City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 19 Meeting?

For this third Monday of the month, a time when there’s usually no meeting of city council, the horseshoe will be called together for a very timely, and very important conversation about race in our community, and systemic racism in our city structures. Get ready for another council workshop! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 19 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 21 Meeting?

In the final of three council workshops in a row, we come to another session that discusses the long-term growth planning and strategizing for the Royal City. Guelph’s got to grow, but are our current growth plans enough, and what kind of adjustments do we have to make to the growth plan if they’re not? Let’s dig into another workshop about Guelph’s growth! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 21 Meeting?”

RECAP: Board of Health Hears Update as Pandemic Rapidly Changes Again

This month’s Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health meeting took place in the immediate shadow of a new stay-at-home and State of Emergency order from the Government of Ontario. In this Twitter thread covering the meeting, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer and her staff explained the decision making behind the cancellation of in-person learning at area schools, and the progress of the region’s vaccination efforts. Continue reading “RECAP: Board of Health Hears Update as Pandemic Rapidly Changes Again”

Submitting to Pressure, Ontario’s Going Back Under State of Emergency

After several days of sustained pressure, and an increasing number of new daily COVID-19 cases, the Government of Ontario finally bowed to the demands of doctors and public health workers around the province and issued a stay at home order. As of 12:01 am on Thursday, Ontario will be under its third state of emergency order since the start of the pandemic in a last ditch effort to get the virus, and its variants, under control. Continue reading “Submitting to Pressure, Ontario’s Going Back Under State of Emergency”

Sale of Parkview Motel Finalized, All That’s Left is Rezoning

Grace Gardens took another step closer to becoming a reality today with the announcement from the County of Wellington that the Welcome In Drop In Centre has completed the purchase of the Parkview Motel on Woolwich Street for its conversion to social housing. The next step will be in Guelph’s virtual council chambers on Monday when councillors will vote on whether to approve the rezoning and proceed with the establishment of supportive housing. Continue reading “Sale of Parkview Motel Finalized, All That’s Left is Rezoning”

GUELPH POLITICAST #268 – The State of Pandemic in the City

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”

Schreiner (Obviously) Acclaimed Guelph Green Candidate for 2022 Provincial Election

The opening move for the next Provincial Election here in Guelph was made by the man who will have to defend the seat. On Tuesday night, Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner was acclaimed as the local Green Party’s nominee for the 2022 Provincial Election, and he’s ready to prove again that a Green MPP from Guelph can make a difference. Continue reading “Schreiner (Obviously) Acclaimed Guelph Green Candidate for 2022 Provincial Election”

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for April 6, 2021

Money matters, provincial policy and traffic are on the agenda at this month’s committee meeting. 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: Committee of the Whole Meeting for April 6, 2021”

The City Reveals the ‘Final Four’ in Ward Map Redrawing Madness

It’s taken months of research, hours of collecting residents’ feedback, and at least one council meeting with no firm decision, but the City of Guelph is one step closer to a redrawn ward map system. City staff are now presenting the final four options to the general public for one last round of consultation before council makes the final, final decision. Continue reading “The City Reveals the ‘Final Four’ in Ward Map Redrawing Madness”

Guelph Schools Stop In-person Learning as Local Infection Rate Doubles

It was the news nobody wanted to hear on an Easter Monday, everyone was going back to school on Tuesday to stay home again on Wednesday. On Monday night, the two local school boards and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health all announced their intention to cease in-person learning after Tuesday, for two weeks, as the province struggles with a rapid increase in new COVID cases from the third wave. Continue reading “Guelph Schools Stop In-person Learning as Local Infection Rate Doubles”