Open Sources Guelph - December 1, 2016

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we say goodbye to a dictator. Or maybe that's goodbye to a working class hero. There's a lot of controversy there as the prime minister knows, and we'll keep serving up the controversy as Justin Trudeu's Liberals seem to be hedging on that electoral reform he so vehemently promised last fall. Speaking of flip-flops, we'll head to Toronto where the mayor there now thinks that tolls aren't so bad, and we'll round up the week by talking about everyone's favourite President-Elect whose wrath we expect to feel on Twitter any day.

This Thursday, December 1, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

1) Bye Fidel-ity. It seems that time has done what numerous CIA operations could not, Fidel Castro is no more. One of the last cold warriors, Castro had an iron grip on the small island nation of Cuba for nearly 60 years, and even though its his brother that's been doing the gripping lately, it's hard to separate Fidel from the communist revolution that's still alive and well there. We'll talk about Castro's complicated history, from being a hero in Central and South America to being the boogeyman of the Western Hemisphere in the eyes of America. We'll also talk about the so-called controversy of Justin Trudeau's reaction to Castro's passing.

2) Election Re-Norm. After their 2015 election victory, the Liberal government said in 18 months there would be a new electoral system in place to assure that more Canadian voices are heard at the ballot box. That deadline is now just five months away, but reform seems as illusive as ever with the Democratic Reform minister saying there's been no consensus around what kind of system that Canadians want to replace first-past-the-post with. That's weird considering most of the people that took part in townhalls on the subject said overwhelmingly that they want some form of proportional representation. Are the Liberals trying to back away from their promise, and how apoplectic are people going to be?

3) The Toll Shebang. Last week, John Tory did a bold thing, he flip-flopped for the greater good. Several years ago, he more or less said that toll roads would be opened in Toronto over his dead body, but now, half way through his term as mayor, Tory sees tolls on the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway as a necessity to fund vital infrastructure and transit. It's a controversial move, but one that Tory seems dedicated to make despite the visceral reaction to the idea of taxing a road millions of people use every day. But can the gambit pay off? And if you don't like the idea of tolls, then what other ways are there for Canada's largest city to make extra money to assure smooth growth?

4) Trumpdate. The President-Elect has been a busy man, choosing people to fill his cabinet, skipping security briefings, dodging questions about conflicts of interest in regards to his businesses, starting Twitter fights with Broadway shows, watching a lot of CNN and complaining about it, postulating about further electoral conspiracy theories... Well, you get the picture. From distractions like flag burning to serious questions about the qualifications of many in his new cabinet, it's been a mad, mad, mad presidential transfer of power so far, and it's far from over. We'll bring you the latest from Trump Tower, the happiest place on Earth.

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