Latest / Kvetch & Release / AM800 Roundtable with Fred Francis, Hilda MacDonald, & Rukshini Goulin

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AM800 Roundtable with Fred Francis, Hilda MacDonald, & Rukshini Goulin · Kvetch & Release

0:02
Hey, good morning everyone. Welcome to the Dan McDonald show. John Lyd
0:06
Key here. Dan is in on the Morning Drive this week, so you
0:10
can catch him one last time tomorrow morning from five to nine. A'llso'll be
0:15
here tomorrow as well. Thursday roundtable, So glad to be joined, Going
0:20
counterclockwise by Fred Francis ward One counselor Fred, how you doing? Good morning?
0:25
How are you very well? Great to have you here, Hill to
0:28
McDonald Essex Warden as well as mayor of Leamington. How you doing well?
0:31
I like to say above average? And today is an above average day.
0:35
Well that's good, that's a start. That's a glass half full kind of
0:38
day. Yep. But it is only nine oh seven. Well, here
0:41
it comes John, here comes check back in in fifty minutes. It's where
0:45
things stand perfect. Also joining me right now is Ruksheni gul And, the
0:50
CEO of the Downtown Mission. How you doing good? I'm glad to be
0:53
here. Thank you so much for having me, as always, thank you
0:56
for joining. So we're going to dive right into our first topic here on
0:59
the on the roundtable, which is the AMA eight hundred SKLW News poll.
1:03
You can answer it by heading to AMAE hundred SKLW dot com. Should the
1:07
names of members of Parliament and senators who wittingly help the efforts of foreign states
1:12
interfere in Canadian politics be released? I'm gonna phrase it a little bit differently.
1:19
It sounds like we might have some traders inside our member, our House
1:23
of Commons and our Senate. So should we find out who the traders are?
1:30
Right now, the government federally is not confirming to releasing these names.
1:34
The opposition as well hasn't really made noise about it. Ironically, it seems
1:40
as if it's only the NDP party, the NDP that wants to actually find
1:44
out about this. We'll see how things go. But Fred, you were
1:47
the most vocal when we just brought this up before the show. Should we
1:49
find out who these people are? Yes? Why? Because the people deserve
1:53
to know who are we protecting. You know, when you're talking about democracy
1:59
and the rule of law, it's about the people. Everything flows from the
2:01
people. Power flows from the people, Accountability flows from the people, and
2:06
public trust is obviously the most important thing that a politician has, you know,
2:09
So if you're asking someone to vote for you and trust you to wield
2:15
the responsibility, influence and power we have to wield. You have to be
2:20
as open and accountable and transparent to them as possible, because how are they
2:23
supposed to make an informed decision on who to vote for if they don't have
2:27
the full information in front of them. Moreover, parliamentary parliamentarians are held to
2:31
a higher standard. Politicians in general are held to higher standard. And I
2:36
remember growing up and learning you know, politics, at Order Dame and Holy
2:39
Names, and then at Western at the University of Windsor, and it was
2:44
all about convention and history and practice, and and you know, when any
2:50
when anything was done that was seen to be dishonorable, the you know,
2:53
the parliamentarian would resign on their own accord. They wouldn't wait. So I'd
2:58
say, not only should we know who the names are and who the people
3:01
are, but if they know who they are, they should resign. That's
3:05
the honorable thing to do. And that's what parliamentary history and convention has always
3:10
taught us in this country. You know, I like to try to take
3:15
something that gets like we're looking at something from a sixty thousand foot view right
3:19
here, and it gets to be a little bit obscure for people who don't
3:21
follow federal politics intimately. So if we bring it down to like the most
3:24
basic local level, and I'm going to make up a situation here, a
3:30
scenario it would be as if rinaldo your colleague word three, counselor we're actually
3:37
working on behalf of let's say France, and he was pushing things forward that
3:43
the French government wanted to see happen in the city of Windsor rather than what
3:46
the constituents of Ward III. Again, I'm not suggesting that that happened,
3:50
but it's a very concerning thing. We would expect our representatives to represent their
3:54
constituents, and that's not what appears to be occurring here. That's not I'll
4:00
bring it down to more relatable scenario where if you have a local politician who
4:08
is representing a special interest rather than the public interest, right and and those
4:13
are accusations that are made on a regular basis, regardless if they're true or
4:15
not. Those those are accusations that are often made. And if that's ever
4:20
proven, you know proven, that's that's something that you know, you have
4:24
to take accountability for. At the end of the day. Politicians work for
4:27
the people they work for their constituents, if it is proven that they're working
4:32
for someone other than the public that elects them to you know, who they
4:35
work for and the oath we take and to the Constitution and to the Charter
4:41
of Rights and Freedoms and to the rights conventions history all of that. If
4:45
that's proven, then they're not fit to hold the office they hold. And
4:49
you know, I think that's a that's that's a lot. What's wrong with
4:53
politics today is that the perception of politicians and the public trust is not what
4:58
it used to be. Uh and and and that's and this is certainly not
5:01
going to help that. You know this, this is this situation, and
5:04
I don't know all the details, and everything's alleged until it's it's proven and
5:09
in the court of law, and everyone has due process and all of that.
5:12
But I mean, the honorable thing to do is if you know you
5:15
did something wrong, you resign. That's that's how it's always been. It
5:18
would be nice to see that type of responsibility. And in this case,
5:21
I mean, it's not these people know they did something wrong because they allegedly
5:26
they were passing sensitive classified information to foreign agents that they knew they weren't allowed
5:32
to Mary McDonald, I mean as counselor. Francis was just saying, the
5:36
conflict of interest is a huge thing. Perceived conflict of interest is sometimes an
5:42
even bigger thing at the elected level. I wonder what your thoughts are about
5:46
this one, and uh, you know, representing the constituents who elected you.
5:49
Well, I'm not going to be as eloquent as Fred. I'll be
5:53
really sorry. It's okay. He's very good at it. He is,
5:55
He's very eloquent. I keep it. I'll keep it really simple. The
5:59
two things that we have going for us as politicians is the trust of the
6:01
people and then our public record of the things that we've accomplished for in my
6:06
case, my municipality. That's all I've got going for me. That's what
6:12
people re elect me on. And when that trust element's gone, you really
6:17
only have one thing. It's like it's like a two legs. It's really
6:21
hard to stand on just one leg. And I would be even more ruthless
6:27
than Fred. I'd say, kick them to the curb, don't even give
6:30
them the opportunity to quit, Get them the heck out. They're not here
6:33
for the good of the Canadian people. They're not here for the good of
6:36
the people they represent. And if that's the case, I'm sorry. If
6:40
you were in private industry and you did that. If you if you worked
6:45
for a corporation and you would signed an NDA, or you were holding a
6:49
patent that was a super secret and you you gave it away or you sold
6:55
it, your behind would be out the door. Same thing here, I
6:59
can keep. But as simple as that, I have no patience for that.
7:03
And the problem is, these are the people that ruin the trust factor
7:08
for the rest of us. We can do everything that we can to the
7:12
best of our ability, following all the rules and regulations, and then when
7:15
these I'm going to just call them jerks. When these jerks do stuff like
7:19
that, these people have no integrity, that just ruins it for us.
7:24
We're going to be a generation building that trust back. So to me,
7:28
i'd be ruthless. Get the heck out, publish their names, get them
7:30
out. I don't care that the people elected them. The people elected them
7:34
based on trust, and if you ruin that, you're gone. Man.
7:39
I'm really I'm good today. I feel good. You were saying you weren't
7:43
going to be eloquent, that I got to say, Rukshini, when you
7:46
hear something like this about the people that we vote for, well, not
7:50
the Senate. We don't vote for the senators, but when it comes to
7:54
members of Parliament or at any level, we expect them to represent the the
7:58
the values and the priorities and the platform that they ran on. When when
8:03
they break away from those things, that's usually when you see that people get
8:05
turfed from office. But this is a this is a different issue. This
8:09
is not not just breaking your word, it's it's acting against the interests of
8:13
your not only your constituents, but your country. What are your thoughts about
8:16
this? Agree with my friends on the now everyone, everything that's been said
8:24
so far, and I just all I have to say is it comes down
8:28
to, again, I think Fred you said it, accountability and also integrity.
8:33
So if you're doing something or saying something, and you better be willing
8:37
to stand by it, and you better be willing to be known that you
8:39
that was your viewpoint, because if not, that goes against everything right And
8:45
what's the point. If you don't believe in it, don't say it.
8:48
And if you believe in it, say it and be proud. As my
8:50
dad always says, our word is the only thing that we have. We're
8:54
going to take a quick break right now. It is nine to fifteen.
8:56
When we get back on the other side, we're going to keep the round
8:58
tape going with Fred Francis, Hilda MacDonald and Rukshini Ghul and don't go anywhere,
9:03
folks. John Letkey here on AM eight hundred, Hey, folks are
9:05
fact. John Key here on AM eight hundred CKLW. It is June the
9:11
sixth, which is of course a very important day, eight decades since the
9:18
Normandy landings, the largest sea born invasion in history. And a Windsor based
9:22
military captain is overseas to demonstrate how soldiers dropped from parachutes to fight in the
9:28
D Day Invasion eighty years ago, when Allied forces from the United Kingdom,
9:33
the United States, Canada and many other countries stormed those beaches in northern France.
9:37
The question that we're asking right now is do we do enough to honor
9:41
those who both served and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms enough.
9:48
I was watching some of the commemorations this morning, quite moving. There
9:52
are about two million people right now on the beaches that are there and they've
9:56
brought in carrier groups and frigates and destroyers, battleships, and the beaches look
10:01
not quite like they did on that day so many years ago, but a
10:05
reflection of it for sure. Fred I'll bring your voice in. Do we
10:09
do enough? Probably not, because what can you do? Yeah, I
10:13
mean, you can't do enough. Even if you do everything you can do,
10:16
you're not doing enough. You know, How do you do enough to
10:20
honor those that President Lincoln said gave the last full measure of devotion? And
10:26
God bless those boys, God bless anyone who serves in the armed forces today
10:31
and whoever served in their families, because the sacrifice they make in order to
10:35
protect all of us is you can't put it into words. You can never
10:39
do enough. All you can do, I think, is remember like we
10:43
do today. June sixth, nineteen forty four, eighty years ago is essentially
10:48
the beginning of the end of the Second World War. And my god,
10:52
if those boys didn't do what they did, they literally saved the world.
10:56
They literally saved the world. And they were boys you're talking about, you
11:00
know, people that were in their early twenties and their teens, going halfway
11:05
across the world to fight a war against Nazi tyrannism, tyranny, oppression,
11:09
a genocide, murder, and if they were not successful, you can only
11:16
imagine what the world would be like today. What they did eighty years ago
11:20
today set the world on a course that we enjoy today. A world safe
11:26
for democracy, a world safe for rule of law, a world safe for
11:30
diversity, a world safe for people to be who they are and live their
11:35
life in freedom. And I was watching a documentary last night on the National
11:39
and they're interviewing an older French lady who remembers that day, and they asked
11:45
her, is when the Canadians showed up, what did you feel? She's
11:48
like, we felt liberated. We had freedom for the first time in a
11:52
little while, we had freedom. And the way she said it was so
11:56
powerful. And you know, we're able to take that for granted today because
12:00
of what they did eighty years ago. So all we could say is lest
12:03
we forget, honor their memory. Honor whoever's still around with us today.
12:07
And we know those numbers are dwindling, but make sure that we keep that
12:11
in the history books, but celebrate it every day and each day and try
12:16
to live our lives to the best we can to honor their sacrifice. I
12:20
think that's the only thing we can do, truly to listen, we have
12:24
to be their living memory, as they aren't going to be around with us.
12:28
And you know, you're absolutely right. Today is not the date for
12:31
it, But on September the sixth, when Canada liberated Belgium. It's the
12:37
same story. If you're a Canadian today and you go to Belgium, you
12:41
will have people coming up to you and thanking you for what people that you
12:45
most likely don't know did. And it speaks to that, you know,
12:50
I'd like to bring your voice on Hilda. Well, excuse me to me,
12:54
I don't think we do enough. And we see it when we hear
12:58
president presidential candidates talking about the third Right as if it's something to be praised.
13:05
That's that's the reason we need to remember, over and above what you
13:09
already said, Fred, and even and even beyond the sacrifices made. We
13:16
know now that that many of those soldiers that survived still lived a life filled
13:20
with nightmares, pain things that they never got over. That that going in
13:28
to fight that war, fighting the on the beaches of Juno, that didn't
13:33
end there for them that impacted their lives, many times not in a positive
13:37
way. So that's one one reason to remember to avoid this happening again,
13:43
but also for the generations coming after us who will minimize war, that think
13:48
will war is not a big deal. I remember once somebody said to me
13:52
back in the eighties when there was an when there was the financial situation,
13:58
the economy, and they said, what this world needs is a good war.
14:03
And I looked that woman in the eye and I said, you don't
14:05
even know what war is. And that's why we need to remember. We
14:09
need our children and our grandchildren, the next generations to realize the impacts of
14:15
war on civilization, on society, but also on the people that go to
14:18
fight. So to me, we can never let that. We can never
14:24
let that rest and say, ah, that was eighty years ago, because
14:26
if we do that, to me, that'll be the final final flaw.
14:31
I always remember the quote that Hawkeye said in mash when someone said war as
14:37
hell hell, he said, war, well, war is war and hell
14:41
as hell, and of the two, war is a lot worse. I
14:46
copied that into my phone so that I never forget that quote, because to
14:50
me, that is exactly right, and when you haven't experienced it closely,
14:54
whether it's through a family member or having lived through it, even Vietnam War
15:00
or for me, I tell people the Vietnam War was on TV during dinner.
15:05
It was something that over a number of years we came accustomed to seeing
15:09
people, the soldiers, the medics carrying the stretchers and the body bags.
15:13
We should never get where we're used to that and it doesn't make our our
15:18
goosebumps rise. We need to never never get on TV tonight. Oh my
15:24
god, still in any anywhere, anytime it happens in the world, Oh
15:26
god, anytime civilians or innocent people are are are murdered or hurt, wherever
15:31
it is in the world. I mean, I think, I think,
15:33
I think we all think like that should not be happening exactly. It's horrifict
15:37
But we can become immune to it, right, And that's what I'm afraid
15:41
of. If we don't remember, then it'll it'll be like violence on television.
15:46
We might wins, but we get used to it and then it's not
15:52
so little, just something that's there. Yeah, Rakshini, how about yourself?
15:54
Do you think that we do enough to honor those who pay the ultimate
15:58
sacrifice. I too don't think we do enough. There's a lot of hurt.
16:03
Like Mary McDonald was just saying, it's not just the war. It's
16:06
not just when people are there paying, putting their lives and giving the ultimate
16:12
sacrifice, sacrifice for their country or for another country to help other people.
16:18
It's not just that time it is. It is way beyond that, and
16:22
it's their life, their families, lives, and their communities lives too,
16:27
right that are affected. When a couple of years ago, you know,
16:33
when it seemed like there seemed to be a resurgence of war situations in the
16:38
world, and it was on TV a lot, I personally was struggling,
16:45
even myself, and I told my husband, I'm like, okay, we
16:48
have to shut the TV off because something is happening in me. Because my
16:52
family and I came to Canada in nineteen eighty four to get away from a
16:57
civil war. Right, not to the level of the wars that are going
17:02
on today, but still it was impactful enough for me as a child.
17:07
And you know, my parents often not joke about it, but they talk
17:11
about it. They're like, yey, you did speak for three days I
17:14
guess I make up for it now, but it was things that I saw
17:17
as a child that I couldn't fathom was happening around me. And that going
17:22
I think Fred you said it, it's the innocent bystanders of any of these
17:29
wars, and you don't know what the impact is even on them, never
17:32
mind the people who are doing the fight. But it is a great sacrifice
17:34
that people pay, and we have to honor them. But also going something
17:40
you said John about it's almost like the beaches are like reminiscent of what it
17:47
could have been back then. We also have to be careful, I think
17:49
of what is that doing to the people who did experience those wars? Is
17:56
it going to hurt them in some way to see like a re enact almost
18:02
of the the you know, the craziness that they experienced. You know,
18:08
there's a reason why so many children of World War Two veterans watched their fathers
18:15
just sort of sit and stare into fireplaces and out the window. Because there's
18:22
really not much that you can say. And I think you know, Riksheney,
18:23
what you were just speaking to their your experiences is very very similar through
18:30
line to that is, you know, our brains aren't capable of dealing with
18:33
some of the things that occur. But we got to take a break right
18:37
now nine twenty nine. When we get back on the other side, we're
18:38
going to keep this roundtable going with Fred Francis, Hilda McDonald and Rukshini Ghuhlin.
18:42
Don't go anywhere, Hey, folks, we're back John Mtkey here on
18:48
I am eight hundred. We're going to continue our Thursday roundtable with Ward one
18:51
Counselor Fred Francis Essex Warden and Mayor of Leamington Hill to MacDonald and the CEO
18:56
of the Downtown Mission, Ruksheni Punaya ghoul And and let's dive into Halifax because
19:04
they also have a plan to improve and revitalize their downtown core. Their's is
19:11
called Vision twenty thirty. They had seventeen different recommendations and I thought it was
19:18
pretty interesting that parking is not one of them at all. In fact,
19:23
what they're looking to do is not expand their parking, but they want to
19:29
develop a bus rapid transit system for downtown routes, pedestrian first designs for streets,
19:36
and establish a complete network of protected bike lanes. I love this.
19:40
I went to Halifax what eight years ago now met with Mayor Savage. He
19:45
Halifax had a lot of the same issues that we have here in Windsor,
19:48
neighborhoods that are far off from the core arteries that connected them, but were
19:52
primarily just that arteries that people drove on to passed through to get to.
19:59
And his goal was to create livelihood among those arteries, to be able to
20:03
get people to flow both in and out. And this is of course just
20:07
the furtherance of that. Counselor Francis, I love this. I think this
20:11
could work in downtown Windsor. But I'm already hearing the people going, are
20:15
you gonna get rid of parking? What do you mean We're not gonna have
20:18
more parking? Well, I mean I think we should. We should have
20:21
pedestrian walkways, close down some streets. We've talked about that before on the
20:23
show, where we just close down some streets and it's just pedestrians only,
20:27
walkable pedestrians only. And we can make that work. I mean, I
20:30
don't know why it's taking so long to even talk about that or get to
20:33
it, but that's something I think we can make work. Yeah, they're
20:36
gonna be challenges, but we could work passive challenges. Halifax is a beautiful
20:40
city, a harbor town. You see all those ships, it's beautiful.
20:44
I mean it almost reminds me of you know, when they wanted to put
20:45
a canal downtown windsor you know how great that would have been by now.
20:48
And I saw that TikTok video last time. Someone sent it to me.
20:52
It's like two hundred thousand views and the comments are like, this is great.
20:55
Why did we do this? So you know, you have to be
20:57
able to think outside the box. Yeah, to be able to think twenty
21:00
thirty years out, if not longer. And you know, the one thing
21:04
as politicians, I know I do it. I'm sure every politician does it,
21:07
or at least they should admit to doing it. You take best ideas
21:11
from anywhere you could get them, and you call them your own. But
21:17
that's what we do is just ripping off and duplicating. But it doesn't matter.
21:21
Whatever works anywhere, be it Halifax, be at Paris, be it
21:25
London, be it downtown Chatham, it doesn't matter. If it works,
21:27
it works, and if it would be beneficial to our current downtown, we
21:33
should review it and then let try it out. But right now, I
21:37
think the number one issue, and what you saw was strengthen the core plan
21:40
is safety and security. That's the number one issue, you know. I
21:42
saw a report the other day saying that crime crime stats are up person to
21:48
person violent crime. I think it was three percent. That's something we have
21:51
to zero in on. That's something that's not acceptable. That's something no one
21:55
in Windsor wants to see. And you know, what can we do to
21:57
prevent crime downtown or anywhere in the city. That essentially has to be priority
22:03
number one. I agree with you on that if people don't feel safe,
22:07
if it isn't safe, you're not going to be able to do any revitalization
22:10
whatsoever. Mary McDonald, how important are these ideas for you? You know,
22:15
these walkable streets, rapid bus transit, not putting the car first,
22:19
I suppose when it comes to our urban course, I think that's a fantastic
22:23
idea. I was in Halifax but twenty twenty years ago, and at that
22:27
point in time, the vibrancy was very evident, and the issues they have
22:34
now were not the issues of those times. When you've got a reason for
22:41
people to go downtown and Windsor. Does you've got the waterfront, Oh my
22:44
gosh, it's beautiful. If the issue is parking, exactly, bring in
22:48
those people. People from the county will get on a rapid transit and come
22:52
to this city for the day like we we'd go to fireworks. We do.
22:56
We've already got that Leamington to Windsor transit. It's great to do that.
23:02
Why not create it first? You have to have the reason to go,
23:04
and I believe you've got it with the waterfront. Then if you do
23:07
take away the crime, eliminate or reduce the crime, absolutely, people will
23:11
want to go, and then that'll bring in more restaurants and all kinds of
23:15
reasons for people to go. We've done that Leamington with our waterfront. It
23:21
started many years ago when we bought the land front well made a trade with
23:26
the federal government for the marina and invested in the marina. Some of those
23:32
counselors that made that decision in those days got booted out because the people thought,
23:36
oh, that was you know, expense, that shouldn't be done.
23:38
But we keep building it and making a place that people want to go.
23:44
If you can do that, then all those other things will fall in line,
23:47
then the parking can be a non issue. If you do the transit
23:52
out into the communities. People want to be able to get somewhere quickly and
23:57
uncomplicated. So if you do that, oh my gosh, you're all set.
24:03
We went to Niagara on the Lake a few weeks ago, so we
24:07
decided to go into Niagara Falls just to check it out because as kids,
24:11
my mom and dad always took us there. Thirty five dollars flat rate to
24:15
park. I said to my husband, keep on driving. I don't seen
24:18
the place. I've seen this place. I've seen the water going over.
24:22
There's no way I want But I mean I was the minority because the place
24:26
was hopping, the parking lots were full. But again, you've got a
24:33
reason for people to go there, so then make the other things work.
24:36
You've got it, so those other things to me, the parking, the
24:40
transit, all of that can be done when you've got a good place.
24:44
If you've got just a downtown with nothing to go to, nothing's going to
24:48
fix that. I'm sorry, I'm gonna go and knock on London, Ontario
24:51
right now. Have you been? I was there last year for the AMO
24:56
conference. I went to school at Western. I couldn't believe their day.
25:00
Downtown, I said, Windsor has nothing to worry about. When you go
25:03
to London, it's like Armageddon. The I love London. I'm not downtown
25:11
Downtown. Well okay, yeah, but you're probably your point of reference is
25:15
different than mine. Yeah, well, never mind. Yeah, well that
25:21
was a few years when. Okay, I went in the seventies, all
25:25
right, but Sears was downtown. Santa Claus used to be the little Santa
25:30
knocking on the window. They had like active displays at Christmas time. We
25:34
used to hitchhike from the university downtown. That's what you wanted to do.
25:40
Everybody wanted to be there. I went to lunch with my deputy mayor.
25:45
I looked down my said, did you did you see the street? It
25:48
was Saturday afternoon. It was incredible. First of all, it was empty,
25:53
and then it was and I'm sorry, downtown mission. It was lots
25:57
and lots of homeless people. If I was a female all by myself,
26:02
I wouldn't be walking down that street. It was shocking to me. And
26:06
the galleria that used to be such a vibrant place, it's not a vibrant
26:11
place anymore. I hope there's no one from London listening to this. Well,
26:14
I think I think hill that will not be running as an elected official
26:17
in the It's at least a very uphill battle if broadcast. But I did
26:23
wittingly say that, Yeah, I think Windsor has so much going for it
26:29
and you need to you need to cash in on these opportunities and and make
26:33
it it make it a destination place and easy for people to get there.
26:37
Now, it's interesting when we look at our downtown core, any downtown core,
26:45
like Frankly and Ruksheney. I mean, you guys operate in the core
26:48
obviously with the downtown mission, and there's a lot of issues affect a core,
26:53
not anyone specific thing. So I guess when it looks when we look
26:56
to what are some of the best ways to create a vibrant downtown where everybody
27:02
truly does belong, what are some of the things that come to mind for
27:03
you? Well, I think, going back to what both Man MacDonald and
27:11
Counselor Francis said, it's about building on our strengths. And we've talked about
27:15
this too, even at this round table, where it's about building this building
27:22
on our strengths, showcasing those strengths, making those strengths accessible to people,
27:27
and you know, it's great to have the transit available from places like Leamington
27:33
to Windsor also coming up we have the fireworks, right and normally I believe
27:40
I think it's still happened. I'm assuming it would still happen even this year
27:42
too. I haven't seen anything yet, but I'm assuming it will happen.
27:45
When you know, corporations or organizations like Devon chire Mall get involved and there's
27:52
like the shuttle bus from devonchri Mall that's happening, bringing people like they can
27:59
park there and then take a bus to downtown to see the fireworks. So
28:04
people and companies and organizations like Transit, windsor they're coming together to make the
28:10
accessibility peace happen for people, even when there's not necessarily tons of parking available
28:17
downtown. Right. So these are things that little things that we can do
28:21
to build on our strengths to bring people downtown so they can enjoy the beauty
28:26
and the businesses downtown that are amazing businesses that are you know, small mom
28:33
and pop restaurants and local retailers and things like that that are so special and
28:40
unique. Let people all enjoy them and bring vibrancy to the downtown, right.
28:45
And it's I think it's all of us working together, building on those
28:48
strengths. I was just at a meeting yesterday actually about strengthening the core and
28:53
what's been done. It's so great to see police have moved in already and
29:00
I have started, you know, working on some of the things they were
29:03
going to work on as was part of the plan, which is wonderful.
29:07
I think it was announced last week, right, I think it was so
29:10
great to see that, and Family Services, I said, the Downtown Mission
29:14
at the Homeless Hub. We're all working together to do what we can DWIA
29:18
as well, which is great. So yeah, it's just about building on
29:22
those strengths and giving things a chance. You got to get everyone in the
29:26
same rowboat first, and then you've got to get everyone to go and row
29:29
in the same direction following the canal. Yeah, we could go right in
29:33
and then gondola. Man, that would have been cool to see. Absolutely,
29:37
Folks. Nine four will break right now, but we'll get back to
29:40
the round table right after this. Hey, we're back here on the Thursday,
29:45
Roundtable nine. We're looking at Toronto right now, where the TTC,
29:52
that is, the transit system in Toronto might be probably is going on strike
29:57
tomorrow. The Transit Union yesterday, I don't know if it was advice or
30:03
more of a threat, said you better find a plan B for transportation,
30:10
which is pretty funny because there is obviously not a trans plan B. The
30:14
taxi network system as well as the private fair operators have said we can't deal
30:19
with it all. We hope this gets resolved as quick as possible, but
30:25
they have the right to strike. Judge has said that prior legislation that was
30:29
passed by the former Liberal government provincially that banned TTC workers from striking is in
30:34
fact unconstitutional. So now we're looking to Premiere Forward to see if he wants
30:38
to introduce new legislation and use the notwithstanding clause. But putting that all aside
30:42
right now, the question for the roundtable is should transit be declared an essential
30:47
service, prohibiting them from being able to strike and forcing arbitration at the outset
30:53
of something like this happening? Countslor Francis your thoughts, Yeah, I do
30:57
believe in the right to strike. I do believe that we're you know,
31:00
collective bargaining. I believe in all that, and you know, if they
31:03
think that's a necessary thing to do after all other options have been exhausted.
31:08
I do believe in the right to strike. But I also do believe that
31:11
there's some essential services that are essential. It would probably be helpful if there
31:18
was some kind of legislation or some kind of direction from the province. That
31:23
way, it's uniform across all municipalities in Ontario. I know this is something
31:27
we kind of dealt with during COVID where transit was shut down. In hindsight,
31:32
was that the best decision. Probably not. Maybe I would have went
31:36
the other way on that, or maybe had a different opinion on it now
31:37
knowing what we know now. But yeah, But what I will say is
31:42
if there was direction from the province that all municipalities can follow, that would
31:48
make it easier. That way, it's not from city to city, it's
31:49
all across the province. Uniformity makes things a lot easier. It takes the
31:52
stress out of your job quite frankly, if you know exactly what it looks
31:56
like. Mary McDonald, how about yourself? Should transit be essential? I
32:00
think so. I'm like you, Fred, I come from a family of
32:04
union members, so I certainly will not speak against the right to strike.
32:07
But again, the impact on the economy, on people's livelihoods, I don't
32:13
think it's fair that they are used as a tool. And that's as simple
32:17
as it gets to me. I think you cannot hamper businesses from doing work.
32:23
You can't keep people from going to work because, especially in a city,
32:30
some people don't have a car. That's their only mode of transportation.
32:32
And then if they or the ones that do have a car, then start
32:36
driving and you don't have enough places to park, it's utter chaos. I
32:39
think, as Fred said as well, uniformity across the province makes it simpler
32:45
for everyone. And yet I think definitely, how about yourself when it comes
32:50
to public transit and whether or not should be essential Ruchini, Well, in
32:54
my world there's many there are many people who depend on public transit to get
33:00
even here locally in Windsor, Essex County. You know, we were just
33:06
talking about buses coming from or Leamington to Windsor, right, so what if
33:12
those buses don't exist? And again, in my world where we have young
33:15
people and adults who depend on transit to get to jobs, to doctor's appointments,
33:22
legal appointments, to see their children, whatever the case may be.
33:25
What happens if those buses aren't available for these individuals who can't necessarily afford to
33:34
take a cab instead, if a cab is available, right So, I
33:37
think it is an essential service for sure. And my sister lives in Toronto.
33:43
She walks to work downtown Toronto, so she's not too far and she
33:46
doesn't depend on transit. But there's so many people in Toronto that depend on
33:52
transit right like every day. And even here in Windsor, we had when
33:57
we've had larger companies go on strike for longer periods of time, we've seen
34:02
the impact because those workers come to our food bank needing food, and they
34:07
never came to our food bank before. Well, shout out to your sister
34:12
who won't be impacted. If there is a transit strike in Toronto, that's
34:15
great, but there's not. But there's not a lot of that benefit many
34:19
many people, especially if you look at like Windsor, for example, where
34:22
our neighborhoods are so disparate and there's not necessarily a grocery store in each neighborhood
34:25
Toronto. You're probably wherever you are within four to five blocks of being able
34:30
to walk to something that is at least accessible to live by. It doesn't
34:34
mean that your job is by you at all. I understand that, but
34:37
it just goes to show I mean, yet, transit's essential. Try to
34:39
tell someone who needs to get to work or to a family member who's sick
34:44
or to school that it's not essential. Or when they show up late to
34:47
work three times and they end up getting fired. Transit's not essential. I
34:51
don't know what is. Okay, let's go into our last segment here plugged
34:53
in, where we give everyone on the round table an opportunity to showed out
34:57
something they think needs some attention. Counselor for what are you saying? I'm
35:00
going to shout out Carousel of the Nations beginning next weekend. The first day
35:05
is June fourteenth, Friday, June fourteenth, And for all the information on
35:08
the thirty different villages coming up next weekend, just go to Carousel of Nations
35:14
dot com. Again, that's Carousel of Nations dot com and it opens up
35:16
June fourteenth. What's your favorite carousel? I love them? All, John,
35:22
that's like asking a parent answer No, I love them all. And
35:27
you know, I think I heard on the radio not too long ago.
35:30
I think it was you or someone was saying, well, I wonder if
35:31
anyone's been to all of them. I have, and I'll tell you it's
35:35
one heck of an experience. I encourage everyone to go as to as many
35:37
as you can and experience a culture shock in your own community. It's such
35:42
a lovely event and what a great way to experience not only our own community,
35:45
but also so many other great cultures that make it up. How about
35:50
yourself, Mayor McDonald, what needs some attention. We've got Friday night markets
35:53
for the first time this week this year, this Friday from five till close,
36:00
and it's always a fun time close off Mill Street. There's food trucks,
36:02
there's all kinds of vendors, and then of course the restaurants that border
36:07
on Mill Street have lots to office. It's a it's a fun socialization night.
36:13
We just we just love it. It brings lots of people. We
36:15
have thousands of people that come and it's one block it's just hopping, but
36:21
carousel two we have five I call them carousels. Two five carousels in Leamington
36:24
that are going to be really a lot of fun. All speak to one
36:29
in particular, the Italian one last year was I thought like they knocked it
36:34
out of the park and they have sworn to top last year, so be
36:38
sure and check that one out as well. And then we've got new ones.
36:42
We've got Mexico as well, the Mexican Consulate. They've put together a
36:45
group of Portuguese, Lebanese and German as well. So we're quite proud of
36:50
the fact that we can actively take part in Carousel of Nations because of the
36:54
diversity in our community. And then in the county two we've got Kingsville has
36:58
the Dutch one and and Harrow Colchester has the Polish on the Beach which is
37:04
also fun. Two wonderful weekends in our region. See is how to stay
37:12
elected in our region. I was looking to move to London myself. Hot's
37:19
off the table, how about yourself, Ruc Sheney. What needs to be
37:22
shouted out and plugged in well. We are also excited to partner with a
37:30
new partner with our downtown mission. We try to partner with different restaurants in
37:36
the community to help bring them business and them awareness that they're helping their community
37:42
by helping the Downtown Mission, but also to help raise funds for the Downtown
37:46
Mission itself. So this month we've partnered with Beattie's Barbecue in La Sallet on
37:52
Front Road and every Sunday between two pm and seven pm, if anyone goes
37:59
and place an order, purchase food there, or calls them and orders to
38:04
pick up, they will donate thirteen percent of the order to the Downtown Mission
38:08
to help with our food bank so that everyone can get some food that is
38:13
great and that's all month long, every Sunday. Well, people should definitely
38:16
take part in that good food and a good cut. Nothing not to like
38:21
about that, folks. It's nine point fifty eight. I want to give
38:23
a big thanks to the Thursday Roundtable Ward one Counselor Fred Francis Essex Warden and
38:28
Mayor of Leamington Hilda MacDonald, who again is definitely going to get re elected
38:31
in our region, and the CEO of the Downtown Mission, Rukesheni panayah Ghoul,
38:36
and thank you so much to all three of you. We're going to
38:38
break right now. When we get back on the other side, we've got
38:42
the ten o'clock news coming up next