The most dramatic cultural shift of the pandemic has not been “care-mongering”, or an appreciation of essential workers, it’s been the growing number of people who believe that the things we all see and hear are fake, and reality is something entirely different. With the province locked down again, these groups have found a curious new ally: small business owners. So now what happens? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #269 – Pandemics Make Strange Bedfellows”
The State of the City is hosted annually by the Chamber of Commerce, a chance for businesses to network with each other, talk about what they’re doing, and then hear from the mayor about the latest selling points of the city from 1 Carden Street. This year, there was the usual positive spin, but the long shadow of COVID was everywhere, so what is the State of the City according to the mayor? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #268 – The State of Pandemic in the City”
Over 15 per cent of our region has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which means that we are slowly but surely putting the pandemic behind us. But once everyone’s gotten a shot, there’s going to be an even longer term recovery project to consider, which is how we will mentally recover from the pandemic. The last great COVID-19 health crisis will be fought inside each of us. Are we prepared? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #267 – The Science of Trauma”
In the pandemic, some people have been lucky enough to get to work at home, but there are still thousands of people in Ontario that have to go to a physical work location everyday, and they’re putting themselves in danger of catching COVID-19 in the process. Are these people being protected like they should, and who is looking out for them? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #266 – This Woman’s Work Didn’t Stop for COVID”
Outside of the City of Guelph or Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, it’s hard to think of a group that’s been more entwined with the day-in/day-out issues of COVID-19 than the Guelph Family Health Team. From testing to vaccination, the Family Health Team has been in the thick of it through the pandemic, and one year later it seems timely to get some insight from behind the scenes. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #265 – COVID-19: One Year Later…”
Exactly one week from today, it’s the one-year anniversary of the declaration of a state of emergency in Ontario. The days leading up to March 17, 2020 were the first test of our collective mental health, watching the number of COVID cases steadily increase until things started locking down. But the struggles didn’t end last March, and they show no signs of abating this current month even though the end of the pandemic may be near. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #264 – Step Up and Do Better”
You may remember Xinyi, a Chinese glass manufacturer that wanted to try and build a plant just next door in Guelph/Eramosa Township. All but one of the township’s councillors rejected the proposal in the wake of wide-spread public outcry about the effect on the local environment, especially the water supply, and that seemed to be the end of that. It wasn’t. The story then moved to Stratford. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #263 – They Had Concerns”
It’s a difficult time for conservation authorities across Ontario. Pandemic? Yeah, that’s part of it. Conservation authorities can’t take part in their usual programming, and they’ve lost normally dependable funds because of that, plus there are all the new precautions they have to take in areas of their parks that are open. But that’s just the beginning of the current headaches for conservation authorities. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #262 – The View From the GRCA Board”
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”
