Pints & Politics Podcast

28/06/2024

This link leads to the 1st post in this series of fictionalized reflections: "Ralph: A lifetime, poorly remembered..."
https://templeman.substack.com/p/ralph-a-lifetime-poorly-remembered-f25
To find the subsequent post click on the "next" prompt at the end of each post. Have put up 14 Memory posts so far. More to follow...
All the podcasts that were posted on the Pints&Politics site are now available through this Substack site.

This is the first post. A serialized sequence of fictionalized reflections. In this segment, Ralph describes his "home". More to follow. If you prefer to listen, go to the audio link below the photo:

10/06/2024

Another post in a series of fictionalized reflections: Ralph recalls a week-long canoe trip on Georgian Bay in a voyageur freighter canoe with 4 families, 8 kids & a dog...

Ralph finds a set of photos that transport him back to a magical canoe trip when his kids were small.

12/08/2023

Jim Dufresne, a retired GE employer, passed away on August 5th. Jim was incredibly generous with his time and energy in support of concerned citizens who were attempting to prevent BWXT from manufacturing nuclear full pellets on Monaghan Road in Peterborough. Having worked in nuclear fuel production for GE, he knew the dangers well. In January 2020, Jim agreed to be interviewed on these issues. As a tribute to his help, here's a reposting of that interview:

In Part 2 Jim Dufresne, a former GE worker with 42-years of experience, including over 20 years working in the nuclear side of the plant, explains his doubts.

23/05/2023

The Ontario Govenment needs to better fund hospitals, not open more for-profit clinics. Premier Doug told us we will only need a health card, not a credit card, to get treatment. Is that still true? Operating rooms sit idle for 16 hours every day. Listen to this panel discussion of health professionals & activists: https://templeman.substack.com/p/episode-121-why-is-the-ontario-government Please vote in the OHC's referendum on May 26-27: https://publichospitalvote.ca
Peterborough Currents Ontario Health Coalition
Peterborough Examiner kawarthaNOW.com Peterborough Currents PtboCanada

You can vote online or you can vote in person but you can only vote once. Here's how: Find a voting station near you Vote online  Our communities have spent a hundred years fundraising & volunteering to support our local public hospitals & build services closer to home. On January 16, Premier Doug ...

25/04/2023

We subsidize oil, nuclear, forestry & automotive plants. How about more stable funding for the arts? Huge thanks to panellists Susan Ditta Bill Kimball & Kate Story "...funding for the arts in Peterborough needs to be managed by an independent body or agency — a professional arts council — that is at arm’s length from elected officials." Recorded on April 23rd -- just over 53 minutes long.

Canadian Politics: Top Issues & Electoral Politics

21/02/2023

If Canada truly lived up to its potential as an open & free democracy, we wouldn’t need Black History Month. Join panellists Rosemary Sadlier & Stephen Wright for questions & answers about this significant month & why it's needed now as much as ever.
https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/episode-119-the-origins-future-of-black-history-month-in-canada/

Why we celebrate Black History Month: A panel looks at progress and pitfalls.

29/01/2023

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/kaplan-myrth-as-holocaust-remembrance-day-approaches-what-are-we-actually-learning

Hate in all its ugly forms is regrettably becoming increasingly topical, whether it is racism, antisemitism, anti-trans & LGBT+ bashing, or overt & covert discrimination. In this article, an Ottawa school board trustee describes how antisemitism has been granted a new level of public permission that is frightening. Also, a week before Christmas, a few of us held a panel discussion on hate that is pertinent here: https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/episode-118-hate/ It is no longer enough to look away. Time to stand up & be counted.

Rising antisemitism and intolerance have become a common experience of many in Ottawa and across Canada.

14/01/2023

Misinformation & disinformation feed hate for partisan gain. This panel discussion looks at the sources of hate & how we need to deflate them: https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/episode-118-hate/

07/01/2023

Here we are in 2023, but hate is still alive & well in Peterborough. This panel discussion with local artists, activists and politicians explores the threat and the potential responses that the community has to manifest.

Expressions of hate have been exploding over the past year. Whether it’s on the news, on social media or in real life, now we hear almost daily accounts of antisemitism, anti-Black racism, anti-trans slurs, anti-LGBT+ attacks, poor bashing and anti-immigrant outbursts. Even in Peterborough. What i...

18/12/2022

Our new podcast episode ( #118) on Hate is now up at https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/ and also on iTunes & Stitcher. Peterborough Currents kawarthaNOW.com Recorded Dec. 17, 2022

Canadian Politics: Top Issues & Electoral Politics

08/07/2022

Check out Episode #117 for details on why City Councillor Stephen Wright has chosen to run for mayor & what he hopes to achieve. Stephen also weighs in on the tough issues that the next council will have to face. Voting Day is Oct. 24.

Peterborough City Councillor Stephen Wright explains why he is choosing to run for mayor and what he hopes to achieve.

29/06/2022

Living in Canada in 2022: Our panel looks at our divided country as we lurch into another Canada Day, angry with each other & trusting few. Our divisions are growing; our hypocrisies are becoming harder to gloss over. Huge thanks to panellists Stephen Wright & Jill Tilley. Check out Episode # 116:

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31/05/2022

How to future-proof Peterborough & region. Our panel looks at housing & food insecurity, climate change, inflation, zoning, urban planning & localization. The future always shows up locally first. Many thanks to Dane Bland Cheryl Lyon Stephen Wright & Trout in Plaid for your insights into what might hit us next and how we can do a better job of getting ready. This podcast episode (Episode #115) was recorded on May 29th. 57 minutes long. https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/

10/04/2022

A new episode ( #114) of the https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/ podcast is now up. This episode explores why the Citizens Against Radioactive Neighbourhoods (CARN) sought a judicial review of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's (CNSC) license extension for BWXT. This firm wants to be able to assemble nuclear fuel pellets in a residential neighbourhood across the road from Prince of Wales Elementary School. Peter Harris from CARN explains the approval process entailed in the potential CNSC certification of this nuclear manufacturing operation. He also reviews the health and safety implications of this operation for the community surrounding BWXT’s plant in the legacy GE Hitachi plant on Monaghan Road. The findings from this Judicial Review held on March 21-22 will be released in a few months.

Canadian Politics: Top Issues & Electoral Politics

02/03/2022

A new Episode #113 of the Pints & Politics podcast is now up: https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/what-are-the-implications-of-the-mandate-blockades-trucker-convoys/ Listen to a timely panel discussion of the implications of the blockades & convoys; who won, who lost, how did the political parties deal with this issue and what did we learn about policing in Canada? Thanks, panellists Jill Tilley, Trout in Plaid, Dane Bland & Stephen Wright
Recorded on Feb. 27.

As we look back at the recent pro-vax and anti-vax demonstrations, the trucker convoys, the blockades, the protests in Ottawa and elsewhere (including the slow-roll convoys in Peterborough) and the Emergencies Act invoked then revoked by Justin Trudeau, what do we see? What does our country look lik...

28/01/2022

Listen to author Kate Story read 3 excerpts from her new novel "Urchin", set in St, John's, Newfoundland in 1901. Being read to is an intimate pleasure we need more of as this Siberian winter gets serious. Grab a blanket; all you need to indulge for an hour of escape is right here: https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca - Check out Episode #112. Kate Story's rich voice will transport you back to an earlier time -- and a landscape steeped in secrets...

20/01/2022

Just posted now! Episode #111 of the Pints & Politics Podcast https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca in which our intrepid panel looks at FordNation's pandemic management record & then assesses the impact on Canada of possible US political instability after their November mid-terms. The US instability segment starts after the musical interlude at 27'40". Recorded on Jan. 17, 2022. Huge thanks to panellists Jenny Davis Lanciault, Jill Tilley & Stephen Wright

Canadian Politics: Top Issues & Electoral Politics

11/01/2022

The campaign against malicious anti-vaccine propaganda is a long game, not a quick fix: https://www.macleans.ca/society/health/misinformation-from-the-u-s-is-the-next-virus-and-its-spreading-fast/

It’s deadly, malicious and there’s no vaccine. The infodemic is here. But it's not unstoppable.

02/01/2022

Gwynne Dyer's message on the future of our global climate is unremittingly bleak. He has interviewed leading scientists and military leaders around the world; the result is a grim picture of our options. Still, he believes there is hope if we can summon the political will to act immediately.
https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/edition-50-gwynne-dyer-on-our-climate-change-crisis/

Journalist and international affairs commentator Gwynne Dyer explains what he found out about climate change from interviewing leading scientists around the world. This is a ominous tale to which we need to respond or face grim consequences.

25/12/2021

Has Covid-19 shown us too many weak links in our community? Back on May 8 of 2020, just past the peak of the 2nd wave when this panel discussion was recorded, we thought the pandemic was fading. Our guest panel looked ahead to what the future might hold for Peterborough as the pandemic lurched towards the eventual 3rd wave. Thanks to panellists Cheryl Lyon, Sarah Cullingham, Kemi Akapo, and Ian Attridge. This audio file is 26 minutes long in listening time.
https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/edition-84-part-2-which-future-should-we-aim-for-as-peterborough-re-opens-when-the-pandemic-fades/

Has Covid-19 shown us too many weak links in our society and in our community?  As Peterborough opens up again, will we re-create the old normal, or will we embrace this opportunity to make significant changes?  Some changes are obvious: the tragic tactic of cutting costs in private-sector nursing...

11/12/2021

This is what we thought the pandemic would be like back in the early days. Our politics panel (Jenny Davis Lanciault, Lauren Hunter, Tim Etherington & Donald Fraser) gathered online on March 22, 2020, to look ahead into the unknown. The WHO has just declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global pandemic on March 11. How the world has changed...how would we have known what was coming? What did we get right? or otherwise? t.ly/DJFM

Our politics panel normally looks at discrete political events in time, things like elections, resignations or scandals. All have a beginning, a middle and an ending. The Covid19 outbreak is not just an event. It is a huge ongoing process for our community, our country and the world. We don’t know...

27/11/2021

Listen to our guest panel unpack the mismatch between local employers’ needs and job-seekers skill sets. Why is finding work in Peterborough so hard? How is the world of work changing? How can job seekers of all ages be successful? How can employers find the workers they need? Recorded in April of 2019, this podcast episode is still (sadly) current. Huge thanks to panellists Stuart Harrison, Monique Beneteau, Husayn Dharshi, and Paul Bennett. https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/edition-53-finding-work-in-peterborough-why-so-difficult-for-employers-job-seekers/

Listen to what our guest panel has to say about find working in the changing local job market here in Peterborough.

21/11/2021

What has happened to Peterborough’s City Council over the past 4 years? What narrative could explain how we went from the top-down approach of the Bennett years to the optimism of a new, “progressive” council in 2018 to the apparent dissolution of the current season? There are many narratives that could take us from then to now. What role did the pandemic play in this council’s effectiveness? What has been the role of social media and online communication in this council’s relationship with its citizens? What have we learned about the role of women in local politics and the pressures to which they are subjected? Do we have a distorted view of how much power the City Council wields? What is the balance of power between the council, the mayor and senior city staff? Who’s really in charge here and who should be in charge? Check out Episode #110 of the Pints & Politics podcast here:
https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/ Thanks to panellists Cheryl Lyon, Sean Conway, Jenny Davis Lanciault, Trout in Plaid & Dane Bland

13/11/2021

This interview on Basic Income was recorded in November 2019 when Dr. Forget was in Peterborough for a speaking engagement. Evelyn Forget is a health economist whose research investigates basic income and the best ways to ensure that everyone has access to the resources they need to live full and healthy lives. Timely then, even more so now. 57 minutes long. https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/edition-73-evelyn-forget-canada-needs-a-basic-income-strategy/

Author and economist Evelyn Forget makes the case for a national Basic Income strategy in order to eliminate poverty in Canada.

30/10/2021

Back in the summer of 2019, many of us lost our collective ability to look the other way. That was the summer of Peterborough's Tent City. Prior to Tent City, our homeless citizens were easy to ignore. But a church-hosted overnight shelter closed, and almost overnight tents popped up in parks downtown. What can we learn as we look back at our reactions of 2 years ago? The politics panel from the Pints & Politics podcast gave us the context & recent history of Peterborough's homelessness crisis as of August of 2019. This panel discussion was recorded on August 15, 2019, and broadcast on Trent Radio. What has changed since then? What has to change now as we move into a second pandemic winter? This episode is just under 31 minutes long. You will hear panellists Sylvia Sutherland, Donald Fraser, Jenny Lanciault, Lauren Hunter & Sean Conway. t.ly/IRMy

Our political panel looks at Peterborough's homelessness crisis and explores what can be done to deal with the sudden appearance of Tent City and the long-term problem of a lack of affordable housing for vulnerable people.

23/10/2021

You see it everywhere in the city. As rents go up, homelessness is climbing in Peterborough. This panel discussion on the pandemic's impact on homelessness with Christian Harvey of One Roof & Meagan Hennekam, then-executive director of the Yes Shelter, was recorded on Apr. 29, 2020. Even though the City has found homes for 174 people since then, homelessness has gotten worse. http://t.ly/mCLK What are the solutions? Who is listening?

Since mid-March, most of Peterborough has been on some form of quarantine. For the middle-class and more privileged households, the past 7 weeks have been like two months of Sundays.  Our Medical Officer of Health has told us to stay home, and that is what most of us have done.  Great advice, but ...

16/10/2021

The pandemic has magnified the inequality of resources throughout Peterborough. Add to this the impact of the escalating real estate market on rental rates; adequate housing is moving further out of reach from more and more people. Given the dire circumstances faced by so many, could the addition of tiny homes to the city’s housing stock help the homeless? The answer is yes; these tiny homes of less than 350 square feet could make a huge difference. Our guest panel on housing & tiny homes — activist Dan Hennessey, community advocate Susan Gontier and modular construction executive Steven Haylestrom — examine the track record of tiny homes in other communities and outline their role in alleviating Peterborough’s extreme shortage of social and affordable housing. Tiny homes can also kickstart the development of caring communities that can provide hope and support for our most vulnerable citizens. Check out Episode #105 on the Pints and Politics Podcast here: https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/episode-105-could-tiny-homes-reduce-homelessness-in-peterborough/

Tiny homes reduce homelessness, build community & save money

02/10/2021

In our Peterborough-Kawartha riding, the Liberals got 2,618 more votes in October of 2019 than they received on September 20th. Where did those 2,618 voters go this time? What drove the tripling of the PPC vote? What drove the Conservative's victorious campaign? Listen to a panel discussion of the 2021 election results with Sylvia Sutherland, Jenny Davis Lanciault and Donald Fraser at https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca (Episode #108)
. Recorded on Sept. 23rd.

Canadian Politics: Top Issues & Electoral Politics

25/09/2021

Our new Election Debrief podcast is now up! We look at the national race & our Peterborough-Kawartha riding (Episode #108); our panel looks at the dynamics of the local race: the high points, the disappointments, the discoveries, the gaffes and the anger. What is to be made of the People’s Party of Canada surge in votes, both nationally and in our own riding? Why wasn’t justice for Indigenous people more of a campaign issue? In this election, 2,618 fewer voters cast their ballots for Maryam Monsef as compared to the 2019 election. Why? Where did all those voters go? Who did they vote for? Or did they just stay home? Did Monsef’s ministerial duties take her too far away from the needs of her own constituents? What will happen when Michelle Ferreri reveals her Red-Tory opinions to her Conservative caucus colleagues in Ottawa? https://pintsandpolitics.ptbopodcasters.ca
Thanks to awesome panellists Sylvia Sutherland, Donald Fraser Jenny Davis Lanciault!

Canadian Politics: Top Issues & Electoral Politics