Nearly a week after the last time he was in front of cameras, Premier Doug Ford came out of quarantine for a minute on Thursday morning to say he was wrong. Apologizing for the overreach of the COVID restrictions he announced last Friday, Ford appeared emotional as he talked about what he did wrong, why he wants a second chance, and why now is finally the time to get serious about paid sick days. Continue reading “Ford Apologizes for Third Wave Missteps, Promises Plans for Sick Days”
Two more weeks for the stay-at-home order, no more golfing or playgrounds, checkpoints at provincial land borders, all non-essential construction halted, big box retail at 25 per cent capacity max, and no outdoor gatherings with people outside your household. Those are some of the new, more restrictive COVID-19 protection measures announced Friday, but they probably won’t be the most controversial. Continue reading “Ontario Government Closes Playgrounds, Increases Police Powers to Fight COVID”
This month’s Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health meeting took place in the immediate shadow of a new stay-at-home and State of Emergency order from the Government of Ontario. In this Twitter thread covering the meeting, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer and her staff explained the decision making behind the cancellation of in-person learning at area schools, and the progress of the region’s vaccination efforts. Continue reading “RECAP: Board of Health Hears Update as Pandemic Rapidly Changes Again”
After several days of sustained pressure, and an increasing number of new daily COVID-19 cases, the Government of Ontario finally bowed to the demands of doctors and public health workers around the province and issued a stay at home order. As of 12:01 am on Thursday, Ontario will be under its third state of emergency order since the start of the pandemic in a last ditch effort to get the virus, and its variants, under control. Continue reading “Submitting to Pressure, Ontario’s Going Back Under State of Emergency”
Grace Gardens took another step closer to becoming a reality today with the announcement from the County of Wellington that the Welcome In Drop In Centre has completed the purchase of the Parkview Motel on Woolwich Street for its conversion to social housing. The next step will be in Guelph’s virtual council chambers on Monday when councillors will vote on whether to approve the rezoning and proceed with the establishment of supportive housing. Continue reading “Sale of Parkview Motel Finalized, All That’s Left is Rezoning”
Our brief flirtation with re-opening the economy is over, and the third wave is officially here. That seems to be the news as the holiday weekend begins with the announcement that all 34 of Ontario’s public health authorities will be initiating a province-wide emergency break on Saturday April 3 at 12:01 am. The rapidly increasing COVID-19 case counts cannot be denied, and the Ontario government is taking drastic action. Continue reading “Ontario Government Slams on Emergency Break for Whole Province”
It was April Fool’s Day, but the announcement was no joke. The Federal and Provincial governments teamed up on Thursday to make $6 million in funding available for three local community centres in Guelph and Wellington County. To reduce the impacts of COVID, create job growth and invest in the future, HOPE House, YMCA of Three Rivers in Guelph, and the Elora Community Centre are getting some help with renovations. Continue reading “Feds and Province Make Money Available For Community Centre Renos”
Just because there’s a pandemic to worry about, it doesn’t mean that the Government of Ontario can’t multitask with some old priorities. On Friday, the Ontario Court of Appeal heard the government’s case about why they needed to overturn a lower court’s ruling about the Student Choice Initiative, a policy that separated services at post-secondary schools into essential and non-essential categories. Continue reading “Provincial Court Hears Government Appeal of Student Choice Decision”
“Protecting People’s Health and the Economy” is the title on the 2021 -2022 Ontario Budget. Billed as “the second Budget the government has delivered during the pandemic,” and the first Budget for current Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy, the Government of Ontario aimed to address ongoing issues with the pandemic and province-wide vaccination program. The tally for the next fiscal year: $186 billion. Continue reading “Ontario’s 2021 Budget Focuses on Pandemic, Pandemic Relief and Vaccines”
Although the current Provincial government is unlikely to take any of his suggestions, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner laid out a five-point list of priorities that should be on the government to do list when they announce the budget this week. On Wednesday, the Government of Ontario will announce the 2021-2022 fiscal plan, and Schreiner thinks that the priority should be pandemic recovery and support. Continue reading “Schreiner Lays Out Wish List for Provincial Budget This Week”
Guelph Politico 