So There’ll Be a $3.6 Million Deficit for 2020, But We’re Covered

At Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, members of city council will get their first holistic update about the City of Guelph’s corporate response to the pandemic since the last special meeting on the subject in August. Special attention will be paid to the financial bottom line, and there will indeed be a negative budget variance for the City by the end of fiscal 2020, but the good news is that it will be covered by the Safe Restart funding from upper levels of government. Continue reading “So There’ll Be a $3.6 Million Deficit for 2020, But We’re Covered”

Mercer Tells Board of Health We’re Likely to Remain Orange

The increasing number of cases of COVID-19 all over the place has people on edge, including the people that sit on the local Board of Health. On Wednesday, in their final meeting of the year, the Board heard from Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer who said that the dangers are real, but for those concerned about another lockdown, it’s her learned opinion that this region will stay orange. For now. Continue reading “Mercer Tells Board of Health We’re Likely to Remain Orange”

The City of Guelph is Preparing to Enter Red Level

On Friday, Guelph and its public health affiliated neighbours managed to avoid going into level Red-Control, the final condition before being forced to return to lockdown. But the numbers are not in our favour, and the City of Guelph announced Monday that they do not intend to be caught off-guard if its announced that we’re being moved into red. In other words, enjoy some indoor recreation and fitness facilities while you can. Continue reading “The City of Guelph is Preparing to Enter Red Level”

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for November 1-30, 2020

Every month, Guelph Politico posts the latest inspection results from the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Unit inspection of local restaurants, hotels, cafes, grocery stores and other businesses that handle food. We call it “Mangez!”, and this column highlights the latest inspections done by WDGPH, and the results they’ve posted. Continue reading “MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for November 1-30, 2020”

City and Province Release Advice for COVID Christmas Celebrations and Shopping

The Christmas season is approaching, but given current events people are going to have to concede that they won’t be able to celebrate the season in a way that’s normal or traditional. On Wednesday, the Government of Ontario outlined its best advice for how people should spend the holidays, while the City of Guelph also announced some measures on how they will work locally to make sure everyone has a safe and COVID-free holiday. Continue reading “City and Province Release Advice for COVID Christmas Celebrations and Shopping”

Dr. Mercer Says Stop COVID By Watching What Your’re Doing at Home

Did you know that we’re in a second wave of COVID-19? The numbers from across Ontario certainly show we are, and, as predicted, it seems like this second wave is worse than the first. With the numbers quickly adding up in our area, and the fact that we were moved into level orange on Monday with much of the rest of the GTHA, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer is asking all residents to step up to get that curve re-flattened. Continue reading “Dr. Mercer Says Stop COVID By Watching What Your’re Doing at Home”

Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Moves Up the Ladder to Orange

The Government of Ontario’s been the subject of a number of criticism lately for their Keeping Ontario Safe and Open framework, but the problems with that policy are being compounded by the problem of increasing COVID-19 cases. On Friday, the Premier and his cabinet tried to address some of those issues, and also announced some changes to the colour conditions in a number of areas, including our own. Continue reading “Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Moves Up the Ladder to Orange”

It Turns on Saturday, Guelph and Area Will Be Yellow, Not Green

Earlier this week, the Government of Ontario announced their new colour-coded system for the province’s 34 health units to determine what level of COVID-19 restrictions are needed. The government said that there were going to release the starting point for all public health areas on Friday, and they did just that earlier this afternoon, but where is our own region, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph? We’re mellow yellow. Continue reading “It Turns on Saturday, Guelph and Area Will Be Yellow, Not Green”

GUELPH POLITICAST #245 – Still COVID [Fall Edition] with Dr. Mercer

The last time that Dr. Nicola Mercer appeared on this podcast it was July, and things seemed to be going pretty good. Much of the province had been under a Stage 2 re-opening for weeks, and we were on the cusp of Stage 3. The virus wasn’t gone, but the number of new and active cases was on the right trajectory, but there were at the time rumblings about what would happen in the fall. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #245 – Still COVID [Fall Edition] with Dr. Mercer”

Ontario Government Unveils New Colour-Coded Re-Opening Framework

The fact that COVID-19 cases are increasing again is forcing the Government of Ontario to come up with a new and easy way of making sure Ontarians know where the danger lies, and the answer seems to be colour. On Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford and select members of his cabinet introduced the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework, which will colour grade all 34 of the province’s health units from green to grey. Continue reading “Ontario Government Unveils New Colour-Coded Re-Opening Framework”