The agenda was busy, but controversy seemed to take the week off at Guelph City Council. For the last Committee of the Whole meeting before the election, there were reports about the risks being faced by the corporation, the current state of the City’s assets, and the ways we need to better commit to community well-being. There were also rewards, but for the most parts its just some very normal regular reporting. Here’s the recap…
Committee of the Whole Meeting – July 7, 2026
The final Committee of the Whole meeting before the election was front loaded with a lot of awards and presentations; they received the monthly staff recognitions, congratulated this year’s CAO Awards of Excellence recipients, and had a timely service profile of the City Clerk’s office.
Some interesting details emerged from that last one with City Clerk Dylan McMahon explaining that the recently approved provincial changes for Freedom of Information requests are having local impacts too with longer timelines to get information, and new privacy requirements that require further investment in staffing. Councillor Dan Gibson went on a tangent regarding “community concerns” about non-citizens voting in the municipal election this fall, to which McMahon responded that while it’s illegal, they do not ask for proof of citizenship at the polling places. Gibson added that he wasn’t claiming that there’s voter fraud afoot, but he thought that this was important information for the community to know.
Next, committee approved the updated Corporate Asset Management Policy and heard the presentation of the second annual Enterprise Risk Management Register update. Robert Jalacic, the GM of Internal Audit, noted that many of the riskiest areas remain the same as last year and they’re more or less the same for all Ontario municipalities with economic uncertainty and aging infrastructure being the Top Two. Jelacic also noted that the high score for certain areas didn’t mean mismanagement, but it did indicate the magnitude of the problem. Treasurer Shanna O’Dwyer explained that while infrastructure renewal funding is still increasing, it has not kept up with the rate of inflation so there will be a capital reassessment through the 2027 renewal of the Strategic Plan and the launch of the next multiyear budget in 2028.
After that, committee got into the Finance Policy Update. Six different polices were updated, refined or consolidated into four with changes ranging from updated language and terms to the incorporation of new provincial legislation like Strong Mayor Powers. In other words, this was largely administrative work that didn’t provoke a lot of interrogation by committee.
After approving that, committee was presented with the Guelph Community and Well-being Plan, put together by the City of Guelph, County of Wellington and about 40 different community organizations including Guelph Police, the United Way, Public Health and the two local school boards. The report identifies six priority areas including systemic discrimination, early adversity, income insecurity, gender-based violence and exploitation, mental health and substance abuse, and homelessness and affordable housing.
Staff pointed out that despite the provincial requirement to put this report together every four years, Queen’s Park doesn’t offer any new funding to come up with solutions and address the issues it identifies. To that end, the plan of action on these issues involves better co-ordination between the community partners and supporting the initiatives that are already making an impact, while Corporate Performance and Strategy Manager Erin Britnell added that the Community Advisory Table will continue to meet twice a year to monitor the effectiveness as opposed to a “set and forget it” model.
The meeting wrapped up with Vice-Chair Erin Caton wishing everyone a Happy Disability Pride Month. Only four more meetings now until summer break!
Click here to see the complete recap of the meeting.
Guelph Politico 