Open Sources Guelph - June 16, 2016

It’s been another one of those weeks. A week that reminds just how bad the bad guys can be and how even a night of dancing and frivolity can turn into an unprecedented bloodbath. On Open Sources Guelph this week, we will understandably try and tackle the terrorist attack on Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL, site of what is now the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States. In more political concerns, we’ll talk about how the last two years have been going for the government of Kathleen Wynne here in Ontario, and how our local MPP got a new job in cabinet. Then, we’ll continue with part three of our twelve part series interviewing a member of Guelph’s City Council, who this time hails from Ward 5.

This Thursday, June 16, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

1) Orlando. The dark spectre of gun violence fell over the United States again this week when Omar Mateen walked into an Orlando nightclub and killed 49 and injured another 53. Why Mateen did it, is still up in the air; was it an attack in support of ISIS’ philosophies, as he told one newsroom, or was he driven to homicidal insanity at the sight of two men kissing as his father said? And what about these reports that he was frequently on gay dating apps, and even visited the nightclub he would eventually shoot up on several occasions? All this in the wake of a tragic week in Florida, a contentious presidential race where one candidate is race baiting at every opportunity, and ongoing fears of lone wolf attacks by people with ISIS sympathies but not necessarily any connections. This week we’ll have our latest installment of “What is this world coming to?”

2) In the Midterm. The past week marked a solid two years of the Provincial Liberal government, which is otherwise known as the halfway point. It was something of a surprise when Kathleen Wynne led the Red Team back to majority status, but it’s been less than smooth sailing these last 24 months as the Liberals have had trouble with teachers, trouble with hydro, trouble with deficits, and trouble with racial tensions with Black Lives Matter in Toronto. To combat any perception of stagnation, Wynne changed up her cabinet this week, but can the provincial Liberals look forward to any sunny ways in the next 24 months?

3) Uppers and Downer. Cathy Downer was on Guelph’s city council for five-terms before she decided to step down in 2006… And then, for some reason, she decided to run again in 2014, and easily retook her place as of Ward 5’s representatives. Since coming back to the horseshoe, Downer has actively participated in many debates on council and has led them to join the province-wide effort to push the Ontario government for reform of the OMB. We’ll ask her about that and other issues before City Hall like the shake-up in the CAO position, infrastructure spending, and the ongoing debate around District Energy and the Community Energy Initiative. Plus, we’ll have your questions too.

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