Author: Adam A. Donaldson

When he’s not the main/only contributor to Guelph Politico, Adam A. Donaldson also contributes to GuelphToday.com as their city hall columnist and co-hosts a political and current affairs show on CFRU 93.3 fm called “Open Sources Guelph" as well as the movie review show "End Credits."

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the July 8, 2025 Meeting?

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We open up three weeks of double meetings with Committee of the Whole and this one, which is yet another shareholder meeting for Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc, the holding company the City of Guelph uses  to secure it’s four per cent stake in Alectra Utilities. What is this meeting about? We can’t say, even in preview form, because all information is seemingly confidential, but for what it’s worth, here’s the preview! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the July 8, 2025 Meeting?” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Advisory Committee Meeting for July 3, 2025

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No summer break for the Heritage Advisory Committee, at least not yet. Before getting an August break, your local heritage protection committee will tackle a couple of items, including a pretty major one; it’s time to bone up on your Official Plan policy, at least so far as protecting cultural heritage goes! Plus, there are at least a couple of new designations warming up in the bullpen, which is a warm-up for a tonne of work coming in the fall. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Advisory Committee Meeting for July 3, 2025” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #476 – How to City Council (Special Presentation)

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There’s an interesting process underway in Guelph’s south end. One of the two Ward 6 city councillors, Dominique O’Rourke, has moved on to a new job in Ottawa as you might have heard, which leaves her old seat at city council vacant. Nature, and local politics, abhor a vacuum, so next month O’Rourke’s former colleagues will choose her successor. At least until next year’s municipal election… Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #476 – How to City Council (Special Presentation)” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for June 24, 2025

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It’s the last meeting of the night, and the last meeting of the month! You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for June 24, 2025” →

RECAP: City Council Shareholder Meeting for June 24, 2025

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If it’s June, then that means it’s time for council to be a shareholder again! You can click here and here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Shareholder Meeting for June 24, 2025” →

This Week at Council: Transit, It’s Electric!

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It was a laidback meeting this week at city council as they tucked in around the horseshoe for a workshop meeting. The topic was operations facilities, and the need to lay the infrastructure that will enable the continued electrification of transit. The present bus barn is horribly out of date; not enough space, and not enough capacity to charge more than a couple of buses at a time, but there is a plan! Let’s check out the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Transit, It’s Electric!” →

POLICE NOTES: Seeking Witness and Suspicious Taxi, But Serial Masturbater is Caught

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There are 145,000 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 going 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: Seeking Witness and Suspicious Taxi, But Serial Masturbater is Caught” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #475 – Know Your Policy: Flags and Information Access

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The City of Guelph is a system, a system that’s built on rules. Or policies, procedures and protocol to be more precise. Some of those systems dictate how city council functions, some of them lay out how local government should engage with the community, and some of them tell you what flags you can fly and when they should be lowered to half-mast. It’s time again to play roulette with the policy wheel and get smarter in the process. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #475 – Know Your Policy: Flags and Information Access” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for June 17, 2025

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Get ready to workshop again! You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for June 17, 2025” →

RECAP: The AAC Attempts to Rebuild with First Meeting of New Committee

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When we last left the Accessibility Advisory Committee in April, there was no more Accessibility Advisory Committee. In the middle of the meeting, the majority of members resigned in protest after feeling that that they were not getting the requisite autonomy they needed from the City. Now, a new committee will try and rebuild, not just under the new framework, but under the controversy stirred by their predecessors. So how’s it going so far? Continue reading “RECAP: The AAC Attempts to Rebuild with First Meeting of New Committee” →