Posted by Phil Andrews I'm interested in what the reaction will be to Owen Roberts next Urban Cowboy column. Roberts comes very close to suggesting that Ontario should reinstate the spring bear hunt -- in light of the headache such bruins cause farmers and since black bears have been in the news over the shooting of such an animal in Burlington this week. There is a good public policy discussion to be had about whether to reinstate this hunt. But I can's see the pro-hunt side getting much support in Guelph.Unfortunately, discussion on this point is very polarized and quite split along rural-urban lines.
Posted by Phil Andrews Reader reaction online and off-line has differed greatly regarding our story about the recent local proliferation of marijuana-smoking accessory stores. Online, there is no commentary ripping the Mercury for paying attention to this subject. The comments relate to the issues raised in the story and this retailing issue generally. Off-line, I'm fielding calls and the promise of letters to the editor from readers greatly troubled that the Mercury has given this subject coverage and prominent coverage at that. A similar divide was experienced a few years back when we explored a boom in the number of local tattoo shops. We were doing market research with focus groups when that was published and hard-copy readers in that process were greatly displeased we had tackled...
This truly is a GEM of the day to set you off on...
Plenty of time for recovery, a tactical retreat- followed by more nuanced and diplomatic language- but make no mistake Mulcair is BLOWING it on the "dutch disease" file. My friend BCL delivers the latest poll , which shows the NDP riding high, eclipsing the Conservatives, even leading amongst the key 60 plus demographic, impressive stuff. However, I take the longer view on this current debate, within that an opinion that this issue is quickly morphing into questions of confederation and national unity, both pure political death in the final analysis.
The NDP are handling this issue badly, as some have said, instead of clarifying, Mulcair is "doubling down", his rhetoric simply betrays any sense o...
The heat of summer is upon us and we are feeling one unfortunate effect of the changes to our waste disposal system. As I walk my dog around the neighbourhood, I get to see how carefully owners follow the poop and scoop bylaw. Most make an attempt, but it is shocking how many stoop, scoop, then toss the bags under hedges or over fences. Most of us drop them into the garbage bins set out in the parks, although the city frowns on this practice. The only sanctioned option is to bring the bag home and drop it into a clear bag. If there’s a baby in the house, dirty diapers are also going into it. They are collected every two weeks and becomes an ugly mess after cooking through a fortnight of long hot days. I understand why plastic can’t go in the organic stream. I don’t know what to sugge...
I apologize for the glut of posts on earlier today. Needless to say, I fixed the broken RSS feed.
Posted by Phil Andrews I expect we may receive some critical feedback over our publication of a longer story that explored the challenges of a Guelph family with an adult member who has been struggling with mental health-related problems for years. Our story about Sara Eves came about through reporting work done in and out of court on her case and that of her family. There was a lot of discussion in our newsroom about whether and how to tackle this story. The consensus opinion was to produce the story because it illustrated circumstances likely faced by many local families, by the local police service and by other care-service institutions in the community. There is not enough out there for people requiring more and more instensive mental health care and support.
Posted by Phil Andrews Maybe I misplayed this one journalistically. I'm surprised that it played out as it did. A week ago, a nice, middle-aged woman dropped by the newspaper. In the midst of a job search, she had just found an envelope full of cash. She wanted the newspaper to help get this money -- that she sorely could have used -- back to its owner. I steered her towards the police station to turn it in and advised her that I would have a reporter connect with the police about this incident so as to better publicize that the money had been recovered, turned in and could be claimed. I gave her my business card and got her phone number. But I never asked for her last name or the amount she had found. I told her she needed to consider that the money might have been left by a bad perso...
Really quite a disturbing story, only lacking impact because we've become accustomed to this "style" from the Harper government, one that more resembles a military junta in spirit, than Parliamentary democracy. Don't you dare cross these Harper Conservatives, they'll call in the RCMP for a FRIVOLOUS misuse of resources, for their BASELESS witch hunt, meant to CHILL any dissenters :
The Harper government called in the RCMP to investigate a politically embarrassing story involving the decision to sole-source the purchase of the F-35 stealth fighter, claiming it was a breach of national security, The Canadian Press ha...
Some lovely photographs of nature from Riverside done by students at Waverley Park PS…. Grades 3 and 4 Grade 8 For more information on the work of Focus on Nature – “Inspiring young people to explore and connect with nature through photography” http://focusonnature.ca/ http://focusonnatureca.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Focus-on-Nature/360707007028 
TORONTO, May 16, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - The Long-Term Care Task Force on Resident Care and Safety, established to address incidents of abuse and neglect in long-term care homes as well as the potential underreporting of these incidents, has finalized its action plan for...
PSWs assist people with personal hygiene, light housework and help with delegated health procedures such as changing dressings. Having th...
Today's series of photographs are those 'abandoned' but not forgotten places that dot around our city. Often they are seen just out of the corner of your eye as you pass by. A fleeting glimpse of a different time, now but all a shell, an apparition of its old self. Each o...
Over the past several days, Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act, 2012 has been in committee hearings. This is the provincial government's anti-bullying legislation, meant to provide support groups in schools for various groups of students that have been victims of bullying, but, when it comes right down to it, is aimed to provide protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans students who have been blocked from forming support groups, particularly in the province's publicly-funded Catholic schools.
This saga has been ongoing for quite some time now, with a major flare-up last year in the summer prior to the provincial election, when the It Gets Better campaign was...
When I argued Mulcair's "dutch disease" gambit had intriguing electoral underpinnings, I classified it as shrewd only if played properly. Reading Mulcair's latest unnecessary commentary, it appears we have seen his first major gaffe since taking the helm, one that could have lasting impacts, as well as a glimpse into his own shortcomings :
New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair dismissed on Tuesday criticism of him from the premiers of B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, saying they’re simply acting as Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “messengers” in the NDP’s fight with Harper over the impact of the oil sands industry on the Canadian...
So it's time again for one of my annual diatribes. As I flipped through the Guelph Tribune this morning, waiting for my bagel to toast (true story), today's streeter - the part of the pap...
by Mike Robinson http://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/index.cfm?page=detail&itmno=12103 ERIN It appears Hillsburgh Water has a lot of friends. On May 1, council chambers were again packed with members of Friends of Hillsburgh Water (FHW) and those interested in the Nestle Waters proposal to extend its local water drawing permit by 10 years. The delegation appeared to have a supportive contingent on council; however, the final decision ultimately does not lie with council. Brochures distributed by FHW stated, “We’re a group of town of Erin citizens acting to protect our local water, ensuring there’s a pure, abundant supply of this precious resource now… Read the rest
The Guelph Royals Senior Baseball Club, a member of the Intercounty Baseball Association sin...
Pass Or Fail? When the MOE considers a permit like Hillsburgh’s,it focuses solely on water-taking – not resource depletion, air pollution, noise pollution, infrastructure degradation, solid waste generation, reduction in property values along trucking routes, safety risks, and so on..Does this live up to the following MOE Statement of Environmental Values? “The Ministry considers the cumulative effects on the environment; the interdependence of air, land, water and living organisms.” PASS FAIL ✓ “The Ministry considers the effects of its decisions on current & future generations, consistent with sustainable development principles”Does bottled water pass… Read the rest
You are cordially invited to join Wellington Water Watchers on June 15th as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Guelph’s Covered Bridge and our Two Rivers, as part of the Two Rivers Festival (http://www.2riversfestival.org/). This event is a community celebration of our natural heritage, a fundraiser for Wellington Water Watchers and will also help raise awareness of the Speed River Clean-up which will be held the day after our celebration, on Saturday June 16th. We will start the evening of Friday June 15th at 7:30pm with a ceremony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Covered Bridge… Read the rest
This is a very lengthy document, but it is a great overview on why the permitting process for the Bottled Water Industry as a whole needs to be overhauled. The arguments used herein articulate why the Hillsburgh permit renewal flies completely in contradiction of the Ministry of the Environments (MOE) own Statement of Environmental Values (SEV’s). Please have a read through to more thoroughly understand our position: ATTN: Environmental Commissioner of Ontario 1075 Bay Street, Suite 605 Toronto, Ontario M5S 2B1 Tel: (416) 325-3377 Fax:(416) 325-3370 Corporate Applicant Number ONE Mike Nagy C / O Wellington Water Watchers,… Read the rest
A last-minute appeal has been made in an effort to raise funds for marathon racer Reid Coolsaet. Shawn Brady and Michael Del Monte have created a music video for the song ‘All For The Run’ featuring footage of Coolsaet racing and winning the Toronto Yonge Street 10K on April 22. The goal of the musicians is to raise $5,500 to support the Speed River Track and Field Club runner as he trains for this summer’s Olympics in London. To check out the video and/or donate before midnight tonight, go to www.indiegogo.com/allfortherun.
Last Call May 16! FAST FORWARD 2012 Eco-Film Fest Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? Greetings! Now that ‘the lusty month of May’ is here (quoting of course that great song from Camelot!), it’s time for bees & honey! Our final FAST FORWARD eco-film of 2012 is QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us? which investigates some possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder, killer of a truly frightening number of honeybees over the past half dozen years. (Since 40% of all our food depends on our friends the honeybees,… Read the rest
Current WATER project — Subject: Hillsburgh, Nestle and Our WATER Dear Mayor Maieron: Please do not take this letter personally. I would be writing these words to anyone holding a position of responsibility in this community given the same circumstances. Water is a global issue and of prime importance to the world. We can begin by respecting WATER in our own community. I am a mother, a grandmother and a concerned citizen. Politicians change, politics change, but our responsibility to the Earth, the inhabitants, and the Greater Good shall always remain as moral law. This is especially so… Read the rest
Barb Freda is my kind of cook. She has firm opinions about cast iron frying pans, loves to break long-held culinary rules, and spells my name right. What more could you want in a fellow food writer? Not much, except perhaps to be invited along on some of her amazing travels. Yesterday, while Barb was lounging on a beach in the Caribbean, I was making sure her blog didn’t get too lonely. For some baking rules you should follow (mine) and some rules you should not (hers), pop on over to Babette’s Feast. Got a firm baking opinion or two yourself? Speak up! We love a good discussion. &nbs...
Last one but an important one…. See previous posts: Basic Building Blocks, Basic Building Blocks – Roles and Responsibilities, Basic Building Blocks – Roles and Responsibilities) on this topic. The Community elects Council. The Community provides taxes to City Hall to deliver services. Does it end there? 
Guelph is known far and wide for its active citizenry – both its volunteerism and its participation in local decision making. Talking to members of Council who served in the 80s, public involvement was scarce to non-existent....
Did you know that Guelph had a building height bylaw designed to protect the...
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TORONTO, May 15, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - If Don Mastin had his way, he would make long-term care facilities more like real homes, introduce more recreational activities and provide ongoing training and education to personal support workers and other staff. At 72, the retired General Motors employee, who lives in Oshawa, has a direct stake in dementia care. Six years ago he was forced...
Posted by Phil Andrews We had something of a first last week. The Dave Briggs' column that featured an interview with the continent's biggest breeder of horses for the harness industry spurred quite a response. The interviewed subject helped. Joe Thomson set something off in comparing the management of Ontario's slots at the racetracks program to something Bernie Madoff would have pulled. Well, as you can see from a previous post, that generated a letter from Duncan, which I published on the blog. Then, before the Duncan letter even appeared in the newspaper, T...
Finally, a rare look behind the manufactured veneer, one that brings a brief moment of clarity :
Environment Minister Peter Kent elaborated on that in the House of Commons, saying, “the reality is that the round table was created a quarter of a century ago. It was created before the Internet, when there were few such sources of domestic, independent research and analysis on sustainable development. That is simply no longer the case. There are now any number of organizations and university-based services that provide those services...”
But then, on Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird suggested that there was a different reason for defund...
I have always had a keen interest in the brain - how it works and how to improve it.
I read a great book The Winner's Brain - 8 Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success by Jeff Brown and Mark Fenske. It is about maximizing the brain for success.
One of the points is the ability to thrive despite adversity. I have always ascribed to Fail Often, Fail Fast, Fail Cheap . And having a failure does not make you a failure. True failure is not trying. Although...
Or Montreal, to be more exact. Early this afternoon, while driving along Highway 401 on the second leg of our vacation, I received inspiration for a novel. Over the course of several minutes, a rough outline arched across my consciousness: two parallel plots in different time periods. It came as a synthesis of various threads, ideas I have been contemplating recently. A displaced character I have been writing about for a few years found her home in an unexpected story. When I perceived the crisis, I wept. Danny in the passenger seat looked at me but didn't say anything until I started to explain.
I have received such an idea this way before. This story will require more historical research than I know how to do, but I am enthused about the course of discovery. My life se...
I just discovered there is something wrong with the RSS feed for my blog at Speed River Journal. It is not showing up in syndication on LiveJournal or Facebook. I am pretty excited about the 2012 Blogathon and where this is taking my writing, so it's frustrating to realize people who subscribe may not be seeing anything. I am trying to get some support from WordPress to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, if you are interested, you might have to drop in at Speed River Journal from time to time.
As last year drew to a close, University of Guelph economics researchers Sylvain Charlebois and Francis Tapon were predicting the 2012 overall price increase in food would be about two per cent. However, Charlebois cautioned at the time, unpredictable heat, cold and rainfall continue to influence farming in ways never experienced in modern-era agriculture. He warned that could send their numbers askew. “If the weather co-operates, our predictions will be fine,” he said. “But how can we know what Mother Nature will do?” 
He could hardly have imagined his climatic caveat would be so prophetic. Record high...
Last Tuesday the Guelph Chamber of Commerce and Innovation Guelph held our Open House. If...
I am tremendously proud and excited about our Diversity Strategy. There are lots of statistics about the diversity of our community. In my role as mayor, I get invited to lots of community events on the weekends, where I have the chance to see our diversity first-hand. We have an incredible number of cultural organizations and faith groups. Just last week we raised the Pride flag here at City Hall. I attend many events and meetings with seniors and young people. And the list goes on. From my perspective, diversity is not just about race or gender. It’s not just about celebrating different cultural holidays or trying different foods. Diversity encompasses the whole of human experience. It can include age, culture, education, skills, and life experience. Our Diversity Strategy reflect...
A quick divergence from GO Transit to the Ontario Northland, another Ontario operated Railway line from Toronto northward: Ontario Northland Railway, a vital public transportation link for remote Northern Ontario towns is being sold and decomissioned in the name of austerity, and why? Apparently $100 million a year in subsidy is too much money, and on the surface it may seem that way. Privatizing Ontario Northland will not end the subsidies, and by comparison to the $3.9 billion spent on new highways to Sudbury AND North Bay, the Ontario Northland is a cost effective subsidy this Ontario resident is willing to live with. In its simplest form, the Ontario Northland provides Freight train, Passenger rail, Bus, Ferry (Moosonee to Moose Factory) and Telecommunications services to rem...
Guelph Transit has begun to use the Guelph Central Station bus terminal, and here’s a photo showing a train and bus side by side over the weekend: http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=3659 This marks the end of 100 years of Transit exchange at St. Georges Square in Guelph, first with Streetcars, later Busses. St. George’s Square will be much more pedestrian friendly now that the every 20-30 minute bus rush will no longer occur in such a small geographic space.
, the self-styled Admir...
Every spring when the conditions are just right, toads wake up from hibernating on the drumlin across the river from the Sleeman Centre and River Run and make their way down to the river to spawn. Residents can be found on Arthur Street in the evening helping them cross the street. 
...OTTAWA, May 13, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - The Canadian Government has introduced new regulations proposing that midwives, nurse practitioners and podiatrists be allowed to prescribe selected medications containing legal controlled substances....
These hands turn 80 this summer. These hands have picked strawberries, made jam, kneaded bread, rolled pastry. They have decorated birthday cakes, anniversary cakes and wedding cakes. They have changed diapers, washed clothes, sewn dresses, mended seams, darned socks, stitched buttons, ironed pleats. They have tied shoelaces, braided hair and wrapped presents. They have stroked sweaty hair from fevered foreheads, wiped away tears, plucked thorns from fingers, applied bandages, massaged aching muscles and held the hands of the dying. Despite arthritis, they carry on....
Latest Andrew Coyne column details the inaction from all parties on the climate change file. However, the piece begins with a now common assumption, one that really has no basis in fact, apart from platitudes. In other words I simply don't accept the premise:
If there is one thing on which all federal parties and all national political leaders are agreed, it is that they “believe the science” on climate change. They believe that the earth is warming, they believe its effects are on balance malign, and they believe it is caused by human activity. As such they believe it can and should be mitigated by human action, namely by reducing...
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