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.
Since the last newsletter, they finished counting all the votes in Ontario. Mike Schreiner still won Guelph and the Progressive Conservatives still won Ontario, but we now know that only 43 per cent of Ontarians voted at all.
A U of G political science professor went on the record to say that low voter turnout was “really quite shameful,” and that probably doesn’t speak well of us if voting is still a “basic and fundamental indicator of the vitality of your democracy.”
Councillor James Gordon announced that he’s giving up politics to dedicate more time to music. He will join Bob Bell and Mike Salisbury in retirement this November.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led the grieving at a London event commemorating one-year since the hate-motivated death of the Afzal family.
Meanwhile, a man drove his truck into a small crowd in Vancouver marching to honour the victims of the St. Mary's Indian Residential School. No deaths, only injuries.
Wellington, Dufferin, and Guelph Public Health is now updating local COVID-19 case numbers on a weekly basis. You can get the latest statistics in Friday’s newsletter. You can also check the Public Health site for the latest vaccination rates.
In terms of the provincial picture, there were 901 new cases on Saturday, and there were 710 new cases on Sunday, plus 13 new COVID fatalities over the weekend. As usual, the full picture about hospitalizations in Ontario was not available on a Sunday, but there were just 111 COVID cases in ICUs around the province. At the same time, Ontario is at its lowest test positivity level in three months.
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Here’s last week’s Police Notes entry.
Because of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities meeting, the Committee of the Whole meeting is scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) instead. You can see the Politico preview here.
What’s Doug Ford going to do next? People have ideas.
Just in time for the next sudden increase in gas prices, the people came out in downtown Guelph for take a look at EVs in an eMERGE event.
Spongy moths had a pandemic of their own last year, which means you might not be seeing as many of them around Guelph in the months to come.
After a COVID-forced break, the Guelph Beer Bus is back in business!
Guelph’s smallest bar, Standing Room Only, is coming to the Ward (14 customers only)!
A boat belonging to a Mississauga man and his daughter capsized in Rockwood Conservation Area on Saturday. The girl survived, but the father was pronounced dead at the hospital.
With the deadline to sign up for membership at midnight on Friday, over 600,000 members of the Conservative Party have signed up to vote in this fall’s leadership contest.
Former Hedley singer Jacob Hoggard was found guilt of sex assault, but acquitted on two other charges after his high-profile Toronto trial.
The world’s eyes are back on Ukraine after Russia launched air strikes on Kyiv, while Vladimir Putin threatened the west if long-range missiles delivered to Ukrainian armed forces strike Russian targets.
Coming up this week on the Guelph Politicast, we’re talking to Ryk Brown, the minister of St. James United Church in Waterdown, a self-styled Progressive Christian Pastor and “Rainbow Papa-Bear.” As we begin Pride Month festivities here in Guelph, Reverend Ryk will join us to talk about the intersection of faith and LGBT+ outreach, how do you put faith in God as a Christian when much of the congregation is hostile to queer parishioners?
Get the latest edition of the Guelph Politicast on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, tune in to CFRU at 3 pm for another episode of End Credits. This week, Candice Lepage co-hosts as we start the fire with the latest version of the Stephen King classic Firestarter. And since one good (?) King story deserves another, we will spend the first part of the show talking about our favourite movies based on the works of the G.O.A.T. horror author.
Listen to all these shows any time by subscribing to the Guelph Politicast channel on your favourite podcast app at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.
The Bookshelf Cinema will be playing the Nicolas Cage tribute act The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and later in the week it’s the documentary, Into the Weeds.
The Committee of Management for the Elliott will meet in-person in the council chambers on Tuesday June 7 at 1:30 pm.
The virtual open house for the heritage district proposal for the Ontario Reformatory lands will take place on Wednesday June 8 at 6:30 pm.
The Committee of Adjustment will meet in-person at the council chambers on Thursday June 9 at 4 pm.
The next edition of the Ward Night Market is at Laza Food & Beverages on Thursday June 9 at 6 pm.
Now open four days a week, the Mustang Drive-In will have the double bill of Jurassic World: Dominion and Firestarter (that again).
The Guelph Wellington Seniors Association is hosting an open house at the Evergreen Seniors Community Centre on Friday June 10 at 9 am.
The 36th annual edition of the Guelph & District Multicultural Festival is from Friday June 10 to Sunday June 12 in Riverside Park.
Pride in the Park is this Saturday, June 11, at 10 am in Exhibition Park.
The Yorklands Green Hub is hosting weekly walks through the Reformatory lands every Saturday at 9 am until June 25.
The Guelph Exotic Car Show returns on Sunday June 12 from 12-4 pm in front of Guelph City Hall.
Heritage Guelph will meet virtually on Monday June 13 at 12 pm.
“Unreconciled: Jesse Wente in Conversation with Indigenous educator/activist Colinda Clyne!” is the Bookshelf’s first in-person event in the Cinema since 2019, and it’s on Tuesday June 14 at 7 pm. Tickets are $10.
National Celebration of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples is in-person, in Riverside Park, at 5:30 pm on Tuesday June 21.
#Jubilee
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!