We were promised a resurgence of COVID-19 in the fall, and it appears that local health authorities are already planning ahead. Medical Officer of Health for Wellington, Dufferin, and Guelph Dr. Nicola Mercer has amended her Section 22 order and has expanded mask mandates starting later this week, while the Region of Waterloo passed an extension of their own masking bylaw. Continue reading “Mask Mandates Expand in WDG and Waterloo Regions”
The day after it was announced that Ontario had seen over 300 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, Premier Doug Ford and members of his cabinet came to the Royal City with some money for a local company looking to shore up any future demands for medical equipment. Linamar, Guelph’s largest corporation, received $2.5 million from the Ontario Together Fund today to help build 10,000 new Ontario-made e700 ventilators. Continue reading “Ford Brings $2.5 Million Cheque to Guelph for Linamar to Make Ventilators”
The Ontario Legislature returned to work today, and one of the first orders of business came from Guelph’s own Member of Provincial Parliament. Mike Schreiner spent his first day back at the Legislature putting forward a private member’s bill to amend the Employment Standards Act and disavow the part that allows employers to demand a sick note from an employee that takes a day off due to illness. Continue reading “Schreiner Introduces Bill to End Sick Notes”
In the past, Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner has gone to the media studio in Queen’s Park, and presented ideas for the reigning Progressive Conservative government to implement. On Thursday, he did it again by offering 10 principles for a “Greener and More Caring COVID-19 Recovery”, but will the Premier Doug Ford take him up on the offer? Continue reading “Steal These Ideas Part 2, Schreiner Has Plans for a Better Recovery”
The Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health met on Wednesday for the first time since July to get an update about the local response to COVID-19. While the number of new cases have been holding steady, the Public Health staff explained that we can’t rest on our laurels, and there’s some hard work we’ve all got to do to prepare for that dreaded second wave. Continue reading “Mercer Tells Board of Health We Need to Stay the Course on COVID”
What if we told you that vaccine hesitancy didn’t start with Jenny McCarthy? In 1722, not long after the first successful vaccination efforts were started in the west, there was an English preacher who argued that diseases were God’s punishment for sin, and any attempt to stop them with a vaccine was going against His will. That may sound crazy, but so do the modern world’s reasons for not getting your kids vaccinated. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #237 – It’s Vaccine Hesitancy, and It’s Not New”
In a typical year, the Labour Day picnic in Riverside Park is a nice way to end your summer with some pro-labour activism, and a hot dogs with corn on the cob. In the year of COVID-19 though you’ll have to enjoy hot dogs and corn at home, but the camaraderie of Labour Day will be preserved in the form of a parade. Before Monday though, the president of the Guelph & District Labour Council has some thoughts on labour that she wanted to share. Continue reading “Labour Day Thoughts From the Labour Council President”
This is the last week of summer, and it’s typically a time of great excitement for kids and parents alike. This year though, there is also more than a little amount of trepidation because going back to school means something very different in the era of COVID-19. Perhaps this will help. We’re going to look at what your school might look like when you, or your child, are heading back to it in the next couple of weeks. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #236 – What Will School Look Like?”
For the second time since March, and the start of the pandemic, the COVID-19 Assessment Clinic established by Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, and administered by the Guelph Family Health Team, will be moving. Starting next week, those in need of a COVID-19 test will have to make their way to the south end to find out if they have the virus. Continue reading “COVID Assessment Clinic On the Move Again”
It was an unusual month at city council, because August meetings of city council are themselves unusual. At the three meetings, we heard two planning decisions, the latest (and last?) COVID response meeting, and a very long regular meeting, which generated more than its share of friction. Here’s the recap of our once in a blue moon August month at city council. Continue reading “The Month at Council: Planning Decisions, COVID Money, and Paused Procedures”
Guelph Politico 