Wag The Doug: Recent Episodes
CANADALAND
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The life of an unassuming sociology professor in Canada gets turned upside down when he is accused of carrying out a 1980 bomb attack on a synagogue in Paris. Hassan Diab says heʼs innocent, but French investigators are determined to prove otherwise.
Journalists Dana Ballout and Alex Atack take listeners through the twists and turns of this extraordinary story, all the while asking…
Is Hassan Diab guilty, or is he a scapegoat? And what if one person’s justice means committing an injustice to another?
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After six years of Doug-wagging, Allison and Jonathan have learned a few things.
Like how “Ontario,” as a concept, is even more inscrutable than “Toronto” or “Canada.” And how most disasters are not just foreseeable but have in fact been foreseen.
But perhaps most disconcerting of all: that Doug Ford actually knows what he’s doing — or conversely, that he doesn’t have to know what he’s doing, because he understands this province better than any of us.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Sam Konnert (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief), Max Collins (Production Manager), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsor: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Live (on tape) from the intersection of Richmond and Spadina, it’s the fifth annual(ish) Douggie Awards, celebrating the most surreal and mendacious moments of the past year in Ford.
What was the Most Blatant Conflict of Interest? Who offered the Best Spin? Like the Emmys, we take things that actually aren’t that funny at all and stuff them into comedy categories for your convenience. And with yet another Ford offspring expressing interest in politics, will we once again see a clean sweep for succession?
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Sam Konnert (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief), Max Collins (Production Manager), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsor: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Who doesn’t love an ice-cold beer from a bar, a pub, a liquor store… a gas station?
There could soon be up to 8,500 new places to buy low-alcohol drinks in Ontario, thanks to a new plan to speed up an agreement between the province and Beer Store. The cost? At least $225 million of taxpayer money.
Is this accelerated effort to “modernize” the alcohol market simply a play for political points ahead of a possible early election call?
This month, Allison and Jonathan crack a couple of cold ones and pore over the booze clues.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Sam Konnert (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief), Max Collins (Production Manager), Nathan Burley (Music)
Background reading:
- Doug Ford's change to booze sales could cost far more than $225M - CBC
- Under the influence: Doug Ford and the strange history of Ontario’s liquor laws - The Globe and Mail
- Ontario has announced big changes to alcohol sales. Here’s how it’ll work - Global
Sponsor: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad-free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
When the Speaker decreed that keffiyehs were verboten at Queen’s Park, even Doug Ford agreed that that was a bad call. But that came in the midst of a hotly-contested by-election in the 905 — and now that it’s finished, so is his party’s long nightmare of uncharacteristic open-mindedness.
In the eighth month of Israel’s war in/on Gaza, Allison and Jonathan examine how Ontario’s government is cracking down on expressions of Palestinian solidarity, in more ways than you probably realize.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Sam Konnert (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor in Chief), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsor: Douglas
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Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today we’re sharing with you a preview of the first episode of Canadaland’s newest show Pretendians.
What do some of the most prominent and successful Indigenous artists, leaders and thinkers have in common? They aren’t Indigenous.
From major universities, to the halls of power, to Hollywood, there are people claiming to be Indigenous in the interest of power, money, and status. There are dozens of outrageous cases of Indigenous identity fraud that we know about, and likely thousands that we do not.
So why do these so-called “Pretendians” do it? How do they pull it off? And what happens when they are exposed?
To hear more follow Pretendians in your podcast app or click here.
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The next provincial election is two years away, but to turn on your TVs, you’d think we were in the midst of one. Flush with cash, Doug Ford’s party is taking out ads attempting to cast the premier as cuddly and contrite. Meanwhile, the Ontario NDP is going all in on the weird side of TikTok, churning out videos so assertively surreal as to approach the level of art.
This month, Allison and Jonathan don their leotards and consider Ontario politics’ new experimental era.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor in Chief), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Want your audio story on CANADALAND? Submissions for the Local Correspondent Audio Contest are now open! To learn more, visit canadaland.com/audiocontest and follow @CanadaLabs on Instagram to stay in the loop
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Judicial independence is a foundational principle of Canadian democracy. Doug Ford sees it as an obstacle to be overcome. Because if he can’t appoint “like-minded” judges to mercilessly punish criminals, then is it really justice? Why should judges have discretion to… judge?
This month, Allison and Jonathan look at the itty-bitty constitutional crisis that Doug Ford has sparked, through his doubling, tripling, quadrupling, and even quintupling down.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor in Chief), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
At this time of year, we’d normally pine for spring. But nowadays, that means wildfire season. And it’s only a matter of time before British Columbia’s new normal becomes Ontario’s as well — yet we’re not nearly as well-prepared.
Doug Ford’s not too big on acknowledging a connection with climate change. But even more surprising is that his government has barely spoken about wildfires at all, let alone adequately invested in fighting them.
As Allison and Jonathan look out toward our orange, hazy future, they talk to Noah Freedman and Mark Belanger, forest-fire veterans with leadership roles in OPSEU, about what it will take to restore the fire-fighting capacity that Mike Harris incinerated.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor in Chief), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Doug Ford plans to uproot the Ontario Science Centre from the iconic Don Mills home it’s occupied since 1969. But what is the Science Centre other than its iconic Don Mills home?
On a blustery afternoon, Allison and Jonathan traipse up the DVP to learn whether the dreams of their 90s childhoods are still alive in North York. They say you can’t go home again, but they will sell Science Centre tickets to childless adults.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We surmised that Doug Ford would punish Toronto for picking Olivia Chow as its mayor. But if anything, he seems more sympathetic to the city and its issues than before. So what gives?
This month, Allison and Jonathan look at the premier’s peculiar relationships with the leaders of Toronto, Brampton, and Mississauga — and how random grudges can animate policies that ultimately affect millions of people.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Until just a few years ago, staking a mining claim in Ontario demanded banging physical posts in the ground. Now, you can simply head online and click a square on a map.
But while that may be an abstract exercise for office-dwellers in Toronto, the stakes are quite real (if no longer literal) for many First Nations in Northern Ontario — including those that sought, and failed to obtain, a face-to-face meeting with Doug Ford this fall.
On the new Wag the Doug, Allison and Jonathan behold the mining megaproject the premier touts as the future, and take the first steps in a very long process toward someday, maybe having a mine of their own.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Some say Queen’s Park is haunted. Others say it’s merely possessed by the Progressive Conservatives. Either way, there’s some spooky stuff going down.
This month, Allison and Jonathan guide you through Doug Ford’s ministry of terrors, as they probe into the perils that are — or ought to be — keeping the premier up at night, from the Therme deal to the Greenbelt investigation.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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With his polls diving, housing minister resigning, and ill-begotten Greenbelt scheme unravelling, what’s a Doug Ford to do? Why, talk about anything else, of course!
In the face of yet another report laying bare the haphazard chumminess with which power is exerted in the PCs’ Ontario, the premier would like to assure you that everything is fine. And also that he knows where you live.
This month, Allison and Jonathan look at the (figurative) spot marked by lobbyist “Mr. X” and then play a game of “What Does the Ford Say?”
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas,
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ontario’s Auditor General has confirmed what we suspected: that Doug Ford’s government effectively redrew the map of the province, opening up thousands of acres of land for development, based largely on solicitations made at a party. It just wasn’t the party we thought.
Either way, it could make for an entertaining movie.
Allison and Jonathan look at the ways the Greenbelt story could be told on screen and who’d be best suited to star in it.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Matt Elliott
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
Sponsors: Douglas, Apollo Cinema, Bytowne Cinema, Fox Theatre
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How did a Doug Ford policy move from 2019 lead to 10,000s of international students schlepping their backpacks to strip malls across the GTA? Allison and Jonathan investigate how Ontario colleges have cashed in on an international student free for all — and whether the party could be coming to an end.
Further reading, watching and listening:
- Sold a Lie, Fifth Estate (https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2132310595766)
- Cash Cows, W5 (https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/priest-neighbours-issue-plea-for-help-for-struggling-international-students-in-cape-breton-1.6337730
- Dami’s Canadaland episode (https://www.canadaland.com/podcast/707-canadas-international-cash-cows/)
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
This episode is supported by Douglas and MoMugi.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Toronto is in the midst of its most exciting election in a decade, tickling us with the possibility of hope. But does it still make sense to get invested in the outcome, when Doug Ford could easily run roughshod over Council, squashing the new mayor like the Monty Python foot?
With Allison away this month, Toronto Star columnist and City Hall Watcher Matt Elliott joins Jonathan to look at the candidates, explain why this matters, and consider what Toronto’s next mayor might do to wag Doug Ford before he can wag them.
Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Matt Elliott
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ten years after becoming famous as the mean older brother of Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor, Doug Ford spends his days peddling fast-food promotions and posing for pictures with cops. Which is pretty much the future we might’ve guessed for him — just not the part about his being premier of Ontario all the while.
This month, Allison and Jonathan peer into Ford’s parallel fixations on law enforcement and cookies. To him, there isn’t a problem that one or the other (or both) can’t solve.
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
This episode is supported by Douglas.
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Doug Ford claims he’s all about building, but he sure has a thing for enthusiastically bulldozing the utopian public projects of yesteryear.First it was Ontario Place. Now it’s the Science Centre. At what point does he train his sights on TVO?Allison and Jonathan reflect on the legacy of Ontario’s public broadcaster and why its survival now rests on the shoulders of Steve Paikin.
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
This episode is supported by Douglas. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It’s every-Ford everywhere all at once, as we celebrate the year’s most absurd and distressing developments in Ontario politics. What was the premier’s Falsest Promise? The Most Harmful Policy? The Best Fordism? You’ll never guess what insects Allison and Jonathan will swallow at the fourth annual(-ish) Douggie Awards.
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
This episode is supported by Douglas. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
It turns out Doug Ford and his "developer buddies" are more than just a metaphor. A recent report by Global News found a fleet of lobbyists and developers were invited to a Stag & Doe last August for the daughters of Ford, where they were "browbeaten" into making $1000 donations. While they have not been individually identified, the Ontario integrity commissioner confirmed the developers were "personal friends" of Ford. At this point are weddings and backyard barbecues in Etobicoke the only way to get an ear from Ontario's premier? And why would Ford need a Stag & Doe? All this on Wag the Doug today.
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Conservatives don’t like Canada’s public healthcare system. They think it makes us like Cuba and North Korea.
Now, after years of working to gradually undermine it, Doug Ford has declared that the “status quo” isn’t working, throwing open Ontario’s doors to new for-profit clinics. But when it comes to performing surgeries, just how steady is the market’s invisible hand?
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), André Proulx (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
This episode is from our friends on the CANADALAND network, COMMONS! This season they are digging into monopolies and asking, is there something special about Canada that makes it especially hospitable to monopolies? To listen to the rest of the COMMONS: Monopoly season, use this link or search COMMONS in your podcast app of choice.
Canadians are being squeezed at every end. When it comes to cell phone bills, grocery bills, housing, entertainment, we’re all paying more than ever before.
But a small number of companies that dominate their industries are reaping in enormous profits.
This season of COMMONS we’ll be digging into all of the monopolies, oligopolies and cartels that dominate our lives. And for our first stop, we head to the supermarket.
Featured in this episode: Vass Bednar, Marco Chown Oved (Toronto Star)
To learn more
“Supermarkets are hiking prices faster than necessary — and profiting from inflation, Star investigation suggests” by Marco Chown Oved in the Toronto Star
Regs to Riches by Vass Bednar
“Canada’s competition watchdog to investigate grocery industry in wake of soaring food prices” by Ghada Alsharif in the Toronto Star
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Associate Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator)
Additional music from Audio Network
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Doug Ford loves calling things “corrupt.” But just how often must his party’s friends and donors reap rewards from their policies before the word can be liberally flung back? On this month’s show, Allison and Jonathan look at who benefits from dismantling the Greenbelt and then trade fave findings from the latest Auditor General’s report.
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), André Proulx (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
This week, Doug Ford learned that while it’s stunning easy to toss out constitutional rights, it’s a heck of a lot harder to get away with that. By passing the Keeping Students in Class Act complete with notwithstanding clause, the government mounted an unprecedented attack on CUPE, and essentially all organized labour, picking a fight for which they were thoroughly unprepared.
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), André Proulx (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music - included with Prime.
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Meet David Wallace, political fixer. After decades in the game he says he’s getting out, telling all, and dumping his files in public. The result is the viral "Klondike Papers" theory of conspiracies, conservatives, and cults. But are the allegations true? And why is he really implicating himself, and so many others? A wild, true story.
Series launches October 31st.
Subscribe now (link).
Meet David Wallace, political fixer. After decades in the game he says he’s getting out, telling all, and dumping his files in public. The result is the viral "Klondike Papers" theory of conspiracies, conservatives, and cults. But are the allegations true? And why is he really implicating himself, and so many others? A wild, true story.
Series launches October 31st.
Subscribe now (link).
With electricity demand set to rise and Pickering’s nuclear plant set to close, Doug Ford’s government is now scrambling to keep the province’s lights on. Perhaps spending hundreds of millions to cancel green-energy projects and dismantle new wind turbines might not have been the most forward-thinking of ideas.
With an eye on the thermostat, Allison and Jonathan plug in to Ontario’s frayed energy system, its Ticketmaster-like approach to billing, and how, in fleeing from the problem, Doug Ford has gone fission.
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), André Proulx (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
This episode is supported by Douglas.
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
With electricity demand set to rise and Pickering’s nuclear plant set to close, Doug Ford’s government is now scrambling to keep the province’s lights on. Perhaps spending hundreds of millions to cancel green-energy projects and dismantle new wind turbines might not have been the most forward-thinking of ideas.
With an eye on the thermostat, Allison and Jonathan plug in to Ontario’s frayed energy system, its Ticketmaster-like approach to billing, and how, in fleeing from the problem, Doug Ford has gone fission.
Hosts: Allison Smith, Jonathan Goldsbie
Credits: Kattie Laur (Producer), André Proulx (Managing Editor), Nathan Burley (Music)
This episode is supported by Douglas.
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Socials:
Jonathan Goldsbie on Twitter: @goldsbie
Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The province has got a housing crisis, and the only prescription is… more mayoral powers?? Allison and Jonathan probe the comically flimsy pretense under which Doug Ford has fundamentally, if casually, reshaped how Ontario’s two largest cities are governed. Because what doesn’t quite kill Toronto and Ottawa, apparently just makes their mayors stronger.
Clarification (September 22, 2022, at 8:46 p.m. EDT): Ottawa mayoral candidate and councillor Catherine McKenney uses "they/them" pronouns — not "she/her" pronouns, as used in this episode.
This episode is supported by oxio and Douglas.
Support Canadaland: canadaland.com/join
The province has got a housing crisis, and the only prescription is… more mayoral powers?? Allison and Jonathan probe the comically flimsy pretense under which Doug Ford has fundamentally, if casually, reshaped how Ontario’s two largest cities are governed. Because what doesn’t quite kill Toronto and Ottawa, apparently just makes their mayors stronger.
Clarification (September 22, 2022, at 8:46 p.m. EDT): Ottawa mayoral candidate and councillor Catherine McKenney uses "they/them" pronouns — not "she/her" pronouns, as used in this episode.
This episode is supported by oxio and Douglas.
Support Canadaland: canadaland.com/join
The province has got a housing crisis, and the only prescription is… more mayoral powers?? Allison and Jonathan probe the comically flimsy pretense under which Doug Ford has fundamentally, if casually, reshaped how Ontario’s two largest cities are governed. Because what doesn’t quite kill Toronto and Ottawa, apparently just makes their mayors stronger.
Clarification (September 22, 2022, at 8:46 p.m. EDT): Ottawa mayoral candidate and councillor Catherine McKenney uses "they/them" pronouns — not "she/her" pronouns, as used in this episode.
This episode is supported by oxio and Douglas.
Support Canadaland: canadaland.com/join
Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
Allison and Jonathan talk with Jacobin’s Luke Savage about why the NDP so often provokes indifference, while its American and British counterparts sometimes seem poised to spark revolution. Might a new leader succeed where Andrea Horwath did not?
Plus: The Premier’s new cabinet offers unprecedented representation by members of the Ford family. Because it’s 2022.
Savage’s new book, The Dead Center, is available for pre-order here.
https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/the-dead-center/
This episode is supported by Oxio, Douglas and the Images Festival.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The PCs are up seven seats from last time, and the opposition parties are down two leaders.
We were going to record this from Doug Ford’s election-night event, but Jonathan wasn’t allowed in. So he and Allison met up after to talk about life in the Second Age of Ford, and what it means when a vindictive government also believes it’s a vindicated one.
This episode is supported by Douglas, Oxio, Ground News, Skipper Otto and How’d You Like That Movie
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As Doug Ford campaigns against fumes, his opponents are increasingly running on them. Less than a week away, the election’s outcome is hardly a foregone conclusion, but the Liberals, at least, have reached chicken-suit levels of desperation. Are they telling us there’s no candour available in all of Del Duca’s vista?
Also, Allison and Jonathan consider whether Doug Ford has actually “evolved” (he hasn’t) and why the Star’s Queen’s Park columnist is so convinced that he has.
Further reading:
Read Martin Regg Cohn’s Toronto Star column about how Doug Ford has changed: https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2022/05/24/on-the-campaign-trail-doug-ford-is-a-changed-man-in-changed-times.html
Watch the Liberals’ chicken suit video: https://twitter.com/OLPWarRoom/status/1529521747019571200?s=20&t=gNYPcy-hNBzCX1JvH7lTJg
Want to try ad-free? For a limited time, get access to all of Canadaland’s shows ad-free for $1/month for 3 months! Subscribe at canadaland.com/join
This episode is supported by Oxio, Ground News, Skipper Otto and How’d You Like That Movie
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our election coverage continues into week three. This week, there was a weirdly upbeat leaders’ debate, two party leaders got COVID and several trade unions came out in support of Doug Ford and the PCs. Jonathan and Allison break down what it all means.
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This episode is supported by Oxio, Ground News, Skipper Otto and How’d You Like That Movie
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On week two of the election campaign, the dirt starts to surface about candidates, the party leaders participate in their first debate and the Liberals release their fully-costed platform.
Links: Read the Press Progress piece about Stephen Lecce participating in a slave auction: https://pressprogress.ca/ontario-education-minister-stephen-lecce-participated-in-slave-auction-during-time-as-frat-house-leader/ Read that Toronto Life profile of Steven Del Duca: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://torontolife.com/city/this-man-would-like-your-attention/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1652390474737927&usg=AOvVaw3Yr7-kv7OiNcRxodCwhQ7n Watch the parody version of Doug Ford’s campaign song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlVaVueCe3E
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This episode is supported by Oxio, Ground News, Skipper Otto and How’d You Like That Movie
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Wag the Doug is going weekly for the Ontario election!
On the first weekly Wag, Jonathan and Allison talk about Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca’s introductory Youtube series, Ford’s campaign launch, cringey Star Wars memes, transit ideas and plenty more.
Want to try ad-free? For a limited time, get access to all of Canadaland’s shows ad-free for $1/month for 3 months! Subscribe at canadaland.com/join
This episode is supported by Oxio, Ground News, Skipper Otto and How'd You Like That Movie
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A listener writes in, wondering why she's getting a rebate cheque in the mail right before an election campaign. Jonathan and Allison take stock of everything the Progressive Conservative Party is doing to secure an election victory, from conveniently-timed cheques to a spree of spending announcements.
Plus, a special announcement about the show.
This episode is sponsored by Rotman, Oxio, How’d You Like That Movie, Ground News and Skipper Otto
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s once again that time of year, when the stars of Ontario politics come out to — well, not shine, exactly, so much as drably absorb a depressing fluorescent glow. The 3rd Douggie Awards honour the terrible and hilarious developments of the past 12 months or so that made us laugh ’til we cried or cry 'til we laughed.
Allison and Jonathan hand out the prizes, and all signs point to a triumphant night for The Power of the Doug.
Additional music credits:
Isolation Swing by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/61465 Ft: SmoJos
The Vendetta by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/58628 Ft: Apoxode
The Day We Went To Tesco's by Radioontheshelf (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Radioontheshelf/61451 Ft: Old Dog Ross
Two Swords by _ghost (c) copyright 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/_ghost/26146 Ft: rocavaco, redhair
Sleazy Trombone Intro by Camel7695
This episode is sponsored by Skipper Otto, Oxio, Rotman’s Risk Management Program, and How'd You Like That Movie.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When the trucker convoy cratered Ottawa, Doug Ford hoped he could turn the other cheek. However, when another protest blocked the Ambassador bridge in Windsor, disrupting his beloved supply chain, he declared a state of emergency to make sure Ontario stayed ‘Open for Business.’
Jonathan and Allison discuss what prompts action from the premier and why he’s behaving differently than his federal Tory cousins.
This episode is supported by Rotman’s Behaviourally Informed Strategy program.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Toronto Sun likes to blast the “unelected” public health officials informing pandemic policy in Ontario. But who’s really calling the shots in Doug Ford’s government?
Allison and Jonathan look at the sway held by pollster Nick Kouvalis and PC campaign manager Kory Teneycke. Not only are they unelected — they don’t even work there.
This episode is sponsored by Rotman's Executive Leadership Online and Canadian Politics Is Boring.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It was only a matter of time before Doug Ford dragged us back into a casino debate. Except this time, it’s not on the waterfront but in your pocket. Allison and Jonathan look at the possibly criminal implications of his government’s new approach to internet gambling, and why you might soon be able to literally place a bet on that.
This episode is supported by Rotman’s Negotations program.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With an election seven months away, Doug Ford’s government has suddenly decided it’s pro-worker. But would any of their proposed reforms actually improve the lives of low-income and gig workers in Ontario?
Allison and Jonathan talk to Brice Sopher of Gig Workers United about whether Ford is actually “Working for Workers” or — like many gig workers themselves — is simply taking instructions from app companies.
Support Canadaland at canadaland.com/join
This episode is sponsored by Rotman’s Executive Leadership Online.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Support us here: https://wtd.supercast.com/
How do you put a smiling, election-ready face on a government that’s done little but slash regulations and mismanage a pandemic? That calls for a brand refresh!
Allison and Jonathan look at how Doug Ford’s PCs are positioning themselves as The Party of “Yes,” despite a track record that’s at best full of maybes.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Doug Ford used to oppose vaccine passports. Now’s he super in favour. That he changed his mind wasn’t surprising; that he did so before Ontario hit a new crisis point was.
With Allison in New York, where she’s coming to love her vaccine passport, she and Jonathan pore over clues as to why Ford reversed himself sooner rather than later. What does it take to change the premier’s mind?
This episode is sponsored by Rotman's Executive Leadership Online.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Opened in 1971, Ontario Place was an idealistic effort to celebrate and cement a provincial identity. Fifty years later, and having been left to rot, it’s about to be carved up and privatized by the Doug Ford government.
Join Allison and Jonathan as they take a trip to Ontario Place, where past, present, and future collide in an awkward mishmash of ambitions.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Over 25 years, WE built a golden brand by inspiring children to rally around their charismatic leader. But behind the scenes, employees experienced a cult-like culture and a troubling blur of charitable and commercial activities. In the aftermath of a national scandal, thousands of donors and volunteers (and dozens of ‘celebrity ambassadors’) are left wondering where the money went, and whether the savior industry creates a constant need for victims.
From CANADALAND, the news company that exposed it all, this is the exclusive story of a charity that did well when it was supposed to be doing good.
Subscribe to The White Saviors now! Series launch: August 23
This trailer contains source materials used under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act.
Sources:
It Takes a Child Craig Kielburger's Story - A Journey into Child Labour Directed by Judy Jackson Produced by Judy Films Youtube
The Story of Craig Kielburger produced, and narrated by Sherine Mansour CPAC Youtube
In Search Of Character LiveWire Media Elkind+Sweet Communications, Inc https://www.livewiremedia.com/product/in-search-of-character/
The Price WE Paid The Fifth Estate/CBC
Interview with Craig Kielburger CSPAN
Craig Kielburger NSB Speakers promotional video Youtube
Marc Kielburger NSB Speakers promotional video Youtube
WE Movement Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm6agaIkn5aBJlLLds7P1HQ
MeToWe Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm6agaIkn5aBJlLLds7P1HQ
CTV News - Kielburger brothers interview with Lisa Laflamme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_p5PRLy2os
MTV Cribs: Craig Kielburger Episode Haddon Strategy https://vimeo.com/49975157
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Allison and Jonathan answer listener questions, such as: Will the government really give a boost to personal-support workers? And what’s the deal with Doug Ford’s brother’s hat? Join them as they venture into the Ford Family Extended Universe.
Guaranteed more Fords per minute than any other podcast.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Doug Ford is getting ready for next year’s election by increasing donation limits, shuffling his cabinet, and overriding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to pass a law limiting the criticism he’ll face. This sudden bonfire of political capital has our hosts wondering: given the state of Ontario’s opposition parties, just what is Ford so afraid of?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In Doug Ford’s Ontario, there’s no problem that can’t be solved by giving police new powers. This time, the issue is human trafficking— which, well that makes sense, right? The reality is far more complicated.
Allison and Jonathan talk to Elene Lam of Butterfly, the Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network, who explains how the government’s new Bill 251 will actually cause harm to vulnerable populations that are already criminalized and over-policed.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With the pandemic reaching new levels of crisis each day, and public anger at the government rising in proportion, how has Doug Ford chosen to spend his evenings? Fundraising!
The Ontario PCs have built an enormously effective big-money operation and just passed a new law to entrench it. Allison and Jonathan explore the ways the party collects cash — and how such contributions appear to inform the government’s life-or-death decisions.
This episode is sponsored by Images Festival.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The GTA has become the site of a massive tow truck turf war. Vehicles have been fire-bombed, a law office has been shot up, and cops face criminal charges for their involvement. And the person in charge of reining in the violence and corruption? Doug Ford. Allison and Jonathan talk with Peter Edwards, the Toronto Star’s organized crime reporter, who explains how this tow truck tumult puts everyone at risk.
Correction (March 17 at 4:06 p.m. EDT): This episode erroneously describes Sol Mamakwa as “Ontario’s first and only Indigenous MPP.” He is, in fact, the second member of a First Nation to sit in the legislature, following Peter North in the 1990s, and serves alongside NDP colleagues Guy Bourgouin (who is Métis) and Suze Morrison (who is of mixed Indigenous and settler heritage).
This episode is sponsored by Dispatch Coffee.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Laurentian University has filed for creditor protection, while another, opening this fall, has attracted just 47 applicants. What is going on with Ontario’s postsecondary sector? And what can the premier’s own brief college experience tell us about his government’s peculiar approach?
Allison and Jonathan also talk to Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, about how the whole business model for Ontario’s colleges and universities has changed dramatically in the past several years.
This episode is supported by Dispatch Coffee
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s the second annual Douggie Awards, where Allison and Jonathan take stock of all the hilarity and abject horror that was the Year in Ford. Who carries home the trophies for “Best Sycophant,” “Most Surreal Moment,” and the always-popular “Most Blatant Conflict of Interest”? Take a stroll down the shoddily constructed blue carpet and join us as we celebrate the worst that Ontario has to offer.
Additional music:
Isolation Swing by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/61465 Ft: SmoJos
The Vendetta by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/58628 Ft: Apoxode
Two Swords by _ghost (c) copyright 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/_ghost/26146 Ft: rocavaco, redhair
Moonlight Sonata (Shifting Sun Mix) by Speck (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/speck/57884 Ft: Snowflake
This episode is brought to you by Cullens Foods.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Doug Ford vowed that those who couldn’t afford rent during the pandemic wouldn’t lose their homes. Instead, he made evictions easier than ever. And now, thanks to online hearings, the bleak indifference of that process is on display for all.
Allison and Jonathan look at what it means when housing is chiefly seen as an investment, not a right, and how the province has doubled down on facilitating shareholder profits at the expense of tenants who took the premier at his word. They also talk to Bryan Doherty of Keep Your Rent Toronto and Sam Nithiananthan of People’s Defence Toronto, about resistance and solidarity in the face of a real-estate market that’s slowly pushing everyone toward the same cliff.
This episode was brought to you by Cullen's Foods.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Except when they’re investigating members of his family, Doug Ford really loves the police. So much so that, earlier this year, when calls for defunding became inescapable, he responded by giving them more money.
In this episode, Allison and Jonathan look at his government’s record on policing, and the extent to which it has and hasn’t reversed recent attempts at reform.
They also talk to a fifth-grader (but about different things).
This episode was brought to you by Cullen’s Foods.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's crowdfunding month! Support us at canadaland.com/join.
To be caught off guard by Covid’s first wave was misfortunate. To be caught off guard by its second looks like carelessness.
Allison and Jonathan look at how Doug Ford’s bungling of the pandemic’s resurgence has squandered any earlier benefit of the doubt. And they talk to Dr. David Fisman, a U of T epidemiologist, whose pointed online criticisms of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer have softened of late — but not because he thinks he’s doing a better job.
Additional music: Phase 4 by Xylo Ziko.
This episode is sponsored by CullensFoods.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Support us here: WagtheDoug.com
With large swaths of the continent on fire, we look at how Doug Ford’s government recently took a torch to environmental regulations under the guise of a “Covid-19 Economic Recovery Act.” Jonathan and Allison speak with Greenpeace lawyer Priyanka Vittal, who’s leading one of the lawsuits against the changes. And in examining what the government has accomplished on the environment front, we find it involves a lot of shooting of birds and trucking of wolves.
This episode is sponsored by CullensFoods.com
Clarification (September 24, 2020): In a discussion of COVID at universities, an earlier version of this episode included a statement that “the government started publishing a list of every school” with at least one case. In fact, the statement was in reference to public primary and secondary schools.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Support us here: WagtheDoug.com
Following a five-month hiatus, Wag the Doug reemerges into a whole new world — one in which Doug Ford is somehow… broadly popular? Allison and Jonathan try to figure out what happened. Has the premier really improved? Or is there something else at work?
CORRECTION: In this episode, co-host Allison Smith states that “the provincial debt is poised to hit $38.5 billion this year.” She was, in fact, referring to Ontario’s budget deficit.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Doug Ford has been widely commended for his response to COVID-19. Are people just looking for comfort or has the crisis truly brought out the best in the Premier?
This show is supported by listeners. If you like it, please consider supporting us at Patreon.com/canadaland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A new investigative series about the cocaine smuggling ring inside Vice Media.
To hear episode 2 right now, subscribe to Cool Mules.
Or get all six episodes ad-free for $5/month by clicking here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Doug Ford has announced that the 2022 campaign has begun and the Liberals are currently polling as his top rivals, despite being decimated in the last election. We visit the final debate for Liberal Party leadership to see who will take on the Premier.
Plus, a review of Run This Town, a movie that’s about Rob Ford, but is also sort of about Jonathan Goldsbie. Run This Town will be released in select theatres on March 6th.
This show is supported by listeners. To support us and get ad-free versions of all of our podcasts, go to Patreon.com/canadaland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After a decade of planning and $110 million spent, the Ford Government abruptly cancelled Hamilton’s LRT, leaving empty buildings and questions about the city’s future in its wake. Was it just a line item? Ballooning costs? Or political sabotage in an NDP town?
Featured in this episode: Hamilton city councillors Nrinder Nann and Maureen Wilson, and longtime Queen’s Park watcher Keith Leslie.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Auditor General has released her annual report, scrutinizing the government's spending on everything from prisons to horse racing. We dig through it to bring you the 10 fascinating things we learned.
And Doug Ford begins his unity tour. CORRECTION: The NDP's critic of OLG and horse racing is Percy Hatfield, not Wayne Gates as stated in the show. However, Wayne Gates did provide the quote that is attributed to him in this episode.
This episode is sponsored by Small Batch Dispatch.
This show would not exist without the support of listeners. Please consider supporting us at Patreon.com/canadaland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We dive deep into the past, present and future of Ontario News Now, the PC Party's online faux-news outlet. Is it dangerous propaganda or harmless government cheerleading?
Plus, is Doug Ford finally playing nice? And do the PCs have their own version of a gas plant scandal brewing?
This podcast exists because of listener support. If you want it to keep going, please support us at Patreon.com/canadaland.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our colleagues at COMMONS have a new season of their podcast called DYNASTIES, all about the powerful families that run Canada.
Today, we're sharing their episode about the rise of the Fords.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Justin Trudeau won't stop saying "Doug Ford" while Andrew Scheer is going to absurd lengths to avoid acknowledging the Ontario Premier's existence whatsoever.
We take a look at how Doug is playing a role in the federal election.
Get tickets here to see us live at the Hot Docs Podcast Festival.
This show is supported by listeners. Please consider supporting us at Patreon.com/CANADALAND
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
While the public has loudly protested funding cuts to areas like education and autism support, cuts to arts and culture have gotten less attention. So how are the arts doing under the Ford Government? Where is this government cutting and what are they supporting? And finally... what art does Doug Ford actually like?
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With a new Cabinet in place and ongoing allegations of nepotism in the Ontario government, we present to you: The Doug Ford Guide to Management.
Plus, we play everyone's favourite political patronage game, "Guess The Relation."
If you like this show, please consider supporting us on Patreon.
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Tonight, we gather to honour the Doug Ford Government a year into their historic mandate. Our hosts hand out the much-coveted Douggie Awards to those who have shown tremendous achievements in spin, bootlicking and dramatically miming the hunt for beer in convenience stores. Join us for this unforgettable evening.
This episode is sponsored by Penguin Random House Canada.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the month since the budget was released, we've gotten a lot more details about the Ford Government’s cuts. The environment is one area that's been hit hard, with plans to murder some baby trees, make it easier to kill endangered species', and fight the carbon tax with the most powerful tool on earth: stickers.
We enter the world of commercial talk radio to see what some of Ford’s biggest cheerleaders think about this.
And we find a glimmer of hope.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Ford Government's first budget is out. They call it "Protecting What Matters Most." We spend eight hours locked in a room with bureaucrats, reporters and cheap pizza to find out what exactly does matter most to Doug, once you put a dollar sign on it.
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Plus, the one he fulfilled that blew up in his face.
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Is the Ford Government trying to privatize healthcare? Plus, a list of things Doug Ford has broken.
Further reading: "The Secret Moves To Privatize Healthcare" in The Toronto Star
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An old friend of the Ford family has been appointed to head the Ontario Provincial Police, a job many consider him to be under-qualified for. We look back to Doug's history with Ron Taverner, as well as the group of unofficial advisors who surrounded the Fords for years.
Plus, we introduce a new segment called... wait for it... "For the People."
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We visit Ford Fest, where people wait for burgers and juice boxes in the dark as a white supremacist takes a selfie with the premier.
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Doug Ford won't let some silly Charter get in his way! Just two and a half months in, he's poised to use a rare and extreme measure to win a petty legal battle.
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Two months in, the Ford government just lost their first lawsuit. What makes it even more humiliating is they lost to Elon Musk.
There are many other legal battles in the works.
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It's only been a month.
Queen's Park Today publisher Allison Smith follows every move Doug Ford makes. CANADALAND news editor Jonathan Goldsbie covered him for years as a City Hall reporter. They're here to make sense of the chaos of the new Ford era.
We will keep making this podcast if you want to hear it. So if you want episode 2, tell us! And tell other people to listen.
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