Along the banks of Guelph’s Speed River near the Boathouse on Tuesday morning, Guelph MPP and Green Party leader Mike Schreiner announced his party’s intention to build 60,000 permanent supportive housing units in Ontario with wrap-around support. Schreiner said that the housing and mental health crises are inexorably linked and he challenged Premier Doug Ford to steal his idea for Thursday’s budget. Continue reading “Schreiner Pledges That a Green Gov’t Will Build 60k Supportive Housing Units”
Housing has been a hot topic of conversation in Guelph and the surrounding area, so any housing announcement from any level of government has got obvious news value. On Wednesday, the value is nearly $6.4 million from the Federal government’s Rapid Housing Initiative, plus $25,000 through the SEED, and $460,000 from the Ontario Priority Housing Initiative. The recipient, in this case, is Grace Gardens. Continue reading “Federal Government Announces Big Investment in Grace Gardens”
Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark held a virtual housing summit on Wednesday with municipal leaders from across Ontario. The goal was to find ways to solve the province’s housing crisis, the twin furies of limited supply and sky-high prices, and all parties say some good progress was made. Guelph’s MPP though has his doubts. Continue reading “Housing Summit Heralded for Progress, Schreiner Still Skeptical”
You may have heard there’s a housing crisis. Sky-high costs, especially in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, are making it harder and harder for all but the richest of the rich to be able to get the housing they need. This seems like a problem that the government could help solve. Or if not the government, then someone adjacent to the government like a provincial opposition leader and Member of Provincial Parliament. Continue reading “Schreiner Brings Forward a New Motion to Take on the Housing Crisis”
For a time, the second half of the month at council was more dry and wonkish with special meetings and workshops about dry subject matter like Development Charges and the multi-year budget. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view), council made up for some of the lost drama at the month’s regular council meeting, where they revisited the internal misunderstandings that stared the month. Here’s the second part of the recap. Continue reading “This Month at Council PART 2: Workshops, Development Charges, and More Drama”
Council wraps up a month of city business. You can click here for the amended agendas 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 October 25, 2021”
One last meeting before the end of the month as council will be asked to approve the slate of decisions already made at Committee of the Whole, and there will be at least two other matters that require council’s attention. First, some small changes to a prominent Guelph board of directors, and second, council will be asked to approve some money for the development of affordable housing. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 25 Meeting?”
When the Speech from the Throne was delivered in the Ontario Legislature on Monday, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner called it an “uninspiring throne speech that sets no vision or path forward for Ontario.” While it dealt with the ongoing pandemic, Schreiner noted that there was no mention of either climate change or housing affordability, so it’s forced the Green Party leader to do what the Ontario government won’t, make these issues a priority. Continue reading “Schreiner Pushes Legislature to Act on Climate and Housing Emergencies”
The first two city council meetings of the month covered a lot of ground. At Committee of the Whole there were complex debates about the Trails Master Plan and executing the goals of infrastructure renewal, and then, at the planning meeting, it was all about saving the old Guelph Reformatory lands. Here’s the first half of the monthly recap of council business for this sixth month of the year 2021. Continue reading “This Month at Council Part 1: Trails Master Plan and the Reformatory Lands”
Almost 24 hours after Toronto Police rousted a homeless encampment in Trinity Bellwoods Party in Toronto, Green Party of Ontario leader and Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner revealed his party’s housing strategy. The goals of the plan focus on creating more affordable housing, more support for people experiencing homelessness, and additional funding to create more sustainable communities. Continue reading “Schreiner Announces Green Party Plan for Housing, One Day After Rousting in Toronto Park”
