It’s been a pretty busy September so far at Guelph City Council, a couple of long summer meetings after almost a month off, so perhaps it’s fitting then that this month will go out like a lamb with a lighter agenda. For the regular meeting this month, council will approve the consent agenda from Committee of the Whole, including the new version of the Territorial Acknowledgement, plus one bit of new business on the heritage file.
NOTE #1: Delegates will be able to appear at this meeting in-person or via tele-presense but you do have to register with the clerks office before 10 am on Friday September 22. You can also submit written delegations and correspondences for agenda items.
NOTE #2: In addition to meeting in-person, this meeting will also be live-streamed on the City of Guelph’s website here.
CLOSED MEETING:
Non-Union Municipal Employee Group Compensation Increase 2024 – Because this is an HR issue, this item will be discussed under Section 239(2)(b) and (d) of the Municipal Act, because it’s “related to personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees, and labour relations or employee negotiations.”
Refreshed Territorial Acknowledgement – Although technically it could be passed with the rest of the consent agenda items, this one is getting moved up to the beginning of the meeting before “O Canada” and the moment of silent reflection. Since the Territorial Acknowledgement is given at the beginning of the meeting, council will be asked to give final approval to the updated version so that it can be officially read for the first time here.
Here’s the wording for the updated Territorial Acknowledgement:
As we gather, let us take time to reflect on our privilege to live and work in Guelph; a city built over rich Indigenous histories. We are guests here, and we should reflect upon the responsibility to care for this land, the people who live here today, and the generations to come. If our actions today can move us towards reconciliation, we should take pause and make those decisions with intention and gratitude.
This place we call Guelph has served as traditional lands and a place of refuge for many peoples over time, but more specifically the Attiwonderonk, and the Haudenosaunee. This land is held as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Haldimand Tract and is part of a long-established traditional hunting ground for the Six Nations of the Grand River. Many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples who have come from across Turtle Island call Guelph home today.
Heritage Guelph Resolution Regarding Ontario Reformatory Stone Wall – Ex officio member of Heritage Guelph Councillor Cathy Downer will bring for council’s consideration this motion that was unanimously approved at this week’s Heritage Guelph meeting:
That Heritage Guelph recommends that City Council request Infrastructure
Ontario to repair the stone wall at the Ontario Reformatory.
The motion was brought to Heritage Guelph following the sudden collapse of an old stone wall on the Ontario Reformatory Lands last month. Infrastructure Ontario has suggested that natural erosion is the cause of the collapse, but not everyone is prepared to say that this was nature’s work. Regardless, since this site is still under the stewardship of the Ontario government, it’s literally their mess to clean up.
Consent Agenda items from the Committee of the Whole meeting on September 6. (Items can be pulled by a councillor seeking additional information, otherwise all items will be voted on as a slate without further debate.)
- Updates Resulting from the Extension of Strong Mayor Powers
- City Council and Committee Meeting Schedule
- Downtown Parking Master Plan
Guelph Politico 