Open Sources Guelph - March 21, 2019

Open Sources Guelph came on the air with a discussion of extremism back in 2015, and it's been kind of a recurring theme ever since. This week, extremism hits New Zealand and we'll talk about the implications, as well as the implications for Canada's own growing hate movements. On the lighter side, we'll also talk about the newly revealed Federal budget, and the latest follies from Queen's Park.

This Thursday, March 21 at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

We're In the Money! The Federal government unveiled their last budget before the election on Tuesday, and they did it in spite of the consternation and disgust of the Official Opposition. The contents of the budget were comparatively far less controversial as the circumstances that lead up to it. The document itself is a potpourri of offers and tax incentives for a wide variety of people from first-time home buyers, to students, to seniors, and municipal governments. We'll break down the greatest hits of the budget.

Hillier to Die On. Another week at Queen's Park brings another week of controversy. While the integrity commissioner said that no wrong doing took place in the appointment of Ron Taverner, there's still new controversy that involves firebrand MPP Randy Hillier, who says that he was tossed from caucus because he didn't like the way that his boss, Premier Doug Ford, was getting cozy with close friends and lobbyists. Oh yes, and there's all that education news too as the curriculum gets a shake-up and class sizes are increasing.

Christchurch. An Islamophobe and white supremacist walked into two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and killed 50 people and injured dozens more. His 74-page manifesto, social media posts, and live stream of the attack itself all point to a man deeply entrenched in online racism culture, and his massacre was designed to impress and inspire like-minded people. We'll talk about the world-wide increase in terror threats from the far-right, and what role social media companies are playing in the threat.

The Hateful Rate. As we provide sympathy and support to New Zealand in an official capacity, we need to look inward to Canada's own far-right hate movement. Not just the ones we know promote hatred like Faith Goldy or the Alberta-based Yellow Vest Movement of Canada, but the ones like Andrew Scheer who had to submit condolences twice and cancel an event with a European white nationalist. Can we tackle hate abroad when we're having trouble dealing with it head on at home?

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