It looks like a slow month at the Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee with reports concerning finances, an update about progress on Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System, aka: $10 per day childcare, and a special request from the Mayor of Guelph. Let us now look ahead to another Wednesday afternoon in the Guthrie Room (no relation) at that castle-looking building on Woolwich Street.
NOTE: This meeting takes place at 1 pm in the Guthrie Room at the Wellington County Administration Building on Woolwich Street.
Social Services Financial Statements and Variance Projections as of September 30, 2025 – Granted there’s still three months left in the year, but as of the end of the third quarter it looks like the social services budget is $435,000 in the black for 2025. How is that possible? About $3 million in one-time provincial and federal grants, offsetting higher maintenance and utility costs at County housing. The housing file is the one that directly impacts municipal budgets, but Ontario Works is also showing some modest savings while childcare underspent by about $7 million due to program restrictions.
Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) Resolution on Paramedic Safety / Violence Against Paramedics – Following up on a motion approved by the Ontario Big City Mayors in August, Mayor Cam Guthrie will ask the committee to endorse a pair of motions asking the Government of Canada to adopt legislation to amend the Criminal Code of Canad to “increase penalties and maximum terms of imprisonment for aggravated assault against paramedics, firefighters, and other first responders to align with those for peace officers.”
Correspondence from the City of Guelph dated October 2, 2025 – Last month, Guelph City Council approved a series of recommendations along with the new bylaw to add a new subclass for affordable housing discounts to property taxes. The motions asked the Ontario government to look at discounts for people on Ontario Works and ODSP, and to look at similar discounts for education property taxes and to send notice to a list of different governments and organizations.
Update on Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System – Wellington County is expected to add 1,719 new childcare spaces and there is some positive progress to get there with more than 300 new spaces added since 2022 and an additional 552 planned by the end of next year. Wellington County fell just short of the prescribed access rate from the Ontario government of 37 per cent; that’s overall for the County because while access rates for Guelph are actually above 37 per cent, access is still difficult to achieve in rural areas, especially Puslinch and Mapleton. The fees are presently down to $22 per day, which is a huge dent in affordability, but the report notes that more provincial investment will be needed in order to keep up the progress already made.
Guelph Politico 