On Wednesday evening, Guelph’s Member of Parliament, Member of Provincial Parliament, and Mayor all got together by phone for a virtual town hall. Over the space of an hour, Lloyd Longfield, Mike Schreiner, and Cam Guthrie answered questions from the community about the local response to the pandemic, and the issues we will face on health, welfare, and the economy as we enter the winter months. Continue reading “RECAP: Longfield, Schreiner, and Guthrie Answer COVID Concerns”
We know that small businesses everywhere are struggling, but every business is struggling in its own way. Halloween is Christmas for those businesses that sell costumes, make-up, and party supplies, but there’s definitely not going to be any parties this year, and even the possibility of Trick or Treating is in doubt. So what will Halloween look like, and where does that leave the people for whom Halloween is big business? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #242 – This is Halloween”
The City of Guelph puts out a lot of information on a weekly basis, and while it all ends up on the City’s website somewhere, wouldn’t it be easier to just scroll through it all on one easy-to-read article on Guelph Politico here…? Continue reading “CITY PAGES: Covered Bridge, Bookmobile, and New Leadership at PIN”
The ever increasing number of new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario, especially in the three specific areas of Toronto, Peel, and Ottawa, has prompted the Government of Ontario to set back their re-openings. Starting Saturday at 12:01 am, those select areas of Ontario will roll back to Stage 2, as the Government of Ontario tries to avoid a post-holiday weekend flare up of the coronavirus. Continue reading “Back to Stage 2 for Toronto, Peel and Ottawa”
The whistlestop tour is a time honoured tradition in politics, especially for the new leader of a political party trying to develop relationships and name recognition. Steven Del Duca is no exception, but he’s trying whistlestop his way through a pandemic, and an increasingly perilous situation where the number of new COVID-19 cases is on a definite increase. So what does Del Duca have to add to the situation? Continue reading “At Guelph Stop, Del Duca Says It’s Not Too Late for Ford to Do Better”
There was a gathering of people in Riverside Park in late August, and even though they said that they didn’t identify with QAnon, they still knew all the buzzwords like “save the children”. And then, one of the counter protestors said something interesting: “Why don’t these people, if they’re so concerned about child welfare, volunteer with a local organization that does just that?” Good idea! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #241 – The Real Work of Helping Children and Families”
Like other COVID-19 testing centres and assessment clinics across the province, the Guelph clinic is now moving to a model of accepting appointments for testing by phone only. At the same time, the Provincial government is touting its record of testing and its commitment to add capacity despite the fact that the medical staff on the frontlines of testing are overwhelmed. Continue reading “Guelph COVID Testing Centre is Now Only Taking Appointments by Phone”
Local artists are among the many groups that have suffered in this pandemic. After all, art is meant to be enjoyed, in a crowd, in a public gallery and space, and what are you supposed to do when people can’t gather around? The answer seems to be turning outdoor public spaces into art displays, and thanks to some grant money from upper levels of government, that’s an option for a couple of Guelph projects. Continue reading “Grant Money Highlights Art Around Town and Guelph Artists”
For the third time in three weeks, the Ontario government started the weekend with changes to public gatherings meant to stop the continuing spread of COVID-19 in the province. On the same day that Ontario set a new record for new daily cases, Premier Doug Ford and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams offered new public health measures, but the health official in Ontario’s biggest hotspot was unimpressed with the changes. Continue reading “New Guidelines from Public Health to Battle Growing Outbreak Concerns”
Concerns about the consistent increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Ontario has prompted the Provincial government to impose some new restrictions aimed at trying to get the new case count down to something more reasonable. Cancel all your late night plans, and any planned outing to a gentlemen’s club, the Government of Ontario has got some new rules for you. Continue reading “Province Releases New Public Health Measures to Stop COVID Spread”
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