Tag: Homelessness

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 27, 2025 Meeting?

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

After a busy week at council, and then a week off following the May long weekend, council will get back to work with some fairly unusual circumstances. First, council must fill a whole new slate of committees with a whole new slate of members, and then they will have to look to their own membership because right now council is one person down! On top of that, there may be some additional commentary about this month’s Committee of the Whole agenda! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 27, 2025 Meeting?” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #470 – The Poverty Elimination Gut Check (feat. Dominica McPherson)

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

We have a weird situation: We’ve elected two new governments at both upper levels in the last four months and the hope is that they can turn things around, and yet, these are also, essentially, the old governments. How can we possibly expect better results from the new old people in charge, and are we even more alone than ever here on the local level? We’ll put this to one of the people whose job it is to advocate. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #470 – The Poverty Elimination Gut Check (feat. Dominica McPherson)” →

This Week at Council: A Whole in the World

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Money! Much of this month’s Committee of the Whole meeting was about it, but there was also some new climate change policy, a formal farewell to a city councillor with a new job, and, yes, some controversy. What was supposed to be consent item about seeking permission for a request for proposals for daytime shelter services opened a potential kettle of fish when it comes to council at the end of the month. For now, here’s the recap of May’s CoW meeting! Continue reading “This Week at Council: A Whole in the World” →

RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 6, 2025

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Get in the car loser, it’s time for this month’s Committee of the Whole 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 Blue Sky, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 6, 2025” →

Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 6, 2025 Meeting?

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

The May meeting of Committee of the Whole will bring you a variety of stuff to chew on, some of it you might have already chewed on this year if you’ve been following council business closely. A climate call to action, the year-end financials, new terms of reference for committee, an update to the update of the Code of Conduct, and much, much more is on the agenda for this first council meeting of the month. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 6, 2025 Meeting?” →

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

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

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 #450 – The Year at Council (September – December)

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Last year was very busy for Guelph City Council, and the last four months of the year were perhaps the busiest. In fact, the business of council has gotten so busy to properly cover it all this “Year in Review” podcast now has to be done in three parts, splitting the year into three near equal sections for over two hours of combined content. So now, at the end, the final part of this trilogy. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #450 – The Year at Council (September – December)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #448 – Christmas With Kevin (feat. Kevin Coghill)

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

It makes sense spending Christmas with a Kevin. The Kevin we’re talking to this Christmas though sits at the intersection of fighting poverty practically and fighting a growing spiritual malaise. In fact, he was the first and most obvious choice for this year’s holiday chat by the fireside, and he joins us this week to not only talk about the crisis around homelessness, but also the accompanying crisis of compassion. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #448 – Christmas With Kevin (feat. Kevin Coghill)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #447 – The Strong Mayor Year (feat. Cam Guthrie)

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

What do you think this year will be remembered for in the annals of Guelph history? Will it be the debate over the Public Space Use Bylaw? Was it the announced closure of the consumption and treatment site downtown? Was it when the mayor re-opened the 2025 budget to try and shave off two-thirds of the proposed levy increase? In any event, all roads lead back to one place, or rather, one person. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #447 – The Strong Mayor Year (feat. Cam Guthrie)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #443 – The Aftermath Downtown

Published on by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Last week, the reality of the Public Space Use Bylaw came into effect with the formal eviction of everyone in tents from St. George’s Square. The square is clear now of tents, but the people who lived in those tents have not disappeared or found permanent homes. In fact, they’re more vulnerable than ever, and even before the eviction last week, they were hurting. This is a story about the human toll of the Public Space Use Bylaw. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #443 – The Aftermath Downtown” →