Guelph Politico: June 2016

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Confusion Continues as Council Covers Misstep With Transit

The good news for transit users is that some relief will come next week with extra buses being added to routes that are routinely behind schedule. The bad news is consideration of the following question: Just what the heck has the City been doing so far as Transit's management, and why did it end up taking two whole months to fix the problem created when council voted to cut peak service for the summer last December?

We have officially entered the dog days of summer, but that doesn't mean we've run out of politics yet. Here's a round up of the political and cultural events coming up for the month of July.

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for June 16-30, 2016

Twice-monthly, 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.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for June 27, 2016

It's going to be a busy one at council tonight with transit issues, budget variances, and maybe a *whole* new way to conduct the business of council. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here to read Politico's preview of tonight's meeting. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

GUELPH POLITICAST #41 - Fair Vote Guelph on Electoral Reform

You might have heard a lot of discussion in the news about electoral reform, but what is it, what are we reforming, and what are we reforming it into? All good questions that also have the virtue of not being easy ones to answer as well. This is the podcast that, at least initially, aimed to answer those questions, but if you're not sure where to begin on electoral reform, then this is as good a place as any to start.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the June 27 Meeting?

The final city council meeting in June promises to be a very busy one, preoccupied with money matters, special presentations, and some very ambitious plans for Guelph Transit.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the June 20 Meeting?

A special council meeting will be held tonight. In fact, it's not really a council meeting, it's the shareholders' meeting for Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc., and it just so happens that city council and the GMHI shareholders have the same make-up. Much of the information to be presented tonight is already known, but still questions persist about the management of Guelph's big ticket assets.

GUELPH POLITICAST #40 - Paul Smith, Métis Writer and Activist

Tribal Vision, an Aboriginal Arts Education group for Ontario Schools Specializing in Native Dance, performing at the U of G in 2010

Tuesday marks National Aboriginal Day, and Guelph will mark the occasion with activities in Market Square that evening. Owing to the fact that this is a political podcast and website though, I thought it might behoove us talk about some of the issues surrounding Canada's First Nations people rather than just celebrate a community event held in the honour.

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for June 1-15, 2016

Deal Between Metrolinx and CN Paves Way for All-Day GO Train

The Province of Ontario has announced this morning that they've vaulted the biggest hurdle in getting all-day, two-way GO Train service going between Toronto and Kitchener. Metrolinx and CN Rail have reached an agreement, in principle, that will allow those green and white trains to start moving through the region on a more regular basis.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for June 13, 2016

City council gathers this evening for the monthly planning meeting. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here to read Politico's preview of tonight's meeting. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

Almost two years to the day of their surprise return to majority government status, the provincial Liberals, and Premier Kathleen Wynne, shuffled the cabinet this morning. Among the maneuvers, Guelph's own cabinet member, MPP Liz Sandals, will no longer be serving as Minister of Education, but don't call this a demotion. She's still a member of the now two-fifths female Ontario cabinet.

In response to the tragic events in Orlando, FL early Sunday morning, and the death of 49 people with another 53 injured after a gunman with ISIS sympathies opened fire at a queer nightclub, the City of Guelph has lowered its flag to half-mast and released an official statement.

Fair Vote to Put on an Alternative Voting Explainer

You may have noticed a lot of talk in the media about something called "electoral reform." That's sarcasm, of course, Guelph has been fired up about reform ever since some scalawag named after our local poutinerie made robocall a dirty word back in 2011. If the various systems being proposed to replace First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) have you scratching your head though there's good news! Fair Vote Guelph is holding an event at the end of the month that will hopefully make things clearer.

Ontario Court of Appeal Releases Sona Decision

Although, it was known last month that the appeal of the convention of Michael Sona was denied, the exact reasons for that decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal was not known... Until now. On Thursday, the court posted the rationale for their decision, and it seems that they're satisfied with the judgement of the trial judge and his reasons despite the objection of both Crown and defense.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the June 13 Meeting?

City council will gather again to discuss planning issues on Monday. The docket will include a new rezoning matter, the return of a couple of past proposals, the request for an environmental assessment and a new discussion about District Energy.

Guelph Politico is Looking for a Freelance Contributor

Part of crowd-funding for Guelph Politico and expanding its coverage was to also expand the voices that use it. This has had to happen a bit sooner than I expected, but it's happening now just the same. I'm looking for someone to help me out with Politico on a freelance basis. Details are below.

Derrick Thomson to Replace Ann Pappert as CAO

In a surprise move that was almost as surprising as the announcement that Ann Pappert would not be renewing her contract as Chief Administrative Officer in the first place, Derrick Thomson will not be moving to the Town of Caledon to become General Manager of Community Services. Instead, he will stay in Guelph as the new CAO.

City Hall is always being criticized for wasting money, but what if there was a big pile of money out there that the City was entitled to and they weren't chasing it down? As it turns out, the City has $14 million out there from uncollected fees and fines, and their stepping up their collection effort by bring in a third-party agency.

OPEN SOURCES GUELPH BEAT #4 - City Councillor Phil Allt (Ward 3)

Jan Hall calls him "The Philosopher," his former students call him "Mr. Allt," but the constituents of Ward 3 call him "Councillor." Or "Phil." Actually, they probably more likely call him "Phil." He's Phil Allt, City Councillor for Ward 3, and he recently appeared on Open Sources Guelph on CFRU as part of our sincere effort to welcome all members of city council into the studio for a friendly chat.

Transit's Long Stop. Why Does This Keep Happening?

For four times in four weeks, I've been on the #10 Imperial bus going downtown only to have the bus idle at the West End Rec Centre for apparently no reason. The most recent time happened Monday evening, where despite being two minutes late, the bus stood at the Rec Centre for three minutes, and not even in the place where the bus is supposed to stop. Why is this happening? Is it a silent protest? An admission of defeat? Why are the dedicated people that use Guelph Transit, and stand by it through all the short-sighted cuts and fare increases, have to constantly wonder if they'll make it to their destinations on time?