone's mind with this crisis...Where's Mayor Horwath?</p><p>To volunteer with the Gore Park Outreach visit their website here:</p><p><a href="https://goreparkoutreach.ca/%20">https://goreparkoutreach.ca/ </a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p>The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes!</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>A lot of stories have come through the news cycle this week. Roland and Joel have taken several of them to follow up with for a 905 Round-Up!</p><p>Coming off our episode on Anti-Semitism in the 905, we travel down the QEW to Niagara Region. This week past at Niagara Regional Council, the Middle East found its way onto the Council's agenda. A motion was made to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be endorsed by the Niagara Regional Council. St. Catharines Mayor and Chair Jim Siscoe put a stop to it by removing it from the agenda before the vote, citing it being a divisive topic for citizens of the region. We talk about why he's right and why our political leaders in the region want to weigh in on topics outside their mandate.</p><p>Then after our break, the federal government is restricting the number of foreign students able to come into Canada. This is already proving to play havoc with post-secondary institutions as overnight it seems that a major source of their funding has dried up. At Queen's University alarms are sounding on the viability of programs and bankruptcy is being floated in the air. How many more post-secondary institutions are under threat, from decades of underfunding about to catch up with them overnight? The Ford government needs to ensure that post-secondary education remains vibrant and accessible to all. Will they make the necessary funding adjustments?</p><p>Lastly, the PC MPP for Milton, Parm Gill is stepping aside to run federally for the Conservatives. If you can do the math like we did, this leaves an opening for newly elected Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie to run and win a seat in the Ontario Legislature. Will she do it though? We have thoughts on why she should.</p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p>The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes!</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>In the last few months of 2023, while we were all preparing for Christmas and New Year, Doug Ford was busy with plans to further privatization of Ontario's public service. Namely Service Ontario.</p><p>This month, Richard Southern of CityNews reported that Doug Ford sold several privately operated Service Ontario locations to Staples Canada. The sale would see Staples Canada move the locations inside their stores and operate by Staples employees. To further complicate matters, the contract was sole-sourced and is still not entirely public knowledge. All of this under the guise that it would save Ontario tax dollars. There is a lot to unpack in this deal.</p><p>To do so as best we can, we invited you back to the podcast Frank Domenic. Frank is a well-known social media political commentator, that you might know from Twitter and Tik Tok. He has been focusing on this story for a while. He joins Joel for a discussion on what the ramifications of this deal going through would mean for the Ontario taxpayer, our privacy rights and what the costs truly might be.</p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p>The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes!</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>In October, Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed 1,300 people and kidnapped 250 hostages. Israel launched a retaliatory strike campaign into the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas and rescue its citizens. Around the world, countries saw protests against Israel's retaliation and for it pop up. Here in Canada and around the province, news has been highlighted with Pro-Palestinian organizations marching along overpasses, at city halls and interrupting public gatherings.</p><p>Along with those protests, there have been reports of anti-semitic rhetoric used by the protestors. Reports of Jewish businesses being targeted and vandalized, and even violence towards people. In Vaughan, two individuals were targeted with violence, for no other reason than that they were Jewish. While peaceful expression and protest for opinions that one may find objectionable is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it is not an excuse to explicitly target businesses or people on the basis that they are Jewish. Such behaviour can only be described as one thing: Anti-Semitism.</p><p>As more and more anti-semitic actions have been reported we thought it would be important to talk about this dangerous rise in Canadian politics. We wanted to discuss the anti-semitism we are seeing in our streets. We do not dive into the Middle East's issues, mostly as that is not our beat and is not our experience. However, a community in our region, province and country is feeling isolated and alone. That is something we can talk about. To do so, we reached out to the Hamilton Jewish Federation and invited Jazmyn Rymberg to discuss this rising trend, and what can be done about it.</p><p>Links to the Federation's website are here:</p><p><a href="http://www.jewishhamilton.org">www.jewishhamilton.org</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p>The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes!</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

After a welcomed break we are back and ready to dive into what awaits us in 2024! To start the year though, it appears that for Mississauga and Peel region, it will be more of the same.

<p>This is it! Our final episode for 2023!</p><p>As is usual for our year-end spectacular, and is the norm for every other news podcast and show, we wanted to focus on the year that was. What were the big stories, and how close did we get our predictions for this year? Well, as it turns out...we were pretty close. In 2022, we thought that the Greenbelt scandal would still prove to be a thorn in the side of Premier Doug Ford. Little did we realize how big of a thorn it truly was.</p><p>We talk about the fantastic reporting by the Narwhal and the grassroots activism of Environmental Defense in bringing to light the depth of the corruption and incompetence surrounding the Greenbelt scandal and the Doug Ford Progressive Conservative government at Queen's Park. What at first looked like a bit of a faux pas by the Ford government has turned out to be one of the biggest political corruption scandals in Canadian History.</p><p>The Federal, Justin Trudeau government finally got off the sidelines and into the housing file. Many guests on this podcast, concerning that file, from Mike Moffatt to Jennifer Keesmaat and Michelle Bilak have all said that the federal government could loosen the purse strings and change the tax code to promote affordable housing to be built. Well this summer after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre jumped in the polls, it seems that it has triggered this government to get involved. Will it change the game? Time will tell, but at least movement is being made.</p><p>Lastly, we turn to a theme we returned to time and again on this podcast. The issue of trans rights in our school system. This year conspiracies of teachers forcing students to identify as trans encouraged people to protest en masse at school boards across the 905 and province. We spoke with former Premier Kathleen Wynne about the matter, as well as our first-hand coverage of the protest outside the Halton District School Board. Where was the outcry from the provincial government to set the record straight about what policy is in Ontario schools?</p><p>What does it bode for the future as more and more Ford government policies fail and they need to mobilize a base that is open to believing such conspiracies? We predict 2024!</p><p>Our past episodes this year for reference:</p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/2023/05/mike-moffatt-critiques-canadas-housing-plan/">https://905er.ca/2023/05/mike-moffatt-critiques-canadas-housing-plan/</a></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/2023/09/jennifer-keesmaat-draws-the-line-on-the-greenbelt-scandal/">https://905er.ca/2023/09/jennifer-keesmaat-draws-the-line-on-the-greenbelt-scandal/</a></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/2023/08/the-summer-of-the-tent-is-a-failure-of-housing-policy/">https://905er.ca/2023/08/the-summer-of-the-tent-is-a-failure-of-housing-policy/</a></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/2023/10/what-comes-next-in-the-greenbelt-scandal/">https://905er.ca/2023/10/what-comes-next-in-the-greenbelt-scandal/</a></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/2023/09/the-hon-kathleen-wynne-on-what-is-at-stake-with-student-pronouns/">https://905er.ca/2023/09/the-hon-kathleen-wynne-on-what-is-at-stake-with-student-pronouns/</a></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/2023/09/from-the-frontlines-of-the-1millionmarch/">https://905er.ca/2023/09/from-the-frontlines-of-the-1millionmarch/</a></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/2023/09/special-a-follow-up-from-the-frontlines/">https://905er.ca/2023/09/special-a-follow-up-from-the-frontlines/</a></p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p><a href="https://freepodcasttranscription.com/transcription/bce7a67e5d23a45a7ec3dcdbc52504436659a927.srt">https://freepodcasttranscription.com/transcription/bce7a67e5d23a45a7ec3dcdbc52504436659a927.srt</a></p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>It's a good old-fashioned 905 Round-Up!</p><p>There have been a few stories that have cropped up in the last few weeks that have caught our eye. Rather than try to pick which one to spend time on, we decided to do a few for this episode. Our theme has been stories which back up things we've stated in the past on this podcast.</p><p>Hamilton City Centre has been slated to be redeveloped into a four-tower condo project adding some 2,000 badly needed units for the city. Last year, the city approved the proposal and the new landlord began the process of getting the remaining small business tenants out of the site to begin demolition. Last week, the developer announced that it would put the project on hold due to financial concerns. Namely, it's no longer viable for the developer to make their projected profit on the development. Leaving Hamilton City Centre empty and Hamilton short 2000 housing units.</p><p>Speaking of Hamilton, an inquiry into what happened with the report on the issues of the Red Hill Valley Parkway was released. Showing that a culture in city halls still exists to protect their own. Rather than serve the public good.</p><p>Lastly, how do 905 cities plan for the future when they are addicted to sprawl? Burlington recently passed their budget. Instead of looking to build a transit system that served a denser community. It puts off any road safety initiatives. How are cities supposed to build themselves in the 21st century if they still rely on 1950's planning to do so? Burlington isn't alone in this thinking. New ways are needed if 905 cities are going to build themselves for the future.</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>We are closing off a series of episodes we did at the beginning of the summer on the Ontario Liberal Party leadership. Originally we interviewed all the candidates in separate episodes so you'd have a chance to hear their priorities and plans for Ontario and the 905.</p><p>When the Ontario Liberal Party chose former Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie to lead them into the next election, we thought it prudent to cap off those discussions and see what the path forward for them. The Ontario Liberal Party is a former shell of itself. The big red machine no longer seems ready to take them back to the government at Queens Park. So what is the path ahead for the Ontario Liberals with Bonnie Crombie at the helm? What does she need to do to rebuild this once mighty political force in Ontario politics? And more importantly is she what voters in the 905 and Ontario are looking for to replace Doug Ford and the Ontario PC government?</p><p>To that end, we invited on to the podcast Ontario Liberal party veteran staffer, Theresa Lubowitz. Theresa spent the leadership campaign studying the various camps' policies and actions, finally settling on Bonnie Crombie herself as her choice for leader. We speak with her today about the reasoning behind her choice, and what exactly is needed to bring back the Ontario Liberals to power.</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Last week, the federal government announced a deal with Google to keep Canadian news indexed on their search engine.</p><p>This was fortunate for us on a few levels. The first was that we had been waiting for a while to learn what Google would do in the face of Bill C-18. As we had reported earlier, we were caught up in the Bill C-18 fiasco when Meta decided to block our posts on their platforms. We were waiting to hear whether or not Google would follow suit. With this new agreement, it appears that the worries from Google are no longer there, however, Meta's holdout still affects us, which brings us to the purpose of our episode today.</p><p>The second fortunate part of the news was that it coincided with our recording of this episode with our guest. We had invited Michael Geist to discuss what seemed to us to be some inherent hypocrisies in the federal government's Bill C-18 application. With the government trying to offset the losses for media giants, through payroll tax credits, we pondered where was the support for small operations like us in this scheme. What is the future of Canadian media in this environment? Will this help or hinder us?</p><p>We asked Michael all about it.</p><p>You can listen to our previous episode on Bill C-18 here:</p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/2023/07/matt-cundill-on-how-bill-c-18-will-hurt-podcasters/%20">https://905er.ca/2023/07/matt-cundill-on-how-bill-c-18-will-hurt-podcasters/ </a></p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The provincial government has rolled back all of its greenbelt and development policies. Being caught in one of the biggest scandals in Canadian history tends to do that. Included in that rollback have been the urban boundary changes the province introduced for Halton, Hamilton and other communities in the 905.</p><p>The consensus around this move is that it's a welcomed reset and in general what people in the 905 want. A return to protected environment and farmlands, and hopefully a renewed focus on intensification within our communities. This is why a story in The Globe and Mail caught our eye. According to the article by Jeff Gray, Milton Mayor Gord Krantz has written to Premier Doug Ford as well as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra to insist on the boundary reversal to be well...reversed.</p><p>What is behind this move by Mayor Krantz? And how does it play into the larger picture of solving the housing crisis in the 905? We asked Milton Reporter, Laura Steiner to find out what's going on in Milton</p><p>You can read Jeff Gray's story in the Globe and Mail here:</p><p><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-fast-growing-milton-asks-province-to-reinstate-urban-boundary/">https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-fast-growing-milton-asks-province-to-reinstate-urban-boundary/</a></p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Part of the Ontario government's plans to address the housing crisis was to break up the 1.5 million new homes needed among the various municipalities in the province. Each municipality would be obligated to build an amount of the total housing in exchange for funds.</p><p>Every municipality in the province signed on except for one. Newmarket Mayor John Taylor refused to sign the province's pledge, bringing the criticism of Premier Ford on him. He was often cited by the Premier as being an example of nimbyism in the province and not being on 'Team Ontario'. Is this the case though? Well according to Mayor Taylor, there is a very good reason for his refusing to sign the pledge.</p><p>According to Mayor Taylor, along with many other Mayors in the 905, with Bill 23's elimination of development charges, they have lost the financial resources to ensure the supporting infrastructure for these new houses is built as well. For Newmarket in particular, it is a question of wastewater and how to dispose of the waste from thousands of new homes, safely. We had Mayor Taylor on to discuss Bill 23 when it was first signed into law, and many of his criticisms pointed to the loss of funding for needed infrastructure around the 905. As the urgency to build grows, how are we going to ensure that the infrastructure to support that growth is met?</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>An underreported story in the 905 happened a few weeks ago.</p><p>The Canadian Premier League championship was played at Tim Horton's Field. In extra time Béni Badibanga Diata, scored on a corner kick to win the game for Forge FC against their rivals Calgary Calvary FC. The victory secured a fourth championship title. In the five years since the league and the franchise's founding, Hamilton Forge FC has won 4 of the 5 championship titles. That level of accomplishment is rare in any professional sports league. So the question is being raised by soccer fans in Canada, are we seeing the creation of a soccer dynasty in Hamilton?</p><p>Our host Roland Tanner was in the stands for the thrilling goal and caught Forge FC fever. He was won over by the fans and players. But coverage of the Forge's success in local media has often been slim to non-existent. So what's happening here? Fans and players are fiercely determined to see success not just in Hamilton but in the Canadian Premier League as a whole. We wanted to get a better insight into this phenomenon. To do that we extended an invitation to Kyle Bekker, Captain of Forge FC, and Erick Harrisson, the leader of Forge FC's official supporter group the Barton St. Batallion to come on the podcast. We talk about that game and how the landscape of sports fandom in the 905 and Canada might change.</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Last episode we spoke with Tim Gray of Environmental Defense, about their ongoing legal action against the Ontario Government to get to the bottom of the Greenbelt Scandal. Little did we know how deep the rabbit hole went.</p><p>A few days after the episode aired, Environmental Defense alongside Eco Justice released close to 7,000 pages of documents obtained under an FOI request. Those documents illuminated the shady backroom politics and deals that have been a symptom of this Ontario government. Newsrooms have put their interns and resources into plowing through the trove of documents to see what it tells us. At an early glance, the tale tells of a government which carved up the greenbelt and protected lands at the whims of particular developers who had their ear. Those stories are coming to light slowly but surely. We didn't want to repeat or take credit for the hard work of other journalists, so that's not what this episode is going to do.</p><p>Instead, we're going to look for a pattern in what the documents reveal. How does the relationship between the development industry and this government work? What can they tell us about where we are in the housing crisis currently? Is there hope at the end of the tunnel to solve this crisis responsibly and efficiently? Or is there no process at all and it's clear that it is all just insider bag men and quid pro quo politics?</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. 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!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The Greenbelt scandal is a fast-moving story.</p><p>Each week it seems that a new layer to the shady backroom deal to carve up sensitive protected land for a select few developers is revealed. Just how far down the rabbit hole does this story go? Thanks to grassroots organizations like Environmental Defense and Eco-Justice, as well as independent news like The Narwhal, we are learning more and more about how this scandal operates. Last week, Environmental Defense and Eco-Justice announced that they would be suing the government to learn what more details were to be learned about the Greenbelt scandal.</p><p>When Environmental Defense originally sued the provincial government to uncover what happened in the Greenbelt, it sparked an avalanche of information. At that time we invited Tim Gray, their Executive Director to discuss the action. So this time we extended the invitation once again, and Tim graciously accepted. However, in true Greenbelt scandal fashion, the morning of our recording the government announced that they would be rolling back their zoning orders concerning the urban boundaries of 905 cities. Nevertheless, we used the opportunity to discuss what more is there to uncover and what trust is left between Ontarians and this government.</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>In the last few weeks, news of the horrific attacks by Hamas against Israel shocked the world. As was expected, Israel responded aggressively against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. We aren't going to get into the midst of that conflict on this podcast. That isn't our beat. What is our beat however is local politicians. Namely how they have responded to the attacks in the Middle East. One MPP has waded into the highly politicized and contentious issue through a public statement affirming her support for the Palestinian people while at the same time ignoring the attacks against Israelis. By now, you realize we are talking about Hamilton Centre MPP, Sarah Jama.</p><p>Sarah Jama's statement has drawn much criticism, in the way it omitted any reference to the attack on innocent Israeli lives. The response to it has been calls from her leader to issue a retraction and apology for the statement. To this date, she has not retracted the statement. As well, Premier Doug Ford has taken the extraordinary step of issuing a motion in the legislature to prohibit the Speaker from recognizing her in the chamber. Essentially silencing her voice as a representative of the people of Hamilton Centre. While Ms Jama's point of view is indeed controversial it is a shocking step to bar her entirely from participating in the democratic process. At least that's the view of our guest today.</p><p>Joey Coleman returns to the podcast today to discuss his opinion piece from his website The Public Record. In which he argues that the Ontario PC government is taking extreme and possibly dangerous measures to silence their opposition. That decision should be left to the citizens of Hamilton Centre at the next election. A link to his piece is below. We talk with him about his opinion as well as the greater risk to democratic norms and how the media is covering this.</p><p>**NOTE**: We recorded this episode prior to Monday's announcement that Marit Stiles the NDP Leader was removing Sarah Jama from caucus.</p><p><a href="https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/2023/10/coleman-free-expression-sarah-jama-and-the-governments-motion-to-remove-her-from-the-legislature/">https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/2023/10/coleman-free-expression-sarah-jama-and-the-governments-motion-to-remove-her-from-the-legislature/</a></p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>We like to keep ahead of what we see as important to the 905 and Ontario.</p><p>As such, we think we've been keeping you informed on the intricacies of developments and housing before they became household topics. In that spirit, we wanted to focus this episode on an aspect of the housing crisis that hasn't had a lot of focus to date.</p><p>Our federal political leaders like to speak about tax cuts and red tape elimination to spur development, and here in Ontario, the provincial government is mired in the Greenbelt scandal in an attempt to free up land to developers. However, what none of our political leaders seem to be focused on is who will be building the new housing that is needed. It is not news that we are currently in a skilled labour shortage in Ontario. So how will we find the carpenters, electricians and plumbers we'll need to build millions of new homes?</p><p>We turned to Craig Brockwell to ask that question. Craig is a former tech teacher in Ontario high schools and worked in government relations for the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers Federation as well as Support Ontario Youth, a not-for-profit that helped put students into the skilled trades. He joins us today to talk about this important yet often secondary concern of the housing crisis.</p><br><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>We've been wanting to do this episode for a few weeks now—however, other more immediate stories needed to be addressed fully.</p><p>However, we are getting back on schedule and talking to set the matter straight on the issue of housing in the 905 and Ontario at large.</p><p>This summer, it seemed that the Conservative Party of Canada would be taking the lead on the housing issue. Pierre Poilievre surged to take a massive lead in the polls over Justin Trudeau with his addressing the housing crisis and placing that at the centre of his political identity. And then, Trudeau changed the script. At the end of the summer, the federal Liberals announced a policy that affordable housing advocates that we've had on this podcast have been advocating for. The elimination of HST on new rental accommodation builds. While this was happening, however, in Ontario the provincial government became embroiled in the largest land speculation scandal in the province's history. As it sounds now, the Greenbelt scandal is continuing to unfold and shows no end in sight.</p><p>Amongst all of this whirlwind in the news, we got wind of some mistruths and rumours that started to circulate. Myths that landlords would be the beneficiaries of the tax cut. We took it upon ourselves to sit down and review everything we've learned about the housing crisis so far from our episodes surrounding it and put together this episode to clear the air and set the facts straight. So plug in and have a listen as we set the record straight on the myths and realities of the housing crisis in Ontario.</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>You can support our podcast by visiting our website at <a href="https://905er.ca">https://905er.ca</a></p><p>September is supposed to be busy for students as they head back to school. Get acquainted with new schedules and expectations for a productive school year.</p><p>Instead at four Hamilton high schools, a total of 16 bomb threats have forced four high schools to close for student safety over four separate days. Hamilton police have open investigations into all of them, and preliminary reports have the threats linked to anti-LGBTQ+ and Trans rights motives. In September, the 1 Million March for Children came through Ontario advocating for policies that would put Trans students' safety at risk and eliminating pro-LGBTQ and Transgender policies from schools in the province. We don't believe in coincidences, at least not ones this big or obvious. So the question we had on our minds was, why is no one speaking up about this risk to student safety?</p><p>To date, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce have issued no statement condemning the threats to student safety. We invited on to the podcast, long-time friend and colleague Laura Babcock to dive into what is going on with this issue. As well we take the opportunity to broaden our inquiry into Ford's attitude towards Hamilton, as a prominent business Collective Arts Brewing is threatened with a massive tax bill from archaic and harmful tax laws. For a pro-business government, they seem to not care about policies that are hurting Ontario industries.</p><p>We talk about it all!</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Our sit down with one of the anti protesters of the 1MillionMarch, trans teen Jayden Hill

<p>Please support our work at our website https://905er.ca</p><p>On Wednesday last week, crowds appeared in cities across the country protesting pro-LGBTQ+ student policies in school boards. Remnants of the Freedom Convoy, have transformed from being anti-vaccine mandates into anti-LGBTQ+ policies in school boards. Under the guise of protecting students, these groups argue that pronouns should be disclosed to parents, as well as the elimination of gender identity and sexual orientation education from the Ontario curriculum. At the same time, pro-LGBTQ+ organizations and individuals want to ensure that students who identify as such are protected and kept safe while attending school and at home.</p><p>Both sides met face-to-face at many school boards across the country last week. At the Halton District School Board in Burlington, protesters and anti-protesters met. Our host, Joel MacLeod, went down to see the protests in person and talked to people from both sides to see if there could be any common ground on this divisive topic. As well as to get a sense of what is driving this latest aspect of the culture war in Canada.</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>You can support the work we do by visiting our website at<a href="%20https://905er.ca"> https://905er.ca</a></p><p>Last week a civic meeting at the Bennetto Community Centre in Hamilton was shut down due to attendees' disruptive behaviour. The issue of the meeting was to inform the local community about the proposed site for the Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters, or HATS.</p><p>We've spoken about the HATS project before on the podcast. However, over the last year, what seemed to be an innovative way to address the tent encampments and rising homelessness around Hamilton, has turned into a lightning rod of controversy. Seemingly the city has been unable to take the leadership to find a suitable location and encourage local support for this project. While cities around Ontario, namely Waterloo and Kingston have embraced the concept, Hamilton still seems in turmoil over whether or not it wants HATS to succeed.</p><p>As the housing crisis continues across the country, where could HATS fit into a new housing strategy that seeks to help people get back on their feet and climb the social ladder again? We reached out to Tom Cooper, one of the co-founders of the HATS project and director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction to talk about where the project stands and what is at stake with it's success or failure.</p><p>This Episode is brought to you by Graham Agnew of Dominion Lending</p><p><a href="https://grahamagnew.ca/">https://grahamagnew.ca/</a></p><p><strong>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.</strong></p><p><a href="https://905er.ca/membership-account/membership-levels/">You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca</a>. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win!</p><p>Or, why not <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/the905er">buy us a coffee</a>?</p><p>Nicholas Paul: sound editing.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/4723909">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>