The Hunt for Thread October
There's so much to talk about on this first day of the tenth month...
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.
Homecoming was celebrated on the weekend, and though there were no major emergency situations, there was still a lot for Guelph Police and other services to handle. In all, about 7,000 people were part of the festivities held on Chancellors Way, which ate up a big portion of police resources to manage, to say nothing of other areas. In terms of the numbers, GPS stopped 2,000 vehicles in roadside stops, tested 25 people, issued three 3-day suspensions, and arrested one person for “operating a conveyance over the legal limit.” The complete statistical picture is still being compiled, but let’s just say there was a lot of work for volunteers to do on Sunday morning. (See below.)
Speaking of developing crises, support staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees in Ontario public schools are now working to rule after talks with the Ontario government fell apart on the weekend. Minister of Education Stephen Lecce says that he’s disappointed with CUPE’s decision, but the move has seemed inevitable since the school year began. CUPE represents about 286 members in the Upper Grand District School Board, according to the Guelph Mercury Tribune,including 187 custodians, 46 maintenance employees and 53 ESL positions. In a statement, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner said, “I urge the Ford government to focus on improving education during negotiations instead of pinching pennies.” More to come…
The Federal Election is coming in 20 days, and this week, the campaign will be debate heavy. On Thursday, there will be the 100 Debates About the Environment debate at Centennial C.V.I., and on Friday, there will be the debate at the Village by the Arboretum (which is only open to residents in the village). There will also be a panel discussion with the Federal candidates in the University Centre Courtyard on Wednesday at 6:30 pm.
I highlight the UC one last because apparently there’s been some controversy about one of the debate’s potential participants. There seemed to be some debate on Facebook today about whether or not People’s Party candidate Mark Paralovos would be taking part, or whether he had been invited to attend at all. There were also allegations that the University administration was pressuring the Central Student Association, who’s co-sponsoring the debate with CUPE 1334, to invite Paralovos to take part in the debate. For his part, Paralovos said in a video on his YouTube channel today that he will be there, but as an invited participant, or as a gate crasher? I guess we’ll find out…
Elsewhere, NDP candidate Aisha Jahangir has announced that her campaign office will be closed on Fridays as an act of solidarity with those taking part in the “Fridays for Future” protests for climate action for the duration of the campaign. And speaking of Jahangir, you can check out her appearance last Thursday on Open Sources Guelph.
Remember, there’s an election coming. For all the latest coverage of the 2019 Federal Election from the Guelph angle, you can go directly to that Politico page by clicking here.
Also in the News…
Check out the touching, emotional and inspirational testimonials from Friday’s #StoptheStigma rally at City Hall.
Guelph’s own Beer Baron John Sleeman will kick off the countdown to the first annual Guelph Games Masters Multi-sport festival tonight at the Springmill Distillery at 43 Arthur St S at 5 pm. The festival will take place June 25-28 next year, and Sleeman is the brand ambassador.
The City of Guelph would also like your feedback on proposed regulations for smoking, and the consumption of alcohol, and yes, the smoking part includes cannabis and vaping. Take a few minutes to take the survey by clicking here.
Starting today, new films released in theatres will be using ratings issued by the British Columbia film classification board after the Ford government announced last week that they were dissolving the Ontario Film Authority as of October 1. Why? The OFA has been losing money as a result of fewer films being released, so more cost-effective options are being sought. In the meantime though, movies still need ratings! Read the CBC story here.
An Access to Information Request by the Canadian Press revealed that Canada Post has racked up $1 million in parking fines on an annual bases, and has paid out nearly $7.5 million in parking fines nationwide over the last decade. Canada Post blames the congestion in downtown cores, and the rising demand for parcel pick-ups and deliveries.
“Forever” was not long enough for Forever 21. All 44 Canadian locations, including the one at Stone Road Mall, will close forever later this year, according to the CBC.
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Construction alert! A portion of the Hanlon north of Speedvale will be closed off to traffic on the week of October 14 to upgrade four rail crossings. The work is expected to take a week.
City of Guelph crews are starting the replacement of conventional streetlights with brand new, energy efficient LED lights.
As of this writing, 183 people have signed a Change.org petition to push for Guelph Transit buses to start earlier on Sunday morning. Wanna sign? Click here.
The Politico Calendar for October is out now.
The latest edition Politico’s dine safe guide, Mangez!, is also out now.
Note: There was no council meeting last night as it was a rare fifth Monday of the month.
October 7 – Committee of the Whole. The Politico preview of the meeting is now posted, and it looks like this months meeting is meant for those who like it out in the weeds.
Along with sign bylaw variances, a couple of staff recognitions and a presentation from Innovation Guelph, Committee will also discuss the terms of reference for the new Natural Heritage Advisory Committee, which is replacing the Environmental Advisory Committee and the River Systems Advisory Committee, and new policy for servicing properties outside of Guelph’s municipal boundaries.
There will be two big topics of discussion though. The first will be the City’s response to the report A Place to Grow: The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which asks the City to review its policies and plans to meet the (slightly) increased Places to Grow targets. The second is a discussion paper on the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw review, which covers the public feedback so far, and what directions that creates for staff as they move forward with the rest of the review, which is still a couple of years away from completion.
If you want to delegate on any of the items, you have until 10 am on Friday October 4 to get in touch with the Clerk’s Office. Here’s how.
Also coming up at City Council:
October 16 – Planning Meeting. Special Wednesday meeting because of Thanksgiving. The agenda should still be released this Thursday.
October 23 – The first meeting for the 2020 Budget. Presentation and Public Delegations for the Capital Budget and Forecast.
October 28 – Regular Council Meeting.
Maude Barlow is in town tonight to support her book, Whose Water Is It, Anyway?: Taking Water Protection into Public Hands, and you can listen to her recent appearance on the Guelph Politicast here.
James Gordon is bringing his Emergency Climate Musical home to Guelph on October 18 at Royal City Church. Tickets are $25 and are available now at 10C and Eventbrite. The performance is in support of Wellington Water Watchers, which Gordon is a co-founder of.
The Holy Smokes Music Festival starts this Thursday! Schedule and tickets can be found here.
The CIBC Run for the Cure is this weekend, starting Sunday at 8 am, in St. George’s Square.
Coming up this week on the GuelphPoliticast, Scotty Hertz will be doing double duty as the we do some local punditry about how the election looks in the riding of Guelph, and who has the advantages and disadvantages coming out of the social justice debate last week.
Get the latest edition of the GuelphPoliticast on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, tune in to CFRU at 2 pm for another episode of End Credits. This week, Candice Lepage co-hosts as we’re reviewing the feature spin-off Between Two Ferns: The Movie. We’ll also talk about the controversy around Joker, 25 years of Friends, the head of Marvel making a Star Wars movie, and the return the original Jurassic Park stars in Jurassic World 3.
Then, Thursday at 5 pm on CFRU, it’s another all-new edition of Open Sources Guelph. Scotty Hertz and I will talk to Christian Heritage Party candidate Gordon Truscott and People’s Party candidate Mark Paralovos.
ICYMI, you can also download now the first edition of the Wellington-Halton Hills Politicast with Green Party candidate Ralph Martin.
Listen to all these shows any time by subscribing to the Guelph Politicast channel on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.
This morning (Tuesday), the City has gathered media to City Hall to give an update on the Dolime Quarry, the Mayor, City staff, staff from the Township of Guelph-Eramosa, and reps for River Valley Developments (who owns the quarry) will all be in attendance.
The cyber security piece is still coming.
On Friday, I did a car interview with former Liberal MPP and present Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Steven Del Duca. That will also be coming soon.
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!