Guelph Politico: August 2018

Friday, August 31, 2018

The Politico Calendar for September 2018

Welcome to September. A new season, a new school year, and the unofficial kick-off to the Municipal Election, and so much more. Here's some political and cultural events to mark your calendar for in the next 30 days!

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for August 16-31, 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.

RECAP: Gibson Hosts Update on the Driveway Width Enforcement Concerns

Driveway width. It's been the political controversy of the year, and as council prepares to hear the matter of a suspension of certain provisions of bylaw enforcement, members of the Guelph community gathered this evening at the Victoria Road Recreation Centre to get an update. Ward 1 Councillor Dan Gibson hosted a town hall on the matter, and this is the recap.

If you know what sex education is going to look like when school starts on Tuesday, then you're either the education minister, or one of several teachers that's going to defy the provincial government and teach the 2015 health curriculum update anyway. Can anything good come from all this confusion?

CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE - Dan Gibson for Ward 1 Councillor

Dan Gibson has become a well-known and outspoken presence around the council chamber in his first term as city councillor. Can he convince Ward 1 voters to give an encore in October?

CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE - Marino Gazzola for Wellington Catholic District School Board Trustee

All members of the present Wellington Catholic District School Board are running for re-election this year, including the present Chair, Marino Gazzola. So what's his case for returning to the board?

Only Some Minor Changes Coming to Transit Next Month

With September coming, it's that incredible time of year when it seems like everything gets back to normal. "Normal" is relative in the case of Guelph Transit though, because September is usually the time for some schedule or route changes, and this September is no exception.

GUELPH POLITICAST #135 - On Development, Part I: "The Big Picture"

Is the rapid state of development making Guelph lose its character? This is a question more and more people have this election year as plans for bigger and bigger residential buildings keep coming to city council. Meanwhile, Clair-Maltby lies in wait in the south end for an official plan. So how do we know we're developing right?

Guthrie and Stewart Pleased With AMO Meetings

As the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference winds up for another year, delegates from most of Ontario's 444 municipalities are taking stock of their time with provincial government officials, and among them are members of the Guelph team. In the waning hours of this year's conference, Guelph Politico talked to Mayor Cam Guthrie and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Scott Stewart about what was accomplished, and what the first AMO with the Ford government was like.

Guelph is AA+ For Six Years Running (Financially Speaking)

In spite of all those public masturbators, Guelph continues to hold a very strong AA+ credit rating in the newest evaluation from Standard and Poors. In their humble estimation, Guelph looks very financially stable for the next few years, and, if we play our cards right, we might even get our credit status upgraded.

GUELPH POLITICAST #134 - Building the Cycling City

A few weeks ago, the new Ontario government cancelled $93 million of funding for something called the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling (OMCC) program. The money, which was raised from the cap and trade agreement, was for cycling infrastructure in towns and cities across the province, and the move is proof of just how hard it is to make cycling a priority for governments, but there is hope!

Council and Committee Meeting Dates Till 2019

We're in the dog days of August, a time when there's typically no city council meetings to occupy our political time. But this being an election year, the number of council and committee meetings this fall has been cut way back. Still, for those you making your fall schedules, here are the meetings coming up to make a note of.

A Note on Guelph Politico Candidate Questionairres for 2018

As you may have noticed, Guelph Politico has begun posting the Candidate Questionnaires for people running to be Guelph's mayor, its city councillors, or for trustee in one of its two English school boards. This would be the third time that Politico has run such questionnaires, but this time, they're really ambitious.

Phil Andrews once ran the Guelph Mercury, and now he wants to help run the Wellington Catholic District School Board. Andrews is one of six people looking to fill four spots, so does he make his case?

CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE - James Gordon for Ward 2 Councillor

With Andy Van Hellemond taking his leave of council, that leaves James Gordon as the one incumbent for Ward 2 to stand for re-election. Can he make the case for voters to give him a second term instead of starting over with a clean slate?

CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE: Phil Allt for Ward 3 Councillor

Phil Allt won first place in the 2014 Municipal Election among Ward 3 voters, and he aims to keep is seat in the next term of council. Here are his responses to the 2018 Guelph Politico Candidate Questionnaire.

Local Poverty Advocates Concerned About Ontario Gov's Move on Basic Income Pilot

Yesterday's announcement that the Progressive Conservative government was reforming social assistance, while ending the Basic Guaranteed Income pilot started by the previous government, caught those combating poverty by surprise. In a word, the Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination is "dismayed."

Schreiner's Surprised That Question Period's Not Better on the Inside

It seems that dreams don't come true in quite the way you think. After a rough month in the legislature where the new Ford government has cancelled cap and trade, ended green energy contracts, and generally thrown a monkey wrench into the best laid plans of Ontario's progressives, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner rose in the legislature yesterday to smack everyone down for their partisan tendencies.