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”
The month at council comes to end with some bits of unfinished business. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here (and here) for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for April 26, 2021”
We have come to the end of the month, and that means it’s time for the regular council meeting. In this meeting, there will not only be decisions to ratify from the Committee of the Whole meeting, but there’s still one more vote to take that was held over from this month’s planning meeting as well. On top that, there’s a couple of closed meeting items, and some provincial funds to allocate. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 26 Meeting?”
Money matters, provincial policy and traffic are on the agenda at this month’s committee meeting. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for April 6, 2021”
April’s Committee of the Whole meeting will cover some long-term money matters from the Corporate Services agenda, and some insights into staff’s thoughts on new traffic measures, plus the Province’s plans to expand the Greenbelt under Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise Services. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 6 Meeting?”
Guelph Politico 