This Month at Council PART 1: Emergency Meetings, and Demolition Fallout

This October recap of the events of city council actually started in September. Unexpectedly, an emergency meeting was called on September 30 to talk about events that occurred at the September 27 regular council meeting. Maybe you heard about it. The events of those meetings cast a shadow over a lot of council business for the rest of the month, and that includes the Committee of the Whole and planning meetings covered here. Continue reading “This Month at Council PART 1: Emergency Meetings, and Demolition Fallout”

Ontario Government Announces Plans to Fix Long-Term Care, Opposition Has Doubts

Nearly 4,000 Ontarians have died in long-term care homes because of COVID-19. It prompted a new independent commission to investigate the subject at Queen’s Park that returned several recommendations this past spring, and on Thursday the government announced the legislative plan to act on those recommendations. Still, all the opposition leaders are suspicious about whether today’s bill is the change everyone was seeking. Continue reading “Ontario Government Announces Plans to Fix Long-Term Care, Opposition Has Doubts”

U of G Students Approve New Deal on Student Bus Pass

Graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Guelph have voted in favour of getting back to normal in a very specific way for the next semester. The results of a mid-term referendum overwhelmingly endorsed a new contract between the Central Student Association, the Graduate Student Association, the City of Guelph and Guelph Transit to bring back the universal student bus pass (Upass) in January. Continue reading “U of G Students Approve New Deal on Student Bus Pass”

RECAP: Ward 5 Town Hall Covers Traffic, Train and Drive Thru Concerns

The above picture is from a time when these sorts of town halls happened in-person, but not for the first time, this town hall was held on Zoom. On Wednesday night, Ward 5 Councillors Leanne Caron and Cathy Downer talked to constituents about traffic issues in the ward and other updates including recent developments and the ward boundary review. Check out the recap of the live coverage below. Continue reading “RECAP: Ward 5 Town Hall Covers Traffic, Train and Drive Thru Concerns”

GUELPH POLITICAST #295 – Link the Watershed?

A group of transit workers and advocates have done the impossible, they’ve put on the table a regional transit plan that doesn’t involve Metrolinx, the Ministry of Transportation, or new private carriers. The need for regional connections is more pressing than ever since Greyhound stopped all Canadian service earlier this year, but is that finally about to change? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #295 – Link the Watershed?”

Trudeau Announces New Cabinet; Some New Faces, Mostly Old Faces

In a lavish Rideau Hall ceremony on Tuesday, more than one month after the completion of the election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally unveiled the cabinet that will (hopefully) lead Canada to the end of the pandemic and a brighter future beyond. The 38-person cabinet maintains Trudeau’s commitment to gender parity in cabinet, and aims to shake up some important portfolios with some newer faces. Continue reading “Trudeau Announces New Cabinet; Some New Faces, Mostly Old Faces”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for October 25, 2021

Council wraps up a month of city business. You can click here for the amended agendas 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 on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for October 25, 2021”

Schreiner Announces Private Members Bill to Create Carbon Budget Accountability

Governments talk a lot about balancing the fiscal budget, but what about a carbon budget. Well, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner is bringing forward a private members bill later this week that will demand of the Ontario government that they adhere to an annual carbon budget as a way to attack global climate change. His plan, Schreiner says, will cut Ontario’s climate pollution in half by 2030 and get the province to net-zero by 2045. Continue reading “Schreiner Announces Private Members Bill to Create Carbon Budget Accountability”

Mike Morrice Tells Open Sources There’s No Secret to His Success

There wasn’t much news coming out of last month’s Federal Election, but history was made locally up the road in the riding of Kitchener Centre. That district is the home of Mike Morrice, the first candidate from the Green Party of Canada to be elected to the House of Commons from Ontario. Last week, Morrice appeared on CFRU’s Open Sources Guelph to talk about making history and what happens now. Continue reading “Mike Morrice Tells Open Sources There’s No Secret to His Success”

Bone Fragments Found During Baker Street Excavation

Perhaps predictably, the archaeological consultants working with the City of Guelph crews to excavate the Baker Street Parking lot announced that they exhumed bone fragments from a lost grave. This is not the first time that remains have been found in the Baker Street area over the years, but this time the City is trying to carefully find them all before the redevelopment of the area can begin this coming spring. Continue reading “Bone Fragments Found During Baker Street Excavation”