The Fulcrum Radio Show

It’s been one heck of a run, this is our season finale. We’re at the end, it’s been an amazing journey. Right now, we do not know what the future holds. Our outgoing Editor-in-Chief, Charley Dutil is the one who thought of this podcast first, and so he should some credit for the idea. He also thought of adding a science section to the paper, and Emma Williams did a damn good job with that. As of now, we don’t know what next year looks like, but we are happy to say that The Fulcrum Radio Show, is getting a spin-off! The Fulcrum Science Show with Emma Williams is gonna debut soon, We are all very excited about that. This has been a really fun ride for me, that lead me to meet so many amazing people. It was important to me, we take the last show to shed some light on a subject we haven’t covered enough on. We live in a world, where hate and misinformation is spreading fast. Hate is alive and well, as we’ve seen first hand in Ottawa in recent times, during the illegal truck occupation that took place in downtown. There were many bad flags being waved. We saw nazi flags, confederate flags, those weird yellow don’t tread on me’s and of course, rather oddly or maybe rather fittingly. The American flag and flags that said Trump 2024. A complex, but comparable reflection of the January 6th insurrection which took place in the United States. This is why, we believe it is important to pay attention to things that are happening in other places. Presently, in Texas - long standing laws put in place after the Roe v Wade case, which ruled that criminalizing abortion was a violation of a woman’s constitutional right of privacy, and infringed on their liberty’s have been struck down. Forcing many women to go underground, or for the ones who can afford it, fly to other states for the procedures. Now, another worrying hate movement, this one in Florida. The Parental rights and education act. Or as it’s more widely known, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Supporters of the bill say, it would give parents greater control over their child’s education. Legal experts say the bill is shrouded with hate, vilifying LGBT people and opening the door for teachers to get sued just by talking about them. And that brings us to our feature interview. Today on the show, we have an interview with Christopher Lambert. Chris is a LGBT children’s author, based out of Orlando. His book series, The Blue Balloon draws inspiration from his own life and he says this bill is trying to cover up LGBT children, cutting them off access and the support that they need. And Emma Williams, is finally (and-well-deservingly) getting her own show! She is here in conversation with Sarah Dolson, a Ph. D. candidate at the University of Ottawa who has been studying rove beetles. Emma dives deep into the research that lead Sarah Dolson onto Costa Rican volcanos in her efforts to track the bugs. Today reading headlines is Mariana Gomez and Sophie long. Jasmine McKnight with sports.

Our regular program is on hiatus for the next few weeks, but we want to take the opportunity to bring you a special feature. An extended conversation with Dr. Walter Hendelman, a physician and the guy who literally wrote the book on Neuroanatomy. In fact he wrote a lot of books about Neuroanatomy, Doctor Hendelman is a distinguished fellow whose storied career has spanned decades and former employee I should add, from the University of Ottawa. Dr. Hendelman now retired has been putting his efforts into the ongoing issues with the Civic Hospital proposal and the Central Experimental Farm. Dr. Hendelman is a member, of ReImagineOttawa and it was an absolute delight to speak with him. In this in-depth discussion about the current plan for the proposed Ottawa Civic Hospital, we discuss issues related to the planning and selection process. The failed promises of two of the city’s most recent legacy projects, Lansdowne and the LRT. Issues of accessibility which plague the current Civic proposal, the inevitable swelling of downtown traffic, and a whole lot more. Dr. Hendelman brings up the question, if it's so important we get started on building the new civic hospital, why is the first priority the parking garage?

A special episode of The Fulcrum Radio Show, featuring our Editor-in-Chief, Charley Dutil. Recently he met with Mary Stewart and Erica Leighton from the University of Ottawa in Environmental Studies who are behind the group, Climate Justice U Ottawa. They push for change locally, and make the argument that we need to start divesting from fossil fuels immediately. In this day and age, where climate change is one of the most serious issues facing us today, Climate Justice U Ottawa is taking action to spread the message that we need strong environmental policy and we need it now.

Our regular program is on hiatus for the next few weeks, But we’re here to bring you a special news release. This coming Monday, the Ottawa police board has cancelled their public meeting. They didn’t cancel the meeting, they are not going to let the public in. This would be the first public meeting since the city councillors, Diane deans, Rawlson King, Sandy Smallwood and Carol Anne Meehan were ousted from their roles on the police services board. The reason for cancelling the public access to the meeting? They say the councillors need to get up to speed. Robin Browne is with 613 - 819 Black Hub, and he says, they’re already up to speed and we need answers now.

This is a special episode of The Fulcrum Radio Show, Hunt Club is a road in the south of Ottawa that runs east to west spanning the city. The Hunt Club Forest is close to the airport, in fact it is airport property. Of course, the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, and its land is owned by the crown. As an international travel point, that part of the crown would be the Ministry of Transportation. Hunt club road runs along south Ottawa, east to west. The boundaries of the forest are airport property. Right next to the forest, is Otto’s BMW dealership. The dealership put in a development application to buy some of the forest, so they could extend their parking lot and park a few more BMWs out there. While Mark LaRoche, the President of the Airport Authority has been public about his support about selling the forest. So I went out to the hunt club forest, to speak with some people who really care about this issue. And that’s where this story starts. We go out to the Hunt Club Forest and meet Jennifer Dey, Michael Vorobej, Carolyn Ewers, Zoe Pomainville and Don Paice. Special thanks to Violet Manh, Keagan Knight, Romano DiFranco and Alicia Bedore.

Today on the show, Councillor Catherine McKenney opens the show from this week’s council meeting, questioning Mayor Jim Watson over his ousting of Councillors Diane Deans, Rawlson King, Carol Anne Meehan and Sandy Smallwood from the Ottawa police services board. This week Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly resigned and the councillors were ousted over the selection of a new interim police chief, the police services board wanted to hire Matthew Torigian, a former police chief from Waterloo, who was also a former deputy solicitor general in Ontario. Torigian is also a distinguished fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. The Mayor and his council supporters argue that Torigian was an outsider and didn't know the city of Ottawa, his critics say, that was the point. Our feature interview today is with Terry Chilibeck, a retired helicopter pilot and former heli-pad inspector with the Ministry of Transportation. Terry is trying to shed light on the design process for the new civic hospital’s heli-pad. He makes the case, that as our city and it’s developers continue to develop the area around Carling and Bronson with high-rises, continuously changing wind patterns will disrupt any medical-evac-chopper’s flight route. And Emma Williams is in conversation with Dr. Matthew Pamenter, a researcher from the University of Ottawa who has been studying the hypoxic environments of naked mole-rats. Dr. Pamenter work showcases how the species uses thermogenesis to regulate its body temperature. Reading headlines today is Gabrielle Muzychka and Shailee Shah. Jasmine McKnight with Sports.

Today on the show, Councillor Shawn Menard questions Joanne Read, The Ottawa Hospital's Executive Vice President and Chief of Planning and Development Officer. The proposed model, originally set with a $2.8 billion dollar price tag back in 2016, is currently expected to cost a lot more with rising construction costs. Which leads us to our feature interview, with Dr. Barry Bruce. Dr. Bruce is an Ottawa-based physician who first established his family care centre in 1973. He has also served as the Chief of Staff at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, his writing frequently appears in the Ottawa Citizen and he is here today to tell us why bigger hospitals aren't always better. And Emma Williams, our Science Editor is in conversation with Zoe Landry, a PhD Student from the University of Ottawa who has been researching ancient wolves and comparing their data to wolves from our modern era in an effort to try and better understand the species. Wolves have been around for many a millenia and her ground-breaking research sheds new light on how a species from as far back as the pleistocene era was able to survive extinction and continue to evolve. Reading headlines today is Gabrielle Muzychka and Shailee Shah. Jasmine McKnight with Sports.

Today on the show, We have an interview with Toon Dreessen. He's an architect here in Ottawa, whose writing frequently appears in the Ottawa Citizen, where he provides valuable insight and explanations about issues that arise in our growing city. Toon is a hybrid of advocate and educator, advocating for strong and accessible design, while taking big concepts and re-packing them into understandable ideas. He's here to tell us why architecture matters. And Emma Williams is in conversation with Dr. Jordan Mallon, a Palaeontologist from the Canadian Museum of Nature and they're talking all things dinosaurs! Dr. Mallon explains why we can find dinosaur remains in Alberta, the best ways to get fossils out of the ground and how they determine whether a dinosaur had skin, or feathers. Reading headlines today is Gabrielle Muzychka and Shailee Shah. Jasmine McKnight with Sports.

Today on the show, We have an interview with Jerry Fiori of the Ottawa Disability Coalition. The Ottawa Disability Coalition is a network of organizations that have come together to advocate for a more equitable community that would ensure people with disabilities have the same opportunities in the City of Ottawa as every other citizen. He's on the show to talk to us about some of the issues facing people with disabilities right now. Particularly in relation to new details that have come to light about the proposed civic hospital, the closest transit stop would be more than 500m away. And Emma Williams is in conversation with Greg Rand, a bird enthusiast and the Assistant Collections Manager at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Right now, there is a big owl exhibit at the museum. Emma and Greg dive deep into owls and answer some of the questions asked by you, from the poll we posted on the Fulcrum's instagram. Reading headlines today is Shailee Shah and Gabrielle Muzychka.

This is the third episode in a special three part investigative series on The City of Ottawa’s, yearly trapping & killing of beavers. If you haven’t yet listened to the first and second part of this series, go back and listen to those two episodes, and then come back and catch up with us after. The Final instalment, of The Fulcrum Radio Show’s special investigative series. This is part 3 of the Ottawa Beaver Killings.

Part two of The Ottawa Beaver Killings, on The Fulcrum Radio Show. If you haven't yet listened to part 1, go and listen to that first and come back here after to catch up. On this past episode, we speak to Glen Gower, the City Councillor for Stittsville. We speak to Nick Stow, The City Planner for the City of Ottawa. We go on a tour of the TransCanada Trail, in Pool Creek, with the Stittsville Landkeepers, Ann Swanwick, Leslie McKay and Catherine Clysdale. We talk to Ken McRae, an environmental activist who knows the land better than anyone. And we talk to Mike Callahan from the Beaver Institute in Massachusetts, who knows more about beavers than anybody.

This is the first episode in a special 3 part investigative series on The City of Ottawa’s, yearly trapping & killing of beavers. The City of Ottawa, traps and kills beavers every year. Last year, the City of Ottawa spent more than $150, 000 on trappers. We speak to Rob Grant over his concerns for the well-being of Lester the beaver in Gloucester. Donna Dubreuil from the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre. We take a trip out to Stittsville and the TransCanada Trail to meet the Stittsville Landkeepers, Catherine Clysdale, Ann Swanwick and Leslie MacKay. We meet Nick Stow, the City of Ottawa’s City Planner. And Mike Callahan from the Beaver Institute in Massachusetts. Special thank you to Daniel Buckles.

Today on the show, We have an interview with Leila, of the Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition. The Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition has organized a series of protests this week, in regards to the Ottawa Police Services budget increase, this year, it would total fourteen million dollars. We also have an interview with Stephanie Taylor, Stephanie is from the GottaGo! campaign, they're a local group that advocates for accessible public toilets. Whether downtown, or at a transit stop, the urge to go to the bathroom can hit anyone, at any time. There is certainly a need for accessible public washrooms and that need has only grown since the beginning of the pandemic. And Emma Williams is in conversation with André Desrochers, Dr. Desroches has been studying the first mass extinction and new findings challenge what we thought we knew about the end of the Ordovician period, when most of the earths creatures lived under sea, nearly 445 million years ago.

Today on the show, We have a special instalment of Women In Politics, an exclusive interview with Senator Kim Pate, who speaks to our Features Editor Amira Benjamin. Kim Pate is an independent Senator, who uses TikTok and other social media platforms to engage and keep Canadians informed of many issues across the country. She has a background in fighting for some of societies most vulnerable people. And Emma Williams, our Science Editor, is in conversation with Maddie Venables. Maddie was a part of a research team that won a competition called, "The Clinic of the Future". Her project is an app based solution that mirrors dating apps, to link patients with doctors.

Today on the show, We have a feature interview with Paul Johanis, Paul is from the green space alliance of Canada’s capital. He’s here to tell us about why green space is important, The Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital works to protect the disappearing green spaces across both Ottawa and Gatineau, in order to better the lives of the people who live there. And Emma Williams, our Science Editor is in conversation with Dr. Tuan Bui. Dr. Bui studies zebra fish, in an effort to better understand the spinal cord. Dr. Bui and his team of researchers, use the zebra fish as a means to figure out basic movements, so that one day, just maybe, they will have a better way to treat people with spinal cord injuries.

Today on the show, We have a special exclusive with Re-imagine Ottawa, they’re doing a lot of work to bring to light the City of Ottawa’s plan to destroy the Experimental Farm. Atleast 600 trees, many of which are close to a 100 years old, and others are species from around the world that scientists have been preserving for decades will all be gone, in order to put a new Mega Hospital in the middle of the city. Why is this a problem ? Aside from losing the trees, The National Capital Commission had already determined that Tunney’s Pasture was the best site for the Hospital. With existing infrastructure already in place. Raising many questions that are yet to be answered. Also, earlier this week I got to walk around the Byward Market with our features editor, Amira Benjamin, we talked to the people we met in the streets and we asked them about some of the issues that were affecting them. And Emma Williams is here in conversation with Lauren Gallant, a PhD candidate from the University of Ottawa. Her research involved the collection of fresh bat guano samples from Belize, where she later analyzed the samples to determine their past diets.

Today on the show, We have an interview, with Robin Browne of 613 - 819 Black Hub. He’s here to talk about the budget for Ottawa Police Services, whether or not more police equals less crime, as well as some of the ongoing issues facing people of colour in this city. We also have an interview with Dr. Gabriel Blouin-Demers, he’s a biologist based out of the University of Ottawa, who’s work focuses on reptiles and conservation. Dr. Blouin-Demers’ team recently designed turtle-safe nets for the fishing industry, to help provide a more sustainable approach for the fishing industry; and to save the turtles that get accidentally get caught and are killed during casting. And a feature interview, with Janet Mark Wallace of Walkable Ottawa, she makes the case for the importance of walkability in any neighbourhood. She’s here on the heels of her recent opinion piece that appeared in the Ottawa Citizen earlier this week, called: Who Really Pays For Parking?!

Today on the show, We have an exclusive interview with The Fulcrum’s Editor-in Chief, Charley Dutil, and Fulcrum News Editor Zoë Mason. They recently broke the story on the disgraced physician, Vincent Nadon, who worked for the University of Ottawa Health Services for years and a new lawsuit alleges the University of Ottawa may have failed to follow any of the complaints behind his practice. We also have an exclusive special, from Fulcrum Features Editor, Amira Benjamin, she takes a deep dive into the current state of Canadian politics and asks, where are all the women ? If this is such a diverse country, how come our representatives, do not represent that!? Amira speaks to a group of expert women, including, Caitlin Hart, Pascale Dangoisse, Esther Goombs and Stacie Trinh, they all give their take on the current state of affairs. And of course, we bring you an update over the ongoing crisis that is, the Ottawa LRT, speaking with Kerri Glynes Elliot, a board member of the Ottawa Transit riders, she talks to us about the issues facing people who use para-transpo services. We also talk to Taras Matkovsky, from Free Transit Ottawa and Ottawa City Councillor Shawn Menard!

Today on the show, we have an interview with Deena Ladd, she’s the Executive Director of the Workers Action Centre in Toronto. She’s here to talk about the minimum wage hike, and working conditions across Ontario. We also have Rebecca Gordon, a researcher from the University of Guelph, who focuses on Labour in the Hospitality Industry. Rebecca makes the case, that if restaurants want to survive, they should start investing as much in their employees as they do customers. And a very special interview with Dr. Patrick O’Byrne, he’s a professor of nursing at the University of Ottawa and his team has developed a home test for HIV.

Today on The Fulcrum Radio Show, we have an interview with Sarah Wright-Gilbert, she's one of the Citizen Representatives on The Transit Commission. We also have an interview, with Ottawa City Councillor, Jeff Leiper. Emma Williams is in conversation with Science Educator and Communicator Dr. Adam Brown. And an Ottawa-based artist, John Jarrett talks about his work preserving Ottawa neighbourhoods. All that and more!