Guelph Politico: June 2018

Saturday, June 30, 2018

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for June 16-30, 2018

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.

It's the summertime, and the weather is hot, which maybe why things are slowing down in the Guelph this month, but there's still a lot of stuff to do. Why don't you check out a few below?

Meet Your New Ontario Cabinet and Parliamentary Assistants

The new Premier of Ontario was sworn in under the unrelenting summer sun today outside Queen's Park. We've known for weeks that Doug Ford would be the new head of the province, but what abour your favourite ministries: Health! Infrastructure! Attorney General! Education! Well wonder no more! Below is the complete list of cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries in alphabetical order.

GUELPH POLITICAST #131 - Back With the Back-Grounder

News is the art of delivering the day's information in an organized and coherent way, but stories don't just happen with a beginning, middle and end all in one day. Some of the biggest stories, including the most important stories, trace their roots back many years. In the news, there's an important function to not just understand the day's events, but the events that led to the day's events.

RECAP: Small But Inquisitve Group Grills Councillors at Ward 6 Town Hall

It's sometimes hard to get people to think about municipal politics on a warm summer night, let alone come out for a town hall, but a small group of Ward 6 constituents came out to the Clair Road Emergency Services Centre to hear from Councillors Mark MacKinnon and Karl Wettstein on a myriad of topics. Here's what we all talked about.

Committee of the Whole Preview - What's on the Agenda for the July 3 Meeting?

In what will be last Committee of the Whole meeting before the election, city council will be going over the future. Future schedules, future heritage plans, future community centres, and sign bylaw variances will all be up for discussion.

GUELPH POLITICAST #130 - Reviewing the Service Review

Is our waste collection and processing the best it can possibly be? That was the simple question at the heart of the Service Review of the City of Guelph's Solid Waste Department. Solid Waste was the first of three pilot Service Review projects approved by city council, an immense months long project that yielded 11 recommendations.This is the rest of the story.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for June 14, 2018

The annual general meetings for Guelph Junction Railway and Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. takes place tonight. You can click here and here for the agendas from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow the tweets below.

Friends of the GPL Desperate for Space for Book Sale.

Unless they have some very good luck very soon, there may be no 12th annual Friends of the Guelph Public Library used book sale. A lack of a space big enough to organize and hold the sale may scuttle the annual event unless an appropriate venue can be found in the very, very near future.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the June 25 Meeting?

For the regular city council meeting this month, we've got the next council's paycheques, board appointments, a notice of motion, and the last kick of the can for the second phase of Clair-Maltby on the agenda.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for June 14, 2018

This special meeting of city council is all about the Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow the tweets below.

If it's June, it's time for Guelph City Council to act as shareholder of both Guelph Junction Railway, and Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. The audits and general reports for both organizations will be discussed in two back-to-back meetings on Monday.

GUELPH POLITICAST #129 - Xicotencatl Lopez

In as much as the murders of Colten Bushie and Tina Fontaine were shocking, it was somehow even more shocking when those murders went unavenged as both perpetrators were found not-guilty of second degree murder. It's enough to make you wonder why more Indigenous youth aren't angrier and more active. Well, this is a podcast about one who is.

Proposed South End Rec Centre Needs 150 Square Feet and $59 Million

Progress on the South End Rec Centre looks surprisingly speedy as city council was given an information report last Friday detailing the broad strokes, and some initial designs, for the City of Guelph's next great recreational and community meeting place. It's going to have a footprint of 150,000 square feet, and it will cost $59,130,204, but there's still a lot of work to do before shovels are put in the ground.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for June 11, 2018

This month's planning meeting of City Council features some demolitions, a proposed Official Plan amendment, and a revised plan for a very big south end development. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow the tweets below.

Schreiner Makes History in Competitive Guelph Race

Guelph made Ontario political history last night by electing the province's first Green Party Member of Provincial Parliament. Mike Schreiner's victory came after what looked like a very tight race in the riding, but in the end, Schreiner won his seat in what can only be described as a "blow out" result for the Green Party of Ontario leader.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the June 14 Meeting?

If you're one of the people that was upset with what the City of Guelph was cooking for the Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan, then you may like what they're cooking now. As we close Phase 2, it seems that public criticism has been taken in stride as we get ready to move to Phase 3.

As Ontarians across the province race to the cast their ballots, some of the candidates running in the riding of Guelph have offered some final thoughts/last pitches before the votes are counted.

Who would have guessed that the most contentious issue of this municipal election year might be the width of driveways in certain neighbourhoods? This topic gathered people from across the east end of the city, and from other parts of the Guelph to attend a town hall hosted by the mayor and the Ward 1 councillors.

GUELPH POLITICAST #128 - Guelph Wellington Oral Health Action Committee

The saying goes, "let a smile be your umbrella," but there are a whole lot of people out there for whom their smile is a source of grief, and not a source of relief. Before we go into Election Day, let's hear from some people talking about one of the election issues that has not gotten a lot of press, but is nonetheless factored into every major party platform in someway: dental care.

Horwath Hopes Hattrick Does the Trick in Guelph

Making her third stop in Guelph in six weeks, NDP leader Andrea Horwath seems to banking a lot of faith in Guelph turning out orange on Election Day. With 48 hours to go, Horwath rallied more than 75 people behind the Boathouse on Gordon Street to make every moment count to make Aggie Mlynarz the MPP for the Royal City.

A man claiming to be a journalist injected himself into the Andrea Horwath campaign event today at the Boathouse on Gordon Street. After heckling Horwath during her prepared comments, the man said he was a reporter for "online" and asked the NDP leader about her party's stand on Ontario becoming a sanctuary province.

This month's Committee of the Whole meeting will try and not break any kinds of records for length. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today's committee meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow the tweets below.

Cram Session: Watch the Debates and Listen to the Q&As for #ONelxn

Now some of you have voted already, but if the polls are correct, then there's still a whole lot of you out there who are not sure, or may be interested in voting for someone else. If you need some help making that bog decision, Guelph Politico has gathered video, audio, and articles that tell you the thoughts of all the candidates on a host of issues.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the June 11 Meeting?

It will be a busy planning meeting this month with deadlines due for some developments, a new Official Plan amendment, and the return of a monster development in the south end.

Wynne Admits She Won't Be Premier After Thursday

In a surprising moment, in an election filled with surprising moments, the current Premier of the Province of Ontario confessed that her days in the office are numbered, and that she's unlikely to emerge the victor of Thursday's vote. Instead, Kathleen Wynne wants you to send a minority message to the New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives.

VIDEO: Schreiner Promises a Guaranteed Basic Income for Ontario

Mike Schreiner said that it was clear from Wednesday's all candidates meeting at HOPE House that not enough is being done to support people that live in poverty. So on Thursday afternoon, Schreiner played his campaign card to do more be promising to increase social assistance with a guaranteed basic income.

In April, the City of Guelph and Wellington County revealed their submission for the Federal Government's Smart City Challenge: the creation of the Canada's first circular food economy. As luck would have it, the selection committee liked what Guelph and Wellington are offering, and now we're off to round two.