The 905er Podcast

This week, I finally get to tackle a topic that’s been on my mind for a while: dead malls. You’ve probably noticed them too — those once-busy shopping centres across the 905 that now sit half-empty, a shadow of what they used to be. I’m joined by urban researcher and writer Sean Marshall to dig into why this is happening, what it means for our communities, and whether there’s actually a future for these spaces. We talk about how malls went from being the centre of suburban life to fading into irrelevance, and what might replace them as developers and cities scramble to reinvent these properties. If you’ve ever hung out at the food court, worked your first retail job, or just killed time wandering the mall, this episode will make you think differently about what’s happening to these familiar spaces. SeanMarshall.ca It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Burlington Sound of Music Festival is a staple in the 905. Over the Father's Day weekend, Canada's largest free music festival is held on the shores of Lake Ontario in Burlington. Acts such as The Trews, The Arkells, Big Wreck, Walk Off the Earth, and Finger Eleven have all graced its stages. In recent years, troubled times have come to the festival. Keeping this festival free has become harder and harder to do. The situation has become so dire that this year's festival might be its last. That is, unless private sponsors come forward to help keep this legendary event going. To talk about the situation the festival finds itself in, we've invited to the podcast Brent Kinnaird, the Executive Director of the festival. You can find out more about the festival on their website, as well as how to support it on their website here: https://soundofmusic.ca/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February Ontario saw a provincial election that returned the province essentially to the status quo. Doug Ford remained Premier, Marit Stiles remained Leader of the Opposition, and well Bonnie Crombie still didn’t have a seat in the legislature. The Ontario Liberals have returned to official party status with some new faces sit in the legislature. Ontario Liberal Executives are proclaiming this as a huge win for the party. However, the fact that this is the only victory the party can claim from the election isn’t sitting well with a number of grassroots Liberals. They were looking for a return to power. The fact that they are still a distant third place party in the legislature does not sit well with them. These failures are being blamed solely on the leader Bonnie Crombie‘s lacklustre performance. The fact that she did not win her own seat does not help her case with them either. They are calling themselves the New Leaf Liberals, and we invited on to the podcast one of their organizers, Nathaniel Arfin, from Burlington in the 905 to discuss this movement, what they hope to achieve and where they hope to take the Ontario Liberal Party. It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving and keep paying the bills. ⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not ⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week we listened to Mayor Carolyn Parrish’s plan to build housing in Mississauga. Today, we travel down the QEW to St. Catharine’s to talk with Mayor Mat Siscoe about the recent actions Niagara Region has undertaken to work on the housing file. Last month, the region passed a plan to fund subsidized housing for low-income individuals. As well St. Catharines passed a by-law enabling the city to remove encampments from public areas. A move that followed up on our previous episode with the mayor. We invited Mayor Siscoe back to the podcast to talk about these changes to Niagara Region and St. Catharines and see how this part of the 905 is trying solve the biggest crisis of our generation. Our previous episode with Mayor Siscoe is here: https://905er.ca/2024/11/mayor-mat-siscoe-backs-his-decision-to-request-the-notwithstanding-clause/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can so we can keep improving, and keep paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. We didn’t like sharing your generosity with that other ‘patron’ website, so we created our own patron system. Become a patron, get member benefits and our eternal gratitude, and know that you’re not mainly funding some crummy web company in the US. Win-win! Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing. The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Ford is hellbent on building a tunnel under the 401. It's his magic solution to solving gridlock traffic in the 905, by moving millions of cars and trucks underneath Toronto. Right now, no price tag has been placed on this massive project. However, all experts have put it into the many billions of dollars. Not to mention the feasibility of building it in the first place. At the cost to the taxpayer, so high, we've often questioned the logic of this public works project. Traffic is a problem, no doubt, but is this the solution to our woes? Well, one person seems to think we can do better. With the tools already available to us. Spacing.ca editor John Lorinc has written a piece for the magazine highlighting how better funding and planning of GO Transit along the northern communities of the 905 can help alleviate much of the congestion we are experiencing. At the cost of millions to increase bus service between communities, we can save billions over the single use of a tunnel. I invited John on to speak about his thoughts and how we can get moving again in the 905. John's Piece in Spacing John's Piece in The Star It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. ⁠⁠You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca⁠⁠. Or, why not ⁠⁠buy us a coffee⁠⁠? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only one month ago, we interviewed Jill Promoli and Alvin Tedjo to discuss the alarming situation of rising measles cases in Peel Region. Since that interview, case numbers have steadily risen in Ontario. As the time of recording this episode, over 1400 cases have been reported and that number doesn't seem to be slowing down. Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Health Silvia Jones and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kiernan Moore seem reluctant to take direct action on this file. Rather, deciding to serve platitudes and a shoulder shrug to encourage vaccine uptake in communities affected by this outbreak. How did we get to this point? Well, we invited Globe and Mail health columnist Andre Picard to the podcast to discuss how we let one of the most preventable illnesses on the planet get away from us and what needs to be done to get back in control of this public health crisis. Our previous episode on measles is here: https://905er.ca/2025/04/measles-is-making-a-comeback-what-are-we-doing-about-it/ You can read Andre Picard's column in The Globe and Mail here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/andre-picard/ And visit his website here: https://www.andrepicard.com/ It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A short but to the point episode this time around. With the dust of the federal election finally settling, it’s time to look to the future of Canada and the 905. Joel gives his brief summary of what comes next for each political party. It takes money and time to produce this podcast. We love what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With only a few weeks left before the federal election, we ought to have a good idea of who the candidates are and what each party will be like for the next four years. The decision is looming, and a choice will need to be made. However, how do we know we're making the right choice? Ironically, just before the election, Joel read a book called Too Dumb For Democracy, by former guest David Moscrop. The book is a fascinating insight into how we construct our political behaviour. Many factors, from biology to our personal histories, to our environment, all contribute to how we choose who we vote for. We thought it would be interesting to invite David back to discuss the book in general, as well as how we can apply it to this election cycle. https://www.davidmoscrop.com/ You can find our previous episode with David here It takes money and time to do this podcast. We love doing what we do, but please consider supporting us if you can, so we can keep improving and paying the bills. You can become a monthly or yearly patron on our website at 905er.ca. Or, why not buy us a coffee? Nicholas Paul: sound editing.The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices