Collaborate. Create. Accelerate. Don’t wait. Registrate!

The top 10 reasons to go to #MiC2017 – (reasons 1 through 10 will change your life*)

1. Best panels ever assembled*
   • Digital transformation: Hillary Hartley, Ontario’s Chief Digital Officer – Gabe Sawhney, Code for Canada – Treasury Branch of Canada
   • Civic lab innovation: Civic lab and accelerator leaders from Vancouver, Calgary, Kitchener and Guelph
   • Innovation impact: @josephby from @Communitech & @CODX, @kristoferkelly and @kerrsmithdesign
2. Out of this world* keynote presentations
   • Best-selling, multiple-award-winning author Lawrence Hill
   • Martha Lenio led a NASA Mars Probe simulation in Hawaii for eight months
3. Wonderful workshops

• Failure and innovation in local government: @AGoodFailure, @hillary and @GavinA09 from @LuckyIronFish
  • Accelerator jam with Rick Boersma from Juice Inc.
  • Thinking like a designer with Helen Kerr and the innovation team from the Region of Peel

4. Best pre-conference-municipal-innovation-conference video of all time*
5. The Province of Ontario’s Behavioural Insights Unit. I know, right, mind blowing stuff. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
6. Best partners
   • Public Sector Digest is great and they are hosting a pre-conference workshop with a series of rapid fire presentations from municipal innovators
   • Guelph’s Sleeman Brewery is hosting the best municipal innovation hospitality suite
7. Best MC in the entire history of Guelph municipal innovation conferences—Jay Reid from The Making Box
8. We’re going to help you share what you learned after the conference with a pre-made PowerPoint to impress your colleagues
9. The people. Attendees have already booked their registrations from Abbottsford, British Columbia to Halifax, Nova Scotia
10. It’s in Guelph. Take a look at eight Canada 150-inspired mini films to get a flavour of our city. And take a look at a couple of our innovative projects: Civic Accelerator and the municipal guide for the sharing economy
11. !!BONUS REASON!! Everyone who comes will get their very own @LuckyIronFish with another donated to a developing country

Come on out Guelph! It’s the 11th Annual Sale! So many books!  From what I’ve been told they might have a special Star Wars section too. But if they do, it’s only going to be accessible to me. So sorry Guelph, I get first dibs on the Star Wars stuff!! 

Of you have donations, look for details for drop off on the poster above!

See you there! Mark your calendars now!

Cam 

Great turnout to support the Parkinson’s walk today at Riverside Park! I was told that 25 people a day in Canada get diagnosed with this disease. Thank you to the volunteers the sponsors and dedicated walkers! The City of Guelph wishes you all the very best! 

Last night I was emailed by a resident asking why Council was going to have a closed meeting to discuss the City of Guelph’s first mid-term report on our service review of our Solid Waste Services. 

I thought the information I shared back to the resident may be of help to everyone to understand what is happening with service reviews and reasons why City Council goes into a closed session meeting to discuss certain issues.

By no means is this an exhaustive list of reasons why and in no way does this capture every nuance of the subject matter, but here it is anyways! 

Have a good day,

Cam

“Good morning (name removed) and others,

Thank you for your questions and opinions (name removed). I will answer and give my own opinions in response:
1. The reason you, Council and every other citizen is reading about this (solid waste/blue cart) situation is because council unanimously voted to start service reviews within the city of Guelph. As you are well aware, this service review framework and policy has never been done before in this way. This is an excellent way of now showing the taxpayers that we take departmental reviews seriously, looking to identify opportunities to improve and/or for ways to confirm that our services are effective and efficient.
2. You are correct when you layout the choice before council for every in-camera item that council “may” or “may not” discuss within a closed session. It is laid out this way under the municipal act so that council must vote to discuss items allowed as exemptions under the act that would be of a “closed” nature. Staff or an individual member of council may recommend an item be in closed session, but it is ultimately up to all of council through a vote.
3. In this particular case the act is quite clear. Section 239 (b) and (d) states that council “can consider” in relation to “personal matters about an identifiable individual, including board employees and labour relations or employee negotiations.” Since the Solid Waste service review examines all aspects of the department, this will involve reviews of identifiable individuals or city employees and potential labour or union impacts. Therefore, the information given to council in closed session must only be focused about the above as outlined in section (b) and (d). Everything else must be done in open session. This is why there is an accompanying 48 page public report.
4. By outlining the above on an open and public agenda, by voting in open session to consider moving into closed session, by having an accompanied (48 page) open session report for this service review and by doing a brief verbal update of what was discussed (along with the outcome of a closed session discussion) done by the Mayor (or Chair) in open session – council is being transparent. Many of these steps I just outlined were not done during the previous administration and have only been implemented over the past three years. I am proud of these changes and I am constantly looking for more mays of making things happen in open session.
5. There can be consequences to not moving into closed session on some matters before the corporation. If council were to vote to not go into closed session and openly discuss identifiable individuals, board employees, or discuss union/labour negotiations, (and so on…) the corporation can be put in jeopardy of legal actions taken against the corporation. This could involve defamation, slander, libel or many other provincial labour legislation considerations. It then ultimately would be the Guelph taxpayers that would have to fund these legal issues, or any judgements that may arise if the corporation were to be found guilty. This is why each member of Council is obligated with protecting the integrity of staff within the public arena. We must also speak up in defence of staff when they are being ridiculed by others within an open form. Remember, ultimately a municipality may not be found guilty but the costs borne by the municipality in some cases to fight the allegations alone may be significant and these expenses may fall to the taxpayers. Beyond the potential legal risks, council believes in a respectful workplace environment where employee and employer relations are built on trust, adhering to contractual obligations and creating a culture where we can attract the best employees that ultimately serve Guelph residents.
6. I take closed matters seriously. I weigh them carefully before voting to go into closed session and I “police” or “oversee” the discussion within closed session seriously so that we stay within what the Act – and sections of what the Act allow us. 
7. Lastly, it is important to note that over the last year, council has considerably less items go into closed session. In my opinion, this can be attributed to two things. The first is that the issue of district energy has now been dealt with. And second, our new CAO and executive team have made serious efforts to make as much as possible happen in open session because they are intent on making reports and discussions happen in the public realm. 
Thank you again for your questions and opinions. I hope you continue to stay engaged on this and many further service reviews undertaken by the City of Guelph.
Cam Guthrie
Mayor – City of Guelph 

Guelph, Ont., August 30, 2017 – The 2017 Safe Semester project, running September 8 to October 1, promotes a safe environment for students returning to Guelph, and a respect for shared community spaces.

During Safe Semester, roads in the downtown area will be closed from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. There will also be additional downtown services such as extended late night transit, extra portable washrooms and increased access to taxis.

“Safe Semester is truly a collaborative effort. We have seen dramatic improvements over the past years since Safe Semester began,” says Mayor Cam Guthrie. “I want to thank all of the partners and students who work together to promote a safe and positive environment as we celebrate the beginning of the school year.”

“The Guelph Police Service is excited to be a part of this initiative again this year. We will be glad to see a continued decrease in calls for infractions while being able to maintain the reputation Guelph has for being a safe community,” says Chief of Police, Jeff DeRuyter.

Safe Semester downtown closures and services, Fridays and Saturdays between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. :

· All parking lots will remain open for parking including the West Parkade.

· A wheelchair accessible portable washroom is located at Guelph Central Station.

· A taxi stand is located on the north side of Carden Street across from Guelph Central Station.

· Late night bus service travelling between Platform 11 at Guelph Central Station and the University Centre and surrounding area, starts September 7.

· Macdonell Street is closed to traffic between the Macdonell Street parking lot and the West Parkade.

· Vehicles parked on the closed sections of Macdonell Street and Wyndham Street after 10 p.m. will be towed and impounded at the owner’s expense.

· Wyndham Street is closed to traffic between Carden Street and Cork Street.

For more information, please visit guelph.ca/safesemester. Transit information can be found at guelphtransit.ca.

About Safe Semester:

Safe Semester is entering its sixth year of operation and has seen year-over-year improvement in decreasing public complaints of parking, public urination and noise violations. 2016 saw a 26 per cent decrease in noise complaints, and a 78 per cent decrease of public urination tickets issued.  

Safe Semester wouldn’t be possible without Guelph’s Late Night Task Force comprised of representatives from the City of Guelph, Guelph Transit, Guelph Police Service, the Downtown Guelph Business Association, University of Guelph’s Central Student Association (CSA), the Downtown Residents’ Neighbourhood Association and downtown businesses. All partners play a significant role in making the return of Guelph’s students as safe as possible.

Media Contacts:

David Weidrick, Manager of Bylaw Compliance

Security and Licensing, Operations

519-822-1260 extension 3475

david.wiedrick@guelph.ca

 Bryan (Buzz) Dean, Public Information Officer 

Guelph Police Service

519-824-1212 extension 7214

bdean@guelphpolice.ca