Latest / Kvetch & Release / AM800 CKLW Roundtable with Dan MacDonald, Jon Liedtke, Chris MacLeod, & Brian Yeomans - May 27, 2024

Transcript

AM800 CKLW Roundtable with Dan MacDonald, Jon Liedtke, Chris MacLeod, & Brian Yeomans - May 27, 2024 · Kvetch & Release

0:12
Well, hey, good morning, and welcome back. It's Dan McDonald.
0:15
Thank you so much for tuning in. You're listening to the Dan McDonald Show
0:18
on AM at hundred SKLW. Thanks so much for tuning in this morning.
0:22
I'm excited because I've got a great roundtable here on this this kind of rainy,
0:25
soggy Ich Monday morning. A little bit sad about our rain yesterday.
0:29
A great, great weekend for going out, a lot of great things happening
0:32
on both sides of the border, and I was a bit sad to see
0:34
the rain kind of pour down. I was thinking about some of the folks
0:36
who were over at Movement, the electronic music festival in Detroit, and I've
0:40
been following it. I was debating kind of going over today yesterday, and
0:44
then I saw the rain. It said everyone evacuate Heart Plaza immediately there was
0:48
rain. There were some tornado warnings as well, so very very dangerous when
0:52
there's when there's that kind of weather and you're doing the public event. So
0:55
I get it, but ah, darn, it sucks when that happens.
0:58
But joining us in studio, a few people who are I associate them all
1:00
with downtown. Joining us in studio. No stranger to the show at all.
1:04
We have Brian Yeamans, who is regional director of sales at A FHC
1:08
Hotels. Brian, good morning, morning, Dan, good to see.
1:11
Good to have you back on the show. It's been way too long,
1:12
so to have you back on. Yeah. Yeah, it's great to have
1:14
you on as someone who is definitely no stranger to the show in the last
1:17
couple of weeks, especially because Downtown has been front and center chair of the
1:21
d WB. I A. Chris McLeod, you're back, Welcome, Good
1:25
morning Dan, Thanks for having me on. Great weekend for Downtown too,
1:27
I saw I was down there. A lot of great things happening all weekend.
1:30
Long, phenomenal last but certainly not least a host of Rose City politics
1:34
and also here on AM eight hundred CKLW mister John Lidkey, John, good
1:38
morning, Good morning Dan. I can see the rage in your eyes right
1:41
now, John, as you're struggling with Facebook and social media, and there
1:46
is an issue with Facebook. It's not sinking properly, um noticing it's not
1:49
Maybe it's just in this building. I think I don't know. What I
1:52
know is I'm not su everyone else has noticed this too. If you send
1:53
a message to somebody, especially a link on your phone on Messenger, and
1:59
then you pull up Messenger on your laptop, often the link that you sent
2:01
will not be there the problem. Have you noticed that too, Chris,
2:05
Yeah, and I've noticed it too. I've been sending myself articles on my
2:09
Messenger on my phone to open up at work, and I'll get to work
2:12
and nothing's there. And it's really starting to well, I'm starting to get
2:15
John about it. John has a look of rage on his face right now,
2:19
and I know that look, well, I can sense it. H
2:23
that's not worth it right off the top. I want to talk with a
2:25
newspole. It's a doozy of a newspole as well. The budget for the
2:29
proposed City Hall Square ice rink project has risen to six million dollars to more
2:35
than fifteen point four million. And the question is just straight up, none
2:38
of us really have decision making power in this. So should city move Should
2:43
City Council move ahead with the project? No way or yes? Way?
2:46
Time to build nice things? What are your thoughts? John? You were
2:49
you were very wound up about this one this morning. So we'll start with
2:53
you listen. This is this is our Maid and Windsor solution. This is
2:57
just how we do things in this city. I don't know if we intentionally
3:00
under value what a project is gonna be so it gets the approval and then
3:05
a year later, I mean, look, look, look at the state.
3:07
I'm sorry. We approved this on May the twenty eighth last year.
3:14
So one year to the day May, he's like twenty seventh today, and
3:16
here we are, and we're finding out that it's six million dollars above the
3:20
nine point three million dollar budget, bringing it up to fifteen point four million.
3:23
But this shouldn't be surprising to anyone. We just saw this, of
3:25
course, with the street car, which was approved at eight point four million,
3:29
and somehow it increased a ten point five million. But let's not forget
3:32
that was a free street car was free, and it ended up costing US
3:38
ten and a half million dollars. We saw the same thing with Adventure Bay
3:42
and with the Aquatic Center. This is how it's done in Windsor. Maybe
3:46
I'm just being cynical. Maybe it's because of inflation, Maybe it's because there's
3:51
a lack of trades people. Maybe it's because construction materials have gone. Maybe
3:53
you know, there's a whole lot of reasons, and I'm willing to be
3:55
dragged into some engineer's office and browbeaten and told I'm wrong for all of the
4:00
reasons. And I've been wrong many times before, and I'll be wrong again
4:02
in the future. And I'm happy to be wrong when it's explained to me.
4:06
But I challenge someone right now to come forward and say that, like
4:10
what I'm putting forward, this feces isn't correct, because it's what we see
4:15
over and over again in this city when it comes to getting buy in.
4:19
So I think from now on, whenever council gets a proposal to go and
4:24
spend money, we should just assume the project is going to increase somewhere between
4:30
the figure of twenty five to sixty five percent, and that's the number that
4:34
we should probably be keeping in our head. It's frustrating, especially when we
4:39
see all of the work that's being done for strength and the core the costs
4:42
associate with that. We had to go and do a budget increase to just
4:46
get that approved at like three and a half million dollars, But here we
4:50
are with this going up another six million dollars. That is to strengthen the
4:56
core plans for an esplanade that has counseled f aptly puts we don't need it
5:01
right now. Is it nice? Absolutely? Will it do good things?
5:04
For sure? But do we have a mental health crisis yes? Do we
5:09
have a drug and addiction crisis? Yes? Do we have a housing and
5:11
homelessness crisis? Yes? We have so many other priorities that we could be
5:15
focusing on. Six million dollars is a huge amount of money, even though
5:20
I've been one to say in a billion dollar a year budget it's not that
5:24
much. Six million is a lot when you actually see what it can be
5:27
spent on. It's double what we're putting to fix our downtown entirely forever.
5:32
So would that be an a just move on, Dan, I am,
5:40
I'll save mine for last. I'm Chris your thoughts on this one. I'm
5:46
rubbing off on. So you know we were chatting a little bit out before
5:49
this about this, and you know this is to me, this is not
5:53
a winsor problem. This is a government problem. Just you know, it
5:57
doesn't matter where you are there. The system is broken when it comes to
6:00
quoting, and you know how government is quoted versus the public sector being quoted
6:06
and cost overruns, and you know, everybody knows the game. And I
6:11
think that you know, government, you know, whether it's you know,
6:14
at the local level, at the provincial level, at the federal level.
6:16
I mean, you know, look at the arrivecan thing. I mean,
6:19
you know, government just gets abused. And so putting that aside and recognizing
6:26
that, you know, probably it happens everywhere. As a proponent of downtown,
6:31
you know, I think that we have to build things that draw people
6:35
downtown, unique things that bring people downtown. Would I love to see it
6:41
on the shoulders of the private sector. You know what we're doing with the
6:44
pau Martin building, right bringing a boutique down hotel downtown that will be an
6:48
attraction that will bring people that they get to do something that they can't do
6:53
somewhere else in the city. And so from a lover of downtown, I
6:58
believe that we have to create things that bring people downtown. And you know,
7:03
as I said, I'd love to see it on the private sector.
7:05
I'd love to see something done with the barn by the private sector that would
7:09
bring people downtown and take it off of the off of the public sector prosal
7:14
We said, no, yeah, that's not well, it's going to come
7:17
back around, right. It's part of the properties that are that are coming
7:20
out from the city for redevelopment. So you know, hopeful that you know
7:25
that that group will come back with a proposal that'll be palatable for the city
7:29
to revitalize that property. But anyway, yeah, yeah, I digress.
7:32
Bryan. Your thoughts era downtown downtown as well. I see you down there
7:35
every time I'm downtown. What are your thoughts on this project? I kind
7:39
of mirror what what John's saying. I think the fact is we've we've really
7:44
put and it's been consistent. It's been you know, as John allutitude,
7:48
the Adventure Bay, the the street car house, all of these things that
7:54
they've come in with what one amount and they've doubled it or sometimes tripled it.
8:00
We need to have more accountability for those things and to have it change
8:05
within a year. Costs for labor and construction haven't just gone up in the
8:11
last year. This has been going on for the for the past four years
8:15
and since the beginning of COVID. We saw you know, plywood, it
8:18
was you know, that was like gold in the construction industry at least that's
8:22
kind of come down. But I mean, I think we, I think
8:26
we really need to hold the feet to the fire of the of City Council
8:31
and say this, this is a bit too much, and maybe we need
8:33
to back off on this portion for now. You know, I don't think
8:39
costs are going to go down, but I don't think, you know,
8:43
jumping in with a with an increase of the amount that they're talking about is
8:48
palatable. Right, I'm hoping, like I'm kind of team build it,
8:52
like I I know nothing about planning and budget when I'm hoping, though,
8:56
I'm also team compromise, like maybe, Okay, we thought it was gonna
8:58
be this much as can be, it's now being pigged at this much more.
9:01
Can we find maybe a happy medium in there to get it done?
9:05
And it not for sure? And again I don't want to risk having it
9:09
too much of one and not enough. In other words, now it's a
9:11
cheap, half half assed version of what it was supposed to be. But
9:15
I I do what's that we can say about it? Yeah, I say
9:20
my favorite thing then, yes, never half asked something whole asses. Well,
9:24
there we go. That that's kind of my thing. But I don't.
9:26
I just think you can't. I know you can't. I guess right.
9:31
I just think it does. It does offer a lot of recreational activity.
9:33
I look at Detroit and I see Campus Marshes what they did there,
9:37
and I see it as this whole mecca and heart of the city in downtown
9:39
Detroit, and I think it really helped reimagine. It was part of the
9:43
revitalization of Detroit. And I feel like we're at that little cusp right now
9:46
where we do need all the things that Fred Francis mentioned, all the things
9:50
that you both mentioned to about mental health and supports. We need that,
9:52
but we also need people, and I feel like this would be one thing
9:54
that would help to bring some people and just help give our downtown a bit
9:56
of shape. Hate being over too, but here we are, right So,
10:01
I don't know. It's a it's a tough one and I'm curious to
10:03
see. So would you be a na for right now, like a bigger
10:05
fish to fry brand I think it's a bigger fish fry. Yeah, I'd
10:09
say I'd be a not right now, right not that volume. Yeah,
10:13
And I forget Chris, you are a kind of you are a Are you
10:15
on the same page as I am about this or so? I Yeah,
10:18
I think that I would. You know, I'm sure that council and administration
10:22
are you know, doing everything they can to keep things on budget. So,
10:28
you know, I'm not a big fan of government spending. I live
10:31
in the town of Lasal and I'm looking at what they're spending. They're spending
10:33
six million dollars on their you know, waterfront skate park, and as a
10:39
taxpayer in the town of Lasal, I question that, And so I think
10:43
that I think that I would probably if push came to shove, I would
10:48
be an ay. Even though I love you know, I obviously I love
10:50
downtown and I love what they're doing, I think that six million dollars,
10:54
you know more is is a lot of money. So yeah, I think,
10:58
you know, we need to be responsible with the taxpayers money as well.
11:03
So yeah, we have to get a really quick break. We're going
11:05
to come back with our roundtable this morning. We have Chris McLoud, Brian
11:07
Yeomans, and John lid Key here. Don't go away. It's the Dan
11:11
McDonald's show on AM eight hundred. Well, Hey, good morning, and
11:16
welcome back. It's Dan McDonald, thank you so much for tuning in.
11:18
Want to welcome back our roundtable guests as well, Regional director of Sales at
11:22
FHC Hotels, Brian Yeoman's share of the DWBIA, Chris McCloud and host of
11:26
Rose City Politics and here on AM eight hundred CIGA John Lydkey is a roundtable
11:31
within a roundtable on commercial break and this one we kind of continued the conversation
11:35
talking about downtown. It started with the news poll question about the budget for
11:39
the proposed City Hall square ice rink risen six million dollars to more than fifteen
11:43
point four million. The question is should city council move ahead with the project?
11:48
Yay or nay? And the conversation kind of evolved into downtown and I
11:54
said, I said, off break, you know, I'm kind of bring
11:56
the nice things in. But John brought up a point. John, Well,
12:01
you were just kind of talking about some of the issues and I don't
12:03
want to ignore the issues, but people do need supports in place. There
12:07
are people who are using drugs right on the streets and the question is what
12:11
do we do with those people? People who need help? There should be
12:13
help available. Absolutely some people don't always want help. So what do we
12:18
do it as a police issue or is it a health issue. It's a
12:20
both issue. It's one can't be done without the other. And I think
12:24
like the nurse police teams that we're seeing are really really innovative and smart ways
12:28
to deal with it, but there has to be a balancing act. Look,
12:31
I used to own a medical cannabis lounge. I understand harm reduction.
12:35
I come from that background, but I also am a member of our community,
12:39
and I live in the downtown Core, and I work and play in
12:41
the downtown Core, and I got it. I'm sick of stepping over crack
12:46
pipes. I'm sick of having to walk hurriedly by people who are smoking crack
12:50
in alcoves and there's six or seven of them. I mean, I've seen
12:52
public acts of sex on our streets that are not being hidden from people,
12:58
and not at two o'clock in front of the theater, but rather at two
13:01
in the afternoon on a Saturday, in broad daylight. We have a problem
13:05
in our core. One of the answers was the consumption treatment site that we
13:09
had, which would have helped people who were doing drugs have a place to
13:11
do it where they're safe and then potentially receive those wrap around services. We
13:16
know that there is a role for police. It's not a matter of we're
13:18
going to go and arrest every person who's doing drugs, because we know that
13:22
it's a revolving door system and that's just gonna cost too much money. But
13:24
you don't have to facilitate it. You don't have to allow for people to
13:28
do open drug use on our main corridors. You can take their drugs away
13:31
from them, they are still illegal. You can take their crack pipes away
13:35
from them. Those aren't allowed to be used. That's drug paraphernalia. I
13:39
mean, there are ways that you can quote unquote make it uncomfortable for people
13:43
who decide, you know what, maybe I'll go somewhere else to do it.
13:46
And we can have a conversation about shifting people from place A to place
13:48
B. And there's a whole lot wrapped up in that as well. But
13:52
look, I mean, Chris, you're the chair of the Downtown BIA.
13:56
The goal is to make the place welcoming, friendly, in aging, hospitable,
14:01
and a good place for people to do business at. And increasingly we're
14:05
seeing businesses closing some new ones opening. But it's this sense of concern and
14:11
lack of safety that the police talk about often they go, well, crime
14:15
is down. It's like, I don't care if crime is down, if
14:16
people aren't feeling safety. To make a nice dip in on that for just
14:18
a moment, because there's something very important. Crime is down. And there's
14:22
a difference john between danger and discomfort. Yes, and people feel discomfort seeing
14:31
people smoking crack, doing drugs and being unhoused. They feel discomfort. They
14:37
don't feel comfortable with it. And I'm not saying that that's not unusual.
14:43
Everybody you know has different feelings about it. But I think we have to
14:50
kind of find that that balance between you know, just saying let's move them,
14:54
move them out, because yes, there is a point where we have
15:01
to show some compassion. And it's not just about shifting them, it's about
15:05
finding it's about finding solutions and social solutions that we need to housing. Please,
15:13
for the love of God, we need more affordable housing. We've had
15:18
a wait list that's grown by one thousand people a year, and we're over
15:22
seven thousand people on a waiting list for affordable housing in this city and we're
15:26
only growing we've got more things that are coming into this city, more development,
15:31
more other you know, people coming in for international students and so forth.
15:35
We need more housing, we need more affordable housing, and that will
15:39
help a lot of those issues that we're talking about. I think it's not
15:45
And I love the big, pretty things too, Chris, I was in
15:48
your shoes two years ago. I want downtown to have all these great things,
15:52
but I also want to make sure that people are housed and people have
15:56
all the needs met, and right now they're not, and where are they
16:00
going to go? Yeah, well, I know that's a big debate too.
16:04
With the location of the H four, we were just pushing a problem
16:07
leaf flowing problem to other areas. At the same time, you said something
16:11
too during the break that you know, all the supports as of right now
16:14
are downtown, so it's almost even though it isn't a downtown problem, it's
16:18
almost making it a downtown problem by having all the supports down town. The
16:22
social are they supposed to go, all social programming is downtown, is all
16:25
downtown, So of course it's going to feel like more of a downtown problem
16:27
than other neighborhoods where the aren't spports so people aren't going to be there as
16:30
much. I mean it is. You do still see these issues in other
16:33
neighborhoods, but not to the extent that you see them downtown. So that's
16:37
I mean, how do you fix it. We're not going to sell them
16:38
in this roundtable. But it's all part of the puzzle. I guess,
16:41
I don't know. Yeah, I think that that relocating H four is largely
16:47
about bringing those wrap around services together, right, so having a large enough
16:51
facility where you can have all of those services available. And I think a
16:55
lot of it too, is about creating structurally creating an environment that protects the
17:02
vulnerable because you know, you look at that the problems that we have on
17:06
the let with the location of the mission, and I mean you talk to
17:08
Racshenian, She's she does phenomenal work there, but she knows she's not in
17:11
the right place for where she write, geographic place for where she should be
17:15
doing it. And what happens is when you bring the vulnerable together in one
17:19
place, you bring the predators to write, those that profit from the drug
17:25
addiction problems that we that we have societally, that we have not just a
17:29
winsor problem and so I think that part of you know, talking Toandrew Daher
17:33
in the city, part of that new location will be the ability to protect
17:40
those vulnerable people as you help them move from being unhoused, being addicted to
17:45
you know, moving them from addiction to housing. Right, so you you
17:51
transition them to a you know, a group setting, to a more individualized
17:56
setting, and then into into independent housing. So it really there's a holistic
18:00
view of how do you move people, you know, through and get them
18:03
back into that because you can't you know, you can't just drop people that
18:07
are in that state into a house. They would never survive, right,
18:10
we need to help them to move through that. And so that holistic view
18:14
and so having a facility, finding a piece of property that's large enough to
18:18
be able to do that was a big challenge for the city. And you
18:21
know, I'm not about leaf blowing, I'm not about moving the problem.
18:25
But you know, there wasn't a space large enough, right, you know,
18:29
to to create that vision. So I also and i'n further to that
18:33
too. I think in the other direction. Even Brentwood has an amazing facility
18:37
with I think they have two hundred units units, like literally where a self
18:41
contained unit with a bathroom, place to eat, to cook that they could
18:45
use for transitional housing, and they just don't have the funding for it right
18:48
now. And that's a structure that's in place that's not really to be,
18:52
it's there. So I say get put some investment in places like that,
18:55
Like that's the housing aside from affordable. We're missing that transitional too, right
19:00
Like talking to Brentwood, they said, it's not just about getting people to
19:03
stop drinking like the good old days. Now it's kay, we got you
19:07
off your substance, but you have no home to go to and you cannot
19:10
stay stable when you're not housed. And they have that transitional housing. It's
19:15
a big thing. We got to take a really quick break. We will
19:15
come back a lot of comments coming into more conversation on the way with the
19:19
round table. Don't go away. Well, hey, good morning, welcome
19:23
back. It's Dan McDonald. Thank you so much for tuning in. Happy
19:26
Monday everyone, welcome back to our roundtable as well Chair of the DWBIA Chris
19:30
McLoud, Regional sales director for FHC Hotels, Brian Yeoman's and host here on
19:36
AM eight hundred an Rose City Politics, John Lidkey, and this is interesting.
19:40
We talked about this on and off to Ontario introducing sales of beer,
19:44
wine and ready made cocktails into corner stores and additional supermarket sixteen months ahead of
19:48
schedule, a move that we'll see the province pay up to two hundred and
19:52
twenty five million to the beer store. Smart move, yeay or nay?
19:56
And do you think this change will alter the drinking culture at all in Ontario
20:00
or will it matter? I'm somebody who partakes now and then I will say
20:06
this though I have yet. I always forget that beer and some wine is
20:10
sold at grocery stores around grocery shopping, I kind of forget and I see
20:14
it and oh yeah, there's that here. But I still find myself going
20:15
to the LCBO, to the breweries, to the beer store if I need
20:18
that kind of stuff. So your thoughts on this, Brian, what are
20:19
your thoughts on this change here? This move? My thoughts on this is
20:23
that I don't know if doug Ford actually cares if we have restaurants and bars
20:29
in the province. They've just been hit for the past four years with a
20:34
pandemic where they've been struggling to keep their doors open, they you know,
20:38
forcing patios put outside so that people could continue to purchase from restaurants and bars.
20:45
And now they're just saying, you know, let's find another way,
20:48
another easier way for people to get alcohol without having to go to these restaurants
20:52
and bars that are already struggling to make ends meet. And here you are
20:56
saying, go to a corner store, go to seven to eleven and get
20:59
a boost slush. She like, what is where is the end where it's
21:03
like, okay, we actually want to support the businesses that are actually in
21:07
the beverage industry, which are those you know, those cocktail bars, the
21:11
breweries, the micro breweries, things like that, like craft breweries. You
21:15
know, I love craft Heads and Walkerville and I don't want to you know
21:18
all, but they're not they're not going into those convenience stores right right,
21:23
you know, so we really, I think it's disservice to the businesses in
21:30
the city and the province to be saying let's just sell it everywhere you can,
21:34
because you're just saturating the market with alcohol instead of you know, focusing.
21:40
Yeah, I hear you. Lots of people are saying that too.
21:42
That just the more options, the less places that are going to get are
21:45
going to be patronis your thoughts on this one, Chris, is someone again
21:48
downtown a lot of food and beverage. Yeah, yeah, I totally,
21:52
I totally agree with what Brian had to say. And and you know,
21:55
I also think about the health consequences, right, So as you increase availability,
22:00
you increase levels of consumption, and you know the impact that has on
22:04
on you know, the topic we were talking about just earlier about you know,
22:08
alcohol is certainly one of the drugs of choice that we, you know,
22:12
we suffer with, our community suffers with, and so to increase convenience
22:18
and make it more accessible, I think just further exacerbates that problem. So
22:25
yeah, not a not a fan. Yeah, I wonder too, is
22:29
some of this meeting consumer demand because one thing I've noted when cannabis became legal,
22:33
there was, I mean, Autawa Street's not a long street. There
22:34
were three cannabis shops in Ottawa, like three, and I thought one of
22:38
them did close, but there were still two. And for the most part,
22:41
I think they're doing okay is And I always wonder, I wonder if
22:44
this if they treated alcohol the same way with the same accessibility as cannabis if
22:48
there would be a liquor store on every street corner or every convenience store,
22:52
and someone who might know a bit about that aspect of the present, John
22:55
Lickey, your thoughts on what your thoughts on booze and accessibility, we'll scrap
22:59
in because we're heading towards a liberalized marketplace for you know, lesser than spirit
23:03
consumption now, so you're going to see a lot of convenience stores flip over
23:07
to it. I disagree a little bit with where Chris and Brian are coming
23:11
from. I understand that businesses in the hospitality sector are going through a lot
23:15
of stress right now, financial challenges, hangovers from COVID, supply chain issues.
23:19
Everything is increased in price. But we've already seen expanded liquor access and
23:25
alcohol access through COVID. You can order alcohol online, it can be delivered
23:30
to your house. I mean, so it has that already exists. I
23:33
don't think someone who's going to make a choice to walk to the corner store
23:37
at ten thirty at night and buy a six pack would actually probably be the
23:41
same person who would jump in a cab and go downtown. But put that
23:44
aside, I do agree with you guys, though it's a tough situation for
23:47
our hospitality industries in terms of market access. Listen, I'm fully on board
23:52
with this. I think that if I wanted to open up a corner store
23:56
and sell this new expanded alcohol and charge a seven five dollars admission fee to
24:00
just come in, I should be able to make these choices. And you
24:03
should be able to say, you're crazy, I'm not going to do that,
24:07
John, And that should be how it works. And you talk about
24:08
Ottawa Street and the cannabis retail, are they doing Okay, Hey, they're
24:11
open. That's like that's the measure of if a business is too and okay,
24:15
they're they're there right now, they're able to pay their overhead. Now
24:18
are they making profit? That's a different story, but that's a story for
24:22
every business that exists at item. The issue right now with the beer store,
24:26
of course, is a big one. It's gonna be status quo.
24:27
We're looking at handing over six hundred million dollars two hundred million in an upfront
24:32
cost, four hundred million dollars potentially from LCBO service fees that need to be
24:36
paid in the biggest one though, but they're going to get to keep the
24:38
bottle deposit return, which is really what their union is quite happy about these
24:44
days. They recognize that the retail sector is changing immensely, especially under this
24:48
premiere. But it's that two hundred million dollar figure that's so interesting. I'm
24:51
gonna try to say this really quickly here. The premier has decided to pay
24:53
two hundred million to exit the agreement with the beer store eighteen months early.
25:00
I've waited eighteen months and it would have cost us zero dollars as a province.
25:03
But we're gonna go and spend two hundred million dollars. Now, why
25:04
would they do that? We know that this is going to be in place
25:07
August. The first very important date. August the first will allow for there
25:14
to be boozed set up throughout the August month. But the biggest date is
25:18
going to be Labor Day weekend. It's gonna be the first labor day in
25:22
the province where you're sitting at the cottage or in your backyard and the beer
25:26
stores closed and the LCBO is closed, and you crack that last beer and
25:30
go, God, there's none left. But now now you're gonna be able
25:37
to walk half a block down the street and go pick up some beer and
25:41
keep the party going a little bit longer. And here is why it really
25:45
matters. We're gonna have a fall election. He's calling an election two years
25:48
early. He doesn't want Bonnie Crombie, the Liberal leader, to get a
25:52
seat. He doesn't want to allow them to fundraise. They're sitting on a
25:56
bunch of money. So they're gonna coast through this summer and pretend like nothing's
26:00
happening. They're gonna crack their beers and everyone's gonna smile, and then we're
26:03
all gonna go back to work on September the fourth. Is this just another
26:07
beer election? It's another beer election? Beer? Why wouldn't it work for
26:12
beer in corners stores? And listen like you can pooh poo it. The
26:15
people on the left are gonna go and criticize it. But here's the thing.
26:19
It's good retail politics. It's gonna work. He's gonna get another majority.
26:25
And yeah, it's gonna play. Something you mentioned too, brings up
26:27
like when the party's over and you crack that last beer. Normally that's when
26:30
the party is over. Oh shoot, we over. We didn't get enough
26:33
parties done. Now you can go to the corner store and grab more boost.
26:36
Do you think that is gonna pose a problem where parties that maybe before
26:40
should have been capped at that last bear that was cracked. Now you get
26:42
another case of the mix and it's party to me. Hey, while you're
26:45
there, you know what, grab some some sour puss for some shots maybe,
26:48
and then and then you get a little bit more drinking than you normally
26:52
would have done, right because it is, it's not as controlled. So
26:55
just a month ago we heard from the opp saying if you get pulled over
26:59
on any highway in the province that we patrol, which is every highway in
27:03
the province, they said, expect for any reason we pull you over,
27:07
we're going to do a breathalyzer and if you refuse, you're gonna deal with
27:11
the same repercussions as if you were drunk and you refused. We're going to
27:14
take away your license, might seize your car. And it was just like,
27:18
why would they be why what's changed? I mean, our fatalities are
27:21
up, yes, but not in a measurable degree to go and infringe on
27:25
everybody's rights across the board. Oh look, we're changing how we're doing liquor
27:30
distribution. They have a justification now to presume that everyone actually is drinking at
27:34
all times. So we can have the conversation about should this be done,
27:40
what are the impacts of it actually going to be? Is this an effective
27:42
use of our tax dollars? I mean, those are all important things to
27:45
discuss, But if you just look at it through the sole focused lens of
27:49
we've got a fall election coming and that's what this is going to be,
27:53
and for better or not, I think it's smart politics. I don't necessarily
28:00
agree with it, but like this, this is the Doug Ford brand of
28:03
politics and it works in Ontario. And for everyone listening who's getting all up
28:08
in arms about this and saying I'm wrong, make sure you go vote.
28:12
Because the last election we had in this province, when he got his most
28:15
recent majority, was the lowest voter turnout that we've ever seen, and the
28:19
one before that, when he got his first majority, was at that time
28:22
the lowest voter turnout that we've ever seen. So maybe this time around we
28:26
can instead maybe raise that voter turnout and get people out and voting and taking
28:30
part. Or maybe we're just all gonna crack a beer and see the lowest
28:37
voter turnout we've ever seen three times in a row. So that's a positive.
28:41
Now, do you think we're going to see any kind of competition now
28:44
that there is going to be more accessibility where you get lower I think we'll
28:47
see any lower prices. No, you don't think we'll see Now, the
28:49
beer star is not gonna let any corner Remember they're the brewers, right,
28:56
so the beer store isn't going to go and allow a corner store to sell
29:00
it to for they're not going to allow them to sell a twelve pack.
29:03
They're gonna allow them to sell just enough that it costs you more money in
29:06
your pocket that you're gonna want to go to the beer store the next time
29:10
when you have that more convenience available to you. Like put it this way,
29:15
Do you think Walkerville Brewery is going to go and price themselves at that
29:18
as Moulson because it's available in a corner store. No, they're gonna charge
29:21
the same. The corner store is gonna have to mark it up. Oh
29:23
wait, that's too expensive for a corner store. You're gonna be seeing Course
29:27
and Molson and Ov and you're not top shelf craft beers at the corner stores.
29:33
Yeah, that's what I guess. Overwhelmingly support local. That was one
29:37
one kind of takeaway I got from the pandemic. I went to a lot
29:41
of the smaller breweries and distilleries and wineries to get to get things that kind
29:47
of open up my eyes and how important that was, And that's a habit
29:48
I've kept up. So that's something I'm happy to hang on to from that,
29:51
but it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. We're gonna come
29:53
back, take a quick break and return with our round table with Chris McLoud,
29:57
with Brian Yellman's and with John Key. Don't go away. It's the
30:00
Dan McDonald Show on AM eight hundred. Well, hey, good morning and
30:06
welcome back. It's Dan McDonald. Happy Monday, Happy rainy Monday. Everybody,
30:11
Thanks so much for joining us this morning and our roundtable as well.
30:14
Great to have a roundtable in studio, Brian Yeoman's, Chris McLeod and John
30:18
lid Key in studio with us, and we always done the round table with
30:21
a segment that I call plugged In. You can plug in anything you like,
30:23
can be a shout out, it can be a personal project that you're
30:26
working on, anything at all real that you would like to plug in,
30:30
all will plug and we got some time here, Brian, what would you
30:32
like to plug in? This morning, I'm gonna promote my wife's shop,
30:34
Whiskey Jack Boutique located downtown on University Avenue in the Old Milk. They've just
30:41
celebrated their fifth year anniversary. That's right downtown and to Thursday night they'll be
30:47
having their book club, which will be Five Little Indians the last Thursday of
30:52
every month. Pretty much they read a they come together and meet to talk
30:57
about a Canadian author. So yeah, I just wanted to give a show.
31:02
I love Whiskey Jack Boutique too, And if eybody does want to get
31:06
in on the book club, I am a member of this book club too.
31:08
It is under on Facebook w JB book Club with Whiskey Jack Boutique WJB
31:15
book Club, five Little Indians And that was a phenomenal book too. I
31:17
specifically chose that book because they were doing it this month. So I'm going
31:21
to be there Thursday night. That's holding out the shop. Yes, it's
31:22
in the shop at sixty eight University. That's great. Yeah, the old
31:26
Milk and I can't believe it's been five years for them already. That blows
31:30
my mind. I guess I kind of because they used to be in a
31:32
different look, that's right, that's why. And then they moved during the
31:36
pandemic, I want to say, or years ago they moved, okay,
31:41
in the middle of it. Yeah, to the old milk was a triple
31:42
the space. It was a thought. That's a I shopped there every That's
31:48
one of my main stays for Christmas shopping, too, is Whiskey Jack Boutique.
31:51
So kudos for sticking around as well. And the opening up and going
31:53
into a pandemic as a retail shop. Oh heck of a choice. I'm
32:00
sure that was all planned. Yeah, it was in their business plan,
32:05
you know, kidding five year plan. Yeah, part of the five year
32:08
plan. They made it. But that's great though. I love hearing success
32:12
stories of businesses who are surviving. And they're such a cool, unique shop.
32:15
And I recommend people I'll support lot plug, support local and ny PAM
32:19
a visit this week Whiskey Jack Boutiquet, sixty eight University Avenue. Go in
32:22
and say hey, congrats and check out the story. If you haven't They
32:24
got some really really cool, really really cool items in there that you can't
32:28
find anywhere else. So it's it's a great place. Love that and come
32:30
to the book club too, give me a little fun six o'clock at this
32:34
Thursday. Thank you, Brian, always great having you on. Chris McLoud.
32:37
What would you like to plug in this morning? So you know it's
32:39
got to be you know, stuff coming up downtown, right, So I
32:44
was not expecting that, so I think, you know, as we I
32:47
can't believe that we're almost at the beginning of June WI but fireworks, you
32:52
know, we're talking about it raining today, really, you know, fingers
32:55
crossed, hope we have a great night. So June twenty fourth, fireworks
33:00
downtown and I know everybody knows and it's a staple of downtown, but you
33:05
know, just reminding everybody to come downtown and enjoy the fireworks and then New
33:10
I guess at least for it being back on a lot will be July first
33:14
and Canada Day parade so great. I'm super excited that we're able to bring
33:19
the parade back down on Olette and after the success we saw of the Santa
33:23
Claus Parade, super excited for the July first candidate. Oh, that was
33:28
a great night Santa Claus Parade. That was phenomenal. We was in the
33:31
air. Yeah. Again, we were talking a little earlier about you know,
33:35
reasons for people to come downtown, and I think, you know,
33:37
events are we look at that as we look to plan events, right,
33:42
and people's impression of downtown I think is largely blased based on their last experience,
33:47
and so we just want to continue to create great experiences for people downtown
33:52
because that's what's going to bring people back. Love that. Yeah, looking
33:54
forward to parade and the fireworks doing it better not I don't know have we
33:59
ever been rained before? I know one year it like the minute the finale
34:01
happened, it downpoured, but it was perfect timing because like the fireworks were
34:06
done and then it was just like a torrential downpour. But have they been
34:07
canceled before? Last year was actually not a great year for the fireworks when
34:12
we talked to our businesses, right because it was very tenuous the whole night
34:15
whether it was actually going to go off. So yeah, fingers crossed that
34:20
we have great weather and yeah, looking forward to our downtown businesses being supported
34:24
that night, if I'm not mistaken to last year. It was a very
34:29
humid evening and a lot of the smoke from the fireworks it stayed so there
34:32
were certain angles where you almost couldn't see the firework. It was a cloud
34:36
of smoke, and we ended up walking down we kind of what usually go
34:39
by our house. We're in the Walkerville area by the river, and we
34:43
walked down close. The closer you got to downtown, the further west you
34:45
went, you could see them a bit better, but there was like a
34:47
haze in the air. I'm like, well, this, this never happened
34:50
before. There was wildfire smoke too at the there was probably that too.
34:52
That was probably that probably played a part in it, because it more just
34:55
looked like flashes in the sky at some point than the actual fireworks and the
34:59
sparks and stuff. So that annoyed me. But I know as people around
35:01
me were kind of leaving halfway through, being like, you can't see anything.
35:04
So people were going home like no, but yeah, hopefully we get
35:07
a nice, clear, beautiful night. And it's how it always has been.
35:10
John last but not least, what would you like to plug in this
35:13
morning? Well, it's the twenty seventh of May, which is US Memorial
35:16
Day to honor and mourn those who died in the military serving for the US
35:22
Armed Forces. And while my family didn't have anyone who passed away while serving,
35:27
I do come from a pretty long line of US folk who served.
35:32
My cousin Christopher and the Navy. My uncle Stuart in the Navy as well,
35:37
hit my grandfather's brother was in the Air Force, my grandfather, my
35:44
grandmother's father was in the Army, and then going back all the way to
35:47
the US Revolution in the Battle of Wyoming, Thomas Barrett, which is where
35:51
I get my middle namesake from. So on this Memorial Day, to all
35:55
of the US military personnel who died while serving the United States Armed Forces,
36:01
I'm thinking about you. Absolutely great great one there. Well, hey,
36:05
that's it, Brian, Chris John, thank you so much for a great
36:07
roundtable today, some important ones as well, important topics today. We'll continue
36:13
the conversation coming up. Keep it here. It's the Dan McDonald's show on