After taking December off, we’re heading back to Wellington County’s administration building for the first Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee meeting for 2026. At this meeting, there will be many, many special guests on hand who want to discuss the big item on the agenda, which is the 2026 social services budget. Also look out for some follow-up on new projects, new initiatives, and a letter from the attorney general. Here’s the preview…
NOTE: This meeting takes place at 1 pm in the Guthrie Room at the Wellington County Administration Building on Woolwich Street.
Delegations – There are five registered delegations on this agenda, and all of them are speaking to the social services budget for 2026, specifically the need for the continued funding for rental supplements. The delegate list is a who’s who of local social service agencies including Danielle Mitchell from Family & Children’s Services, Kristen Cairney from Wyndham House, Dominica McPherson from Guelph Wellington Poverty Elimination, and Perrin Valli from Stepping Stone Guelph Wellington, plus a combined delegation from Guelph Community Health Centre CEO Melissa Kwiatkowski, CMHA Waterloo-Wellington CEO Helen Fishburn, and Stonehenge Therapeutic Community CEO Kristen Kerr. There are also five written submissions included in the agenda.
Aboyne Child Care Construction Project: Status Report 1 – Work has begun on the addition of the Aboyne Child Care Centre and so far the work done has been pretty straightforward with the erection of fencing, site set-up and the excavation for the foundation. Servicing of hydro and gas lines will begin this month, and work on building the wood frame will continue. Work is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
2026 Social Services Budget: Response to November Committee Motion – At the November meeting, the committee referred the 2026 social services budget back for some further work. Since then, county staff have found about $367,000 in new savings for the City of Guelph’s portion of the budget, which brings the increase for 2026 to $3.29 million, the vast majority of which an increase in rent subsidy support and the 2025-26 winter response plan. (There is also a roofing project in Guelph that had to be advanced to this year from the 2028/29 capital forecast.) Now, if those savings aren’t enough, Guelph council could reject the $1.12 million to support Housing Stability Homelessness Prevention (meaning rental and utility arrears, first and/or last month’s rent, and other one-time costs), or they can reduce or eliminate the increase to the rental supplements.
Correspondence from the City of Guelph dated November 2025 – This notice has to do with the passage of a motion during Guelph city council’s budget meeting in November that dedicated $850,000 to the provision of a new daytime shelter space, and asked the County of Wellington to contribute 10 per cent of the cost. This plan has kind of blown up in recent days.
2026 Budget: Social Services – “The tax impact of the overall 2026 Social Services Budget is a 15.3 per cent increase for the County and an 16.9 per cent increase for the City,” reads the report. Much of the costs for Ontario Works and childcare come from sources that are not the tax base, so the majority of that increase is being driven by the housing portion. Warning signs? Well, there’s unstable funding from the federal Reaching Home program, tariffs have had an impact on supplies in the capital budget, we’re losing steam in the local economy, and there’s uncertainty about the future funding formula for childcare in Ontario. Committee will be asked to approve the budget and send it on to the Administration, Finance and Human Resources Committee.
2026 Innovation Funding Approval – Wellington County was successful in its application for something the provincial government launched last fall called the Innovation Fund, which was meant to help childcare service providers find solutions to filling workforce gaps. Wellington is getting $164,617, which will go to support three projects including the promotion of early childhood education as a profession, designing new mentorship strategies, and collecting workforce data about the labour needs in the county.
Third Quarter 2025 Variance Report for Paramedic Services – The third quarter variances were presented to Guelph city council last month, but obviously this focuses on the Guelph Wellington Paramedic Service and it’s projected $448,000 operating deficit, which is mostly driven by staffing costs; more staff members taking leave requiring overtime and temp staff, and an increase in contributions to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. On the bright side, the capital costs are on budget for the year.
Correspondence from the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada – This is a follow-up from an action approved at the October meeting, 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.” This letter from Minister of Justice and Attorney General Sean Fraser acknowledges the Guelph and Wellington’s submission and thanks the municipalities for the support.
Guelph Politico 