Tag: Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

GUELPH POLITICAST #492 – A Broken Political Scene (feat. Doug Craig)

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It was about this time two years ago that former Guelph CAO Scott Stewart told city council in an open meeting that there needed to be a new deal for Ontario municipalities; that they were trying to solve 21st century problems with 19th century rules. As Guelph tackles another difficult budget season, one regional councillor is putting this issue in stark terms: Ontario’s councils are “on the verge of life support”! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #492 – A Broken Political Scene (feat. Doug Craig)” →

RECAP: JSSLAC Takes a Closer Look at 2025 Social Services Budget

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It was a new year with a sort of new Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee with a definitely new chair. Ward 4 Guelph Councillor Linda Busuttil is now the captain of this joint City and County endeavour and they began with 2025 with an in-depth look at the 2025 budget for both the social services and the ambulance portions of the bill. For those details, and all the others, let’s dig into the first recap of 2025! Continue reading “RECAP: JSSLAC Takes a Closer Look at 2025 Social Services Budget” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for January 8, 2025

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Wellington County gets the early bird worm with the first meeting of 2025 (at least from a Guelph point of interest). After skipping December, the Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee gets together to calibrate for a new year with a look at the 2025 budget, changes to funding for childcare, and the latest updates about housing and social services. So let’s dig into the agenda of the first meeting of this new year! Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee Meeting for January 8, 2025” →

Calandra Touts Guelph Housing Success with Novelty Cheque (But Real Money)

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Pomp was in the air of the courtyard at Guelph City Hall Thursday morning. The special guest was Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra, and the order to the day was celebrating Guelph’s success on housing starts in 2023. The what was a giant novelty cheque, a symbol of the very real award for Guelph starting construction on 1,287 new housing units last year, nearly $4.7 million in “reward” money! Continue reading “Calandra Touts Guelph Housing Success with Novelty Cheque (But Real Money)” →

Planning Staff Looking to Reverse Course on Some Official Plan Changes

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The adventure continues… Earlier this year, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing returned to the City of Guelph the latest version of their Official Plan with 18 modifications. There was some disagreement about that. Since then, the new Minister announced that he was going to rescind those changes made by his predecessor, but what does that mean for Guelph? There’s a meeting for that! Continue reading “Planning Staff Looking to Reverse Course on Some Official Plan Changes” →

Remember Those Official Plan Changes? Calandra Says Never Mind

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It was two months ago now when former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark resigned from the Ontario cabinet in the wake of the Auditor General’s report about the changes to the Greenbelt. It was a little over a month ago that Premier Doug Ford announced that the government would be restoring that land back to the Greenbelt, and it was just last week that Paul Calandra, Clark’s replacement, finally introduced that legislation. So what’s new this Monday? Continue reading “Remember Those Official Plan Changes? Calandra Says Never Mind” →

Apropos, Clark Quits Cabinet on Labour Day

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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” →

The Letter Mayor Guthrie Didn’t Want to Send, Revealed

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Earlier this month, city council reviewed the decision of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on Guelph’s Official Plan Amendment #80 (OPA80), and some of those decisions were pretty controversial. And then there was the response to the controversy, which itself got, at times, pretty controversial. The fruits of that controversy, a letter to the minister, were revealed in an information report to council on Friday. Continue reading “The Letter Mayor Guthrie Didn’t Want to Send, Revealed” →

Competing Vision for Cities on Day Two of the AMO Conference

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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” →

Government of Ontario Cap Rent Increases to 2.5 Per Cent in 2023

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The bad news is that your rent might be going up, but the good news is that it’s not going to go up as much as it could have. According to the Government of Ontario, the province’s rent increase guideline for 2023 will be set at 2.5 per cent, meaning that’s how much your landlord might be able to raise your rent by without getting approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board, but hey, it could have been 5.3 per cent. Continue reading “Government of Ontario Cap Rent Increases to 2.5 Per Cent in 2023” →