For the first time since 2020, Mayor Cam Guthrie will give an indoor speech to a room full of people. The occasion is the annual State of the City hosted by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, and just in time for some post-pandemic analysis and an election year. What exactly is the State of Guelph in 2022? Let’s find out! For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s speech, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: Mayor’s State of the City for 2022”
Behold! The statutory planning meeting for the next Official Plan Amendment. You can click here for the amended agenda 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 Meeting for March 30, 2022”
There is sometimes a cost to volunteering, specifically the police check some volunteer positions require. Criminal Record Checks and Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Checks are requested for some volunteer positions, and to get one of those from the local police service, it requires that volunteer pay out of pocket. Not any more though. The Government of Ontario announced Wednesday that basic volunteer police checks are now free of charge. Continue reading “Ontario Government Taking Fees Off Volunteer Police Checks”
*You might be forgiven to think this whole COVID-19 pandemic is in the bag. It’s been a week-and-a-half since the mask mandates were repealed in Ontario and in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health region, and like clockwork the number of COVID cases in the public, and in the hospital, are going up. You might be fed up, you might be fully vaccinated and boosted, but that doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #317 – Is This the End of the Pandemic*?”
You may have heard that gas prices are going up. International pressures mean that the cost of filling up your car is more expensive than usual, so wouldn’t it be nice if the government gave you a break while doing something positive for the environment at the same time? Guelph MPP and Green Party leader Mike Schreiner has an idea about that, meanwhile, the Ontario government wants you to go faster (in select locations). Continue reading “Schreiner Pushes For Transit Fare Cuts While ONgov Raises Highways Speed Limits”
People are probably pretty aware that Ontario had to struggle to respond to the pandemic when COVID-19 broke out here in March 2020. With the pandemic in recline, it seems appropriate to start talking about the future, and the Government of Ontario announced Tuesday morning their “Plan to Stay Open”, a series of measures meant to make sure Ontario’s healthcare and procurement systems are ready for the next pandemic. Continue reading “Ontario Has a Plan to Stay Open Now, Plus a New Benefits Panel”
Council will reconsider committee business in the second-to-last meeting of the month. You can click here for the amended agenda 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 Meeting for March 28, 2022”
It’s a clean sweep nearly a year in the making! Last, but certainly not least, Parliament Hill and Queen’s Park have finally reached a deal to provide $10 per day childcare for working parents by 2025. The $13.2 billion agreement was announced at a jubilant joint media availability at a Brampton daycare centre, as the Prime Minister, the Premier and their ministers enjoyed this “Mission: Accomplished” moment. Continue reading “Ontario Finally Joins $10/Day Childcare Club with $13.2B Investment”
There are 137,000 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 gong 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: Dog Bust, High School Assault, and Distract Crimes”
It’s going to be a jam-packed Committee of the Whole meeting to kick off April, the cruellest month. From new solid waste master plan directions, to a new plan for parks, and a response to growing inflationary pressures on capital projects, there will be a lot of new policy discussions for everyone no matter what your municipal interest is. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 4 Meeting?”
Guelph Politico 