Breakin' 2: Electric Bus-aloo!
It's been a busy couple of days for teachers, police, and transit.
Welcome to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, a twice-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 Tuesdays and Fridays.
A 63-year-old security guard was assaulted at Guelph Central Station on Wednesday night before 9 pm, according to Guelph Police Service. The guard was taken to the hospital with life threatening injuries, which he later succumbed to at Guelph General Hospital, and a 21-year-old male later identified as Jordan Langelier, was taken into custody. He was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder on Thursday, and a bail hearing was scheduled for January 21 so Langelier could secure legal aid.
New Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Catherine McKenna made a stop at the Guelph Transit bus garage on Thursday to tell the City of Guelph that they'll need to make room for a bigger fleet. McKenna, joined by representatives from the Province and the City, announced a combined $177 million investment in transit infrastructure including new electric buses and a new facility to store them in thanks to a successful Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) application. You can watch the full announcement below.
Local members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) took to the picket lines again on Wednesday with the same message that they’re fighting for small class sizes and learning from teachers and not heartless online courses. Premier Doug Ford tried to argue the opposite on Thursday as he announced new scholarships in honour of the 57 victims of the downing of Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752.
Also in the News…
A pedestrian was killed in a traffic collision in front of the Evergreen Seniors Centre Tuesday and Woolwich Street was shut down for hours as the police investigated. The 79-year-old Guelph man succumbed to his injuries after being taken to the hospital, and an 85-year-old man from Elora was charged with Careless Driving Causing Death contrary to the Highway Traffic Act and will appear in court in April.
Human remains found in Joshua Tree National Park in California have been confirmed as those belonging to Paul Miller, a Guelph man who went missing in the park in July 2018. The coroner got in touch with Miller’s family on Tuesday to give them the news, and though the family’s thankful for everyone’s best wishes, they are asking for privacy as this difficult time.
Kasper Transportation, which was one of two new services offering bus rides between Owen Sound and Guelph, is already claiming success after its first day of service. An article in the Owen Sound Sun Timessays that the 12-seater bus was full by the time in got to Guelph on its inaugural run on Wednesday.
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The latest Mangez! column is now available for your dining and dancing pleasure.
The Grand River Conservation Authority finally called off the flood watch on Wednesday, though a watershed conditions statement of water safety remains in effect for the rest of the week because of “higher than normal river flows.”
Metrolinx’s floating of the idea to expand paid parking at their terminal lots got so many people excited that they had to issue a statement on social media to say it was only idea, and nothing was written in stone. Metrolinx says that they need to find solutions to their parking dilemma as they’re running out of spots at some stations and they have no room to expand. They also think that utilizing more paid parking might keep transit costs down.
The Waterloo Region District School Board is looking at creating policy to block campaigning politicians at all levels of government from using schools in their board as a stage for political events, according to CBC. This follows a campaign stop made Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a Waterloo school in September. The Waterloo Catholic, the Wellington Catholic District, and Upper Grand District School Boards all already have similar policies in place.
Regular Council Meeting – January 27, 5:30 pm.
It will be back to back meetings a week from Monday starting with a brief version of the regular council meeting, which will included a closed meeting item involving a litigation update, the consent items from the Committee of the Whole, and a motion from Councillor Leanne Piper to support six B.C. municipalities acting as intervenors in the appeal of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (aka: the Carbon Tax) at the Supreme Court.
If you want to delegate on any of the items being discussed at this meeting, you can get in touch with the Clerks office by 10 am on January 21.
Planning Meeting of Council – January 27, 6:30 pm.
If the regular meeting is a brief affair, then the first planning meeting of the year will adequately compensate. There will be two statutory public meetings, one for a four-storey apartment building on Wyndham Street South, and the other for a pair of apartment towers with first floor commercial space that could replace the plaza at the corner of Willow and Dawson. Consent items on the agenda include two requests for sign bylaw variances, and approval to demolish a dwelling at 17 Mary Street to be replaced with a new building.
If you want to delegate on any of the items being discussed at this meeting, you can get in touch with the Clerks office by 10 am on January 21.
Committee of the Whole – February 3, 2 pm.
***The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on January 20.
Planning Meeting of Council – February 10, 6:30 pm.
For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.
The annual Guelph Lecture on Being takes place at the River Run Centre on Friday January 24 at 7 pm with author Taqralik Partridge.
Movies and Hip Hop? You can get both at Silence on January 24 at 9 pm with a screening of the short documentary Trouble: Prelude to a Disaster, and a performance by Lee Reed, “Canadian hip hop’s oldest and grumpiest radical left loudmouth.” This is a prelude to OPIRG Guelph's annual Rebel Knowledge Symposium.
Goodworking is back for its 16th round on Tuesday January 28 at Baker Street Station. Buy your tickets now here.
Mayor Cam Guthrie’s annual State of the City address will be heard by members of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce at 7 am on Friday February 7 at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre.
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What direction will the teachers’ unions take now that they’re united in defiance of the Provincial government, and how many school boards will OSSTF take to the picket lines this coming Wednesday? Remember too that the Catholic English teachers will be holding a one-day strike next Thursday.
Speaking of the immediate future, what’s going to happen next on Carden Street now that someone’s been killed at Guelph Central Station? Will people be calling for more police action downtown, and what will happen to the City’s plan for understanding and compassion?
After the recent discussion of extra funds needed to complete the project, you might be wondering when the City of Guelph might be installing new LED lights in your neck of town. Well, you can consult this map! Fun fact: the project is 22.5 per cent complete!
And finally, feel free to reach out to be by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!