The Last Newsletter... Before Summer Vacation!

Psych! And now the news...

Welcome to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, a thrice-a-week newsletter meant to “tip” you off about some of the important stuff going on in the Royal City. It arrives directly in your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

One good appointment deserves another. The Upper Grand District School Board will hold an open nomination process to fill the vacancy left by Katherine Hauser who filled the vacancy on Guelph City Council left by Dominique O’Rourke…

Because the meeting started an hour before the stated time on the City of Guelph’s website, last week’s decision to approve a new housing project on Waterloo Avenue needs to be re-approved at a future meeting.

Remember when Conestoga College announced that they’re moving into the old Co-operators building downtown this fall? Well, now that’s been postponed. This might have something to do 62 per cent drop in international student enrollment.

A 43-year-old Guelph man is facing theft charges after an act of porch piracy involved a child’s heart monitor.

Hopewell Support Services says that they did not receive the money raised for them in 2023 at a charity golf tournament hosted by Reid’s Heritage Properties.

A historic plaque commemorating the Queen’s Bush Settlement, and the Black pioneers who settled there in the 1800s, is presently missing from Glen Allan Park in Mapleton.

There are now two legal challenges to Niagara Falls City Council for banning people from taking part in a meeting about, of all things, the municipal code of conduct and having police remove them from the chambers.

It looks like the Township of Fauquier-Strickland is getting a bailout, but only if they don’t cut services.

An Ontario court has said that it’s unconstitutional for the Ontario government to yank out certain Toronto bike lanes. Naturally, they’re appealing.

The Politico Tip Sheet is open for anyone to subscribe, so if you know a friend or associate that might like to receive this newsletter, send it to them, and get them to click on the button below:

A 51-year-old from Guelph was charged with careless driving while passing through Guelph/Eramosa Township. He hit a tree because he was distracted… reaching across the passenger seat for a banana.

A 70-year-old Puslinch resident has been charged after attempting to birdnap a beloved community raven.

Eastern equine encephalitis virus. There’s a horse in Wellington County who’s got it, and while it is rare, it can be very, very bad for horses and people.

More drama in Centre Wellington involving Kat Florence after they tried to hook with Sensational Elora to turn their Monster Month promotion into a business and marketing opportunity complete with invited influencers.

A power outage affected 560 people in Salem and Elora on Thursday.

A University of Waterloo study suggests that female pilots are better under pressure than their male counterparts.

No motorized watercraft like jet skis are allowed anymore at select Toronto beaches due to some people behaving badly.

Remember when the Ontario government signed a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink and then cancelled the deal? Well, we had to pay a cancellation fee for that but the government isn’t saying how much (though we know it’s probably $100 million).

Committee of the Whole Meeting – Wednesday September 3, 2025 at 2 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 21.

Planning Meeting of City Council – Tuesday September 9, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 28.

Special Meeting of City Council – Wednesday September 10, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 28.

Regular Meeting of City Council – Tuesday September 16, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday September 4.

For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.

Here are the August long weekend hours for the City of Guelph, the University of Guelph, the Guelph Public Library, and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.

The University of Guelph is now accepting community input on how best to memorialize the conservatory they demolished.

HOPE House is still collecting donations for the Community Backpack Project!

The third annual Women in Music showcase to support Guelph-Wellington Women In Crisis is being held on Saturday from 1 to 4 pm at Red Brick Café.

The GAC Historical Walking Tours will continue through August and September with Tour #1, Where Guelph Began, taking place this Sunday.

Big Brothers and Big Sisters Guelph is holding their Big Community Bottle Drive on Saturday August 23 at their Woolwich Street office.

Art for the Planet, a hands-on climate action workshop for youth, will take place on Tuesday August 26 at 10C Shared Space.

The dates have been set for this year’s Drug Poisoning Awareness Day: August 21 in Mount Forest, and August 28 in Guelph.

The acclaimed Canadian film Peace by Chocolate will be screened at the Wellington County Museum and Archives on Thursday August 28 at 7 pm.

The fall session of the Guelph Police Service’s Citizens’ Police Academy is now full.

Current “Have Your Say” opportunities: Drew Park Revitalization, Guelph’s Bicentennial, Moving You Forward, Official Plan Update: Phase 1, Solid Waste User Fee Study, and York Road Reconstruction Phase 4.

Transit Detours/Notices:

REMINDER #1: Routes #1 Edinburgh College, #2 College Edinburgh and #15 College will be detoured from June 23 to December 19 due to construction on College Avenue.

REMINDER #2: The #4 York will be diverted around the Watson Parkway South intersection next week due to construction.

Upcoming Construction:

There will be surface adjustments on York Road between Stevenson Street and Victoria Street for a month starting on Tuesday August 5.

Victoria Road North will be closed between Delmar Boulevard to Grange Street from Monday August 11 will August 29 for the installation of new water and sanitation services.

In case you missed the none-too-subtle hints, The Tip Sheet will be taking its usual summer break this year from Monday August 4 till Friday August 15. New editions will return on Monday August 18. Have a nice first two weeks of August!

Finally, feel free to reach out to me by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!

G-Rated Grand Theft Auto

Plus bridge news and hot goss!

Welcome to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, a thrice-a-week newsletter meant to “tip” you off about some of the important stuff going on in the Royal City. It arrives directly in your inbox on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Publisher’s Note: The Tip Sheet will be taking its usual summer break this year from Monday August 4 till Friday August 15. New editions will return on Monday August 18.

REMINDER: There will be no recap this week because there’s no city council meeting.

Committee of the Whole Meeting – Wednesday September 3, 2025 at 2 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 21.

Planning Meeting of City Council – Tuesday September 9, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 28.

Special Meeting of City Council – Wednesday September 10, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 28.

Regular Meeting of City Council – Tuesday September 16, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday September 4.

For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.

They finally did. The old wood trestle bridge on the OR Lands is now more.

Just Call Lynda, a transportation service for seniors, will be off the road for good at the end of August.

Wilmot council has elected to proceed with the Prime Ministers Path after several years of mulling it over.

Remember last week when Doug Ford said he’d hand out his own work visas to asylum seekers? Never mind.

“Manufacturing disruptions” are the cause of a temporary shortage in certain prescription painkillers according to Health Canada.

Mission: accomplished, I guess. There are over 200 candidates running in Battle River-Crowfoot’s by-election, like Longest Ballot Committee wanted. The size is forcing Elections Canada to move to a write-in ballot.

A University of Guelph study says honey bees are still dying even with tighter restrictions on antibiotics used in beekeeping.

The Politico Tip Sheet is open for anyone to subscribe, so if you know a friend or associate that might like to receive this newsletter, send it to them, and get them to click on the button below:

Police are asking for help finding a blue sedan involved in a hit and run downtown on Monday evening.

A Rockwood resident lost $24,500 in an old-fashioned (relatively) computer repair scam. Meanwhile in Guelph, police here say they’re seeing more reports of scammers posing as bank fraud departments after three people in their 90s were targeted.

Elora hosted the “Longest Barbecue” in celebration of Food Day Canada.

Baseball’s been cancelled temporarily at a Cambridge ball diamond to protect some nesting snapping turtles.

Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles brought her summer tour to Waterloo Monday where the topic was post-secondary education.

An 11-year-old boy was arrested by Hamilton Police after a brief car chase Friday afternoon. Both the van, and another car involved, were stolen. Somehow, this is the second time an 11-year-old has been tied to a stolen vehicle investigation since the end of May.

The CNE this year received a record 54,000 job applications. Why? High youth unemployment.

Another 11 Beer Store locations have been earmarked for closure by the end of September.

Unsurprisingly, Ontario Science Centre School was cancelled for the second straight year. (Probably because there’s no where to hold it.)

Some students at the Miami Ad School in Toronto said that they were ripped off after the school closed suddenly in March without fulfilling any of the big promises that were made.

Hot Goss! TMZ reports that former PM Justin Trudeau has having a nice dinner with future divorcée and pop star Katy Perry at a posh Montreal restaurant.

This week on Open Sources Guelph, Scotty Hertz and I will be talking about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the growing pressure on Israel to finally end the war and allow aid to enter the region, plus we will talk about the potential problems in education created by Ontario’s Bill 33. For the interview this week, we’re talking to Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife about her private member’s bill to keep seniors together in care, and Marit Stiles’ summer tour stop in the region.

Tune in to Open Sources Guelph later today at 5 pm on CFRU 93.3 fm!

Listen to Open Sources Guelph, as well as the Guelph Politicast and End Credits, any time by subscribing to the Guelph Politicast channel on your favourite podcast app at Apple and Spotify.

Guelph Royals (IBL): Don’t call it a comeback… Yet. Although Saturday’s game against Hamilton was called on account of rain, it’s been non-stop winning for the Royals with some pretty uneven scoring at that. Last Tuesday, they brutalized the Baycats 14-1 and took a more reasonable mop to the Maple Leafs 11-9 before punting the Panthers on Sunday 19-7. After four wins in a row, the Royals are now ahead of Toronto in sixth place, which puts them right in the strike zone for the next playoff spot, assuming that they can hold the fifth place Cardinals in back-to-back games this weekend. Perhaps anticipating that playoff run, the Royals have signed pitcher Antonio Frias, as well as catcher Keinner Pina and second basemen Franklin Torres.

Guelph Silvercreeks (OBA): Despite going all the way last year, the Silvercreeks season came to an unceremonious end last Tuesday at Jack Couch Park in Kitchener. The high scoring affair saw the ‘Creeks up by five runs midway through the fifth, but then the Panthers started making a comeback and by the end of the eighth it was the Panthers on top. In the ninth, the Silvercreeks added three and the Panthers added two meaning the game would go to a tenth inning where the Panthers managed one run to take the game.

Finally, feel free to reach out to me by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!

High Risk, No Reward

He came, he saw, he broke probation.

Welcome to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, a thrice-a-week newsletter meant to “tip” you off about some of the important stuff going on in the Royal City. It arrives directly in your inbox now on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Publisher’s Note: The Tip Sheet will be taking its usual summer break this year from Monday August 4 till Friday August 15. New editions will return on Monday August 18.

In case you haven’t noticed, a heat warning is in effect again till Wednesday.

In what has to be a new record, a high-risk offender released for the third time was taken back into custody with 24 hours of being released.

The Upper Grand District School Board will be meeting this week to talk about how to fill the vacancy left behind by Katherine Hauer, who just filled the vacancy on Guelph city council.

An investigation is underway after a train derailment outside Paris on Friday, which ended up disrupting passenger rail around the region.

University of Waterloo researchers have developed a program that can remove watermarks from A.I. generated content, which proves that watermarks may not bee the cure-all some developers want it to be.

Legal experts have concerns that the Ontario government’s move to restrict attendance at court proceedings to stop disruptions, is also going to disrupt openness and transparency in the court system.

The WDG Public Health COVID-19 dashboard is on hiatus until this fall.

OUTBREAKS: With all other outbreaks cleared, Rhinovirus only remains now in four units at the Dufferin Oaks long-term care home in Shelburne, which has been a long-standing outbreak at the facility that began on June 29.

MEASLES: There have been no new additions to list of measles exposure sites since mid-June.

The Politico Tip Sheet is open for anyone to subscribe, so if you know a friend or associate that might like to receive this newsletter, send it to them, and get them to click on the button below:

Here’s last week’s Police Notes entry.

Two new physicians have set up at Dawson Road Family Medical Clinic and are accepting new patients.

A Cambridge man is kind of alarmed that the house he just bought is being used in a rental property scam on social media.

Eight decades ago, a boy and his father found an 18th century ammunition holder in the walls of their house, and now it’s going to a new home in the Stratford Perth Museum.

The federal government is questioning Premier Doug Ford’s claim that asylum seekers are waiting two years for work permits; the feds say it’s more like 45 days.

Some Liberal MPs want the Government of Canada to join France in recognizing Palestine as its own country.

The federal NDP have laid out the rules for their coming leadership race, including a requirement for prospective candidates to have at least 10 per cent of signatures come from party members aged 25 years or under.

Six more old Hudson’s Bay stores may be getting new leases.

Economists are anticipating that there may be issues and complications with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-hosted World Cup next year thanks to political tension caused by the Trump administration.

Coming up this week on the Guelph Politicast, we will talk to Andy Veilleux, the new-ish president and CEO of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce. There are a lot of business challenges in Guelph from the high cost of housing to the impact of U.S. tariffs on our local industry, and into these times has walked a new head of Guelph main business advocacy group who’s an outsider. How is Veilleux managing to protect the old while trying to inject something new?

Get the latest edition of the Guelph Politicast on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, tune in to CFRU at 3 pm for another episode of End Credits. This week, Tim Phillips joins us to talk about the new Man of Steel who arrives in a crowded field of comic book films with the simply titled Superman, which is now in theatres everywhere. It may be one of the biggest movies of the year, but it is one of the best? We will talk about some of the other movies that might qualify from the first seven months of this year!

Listen to all these shows any time by subscribing to the Guelph Politicast channel on your favourite podcast app at Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Check out Art in the Arb, taking inspiration from the Arboretum’s vast preserved plant collections, on Thursday July 31 at 5 pm.

Hot Summer Nights is returning to parks around the city every week and on Thursday July 31 at 6:30 pm it will be in Orin Reid Park.

Tea ‘n’ Tales will be offered again on Friday August 1 starting at 10 am at the Guelph Enabling Garden in Riverside Park.

The Guelph Fringe Festival will take place from Thursday August 7 to Sunday August 10 at various times and locations around Guelph.

You can check out the Guelph Public Library’s own Comic Con at the main library on Saturday August 9 at 10 am.

The next Guelph.Beer Bus departs on Saturday August 9.

Check out the Gwelf Early Days Walking Tour on Saturday August 9 at 8 pm.

Check out Fighting Back, a documentary about the 1981 Ontario Hospital Strike, on Monday August 11 at 6 pm at 10C Shared Space.

Committee of Adjustment will meet again online and in the council chambers on Thursday August 14 at 4 pm. (The agenda will be posted soon on the City’s website.)

Finally, feel free to reach out to me by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!

Thank God It's Friday's Newsletter!

Sorry about all the police stuff.

Welcome to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, a thrice-a-week newsletter meant to “tip” you off about some of the important stuff going on in the Royal City. It arrives directly in your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

One year after the second penalty hearing for Corey McArthur began, all parties are still waiting for the next hearing date.

Guelph Police are telling the public to be on the look out for a high risk offender who was just released for the third time.

Guelph Police say that they have received over 800 calls concerning intimate partner violence so far this year, and that they’ve made at least 25 arrests on those charges.

An investigation by The Trillium has tagged the Ontario PCs’ biggest fundraiser with the allegation that he’s also making money as a consultant with some of the province’s big developers.

Premier Doug Ford says that there’s a way for Ontario to give work permits to asylum seekers despite the fact that immigration is supposed to be a federal jurisdiction.

The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the BBC have released a joint statement saying that their journalists working in Gaza are among the thousands of people there facing starvation.

The Politico Tip Sheet is open for anyone to subscribe, so if you know a friend or associate that might like to receive this newsletter, send it to them, and get them to click on the button below:

Construction has begun on a new medical centre at Conestoga’s Speedvale campus, which is a new initiative with Guelph General Hospital.

The firm redeveloping the former W.C. Wood plant property unveiled the latest version of their plans to interested community members Wednesday night.

A plan to speed up development of a new Danby HQ has hit another wall at Puslinch council.

Attendance was high but controversy was minimal as Elora’s Business Improvement Area chose a new board just weeks after the old one was dissolved.

There’s a study underway of insects that live along the bottom of the Grand River as a way of gaging the present health of the river for other animals like fish.

As the University of Waterloo looks at an $80 million shortfall for the coming school year, Conestoga College mysteriously parted ways with several high-ranking administrators.

There’s now an investigation underway to find out why the cameras meant to live-stream games at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex were turned on during a summer camp.

The OPP are troubled by the number of drowning deaths in eastern Ontario this summer; there have been 10 so far, which is twice the number of incidents recorded by this time in 2024.

After five former World Junior were found not guilty in a highly publicized sex assault trial, the Ontario NDP accidentally issued a release saying that they had been found guilty. Marit Stiles blamed staff error.

A Quebec man says his boat was capsized and that he was personally manhandled by the U.S. Coast Guard when they falsely accused him of fishing in American waters.

Committee of the Whole Meeting – Wednesday September 3, 2025 at 2 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 21.

Planning Meeting of City Council – Tuesday September 9, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 28.

Special Meeting of City Council – Wednesday September 10, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 28.

Regular Meeting of City Council – Tuesday September 16, 2025 at 6 pm.

The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday September 4.

For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.

Artists-in-Residence Kween and Rachele Lovell will welcome participants in the Walk to Freedom for what’s being called a day of rest, reflection and collective activation today at the Royal City Park gazebo.

Automated speed enforcement are on the move to new locations around the city starting on August 1.

The United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin has released their annual community impact report.

The Riverside Park floral clock has been dressed up for its 125th birthday by the Guelph Horticultural Society.

There’s still a few days left in PetSmart Charities of Canada’s National Adoption Week. The Guelph Humane Society is looking to find homes for more than 20 kittens and cats during the event.

10C Shared Space will be celebrating Food Day Canada on Saturday August 2 from 8 am to 1 pm at the Guelph Farmers’ Market.

Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis and 10C Shared Space are collaborating on a series of free workshops designed to support women and gender-diverse people to build financial confidence and economic security through August.

The Guelph Public Library has announced the line-up of vendors and special guests for the Library Comic Con on Saturday August 9 from 10 am to 2 pm.

The line-up of visiting authors for this year’s Eden Mills Writers’ Festival has been released.

HOPE House is looking for volunteers to join their front desk team.

The Rotary Ribfest is also looking for volunteers for their event next month.

The Friends of the Guelph Public Library is now recruiting volunteers to work at the Big Book Sale in September.

The 10th annual Westmount Tradition Charity Tennis Tournament raised $144,000 in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington’s Eating Disorders Program.

Blue-green algae was observed near the west side of Shand Dam at Belwood Lake reservoir. The Grand River Conservation Authority has a page for the Status of Conservation Areas and Activities.

Bookmark for later: Here are the hours for the City of Guelph and the Guelph Public Library for the August long weekend.

Current “Have Your Say” opportunities: Community Planning Permit System, Drew Park Revitalization, Guelph’s Bicentennial, Moving You Forward, Official Plan Update: Phase 1, and York Road Reconstruction Phase 4.

Transit Detours/Notices:

REMINDER: Routes #1 Edinburgh College, #2 College Edinburgh and #15 College will be detoured from June 23 to December 19 due to construction on College Avenue.

The #4 York will be diverted around the Watson Road South intersection next week, and the Watson Parkway South intersection the week after due to construction (see below).

Upcoming Construction:

There’s a fenced-off construction zone next to the soccer fields in Eastview Park as crews put the finishing touches for the Eastview Bike Park pump track.

Annual paving will be taking place on Sydenham Street (Clinton Street to Edinburgh Road North), Southampton Street (Paisley Street to Sydenham Street), and Harrison Avenue (Paisley Street to Robinson Avenue) for the next six-to-eight weeks.

Playground replacement is now underway at Colonial Drive Park. Construction will continue until October.

Playground replacement is now underway at Holland Crescent Park. Construction will continue until October.

Watson Road South will be closed at York Road for one week starting on Monday July 28 to replace a watermain.

Watson Parkway South will be closed at York Road for one week starting on Tuesday August 5 to replace a watermain.

Playground replacement will begin at Highview Park starting on Wednesday August 6. Construction will continue until October.

Finally, feel free to reach out to me by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!

Council Recap: The Hauser Always Wins

We have new city councillor in the epic midseason finale of the council year!

In this Thursday edition of the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, we go in-depth with the debates and decisions about this week’s city council meeting or meetings. Your regularly scheduled Tip Sheet will be in your inbox first thing Friday morning!

Regular Meeting of Council – July 22, 2025

It was a packed night for the regular business of council with many items on the table for consideration, starting with the approval of five additional members to the Accessibility Advisory Committee.

After that business, council got down to a planning matter. Despite the fact that there was a planning meeting just last week, this item ended up on the council agenda via Strong Mayor Powers, and Mayor Cam Guthrie wanting to use those powers to accelerate the timetable and rezone a property for new housing.

In this case, council was looking at a commercial building on Waterloo Avenue destroyed last year by arson. The owners now want to rezone the property to allow for nine new residential units in three storeys atop the rebuilt office space. Between the additional housing, which includes two affordable units, an environmentally sustainable build and the replacement of lost business space, Guthrie said the community benefits were apparent, but he wanted the whole of council to support this and not use his mayoral authority to approve it with just one-third.

The property owners, Morgan and Martha Adams, led council through their plan, which includes an attempt to secure funding through the Apartment Loan Program at the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which is why they’re looking to get this done in a rush; CMHC needs to know the zoning is secure before proceeding with the application. Guthrie also noted that the project application still has to be completed to the satisfaction of the City’s planning department, which was enshrined in one of the recommendations.

Council had concerns about the lack of parking for the residential portion, but the main point of concern seemed to be the process. Councillor Phil Allt pointed out that planning staff were not on hand for this meeting, and Deputy CAO Jayne Holmes explained that there were still some reports outstanding and staff didn’t want to offer advise unless all their ducks were in a row. Holmes also added that this doesn’t shave too much time off the process, but Guthrie was firm that without the pace this project might not happen. Despite any concerns about the process, Allt was the only one to stand on that principle and vote against the project. The rest of his colleagues voted in favour.

After approving the consent agenda, council also swiftly approved a report from the Integrity Commissioner. A complaint was made over a social media post by Councillor Erin Caton, and while the commissioner said that Caton did not violate the Code of Conduct, he did urge all councillors to exercise caution when making social media posts that reference individual members of the community, no matter how subtlety. Council felt no compulsion to talk about it further and received the report.

Next, Matt Newby, Vice President of Business Operations for the Guelph Storm, talked to council about their bid to secure the Memorial Cup in 2027. He said that this may be the last chance for Guelph to host the Cup with newer and bigger arenas coming online around the league, so the time is right to take this shot. He also said that Guelph is a model CHL town with a productive relationship between the team and the City and there are plans for a whole community effort to activate the area around the Sleeman Centre for an event of national importance.

When asked about the impact of construction downtown during the Cup, Newby said that it would be tough to hide it because the head of the CHL lives in Guelph, but he figures it’s not a deal breaker. Also, he believes that the team will figure out how they’ll be able to navigate construction when it begins in 2026 while Sleeman is hosting regular season games, which normally pack the arena.

Among council there was still some skepticism. There was concern about putting all the chips from the Municipal Accommodation Tax on this one event, and there was concern about delaying wayfinding projects that will promote travel and accessibility around the city. But despite any concerns, only two councillors voted against endorsing the bid.

Next, council looked at some motions passed at Committee of the Whole about a program to bring Temporary Accessible Ramps around Guelph. The initiative was brought by Councillor Carly Klassen, who wasn’t at committee, but since that meeting she further refined her motions to endorse a community-led approach that might include the non-profit StopGap, and to encourage the Downtown Guelph Business Association and the Chamber of Commerce to raise awareness about grant opportunities.

James Nowak, who delegated at committee, told council again that he believed landlords should be the ones responsible for making buildings accessible, and showed council a picture of a 10-year-old StopGap ramp from the previous pilot project where you need another ramp to even access it. Cyndy McLean, who led that original pilot project, noted that those old ramps have been “floating around” downtown and have ended up in places for which they were not originally intended. She also said that the temporary ramps were meant to be a first step, but COVID and her own personal health issues made it hard to keep any continuity with the project. She also said that accessibility improvements needed to be a whole of community initiative, but with City support for that continuity.

Council did eventually approve Klassen’s new motions, but there was a concerning lack of commitment. Guthrie said this was not the end of the conversation, but the only change came from Councillor Caton who added the words, “and permanent solutions” to the recommendation about endorsing a community initiative.

Then, council added more caveats to the lengthy list of recommendations approved at committee about phase one of the Wyndham Street North and St. George’s Square construction project. First, council flipped the wording back to “direct” from “encourage”, and then Councillor Cathy Downer tabled a slate of recommendations including a reduction of the size of an interactive structure (instead of explicitly calling it a “playground”), the inclusion of more lighting to enhance programming and placemaking, a smaller family fountain that will fit the overall look of the other fixtures in the Square and a direction to bring the final design back to council by the end of the year.

Although that last bit seemed impossible at committee, at least so far as meeting staff timelines for getting the project out to tender in October, staff are now saying that so long as the main work needed for the project is lined up for October, they can refine the details before actual construction begins. Still, many on council had doubts about the plans for St. George’s Square and were still hoping there’s time to find the ever nebulous “wow factor” that has somehow remained elusive. Recommendation #3 was approved 7-5 while the rest of the slate was approved unanimously.

Finally, there was the swift passage of a recommendation from Councillor Leanne Caron to suspend the Eligibility and Qualifications Section of the Public Appointment Policy until staff can sort out a firmer and clearer definition of what it means to be a “resident” of Guelph.

Click here to see the complete recap of the meeting.

Special Meeting of Council – July 23, 2025

Perhaps fittingly, the last meeting of council before the start of summer vacation was to finally fill the vacancy in the Ward 6 seat left by Dominique O’Rourke when she was elected as Guelph’s MP in April.

There were 26 declared candidates, 25 of them took their five minutes to explain to council why they would make a good fit for the role, and in some cases answer follow-up questions from their potential electors, the members of city council. (If you’re interested, you can click on the link to the full recap to see capsule reviews of each candidate’s pitch and what council asked them, but we won’t get into that here.)

After about three hours of presentations, the time came for council to vote. Each of the 26 names were read in alphabetical order, and council voted with a show of hands. After the first round, Upper Grand District School Board trustee Katherine Hauser secured five votes, businesswoman Rebecca Adam got four, and writer/editor Jessica Ferlaino received three. All the other candidates received no votes, so per the procedure they were excluded from the next round, and so was Ferlaino who received the least number of votes.

That left a two-woman race for the final vote, and ultimately both Hauser and Adam received six votes each. As council watchers know, a tie vote is a failed vote, so what did council do? They got out, The Box. Essentially, it came down to a draw. Hauser and Adam’s names were written on two pieces of paper that were the same size and type, and they were placed in a bright orange box. With Mayor Cam Guthrie holding the box, O’Brien drew the name and the winner was… Katherine Hauser!

The now-Councillor Hauser was then swiftly sworn into office, and she took her seat among her new council colleagues and passed a motion to adjourn. Members of council and the candidates then retired to the Marg Mackinnon Room to enjoy some refreshments. So what happens now? Summer vacation!

Click here to see the complete recap of the meeting.

The next meeting of city council will be the Committee of the Whole meeting on Wednesday September 3 at 2 pm. The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday August 21.

For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.

Finally, feel free to reach out to me by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!