GUELPH POLITICAST #506 – Shelter Questions and a Politico Update

It’s been quite a year so far, and it’s only been about three weeks long. Unfortunately, there’s no guest on this week’s show, nobody seems to want to talk about the biggest issue in town, but that doesn’t mean we can’t chat about it on our own. For this peculiar episode of the podcast, we will talk about the questions left over from the daytime shelter story, how we’ve been trying to cover it, and what’s going on at Politico HQ as we look to an even busier year ahead! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #506 – Shelter Questions and a Politico Update”

The Week at Council: Two Hours In Camera

Surprise! It’s a surprise meeting, and that means a surprise meeting recap! Following up the first big political controversy of 2026, a special city council meeting was called to figure out what was to be done about the sudden cancellation of the daytime shelter plan out of Royal City Mission and Stepping Stone. The details were mostly in-camera, but you will learn all about what came out of it in this recap of the meeting… Continue reading “The Week at Council: Two Hours In Camera”

RECAP: City Council Meeting for January 13, 2026

Let us wrap up a very busy, and a very difficult 2025 in the council chambers. 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 with the thread below from BlueSky, or you can watch the whole meeting for yourself by watching it on the City’s website here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for January 13, 2026”

City Moves to Quell Concerns About Daytime Shelter Debacle

It seems as though the City of Guelph is feeling the heat following the sudden announcement on Thursday that a long-awaited daytime shelter program for the unhoused and precariously housed would not open as scheduled on Monday. A demonstration downtown on Saturday seems to have pushed Guelph’s mayor to pencil in a special council meeting this coming week while the City of Guelph is explaining itself in a surprise Sunday post. Continue reading “City Moves to Quell Concerns About Daytime Shelter Debacle”

Daytime Shelter Plans Fall Apart Four Days Before Opening

On Monday, a new daytime shelter service was supposed to begin out of the Royal City Mission, and while it was not going to offer the 12 hours of service per day that was originally intended last fall, it was, if nothing else, a start. But on Thursday there was a sudden turn in this story, separate announcements from both Stepping Stone and Royal City Mission that their collaboration on a new daytime shelter will not be going forward. Continue reading “Daytime Shelter Plans Fall Apart Four Days Before Opening”

This Week at Council: Shelter Debate, Climate Action, and Code of Conduct Amendments

Getting back to work after a week off for the Victoria Day holiday, council dived into some controversy. Promised since the beginning of the month, council dug into the question of where to put a daytime, or perhaps where not to put it. There was also some additional discussion about the renewed Code of Conduct and the Community Climate Action Plan, but for all the details check out this recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: Shelter Debate, Climate Action, and Code of Conduct Amendments”

RECAP: City Council Meeting for May 27, 2025

Let’s dig into the last council meeting for the month of May! 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 during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for May 27, 2025”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 27, 2025 Meeting?

After a busy week at council, and then a week off following the May long weekend, council will get back to work with some fairly unusual circumstances. First, council must fill a whole new slate of committees with a whole new slate of members, and then they will have to look to their own membership because right now council is one person down! On top of that, there may be some additional commentary about this month’s Committee of the Whole agenda! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 27, 2025 Meeting?”

This Week at Council: A Whole in the World

Money! Much of this month’s Committee of the Whole meeting was about it, but there was also some new climate change policy, a formal farewell to a city councillor with a new job, and, yes, some controversy. What was supposed to be consent item about seeking permission for a request for proposals for daytime shelter services opened a potential kettle of fish when it comes to council at the end of the month. For now, here’s the recap of May’s CoW meeting! Continue reading “This Week at Council: A Whole in the World”

RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 6, 2025

Get in the car loser, it’s time for this month’s 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 Blue Sky, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 6, 2025”