City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 25 Meeting?

Council returns to regular order for the first time in months, and the first regular meeting of council looks to have something for everybody. From the final ratification to the latest stage in Clair-Maltby planning, to year-end budget considerations, to water issues and solid waste, it’s going to be a policy wonk’s delight again at council. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 25 Meeting?”

Ontario Initiates Stage One Re-Open, LUMCO Still Seeks Money

In an early gift for Ontarians before the long weekend, the Government of Ontario announced that they are initiating Stage One of their plan to re-open the economy. Starting Saturday, some economic restrictions will start to lifted be, followed by a few more on Tuesday even though the provincial state of emergency was extended by the Legislature just two days ago. Continue reading “Ontario Initiates Stage One Re-Open, LUMCO Still Seeks Money”

Guelph’s Three Amigos Push Ontario Government on Commercial Evictions

In what’s becoming the biggest source of concern for many in Ontario as we rapidly approach the end of the third month in lockdown, representatives from the three levels of government for Guelph have teamed up to ask for rent help. Without immediate rent relief, Mayor Cam Guthrie, MPP Mike Schreiner, and MP Lloyd Longfield are warning the Ontario government about business owners and the “imminent threat of being locked out of their storefronts.” Continue reading “Guelph’s Three Amigos Push Ontario Government on Commercial Evictions”

GUELPH POLITICAST #221 – Old Marcolongo’s Farm

The detailed Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan was going to be one of the biggest issues before city council this year, and it still might be, but in the almost literal centre of the debate is the Marcolongo Farm property. With council returning to some kind of regular order in the next few weeks, look for the planning of Clair-Maltby to pick-up again, and there is almost no one that has as much invested in that plan both personally and professionally than Mike Marcolongo. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #221 – Old Marcolongo’s Farm”

Community Gardens Set to Reopen on Friday

Late last month, the Ontario government gave the province the thumbs up to re-open community gardens, which acknowledges their place in the local food economy, not to mention a means of community engagement. With the long weekend coming, and nice weather becoming somewhat more regular, people are ready to get growing, and the City of Guelph has guidelines now for how to do that safely. Continue reading “Community Gardens Set to Reopen on Friday”

TAAG Joins the Push For More Emergency Transit Funding

COVID-19 has hit transit services across the country especially hard; municipalities have had to maintain some kind of service to make sure essential workers can still get where they need to go, while revenue has almost completely dried up. Transit advocates across the country, including the Royal City’s own Transit Action Alliance of Guelph, are turning up the heat on the Federal government to offer financial help for the nation’s transit systems. Continue reading “TAAG Joins the Push For More Emergency Transit Funding”

Schreiner Calls for Overhaul in Long-Term Care and Mandatory Rent Relief

Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner held a media availability at Queen’s Park Monday morning to talk about his priorities before the Ontario Legislature holds its first sitting since April on Tuesday. In short, Schreiner has two priorities, the first is the situation in long term care homes, and the second is the outstanding need for rent relief for the province’s small businesses. Continue reading “Schreiner Calls for Overhaul in Long-Term Care and Mandatory Rent Relief”

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for May 11, 2020

Council tries to get back to some kind of regular order starting today. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here (and here for the update) 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 May 11, 2020”

Mayor’s Task Force Looking for Help While the City of Guelph Looks Ahead

For nearly two months, like every other community in much of the world, Guelph has been battling the effects of COVID-19. As the pandemic lockdown continues to roll on, the City of Guelph is trying to ensure its people that everything that can be done, is being done, and they are looking at how the regular business of the City will change as the pandemic remains with us. Continue reading “Mayor’s Task Force Looking for Help While the City of Guelph Looks Ahead”

Council Preview Update: What Else is on the Agenda for the May 11 Meeting?

Guelph city council will meeting again for the first time in nearly a month on Monday, and there be many things to discuss. Many of those details were not a part of the original agenda released for the meeting last week, but they were part of the amended agenda released Friday afternoon, and there are a lot of new details to go over. Continue reading “Council Preview Update: What Else is on the Agenda for the May 11 Meeting?”