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”
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”
Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark held a virtual housing summit on Wednesday with municipal leaders from across Ontario. The goal was to find ways to solve the province’s housing crisis, the twin furies of limited supply and sky-high prices, and all parties say some good progress was made. Guelph’s MPP though has his doubts. Continue reading “Housing Summit Heralded for Progress, Schreiner Still Skeptical”
The Dolime Quarry land will become a part of the City of Guelph on January 1, 2022. This announcement comes from Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark who came to Guelph first thing on Monday morning to announce that he’s signing the Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) that will rezone the quarry once it’s shut down. The struggle to secure the site is over, and the countdown to redevelopment begins. Continue reading “Clark Signs MZO to Make Dolime Residential, Becomes Part of Guelph January 1”
Municipal governments, including the City of Guelph, have been keeping up the pressure against the upper levels of government, and have been demanding more fiscal assistance to combat the negative effects of COVID-19 on the local bottom line. On Thursday, the Government of Ontario opened their own pockets to offer assistance, and they challenged the Federal government to be equally generous. Continue reading “Ontario Government Announces More Money for Municipalities”
It’s a well-known secret that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing all kinds of complications on the bottom line of businesses and individuals, but it’s also causing streams of red ink for Canada’s cities too. The mayor’s of Ontario’s 29 biggest cities, the Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO), are raising the alarm after a meeting today that they need higher levels of government to give them extra help to manage the fiscal blow from coronavirus. Continue reading “LUMCO Looks for Help to Cover COVID-19 Costs”
A meeting of the Large Urban Mayor’s Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO) with Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark today in Guelph seems to have lead to nowhere in term of answering LUMCO’s concerns about funding cuts. At least that’s the impression from a LUMCO statement signed by its chair, Guelph Mayor, Cam Guthrie. Continue reading “LUMCO Still Mad After Meeting with Minister Clark”
In what’s being perceived as a win for environmentalists, and those concerned about government power overriding public input, the Ontario government has announced that they’ve pulled the most controversial aspect of the Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, or Bill 66. Continue reading “Ontario Gov Pulls Controversial Bylaw Proposal from Bill 66”
Even as the provincial government tries to scramble to reform their own fundraising activities, they will be considering changes to how municipal elections will be run in 2018. Queen’s Park has announced today proposed changes to the Municipal Elections Act (MEA), that will, if passed, “modernize municipal elections and provide the option of using ranked ballots in future municipal elections.” Continue reading “Ontario Gov Looking at Changes to Municipal Elections”
Guelph Politico 