From 2009 to 2014, a group of University of Guelph students who were fans of gaming, comics, anime and other geeky things organized a yearly winter convention designed to bring people together and share their passions. It was perfect in its way, but all good things must come to an end, but sometimes they come back, and they come back at the most surprising times. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #261 – The Impossible Return of Con-G”
As this week started, the 7-day moving rate of confirmed cases is just a few points above the red line of 40 per 100,000, while the test positivity rate is now at 3.6 per cent. This is good news since it was just a month ago that the numbers were over 115 per 100,000 and five per cent. The numbers are going down, but where does the local medical officer think we stand in all this? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #260 – Still COVID [Winter Edition] with Dr. Mercer”
According to an article on the CBC website last month more than one in three Canadian homes now has a dog, and two out of every five homes now has a cat, and then there are all the birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, lizards and goldfish who are just as beloved by their humans. The reason for this shift is COVID-19, more people are spending time at home, and they are looking for company. So it’s a good news story, right? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #259 – It’s Been a Weird Year for Pets Too”
“Defund the Police” is a simple three-word slogan for a complex idea. Some people mistakenly think that it means literally taking away all police funding, but more precisely it means re-examining how police services are funded, and rededicating that money to social programs. It’s easier said than done, but a group of folks in Waterloo actually came up with a real plan to defund the police. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #258 – They Had a Plan to “Defund the Police””
For many thousands of students at the University of Guelph, sport is a big part of their daily routine. Whether they’re a varsity athlete, play on an intramural team, or simply enjoy access to the gym, pool, or rink for personal exercise or enjoyment, athletics is an important part of student life, but what part does athletics play when there’s hardly any student life on campus? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #257 – Gone Gryphon”
It’s impossible to look at the events last week in Washington D.C. outside the lens of White Supremacy. Even President-Elect Joe Biden affirmed in a press conference that if the insurrectionists that broke into the Capitol, vandalized, and threatened the lives of elected representatives had been Black, there would have been a lot more arrests, and a lot more than five deaths. Shockingly, 2020 wasn’t the end of racism. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #256 – Racism Wasn’t Defeated in a Year”
The last council meeting of 2020 dealt heavily with the protection of heritage, including one particular case of the Old Crawley farmhouse. Perhaps the fall of the Preston Springs Hotel in Cambridge over the holidays portends a similar fate for valuable heritage buildings in Guelph, but one thing is certain: If we care about our heritage buildings and features, time is running out to save them. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #255 – An End to Demolition By Neglect”
When we look back at 2020, we will remember the pandemic. Full stop. We will remember locking down, making masks a regular part of our wardrobe, and the economic tumult created by so many people losing their job, or working from home, or having to radically reorient their business models in order to stay afloat. But what about the rest of the year’s news? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #254 – Guelph Stuff (2020 Year in Review)”
It’s the holiday season, and along with the usual need to give presents, food, and other festive delights is the life-or-death need to give blood. The hospital is still in business treating more than just COVID-19, and there are a myriad of medical emergencies that require blood from millions of generous donors from across Canada, including Guelph. ‘Tis the season for giving after all, so why not give blood? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #253 – Give Blood.”
Looking back at 2020, one recalls the loft aspirations for the year that Mayor Cam Guthrie articulated at his annual State of the City speech. That was the first week of February. Less than six weeks later, the world was closed and Guthrie had to lead the city through what might be the most complicated and multifaceted crisis that Guelph has ever faced in its 193-year history. So how did it go? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #252 – Christmas With Cam”
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