Tag: Government of Ontario

GUELPH POLITICAST #498 – The Problem With Ontario’s Jails (feat. Justin Piché)

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Since the Ontario provincial election in February, we’ve spent a lot of time on this podcast trying to shine a light on some of the under-reported issues that the provincial government is ignoring, or actively making worse. Law and order though? That’s supposed to be under the Ford government’s bailiwick as they sell us a story of rampant criminality set loose on Ontario, but what if the real crime is happening inside Ontario’s jails? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #498 – The Problem With Ontario’s Jails (feat. Justin Piché)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #496 – Still Taking, Just More Easily (feat. Theresa McClenaghan)

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There was a lot of celebrating this time last year when it was announced that Blue Triton was closing their water bottling operations across Ontario, including the one down the road in Puslinch. Current events have conspired to put water taking issues back on the frontburner but between concerns about the impact on renters in Bill 60 and the undermining of local oversight of school boards in Bill 33, is there any room on the agenda for protecting our water? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #496 – Still Taking, Just More Easily (feat. Theresa McClenaghan)” →

RECAP: Guthrie Tells Chamber to Just Say “No” to More Provincial Downloading at Budget Breakfast

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On Thursday morning, Mayor Cam Guthrie and Chief Administrative Officer Tara Baker took part in the second annual budget breakfast with the Guelph Chamber of Commerce. If you’ve been following along, there was maybe not a lot of new information about the budget itself, but there was some new commentary from the mayor especially about provincial priorities and why the City of Guelph and other municipalities need more help from Queen’s Park. You can dig into the full recap below! Continue reading “RECAP: Guthrie Tells Chamber to Just Say “No” to More Provincial Downloading at Budget Breakfast” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #493 – They’re Coming for the Conservation Authorities… Again (feat. Phil Pothen)

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Since they resumed sitting the week after Thanksgiving, the Government of Ontario has been throwing a lot at us, and then on Halloween they proposed sweeping changes to conservation authorities in Ontario. If it feels like we’ve been here before we kind of have, and while conservation authorities have weathered provincial meddling before, can they survive it again? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #493 – They’re Coming for the Conservation Authorities… Again (feat. Phil Pothen)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #492 – A Broken Political Scene (feat. Doug Craig)

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It was about this time two years ago that former Guelph CAO Scott Stewart told city council in an open meeting that there needed to be a new deal for Ontario municipalities; that they were trying to solve 21st century problems with 19th century rules. As Guelph tackles another difficult budget season, one regional councillor is putting this issue in stark terms: Ontario’s councils are “on the verge of life support”! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #492 – A Broken Political Scene (feat. Doug Craig)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #474 – Running on Empties (feat. Karen Wirsig)

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When Doug Ford and the Ontario government announced that they were expanding alcohol sales to grocery and convenience stores it was seen as a positive move to break up a government monopoly, but The Beer Store still has one important piece of that monopoly: returns. It was an effective example of what we now call the circular economy, but in making alcohol more available, has it cost us the most successful recycling program we’ve ever had? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #474 – Running on Empties (feat. Karen Wirsig)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #463 – The End of the CTS, aka: Have a HART (feat. Melissa Kwiatkowski & Jean Hopkins)

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In six days, the doors of Guelph’s Consumption and Treatment site will close for the last time. Unless a Charter challenge in an Ontario court succeeds, the Ontario government’s mandate to close a dozen different CTSes and replacement them with new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment, or HART, Hubs. Or at least that was the plan. Either way, what happens on April 1? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #463 – The End of the CTS, aka: Have a HART (feat. Melissa Kwiatkowski & Jean Hopkins)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #460 – Now What? (feat. Diana Chan McNally)

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Although housing and homelessness has been THE issue for the last few years, it feels like they didn’t make a dent in the recently completed provincial election. As the news obsessively tracks the tariff war and Doug Ford’s response to Donald Trump’s latest drama, the struggles of growing unaffordability and homelessness seems to have taken a back seat., So now that the election is over, does anyone in authority still care about these issues? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #460 – Now What? (feat. Diana Chan McNally)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #444 – The Ongoing Struggle at Community Living (feat. Cindy Kinnon)

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Community Living Guelph Wellington has been around since 1955 providing support and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families in the communities in which they live, and for the last few years they’ve faced some serious financial issues. 2024 is no exception, but might the important services of Community Living get lost in the shuffle of all the crushing need out there. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #444 – The Ongoing Struggle at Community Living (feat. Cindy Kinnon)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #442 – The War on Bike Lanes (feat. Mike Darmon & Adrian Salvatore)

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If you feel like active transportation options are under siege at the moment, you’re not alone. The Ontario government is coming for municipal bike lanes while cities like Guelph, facing unprecedented financial barriers, are seeing robust active transportation networks as a “nice to have”. We’ve spent the last few years trying to undo decades of building our cities around the personal automobile, but is the war on bike lanes finally here? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #442 – The War on Bike Lanes (feat. Mike Darmon & Adrian Salvatore)” →