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”
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”
Nearly a month into the scandal that has absorbed almost all the attention put on the Government of Ontario, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark announced on Labour Day that he was resigning from cabinet. Even though it was less than a week ago that Clark said that he could continue in cabinet despite the damning indictments of both the Auditor General and the Integrity Commissioner, he’s now had a change of heart. Continue reading “Apropos, Clark Quits Cabinet on Labour Day”
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”
It’s 2019 all over again! That’s how Guelph MPP and Green Party leader Mike Schreiner described the situation at Queen’s Park during his most recent appearance on Open Sources Guelph. It’s been a very busy first few months for the new Ontario Legislature, and as we close 2022, Schreiner has notes about Bill 23, Doug Ford’s leadership style, and whether or not he’s going to change team colours. Continue reading “On OSG, Schreiner Calls Out Ford Policies as “Dangerous” and “Unnecessary””
Doug Ford’s promise to not touch the Greenbelt was turned into a hip-hop beat, and it led a couple of hundred people milling about in the Boathouse parking lot over the covered bridge York Road Park. And they kept coming. Guelph joined the province-wide series of protests happening around Ontario this weekend, another loud choir of voices who are against recent changes the Ontario government’s made to planning rules. Continue reading “Guelphites Join Province-Wide Protest of Planning Changes”
All eyes in Ontario on Friday were on the protests by education workers around the province, so what a good time to make a controversial move on a sensitive area of interest like the Greenbelt. On Friday afternoon, the Government of Ontario launched 30 days of consultation about removing 7,400 acres of land from the edge of the Greenbelt to make room more homes, which is okay, because this is technically a Greenbelt expansion. Continue reading “As Workers Strike, Ford Government Moves on the Greenbelt”
It was a rough week if you’re a fan of the environment and want to see fewer reasons to drive around Ontario. In the last seven days, Premier Doug Ford cancelled tolls on two provincial highways, and cancelled licence plate renewal fees, but there’s still a chance to stop the construction of at least one more highway in Ontario. At least that was the hope of Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner this Friday afternoon. Continue reading “Schreiner Says He’s Still Against a Highway Through the Holland Marsh”
Since the start of the current term of the Ontario Legislature there’s been a lot of back and forth about the fate of Ontario’s Greenbelt, a tract of protected land that runs through much of the Golden Horseshoe. Sometimes it’s under threat of development, and sometimes the government is talking about expanding it, but now a collective of community groups are pushing for expansion as a matter of urgency. Continue reading “Local Advocates and Politicians Call for Massive Greenbelt Expansion”
Due to the exceptionally busy council calendar this past month, we’ve had to split April’s recap into two parts. In part one, we will recap what happened at a very busy and complex committee meeting, and then at the planning there was a somewhat confusing matter about the Naming Committee and the final approval of a long-gestating housing project. Continue reading “This Month at Council Part 1: Committee of the Whole and Grace Gardens Approved”
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