A new candidate who entered the mayoral race this week hopes to shake things up, and he’s making a pretty big noise as he’s filing his papers. University of Waterloo professor Jason Blokhuis is the sixth candidate to declare for the mayor’s race in Guelph this election cycle, and he’s making a play to position himself as a middle path between incumbent Karen Farbridge and her immediate challenger Cam Guthrie. Continue reading “New Candidate Aims to Shake Up Mayor’s Race”
August 8 has always been a politically significant day, in 1942 it was the start of the Quiet India movement, in 1974 it was the day that Richard Nixon announced he was stepping down from the presidency, and in 1990 it was the day that Iraq invaded Kuwait, setting off a series of events that would lead to the Gulf War.
Now August 8 is the date when the Guelph Transit lockout ended and the buses will start rolling out onto city roads once more. The City of Guelph and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1189 have both ratified a new contract and service will be restored once schedules are made and the bus fleet is inspected, which should be Friday at the earliest. What’s in the agreement, and what’s next for riders? Read on… Continue reading “Guelph Transit Back Friday; ATU & City Both Ratify Agreement”
As the lockout of Guelph Transit nears the end of its second week, there’s a sign of hope that this time next week we may be able to get back on the buses again. Word came in late last night that the City of Guelph and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1189 have reached a tentative agreement.
The key point is that this means there’s no immediate end to the lockout. The ATU members will vote this coming Thursday, August 7, and if they vote to ratify, council will hold a special meeting to vote it through on their end. Meeting day and time to confirmed soon. Now the question is, for the union, will the third time be the charm? Continue reading “City & ATU Reach Tentative Agreement; Bus Service to be Restored After Ratification”
It turns out Baker Street is just the beginning. Adding to the recent talk about re-orienting the north end of Downtown Guelph, is the news below that city staff has released a draft of the new Downtown Streetscape Manual and Built Form Standards, which will come before the Planning, Building, Engineering and Environment Committee a week from Monday on April 7. Continue reading “City to Present Streetscape Manual for Downtown Facelift”
Coming perilously close to being taken out with the trash, came word late Thursday afternoon that the City of Guelph was seeking conciliation from the province as contract negotiations with the employees of Guelph Transit, represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1189, appear to have come to an impasse. Continue reading “City Seeking Provincial Conciliator for Transit Contractor”
It’s always a conundrum, does our government do enough to engage its citizens and encourage them to get involved with policy and city matters? Continue reading “City Wants Your Help to Make Government More Open”
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