25 Per Cent Over
25 Per Cent Over
Congratulations, you made it 1/4 of the way through 2022.
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 Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings.
Regular Meeting of City Council – March 28
A special Wednesday meeting brought a special topic of debate, the statutory planning meeting for Official Plan Amendment #80, the latest update to Guelph’s Official Plan.
After laying out all the changes, council heard from eight delegates on the matter, and there was some widespread concern about environmental protections, opens spaces, park development, and safeguarding natural heritage systems. A couple of delegates from the Rolling Hills area also expressed concerns about that area’s redevelopment while other delegates wanted some assurance that the real cost of growth was accurately reflected in the amendment.
Questions from council dealt with many of those same points of conversation. There was some anxiety about heritage properties and making sure that there’s protection for buildings on the Couling list until staff are finished their review. Many councillors looked at development issues in their area, like Councillor Dan Gibson’s double check about the allowance of residential in the mixed-use node at York and Victoria, or Councillor Dominique O’Rourke’s concern about increasing density along Gordon Street.
There were also some questions about protecting the wildlife corridor on Gordon near Arkell, the effects of the late breaking announcement of Bill 109 at Queen’s Park (see below), and whether there was wiggle room on height limits in some places if it means that buildings don’t have to go as high in other places.
The report was received unanimously, and now goes back to staff for further refinement before coming back to council for final passage this July. If you have any thoughts on the subject, you can share them on Have Your Say (haveyoursay.guelph.ca) anytime until April 20.
Click here to see the complete recap of the meeting.
The next meeting of city council is Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting. You can see the Politico preview here, and you have until this Friday morning at 10 am to register with the clerks office as a delegate or to send a correspondence.
For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.
While Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner is asking the provincial government to cut transit fares in half, the Transportation Minister announced that speed limits are permanently going up on select provincial highways.
The Ontario Government announced that they’re making Criminal Record Checks and Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Checks free for most people trying to volunteer in the province.
The Government of Ontario also announced their plans for protecting healthcare and supply chains from the next pandemic.
And finally, in what’s been a very busy couple of days for Queen’s Park, the government revealed another plan to fight the rising cost of homes in Ontario by creating more housing and faster.
The Government of Canada meanwhile laid out a $9.1 billion plan to meet its 2030 climate change targets, including a 42 per cent cut in emissions in the oil and gas sector.
Let’s preface these updates with a general word that the official numbers released do not represent the true number of COVID-19 cases, which are likely higher due to limited testing.
The new case count in our region on Wednesday was 74, which has pushed the total number of active cases even higher to 453. Also going up is the 7-day moving rate of confirmed cases, which is now 112.2 per 100,000 whole the test positivity rate is now back up to 20.8 per cent. The latest wastewater signals also show a slow and steady increase in the amount of COVID circling, but there are no new fatalities.
The current vaccination rates for eligible populations:
Region-wide: 90.3 per cent have one shot, 87.5 per cent have two shots, and 57.4 per cent have a booster.
Guelph: 92.6 per cent have one shot, 89.9 per cent have two shots, and 60.7 per cent have a booster.
Across Ontario on Wednesday there were 2,814 new cases of COVID-19, which a more than a thousand case jump from the new number on Tuesday when there were just 1,610 new cases. Hospitalizations are also up, there were 778 cases in Ontario’s hospitals on Wednesdays versus 661 this time last week. There have also been 71 COVID deaths reported in the last week, to bring the total up to 12,427 now.
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Mayor Cam Guthrie’s State of the City happened earlier this morning, so if you missed it, there’s a live Twitter thread waiting for you on Guelph Politico now.
The celebration of life for CFRU host Nicky Dread is tonight at the Arboretum Centre at the University of Guelph starting at 7 pm. If you’re going in-person, you will need to follow the U of G’s more advance COVID-19 protocols, but the event will also be broadcast live on CFRU 93.3 fm or cfru.ca!
There’s a new COVID-19 outbreak at the Oak Glen neighbourhood at Wellington Terrace Long Term Care Home. Four residents tested positive and are experiencing mild symptoms.
The Durham Regional Police officer that appeared in a video supporting the Freedom Convoy while in uniform is now facing two counts of discreditable conduct.
Federal Budget Day is April 7.
Dollarama is about to cross the “final frontier”: $5 items.
A U of G grad student needs your help studying #squirrellife.
This week on Open Sources Guelph, Scotty Hertz and I will talk about the latest news from Ukraine, and the still dubious possibility of peace, plus we will talk about the controversy around Jason Kenney and the UCP leadership review in Alberta. Closer to home, we will have an interview with Ward 5 City Councillor Leanne Caron, who will talk about updating the Official Plan and the future of Guelph parks.
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, Stitcher, Google, and Spotify.
REMINDER #1: You have until this Friday at 10 am to register with the clerks office as a delegate or to send a correspondence for Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, and you can see the Politico preview here.
REMINDER #2: The latest virtual open house about the City’s update to the Wastewater Treatment and Biosolids Management Master Plan is open now until the end of today.
REMINDER #3: The new three-tier affordable bus pass program launches on Friday, and you may need to get a new card if you’re eligible for a different rate.
REMINDER #4: The Guelph Public Library branch in the West End Community Centre is closed this week as HVAC work on the building continues.
REMINDER #5: Feedback for Guelph Transit’s fare review is ongoing until April 10.
The Upper Grand District School Board is looking to hire some new lunch supervisors.
Guelph’s latest Citizen Satisfaction Survey is being conducted now. The polling company Ipsos might give you a call between now and April 16, or, if you would rather, you can submit a survey on the Have Your Say page.
The County of Wellington has started a year-long public awareness campaign about housing issues in the region by collecting the stories of residents and businesses who are struggling with the finding housing that meets the needs for themselves and/or their employees.
#ThanksNoThanks.
And 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!