Cruelty for the Win
Doug finally strikes on the last day of the year at the Legislature.
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.
It was a busy Thursday at Queen’s Park as Premier Doug Ford announced legislation to provide sweeping new powers for municipalities to dismantle encampments and lock up people with substance addictions, and yes, that was Mayor Cam Guthrie standing behind him at the announcement.
Meanwhile, Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Calandra introduced new rules for Municipal Codes of Conduct.
Guelph Police added $250,000 to next year’s budget to hire staff to attack issues of human trafficking and intimate partner violence.
To cut costs, Conestoga College is offering 160 employees early retirement packages.
Wellington OPP have laid 17 impaired driving charges so far in this year’s Festive RIDE program.
Spectrum, a Waterloo community group dedicated to supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ people, was the victim of a cyber scam.
Cycle Toronto is launching a Charter challenge to the Ontario government’s new law to remove and regulate bike lanes.
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The Co-operators has announced that they will be matching donations to The Grove Youth Wellness Hubs this holiday season. Kirtida Kitchen is also getting on the holiday spirit with 12 Days of Giving starting today!
The 1st annual Novemburger campaign raised over $20,000 for the United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin.
A winning $40 million Lotto Max ticket was sold in Wellington County.
Centre Wellington is once again Canada’s most generous city.
Municipal offices in Wellington North, Minto, Mapleton were all closed Thursday due to bad weather.
The 2025 budget meeting at Region of Waterloo council continues today after already banking 15 hours on Wednesday.
Frustrated commuters in Toronto have many questions after signal issues shut down subways for the third time this month.
Hamilton Police say that they found man-made tunnels under an encampment in Gage Park that allowed people to run electricity to all the tents from a light pole.
OPSEU is warning that the new year is going to come with new labour disruptions at Ontario’s colleges.
Keving O’Leary, aka: Mr. Wonderful, is proposing a massive AI data centre for Grande Prairie. Hopefully some Googles “SoftKey Software” before any deal is signed.
The Canada Post strike rolls on into week four, but at least a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board about layoffs has been settled.
Health Canada issued a recall for four types of Maison Lavande scented candles due to “abnormally high” flames.
Committee of the Whole Meeting – Tuesday January 14, 2025 at 2 pm.
The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday January 2.
Planning Meeting of City Council – Tuesday January 21, 2024 at 6 pm.
The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday January 9.
Regular Meeting of City Council – Tuesday January 28, 2024 at 6 pm.
The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday January 16.
For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.
There’s free two-hour parking downtown in the West, East, and Market Parkades and Macdonell, Fountain, and East Surface lots until January 4.
ICYMI: Guelph/Eramosa Mayor Chris White is the new Warden of Wellington County, but there have also been some changes to the make up of committees, including Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance.
The United Way has put out an urgent call to address a funding shortfall. The YMCA of Three Rivers is also looking for some holiday help through donations.
The Guelph Community Foundation has announced they’ve given a total of $110,094 in funding to 24 local charities.
The City of Guelph is now accepting applications for the Community Grant Allocation Working Group. The deadline is Monday December 20 at 4:30 pm.
Registration is now open for the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser on February 22.
The University of Guelph and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health have renewed their agreement for wastewater monitoring of COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory illnesses in Guelph.
Alectra Utilities is joining other hydro distributors in Ontario to tell you to be alert about potential scams this holiday season.
College Heights Secondary School has revealed some of the educational changes they’re making to school programs starting in the 2025-26 school year.
The University of Guelph has introduced a Masters Program to combine Cybersecurity and Business Leadership into one degree.
There have been schedule changes for January’s Economic Development and Administration meeting and the Finance and Human Resources Committee meeting at Wellington County.
Bookmark for later: Christmas holiday week hours for the City of Guelph, Guelph Transit, the University of Guelph, WDG Public Health, and the Guelph Public Library.
The 8th annual Chanukah celebration in Market Square will take place on Thursday December 26 at 4:30 pm. Yes, meaning Boxing Day.
REMINDER #1: Sparkles in the Park will run this year at Riverside Park from tomorrow to December 31.
REMINDER #2: Sign up now for Trees for Tots and donate your Christmas tree to a good cause after the holidays.
Current “Have Your Say” opportunities: Downtown Infrastructure Renewal, Downtown Height Study, Guelph’s Bicentennial, Housing Accelerator Funding, Housing Affordability Strategy, and Waste Reduction Strategies.
Transit Detours/Notices:
Reminder #1: The detours along the #4 York have changed and will remain in effect till December 20.
Reminder #2: Routes #1 Edinburgh College, #2 College Edinburgh, #8 Janefield and #50U Stone will all be detoured until December 20 for construction on Janefield Avenue.
The late night bus service will make its last run for the year on Saturday night. The service will be back on January 5.
See the full list of stops affected by detours here.
Upcoming Construction:
Alectra Utilities pole line reconstruction began Monday on Yorkshire Street North, Northumberland Street, and Glasgow Street North. Work is ongoing for the next one or two weeks.
Sections of Lowes Road will be closed between Gordon Street to Dawn Avenue for five weeks starting on Wednesday January 8 to install new storm sewer lines to mitigate flooding.
#ThatsNotGood
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!