The Craig Needles Podcast

Episode 174: Shawn Lewis on Pride Month

London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, the first openly gay person elected to London City Council, joins Craig to talk about a disturbing series of stories in the community and about his remarks to kick off Pride month in the city.

Episode 173: Skylar Franke on London combating climate change

A report at London City Hall says emissions in the city are on the way up and we aren't on pace to get to net zero by 2050. How do we fix that? What steps do we take? Councillor Skylar Franke joins the podcast to share her thoughts.

Episode 172: Some say it’s heritage, maybe it’s NIMBYism

When objections to certain planning decisions are made due to heritage concerns - is this just thinly veiled NIMBYism?

Craig and historian Robyn Schwarz break that down on this episode of the podcast.

Episode 171: Friday Round Table with Elizabeth Peloza, Cheryl Miller and AJ Wray

City of London budget chair Elizabeth Peloza, former city councillor Cheryl Miller and PhD candidate A.J. Wray join Craig for this week's Friday Round Table.

They talk Budweiser Gardens improvements, downtown vacancy rates, heritage homes and David Johnston's decision to not have a public inquiry into foreign election interference.

Episode 170: The facts on Budweiser Gardens

Should the City of London spend millions in tax dollars to renovate and expand Budweiser Gardens?

It was an intense at times debate at city hall on Tuesday. Craig was there, and on this episode of the podcast he lays out the facts and shares his conversation with Budweiser Gardens General Manager Brian Ohl and Tourism London General Manager Cheryl Finn.

Episode 169: Friday Round Table with Shawn Lewis, Nathan Caranci and Scott Kitching

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig welcomes London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, political insider Nathan Caranci and Blackburn Media news manager Scott Kitching.

They talk about proposed improvements at Budweiser Gardens that the city of London is being asked to pay for. Then, they talk red light cameras and about a school that had about a third of their students absent on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

Episode 168: School violence continues to escalate

Violence in schools has been a regular talking point in Ontario's education system - and it has reached a boiling point at some London schools.

Craig Smith - the President of ETFO in Thames Valley - joins the podcast to talk about what's happening W. Sherwood Fox School in the south end of the city.

There's worries about the safety of staff and students, and some in the school community have called this school year "the most challenging and traumatizing that we have
seen."

Smith discusses how what's happening there is similar to other schools in the system, and what needs to be done to make significant change.

Episode 167: Friday Round Table with Susan Stevenson, Cheryl Miller and Matthew Reid

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig is joined by London city councillor Susan Stevenson, former city councillor Cheryl Miller and lawyer Matthew Reid to talk about the issues of the week.

They discuss the London Transit Commissions hopes to provide service to the city's industrial areas, the city's health and homelessness plan and the Health Unit's push to increase social assistance rates.

Episode 166: Mayor pushing health and homelessness plan

What's the latest on the millions of dollars that's supposed to transform the way homelessness is combatted in the City of London?

Mayor Josh Morgan has met with cabinet ministers about it. City staff. Key decision makers. Even Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He joins Craig to talk about the latest and discuss timelines on when we may actually see some of these changes make an impact.

Episode 166: Friday Round Table with Ali Chahbar, Shawna Lewkowitz and Jared Zaifman

On this week's edition of the Friday Round Table, Craig welcomes lawyer Ali Chahbar, former federal NDP candidate Shawna Lewkowitz and former London City councillor Jared Zaifman join Craig to talk about the issues of the week.

They discuss London's new police chief, tough times for renters in the city, London being the least happy city in the country according to some new stats and if threats against Conservative MP Michael Chong may become an election issue.