Ontario Morning from CBC Radio

The debate on elected officials pledging allegiance to King Charles III continues in Ontario.....this time, in the Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan. Mayor Joe Taylor says the pledge has no relevance in municipal politics. He joined us to elaborate on his point of view. Backyard chickens are a contentious topic across the province. Some townships welcome them, others restrict them to farms and larger properties. A group of residents in Madoc want the township to open the coop on its backyard chicken bylaw. One supportive resident made his case this morning Two women trading tales - one a journalist, the other an old woman jailed for killing a slave hunter.. and so starts the interwoven stories at the heart of the national bestseller “In the Upper Country”. The book’s author Kai Thomas joined us today during our Wednesday Book Column.

Removing people from homeless encampments is a contentious issue in Peterborough. Now the city has taken an unusual step to handle the situation. We found out more about the hiring of a security firm to enforce bylaws. Dean Findlay, the city’s Director of building services joined us to explain the decision. Today is the deadline for remaining residents of a homeless encampment in Kingston to leave the site. But a local advocacy group calls it inhumane for the city to force the eviction, and is rallying around the tenants. Sayyida Jaffer, lead on Justice and Poverty Reduction with the Providence Centre for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation spoke with us about the issue. Every few days or so, Google celebrates a special person, event or achievement with a Google Doodle, a creative redesign of its logo inspired by those being honored. Recently the Google Doodle was on that popular Filipino dish, Adobo. A chef from Bracebridge joined us to talk of her love for the dish and why the rest of us need to try it, pronto.

Capturing the spark and sensitivity of homeless people in Peterborough - we met the author of a newly-relaunched photo book that celebrates the most vulnerable, and often overlooked group in the city. Touring as a musician is never easy, now imagine doing the whole thing on a bike! That is just what the Bicycle opera project has been doing for the past decade. Our show director Jared Hillel caught up with one of the founder who brought us some stories from the road.

The play I Hate Hamlet is on stage now at the South Simcoe Theatre. What is their beef with the Prince of Denmark? We spoke with the lead actor and co-director Richard Varty. As many celebrate St-Patrick's day today, how many actually know the history behind the holiday? Dónall Ó Dubhghaill spoke to us about the traditions - and struggles - around preserving Irish culture.

Seeing a lack of accessible parks in her community, a dentist in Cornwall is now lobbying the city for a new all-inclusive playground. Two hikers, cold and lost in the dark woods…no, it’s not the start of a horror movie but a real-life situation that unfolded this month in Bradford. Police were able to quickly locate and help the pair because of an app called What3Words.

Not all libraries are equal. An advocacy group is calling for the government to create an Ontario-wide digital system. Remember the Blackberry - the addictive Canadian phone some people called the Crackberry? It went from being the thing to losing the smartphone wars. A new movie about Blackberry's tragic demise hits Canadian screens in May. Sean Silcoff, the co-author of the book the film is based on, joined us today for our books column.

The luck of the Irish rolls into university towns this week. We heard from a first-time city councilor in Kingston who's been meeting with students and residents to ensure smooth celebrations this St. Patrick's Day. Are you still feeling the effects of losing that one hour of sleep? We spoke with a sleep expert to get some new tips and tricks for those having a little extra trouble getting up in the morning.

Getting to play one gig is great, but what about 500? Our show director Jared Hillel caught up with a Peterborough artist who just wrapped up his five-hundredth show at a local venue. If you're staying local and looking for something to do this March Break, the Lennox and Addington Museum is offering up the chance to travel the world -- without leaving the building. We learnt about the sites you can visit at the March Around the World exhibit. Artists who want to build a career in theater often jet off to big cities for big opportunities. The Grapevine Theatre Project in Kingston wants to give artists a reason to stay. We heard how the group is trying to build the local professional theater scene, starting with a new play opening tonight at The Spire.

A hunting store in Belleville has been organizing coyote hunts for years, but an animal rights group, Coyote Watch Canada, says it's illegal, and is urging the province to step in. We spoke with Lesley Sampson and found out more about the controversial event. The trip from war-torn Ukraine to Canada is long and treacherous, but imagine having to go back. That was the case for a Ukrainian family who landed in the Town of West Grey. A local sponsorship group helped them settle, but couldn’t help them stay. Peterborough is launching their inaugural campaign to have residents read one book together. And they just announced their first read: Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice. He joined us on the show for our Wednesday Book Column.

In a historic vote, thousands of Metis who don’t have full ancestral documentation will be cast out of the registry. We spoke with the President of the Metis Nation of Ontario to explain the issue of Metis legacy and who has the right to claim it. Typically, when you think of a library, you think of a place for peaceful study or curling up with a good book. But that’s not quite the case in Kingston recently . Harassing, aggressive visitors , and assault have the staff on edge. We spoke with the CEO of Kingston Frontenac Public Library who is trying to manage staff safety with patron use.