Ontario Loud

We're back baby! Temporarily! Recording an election night pod is just so damn fun that we put one together to talk about the new Liberal Minority government, despite the fact that we will continue to be on break for just a little bit longer while our hosts get their lives together to be able to do this again. 

You all sent us so many questions to answer in our END OF SEASON MAILBAG! We talk about catholic schools, electoral reform, ranked ballots, Kyky's Kookies, affordable housing, civility in politics, and so, so much more. Thank you to all of you for a wonderful season, and we will see you in the Fall.

We took a bit of a breather this week, but Chris did sit down with Rebecca Jesseman, former chair of the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre Community Advisory Board (CAB), which was a community-led oversight body that had access to the facility and recommended ways to improve conditions. Naturally this was unacceptable to the Ford government. Sigh. 

Sam, Chris, Alvin and Garima dive into all the politics that are underway as we head into summer. Between cabinet shuffles, election platform planks and new attack ads, it's clear Ontario's political parties are gearing up to take the fight to the streets in Hot Vax Summer.

While most Ontarians were out enjoying nice weather and the company of other humans, Doug Ford recalled the legislature to pass a bill to make more favourable campaign conditions for himself. Sigh. We also talk racism in the OPS, Maxine Bernier, floor crossings, and more. Big week. Big pod. 

We talk about the pending cabinet shuffle, Doug Ford's negotiations over school closures with a child, pride, and so much more. 

Garima, Sam, Chris, and Alvin talk about the horrendous truth Canadians were faced with, as 215 dead children were found at a residential school in British Columbia, and what more we need to do. A new Chief Medical Officer of Health and Secretary of Cabinet are also discussed, bum seem and are less important. 

Good Bill/Bad Bill/Sketchy Bill returns, as we wrap up all the pending legislation in the Ontario legislature before the session ends for the summer. We also talk about the province's reopening plan, and the PEQAB rejection of Charles McVety's Canada Christian College. 

Doug Ford's Premier's Office considers a bold new leadership strategy involving... keeping Doug Ford away from the spotlight. Is this smart politics? We dive into this, the recent pandemic decisions, and the auditor general report on $4.4B in COVID initiatives given the full auditor treatment. 

This week we talk the province's new vaccine plans, paid sick days, and what the long-term care commission had to say about the Ontario government's handling of the long-term care sector, and why we saw the disaster we saw. 

It's been a week of tears, frustration, agony, and many now capitulation on paid sick days? But probably not. Karim Bardeesy joins to talk about whot he conservatives could implement paid sick days while keeping their principles in tact. We talk about pandemic recovery & how the feds are thinking about it. 

Folks, friends, we always tell you the truth. We always make the tough decisions. And today is no different. Chris, Alvin, Garima and Sam talk to you about the total catastrophe that is the Ford government's management of COVID-19 as Ontario is set to see cases exceed 10,000 per day. Oh - also an amazing federal budget was released. We talk about that too.

The engine light was on for miles before this, but Doug Ford kept driving that car. With the wheels now falling off the car completely, we are living through a very frightening time. We reflect on that, while looking ahead to what the NDP and the Liberal Party of Canada have to say about the kinds of policies progressives can look forward to if they form government. 

We talk about the necessary, but late and incoherent announcement of another provincewide shutdown to deal with rising COVID-19 cases, the province's relationships with developers and how that might be informing it's advocacy over the 413, and the vaccine plant coming to Toronto just in time for the next pandemic. 

Despite unprecedented challenges facing the province, Ontario announces a budget that puts our money into... underwhelming healthcare investments and reducing the deficit. While COVID case counts rise, the Premier's Office is embroiled in a scandal everyone knew about where the Premier's Press Sec is dating a QP Gallery member. Sigh. 

We discuss the various impacts that Amazon is having in Ontario Politics currently, from almost destroying but then saving a protected wetland in Pickering, to giving a bunch of workers in Brampton COVID. We also discuss the Premier's racist remarks in the legislature. 

The crew covers the FAO's report on affordable housing and homelessness, revelations from the long-term-care commission that Minister Merilee Fullerton recommended moving faster than the government was willing to in long-term-care homes, vaccines, and an interview with Miles Corak on EI. 

Chris, Alvin, Garima and Sam talk about the Ford government's changes to elections and campaign finance, the secret deal to sell a downtown property over the wishes of the community, and a report on how social assistance administration will change. NDP MP Candidate Brian Chang joins to talk campaigning during the pandemic. 

Chris, Alvin, and Sam dive through all the pre-budget legislation on-tap for Spring 2020. From privatization, to paid sick days, to porch pirates and cat-declawing - it's an electic one. Ontario Tech University's Dr. Barbara Perry joins us to talk about the reach of the far right in Ontario. 

Sam talks to Gayle Nathanson of the Coalition to End Online Hate. Garima, Chris and Sam talk love, romance, upsetting COVID modelling and governance, Ontario's economic outlook, and a quick interlude about Phoebe Bridgers (letting Chris write these may be a mistake). 

We talk about the shocking insolvency of Laurentian University with Higher Education expert Alex Usher, the COVID-19 reopening, the government’s continued fumbling of the autism file, and and we dive into what is try, and not true, about how much money the province has left. Big pod for a big week.

January 2021 continues forever with an exhausting COVID response from the Ford government, attacks on medical experts like Dr. David Fisman, but also some genuinely good news related to sexual assault and violence regulations pertaining to universities and colleges. Garima interviews the Broadbent Institute's Brittany Andrew-Amofah on the importance of paid sick leave. 

Garima, Sam, Chris and Alvin dive back into our government's dismal handling of the pandemic over the last several weeks, the firing of Rod Phillips from Cabinet, the vaccine distribution, predictions for 2021 and so much more. 

Alexi, Sam, Garima, and Chris talk about the year that has been, good things that have happened, the most worrying of the bad things, over and under-reported stories - and we say goodbye to a friend. 

There's finally light at the end of the tunnel with a new climate change plan, and a vaccine rolling out in Ontario. We also dive into the FAO report on the Ford government's slow pace of pandemic spending, and their weird private paid testing system. 

Alvin, Alexi and Chris talk about Doug Ford's slipping poll numbers, the slipping economy, mass resignations on the Greenbelt Council, and problematic findings of the Long-Term Care Commission. Is the Honeymoon with Doug Ford, that we went on two years into our marriage, over?!

Alexi, Alvin, Chris and Sam talk about the wild week in Ontario Politics that we just had, including the government's response to the AG report on COVID, UberEats charges, performance based funding in higher education, and even some Charles McVety talk! Kory Preston joins to talk to us about the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing. 

Trapped in our homes once again, Alexi, Sam, and Chris reflect briefly on the lockdown and Mister Lecce's semi-public musing about temporarily closing schools. Later, they DIVE into Dive student aid - a story about the transformation of OSAP that Sam helped to create starring Deb Matthews, Sheldon Levy, Kathleen Wynne, Alex Usher, and many, many more. 

Chris, Alvin, Alexi and Garima vent about the new provincial COVID modelling, try to take apart what it is that brought us to this point, and where we could go from here. MPP Lucille Collard joins the pod to talk about issues facing Eastern Ontario.  

This week we are back to reality! Julia Drydyk joins from the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking to talk about the effectiveness of the government's work on this important file. We also take you through the 2020 Ontario Budget, or Doug Ford's big expensive gift to big business. 

Your nerves are frayed. You're watching the hours tick by. You're refreshing 538 a few times an hour. It's a big day. So we're promising a light dive into the potential impacts of the election in Ontario, a reflection on how we can strengthen our democracy here at home, and a mini Ontario Loud book club sesh. 

Dr. Shiri Pasternak joins the pod to talk about the history and structures behind land theft from indigenous people in Ontario and across the country. Alexi, Alvin, and Chris talk about Doug Ford's seeming return to his old self, overturning municipal democracy, protecting big business, and rewarding social conservatives. 

Garima talks with Sané Dube and Dr. Arjumand Siddiqi about what looking at disaggregated data can tell us about how the COVID-19 pandemic is having an unequal impact across the province. We also talk about the NDP Long-Term-Care Plan, increasing hydro rates, and the projected Ontario deficit. 

Toronto, Peel, and Ottawa are back at home, Ford is re-tooling a Ford plant in Oakville, and Harman helps us reflect on the progress of the LGBTQ2S+ movement in Canada. CUPE Senior economist Angella McKewan joins Alvin to talk about what we need to think about when we talk about Basic Income. Big week. Big Pod. 

In this one, we talk to a Rhodes Scholar about long-term care. 2020 continues it's relentless beating of our collective sanity by revealing that Doug Ford's government was totally unprepared for the second wave all along, is implementing small administrative changes to social assistance, and spent about as much money as a Liberal government would have, to no political or social benefit. You want it darker? OK!

Ian and Scott from Politicoast join to talk about the "pandemic election fever" that seems to be sweeping the nation, to similar fanfare as the actual deadly fever sweeping the nation. Garima, Alvin, Chris and Alexi talk about the Throne Speech and the Ford government's COVID preparedness. 

Ontario Loud is back! This week, Queen's Park Today reporter Sabrina Nanji joins the pod to talk about how Ontario's parties are nominating candidates, and some rumblings about process in Toronto Centre. Chris, Sam, Alvin and talk about the Ford government's back to school strategy as COVID cases rise, as well as how the federal and provincial governments have shared the cost of the pandemic. 

Chris, Alvin, Alexi, Garima and Sam celebrate Ontario Loud's 100th episode - if you count bonus pods and the Star Trek one (yes we all have regrets) by answering listener questions from the mailbag. We talk electoral reform, secrets at Queen's Park, what makes good and bad politicians, and much more. 

Talia Bronstein from the Daily Bread Food Bank and Sasha McNicoll from Community Food Centres Canada join the pod to discuss how Canada's social safety net has left millions of Canadians in the position of not being able to afford food. 

Alexi, Garima, Alvin and Chris talk about the latest COVID-19 developments, the FAO autism report, the unexpected floor PC caucus ejection, and give our predictions on a potential cabinet shuffle.

Robin Edger from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment joins the pod to talk about how Canada can bounce back from COVID-19 and tackle climate change at the same time. A Green recovery has been proposed by Joe Biden in the States, what would it mean in Canada?

Politics returns to it's normal patter as Doug Ford sets across the province, Trudeau's Ministers are hauled in front of ethics panels, and Ontario re-opens. But in all of that, lots of important issues and opportunities for transformative change are getting lost. 

Leadership consultant Christopher Zabeneh joins Alvin and Alexi to talk about how political parties elect leaders across Canada, their role in our public discourse, and what changes could make them more democratic. 

Garima, Sam, Chris and Alexi talk about legislative firehose the government is asking us to drink from right now, including massive changes to Education, the government's COVID response bill, potential evictions arising from Bill 148, and the Auditor General report correcting the record on the costs of irregular border crossing refugees. 

Stephanie Procyk from the United Way and Anjum Sultana from the YWCA join to talk about the evolving role of civil society organizations pre- and post COVID-19. What is their relationship with government; what should it be? 

Sam, Alexi and Chris talk through the week's news, from Stephen Lecce's new math curriculum, to the COVID-19 outbreaks in Windsor Essex migrant communities, to criticism of the federal government's partnership with WE to provide $900 million in volunteer opportunities. 

Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo joins the podcast to talk about the Ontario NDP policy paper on ending police violence, and how the previous government could have improved its approach to anti-racism policy. Episode prepared by Harman Mundi. 

As we celebrate Pride virtually this year, Sam reflects on issues facing the LGBTQ+ community in 2020 with advocates & activists Rachel Clark and Kevin Hurren - including the proposed conversion therapy ban, continued discrimination against trans people, and the issue of race and policing in pride. 

Sam, Garima, and Alvin dive into the latest on the pandemic, including the government's new contact tracing app, Alvin's family getting COVID-tested, the mandatory collection of race-based data, and the federal/provincial fight over paid sick leave. Also the Ford government's cuts to the Human Rights Tribunal.

Garima and Alexi dive into the under-discussed and pervasive issue of intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic with Vivian Green of the Counterpoint counselling and education co-operative, and Lieran Docherty of WomenACT. 

Garima, Alexi, Sam and Chris talk about ways in which we're trying to support anti-racism efforts in our communities, Doug Ford's announcement that Ontario will be moving to Stage 2 of re-opening, and the harmful federal bill aimed at CERB fraud.