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”
We’ve heard a lot about one health crisis this year, the one tied to a global pandemic that broke the economy, brought healthcare to the brink, and pretty much shutdown society for four months earlier this year. But while COVID-19 has been our preoccupation in 2020, there has been another public health issue in our community at the same time, and it’s one that started before the pandemic and has stayed with us through the darkest days of the last 10 months. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #251 – The Other Pandemic of 2020”
See that picture of an empty University Centre? That was taken on Friday around early afternoon last week. Even now, in the middle of exams, that space would be full of people getting lunch, grabbing a coffee, studying, meeting people, or buying a bus ticket home for the holidays. But it’s empty. How do you lead a student body when the vast majority of the body can’t be there? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #250 – Empty Campus”
