City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 26, 2025 Meeting?

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The time has come for some budget decisions. The final countdown is underway and zero hour is this particular Wednesday morning when council sits to confirm the 2026 municipal budget! At stake is the difficult balancing act between affordability, maintaining service levels, and coping with the growth of the city, and there will be no easy answers for the ones voting in the council chambers. Let’s look at the long odds in this preview… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 26, 2025 Meeting?” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for November 12, 2025

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Let’s start planning, one day later than usual! 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 during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for November 12, 2025” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #494 – Electoral Reform? It Could Still Happen (feat. Kevin Bowman)

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It was about 10 years ago this time that Justin Trudeau strode up to Rideau Hall and made history being sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister. There was a lot of hope about what the future of Trudeau’s premiership held, but perhaps no other constituency were hit harder by the political realities of the Trudeau-mania hangover than electoral reform activists. Can changing our voting system still possibly get a fair hearing? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #494 – Electoral Reform? It Could Still Happen (feat. Kevin Bowman)” →

This Week at Council: A Renoviction Bylaw Now (or Soon)!

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It was a big meeting of Committee of the Whole, and one that’s been long anticipated. The topic on this day concern’s a proposed renoviction bylaw and a new vacant home tax. The latter was kind of a foregone conclusion because staff were recommending its creation, but the renoviction bylaw… That was going to be another story. But which version of the story was the committee going to want to tell? Find out in this week’s recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: A Renoviction Bylaw Now (or Soon)!” →

POLICE NOTES: Backpacker Busted, Father/Son Scofflaws and Candy Creep

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There are 145,000 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 going 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: Backpacker Busted, Father/Son Scofflaws and Candy Creep” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 18, 2025 Meeting?

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Do you have thoughts about the 2026 budget? Have you been eager to share them in a public setting in front of all of city council? Can you condense all your thoughts in five minutes or less and maybe use some PowerPoint to sell your points to the city’s decision makers? Well sign up now to delegate to city council on this special night for delegations because you may not be the only one with certain thoughts about how city hall spends your money!! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 18, 2025 Meeting?” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #493 – They’re Coming for the Conservation Authorities… Again (feat. Phil Pothen)

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Since they resumed sitting the week after Thanksgiving, the Government of Ontario has been throwing a lot at us, and then on Halloween they proposed sweeping changes to conservation authorities in Ontario. If it feels like we’ve been here before we kind of have, and while conservation authorities have weathered provincial meddling before, can they survive it again? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #493 – They’re Coming for the Conservation Authorities… Again (feat. Phil Pothen)” →

RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for November 4, 2025

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Let’s get busy with another busy month of council business! 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 during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for November 4, 2025” →

This Week at Council: Does Anyone Give a Dam?

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It was back to the Allan and Macdonell bridge structure at this month’s regular meeting of city council, but did anyone give a damn about getting rid of the dam? That was going to be the question at this meeting as numerous delegates tried to convince council that the dam’s time was over, and in the interest of flood control and re-naturalization it should be removed. But as you might already know there’s an issue with unknown amount of money needed to make it happen. Let’s recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Does Anyone Give a Dam?” →

POLICE NOTES: Whip Cream Heist, Prowler Caught, and More Distractions

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There are 145,000 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 going 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: Whip Cream Heist, Prowler Caught, and More Distractions” →