About the Blog:

Guelph Politico is locally sourced and dedicated to covering the political and cultural scene in the City of Guelph. Est. 2008.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Passing of King Ralph

Anyway you dice it, the legacy of Ralph Klein will be in essence divisive, but on the surface one can't help but admire the man who sadly passed away yesterday at the age 70. He helped usher in a new era of western Canadian leadership and was one of Alberta's strongest and most steadfast spokespeople. That, naturally, sometimes got him into trouble in the short term, but Klein's impact as Calgary mayor, Alberta premier and leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives will be long felt.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Easter Hours for the City of Guelph

Enjoy the long weekend. But if you absolutely, positively have to use city services sometime over the weekend, let the below information from the City of Guelph be your guide. 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

City Wants Feedback on Denver Rd Closure

It's a pretty unusual thing to close off a whole section of a road, which is why the City of Guelph is having a public meeting about it. 

Press Release - GAC to Teach Art of Crowd-Sourcing

Crowd source funding has been in the news lately thanks to the success of the Kickstarter campaign for a movie based on the cult classic TV show Veronica Mars. But what is "crowd sourcing," and how is it done? How can you do it? Answers to these and other questions are in the offing at the Guelph Cultural Connections Conference on Saturday April 6th.

The Guelph Arts Council is presenting the event and has sent around the below press release.

Cracks in the Caucus?

One of the incredible successes of the Conservative government is its whip, it's ability to get the members of it's caucus to tow the party line and present a united front from the Prime Minister's Office on down. For seven years, the governments of Stephen Harper have presented a united front, one message under the PMO, with liberty and speaking rights to all who get clearance from a Harper underling before hand. But what happens when the someone says no more?

Monday, March 25, 2013

Panda-er No More

Today, the whole country was in a tizzy because two panda bears arrived at Pearson Airport. The two bears, a male and female whose names I couldn't be bothered to look up, will be spending the next five years at the Toronto Zoo before spending the five years after that in Calgary. It's a big deal because a) pandas are awesome and b) it was a deal negotiated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself on a trip to China last year.
Now, I have nothing against pandas, they're endangered creatures worth saving, and I'm sure the millions of people who will visit the animals in both zoos will get something valuable out of it. What Harper got yesterday at Pearson was a great photo op, but meanwhile in Ottawa, right outside the PM's office building no less, his presence as envoy might have been slightly more appreciated to people desperately in need of political appreciation.
A group of Aboriginal youth called collectively the Nishiyuu Walkers arrived in Ottawa yesterday. Initiated by an 18-year-old named David Kawapit Jr.,who lives in an isolated community called Whapmagoostui in northern Quebec, the Nishiyuu Walkers, inspired by the Idle No More movement, embarked on a 1,600 kilometre trek from their home on the coast of Hudson Bay to Victoria Island in the Ottawa River and on to Parliament Hill. The walk by Kawapit and about half dozen others became a greater inspiration, and by the time the group arrived in Ottawa yesterday they were 270 strong, according to organizers. In a day and age when the apparent laziness of youth is remarked upon and lamented, nearly 300 people made a 1,000 mile journey on nothing but their own two feet, with the supplies on their back, in the middle of a harsh, northern Canadian winter.
Perhaps they should have done it wearing panda suits.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Highlights from 2013 Federal Budget

Everybody was expecting the worst. This was going to be an austerity budget: no handouts, no tax breaks and no sugar coating. But instead it seems that there was room for some sugar, or at least the government had the ability to make the budget a little sweet for some.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Information on Public Funeral for Constable Kovach


From City Hall yesterday evening, the latest update on the public funeral for the late Constable Jennifer Kovach.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Press Releases - City Likes the Environment

A very busy press day coming out of City Hall. Here are two more press releases for upcoming environment-related events in the City of Guelph: a call for volunteers for the tenth annual Clean & Green Community Clean Up on April 20th, and an announcement about how the Royal City is going to mark Canada Water Week 2013.

Press Release - City Wants Tourism Input

Last year's decision by city council to essentially privatize tourism services was bold, yet not necessarily well thought out in terms of the implications. Well, I guess it's time to get down to the implications. 

St Patrick's Day Police Results


For some reason I was amused by this, although I probably shouldn't be. Today's press release from the Guelph Police Service included the numbers from their St Patrick's Day patrols, which suggest an overall quiet St Patty's Day, and a significantly less active "holiday" as opposed to last year. 
Of course, last year the festivities fell on Saturday, which helped increase the general revelry. I haven't heard what happened yesterday in London, ON, but given what happened last year, just about anything was bound to be an improvement. 

Friday, March 15, 2013

More Condolences for Constable Kovach

As many in Guelph try to cope with the sudden and tragic loss of Police Constable Jennifer Kovach early Thursday morning, official statements of sympathy and condolences keep coming in.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Mayor Releases Statement About Fallen Police Officer

Sad news from the Guelph Police Service this morning about the passing of one of their own.Constable Jennifer Kovach. According to a Guelph Mercury article, Kovach, 26, was travelling north on Imperial Road South just north of the West End Community Centre at 12:30 this morning when her police car crossed into oncoming traffic and was hit by southbound Guelph Transit bus.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Garneau Quits, Says Trudeau Inevitable

A bit of a shocker today coming from the race for Liberal leadership with the withdrawal of Marc Garneau, former astronaut, MP for Westmount-Ville-Mari, and Justin Trudeau's nearest competition in the race.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Taking the Long Way Home

It's a pretty big week for anniversaries. Today was the second anniversary of the huge Japanese earthquake, one of the largest every recorded, but 10 years ago yesterday the Earth moved in a different, very specific, way.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Valeriote Calls PBO Politics on Harper

There's been discussion in the news recently about the Harper government's stifling of environmental scientists, forcing them to handle all their press communications through the Office of the Privy Council, but obviously, if you know anything about the way Prime Minister Stephen Harper handles his business, that's not the only section of government affairs that needs the proverbial royal seal of approval.
In a press release set out yesterday, Guelph MP Frank Valeriote addressed the matter of the next Parliamentary Budget Officer, quoting his recent comments in the House of Commons. It's the kind of thing that seems like inside baseball, matters of procedure that only matter much to parliamentarians and politicos, but as the saying goes, the devil's in the details.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

He's Actually Doing It!


As of right this minute, right now, Rand Paul is standing up in the well of the Senate House in Washington D.C. actually filibustering. To those of you who are maybe not that political, this doesn't sound like a big deal, but the filibuster, in the full Mr Smith Goes to Washington understanding of it, is as rare as bipartisan support these days. Granted, Paul is basically doing it to be a dick.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Still a B(r)adshaw Idea

The terrifying ghost of Terry Bradshaw is once again terrorizing Guelph. Not that the ex-NFL player and current NFL-commentator died or anything, his spectre joining Al Capone's girlfriend in the rafters of the Albion, this ghost is more of the tax payer money and infomercial variety.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Downtown Workshop Wants Public Input

The below is a city press release set out the other day. I posted it here and now if for no other reason because it was posted on the Guelph Mercury's 59 Carden St. blog where it got a, shall we say, visceral response. Overall it's a collection of the usual rabble, the ones who think consultation is a waste of time and/or the city wants public input, but will swiftly ignore it. There is also the usual collection of broad generalizations about our downtown: drugs, panhandlers, over-flowing bars.