Breezy Breakfast Radio Hour

Episode 94: Community Wealth Candidates

Community Wealth promotes a different approach to community development.  The goal of local economic stability is achieved by anchoring jobs locally, expanding the provision of public services, and increasing the ability of individuals and communities to own assets.

Run by Canadian volunteers, Community Wealth Candidates works with and nominates candidates for offices at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government.  These candidates support community wealth initiatives by way of Community Land Trusts, Worker Cooperatives, and the progressive use of Anchor Institutions.

Community Wealth starts with "buying and hiring locally."

What are the next steps in building a more resilient community?

What are the guiding principles of Community Wealth Candidates?

Our guest, Colin Bruce Anthes, answers our questions and gives examples of how Community Wealth has stabilized cities punished by globalization and made companies better able to adapt to economic shocks.

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Episode 93: Provincial Election Post-Mortem

After a pitiful voter turnout of only 43% - the lowest in Ontario history - the Ford government won a majority government with 83 seats.

Is democracy in trouble?

Why was the voter turnout so low?

Is it time to institute mandatory voting?

Is Proportional Representation the answer?

Did the conservatives run the best campaign?

Our guests this week are:

Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario and Guelph MPP,

NDP candidate Aisha Jahangir who ran against Doug Ford,

Bill McBain, past Ontario Queens Park insider and current radio broadcast journalist,

and Guelph's Communist Candidate, Juanita Burnett.

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Episode 92: Tea ’n’ Tales and Breezy Bookworms

Welcome to a special episode of Breezy Breakfast Radio Hour.

Today we focus on stories and story telling; the ones that we hear and the ones that we read.

Tea ‘n’ Tales - co-founded by Trevor Barton of the Guelph Enabling Garden and host Brian Holstein - will be returning to Riverside Park this summer.  Join the 13 Fridays of storytelling to hear 27 tellers; some local, some regional, some from afar, many returning, some excitingly new.  There's a new sound system, and sessions for children are being planned.

We have a very special literary guest today:  James Gordon, nominee for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.  His book, The Ark of the Oven Mitt, is a concept novel and CD about the misadventures of a travelling minstrel wandering the hinterlands of Canada.

After we hear about storytelling in Guelph, we get the 411 on what people are reading.  What are some suggestions for summer reading, and why?  Something old?  Something new?  Something funny?  Something spicy and perhaps even blue?  Tune in to find out!  We'll make bookworms of you all!

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Episode 91: Downtown Update

This week on CFRU FM 93.3 the Breezy Breakfast hour is joined by Marty Williams and Meg Dunning of the Downtown Guelph Business Association.   

Over the past few years, Marty, Meg and others have steered downtown Guelph toward revitalization.

Some of their efforts have not been without controversy:  the Welcoming Streets Initiative, Baker Street development priorities, and membership challenges all come to mind.

Meg and Marty talk about all things downtown.  Let’s give them a listen and hear about the challenges facing downtown Guelph in the coming years.

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Episode 90: Provincial Election Special - with Raechelle Devereaux (Liberal) and Mike Schreiner (Green)

Part two of our Provincial Election Special features candidates Raechelle Devereaux of the Liberal party of Ontario and Mike Schreiner of the Green party of Ontario.

Get informed, and then get yourself to the polling booth on June 2nd.

“Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.”
- Susan B. Anthony

“If you don’t vote, you lose the right to complain.”
- George Carlin

Episode 89: Provincial Election Special - with NDP candidate James Parr

The provincial election is on June second, and the race is heating up as quickly as the weather is!

Today we hear from James Parr, the NDP Candidate in Guelph.
Juanita Burnett, the Communist Candidate, also has a few things to say.

What kind of elected representatives do we want?
What are the qualities of an effective provincial government?
What do we expect from our provincial government?

Today, we are proud to present part one of the Breezy Breakfast Provincial Election Special!

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Episode 88: Royal City Science

Welcome to another Breezy Breakfast. Today we learn about Royal City Science:  a grassroots initiative working to establish a science centre in the City of Guelph.  The vision is to create a state-of-the-art facility for informal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.  The goal is to ignite curiosity, build confidence, and inspire the inner scientist in us all.

Science and education have the power to combat the global challenges we face.  The first steps happen right here in our community!  Royal City Science gets us up to date on what they've been doing and lets us know the plan for the next five years - highlighting ways in which the community can help to achieve this ambitious goal. 

For more information, visit royalcityscience.ca

Our guests are Kate Howells and Professor Joanne O'Meara.

Kate is a science communicator and and advocate with the non-profit organization The Planetary Society.

Professor Joanne O’Meara teaches Physics at the University of Guelph.
She is the chair of the board of Royal City Science, and she is passionate about community outreach and engagement.

Listen while Joanne and Kate share their knowledge of Science, Religion, Politics and Ethics. 
Hear them explain how science can cut through pseudo-science and misinformation.
Find out how you can support this initiative by drinking locally brewed beer.
Clearly, a Science Centre in Guelph would be a quantum leap into the future!

Episode 87: National Day of Mourning

Canada's National Day of Mourning is on April 28th.  We honour those who have been killed or injured at the workplace.  Also, we remind ourselves that safety is NO ACCIDENT.  We must continue to promote workplace health and safety.

Today, we hear the story of Edwin, a PSW who got COVID at his workplace.  He ended up getting a double-lung transplant.

We learn about the various challenges in navigating the WSIB system.

We learn why workplace injuries are often not reported.

Janice Folk-Dawson has been a unionized public sector worker for over 40 years.  She is the Executive Vice President of the OFL.

Natasha Luckhardt is the Director of Health, Safety and Environment at the OFL.

Sarah Neath has worked for UFCW for 14 years and is currently the department coordinator for workers compensation.

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Episode 86: The Junction Village

Today we explore the principles of land trusts and alternatives to conventional home ownership.

This week we are joined by two guests who discuss a local experiment in progress - the Junction Village.

Gracen Johnson, formerly with the Incremental Development Alliance, is currently with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.  Gracen will delve into home ownership and the different roles and responsibilities assumed by the different levels of government.  Whether we build estate homes or supportive and transition housing, all governments in Canada play a role in housing.

Mary-Kate Craig is co-founder of The Junction Village in Guelph, an intentional community within walking distance of downtown.  Within a few small properties, residents grow their own produce, tend their chickens and work at living cooperatively.  Mary-Kate informs us of the finer points of alternative living, the prospect of land trusts and the challenges of building this type of community in an economy where private property dominates.

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Episode 85: Buses and Bylines

In November of 2021, Guelph approved its Transportation Master Plan. 

Guelph Transit is undergoing many changes: 
- the bus routes will shift from the spoke and hub system to a blended hub, spine, grid, and outer perimeter system,
- four new electric buses will be on the road by this summer,
- kids under 12 ride free in a one-year pilot program that started on March 1st,
- the one-year Sliding Scale Affordable Bus Pass pilot program started on April 1st.

Our guests this week are:
Robin Gerus, General Manager of Guelph Transit,
Courtney McDonald,  Manager of Business Services for Guelph Transit, 
Adam Donaldson, local transit enthusiast.

Part Two of this week's meeting focuses on media.
Adam Donaldson, "Market Squared" columnist and webmaster of "Guelph Politico," is our guest.

Fun Fact:  In ancient Rome, a tribune referred to any number of elected officials; their job was to protect the citizens by providing a check on the authority of the senators.

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