GUELPH POLITICAST #534 - Housing: The Bigger Picture (feat. Ashley Schuitema and Matt Whitfield & Gaetan Heroux)

GUELPH POLITICAST #534 - Housing: The Bigger Picture (feat. Ashley Schuitema and Matt Whitfield & Gaetan Heroux)

From Guelph Politicast by Adam A. Donaldson

July 15, 2026 · 54 min · Episode 1475

About this episode

This episode discusses housing issues in Guelph and Ontario, featuring interviews with advocates and legal representatives.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, this week's episode of the Guelph Politicast is a combination of two interviews from recent editions of Open Sources Guelph. Housing remains a big issue in this city, as we saw as recently as last night's council meeting, but housing is an Ontario-wide issue too so for this episode of the pod we will open our gaze to areas beyond our borders. Two times now, Waterloo Region has tried to evict a homeless encampment on the site of proposed transit hub project in Kitchener, and twice an Ontario court has upheld the Charter rights of the people living there. Now, the Region and the Ontario government are trying to take things to the Court of Appeals, but will they have any greater success there? In part one, Waterloo Region Community Legal Services executive director Ashley Schuitema, who represents the residents, will tell us why she’s holding all the cards. For years, we’ve been waiting for all levels of government to make substantial progress on getting more affordable homes built, but some advocates are now wondering if maybe working within the present system is worth their while. In part 2 we will be joined by Matt Whitfield and Gaetan…

People in this episode

Host: Adam A. Donaldson

Guests: Ashley Schuitema, Matt Whitfield, Gaetan Heroux

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Waterloo Region Community Legal Services

Places: Kitchener, Toronto, Ontario, Guelph

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