After weeks of pressure, and weeks without a formal press conference, Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Health Christine Elliot joined Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr, Kieran Moore to announce a great idea they had: A vaccine certification program. If you want to go to select businesses starting on September 22, you will need to provide proof of vaccination. Continue reading “Because You Demanded It (and the Feds Didn’t) Ford Introduces Vaccine Certificates”
On Tuesday, many communities around the world marked International Overdose Awareness Day, a chance to campaign to end drug overdoses, and remember without stigma the people who have died as well as the family they all left behind. In Guelph, a few hundred people gathered in St. George’s Square at lunch hour to remember another pandemic that has only gotten worse since COVID-19 hit our shores last year. Continue reading “Less Stigma, More Support the Message on Overdose Awareness Day”
As the Province government struggles with wrapping its head around vaccine certificates for the whole of Ontario, anyone that wants to get into City Hall will now definitely have to show their proof of vaccination. On Friday morning, the City of Guelph formally announced that everyone at the Corporation of the City of Guelph will need to be fully vaccinated with limited exceptions. Continue reading “City of Guelph Sets Vaccine Requirements for Staff and Council”
Like so many events in the last two years, the 2021 commemoration of Take Back the Night in Guelph and area will be taking place as a virtual affair. In a press release from Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, it was announced that the 34th annual ceremony to help raise awareness about, and to challenge sexual and gender-based violence will be available as your nearest device. Continue reading “Take Back the Night 2021 Will Be Another Virtual Affair”
As of Tuesday, a little over two-thirds of all Ontarians (meaning not just Ontarians eligible for a vaccine) have been fully vaccinated, which is not too shabby. Still, about 17 per cent of people in Ontario have yet to receive even one COVID-19 shot, and while there are numerous reasons for that, the Government of Ontario wants to help those people get their shots with a “last mile strategy.” Continue reading “Ontario Government Announces Measures to Go the “Last Mile” on Vaccines”
For over a year now, the City of Guelph, like a lot of organizations, has been struggling to catch up to demands for social justice and equity. Starting Monday morning, the City started to institutionalize that struggle by putting someone in charge of trying to undo systemic inequalities. For years, Sara Sayyed has been one of the faces of the Guelph Muslim Society, and now she’s the face of equity efforts at City Hall. Continue reading “Sayyed Hired to Lead City of Guelph on Anti-Racism Initiatives”
A lot of people hope that substantive action on climate change will be a major issue in the current Federal Election, but they also know that it will take a lot of hard work and noise to make it the prevalent issue they want it to be. Although not as big as past climate strikes in Guelph, the one held on Thursday drew more than 50 people to St. George’s Square to raise their voices about the desperate need to fight climate change. Continue reading “Local Groups Demand More Climate Action, Less Climate Talk”
A proud Guelph tradition returns this Thursday when several local groups will host a climate strike at noon in St. George’s Square. In the wake of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent, and damning, report about the out-of-control warming of the planet, the consortium has some very important demands with local and national reach. Continue reading “Climate Strike Planned Downtown This Thursday”
The Government of Ontario is making some changes in regards to vaccinations, and not just about who can get a vaccine, but who must now get a vaccine. Although still apparently shirking vaccine mandates for the whole province, the government now wants employees in high risk settings to be vaccinated, but it seems that Ontario’s schools do not count as “high-risk” where rapid testing and contact tracing will remain the first line of defense. Continue reading “Ontario Gov Announces Vaccine Mandates for Some, Rapid Tests for Others”
Back in June, after 30 years and months of debate, Guelph City Council approved an adjusted six-ward map that will go into effect for the 2022 Municipal Election. But now there’s a wrinkle in the form of an appeal, one Guelph resident has applied to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) to contest the new ward boundary map, which might delay it’s implementation before next year’s local election. Continue reading “At Least One Appeal Filed Over Guelph’s New Ward Boundary Map”
