Open Sources Guelph #488 - October 10, 2024

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're under pressure. We're now one-year into a war in the Middle East that no one wanted but we're dealing with it anyway, and here in Canada it's costing more to hold government agencies to account. If you want to talk about holding governments to account though, you probably want to talk to this week's guest who might be fighting a losing battle against the Ontario government to keep public land public.

This Thursday, October 10, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

One Year Later. Monday was the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, and it comes at a moment where the war that attack started is getting more and more precarious. Iran and Israel are now trading rocket fire as IDF ground forces are in Lebanon trying to root our Hezbollah. Meanwhile, here in the west, governments are facing increasing calls to take a stand against Benjamin Netanyahu, who, it turns out, is not well thought of by Joe Biden according to a new Bob Woodward book. How does this possibly end?

Integrity Costs. If you're not sick of all the other crises, there's a new one on the horizon and it's not in the place you want it to be. Harriet Solloway, Canada's public sector integrity commissioner, says that there's a two-three year backlog in cases and that the service needs over a million dollars to play catch-up. This service is one of the last lines of defence when it comes to governmental mismanagement, and it's imperative that it maintain the confidence of the people, but in these frugal times is the federal government willing to step up?

On the Waterfront. Last week, the Government of Ontario delivered a technical briefing about their plan to revitalise Ontario Place, which has been the source of a lot of controversy and derision over the last few years. A group called Ontario Place for All has fought hard to get transparency, and, if possible, to get a new deal for Toronto's water front that puts the public back in public space. Organiser Norm Di Pasquale will join us to talk  about fighting Queen's Park, the effort to get to the bottom of the costs, and whether there's still hope.

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