The City of Guelph had been looking to reopen its facilities and get back to some sense of normalcy at the beginning of May, but as we itch closer to the end of April that plan was starting to seem less likely to come to fruition. On Tuesday, the City confirmed that facilities will remain closed until the state of emergency is lifted, and they will only open on the best advice of public health and the Province. Continue reading “City Will Stay Closed till the End of the State of Emergency”
Nearly eight months after their contract expired, and after who knows how many lost hours in the classroom due to rotating strikes, the Ontario government has closed its fourth and final deal with the teachers’ unions. With a month’s time, a year of labour strife at Ontario’s schools has come to an end with a tentative deal with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF). Continue reading “A Year of Labour Strife Concludes with a Deal for OSSTF”
Over 200 more City of Guelph employees are out of a job because of COVID-19. In an announcement made Friday afternoon, the City is temporarily putting 127 full-time employees on declared emergency leave temporarily. On top of that, most of the library’s staff is also being put on temporary leave, which all told means that about half to the City’s staff is now out of work because of the pandemic. Continue reading “City of Guelph Puts Some Full-Time Staff on Emergency Leave”
It was just a few months ago that Mayor Cam Guthrie was telling everyone in his State of the City address about getting the Task Force on Homelessness together again to discuss supportive housing. Circumstances have changed rather quickly though, and now Mayor Guthrie is looking to explore another type of support for Guelph in the form of economic action post-COVID-19 with a whole new task force. Continue reading “Mayor Guthrie’s Economic Task Force Officially Announced”
Been missing city council as much as Guelph Politico? Tonight, you can get your fix! 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 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 April 16, 2020”
On Thursday night, city council will meeting its second special session in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and a big portion of the conversation is going to be about the City of Guelph’s financial picture in the near and long term. According to the City’s Treasurer and General Manager of Finance, she’s confident that Guelph’s balance books are in good shape to ride out the storm. Continue reading ““We’re Okay.” Treasurer Confident that Guelph Can Weather the COVID Challenge”
In response to growing concern about the state of long-term care homes in the province, and after an especially damning report from the CBC, the Ontario government announced changes to how the COVID-19 pandemic is being managed in places where so many in our most vulnerable population lives. Continue reading “Ontario Takes Action on Long-Term Care Homes as Outbreak Continues”
For the first time since March 11, the Upper Grand District School Board met Tuesday night, and they did it virtually through a publicly available Vimeo link. Some of it was regular business like approval of the calendar for the 2020-2021 school year, but there were at least two controversial motions on the agenda that prompted some debate in the 40-minute meeting. Continue reading “Upper Grand School Board Meets Virtually Like Everyone Else”
It would be unfair to say that independent art house movie theatres like the Bookshelf Cinema are feeling the biggest impact from the COVID-19 lockdown, but things weren’t exactly easy for them before the outbreak. From the fewer number of films being released theatrically, to big monopolies at the studios and national theatre chains, to the growing number of streaming options, indie cinemas had a lot to deal with before a global pandemic. But is it a lost cause? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #217 – Missing the Movies”
In another emergency session of the Ontario Legislature today, a representative sample of Ontario’s political leaders approved an extension of the state or emergency and other measures to assist Ontario schools and municipalities weather the crisis. The government said they’re using every tool at their disposal to protect the health and safety of Ontarians. Continue reading “Ontario Government Passes New Emergency Measures”
