As we start reaching the potential end of the pandemic, it seems prudent to pause and ask the question, what does the future for Guelph look like? In a few months when almost everyone is vaccinated, do we go back to the way things were, or do we embrace a new normal? The logical place to start answering those questions is to ask the three people who manage City of Guelph services, and their boss. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #282 – The Future with Guelph’s Exec Team”
Good news has been sometimes hard to come by in the last 15 months, but there was definitely some good news on Friday as the Government of Ontario announced that stage 3 is beginning early. Although the original intent was to move to the third and final phase of the economic re-opening on July 21, positive developments on both lower case counts and high vaccination rates means an early jump on stage 3. Continue reading “Ontario Moving on to Stage 3 Next Friday”
The vaccine roll out continues here in Guelph, around the region, and across Ontario and the rest of Canada. Progress to get the population fully vaccinated is being made swiftly and assuredly, but people still have a lot of questions about the vaccines, they’re efficacy, and what people need to know before they get their first and second shot. Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner reached out to Dr. Nicola Mercer to get some of those answers, and they shared the results in a virtual town hall. Continue reading “RECAP: Mercer Updates Vaccine Progress in Town Hall with Schreiner”
Tomorrow, Ontario opens into phase two of the provincial re-opening framework, which means there’s more access to more places, and it appears that some of those places now include long-term care homes and Guelph General Hospital. From the Government of Ontario is news that visitor restrictions are being eased in Ontario long-term care homes, while locally Guelph General is doing the same. Continue reading “Restrictions on Visitors Loosen in LTC and Guelph General”
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”
Some good news in advance of next week’s holiday has arrived in the form of an announcement that phase 2 of the provincial re-opening is starting two days early. Excellent progress on vaccination rates and lower levels of infection have been the key to an early move to phase 2, which will now begin at 12:01 am on Wednesday June 30, but with one glaring exception. Continue reading “Ontario to Enter Phase Two Re-Opening Ahead of Schedule”
In news nobody wanted the day before the first phase of the provincial re-opening began, the Government of Ontario announced Thursday that Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph is one of seven Public Health sectors in Ontario that are now considered hotspots for the Delta variant of COVID-19. As a consequence, the rollout of the second dose of COVID vaccines is being accelerated in our area starting Monday. Continue reading “Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph a Delta Hotspot as Province Moves Up Second Doses”
It’s the news that people all around Ontario wanted to hear: With vaccination rates going up, and COVID case counts going down, the Provincial government announced that they’re moving up the first phase of re-opening by three days. As of 12:01 am this Friday, all municipalities in Ontario will be able to come out of lockdown with more retail, outdoor dining, and slightly bigger outdoor gatherings all allowed. Continue reading “Ontario Government Announces an Earlier Start to the Re-opening Schedule”
Get ready for a busy Committee of the Whole 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 June 7, 2021”
Nearly a month after the Provincial government initiated a new round of lockdowns amid the third wave of COVID-19, there’s still no sign about when we might be able to start the process of re-opening. Liberal leader Steven Del Duca has some concerns about the way the pandemic response is currently being managed in Ontario, and he appeared on CFRU’s Open Sources Guelph last week to share them. Continue reading “Del Duca Tells Open Sources He Wants More Planning on Education (and Empathy)”
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