Open Sources Guelph - April 14, 2016

In a rare all-Canada centric edition of Open Sources Guelph, we're going to cover both political maneuvering and deep-seeded social issues. Of the former, we'll bookend the show with discussion about the sacrificial ouster of Tom Mulcair from NDP leadership, and the multi-level struggle of governments to get their fundraising in line. Meanwhile, on either side of the break, we'll deal with the touchy subjects of Black Lives Matter and a new ongoing emergency in an area of Canada that's synonymous with "ongoing emergency."

This Thursday, April 14, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz  and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

1) Mulcexit. The die was cast, the people have spoken, and the word is, "Out!" At the NDP convention, even the most pessimistic of political watchers were caught off guard by the New Democrats voting against keeping their current leader Thomas Mulcair. Apparently fed up with the party's attempt to attract the "mushy middle", over half the members decided to make a play back to the progressive left, but in this fractured party, one where many key leaders lost their seats in the last election, can anyone rise to the challenge? And is the party going to be eager to replace Mulcair sooner rather than later?

2) Protesting the Protest. A contentious couple of weeks of protests outside Toronto Police headquarters lead to Black Lives Matter confronting Premier Kathleen Wynne outside Queen's Park to demand a meeting over racial politics and policing in Canada's biggest city. But after that victory, controversy was courted again when a months old tweet from BLM co-founder Yusra Khogali saying, "Plz Allah give me strength not to cuss/kill these men and white folks out here today," started being shared on social media causing an instant backlash. Is this another case of reading too much into a tweet, or is BLM sabotaging themselves being playing into a caricature their critics are building for them?

3) Another Attawapiskat Emergency. Even as the Federal government tries to address long-term systemic needs for Canada's First Nations people, a new crisis has erupted in the beleaguered Attawapiskat First Nation. A state of emergency has been declared following the news that over 100 people have tried to commit suicide there since September, and an alleged suicide plot involved nine youths was foiled on Monday. What can be done about such desperate hopelessness? Can the problem be easily fixed with more investment and resources, and what can be done to address the nation-wide trend of disproportionately high suicide rates amongst our Indigenous peoples?

4) Fuming About Fundraising. From a $500/plate dinners with the Federal Minister of Justice to Ontario Government cabinet ministers having monthly fundraising goals, how politicians gather funds to fight elections bids has become a hot issue. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is planning on bring new legislation to regulate fundraising efforts for those in government, but is it time to have a bigger discussion about just how politicians raise money, including who they should and should not be raising money from?

Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.