Big Support for Local CUPE Workers Demonstrating Outside Schreiner’s Office

Sometimes it seemed like the honking never stopped along Woolwich Street. On Friday afternoon, as over 100 people demonstrated in front of the constituency office of Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner, almost every other car that drove by honked to show support for the local striking members of the Canadian Union of Public Employee. The takeaway message from the union is that they’ve got the support of the people. Continue reading “Big Support for Local CUPE Workers Demonstrating Outside Schreiner’s Office”

CUPE Strike Ready to Go Friday As All Sides Hit Impasse

As the hours counted down on Thursday, it was clear that a job action on Friday by the education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was inevitable despite the Government of Ontario’s attempt to stop it. Despite a lot of action around Queen’s Park Thursday, CUPE workers look to be hitting the picket lines on Friday no matter what happens in the legislature. Continue reading “CUPE Strike Ready to Go Friday As All Sides Hit Impasse”

Ontario Government Pre-empts Education Strike, Labour Pissed

A spooky surprise this Halloween for education workers in Ontario, especially the ones getting ready to strike this Friday. In a pre-emptive move before the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ deadline for job action this Friday, the Minister of Education has announced Monday that the Ontario government will be forcing the province’s librarians, educations and custodians back to work before they even have a chance to strike. Continue reading “Ontario Government Pre-empts Education Strike, Labour Pissed”

Ground Broken on Kindle Communities Project, Plus New Money

The ground has been broken on another new supportive housing development in Guelph. Approved last summer by council, the Shelldale Cres. project sponsored by Kindle Communities and SkyDev, a subsidiary of Skyline developers, has begun construction after a well-attended ground breaking on Wednesday that also delivered tremendous funding for the project from a variety of sources. Continue reading “Ground Broken on Kindle Communities Project, Plus New Money”

GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – Wheatley’s Still There

A year ago this coming Friday, the people of Wheatley, Ontario, part of the municipality of Chatham-Kent in the south west corner of the province, were just sitting there minding their own business around diner time when – BOOM! – two downtown buildings blew up. It feels like we don’t talk enough about how a small town in Ontario exploded last summer, so for our second of two repeats, let’s talk about it again. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – Wheatley’s Still There”

Competing Vision for Cities on Day Two of the AMO Conference

Day two of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference brought two big speakers with some different ideas about the needs of cities. In one slot was the man currently serving in the post of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and in the other was the man who’s currently the only elected opposition leader in the Ontario legislature, and they offered very different visions indeed. Continue reading “Competing Vision for Cities on Day Two of the AMO Conference”

New Powers for “Strong Mayors” Coming in Toronto and Ottawa

The question is how the Provincial government can act quickly to get new housing stock built in Ontario, and the answer, apparently, is to create strong mayors. This hypothesis will be put to the test first in Toronto and Ottawa with the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, a new piece of legislation introduced today by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark. Continue reading “New Powers for “Strong Mayors” Coming in Toronto and Ottawa”

New Ontario Budget Almost the Same as the Old One

It was a busy day at Queen’s Park as the Lieutenant Governor delivered the Speech from the Throne, and then the Government of Ontario re-delivered the 2022 provincial budget. There were a few slight tweaks between the one delivered back in April and the one that now awaits passage nearly six months after the start of the Province’s fiscal year, but there was one particular point of interest that got the most attention. Continue reading “New Ontario Budget Almost the Same as the Old One”

Schreiner Wants Action on Healthcare and Climate at Legislature Returns

Ontario’s legislators are back at Queen’s Park for the first time since the June election, and there’s a lot of work to do. That was the impression left by Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner at his inaugural press conference for this term. Going into the new session, Schreiner wants to focus on affordability, climate action, and, obviously, the healthcare staffing crisis. Continue reading “Schreiner Wants Action on Healthcare and Climate at Legislature Returns”

Healthcare Workers are “Crying Out for a Life Raft”

Another weekend in Ontario means another weekend of hospital closures as healthcare workers struggle again to cover widening gaps in the system, and they’re crying out for help. This was the message from representatives of healthcare worker unions and advocacy groups at a media availability on Friday as they laid out a five-point plan the Provincial government could take to turn the issue around right now. Continue reading “Healthcare Workers are “Crying Out for a Life Raft””