Anger Over Water and the Arts

The Wonders of Water Anger

It almost slipped by them, but the Wellington Water Watchers mobilized quickly and used Facebook to get public reaction and outrage to the possible approval of a 10-year contract extension for Nestle Waters in Aberfoyle. The new contract could be approved by the Province of Ontario as early as March 5th, and if allowed would permit Nestle to take 3.6 million litres of water per day from the Grand River watershed.

“This is far too long and way too much,” states Mike Nagy, former Green Party candidate and board member for WWW. “In fact, there are many aspects of this proposed Nestlé-Ministry of Environment agreement that should raise red flags for all Guelph-area citizens who care about water issues.”

And care they do. As soon as WWW changed the name of their Facebook group to “Oppose Nestle Waters Canada's ‘Permit to take Water’ Renewal Bid!” a tidal of wave of member reaction was posted to the site. “The water Nestle pays $5,000 for in Aberfoyle would cost $5 million in New Jersey,” said former Mayoral candidate and local provocateur Ray Mitchell. “Who is getting paid off, the Provincial gov't. or Guelph City Hall?” Michael Wright, another poster on the site, was even more curt. “Our water is not for sale - F*ck off Nestle.”

Emotions concerning Guelph’s water and the private corporations that want access to it have always been high. In 2007, Wellington Water Watchers was formed to combat Nestle’s previous contract renewal for five years at 3.6 million litres per day. After nearly a year of back and forth, the Ministry of the Environment followed direction from Guelph City Council and renewed the contract for only two years, but the litre per diem mark remained at 3.6 million.

“At the very most, the maximum volume of water allowed in any new Nestlé agreement should be no more than the maximum taken in 2010, which was 1.6 million litres per day,” Nagy says. “And then it should be reduced by at least 1.56 percent per year after that, consistent with Ontario’s initiatives on sustainable water use.”

The period for public comment about the renewal closes today, and a decision could be made about the renewal as early as March 5th. To learn more about WWW’s objections to the permit and find out how you can help their cause, go to http://www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca

…Speaking of Negative Reactions

Last Tuesday was the public’s chance for input into the 2011 operating and capital budgets, and wouldn’t you know it, a lot of that reaction was of the negative variety towards transit’s service cuts and fee hike. The sum and total of the (stated) public reaction can be found on my blog at http://guelphpolitico.blogspot.com/, but the point is, it wasn’t all about transit.

Yes Virgina, the people of Guelph had other things on their minds about their city and how their local government spends money. For instance, Anastasia Ziprick spoke to council on behalf of several major arts festivals including the Guelph Jazz Festival, the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival and Hillside, remarking about how rental fees on the River Run Centre need to be lowered. Ziprick said that it’s hard to deal with mounting expenses and if fees at the River Run’s Co-operators Hall aren’t reduced, then the Jazz Festival may have to relocate.

Sandy Ferguson-Escott spoke next on behalf of the Guelph-Non Profit Housing Committee. She was looking for tax relief on the GNPHC’s development on Paisley Road. The problem for GNPHC is that they got a bad deal when the project was developed in 2005, which prevents them from seeking additional revenue by transferring it over from one of their other eight sites. Without the tax relief, Ferguson-Escott said, there won’t be enough money to pay for the bills, and the project will be effectively bankrupt.

On another subject, Konnie Peet, Executive Director of the Guelph Community Health Centre on behalf of the Wellington-Guelph Drug Strategy Committee, asked for $30,000 in new funding from the City and the County of Wellington in order to hire a co-ordinator and help fund overhead costs. This money would be an annual budget line item to help the WGDDSC with its outreach, treatment, harm reduction and prevention programs.

Before the end of the night, Guelph Chamber of Commerce President Lloyd Longfield took the floor to state his concerns about the City’s hiring of 87 Full-Time Equivalent positions saying that most businesses are continuing to act with an abundance of caution in these early stages of economic recovery. He also added that as much as he wants the City to help foster industrial and commercial development, he also wanted them to keep in mind residential growth, as many of the businesses he works with are telling him that they’re looking outside the city limits for skilled, and professional workers.

The Last News of the Year (Probably)

So in a couple of days it’s Christmas, and then a week after that it’s New Year’s. It the time of the season for retrospection and consideration, and with few exceptions it’s also a slow news period. So before we bid adieu to 2010 (next week’s column), let’s look at some lingering news items from 2010.

Frank Valeriote Will Slap a Minister

Local Member of Parliament Frank Valeriote wants answers now, or he wants them eventually in the case of the government’s discontinuing of funding for the faith-based NGO KAIROS Canada. Along with his colleague John McKay (MP for Scarborough-Guildwood) last week on the Hill, Valeriote tried to get International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda to explain why she denied KAIROS Canada $7 million in funding.

“KAIROS is an organization of the highest repute and does remarkable work on behalf of Canada for the world’s poor,” said McKay during last Monday’s Question Period. “The facts show that the Minister was not being honest when asked why KAIROS was cut. To make matters worse, church leaders have asked the Prime Minister for a meeting to get an explanation and as yet have received no response. The Minister and the Prime Minister have some serious explaining to do.”

“Without warning, its funding was mysteriously cut and the explanation given as to why was clearly not the truth,” added Valeriote. “This incident raises the issue of whether Canadians can trust this government to tell them the truth. If they are willing to mislead the House on this issue, what else are they not being honest about?”

So who are these fascists that no longer deserve the funding from our government? Well, KAIROS is made up of about a dozen member churches across Canada and have partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East to promote issues of Ecological Justice, Economic Justice, Energy and Extraction, Human Rights, Just and Sustainable Livelihoods, and Indigenous Peoples. A four-year grant of $7 million was requested by KAIROS, and apparently endorsed by the president and vice president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), but somewhere between them and the Minister Oda, it was decided that the proposal didn’t meet CIDA standards. Or government standards. Or government priorities. One of the three.

Regardless, other aid groups across Canada are joining the two Liberal MPs in questioning how and why CIDA approves and disapproves of funding applications. Meanwhile, Oda says that she doesn’t know how or why the funding wasn’t approved when it came out of committee, even though her signature is on the document. What’s the old Bronson saying, “This ain’t over.”

New Officer to Liaise with Film

The Guelph Mercury reported last weekend that after an internal competition, someone has been selected to serve in the Film Liaison position vacated by Jennifer Peleschak earlier this fall. Christine Chapman will now fill the slot as the person at City Hall who will direct all matters pertaining to film and film shoots in the Royal City. For a while there, those of us in the local filmmaking community had some concern that the City was going to leave the position vacant. Of course, Film Liaison Officer wasn't Peleschak's official position in City Hall, it was something she took up when the City started getting inquiries about shooting films, TV projects and commercials in Guelph. Jen was uniquely qualified for the post because she genuinely loves film and was supportive of all productions, from big international projects like Blindness to local indies like Mind's Eye. So I happily welcome new Film Liaison Officer Ms. Chapman and say that as a filmmaker in Guelph, I look forward to working with her.

Are Taxes High or Aren’t They…?

A report in the National Post last week lit up the blogosphere like the Yule log on Christmas morning TV when it said that Guelph pays the third highest property taxes in Ontario behind Ottawa and Toronto. But not so fast, some are saying, are these numbers the real numbers? City reps point to a BMA Management Consulting in 2008 that says when compared to similar municipalities our size, Guelph has the lowest taxes in Ontario. As well, there could be an oversight in the report covered by the Post as some of the municipalities are two-tier payers, meaning they not only pay property taxes to the town they live in, but to the county as well; Guelph has a single-tier system. Either way, this is fuel for the fire as city council gets ready for budget deliberations next month.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Well, that went by fast. Summer that is. And as we enter the Labour Day long weekend, it is time to take stock of the last few months and remember what we all came here for as we re-enter the routines of autumn. I don’t know what you did/learned/talked about, but here’s my five for the Summer of 2010.

1) Waiting for the Bus

This happened a lot. But in this case the context is outside the fact that one goes to their bus stop by a pre-arranged time and wait a couple of minutes for the city’s public transportation to show up as scheduled. But then, when you make it downtown, there was the indignity of watching the bus you needed to transfer to drive away without you. Then, to add insult to injury it seemed to come as almost a surprise to city councillors at a July meeting that our transit system needs improvement. Perhaps if more city officials were dependent on the bus, they wouldn’t need a consultant’s report to tell them that changes are needed.

2) Dealing with Road Construction

I have a philosophy about the weather: of all the things in the world to complain about, why would you complain about the weather? Can you change it? Can you make a rainy day sunny by thinking about it, or via some kind of weather-changing device? That’s what I thought. Well the same can be said about road construction. Sorry kids, but when you’re over five years behind on infrastructure repair and the government throws money at you to get ‘er done, you’re not going to refuse the opportunity. After all, today’s road closures avoid tomorrow’s sinkholes.

3) Getting Bitch Slapped for Being an Artist/Activist

Not sure where all the litigation came from this summer, but first the police slammed shut the doors of the Medical Cannabis Club of Guelph and then the city bylaw officers started slapping postering fines on anyone with space available to a concert, a screening or a protest. Granted, I’m biased given one of the hats I wear is Co-Chair of Ed Video Media Arts Centre (PS: See our ad on whatever page it’s on in this issue of Echo), but still, with the Alma Gallery closed and Manhattans smoked out, the number of venues in our fair city is dwindling. Never has a piece of 8 and a half by 11 piece of colour paper generated so much red tape.

4) Waiting Patiently for Fall

Perhaps it’s the American election cycle of one-after-the-other, but I’ve been dying in anticipation for the start of our municipal election season. But while it’s been fun to watch the scorecard in Wards One and Two fill up, it’s been something of a struggle to get candidates to sign-up in the other four wards. In the last couple of days though (before press time anyway), a few people have put their names forward for the school board elections, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that this is the trickle before the rainfall. You can’t say that there’s not anger out there, and people are looking for options. So let’s give it to them.

5) Finding New Reasons to Love the Royal City

Despite our problems, there’s still a lot to love about the City of Guelph. Aside from the usual summer trappings like Hillside and Art on the Street, the festival circuit was joined by the first ever editions of the Guelph Electronic Music Festival and Top Freedom Day. As well, the Guelph Jazz Festival has added a Nuit Blanche program, which will feature all different types of music and art installations across the city. You may not be able to DIY promote your own show, but if you keep your eyes open, there’s plenty to get excited about.

I’ve Got Issues (For you to think about this Fall)

So it’s officially summer and you’re just about ready to put politics out of your head for a couple of months. Who can blame you? Well, before you check out, or heck, even if you have no intention checking out, I thought it’d be corking if we ran down some of the issues that might make the grade in this fall’s municipal election. (Or at least the top five issues that are important according to my own meandering experience.)

1) Transit

With the bright, shiny transit hub ready for groundbreaking and the Guelph’s Transit Growth Strategy revealed earlier this year, why does transit in this city still suck? And if you’ve been taking the bus lately, you will have noticed that it sucks just a little more. The so-called summer schedule has been pock-marked by longer waits, late buses and only the vaguest hope that you might make it downtown on time to get your transfer. Plus, people that use city buses are left holding their bag on Sundays this August, when Sunday is put on hiatus. Oh, and if you’re having trouble with the new normal, don’t look for support from city management.

In this day and age, in a city this size, it’s irresponsible and short-sighted for Guelph to be cutting back on transit as a stop-loss measure for budget deficits. And the fact that they talk about the future of transit while cutting it in the present makes city council and staff seem hypocritical. When the TTC strikes for a day the Provincial government comes in on a Saturday to order them back to work. In Guelph, a day without transit is cost effective.

2) City Finances

It was the worst of times and it was the even more worst of times at budget meetings last fall as councillors’ deliberations veered more towards what not to cut as opposed to what can we cut. As previously discussed, transit was a big victim of the proverbial machete, but even if you don’t take the bus, you would have surely enjoyed the first of five so-called “Karen Days” this past Monday. While the complete closure of the city for five days this summer has numerous people’s fingerprints on it, there’s still something odd about a city that threatens facility closures, yet still has cash money for indulgences like pissoirs and downtown beautification.

3) Development

It’s an ongoing issue, and one that will keep going in every election from here till eternity. Still, I think there are a lot of questions people have regarding the city’s growth strategy, as well as issues regarding specific corners of the city in their own wards. Generally speaking, I would love to hear about the city’s brownfields and any plans on making these spaces viable rather than mowing down more green space.

4) Downtown

There’s no question that there are still a lot of issues to be worked out in the core. For one thing, there’s a whole block that stands near empty with nothing but a vague promise that it may one day be developed into a swanky new anchor for culture in our downtown. But how about finishing works-in-progress like The Gummer Building, which has stood in a state of half-finishedness for over a year now? Plus the semi-artificial clash between day-downtown and night-downtown needs to be rectified. There’s something wonderful about how the same space can mean two different things depending on the time of day, but still there are concessions to be made on both sides. And for the record, I’m still against having people pee in the street in a big plastic can, not matter how French you make it sound.

5) Arts & Culture

Since the last election, Guelph has lost one movie theatre, several small art spaces and more or less hung a condemned sign on the largest music venue in the city not called The River Run Centre of Sleeman Centre. Combined with the postering flap a few weeks ago and what I see is a trend city hall double speak: we love our artistically vibrant city, so long as you have a Trillium grant. Saying that you love the arts isn’t enough, it means accepting that indie artists are going to put up posters because they have no other means to advertise and that they need spaces they can afford in order to do their work in. Lip service only counts if your name’s Ashley Simpson.

For more on Election 2010 go to http://guelphpolitico.blogspot.com/

Construction, Canteens and Chemistry

Hans the Builder says Lots of Construction Ahead

We all love summer construction, right? Who’s with me?

Well, that’s too bad because if you live, work or do anything in, near or around downtown you’re going to have a heck of a time avoiding big, yellow vehicles and dug up streets. Already work on a stretch of Norfolk between Waterloo and Macdonell Streets is underway, and soon it’ll be a section of Wyndham Street, between Wellington and Farquhar streets that will be getting an urban makeover. City engineer Rick Henry told the Guelph Mercury that the Wyndham Street reconstruction, and a similar job on Norfolk between Quebec and Norwich, should be underway by mid-August and are to be completed by the end of this year.

By now you’re asking who’s to blame for the stifling vehicular isolation of the core that will make getting anywhere in the centre of town more difficult as we head into fall? As it turns out, it’s your federal and provincial governments whose Infrastructure Stimulus Fund is pleased to bring this and six other similar projects to town this year. In total, 21 different infrastructure improvement projects have been approved for funding. The remaining 15 will proceed next year to be finished by the deadline date of March 31st, 2011.

Away from downtown, the city is also going to begin pavement resurfacing along Woodlawn Road, which will be an endeavour taking up two summers of work. City chief administrative officer Hans Loewig adds that the other three projects slated for this year are non-road approved projects and that they will also go before the hammer and chisel this summer. These include the rehabilitation of the Watson Road transit facility, and improvements to the River Run Centre and the main firehall downtown.

Canada Day featured Clean Canteens

It could have been a riot on Canada Day as the Rotary Club, while trying to score one for Mother Earth, kicked up a bit of dust when they banned the selling of bottled water from celebrations at Riverside Park. “The Rotary Club of Guelph is helping to reduce plastic water bottle waste by offering onsite water solutions for Canada Day in the Park,” said the Club’s Canada Day event webpage. “No bottled water will be permitted or sold on site.” The Rotary Club did have stainless steel water bottles available for purchase on site for $10 and anyone with a reusable water bottle received unlimited refills from a City of Guelph water truck. The city has already been proactive in curbing the use of bottled water by banning it from City Hall and city meetings.

Dropping Chemistry for Art

Guelph artists, long suffering for affordable studio space, must have thought they were dreaming at the announcement that Real estate broker Orval Gates had issued a request for "expressions of interest” about turning the former Uniroyal Building on Huron into a functioning arts centre. Gates has been trying to keep it on the DL, but local artists are buzzing at the prospect of $4 per square foot studio space, especially since the going rate is two or three times that. "It's an incredible asset possibility to the community if it is made available," James Gordon, local musician and activist, told the Mercury.

He said that the building is "in a pretty raw state," having toured it last month, but it’s definitely got potential. Securing an arts centre in the city has been the subject of much discussion, including the possibility of using the current home of the Guelph Civic Museum once it moves to the Loreto Convent in 2010. Gates believes that while his deal will benefit artists it will have the dual effect of revitalizing the community in St. Patrick’s Ward. More news as it develops.

The Arts & Culture Issues

For this specially-themed edition of Guelph Beat, we (and by we, I mean me) will look at a few of the recent arts-related stories in the Royal City.

Red Shoes Tour arrives to help Women in Crisis

The New Red Shoes Tour pulls into Guelph this Sunday. The multi-Ontario city tour will benefit women's shelters/foundations across Ontario and promote positive up and coming female artists. The beneficiary of the show at the Albion is Guelph Women and Crisis and every single last penny in profit from ticket sales is going to the group according to tour organizer and headliner Lynzie Kent, a born and raised Guelphite and former lead singer of the band God Made Me Funky.

The name of the tour, Red Shoes, comes from a new single written by Kent specifically for the purpose of raising awareness of issues surround violence against women. Her goal with the song and the tour, she says, is help give women the encouragement and confidence that they can walk away from a bad situation and, with the help of resources like Women in Crisis, learn how to overcome it. “I want people to take with them an awareness of the issues of homelessness and abuse both verbal and physical, and I want women to take away a great feeling about themselves and their role in society, and mostly to have a great show.”

Other performers at the Guelph show will include Natasha Pasternak, Ambre McLean and Danielle Todd. Tickets will be $12 at the door. For more information on Kent and her music go to her website http://www.lynziekent.com/ and for more information about Guelph Women In Crisis and the work that they do, you can go to their website at http://www.gwwomenincrisis.org/

Sandals raises the roof (and replaces it) for GLT

We don’t report much news with our MPP Liz Sandals, and since I’m the only one that works for me, I guess I’m to blame. But this piece of news fit my Arts & Culture idea nicely. Last week, Sandals was on hand at the Guelph Little Theatre to announce a $54,000 Trillium Grant bestowed upon the GLT with the intention that they get a new roof put on their 73-year-old building. As it stands now, the GLT has been spending between $4,000 and $5,000 yearly just to maintain the roof, so this money should be a load off, no pun intended. "These renovations will continue to present the wonderful live theatre that people have become accustomed to," said Catharine Collins of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Library going solo in east end

Instead of a fully-developed intersection including office and retail space, it seems that the corner of Watson Parkway and Starwood Drive will have to make due with a standalone library as the new 7,500 sq-foot branch is the only thing getting built for right now. Toronto-based developer Metrus Properties informed the city of the change to their plan last week. The new branch of the Guelph Library was meant to jumpstart development in the growing east end, which is under-serviced by retail options, including, but not limited to, grocery stores and other shopping amenities. "They still will (go ahead with other developments), but it's just a matter of timing," said City of Guelph senior development planner Chris DeVriendt. "Right now, the library can proceed with site planning only." Construction could start as early as this summer.

Arts, Projects and Attendance

Everybody get artsy now

City staff have recommended to council spending $4 million to build a new arts centre in Guelph from the 2012 and the 2013 budgets. It’s not a new idea, there have been numerous discussions about making the project since 2003 when the city commissioned a feasibility study into building one. Now the idea is still in a very preliminary stage, but Ann Pappert, the city's director of community services, told the Guelph Mercury that putting it on the books, budget-wise, so that the project can move along from a mere notion to the road to reality.

And it’s a reality a lot people in town have been saying has been a long time in the making. One of them is Sally Wismer, executive director of the Guelph Arts Council. "It would be a space where the arts community could come together, a meeting space where you could drop in and see what was going on," she said adding that she sees studios that could be rented to artists, meeting rooms, rehearsal space, a gallery, a gift store and a small performance space as some of the proposed amenities. As for location, the city wants to use an existing building rather than build something new. Singer/songwriter James Gordon said that he hopes to see the current Civic Museum converted to an Arts Centre, once the new museum opens in the Loretto Convent.

City invites feedback for big projects

Speaking of the Civic Museum, an open house is being held at its current location on Dublin Street Tuesday so that members of the community can review, evaluate and give feedback about the plans and designs for the new location at the Loretto Convent. The material on display will represent the conceptual design, building renderings and site plan drawings for the main museum, Children’s Gallery, Guelph History Gallery, temporary exhibit areas, classroom and programming area, artefact and archival storage, research room, and offices. The deadline for completion of the renovations is September 1st, 2010, with construction starting exactly one year before that. The open house starts at 6:30 pm at the Museum on 6 Dublin Street.

Speaking of open houses, community members are also invited to review and discuss the conceptual design of Eastview Community Park and Pollinators’ Park at the northwest corner of Watson Pkwy N and Eastview Rd. The open house is part of the Public Consultation Process on the proposed End Use Plan for the former Eastview Landfill Site. This open house is going down in Activity Room #4 at the Evergreen Senior Centre, 683 Woolwich St. from 4 pm to 6:30 pm, also on November 25th.

Valeriote ready to receive you

Newly-elected Liberal Member of Parliament Frank Valeriote was finally sworn in during a ceremony in Centre Block on Parliament Hill last Friday. Valeriote is one of 13 new Liberal MPs that was introduced in caucus and inducted into Parliament last week, and already Valeriote is setting a high bar for himself. The former lawyer says that he intends to be as available as possible to his constituents, while being highly visible in Ottawa while the House is in session.

Now pundits will point out that anything will be an improvement over the abysmal attendance record of Valeriote’s predecessor Brenda Chamberlain. In the last session of Parliament, a month before her retirement, Chamberlain ranked 299th out of 303, or the fifth worst, in attendance, being absent a total of 33 times between January 2006 and March 2008. But Valeriote’s seat is not the only thing of Chamberlain’s that he’s taking over. Valeriote is setting up shop at 40 Cork St. E., Chamberlain’s old constituency office. The new MP says he’s ready to hear from you, so send inquiries through e-mail to valerf@parl.gc.ca or by phone at 519-837-8276.

League gets new Watchtower

Looking for the Guelph Civic League? Have you tried their new location? On November 8th, the GCL hosted an open house for their new digs at 10 Carden Street, conveniently across the road from the new Civic Administration building. In an alternative universe, the move for the progressive grassroots organization would have been ideal, had the new City Hall opened on time. But at least some people got a new office this month.