SaltToday

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

Gibson is the only one on the current council I would vote for Mayor.

Harassment a ‘growing concern’ for city council, boards: report

Commissioning this report is exactly why this council would be harassed. Let me understand, 3000 +/- people voted for each council member, they are grossly underqualified to run a city, they act without consequence, they get scared they might be "harassed" (read held accountable), so they commission an outside law firm to tell them how they could react, but who knows, since no harassment has been reported? I have a headache.

- B Be

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

Doesn't Gibson have the most missed meetings among current council members?

- PaulMic

Get a sneak peek of the Guelph Public Library’s future archival space

Looking forward to it. "A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessities of life." Henry Ward Beecher.

- Ed Butts

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

Dan sits on no council committees, doesn't host regular town halls, doesn't produce a newsletter and has the 2nd lowest attendance record. When he does show, he's dialling in remotely and looks bored and disengaged. Not my idea of mayoral.

- RaineyS

Reflections on the Guthrie years (so far)

I strongly disagree with the writer's assertion that we were dealing with "the worst existential global crisis since the end of World War II. In our collective efforts to memory hole the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve forgotten the ambiguity and the uncertainty, the difficulty to understand how it spread, and the struggle to pivot to entirely secluded lives and ensure no one was being put in any unnecessary danger. With what we knew at the time, we did our best and we fail to remember that." I for one knew that the reactions by governments and health agencies to the virus was irrational and unjustified. Politicans should not be excused but instead they should be blamed for their radical intrusion into the lives of people and their businesses. Our Charter rights were trampled for no good reason. It was obvious that the 'six foot rule' was completely arbitrary, and that reusing masks in non-sterile environments was a good way to spread germs, not stop the spread.John HagopianWhitby

- usr_669030

Get a sneak peek of the Guelph Public Library’s future archival space

I'm a taxpayer and I support a functional and accessible archive of our local history.Sorry you don't care?

- Faustus Legrand

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

I remember Dan coming to my door during his very first campaign, promising to clean up the IMICO land. How’s that going?

- MB45

Get a sneak peek of the Guelph Public Library’s future archival space

It’s a shame that somebody’s Dream has to to be paid for by taxpayers. I Wish I could charge all my fantasies and dreams to the taxpayers of Guelph

- Wynd Ham

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

Why would you vote for Gibson for Mayor

- Sjeff

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

Gibson would be best of any current councillor - let’s go Dan keep taxes low!

- D Far

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

The sad reality is it doesn't really matter who sits on municipal councils in Ontario because the provincial government now dictates what decisions will be made locally. Local governments do not have a separate constitutional existence in Canada, unlike America where they do. Local governments in Canada are creations of and subordinate to provincial governments. In Ontario, provincials statute are now quite extensive and detailed in establishing the narrow parameters within which cities can now operate. The federal government is making matters worse by imposing its own values on muncipal councils by withholding funding from councils that do not follow its preferences. And Doug Ford's Ontario government has shown itself to be particularly overbearing, intrusive, and dictatorial by enacting legislation that whittles down local autonomy considerably, including by establishing land boards that will readily overturn decisions opposed to rampant development.John HagopianWhitby

- usr_669030

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

To be fair, Dan did push staff and the administration to make the clean up of the IMICO site a priority. He was successful in increasing the city's budget to do remedial investigations. The fact that it's not yet redeveloped is due more to difficulties in attracting private investment because of legal actions by adjacent owners, the complicated process to obtain provincial environmental approvals, and the cost to develop vs the market conditions. I can state this because I was plugged into much of what I described. My comments aren't endorsing him for mayor, just stating some facts regarding the IMICO site.

- Peter Cartwright

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

Local decision making by municipal councils mattered in the 1970s when the 'small is beautiful' movement pervaded the thinking of progressive people. The goal was to avoid large scale, distant enterprises and entities and focus on local independence by having small scale, locally-owned businesses and projects providing for local needs. The thinking began with development theories applied to Third World nations to avoid exploitation by colonizing countries, but the same principles were soon seen to apply within North America. Communities in America saw the value in owning and controlling their own business entities and other organizations. But the globalization movement has targeted the small is beautiful thinking, and now wants to "think global and act local", which means subordinating and subduing local communities to the dictates of multi-national corporations and international financiers. The World Economic Forum expresses their values which oppose local autonomy.John Hagopian

- usr_669030

Reflections on the Guthrie years (so far)

To " Gruntfutak": I am a lawyer; are you? The authority for the government measures that superceded our rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedom wasn't found in any statute like the Health Protection Act. No, the authority came from the emergency declarations by both the provincial and federal governments that suspended the constitutional rights of citizens. That was the egregious intrusion into our lives and businesses and it was based on nothing. Covid was obviously not the superkiller we were told it was; the fear mongering was deliberate. Those persons who died were those who were likely to do soon anyway because of 'co-morbidities'. Hospitals were encouraged to report all deaths as caused by covid rather than by the seasonal flu or other respiratory disorders; they got paid more per patient by calling each death a covid death. The death stats were inflated, the 'vaccines' were next to useless, yet people were socially ostrasized for demanding their rights.John Hagopian

- usr_669030

Winds of change on city council could increase voter turnout, says expert

I will vote for whichever mayoral candidates commit to a return to collaborative decision making and refuse to force unpopular decisions through as a so-called "strong mayor."I will vote for whichever council candidates commit to evidence-based decision making, who choose to learn from other cities rather than ignoring proven solutions.But most of all, I will vote for whoever actually produces a cohesive, coherent, and rational long-term plan to address the cost of living crises we are all facing now and will continue to face going forward. Figure out what are the biggest budget items that Guelph households face, and use whatever tools we have at our disposal to give people real, usable alternatives. If we spend tax money intelligently, we can save people money.

- Matt Saunders

Get a sneak peek of the Guelph Public Library’s future archival space

We didn’t need a new library. The satellite ones in place seem to work quite well. A waste of taxpayers money .

- Paul Bb

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

All that you say is true, which is why we should turn out and vote for councillors and a mayor who are prepared to fight for our city, more importantly , get out and vote when the next provincial election is called and put Ford and his dodgy crew out of office.

- Arthur K

Councillor Dan Gibson considering run for mayor

By having the lowest attendance of all councilors he doesn't seem to care much about representing those that elected him.His background appears to be government focused and shows no real efficiency management results. Will he force zero city tax increases starting next year or continue with current? Will he force efficiencies within city hall - what and how? What will he want to cut and/or expand? Will he force city hall to publish a detailed spending plan (e.g. every pencil, every vehicle replacement, every cellphone and its plan costs, every computer and its location etc. etc.). What will he actually commit to? Why should anyone vote for him?

- Poster99611

Reflections on the Guthrie years (so far)

To "Grandad": The 'expert advise" you speak of originated at the USA National Institute of Health that ordered the six foot distancing rule. When questioned in Congress where the scientific basis was for that rule, Dr. Fauci admitted there were no studies that substantiated it. He said the rule "just appeared" on day; meaning, he made it up. Do you still believe that the 'vaccines' reduced the possibility of transmission of the virus?? We now know they didn't. Do you still believe that reusing cloth masks in non-sterile environments reduced the chances of contracting the disease? They didn't; in fact the warm moist breath on the cloth mask created ideal conditions for germs, viruses and bacteria to grow. The masks created more disease, not less. People would touch non-sterile surfaces in public settings that harboured pathogens then touch their masks, thereby infecting it.Some people accept government overreach easily; other people do their own research. John Hagopian

- usr_669030