One episode wasn't enough to fully explore local democracy with our guest, Carol Moffatt. Carol is back this week with Lisa and Bram to talk about a perennial favourite: amalgamation. Should Haliburton County's five municipal governments in two tiers be consolidated into one government? Naturally, we have some opinions about that.

Guest Carol Moffatt from the Healthy Democracy Project joins Bram and Lisa for a discussion about why people don't run for office and what needs to change so they do. With the experience of 12 years as mayor of Algonquin Highlands and two terms as County Warden, Carol gives us an inside look at the world of local politics.

Why are local councils, non profits and businesses still posting their information on social media platforms filled with slop and misinformation? Bram and Lisa talk to communications expert Lauren Hunter about how we can post and get information without being manipulated by secret algorithms. As social media becomes increasingly unreliable and confusing, where should citizens get their information and how should organizations get it to them?

You can't get where you're going if you don't know where 'there' is. Bram and Lisa compare modestly-developed Haliburton to hyperactive Muskoka and note that we seem to be heading in that direction but without a plan or mandate to do so. What is Haliburton County supposed to be? Why don't our councils seem to have any kind of vision for the future of our community? Letting others do what they like in our towns and on our lakes is not a strategy; it's a failure of imagination.

Bram and Lisa talk about County Council's reaction to a report saying $30mm will be needed to build adequate, affordable housing in the area and debate an expert's suggestion to use public lands for housing. Are we going to keep waiting for 'someone' to build us the housing we need, or might we just have to do it ourselves?

Bram and Highlander Editor Lisa Gervais discuss a group effort in Haliburton County to get more candidates running for local office and other news happening in the County this week.