If the weather last weekend didn’t tip you off, Christmas is coming, and one of the most recognizable signs of the season is the legion of volunteers who stand by the red kettles of the Salvation Army collecting physical money for Christmas programs. This was hard enough in a time of “going cashless” but in the year of COVID, collecting physical money from someone in-person seems doubly unlikely. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #248 – Red Kettle Days”
From safety concerns downtown to property theft and damage in the far east end of the city, there were a lot of police issues discussed at Tuesday’s town hall meeting held by Ward 1 Councillors Dan Gibson and Bob Bell. From the impacts of COVID-19, to changes in Guelph’s crime severity index, to calls to “Defund the Police”, Police Chief Gord Cobey fielded a lot of questions, and offered a lot of answers. This is the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Cobey Faces Tough Questions on Community Safety at Ward 1 Town Hall”
Anecdotally, we know that the pandemic has had a major effect on the charitable, non-profit sector. The economic downturn as a result of lockdowns and other emergency actions have meant more joblessness and more economic need, which creates a perfect storm for non-profits because they’re financial resources have become very limited. Now, data collected by the People and Information Network (PIN) have painted a dire picture. Continue reading “Local Non-Profits Face a “Precarious Landscape” Says PIN”
Council meets to discuss some new appointments to local boards and committees. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for November 23, 2020”
The Ward 5 Councillors interrupted your pleasant Saturday to hold the latest town hall meeting on matters concerning the 2021 budget. Once again, members of the City of Guelph staff joined the conversation as people asked about going deeper on the budget numbers, how to navigate the new budget website, and what the financial impact of the 2021 budget might look like for your household. Continue reading “RECAP: Ward 5 Councillors Hold a Pleasant Saturday Chat on the Budget”
The 2021 Guelph Budget will be finalized in this final (or second-to-last) council meeting on the subject. The road to this day has been shorter than past years, so will the road to making a final decision on the part of council be just as short? How much wiggle room are members of council going to look for in this very unusual budget year? What will the final impact look like? To be determined… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the December 1 Meeting?”
In what might be a sign that people are realizing that the Provincial Election is now a year-and-a-half away, the Guelph riding association of the Ontario New Democrats sent a press release to the media that didn’t attack the current Provincial government, but attacked the current MPP of Guelph instead. The president of the Guelph NDP is calling out Mike Schreiner for being the odd man out and not supporting an NDP private members bill. Continue reading “Guelph NDP Picks a Fight with Schreiner Over Toll Roads”
We know that the Federal Liberals have not had the greatest of luck in areas involving youth and jobs this year, but maybe that luck is changing locally. Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield announced $1.4 million in new multiyear funding for Second Chance Employment Consulting Friday, and it will make a very real difference in the lives of the service’s clients according to Second Chance’s executive director Chris Baginski-Hansen. Continue reading “New Federal Money Helps Youth Facing Barriers to Employment”
It’s a known fact that Mayor Cam Guthrie got his start in politics as one of the councillors for Ward 4, and on Thursday night he virtually returned to his stomping groups with current Ward 4 Councillors Mike Salisbury and Christiner Billings. A cast of thousands (sort of) also joined Guthrie, Salisbury and Billings to talk about the 2021 Budget and issues of policing in Guelph in the second in a series of pre-budget virtual town halls. Continue reading “RECAP: Mayor & Ward 4 Councillors Talk Policing & Budget at Town Hall”
It was not the biggest of virtual crowds on Wednesday night, but it likely provided a nice warm up for a whole week of public events and town halls about this year’s budget. Here’s the recap of the Ward 2 virtual town hall about the 2021 Guelph Budget including questions about trails, prioritizing infrastructure, and the appearance of increasing the police budget, no matter how slightly, in this of all years. Continue reading “RECAP: Ward 2 Warms Up a Week of Public Feedback on the Budget”
Guelph Politico 