Back in December, London’s mayor, along with other “big city mayors" from across the province called on Doug Ford’s government to declare a State of Emergency to address the homelessness crisis, while at the same time London City Council purchased 60 tiny homes that could be seen as representing one of the main thrust of City Hall's Winter Response. Crews have started to assemble them on a site near the 401 and the city has also hired a private sector company to operate the site. The mayor has committed to having them operational in "early 2026". Meanwhile winter came early this year, people are living rough and we're experiencing snow storms and cold snaps on a regular basis. At the time this episode was aired, on January 5, 2026 the tiny homes were still not ready to go. People are wondering - when is that going to happen? When is the city going to start moving folx off of the street and into these homes. With all this going on, I ran an encore of the episode featuring Chris Moss, the Executive Director of London Cares. She joined us several months ago to share information about London’s housing and homelessness crisis and how the organization she leads works with other community partners to address London's homelessness crisis. When the encore episode was published, I asked listeners to write in and outline what they thought the city should be doing next to address this crisis. And many of you did. Have a listen and please, let me know what you think!

London City Council recently approved their 4th and final budget. There is a lot to talk about as we head into a Municipal Election year. Joining us to talk about it today are panelists Jared Zaifman, a past member of London City Council and the CEO for the London Homebuilders Association, and Kelly Ziegner, the current CEO and President of the Elgin Middlesex United Way. This past week it was announced that Kelly will be moving to the YMCA of South Western Ontario to serve as that organization's Chief Operating Officer. Congratulations, Kelly! Back in 2014, London City Council made the switch to a 4 year, multi year budget and this practice continues to today. The idea is to plan out the entire 4 year term in year 1 so that civic administration, funded boards and commissions, community partners and Londoners have some predictability as they make plans for the years ahead. At the beginning of each new term, council approves (or adjust) the budget that the previous council set for them. They also map out what the next 4 budgets (including the first year of the following term) will look like. Even with a Mutli-year budget, the municipal act requires council to conduct a review every 12 months. This allows council to make tweaks and changes for the year ahead. It’s an interesting 4 year budget because the cumulative increase in property taxes was 24.5% that’s a record - at least for this century. It also means that if you were paying $4000 in taxes at the beginning of the term, you’ll be paying $4980 beginning next year. It was a bold political move - and as we enter into an election year this decision is shaping up to be one of the first city wide election issues, the other was council’s decision to increase their pay by 35%, that’s something we can expect candidates to be talking about and Londoners to be thinking about as they prepare to go to the polls. Also - in this episode I incorrectly attribute a question asked way back during the 2023 budget deliberations bout 2 electric vehicles really being necessary for the London Police Service to Councillor Skylar Frank. It was actually Councillor Corrine Rahman asking the question, to the Deputy Chief Trish McIntyre. Nice catch, Jared!

In municipal politics there’s no such thing as a small issue and whatever the issue is, it’s guaranteed to be local. Today we’re going to speak with a representative from a brand new Old North neighbourhood advocacy group. It's called A.C.T.I.O.N. My guest, Dr. Colin Evans, is a memeber of this group and he has a lot to say about cut through traffic in his neighbourhood and neighbourhoods and right across the city. He knows his stuff too. To learn more please check out their website: OldNorthCommunity.ca you might live in Old North, or you might live in another neighbourhood -either way, they want to hear from you.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kelly Ziegner, CEO of United Way Middlesex Elgin joins me to tell us how financial stress is affecting our most vulnerable - well beyond their wallets. She’s here today to tell us about an alarming, Canada wide survey that has just been completed by Léger & United Way Centraide and was released today. It shows how many Canadians are just one unexpected event away from a financial crisis away.

We have 2 guests today. Both of them are long time veterans with our London Police Service and they are here to tell us about the work that they do in their current divisions. One topic is a favourite one for Londoners to talk and - sometimes - complain about. The other is a program that might be news to you. There are multiple career paths that a member of the London Police Service can take - it’s one of the exciting parts of what is a really difficult job. Mike's career path is a good example of this. Like most officers, Staff Sergeant Mike Anderson started working in Uniformed Patrol before being transferred to the Major Crime Section. Mike worked in Major Crime for 4.5 years before being promoted to Sergeant. He returned to Uniform Patrol for about 12 months when he then moved back to Major Crime, this time serving as a Detective for 4 years. Recently he recieved a promotion to Staff Sergeant and, earlier this year, Mike was transferred to the Traffic and Safety Division where he now supervises a Sergeant and 15 Constables as they work to keep London roads safe for all of us. Also joining us in this episode is Constable Julia Piening, a 20 year veteran with our London Police Service. Julia teaches part time at Fanshawe College, speaks French and Spanish and has two, as she refers to them as, “wonderful kids” - and I’m sure they are! She also tells me that she owes a lot of her grit and perseverance to her mom. Like Mike, Julia started in Uniform Patrol. She has served as the Missing Person Coordinator, she’s worked on a joint project with Guns and Drugs and in Corporate Services for Special Projects, Julia has also served in the Forensic Digital Evidence Unit, as a School Resource Officer. These days, Julia is member of the Community Services Division where she coordinates a program called “Project BUILDS”, a project designed to build trust and create positive connections between police and the London's youth and all residents. In this role, she facilitates a program called “Youth In Policing Initiative”, or “YIPI” for short and that's what she tells us about in this episode.

Graham Henderson, CEO of the London Chamber of Commerce joins me to discuss how big investments in Music Arts and Culture can make our local economy stronger while at the same time making London a great place to live. He’s studied this for years and has "walked his talk". In Toronto, he developed a Music Arts and Culture Strategy that has been implemented in large Cities around the world. He argues that London needs to do more so we get more, and he explains why he thinks city council is not doing enough to get us where we need to be.

Presently, a small but important portion of the Medway Trail system is in question. Residents from the Attawandaron Neighbourhood (a neighbourhood in Northwest London, just off Wonderland Road) attended a planning committee meeting last week and lobbied for the Type 3 trail (an accessible trail) that is planned for the City property behind their homes and abutting Medway Valley be stopped. Remarkably the planning committee agreed with them and voted unanimously (5 - 0) to pause construction and possibly cancel the pathway altogether. the recommendation goes to council on Tuesday, August 26th for debate and decision. Although the neighbours had the opportunity to share their perspective with the Planning and Environment Committee, no one was able to provide the decades long history of this project or express their concerns from an accessibility lens. Jay Menard, the immediate past chair of the council appointed committee set up to provide them with advice about accessibility issues, joins me on the podcast with the hope that his perspective is heard before city council makes their final decision.

Jim Graham is a business owner, community volunteer, commercial pilot and he is the founding and immediate past chair of the board of directors for Airshow London which was established as a not for profit organization in 2015. You'll learn some interesting history, fun facts, how they kept the show going during the pandemic, what in store this year as they celebrate their 10th Anniversary.

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 Parters to address London's Homelessness Crisis. Listen for "Housing is Healthcare". Please reach out and let me know what you think: TheMattBrownPodcast@gmail.com Thanks for listening!

Hello, London. This is the final version of episode 1 of The Matt Brown Podcast. The first version was a beta, a combination of this podcast and the test interview that I did with Mario Circelli as part of my training for "Newsmakers", a 30 minute news program that I am hosting for Rogers TV beginning this fall. This version has theme music and better sound. Also, Thank you to The Bicycle Cafe for coming on board as the podcast's first sponsor. Thank you and Congratulations on your decision Andrew McClenaghan!

Welcome to The Matt Brown Podcast! In this episode, I make an announcement about an opportunity that was too good to turn down. You'll get a sneak peek about what's to come.