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."

RECAP: GRCA Board Pressed Again to Save Nature Centres

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Like many boards, this month marks the last meeting of the year for the Grand River Conservation Authority membership, and there were a couple of issues addressed that are going to be an ongoing issue as we enter the new year. Once again, the board was pressured about the changes to the outdoor education program and nature centres, but there was also some last-minute changes to 2024 fees thanks to Queen’s Park. Let’s recap… Continue reading “RECAP: GRCA Board Pressed Again to Save Nature Centres” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for December 19, 2023

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There’s one more meeting before the holiday break, and it belongs to the Accessibility Advisory Committee. It’s been a busy year for the AAC, and  much of this meeting will cover business that’s been covered at other points this year including the very contentious topic of voting options for the 2026 Municipal Election. Also at this meeting are park designs, new building plans, and cycling infrastructure. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for December 19, 2023” →

RECAP: Committee of Adjustment Makes Tough Call on Commercial Building

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There were a couple of complicated plans for the Committee of Adjustment to chew at their last meeting of the year. One had to do with an additional use variance for employment lands in the Ward, and the other concerning an addition to a residential property that has seen more than a few additions in it’s time. So how did it all turn out for those and other applications. Let’s recap the meeting… Continue reading “RECAP: Committee of Adjustment Makes Tough Call on Commercial Building” →

RECAP: One Quick Meeting for the Police Board to End 2023

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It was a short meeting for the Guelph Police Services Board to end 2023. There wasn’t much for the board to do, and they were two members short, but they did take this time in December to get themselves organized for next year; confirming the chair and the vice-chair, organizing the composition of committees, and talking about how the board will meet going forward. Here’s the recap (such as it is)…. Continue reading “RECAP: One Quick Meeting for the Police Board to End 2023” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Guelph Police Services Board for December 14, 2023

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It’s Christmas time for the Guelph Police Services Board and they are giving us the gift of brevity. This month’s meeting will be largely focused on administrative matters, new hires, new committees, meeting dates and formats, plus the usual verbal update from Chief Gord Cobey. Open up YouTube and get one last bit of police business (at a board level) before taking the rest of the year off. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Guelph Police Services Board for December 14, 2023” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #401 – How the Greenbelt Was Won

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There was a lot to complain about when it comes to the Ontario provincial government in 2023, but complaints were always the loudest when it came to the decision to open the Greenbelt to development. Thousands and thousands of Ontarians were unified in their desire to make the Greenbelt whole again, and then the strangest thing of all happened, they won. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #401 – How the Greenbelt Was Won” →

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meetings for December 12, 2023

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It’s the last two council meetings of 2023! You can click here and 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 Meetings for December 12, 2023” →

RECAP: Heritage Guelph Looks Ahead to 2024!

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The last Heritage Guelph meeting of the year did something ironic… It looked to the future. It’s been a very busy 12 months for the local heritage committee, a lot of long simmering designations were scratched off the list, but there’s still a lot of work to do before this time next year when all the properties listed, but not designated, are deleted from the registry due to Bill 23. And that’s where the work of this meeting of Heritage Guelph begins… Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Guelph Looks Ahead to 2024!” →

This Week at Council: Official Plan Drama as Council’s Lobbied Hard

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This week at Guelph City Council, there was a little meeting and a big meting. The little meeting was the Committee of the Whole, which was over and done in about 20 minutes. As for the big meeting? Well that is – what’s the word? – complicated. The fallout from the Ontario government’s flip-flop on the Official Plan proved more trickier than you might have thought for a motion that was simply meant to reverse previous changes, but that’s what this recap is for… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Official Plan Drama as Council’s Lobbied Hard” →

POLICE NOTES: Coffee Assault, Near Miss, and Creeper Peeper

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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: Coffee Assault, Near Miss, and Creeper Peeper” →