Episodi

  • Encore Episode: London Cares and the Homelessness Crisis

    Encore Episode: London Cares and the Homelessness Crisis
    Dec 10 2025
    This is an encore edition of the 2nd episode of The Matt Brown Podcast. It's timely because winter is here, earlier than expected. People are living rough and we're experiencing a cold snap. The Mayor, along with other "big city mayors" from across Ontario is calling for the Province to declare a State of Emergency to address this. In this episode, Chris Moss, the Executive Director of London Cares, joins us to share information about the organization she leads and how London Cares works with other community partners to address London's homelessness crisis. Listen for "Housing is Healthcare". After listening, please help if you can you can donate at: LondonCares.ca. Also, send a note - tell me what you think the City should be doing next to address this crisis. You can email: TheMattBrownPodcast@gmail.com. It's your turn now- IIf you provide your first and last name, I'll read your ideas on a companion podcast in the days to come. Thanks for listening, talk to you soon and bye for now London.
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    24 min
  • Dr. Martin Horak joins the podcast to discuss council's 35% salary increase and more.

    Dr. Martin Horak joins the podcast to discuss council's 35% salary increase and more.
    Dec 4 2025
    You likely know that London City Council gave itself a hefty wage increase and it will go into effect just over a year from today. It was a close vote, 6 councillors voted against this move, 3 changing their vote to Nay during the final debate. As we head into an election, is this one of the first bona fide, city wide issues that will enter into the debates? The majority of sitting council members have already declared that they will be running to protect their seat. Where it gets interesting is incumbents largely run on their voting records for big issues, while challengers can both bring new ideas forward while at the same time be critical of decisions their opponent made during past terms of council. Will challengers latch on to issues like the record setting cumulative 26% tax increase this current council approved over the course of their 4 year multi year budget, while at the same time giving London City Council members a task force recommended 35 percent raise? These were both bold political moves, so possibly so. We’ll have to stay tuned, Today, we’re lucky to have the Chair of the Council Resourcing Review Task force to tell us about the process and the reasoning behind the task force recommended increases.
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    29 min
  • Encore Episode: Councillor Corrine Rahman explains why she's not supporting the 35% council pay increase

    Encore Episode: Councillor Corrine Rahman explains why she's not supporting the 35% council pay increase
    Nov 28 2025
    This is an encore presentation of Episode 13, when Councillor Corrine Rahman joined us to outline why she was not in support of the 35% increase in salary that council was considering at the time. It provides good context for next week's episode - Dr. Martin Horak, the chair of the council resource review task force, will join us to explain the process the task force followed and how they ultimately landed on recommending a 35% increase to council salary, among other things. If you haven't heard, the increase was recently approved by council in a 9 to 6 vote. the increase goes into effect in about 12 months, at the beginning of the next term of council. Thanks for listening!
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    37 min
  • All thing London Fire Department and Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week

    All thing London Fire Department and Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week
    Nov 21 2025
    This episode is another abridged version of Newmakers - the Show I host over on Rogers TV. The topic today? Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week and we’ll also take a deep dive into all things London Fire Department and what they do to keep us safe, every single day.
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    24 min
  • Lest We Forget. Remembrance Day in London. 2 local organizations that are making a difference.

    Lest We Forget. Remembrance Day in London. 2 local organizations that are making a difference.
    Nov 11 2025
    Today, is Remembrance Day. We’re going to focus on our Canadian Veterans. Specifically, we are going to take a look at The Remember November 11 Association and our local chapter of Homes for Heroes. These are two of many local organizations that support, honour and advocate for veterans living in London and area. If you've tuned in before, you'll know this podcast is sponsored by London Bicycle Café. I appreciate their support very much and, for this episode, the show is on the house - in honour of our veterans. To any veteran listening, thank you for your service. We Remember.
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    23 min
  • *Updated: Councillor Corrine Rahman joins us to talk about a significant raise council is likely to approve tomorrow

    *Updated: Councillor Corrine Rahman joins us to talk about a significant raise council is likely to approve tomorrow
    Nov 3 2025
    London City Councillor salary could increase by over 35% Their overall budget might go from just under $5 million to almost $8 million - a 50% increase - and this number does not include the cost of City Staff who supports them, or the mayor’s budget as well. Right now a city councillor makes $67,420 per year and the mayor makes $163 thousand dollars and change. The task force is recommending a pretty substantial increase that would begin in 2027. Depending on their role, a councillor would be making between $94,000 to just over $100,000 at the beginning of next term and , in 2030, would top out at between $104,000 and $113,00. The mayor would be making $181,000 at that point too. London City Councillor Corrine Rahman voted against the task force recommendations and she’s joining us on this episode to tell us all about it. It's an age-old story. City Council’s in Ontario have had to decide their own wages and London is no exception. So, to say that this is an uncomfortable position to be in as a member of council is an understatement. It’s the third rail of municipal politics. It’s like being between a rock and a hard place while living in a fishbowl. Ironically, every member of council takes an oath of office at the beginning of their term - they promise to declare any fiduciary conflict of interest and they abstain from any vote that could benefit them monetarily - except for deciding their own pay. That’s what is happening now. A task force has studied London council’s work load and has come back with a series of recommendations. These include significant increases for council, beginning right after the next election as well as a potential increased budget to contract staff to do constituent work - that one has been referred to committee for review - and a severance package that would be available to them if they lost their seat in a future election. It was difficult to pull these numbers together and I could not find information that was readily available about the cost of benefit packages or the mayor’s expenses. Nor could I easily find information about the costs of staffing support provided to council by civic administration so I didn’t add in the costs associated with adding another assistant in the council office - which was another recommendation from the task force. This one has been referred to committee for review. Nevert-the-less, I’m confident the numbers I’m sharing with you are accurate and paint an apples to apples picture of the situation.
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    37 min
  • Shannon LaHay, E.D. of Humane Society London and Middlesex to share her vision for the future.

    Shannon LaHay, E.D. of Humane Society London and Middlesex to share her vision for the future.
    Oct 29 2025
    This episode is an abridged version of a Newsmakers episode - the show I host on Rogers Television. Shannon LayHay is the brand new Executive Director for the Humane Society of London and Middlesex - An organization that has a long history and one that has experienced a lot of positive change over the past little while. You’re likely familiar with the name and the brand of this not-for-profit, but you might be surprised to learn about all of the programs and services that they offer as well as their vision for the future. Did you know that, “Human wellness is inextricably connected to animal welfare?” Neither did I, so have a listen and find out why.
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    22 min
  • Donald D'Heane talks about his new documentary film, Forest City Film Festival and more.

    Donald D'Heane talks about his new documentary film, Forest City Film Festival and more.
    Oct 22 2025
    Erik D’Haene died of a drug overdose in 2020. At the time, he was living in Vancouver - but - that event wasn’t his whole life and his surviving siblings, including his brother, Donald D’Haene are telling his story to the World by way of a documentary film called, Interpreting Erik. Erik was an artist and he left a lifetime of artifacts - writings, sketches and artwork that Donald incorporated into the film. Erik’s Story has travelled to film festivals around the world and it will be showcased here in London at the Forest City Film Festival this Sunday. Donald hopes that Erik’s Story will change the way society sees, and judges, homelessness and displaced citizens. He wants us to understand that displaced people have lived full lives and Erik’s tragic end, as well as the countless other people who experienced homelessness and addiction before and after him who suffer similar fates, should not define them. Donald wants us to appreciate that it’s no the displaced person’s fault and he hopes that, after viewing the film, a person will leave the theatre considering the possibility that any one of us could find ourselves caught up in a crisis or life altering experience well beyond our control and that we are only 6 degrees or less from meeting the same sad ending as Erik - alone, addicted and found on the street. We wouldn’t want our life to be defined by that last chapter - and neither did Erik. And, This is the show today - we’re going to talk with Donald D’Haene - about Erik’s Story, some of his other works, the upcoming Forest City Film Festival - and we’ll get to know a bit more about his as a real life person too.
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    17 min