Homelessness – Page 5 – Guelph Politico

GUELPH POLITICAST #408 – Greg Dorval Has Things to Say

Published on Feb 28, 2024Feb 27, 2024 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

One of the problems covering issues of homelessness in the media is that it’s hard to find people to be the face of those issues. You see this in just about every news story, “person X is experiencing issue A”; it’s a way of personalizing the issue and making it relatable to the audience, and it’s one of the reasons why the homelessness crisis is so unrelatable. That’s where Greg Dorval entered the picture a few weeks ago. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #408 – Greg Dorval Has Things to Say” →

This Week at Council: Planning, Tribunal and Encampments Form the Trifecta

Published on Feb 18, 2024Feb 16, 2024 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

There are busy weeks at council, and then there’s spending nearly half of a 28-hour period in the council chambers. That was the time frame this week at 1 Carden Street, and in that period there was a planning meeting, a meeting where council sat as tribunal on a matter of misapplied Development Charges, and, the big one, a marathon meeting about a Public Spaces Use bylaw. To see how it all turned out, consult this week’s recap below… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Planning, Tribunal and Encampments Form the Trifecta” →

LIVE BLOG: First City Council Meeting for February 14, 2024

Published on Feb 14, 2024Mar 2, 2024 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

In what’s sure to be one of the most controversial meeting of the year, the public spaces use bylaw. You can click here for the amended agendas 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: First City Council Meeting for February 14, 2024” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the First February 14 Meeting?

Published on Feb 2, 2024Feb 3, 2024 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Just a day after a two-day meeting between representatives from Guelph and Wellington County, and about two weeks after it was first proposed in closed session at city council, staff have generated what’s sure to be the most controversial policy of the year. The growing visibility of encampments, especially in downtown Guelph, prompted the creation of a new bylaw, and it will be debated at this meeting! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the First February 14 Meeting?” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #402 – Christmas With Mark

Published on Dec 20, 2023Dec 18, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

It’s time for our annual fireside chat with a prominent member of the Guelph community, and since we’re run the gamut of local political leaders over the last few years, we turn to the new head of the hospital. It’s a massive challenge, but in keeping with the spirit of the season, and the need to help people who can’t help themselves, we’re going spend Christmas week with the president and CEO of Guelph General Hospital, Mark Walton. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #402 – Christmas With Mark” →

This Week at Council: Royal City Mission Saved (For Now) and The Budget

Published on Dec 3, 2023Dec 2, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

This week council took a couple of tough meetings. On Tuesday, there was a question about homelessness downtown, but the controversial motion proposed by Mayor Cam Guthrie had been pulled. Still, there’s was a matter of funding for Royal City Mission and their daytime shelter services, council had to decided how and if they were going to fund that further. And on Wednesday, it was the big one: The passage of the 2024-2027 multiyear budget! Continue reading “This Week at Council: Royal City Mission Saved (For Now) and The Budget” →

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for November 28, 2023

Published on Nov 28, 2023Nov 29, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

The first of two big meeting this week1 You can click here for the amended agendas 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: City Council Meeting for November 28, 2023” →

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on November 28?

Published on Nov 17, 2023Nov 21, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

This last meeting of the month is not the last meeting of the month in November. No, after this meeting there’s still the multiyear budget decision meeting the very next day, but on this night, there’s some relatively lighter matters to consider. Among them are the ratification of this month’s Committee of the Whole agenda, some new appointments and a couple of new motions from members of council. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the Meeting on November 28?” →

Guthrie Drops Gimmicks for Serious Talk at State of the City

Published on Feb 2, 2023Feb 2, 2023 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Over 850 people made their way to the Delta Hotel on Stone Road for the annual winter ritual of hearing the mayor talk. The Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City event for 2023 had the usual aspirational statements and hopeful outlook about the future, but it also came with a warning about the tough times ahead and the need to work together as a community to meet the challenges were all familiar with by now. Continue reading “Guthrie Drops Gimmicks for Serious Talk at State of the City” →