The auto parts manufacturer Linamar is Guelph’s biggest private employer, and according to legend, it all started in the basement of Frank Hasenfratz with a one-man machine shop in 1964. On Saturday night, it was announced that Hasenfratz, still the executive chairman of the company he started almost 60 years ago, had passed away. Continue reading “Linamar Founder Frank Hasenfratz Passes Away”
There are 137,000 stories in the Royal City, and this is some of them. Looking at a week’s worth of media releases from the Guelph Police Service, there’s a lot gong on in our little city crime-wise speaking, so let’s run down some of the charges, issues, and requests for information from the Guelph Police Service over the last seven days. Continue reading “POLICE NOTES: Last RIDE, Book Bust, and Still Missing”
On day two of the new light lockdown for many businesses in Ontario, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner appeared on a virtual press conference with Guelph entrepeneur Court Desautels, the CEO of The Neighbourhood Group. The point of the conference was to call on the Ontario government to do more for small businesses, even after an announcement from Queen’s Park to that effect, both Schreiner and Desautels say it’s not enough. Continue reading “Schreiner and Desautels Call on Ontario Government to Do More for Restaurants”
The first planning meeting of the year only has one item on the agenda, but it’s kind of consequential when you consider that it covers all matters of Guelph land use planning over the next three decades. After many meetings in the last year looking at growth issues in the Royal City, council will finally consider the finished document and determine how Guelph will grow over the 30 years (28 years technically). Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 17 Meeting?”
On Thursday morning, the leaders of two different unions representing healthcare workers demanded that the Ontario government bring the legislature back early to deal with the urgent human resources crisis in the province’s health facilities, and they had some powerful optics to back them up. All three of Ontario’s opposition leaders joined them on the call to demand more action from Premier Doug Ford. Continue reading “Ontario’s Opposition Leaders Unite and Stand With Health Workers”
It’s been a long week of bad news and it’s only January 5, whether or not the following news is bad may depend on your point of view though. On Wednesday, Wellingt0n-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health announced that they’re changing who can just drop by a vaccine clinic, and who has to go through regular channels to book an appointment. On the bright side, if you still need a first shot, this is your time! Continue reading “Public Health Changes Who Can Drop-In, and Who Has to Book For a Shot”
City council gets back to business next week, but before we open the book on 2022 we need to sign off on what happened in 2021. Picking up where we left off in episode #286 of the Guelph Politicast, and the last meeting of council before summer break, we start in September and follow the blow-by-blow of every fight around the horseshoe. There were even some non-fights. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #305 – …The Rest of the Year at Council”
School begins on Wednesday, but unlike the original plan just a week ago, students across Ontario are going back to school at home, and on their computers. On Tuesday night, the Program Committee of the Upper Grand District School Board had to deviate slightly from their previously released agenda to deal with the numerous changes to education created by the Ontario government over the holiday break. Continue reading “School Board Adjusts to the New Face of the Pandemic”
Yesterday’s announcement from the Government of Ontario about the latest COVID-19 prevention measures was not the news that anyone wanted to hear. The reaction from Ontario’s opposition parties and various advocacy groups were as unimpressed with the news about a new (semi)lockdown as almost everyone was given the near universally agreement that Premier Doug Ford made a bad call, or at least a late one, on Monday. Continue reading “Near Unanimous Derision for Latest COVID Response From ON Gov”
Almost 24 hours ago, the Government of Ontario announced a series of new restrictions on public gatherings, as well as capacity limits and new closures. On Monday night, the City of Guelph announced how they’re responding; which facilities are closing, which programs are cancelled, and what will be left for the so-called time-limited pause in the provincial re-opening? Continue reading “City Announces How They’re Responding to New Provincial Restrictions”
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