This Election's Had 48 Hours
Let's recap the first two days of #elxn43 so far and other stuff...
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.
So you may not have heard, but the Federal Election has started.
Guelph got in on the scandal early with “Signgate,” in which Green Party candidate Steve Dyck was accused of violating the Election Sign Bylaw by putting up his signs in public areas before 10 am when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went to Rideau Hall to dissolve Parliament. Alas, according to section 7.1 of the bylaw, “No person shall Place or permit to be Placed an Election Sign for a federal or provincial election or by-election earlier than the day the writ of election or by-election is issued,” so it says nothing about not putting up a sign before the writ is drawn up. You can recap the life and death of this controversy over at GuelphToday.com.
In the name of civility, the Canadian Federation of University Women launched the Federal Election version of the Better Ballot Campaign. The goal of the campaign is to promote a more civilized election discourse that focuses on the issues, and not on personal attacks, by asking both candidates and voters to take part. This year, 25 CFUW chapters are taking part across the country. See coverage and videos here.
The first Federal leader to visit Guelph in this campaign has been announced, and it’s the Communist Party’s Elizabeth Rowley. She’ll be stopping in Guelph next Friday, September 20, at 5:30 pm at 25 University Ave E at the outer edge of the U of G campus.
Thursday on Open Sources Guelph we announced the times and dates of the interviews for the Guelph election candidates we’ve booked so far, and they are as follows:
September 19 at 5 pm = Juanita Burnett (Communist Party)
September 26 at 5 pm = Aisha Jahangir (NDP)
October 3 at 5:30 pm = Mark Paralovos (People’s Party)
October 10 at 5 pm = Steve Dyck (Green Party)
October 10 at 5:30 pm = Paul Taylor (None of the Above)
October 17 at 5 pm = Lloyd Longfield (Liberal)
If you have a question for any of the candidates, or for every candidate, feel free to reach out and tell either myself or Scotty Hertz at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, and/or scottyhertz [at] bell [dot] net.
Also in the News…
What’s going on behind the scenes at the Bookshelf’s accessibility renovation? Check out this video:
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health has evaluated the Overdoes Prevention Site downtown, and if there’s one thing you need to know it’s that 45 overdose cases that could have ended in death without the OPS, didn’t. And while staff and clients both noted the welcoming and safe atmosphere, and the accessibility to harm reduction series as positives, there are still challenges including space concerns, wait times and limited staffing. You can read all the details here.
The United Way of Guelph Wellington offered an update on how the initiatives of Mayor Cam Guthrie’s Task Force on Homelessness and Community Safety have been enacted. You can watch the video below:
The City of Guelph is undertaking a protected bike lane pilot project on Woolwich Street for one week from September 13 to 20. It’s a test of Guelph’s “complete street” concept, which is part of the Transportation Master Plan, and it will involve replacing the parking lane on the south side of Woolwich Street, and adding bicycle crossrides that will be temporarily added to the intersections at Macdonell and Wyndham streets. The pilot will be officially opened today at 12 pm in front of the Sleeman Centre.
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Jason “Orbax” Thomas has successfully led the University of Guelph’s Physics and Astronomy Club to a Guinness World Record. The 21.04 cubic metre steaming pile of soapy foam that Orbax and company created on Johnston Green last May is biggest amount of “elephant toothpaste” every created. Watch the video of last spring’s science experiment here:
A new study from the University of Ottawa that surveyed more that 1,600 educators suggests that Ontario’s school teachers are facing a steep increase in violence. Researchers found that 72 per cent of participants reported verbal insults and obscene gestures, and 41 per cent say they had similar encounters with their students’ parents. In terms of physical violence, like punching, kicking or biting, the study said that over half of teachers are experiencing this in the classroom. You can read the full story at Global here.
September 16 – Special Council Meeting. The meeting will be called to order Monday at 6 pm, and you will be able to follow along on Twitter at adamadonaldson, or on the live-blog page on Guelph Politico, which will be posted on Monday.
For the full breakdown of the agenda for the planning meeting from the Guelph Politico preview here. The clerk’s office will release the consolidated agenda for the meeting later this afternoon. You can find it here.
September 23 – Regular Council Meeting.
The final meeting of the month will be relatively straightforward with the passage of the agenda from the Committee of the Whole. Staff have also brought forward new memos that address council concerns with the Strategic Plan and the changes to the Procedural Bylaw, which you can read all about in the Politico preview of the meeting here.
If you want to register as a delegate for any of these items on the Council agenda, then you have to get in touch with the City Clerk’s office by 10 am on Friday September 20.
Also coming up at City Council:
October 7 – Committee of the Whole. Items from the Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise agenda will be discussed.
October 16 – Planning Meeting. Special Wednesday meeting because of Thanksgiving.
October 23 – The first meeting for the 2020 Budget. Presentation and Public Delegations for the Capital Budget and Forecast.
ICYMI: This Saturday, Ward Councillors James Gordon and Rodrigo Goller will be holding a town hall at the Brant Ave Public School at 64 Brant Ave from 1 to 3 pm.
City Hall will be raising the flag for Big Brothers and Big Sisters on Wednesday September 18 at 11 am.
There will be a Clair-Maltby workshop on September 25 at the Harcourt United Church at 87 Dean Ave. The goal of the workshop is to hear feedback on how to select the site of the community park, and the locations for the moraine ribbon. Want to take part? There are two times, from 1:30 to 4 pm and from 6:30 to 9 pm. Learn more here.
If you missed any of this weeks shows, you can listen to them all, right now or any time, by subscribing to the Guelph Politicast channel on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.
The latest edition of Plastic Free News is posted on Guelph Politico today.
The latest edition of the Politico dine safe guide will be out on the weekend.
Can you think of a better way to spend a Friday the 13th?
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!