Episodes

  • Encore: Political Panel re: the Mayor's Proposed Home Ownership Incentive Plan

    Encore: Political Panel re: the Mayor's Proposed Home Ownership Incentive Plan
    Mar 23 2026
    Tomorrow, The mayor’s “Home Ownership Incentive Plan” that he announced at the London Chamber of Commerce State of the City address this past January is coming back to the council’s Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee, that’s council’s Committee of the Whole for a second kick at the can. The recommendation received a bit of a rough ride and a referral back to staff back in February, so we’ll have to stay tuned to see what happens next. Today’s episode is a portion of the podcast political panel that ran shortly after the chamber of commerce’ state of the city address was held back in January. During the mayor’s address, he announced that he had used his strong mayor powers to direct staff to develop, what he called, an Affordable Home Ownership Incentive Plan. Essentially the plan would incentivize purchases of some newly built homes in London by reimbursing or rebating home buyers' the cost of development charges for homes selling for at or below the average cost of a new home - which, these, days is $630,000. Depending on the build, development charges can run between $20,000 for a small apartment to just over $50,000 for a Single Family Home. These charges pay for the capital costs incurred and associated with the cost of a growing city. Think things like Water, Waste Water, Roads, Parks, Transit, and Emergency Services. Developers incorporate these costs into the price of a new home, so the incentive program being considered by council would reduce the overall cost of a new home purchase, until the one time funding source is exhausted. 60% of this rebate, $5 million dollars, would be paid for by city coffers - using funding from the Federal Government’s housing accelerator budget and the remaining 40%, approximately $3 million dollars, would be covered by the home building industry here in London by way of reducing the selling price. This is one time funding, so once the money is gone, it’s gone. Staff predict that about 260 new home sales could be supported before the funding source has been exhausted. Back in February, councillors had a lot of questions when this came forward, for their review. They sent those questions and the whole program back to staff for additional information. Tomorrow, Tuesday March 24th, the answer to those questions will be presented by staff again, for council’s consideration and possible direction. Will the incentive program, in whatever form, be approved tomorrow? We’ll have to stay tuned. In the meantime, this encore edition of a portion of this show’s first ever political panel can give you a better sense of the overall program and an idea of what the panelists thought of it at the time.
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    20 mins
  • Who should run London's Music Office? Councillor Sam Trosow has an idea.

    Who should run London's Music Office? Councillor Sam Trosow has an idea.
    Mar 20 2026
    You might know that London was designated as a UNESCO city of music back in 2021. The initiative is currently run out of the Tourism London Office. Ward 6 City Councillor Sam Trosow is going to join us to tell us how he thinks the first 5 years of the program have gone and he’s going to tell us what he wants to see next. UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It was formed in 1945 and has 194 members states today. It manages the World Heritage Centre (which designates World Heritage Sites), promotes education for all, supports scientific research and protects cultural diversity. There are currently over 50 "Cities of Music" within this global network, and it’s been about about 5 years since London earned its designation as a UNESCO City of Music. And still today, London is the only Canadian City to have that City of Music Destination. 2026 is a milestone for London. Last week, City Council reviewed a report that detailed what the city and community partners have been able to accomplish since earning the distinction. The report also includes some information on where the City of London’s Music Office thinks the program should go from here. That second part - where they are recommending council go from here - is an important one because the distinction has a kind of “use it or lose” clause. In other words if, among other things, future strategic planning doesn’t have a central focus on investing in Music, Art and Culture. That means that London could claim to be the first Canadian city to earn the distinction and it could also be the first Canadian city to have it revoked. That’s the background, Ward 6 City Councillor Sam Trosow joins the show to tell us all about it.
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    13 mins
  • Mike Donachie tells us what's going on at City Hall.

    Mike Donachie tells us what's going on at City Hall.
    Mar 12 2026
    Homelessness, a towering tower, campaign donations, wider drive ways and a look ahead to the early days of the 2026 campaign. This episode is a milestone episode of sorts - depending how you count it, we’ve just passed 30 episodes for this podcast. As we head into spring, this podcast is making its way towards its first anniversary - we’ll celebrate that at the end of June. I don’t want to count any chickens at this point, but surpassing 30 episodes, with a growing audience is something most start up shows like this experience. That’s all because of you and many excellent guests, too - so thanks to everyone involved for that. One thing I’ve learned is that a good podcast needs great guests and I am so grateful for all of the guests who have joined us for the past 30 plus, episodes - this included community leaders, frontline workers, past members of city council and even 3 members of our current council. Spoiler alert, by the end of March that number of sitting council members joining the show is going to grow to 4. And to the other 11 members, if you’re reading this, please know that you're more than welcome to share this space too. Drop me a line if you have something you want to talk about and we’ll find the time to hear what you have to say too. We’ll stick to the facts and make sure we’re looking at issues of the day from as many different perspectives as possible. Speaking of great guests, local journalist Mike Donachie joined me this week on Newsmakers - That’s a news program I host over on Rogers Television. The episode today is an abridged version of that conversation and if you want to catch the whole thing, you can do so over on Roger Television. Mike is watching City Hall closely and he’s reporting what’s happening there on a regular basis for a start up that he has just launched, It’s called “London City Hall notes” and he publishes it using the Substack platform. As the municipal election, scheduled for late October, approaches - you can expect to hear more from Mike in the weeks and months to come. Today, he’s here to tell us all about what’s going on at City Hall - So let’s go.
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    14 mins
  • Mechele and Melissa tell us about working the front lines of the Homelessness Crisis

    Mechele and Melissa tell us about working the front lines of the Homelessness Crisis
    Mar 6 2026
    Mechele Tebrake is community care worker who has 23 years experience working the front lines of the homelessness crisis. Melissa Schembri is a frontline worker who has been doing this work since 2018. There are over 2000 Londoners who are experiencing homelessness here in London and that number grows each and every month. People like Mechele and Melissa provide support to these individuals who are living rough. We talked a bit about this during our first segment - At a recent city council meeting, members of council were considering a number of policy changes that a group of 78 frontline workers say would have made their work harder and the lives of the folx they serve harder still. When council met to discuss the changes, These frontline workers filled the gallery too. This caught council’s attention and the changes didn’t happen. On top of the 2200 folx experiencing homelessness in London, there are another 83,000 individuals living rough across Ontario. As Londoners, we hear about and witness the homelessness crisis on a regular basis. Mechelle, Melissa and their colleagues are immersed in it every single day.
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    11 mins
  • Rachel Macaulay, V.P. of Philanthropy for Ronald McDonald House tells us all about a major capital campaign that's happening, right now.

    Rachel Macaulay, V.P. of Philanthropy for Ronald McDonald House tells us all about a major capital campaign that's happening, right now.
    Feb 27 2026
    Rachel Macaulay serves as the Vice President of Philanthropy for Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontario. I don’t know if you are aware of, have volunteered for, or been supported by Ronald McDonald House. If you have, you will know just how impactful the work that they do is. Over the years, and from time to time, I’ve had a few opportunities to volunteer with various groups there - working in the kitchen to prepare meals for the families who find themselves living at Ronald McDonald House. In the kitchen, you’re kind of behind the scenes - you see the compassion, dignity and care that the parents and families staying there receive - on what are likely the lowest, hardest and scariest days of their lives. The positive impact these staff members and volunteers offer these families is immeasurable, it can’t be described. Currently, Rachel is leading a historic capital campaign to double the House's capacity so they won’t ever have to turn families away when they need help the most. Rachel has more than 13 years experience in philanthropy and communications. She has built her career around the belief that transformational giving changes the giver as much as the recipient. As International Women's Day approaches, Rachel asked to come on the show to share a message that is championing. "Give Boldly, Gain Boldly" — it’s a call for women and their allies to step into strategic philanthropy and see it not just as an act of generosity, but as a powerful vehicle for personal growth, professional influence, and community impact. She’s here to tell us all about it - so let’s go.
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    27 mins
  • Councillor Sam Trosow and Mario Circelli Join to Talk UNESCO City of Music

    Councillor Sam Trosow and Mario Circelli Join to Talk UNESCO City of Music
    Feb 23 2026
    UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It was formed in 1945 and has 194 members states today. It manages the World Heritage Centre (which designates World Heritage Sites), promotes education for all, supports scientific research and protects cultural diversity. Back in 2004, UNESCO introduced a Creative Cities Network (UCCN). This network highlights cities that place creativity and cultural industries at the center of their development strategies and strategic plans. The "City of Music" designation is one of seven creative fields recognized by this network, which also includes: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature and Media Arts. There are currently over 50 "Cities of Music" within this global network, and it’s been about about 5 years since London earned it designation as a UNESCO City of Music. It took almost a decade of work to get there, spread over several councils to get there. Andy still today, London is the only Canadian City to have that City of Music Destination. London is in good company by the way - other City’s of Music include: Nashville, Tennessee, Austin Texas Seville in Spain and Liverpool, England - if memory serves, that last one was the birthplace Gerry and the Pacemakers, Echo and the Bunnyman, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The La’s - Remember There She Goes? And ah…one other band that’s on the tip of my tongue. Anyway, 2026 is a milestone of sorts for London, City Staff and Tourism London are delivering a report to a council committee later this week detailing what the city and community partners have been able to accomplish since earning the distinction and the report also includes some information on where they think council should go from here. That second - where they are recommending council go from here - is an important one because the distinction has a kind of “use it or lose” it clause. In other words if, among other things, future strategic planning doesn’t have a central focus on investing in Music, art and culture. That means that London could claim to be the first Canadian city to earn the distinction AND it would also be the first Canadian city to have it revoked. That’s the background let’s get on with the show. Over the decades, Mario Circelli has done more for the music scene in London than I can fit into an intro. To give you just a taste, he is the founder and chair of the Forest City London Music Awards which he launched in 2002 and it it continues to grow today he also founded the Forest City Music Hall of Fame. These days he Digital Creative Arts Centre at BGC - oh he founded that initiative too. We’re also joined by Ward 6 City Councillor, Sam Trosow - Sam has been a proponent for Music Art and Culture on and off Council and we’re lucky to have him here with us today.
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    38 mins
  • Mike Donachie joins to tell us all about his new project, London City Hall notes.

    Mike Donachie joins to tell us all about his new project, London City Hall notes.
    Feb 13 2026
    Mike Donachie is a communications leader and journalist who’s been an engaged Londoner for many years. He’s a former City Hall reporter for the Metro London newspaper, later serving as director of communications for Libro Credit Union .These days he’s taken on a new public interest reporting project locally focused on his old beat - London City Council. You can find it over on Substack. He's joining us on the show today , to tell us all about it.
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    16 mins
  • Peter Devlin joins to tell us all about the growing financial crisis that every Ontario college is experiencing, right now.

    Peter Devlin joins to tell us all about the growing financial crisis that every Ontario college is experiencing, right now.
    Feb 10 2026
    Lieutenant-General (retired) Peter Devlin finished his military career as the commander of the Canadian Army. When he retired from military service in 2013, Fanshawe college brought him on board and he’s been serving as their president ever since. Under his leadership, Fanshawe College experienced significant growth. These days, the college, along with all other Ontario colleges, is experiencing a budget crunch. Peter joins us to tell us all about it. He’s got some ideas about how to fix this too.
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    13 mins