Climate change, despite the inference, is not a hot topic, politically speaking. We had two big elections this year and you can probably count on one hand how many times the environment came up in conversation. Perhaps the time has come for a re-examination of our priorities: Can Guelph still be a climate leader in a political time when no one wants to talk about climate change? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #490 – Climate Action is Back on Menu! (feat. Donna Jennison)”
In 2022, the three major Ontario opposition parties finished very closely together in Wellington-Halton Hills with the Liberals finishing 804 votes short of the second place NDP, and 82 votes short of the third place Greens. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise then that the Green Party of Ontario sees Wellington-Halton Hills as prime target for an upset this election, but can the party be that upsetting with so much on the line? Continue reading “WELLINGTON-HALTON HILLS POLITICAST #457 – Green For the Bron-Win?! (feat. Bronwynne Wilton)”
It was about this time last year that the so-called Greenbelt scandal blew-up. Although the issue had been simmering since fall 2022, the persistent efforts of journalists and activists to get to the bottom of the decision to separate and sell-off portions of protected land resulted in the land being restored, the minister responsible replaced, and the RCMP looking into whether or not anything criminal happened. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – How the Greenbelt Was Won (feat. Kevin Thomason)”
It took a while to get here, but the Grand River Conservation Authority membership last month approved a management plan for the Niska lands, aka: the old Kortright Waterfowl Park, but this is not the end of the journey. For nearly 20 years there’s been a fierce back and forth about what comes next for the property and who’s responsible for its protection, but even with a plan in place now it doesn’t mean that the controversy is over. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #430 – Caution’s Creek Part 2: The Future”
The City of Guelph has two goals, one to be a net zero community by 2050 and the other to be 100 per cent powered by renewable energy at the same time, and while 2050 is still a good 26 years away, it’s going to get here sooner than we think. This week, we’re going to go over the climate action report card, how is Guelph doing as we’re trying to turn the tide? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #412 – A Climate Action Check-In”
There was a lot to complain about when it comes to the Ontario provincial government in 2023, but complaints were always the loudest when it came to the decision to open the Greenbelt to development. Thousands and thousands of Ontarians were unified in their desire to make the Greenbelt whole again, and then the strangest thing of all happened, they won. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #401 – How the Greenbelt Was Won”
This is one of those episodes that’s based on events that predate many of us that have come to call Guelph home in the last few decades. It’s also a story about land issues, and the desire to protect sensitive land from development. It’s had a lot of names over the years including the Kortright Waterfowl Park, the Niska Lands, and the Hanlon Creek Conservation Area, but the story around this property is just as complicated to sort out. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #392 – Caution’s Creek Part 1: The Past”
It started with one Waterloo Regional Police officer. Then two. It wasn’t too long before 10 officers were standing at the west entrance to Bingeman’s, the site of FordFest in Kitchener on Friday night. The detail was traffic control of a sort. On the roadside in front of the amusement park and conference centre complex were well over 500 people representing labour, environmental, and education groups who had come to (un)welcome the premier and his supporters to Waterloo Region. Continue reading “500-Plus (Including Guelphites) Form Unwelcome Wagon For Doug Ford in Kitchener”
Greenbelt-gate continues to be a pain for the Government of Ontario, and the opposition parties are twisting the knife. Today, Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner took things up a notch by calling for an independent public inquiry into the scandal. It’s another pressure point in a week full of renewed pressure on Doug Ford and company about the deal to sell Greenbelt land to developers. Continue reading “Schreiner Calls For Public Inquiry into Greenbelt Shenanigans”
June 1 marks the start of meteorological summer and that sunny and warm weather makes you want to go into the water. You’re also – hopefully – putting on sunscreen in order to reduce the risk of skin cancer, but in the last few years there’s been some reason to question whether sunscreen is as safe for our waterways even while it protects you from UV light. Should everyone still be free to wear sunscreen? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #375 – Everyone is Still Free to Wear Sunscreen”
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