Special Council Meeting

13:14Good afternoon everybody. It is four o'clock on the dot. So I'm going to call this special council

13:22meeting to order. Thank you very much everyone for being here. Right off the top, wondering if you

13:30are able, if you could please stand as you recognize our national anthem. Great thanks everyone.

15:01Yeah feel free to grab a seat and just as we continue we'll just have a moment of silent

15:05reflection. Great thanks everyone and now for our indigenous territorial acknowledgement.

15:23As we gather let us take time to reflect on our privileged to live and work here in Guelph,

15:27a city built over rich indigenous histories. We are guests here and we should reflect upon the

15:32responsibility to care for this land and the people who live here today and the generations to come.

15:37If our actions today can move us towards reconciliation we should take pause and make those

15:42decisions with intention and gratitude. This place we call Guelph has served as traditional lands

15:47and a place of refuge for many people over time but more specifically the Anwaran Rock and the

15:51Hul Nishoni. This land is held as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the

15:57Credit First Nation and Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Haldeman track and is part of a

16:01long-established traditional hunting grounds for the six nations of the Grand River. Many First

16:06Nations, Inuit and Métis people who have come from across Turtle Island call Guelph home today.

16:14Thank you. Is there any disclosure of pecuniary interest or any general nature thereof from

16:18anybody? Nobody? That's good. So as I said off the top we're here for a special council meeting.

16:27Does anyone know why? That's to break the ice. That's a bad joke. That's to break the ice.

16:35Thank you. This is really interesting right? Like here we are. None of us have gone through this

16:42before. So this is a new territory but it is an exciting moment for our people in the city to

16:51especially those that have put their name forward and are looking to fill the vacancy from Councillor

16:57O'Rourke who we again congratulate on winning the election representing Guelph as the MP or a part of

17:04Guelph anyways. And we've got 26 people that have put their name forward to try to fill that

17:11vacancy and we are here tonight to figure that out. And so again just thank you so much for coming.

17:20We're gonna start off with our clerk Stephen O'Brien who's standing up there.

17:27Clerk is just good at the clerk. Stephen is going to just kind of walk us through a very quick

17:33presentation sort of what to expect tonight. The flow, how it's going to work and then it will come

17:42back to me after that and we'll get going. So I'll turn it over to Stephen. Please go right ahead.

17:50Thank you very much Mayor Guthrie and good afternoon members of Council, fellow staff members of the

17:56public and all the candidates here this evening who have put their names forward. As Mayor Guthrie

18:01alluded to this is a special meeting of Guelph City Council to consider an appointment of a second

18:06Councillor to represent Ward 6 and join Councillor Chew as Ward 6 representatives. We're appreciative

18:12of all of the 26 individuals who have come forward each expressing their willingness to serve Guelph

18:17and Ward 6 in this important role. Each of these individuals has submitted their consent to be

18:23considered for appointment and in many cases has provided written personal statement which is available

18:28as part of the agenda material for today's meeting. In accordance with Council's approved vacancy policy

18:34only written correspondence has been accepted for this meeting. Today's process will allow each

18:39candidate up to five minutes to address Council. Following each presentation members of Council

18:44may ask up to two questions per candidate and once all candidates have been heard and questions

18:50have been concluded Council will proceed to vote. I'll remind members of Council and the community

18:56that our legislation, the Municipal Act, requires that all voting be conducted openly and so no vote

19:01may be taken by ballot or any other secret method of voting. So voting will proceed as follows each

19:06candidate's name will be presented in alphabetical order by last name on the screen. Council members

19:12will vote for one candidate per round. Multiple rounds of voting may be required. A candidate must

19:19receive at least seven votes to be appointed. If no candidate receives the required number of votes

19:25in a round of voting the candidate with the fewest and or no votes will be removed from

19:31consideration and the process will repeat until a successful appointment is made. Once a candidate

19:36has received the necessary votes Council will move a motion to formally appoint that individual

19:41as Councillor for Ward 6 and the appointee will then immediately take their declaration of office

19:47and will be officially appointed by bylaw. This is a significant responsibility and I want to thank

19:52all applicants for their commitment to public service and they're interested in contributing

19:56to the governance of our city in this way. I also want to thank Council and staff for their diligence

20:01and professionalism in carrying out this professional process and this very important process and with

20:07that I'll turn it back to you Mary Guthrie. Thank you. Great thank you. I want to do something to

20:13sort of break the ice and kind of cut through the fog for a minute. Stand up shake hands with your

20:19neighbor say hi seriously say hi say hi okay just break the ice. Okay that's enough that's enough

20:44all right all right take your take your seat everyone that kind of breaks the ice say hi to

20:55everyone it's all good and and as the as the clerk said you know it's such a responsibility to put

21:02your name forward and we just we just I speak on behalf of Council I know I do we just really

21:07thank everyone for for putting their name forward. I think I also speak for Council to say you know

21:12this has this been difficult we've had lots of you know kind of conversations of like oh do we

21:18even like this process you know it's it's it's difficult and so I just want to say that you

21:27know we're all unified here and and we're looking for whoever is successful here to to join with us

21:34unified as well as we move forward with what we're doing here at the city and and you know as much as

21:40it might feel uncomfortable sometimes we're going to try to make it as comfortable as possible here

21:44in the room for everybody so you know let's take that in and let's let's treat that throughout the

21:49the whole meeting until we come to a conclusion that way and and then we'll have a big round of

21:55applause for whoever whoever whoever it is okay so um five minutes you heard the clerk that that's

22:02the rules five minutes you'll hear a chime in the room at the four minutes and thirty second mark

22:10and that is your thirty second warning uh at the five minute mark your mic gets turned off

22:17that's embarrassing don't do that okay uh so make sure you're you're done within the five minutes

22:23you don't have to take the whole five minutes if you don't want to but but no more than five okay

22:27you'll hear hear the warning at the four minute thirty second mark and then when you're done

22:33there might be questions from me or my colleagues um so just pause for a moment when you're done

22:40and I'll see if there's any questions if there's not thank you and we'll move on to the to the next

22:46uh the next person and we'll continue moving our way through I think I've laid it out well so let's

22:52get going and we the first it's alphabetical order so the first person coming up is Rebecca

22:59Adam and Michelle Bowman you're going to be in the wings okay welcome and whenever you're ready

23:10the timer will start go ahead thank you good afternoon Mayor Guthrie and City Councillors

23:17my name is Rebecca Adam it's an honor to put my name forward for the ward six counselor appointment

23:23in the city in Guelph of Guelph as city and a ward I have proudly called home for my entire life

23:30growing up here in the 80s and 90s means you were part of a tight-knit community

23:34where neighbors looked out for one another today I live at the edge of Corite Hills where those

23:39same values continue to thrive with nature in my backyard I experienced firsthand the nuanced issues

23:46that come with this unique setting issues that require ongoing attention and thoughtful leadership

23:53I now cross paths with familiar faces from this tight-knit community at our children's activities

23:59that shared history creates trust accountability and a real desire to serve

24:05I bring to this role a deep and ongoing commitment to community you will already see me at various

24:11charity events around the city such as Royal Reach, High Tea for Hope and the coldest night of the

24:16year just to name a few I'm here listening learning and hearing the stories that matter most to our

24:22residents these interactions are not passive they translate directly into my action-oriented

24:28demeanor customer service begins with showing up and being responsive working on the philanthropy

24:36philanthropy team at Sutherland Insurance where I serve as the director of people and culture

24:42as opened my eyes to parts of Guelph I truly hadn't seen before it's given me a deeper

24:48understanding of the challenges a residents face in areas where our community still fall short

24:54just this past winter I watched a mother plead online for help stating that they and their

24:58children were sleeping in their car as a resourceful person myself in an effort to support and

25:04understand I spent hours one night calling every avenue I could to find a solution for them unfortunately

25:11I could not improving housing supply and affordability is an issue I care deeply about

25:18I appreciate and support that it is reflected in the 2024 to 2027 strategic plan earlier this year

25:27I reached out to Councillor Chew, Councillor O'Rourke and Mayor Guthrie for their support regarding an

25:33ongoing hunting issue directly behind me my home is near the Nisga land holdings an area that comes

25:39with its own set of challenges although they do not hear gunshots from their kitchen at 7 a.m. like

25:45I do they listened with care patience and urgency they treated my concern as their own navigating

25:53overlapping overlapping jurisdictional issues that experience reiterated to me how powerful

25:59compassionate leadership can be especially when it is rooted the deep understanding of the local

26:05neighborhood context that is the kind of councillor ward six deserves and that is the kind of councillor

26:11I will be like the outgoing ward six councillor who represented as well Dominique O'Rourke I too

26:19am a woman with kids who is actively involved in my community engaged in local issues and ready to

26:24get to work as a lifeline life long wealth residence an active neighbor in ward six

26:31and someone deeply engaged in our community I bring both the lived experience and the service

26:37mindset that this role will requires I will bring curiosity humility and a collaborative spirit

26:44I will ask thoughtful questions listen with intention and work alongside my colleagues

26:49to find common ground and practical solutions thank you for your time and consideration I

26:55hope you place your trust in me as I know my friends in ward six will as well thank you well

27:03thank you oh that is very kind that you would do that um and in a setting like this I can understand

27:11why because we're all kind of rooting everybody on but uh we'll just we'll just hold the applause

27:16and stuff till the very end okay after l26 or dine I'll allow allow it then okay is there any

27:21questions for Rebecca Adam at this time oh okay councillor Gibson yeah thank you through

27:29mr. mayor thank you uh miss Adams for coming today um you you answered a lot of my questions about

27:35you know living in the ward being aware of the concerns um you kind of meet the demographic

27:40or the the type that we've lost on council from from councillor O'Rourke but you also mentioned

27:45living in the court right hills neighborhood which I gather um is a very engaged neighborhood so maybe

27:50just take a second to expand on your understanding of the concerns from the neighborhood I know you

27:57mentioned the hunting one but I'm sure there are others and councillor she was spoken to me about

28:02the the engagement of that neighborhood so being in that neighborhood just maybe expand on your

28:06experience there so ward six is vast and diverse and you know my neighborhood um wall fights called

28:15the old south end because the new south end didn't exist when I grew up um so we have different

28:20neighborhoods and we have different issues um so it is great that um councillor chou lives on one

28:25side I live on the other side um and we just have issues you know downy we I also call my house a

28:32mullet house because the front of my house I am in a city but the back of my house is a country so

28:38there is a lot of jurisdiction problems behind me and we all face that the cornfield there's hunting

28:45you know there's paths there's a bunch of different things that we have to look out for and I know the

28:49niska land holding area has been talked about over the past couple of years and I know it's

28:54something that will be talked about over the coming years because ward six has to grow 20%

28:59I know there's land behind me that is being looked at for various things so I think it's

29:04really important that who's someone who lives there is part of the discussion so we can stand

29:09up for what we want to keep and what is important to the people of our ward great answer thank you

29:17great seeing nothing further thank you also I didn't know that that was you about the gun

29:24issue at all so no I didn't know that so all right well thank you very much yeah all right

29:31Michelle Bowman you're coming up next and is Jeremy Kavan here all right you're in the wings

29:37Jeremy thank you welcome Michelle and whenever you're ready okay like many people in Guelph I was

30:00just passing through but got hooked it's a special city where there's lots to do yet everyone's in a

30:07tight-knit community I've lived in Guelph longer than I've lived anywhere else and I even passed up

30:15a job with the federal government in New Zealand to stay and I do hope to retire here the bulk of my

30:22career has been spent restoring and protecting river health enabling us to continue enjoying

30:28the recreation and drinking water and other things they provide one of the first things I did when I

30:35moved to Guelph 15 years ago was join the river systems advisory committee environmental health

30:42intersects with social and economic health so I became increasingly interested in provincial

30:50and then federal and finally municipal politics and I came within about 2.5 percent of winning a

30:57council seat in ward one during the last election my biggest motivation for being here today is I'd

31:06like to spend the next decade advocating for more autonomy for municipalities it's the level of

31:13government that most directly impacts our lives and in my opinion the best level level of government

31:20to make progress on local issues this vacancy is a fabulous opportunity for me to learn more about

31:28how municipalities work firsthand and it would really help me to decide whether I could best

31:36advocate for municipalities inside of council or outside of council and honestly when I wake up in

31:43the morning it's what I'd like to work on and I have to make sure I get the other stuff done first

31:48so what makes a good council counselor I've heard is different for different people which is terrific

31:56and one objective way I thought to show my qualifications were from to show the legislated

32:05responsibilities of a counselor so in my statement I provided the skills and experiences

32:13and interests that align with those 11 criteria and I'll just name a few

32:19and the most obvious one is managing wealth's land and resources but I also really enjoy helping

32:26people navigate municipal government and I do that a lot already I'm keen to help make decisions

32:34and I would do that by looking through three lenses a reconciliation lens an affordability lens

32:40and a climate lens so what would that look like we were here last week and we found out that

32:48the health board is using AI a lot more so is there a way that we can look into AI and make

32:55sure that we're using that carbon that AI uses in the most efficient way that we can

33:02a valid concern that I've heard from many counselors that I spoke to is that I don't

33:08live in ward six so I just wanted to provide some examples of ways I have interacted with ward six

33:15a few years ago I was invited to talk about the fossil keep fossil fuels out of schools initiative

33:23and thanks to Sam and others it's been wildly successful I just had a peek at the new high

33:29school at Arkellen Victoria just outside ward six and it will be the first high school in Canada

33:38to be free of fossil fuel and infrastructure so it's a huge win another example is during the

33:44federal election a resident of ward six asked me to come down and help them figure out how to

33:49canvas in the new riding I had a great meeting with counselor two and we're really confident we

33:56could complement each other and work well together I also grew up in Milton so I know what rapid wealth

34:04brings and I've enjoyed lots of amenities in ward six so I'd be committed to spending even more

34:12time in ward six and would join the three other counselors that live outside their ward but

34:17represent their ward well I'll just close with some final thoughts I just wanted to say I was

34:25very grateful and touched by the thoughtful community support that I got from all six wars

34:32and I was excited that it did cover all six wards I'm committed to representing diverse views and I've

34:40already had some success building consensus my values align with the strategic plan of wealth

34:48and it's also just really good timing for me I can commit to this role make it my first priority

34:54and spend a lot of time out on it at the moment my goal is to get the council seat on ward six

35:06I'm finishing the sentence for you all right thank you thank you Michelle is there is there any

35:13questions at all for for Michelle just counselor Gullar go ahead thank you through your worship

35:20to miss woman thank you for the presentation I remember reading on your application that you

35:26had done some work for parks Canada I just just wondering if there was any connection that you

35:31had from that work that you would bring to your work here council yeah to the mayor thanks

35:38counselor Gullar um it's work that I am really proud of and I think it relates I can it relates

35:45a lot to the work that counselors do um my phd work was supposed to be on the impact of wastewater

35:53treatment plant upgrades but it turned into advocating for upgrades um because the wastewater

36:00treatment plants were in the canadian rockies they needed the best technology available and

36:05actually a little better than that um so the federal and provincial guidelines didn't protect the

36:12rivers in the Rocky Mountain National Parks and we see that in Guelph too and I was glad the other

36:17day to see that the GRCA recognizes that and made their own leadership targets so I work closely

36:25with the municipalities of Banff like Louise Jasper and Field to get the funding that we needed

36:32for the state of the art wastewater treatment plants um many stakeholders were involved

36:39and we had to run experiments to prove that we really needed them um but it resulted in the

36:46restoration of the ecological integrity of important rivers for recreation of course in the

36:52national mountain parks but also drinking water in many of the western cities um so yeah I think

37:00all those things definitely relate to Guelph we have water issues in Guelph so I'd be happy to

37:06bring some of that expertise to council thank you thank you worship thanks counselor Gullar I don't

37:13see anything more thank you Michelle appreciate it uh Jeremy come on down is Gregory Causie here

37:23Greg you're in the wings okay welcome to you Jeremy and and uh Timer will start whenever you're ready

37:35hello everybody first I'd like to thank all the counselors and the mayor for this opportunity

37:40my name is Jeremy Kavan as you already said I am a small business owner in Ward 6 my cafe which I

37:46think I've recognized an awful lot of people here uh is directly in the center of Ward 6

37:51um before I had that business here I lived in Guelph for the better part of 20 years in Ward 1

37:58so what I think I or the thing I can bring to the table here is as a small business owner I have a

38:05customer forward approach approach to everything and I think that the way that this can be a value

38:10a valuable for city council is that on the ground every day I talk to somewhere around 100 to 120

38:17people at my cafe and the things that they talk about oftentimes are what's going on in the neighborhood

38:23so I have my ear to the ground as to what was happening in the neighborhood at any given time

38:27whether it's traffic cameras or new rec centers or uh traffic jams from construction etc etc etc

38:35I get to hear about it firsthand so my value here especially as an unelected representative

38:41would be to be a conduit for the people of that neighborhood directly to council and the mayor

38:46I think that uh having somebody there who is listening and who's seeing a lot of people

38:51is something that oftentimes a counselor doesn't have the luxury of doing because you're

38:56busy doing your jobs obviously but you don't have a job that puts you in front of the people

39:01of your ward every single day like that in such a direct fashion secondly my approach to politics

39:08especially given the circumstances of being unelected in this scenario is more of an approach

39:13of whether public policy is going to function or not so I would like to approach this job as though

39:20it were a machine public policy is a lever if that lever is pulled and at the end result we're going

39:25to have the outcome we want and that's a good piece of public policy if the lever is pulled and we

39:30get no result or perhaps a perverse result then that's bad public policy so my job I think would be

39:37to sit and be convinced by other counselors and by the mayor uh as to the efficacy of any given

39:43public policy um that being said I'm not without my credentials um I have a degree in political

39:48science from uh University of Guelph um I'm being a small business owner I'm familiar with budgeting

39:54human resources staffing uh I'm also I've worked for many charities I've done events

40:01I've thrown music festivals on top of that I was the I was the head of Fairbott Guelph for a couple

40:09years and I also worked with one two three Guelph initiative both electoral reform initiatives

40:14and on top of that I'm an easy person to get along with and I know Ken I've met him many many

40:20times and we get along very well and I think we'd be excellent teammates I think we could really

40:25deliver really good public service to the people of Ward 6 that's it for me thank you guys great

40:32thank you very much any follow-up okay counselor too through you mr. mayor hi Jeremy I good to see

40:40you here I'm at your shop quite often and I'm just curious what issues you hear about no the most

40:47recent issue that come up was a tree cutting by-law talking about the size of a tree you can cut on

40:53your own or not cut on your own and uh yeah that came up a lot in the last little while

40:59especially there's a there's a specific table in my cafe where a large group of people sit and talk

41:06very loudly about whatever issue they're grumpy about that day and it's it's both wonderful and

41:12exciting to hear them yak and I love to participate in those sorts of things so that was the most

41:16recent one great thank you very much I've seen nothing for we appreciate you coming forward

41:25all right at Gregory uh Causie's coming up and Dakota Cherry are you here Dakota okay great

41:33you're coming up next okay Gregory welcome and whenever you're ready it's over to you okay thank

41:40you very much and first of all I want to thank you for the opportunity that provided to fill the

41:44vacancy of ward six and taking this route to do so I think it speaks to the number of people that

41:49we have out here of the great civic pride of the city and I think that's fantastic I also think it

41:54was the reason why this route was taken to follow filling the vacancy to have a wide number of people

42:01here today so that you could pick who you thought were the was the best person to not only represent

42:06ward six but for the city so thank you I believe my candidacy candidacy offers three main benefits

42:12to this chamber and to this city first of all I've taught civics I've taught at John F. Ross just

42:18down the road I'm at the twilight of my teaching career there and want to be active in another form

42:25of public service but I understand in that role the role of civics and the challenges that come with

42:30municipal government I know that our lane is really and our power is really what only the

42:35or the provincial government provides to us so I'm not going to waste this chamber's time

42:40on moving issues or different things that are beyond our scope or jurisdiction I'm well versed

42:45in Robert's rules I've chaired a school council I was involved as a VP of our district union so I

42:50know Robert rules in terms of motions and procedure and how things work from bringing motions forward

42:56and the rest finally due to the fact of the position I am right now I have the time right now over the

43:03next month to dig into each file to get in here to understand the process and really be able to

43:10hit the ground running when things ramp up in the fall so that is what I believe my candidacy offers

43:16in terms of my priorities for ward six I've already reached out to to Ken to hear about the main

43:23issues and different things I'm well aware many friends in in the ward but understand that traffic

43:28concerns are first and foremost this is the fastest growing part of the city and making sure that

43:34infrastructure is built and maintained for that group I think is of extreme importance and that

43:38is what I've heard in reaching out to people for it I also would like to set a vision forward for

43:44Guelph for the city in general many of the things that we're trying to face that we'll hear about

43:48tonight housing issues and shelters and the rest and the monies that we need it is a challenge and

43:53that's why I would like as a city we already know this is a great place to live I'd like to move it

43:58forward to being a great place to visit one of the levers that we have to be able to pull on as

44:02a municipality is the municipal accommodation tax and I would like to see us get more visitors here

44:08to Guelph and have ideas on how we can do that and I think that is an opportunity that we can do more

44:14of to bring more people into Guelph to be able to grow that pot of revenue so that we can fund a

44:19prosperous future for ourselves in the city I also would like to dealing with and talking to people

44:24in other municipalities the challenge of collecting money that is already owed is also an issue of

44:30monies that is out there because we really we get caught up in the zero sum game and I want to be

44:34able to look at a vision of growing that pie so that we have opportunity to do the challenges and

44:39the rest that are out there in terms of myself ever since I came to Guelph with my loving wife

44:44and we've raised a family here over 25 years I've got involved you heard I was a teacher 25 years at

44:50Ross I've got involved with the Guelph transit board I've been a lead of the Guelph Little

44:55Theater I've coached numerous local and community teams and I was served a seven-year term at

45:01Jean Little Public School it is for this reason that I believe I have the skills necessarily to

45:06not only represent the ward but to represent the city as well and at this point in my life

45:12it's not about ideology or different things I think what people are yearning for is good

45:16government good people in those positions so that people have the confidence that they know

45:21that their tax dollars are being spent in a judicious manner and that they have confidence

45:26in this forum and at this point I thank you very much again for providing this opportunity

45:32to listen to all of us because I know this is going to take some time but I really appreciate

45:36that you're making an informed choice for the best interests of not only Ward 6 but the city so

45:40thank you very much thanks so much Gregory and let me see if there's a follow-up for you looking

45:47at my screen there isn't thank you very much okay appreciate it and Dakota you're coming down

45:56and Robert cool I think I saw you you are right in the front row brilliant okay Dakota welcome

46:03and whenever you're ready go right ahead sorry I have a an extra copy if anyone needs it for

46:10accessibility reasons also I apologize I lost my voice this is not the voice you'll have to

46:15hear for the next 1.5 years but does anyone need a written copy for accessibility okay

46:25good afternoon thank you council for having me here my name is Dakota Cherry and I live in

46:31Ward 6 with my partner I'm putting my name forward today because I've spent my entire life doing

46:36community-engaged work not because it's been my job but because it's my calling and what I genuinely

46:41love to do and also because I love Guelph and everyone in it especially this Ward and it would

46:47be an honor to serve alongside this incredible council to create an even more connected caring

46:52and community-driven city from the moment I arrived in Guelph I wanted to be involved in everything I

46:58introduced myself to all the vendors at the farmers market where I now help out every Saturday I

47:02volunteered at coldest night of the year and I even helped set up a clothing store at the Guelph food

47:07bank to raise over $30,000 I've also gotten to know many if not most local business owners

47:14leading my friends to joke that going anywhere with me takes twice as long because I'm always

47:17stopping to chat after graduating from my master's I made the really tough decision to leave Guelph to

47:23pursue what I thought was my dream job collaborating with remote First Nations on food security

47:27initiatives it was meaningful work that aligned with my values however the further I got from Guelph

47:33the more I realized that some of the most impactful work is happening right here especially for young

47:39families sustainability and food the new South End Community Center for example will transform how we

47:44live gather and connect with one another at the same time with Ward 6 growing faster than any other

47:49part of Guelph we're going to face our own set of unique challenges in terms of transit accessibility

47:55and food access these are issues I want to face head on alongside my neighbor and ward mate Kenchew

48:02right here in the community where I'm proud to say that I'll raise my own family one day

48:06as a kid I told anyone who would listen that I wanted to be the first female Prime Minister

48:10I'd line up all my stuffies and my little siblings and I would tell them speeches about

48:15hats climate change or how Rob Ford wanted to get rid of cyclists that passion never left me I

48:22studied politics in Ottawa worked at Indigenous Services Canada and even spent a year campaigning

48:26door to door for my aunt who's now a city councillor in Rita Rockcliff funny enough I learned more in

48:32the year I spent door knocking than my entire political science degree that experience taught me

48:37that the most meaningful change doesn't come from the top down it comes from neighbors talking to

48:41neighbors from listening before acting and from people showing up and working together because

48:46they genuinely care and I've been doing community-based work ever since for the past eight years I've

48:53supported non-profit social enterprises and remote First Nations by writing grants designing

48:57programs and helping them gain access to over half a million dollars in funding from setting up a

49:02planning strategy for hillsides Indigenous Circle to more recently working with community food to

49:08secure funding for a food truck that will allow them to serve more free year-by-donation meals all

49:13across Guelph including Ward 6 but what I've learned through all of this more than anything else is

49:18the power of listening this crucial skill has helped me build trust and build community especially

49:24with groups that are often underserved or overlooked so while I'd love to list all the exciting

49:29projects I take on if appointed the truth is I believe in working and growing with you council

49:34to learn from your expertise where I can best focus my energy each day while still embedding

49:39values of reconciliation sustainability throughout finally I also bring lived experience of working

49:46multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet of growing up under housed in downtown Toronto and

49:51of facing food insecurity firsthand these experiences shape how I relate and approach public service

49:57and they help me understand the everyday concerns of residents in Ward 6 so I urge you counselors to

50:03please consider me for this vacancy because I live in the ward this role versus will serve

50:08because community engagement has been my life's work and finally because I intend to make this role

50:13my full-time job giving it the full care and commitment that this council and the residents

50:17of Ward 6 deserve but you're not just putting your trust in me because as I've learned from my elders

50:23I come with an entire web of relations when you vote for me you're also voting for my genius partner

50:29my city councillor and my early childhood educator mom my environmentalist dad u of g the

50:34Errol food institute and my huge network of qualified to have shaped and continue to shape me

50:40together with the diverse and dynamic perspectives already on council we can build a well for every

50:45person in every family it feels seen supported and at home I love you well thank you so much council

50:53thanks so much dakota we appreciate you coming as well putting your name for it is there any

50:58questions at all as a follow-up there oh there is counselor goer thank you through your worship

51:07thank you for your presentation mr cherry you mentioned your work with with first nation

51:11communities and you touched on reconciliation could you tell me a little bit more about how you

51:15might bring some of that work of reconciliation to city council yes thank you so much so I've worked

51:22with many first nations across Canada Alexis Nakota Su first nation binge adwab exauging

51:27and ishnamak net mazaga magnesium a to name a few and as someone who has an indigenous ancestry but

51:32no direct ties to community I basically had to build all of those relationships from scratch

51:38and so that took skills such as humility care and respect and these are the exact skills that I

51:44will bring to this council to collaborate and build relationships with all of you and the

51:48residents of word six in addition reconciliation is something that can be embedded into everything

51:54that we do so it would be a true honor to be able to work alongside council to

52:00incorporate those values into existing programs and policies and proposals that we already have

52:06thank you so much thank you counselor thank you Dakota we appreciate it again thank you so much

52:14and Robert cool is coming up and is Shane cool is here okay thank you you're going to come up next

52:24chain sorry if I say your last name or first name wrong please correct me if you get to the mic and

52:30I've said it incorrectly welcome in the timer we'll start whenever you're ready Robert go ahead

52:37good afternoon mr mayor and council today I stand before you to ask you for your support

52:42to join you to have a seat at this table I have always been an active member of our communities

52:49since I moved here I was born in Sydney Nova Scotia graduating from with distinction from the

52:55Sydney Academy and then on to the University College of Cape Breton graduating with associate

53:00diplomas in business management and accounting in 1976 while living in Sydney I was appointed to

53:08one of the first youth advisory committees in Canada where we discuss how youth of our community

53:14can be a more active part of our community and co-chair the ethnic and cultural committee of the

53:21city I left Sydney in 1991 due to the downturn of the local economy and the closure of three major

53:30industries in Ontario I settled in Camberville and worked by my brother to run a successful

53:36standard bed stable having worked several other stables I moved to the US to work for windback

53:43firms as a licensed head trainer for four years before returning to Canada in 2008 renewing

53:50employment with trainers I previously worked in Ontario while working I began an 11-year

53:59relationship with the standard bed race track chaplaincy committee as a volunteer and eventually

54:04the treasurer I moved to Guelph in 2011 maintaining my employment in the standard bed industry

54:12from that point I started to become involved in volunteer groups and in political activities

54:18I was appointed to the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2019 as part of a grant review team where in

54:25the past for over the past five years we have delivered over a hundred million dollars annually

54:30to deserving non-profit groups and organizations in Waterloo Wellington Dockburn catchment I also

54:37volunteer with the Royal Canadian Legion branch 234 Guelph and serve as the first vice president

54:44I am actively involved in all aspects of the Legion Guelph has now a population of approximately

54:53150,000 people recently I spent 12 hours at our only hospital to have an x-ray and a CAT scan

55:00and I was totally impressed with the dedication of the complete staff as they worked continuously

55:06putting the health of those there regardless of the problem just being there to help those who

55:13needed it most during my provincial campaign I discussed with our mayor and many of the other

55:21counselors and for a second the need for a second hospital and was told that the land

55:26and ward six would be available for a hospital we need that hospital here in Guelph we need to do

55:34to build the infrastructure now for the future to make Guelph a strong community and work together

55:40for the betterment of the residents of Guelph we need to build an infrastructure to secure the

55:47future of a city now we need to attract new business and to Guelph to increase survivability and

55:55future needs to help Guelph become the vibrant place to come and not be from I will work with

56:02all members of council to build a stronger and more vibrant city drawing a short term on council

56:08thank you for your time and allowing me to come before you today to give my feelings on what Guelph

56:15should be for the people of Guelph thank you thank you Robert thank you very much and uh is there

56:22any follow-up question all right Richardson and Gibson thank you Mr. Cool for coming you mentioned

56:30that you did a number of years on the with the Ontario Trillium Foundation can you give me some

56:35insight on how you made those decisions with so many great charities that needed that money well

56:44it's a basically a three-step process first when they submit the grant application there is an

56:51executive board that looks at the ones that don't meet the qualifications but all those that meet

56:57the qualifications from all across Ontario it is divided up into 16 catchments and I

57:05am on the Wellington Waterloo Wellington Duffin catchment and we get approximately

57:1478 to 80 uh applications and it's done on a basically a point system with three different

57:23groups within the uh within the board and they we come together and basically at the point system

57:29the highest points get the money we have a certain amount of money that we allocate and with that

57:37all we can do is with the money we have available so that's basically how the whole system works and

57:43I'm I'm actually happy to do some of the things I've done I've worked with the Hope House and

57:47recently with the Guelph Black Heritage Society giving them major grants right thank you

57:53thank you and Gibson as well thank you uh through you Mr. Mayor to Mr. Cool thank you

58:02for your delegation I thought I might hear you mention the cribbage that you are involved with

58:05across town but never mind thank you very much for your work with the Legion I do appreciate that I

58:11know it's important work I had a question you mentioned a lot about the hospital is that something

58:16that is coming up a lot when you're let's talk in seniors talking to former service people

58:22at the Legion well being with the Legion there's a lot of seniors there and they have a lot of

58:28issues being waiting in a waiting room for eight hours and a lot of them just can't do it like

58:35myself the other night I went in the hospital at four o'clock in the at four thirty in the afternoon

58:41I finally got home at four thirty in the morning we need more healthcare in the city thanks very

58:48much Mr. Cool great thank you very much again for coming down we appreciate it and Shane uh

58:57Coolis you're coming on up and Morgan Dandy is in the links thank you for coming Shane and whenever

59:08you're ready go right ahead hi everyone my name is Shane Coolis I'd like to first thank

59:25council for choosing the appointment method to fill this vacancy this has created an inclusive

59:30environment for newcomers such as myself to step forward and who's never previously run for council

59:36I'm a proud Gual fight I've lived in Gual for six or sorry for 12 years and this is the only place

59:40that I want to raise my family we chose this city because it offered the perfect location to raise

59:44our three girls which is a natural environment with amenities and a sense of community and I'm

59:52passionate about contributing to its continued growth and well-being over the 12 past 12 years I'd

59:56seen Ward 6 transform significantly and that is just the beginning I've been following all the

1:00:01proposed developments within the ward and its continued exceptional growth is going to require

1:00:06leadership to ensure all the constituent's needs and feedback is being met with community priorities

1:00:12and those priorities are affordability transit environmental protection and public safety

1:00:18I also volunteer extensively within the school community and within local sports groups this

1:00:23has allowed me to have meaningful discussions with residents on what matters most to them

1:00:28and their families needs I run on council because I want to genuinely I genuinely care about the

1:00:34community and the I'm proud to be a member of it I want to make a positive impact and represent

1:00:40all the different voices within Ward 6 I truly believe that politics is about people that can

1:00:44make meaningful decisions to drive change and ensure residents can live a comfortable life

1:00:49in a safe community and I'd also like to offer council my specific background in supply chain

1:00:56procurement sustainability and crisis management my career has been and has been revolved around

1:01:02financial responsibility strategic planning and providing the best value for the stakeholders

1:01:08I hold the designation as a member of the charter institute for procurement supply

1:01:13and I'm also a certified supply chain leader these designations have recently received public

1:01:17endorsement from Doug Ford David E. B. and A. Nond that shows us strategic value that these

1:01:22designations can play within both public and private sector activities let's be candid the

1:01:29federal government and provincial governments have done his favors over the recent years with

1:01:32policies and programs that they've implemented this has been putting increased pressure on

1:01:36municipality and these and the significant price and sorry the significant cost increases to both

1:01:48property taxes is not sustainable over the long term we need to do more with less and either

1:01:53tools I can get us there over my career have effectively used and these simply yet effective

1:01:58strategies to reduce costs and drive change that I can utilize on council number one is spend

1:02:03management I got a principle that I always use in my career is if this were my own money

1:02:07would I make the same decision just by adding context and insight to this question

1:02:12uh can really bring answers to it so um the one thing is accountability to taxpayers and

1:02:18overall value that can be overlooked when you're not applying this principle these skills directly

1:02:22aligned with the demands of public governance where every dollar matters and decisions are made

1:02:26for the greater public good the next concept I want to talk about is kaizen which I use which is the

1:02:32art of doing incremental changes to drive significant improvements you can't have a

1:02:37quality service without uh without taking time you have the can you see a look at your policies

1:02:49procedures and processes and discussion with your with co-workers to ensure you can drive value

1:02:55and reduce waste and the last thing I want to talk about is what's called a gamble walk and I use

1:03:00this extensively it's a simple yet effective tool which essentially means you go to where the issue

1:03:04is so you can see with your own eyes this will provide context to what the issue is and see

1:03:09it from a holistic manner and especially through the eyes of the east stakeholder itself I plan to

1:03:16engage residents of ward six by becoming immediately available to discuss open issues or concerns I

1:03:21would provide an open and online forum where I can share news from the council news on the proposed

1:03:27developments I can post engagement questions and then I can also promote small business

1:03:31I'll host fireside chats and engage discussion collaboration and feedback

1:03:36and also canvass area within the ward for outreach opportunities if elected I will prioritize

1:03:42acting as a collaborative voice for the for the constituents ward six engage in constructive

1:03:47conversations and drive solutions from a pragmatic manner provide disciplined financial stewardship

1:03:52and ensure every investment aligns with community priorities and create a clear collaborative

1:03:59opportunities with local groups schools and organizations to bring added value and unique

1:04:04opportunities to the community I will plan and to join an open advisory committee role such as

1:04:10transportation or economic development tourism I believe school future should be built on

1:04:15accountability innovation and shared purpose I'm committed to being strong informed and accessible

1:04:19voice for the familiar residents of ward six someone who will listen learn and lead with an

1:04:24integrity all right thank you thank you so much no we appreciate that and is there any questions

1:04:35for Shane at all seeing or hearing none thank you thank you very much we appreciate you Morgan

1:04:43dandy is coming down and then Jessica for Lino I hope I'm saying that right is Jessica here

1:04:50is sorry I didn't know my glasses on okay I'm sorry okay you're in the wings okay thank you

1:05:06welcome Morgan you know uh you know how this goes so whenever you're ready okay

1:05:20hello council staff fellow applicants and wall fights I'm grateful the chair will suspend decorum

1:05:27to recognize the commitment of wall fights in this process a special thank you to clerks every

1:05:33interaction I have is pleasant precise and professional some council members have expressed

1:05:40their desire to appoint someone who understands governance was lived who has a different lived

1:05:46experience who lives in ward six who can navigate the steep learning curve for a new counselor

1:05:53I understand governance I have a different lived experience than most I need to move

1:06:00and my dedication to council issues is evident in my continued presence at meetings I ask clerks

1:06:08if there's an easy way to find how many times I've dedicated since the parkland dedication

1:06:14review in January 2019 there is not my archive review found approximately 65 times in six and a

1:06:24half years I attended most meetings of council since January 2020 online in person and pre-pandemic

1:06:33protocols watching on rogers television I have a solid understanding of governance within chambers

1:06:40and I'm well versed in the issues and decisions coming to council over this final year of the term

1:06:46especially the cleral multi-secondary plan I also attended by a three committee of council meetings

1:06:52mostly transit accessibility and committee of the adjustment in an early 2024 committee of

1:06:58adjustment meeting kushla math use invited everyone to a workshop for housing providers to

1:07:03inform the housing affordability strategy I attended the workshop as a consultant for a

1:07:09non-profit affordable housing initiative action items 1.1.8 support homeowners looking to add

1:07:16new units and 2.2.2 explore other types of housing that are right for wealth are a direct result of

1:07:23my input community consultation is a key factor in decision-making I thank Kate Nixon for the first

1:07:30opportunity to give my part of a free workshop on how to delegate to council I have continued

1:07:37thereby allowing more fellow individuals with lived experience to come forward and speak to you

1:07:43with confidence educating people about municipal responsibilities is a passion a welcoming streets

1:07:50employee recently highlighted that I'm effective at explaining why some decisions

1:07:55must be made in a specific manner even when I don't agree with what's decided

1:08:00the frontline worker told me I had helped them understand processes and decisions

1:08:05which they were then able to help others understand as well especially in marginalized communities

1:08:14being the de facto compliance officer in the Milton office of semen's water technologies

1:08:18gave me a unique education in the importance of compliance protocols working at halton region

1:08:26public health and as a frontline health care worker protecting patient confidentiality was

1:08:33paramount before running a federal campaign office in 2021 I was integral in the execution

1:08:40of the historic five contestant bid to be the federal green candidate in 2019

1:08:48I have always had a highly developed sense of social responsibility my mom's watching from

1:08:56Calgary and where my father's still alive I know he would be proud as he has always said

1:09:04I should follow in the footsteps of his brother the honorable george william dnd either in law

1:09:12or politics to me becoming a counselor is the confluence of compassion and competence in service

1:09:20to my chosen city the combination of my written personal statement and speech today prove I

1:09:29understand governance I have a different lived experience and I'm committed to doing the work

1:09:38with little runway needed I have no vacation plans for august though I will be searching for a new

1:09:46place to live I trust this provides you each with the confidence you need to cast your vote

1:09:54for me to join you as the next ward six counselor in the royal city thank you so much morgan we

1:10:03appreciate you coming as well uh counselor all has a follow-up thank you very much marica three

1:10:08you to the prospective counselor miss dandy thank you for your comments on governance and lived

1:10:14experience but there's one thing that does concern me you said I need to move and I just want you

1:10:21to explain that I'm presuming that you're talking about within guelph and possibly within ward six

1:10:27just clarification please through the mayor thank you very much for the question counselor alt

1:10:33as some of you are aware I live in a precarious situation place I call the hobbit hall so I don't

1:10:39feel like I live in a dungeon and I cannot survive another winter living underground I must move and

1:10:49if I am the chosen person I will be moving toward six because that just makes sense

1:10:58sorry do you have to ask you a follow-up you mentioned a hobbit hall which is a great allusion

1:11:02but I'm hoping that you're like I'm hoping for everybody you're not talking about you are living

1:11:07roughly right now uh but that's just an affectionate term you use I live in a substandard basement

1:11:16thank you thank you counselor thank you morgan we appreciate you coming down as well

1:11:24jessica I saw you put your hand up and is randy freeze here okay you're gonna be next okay randy

1:11:37welcome Jessica thank you for welcoming me thank you go ahead and start oh I'm sorry I

1:11:42thought we'd be all ready sorry it was just that start whenever you're ready okay I'll I'll turn

1:11:47off my mic go ahead mayor got three counselors I would like to begin by thanking you as well as

1:11:52the clerk's office for facilitating this appointment process I understand the decision before you

1:11:58is a grand undertaking and I cannot stand here in good faith to tell you for sure that I am

1:12:04absolutely the best person for this position especially when the room is filled with all of

1:12:08these wonderful candidates but what I can tell you is that I believe that my unique and very relevant

1:12:14cross-section of skills and experience would make me an asset not only as an advocate and

1:12:19representative for ward six where I live but also my community in the city as a whole it was my

1:12:25intention to use my statement of qualifications to highlight my professional and my my professional

1:12:31skills in my experience but today I'm hoping to stand before you to give you some insight as to

1:12:36who Jessica for Lano is and why she stands before you today so when I'm not covering the latest news

1:12:43or stories on leading companies communities technologies or innovations across North America

1:12:49which I think could really inform my work here with council I am a wife I'm the mother of a three-year

1:12:55old I'm the daughter of an immigrant and why I tell you that is because my father gave me a sense

1:13:01of what it is to work hard and the value of a dollar earned and a dollar spent and when dealing with

1:13:07taxpayers dollars that's a very important consideration my upbringing was centered around

1:13:13food and family and that remains to this day on any given day you'll find me in my garden my kitchen

1:13:19or at one of the many markets in and around the community food security and strong local food

1:13:24systems are an important part of a sustainable future and this is one of the many reasons

1:13:28Guelph is a great place to call home even before moving here we visited the community often attracted

1:13:33to the city's agricultural heritage its rich history what I think is a charming downtown

1:13:40and a strong commitment to the environment there were many reasons we chose to raise our little

1:13:44family here and now we know our neighbors by name we share a smile a kind hello and we finally feel

1:13:52a true sense of community I feel very lucky to call Guelph home perspective that is equally important

1:13:57in the context of this role having lived in both larger and smaller communities I appreciate what

1:14:03Guelph has to offer but I don't see the city through rose-colored glasses either Guelph is no

1:14:08different than other cities in that there are many challenges that need to be overcome and lives that

1:14:13need to be uplifted affordable homes that need building infrastructure that needs investing

1:14:19and intergovernmental intergovernmental relationships that need to be strengthened

1:14:23but overall I'm impressed by the quality of life the services the use of resources

1:14:29and everything that is available in fact I am proof that these investments work

1:14:34when we first moved to this community the first places we put down routes were the

1:14:38Westminster Woods library Vic Park recreation center the many parks and splash pads the problem

1:14:48was is that I moved from a walkable transit oriented neighborhood in a larger urban center and it

1:14:54was a challenge to navigate the transit system at first I found it to be extremely cumbersome with

1:14:58a toddler but I still made the most of it I made the most of taking advantage of our neighborhood

1:15:04and our ward and everything that it had to offer and now as a two-car household I'm able to expand

1:15:09outwards but I also recognize that this is contradictory to the city's goals further all of

1:15:16these places were truly sources of civic engagement for us and a big part of the motivation as to

1:15:21why I'm here we cannot grow for growth's sake but instead we must have thoughtful integrated

1:15:27development ward six cannot be an afterthought necessarily because it is the newest part of

1:15:33the community it needs to be more strongly integrated with the transit system especially

1:15:37as the city grows and in fence intensification and densification efforts are taking place

1:15:43my goal is simple I'm committed to collaborating with you to ensure that your goals are achieved in

1:15:48the final year of your term while advocate advocating for and representing my community

1:15:52to ensure that budgetary fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities of office are upheld and that

1:15:58decisions are made with the community's best interest at heart and ensuring that no one is

1:16:02left behind as the city grows I if I had one last takeaway for you it's that I'm accountable

1:16:10impartial well-versed in policy community economic and social development codes of conduct

1:16:16decorum rules of order and I'm up to date with the work of council I'm also a quick study which

1:16:22means that I'm ready to hit the ground running and whether it is in this capacity or another I

1:16:26look forward to working alongside you all to make wealth an even greater place to visit and call

1:16:31home thanks so much Jessica we we appreciate you coming down to thank you very much is there a

1:16:39okay I have a counselor to thank you through you Mr. Mayor I just want to clarify you mentioned

1:16:46Westminster Woods in your statement do you currently live in that area yes I do I'm in the

1:16:50Westminster Woods Pine Ridge neighborhood okay and what issues do you see are pertinent in that area

1:16:56well specifically right now traffic is an issue my concern is with the new high school that's

1:17:01going in the residents at 361 Arkle already have a difficult time getting in and out of their

1:17:07parking areas but I do know that in the strategic plan and the official plan there is plans to

1:17:13widen that area so I've already made it known to the transportation department that it is a priority

1:17:19also ensuring that as we develop the Claremont B secondary plan that it meets the needs of

1:17:25the community not just Ward 6 but as a whole so intensification densification infrastructure

1:17:31these are things that I see as major concerns in that area

1:17:35thank you very much really appreciate it thank you thank you uh Randy freezes coming up

1:17:45and is uh his sham uh Janita here okay there you are his shop thank you um I was you

1:18:06came away Randy freeze and dishnokas Guelph to juba I have been here in Guelph for about

1:18:13eight years or so I'm moved here with my family in 2017 um since that time

1:18:25I found this city challenging I I can't agree with everybody that's spoken so far

1:18:32with this city being a great place to live honestly I've struggled since I got here it hasn't been

1:18:38kind to me um but I have actively got involved in community and organizations

1:18:46in order to create positive change not only for me but for my son and those who come after

1:18:54I just um I don't want to repeat myself I um submitted a written statement and stuff but

1:19:01I just I just um I really just want to urge you guys on council here to to vote differently

1:19:10to think beyond yourself um and the mandate um go beyond the status quo break it if you can

1:19:19even if it's by not choosing me I'm not here to tick a box you know um I just want to really urge

1:19:29people to to think differently vote differently um you know maybe even think a little more with

1:19:36your hearts or something um I've seen a lot of issues in this city um getting involved with some

1:19:43of the community organizations and things like that um I'm involved with healthcare and on the

1:19:49school board the public school board as a parent um I'm a founding member of the Guelph Indigenous

1:19:58Community Council and in the last year or so of our existence we have really strived to try to

1:20:07bring people together in the Indigenous community but also reach out to organizations and city

1:20:14workers and counselors and stuff we had a pleasure of meeting Dominique O'Rourke

1:20:19a couple times in the last couple years um she was very nice and and uh I've I've met uh

1:20:26um I don't know if you hear Linda there you are she lives in my neighborhood um

1:20:33um it's been great help to me and my family as well um

1:20:39uh but but you know it's it's an ongoing thing like um last year I last year I

1:20:43stood here before you on crutches so I'm making some progress health-wise but I am a person with

1:20:50disabilities both physical and invisible and I uh I have not you know kept that a secret or anything

1:20:59but I don't use it to my advantage but I I notice the treatment of people who um are are

1:21:09differently abled in the city myself included now that I've gone off the crutches it's it's it

1:21:15blows my mind um just how differently people treat me um just because of the the things I'm

1:21:21carrying in my hand it's it's really strange but um uh yeah I I just uh I'm at a loss for words right

1:21:30now but um thank you for your time and I'll I'll leave it at that great thank you very much uh

1:21:37Randy is there a follow-up for Randy at this time there isn't but thank you again for coming down

1:21:43and putting your name forward uh Hashem is is coming down and James Gordon is already in the wings

1:21:52he knows how that works so thank you James and welcome to you as well thank you for coming and

1:22:03I'll turn it over to you. Your worship Mayor Guthrie honorable members of council and staff

1:22:20thank you for this opportunity my congratulations for the 25 applicants that show a remarkable

1:22:27civic spirit in our city and my thanks to council can you choose for his steadfast leadership in

1:22:34world six you face the immense challenge of building thousands of homes in an affordability crisis

1:22:42while navigating new provincial powers and complex accountability laws at this moment you don't just

1:22:49need another vote you need a specific toolkit I'm here tonight because my entire career has been

1:22:56about forging this exact toolkit this passion for local government isn't just academic for me it's

1:23:04deeply personal I have I have lived in five countries and worked for united nations in crisis area like

1:23:11d'Orphore and south sudan and I saw firsthand what happens when local government fails the common

1:23:18factor in so many humanitarian tragedies is the absence of accountable local representations

1:23:26this that experience taught me never to take our what we have here for granted I saw and that's why I

1:23:34highly appreciate the work you do my written statement gives an overview I hope you read it

1:23:41but my life has been anything but um convention over 25 years I have driven a taxi a bus and I

1:23:49worked in law enforcement today I'm a legal scholar with a doctorate a master in political

1:23:55science and three law degrees I'm licensed lawyer in New York and having passed both Ontario bar

1:24:03exams and will be fully licensed upon finishing arteclinic this diverse experience from street

1:24:11to classroom from Africa to north america gives me a ground perspective on how our city works for

1:24:18everyone my focus on administrative law on Osgoode hall was a deliberate choice to master the

1:24:27mechanics of local government as a foundation for law this bring me to the strong mayor framework

1:24:35in my statement I confirmed I support using all provincial tools but I want you to be clear about

1:24:42my approach I would advise against using these powers for two reasons first the collective wisdom

1:24:49of 13 elected official is always better than one second these powers can challenge the very purpose

1:24:57of local government I value so highly democracy and collective and collaborative rule of law

1:25:03however I'm a pragmatist I know the city is a creature of the province and the legislature

1:25:10granted these powers mayor Guthrie has locally stated he will use them my job therefore is to

1:25:17work within that framework to ensure our process is transparent and collegial in this in this

1:25:24environment the premium on evidence-based debate and the procedure fairness has never been higher

1:25:30I will focus on building consensus through a rigorous process to reduce decisions that are

1:25:36durable and have broad public legitimacy to do this I will rely on three key mechanisms first the

1:25:43public process the mayor must exercise these powers in writing and make them public every

1:25:50directive can and must be debated openly at the at this table where we have a duty to ask

1:25:58the tough questions second council retains legislative authority a two-third majority of

1:26:05council can override a mayoral veto a significant check on the on that power finally our ultimate

1:26:12guardrail the municipal conflict of interest act and council code of conduct every one of us is bound

1:26:19by them and here I want to state that throughout my career I have lived by these principles of

1:26:26conduct conflict and discretion there are no rules I will need to learn forward six I offer

1:26:33stability I will be steadfast partner to council to a shepherd for the south end projects my legal

1:26:41fluency governance records and my roots toward six position me to contribute immediately my mindset

1:26:49is collaborative curious and anchored integrity I respectfully ask for your confidence if appointed

1:26:57I will be ready for the august committee cycle without missing a beat report towards six residence

1:27:04monthly work with every councillor and staff to advance our shared strategic plan thank you

1:27:13great and thank you very much sham we appreciate you is there a follow-up at all from anyone for

1:27:18Hisha I don't see any so thank you again appreciate you and James Gordon is coming on down

1:27:27Catherine how's are you here Catherine I'm sure you are but okay front row perfect thank you very

1:27:33much welcome James nice to see you on that side of the horseship welcome nice to see you again

1:27:40thank you mr. mayor councillors staff and awesome applicants some of you might be surprised to see

1:27:49me here I know I'm surprised myself let me explain I should start by saying I would never make this

1:27:55position a springboard for running for council in next year's election actually don't think

1:28:00that would be appropriate so you can ask me about that if you like despite the fact that the press

1:28:06says that they have reliable sources I also have zero intention of running for mayor here's what I'm

1:28:11offering if you are looking for filling this vacancy with someone who has experience with civic

1:28:17governance who had hit the ground running as another contestant said without the daunting learning

1:28:23curve who already has a good working relationship with a majority of councillors and with many

1:28:28unstaffed who has a track record for doing good constituent work for engaging with the community

1:28:34for bringing forward initiatives that contribute to the well-being of our wonderful city I think

1:28:40I might be your guy I'm the only one speaking today who has that experience and the only one as

1:28:46far as I know who has pledged to keep this as a caretaker role you have an interesting choice to

1:28:53make if you are looking towards grooming someone new who could make this position a stepping stone

1:28:59towards being elected then I'm not your guy and I should say that it's gratifying to see so many

1:29:04willing to step up here today I'll certainly respect whatever direction you decide to take

1:29:09what I'm offering I think is a kind of guardianship someone who can help the council continue the fine

1:29:15work it's been doing until the election someone who can represent the good people of ward six

1:29:21and the city at large with the same commitment energy and passion that I've often offered wealth

1:29:27I'm new to some of you so here's a quick rundown of what I see as my qualifications

1:29:32resident in Guelph for 57 years graduated from the U of G and Centennial High School

1:29:38Go Spartans served two terms on council first artistic director of the hillside festival

1:29:44which just completed his 41st year founding president of the Guelph Civic League co-founder

1:29:50Wellington Water Watchers founding board member Guelph Climate Action Network and get involved

1:29:55Guelph founding chair Guelph Family Mental Health Network co-founder of the Breezy Breakfast

1:30:01Community Forum co-founder and current artistic director of the Praise the Ward Festival September

1:30:0620th be there former board member of the Elliott community the Guelph Public Library the Guelph

1:30:12Nonprofit Housing Corporation former downtown business owner much more than you can see on

1:30:18my online statement I'm honored that I'm often asked to take on a leadership role and yet I

1:30:24clearly have a problem with saying no and I could use professional help with that you can see that

1:30:29I like to start things I'm here because there are some things I'd like to help finish I should

1:30:34say that I do not live in Ward six is that a liability that's up to you but it doesn't seem to

1:30:40be for those of you who don't live in the words you represent as a counselor I was proud of my 100

1:30:46percent response rate to constituents and that those responses often involved a personal visit

1:30:53that visit now from where I live might take 10 minutes longer than if I lived there I have an

1:30:58EV and an e-bike and I know how to use them as you can tell from my resume collaboration is how

1:31:03I roll so I look forward to working with counselor to to help make Ward six the vibrant sustainable

1:31:09war that I know it can be what would I like to do in Ward six my job I think is to serve

1:31:16not to direct so I'd hold a town hall right away to gauge priorities and concerns I still work full

1:31:22time in the cultural sector but I'm self-employed and can take the time needed for this gig should

1:31:27I get it and to be honest I wouldn't mind the excuse to stay at home a little more it's tough

1:31:33out there when I put my name forward there were as usual a mixed bag of comments in Guelph today

1:31:38the one that interests caught my eye was the dude who said I was only interested in my pet projects

1:31:44well if working to make sure no one is left behind as our city grows and that we all have a safe

1:31:49roof over our heads if working to mitigate the impact of climate change to protect our water

1:31:55our green spaces and our active transportation network so that we're leaving an enviable quality

1:32:00of life for our next generations if encouraging strong walkable neighborhoods respecting and

1:32:06honoring the urban indigenous community if working to keep our infrastructure up to date

1:32:10without putting too much of a burden on our taxpayers honoring our heritage and our strong

1:32:15cultural identity our pet projects then I am guilty as charged I'm hoping you'll see that what I

1:32:20can offer is an asset I'm a confessed workaholic I'll work hard for you and then I'll get out of

1:32:27your way my suit still fits I'm ready to wear it I'm ready to rock thanks for listening and I look

1:32:34forward to your questions I used to work in radio so I like to end exactly on the button

1:32:48thank you I am I'm not going to say the joke I was just going to say that

1:32:54uh uh Councillor Caron has a follow-up and thank you James we appreciate you and then uh

1:33:02alt as well okay thank you through you mr. mayor uh James you certainly have a very impressive

1:33:09legacy in history on city council and in the community and doing public engagement work

1:33:13I'm wondering what you're most proud of and even though it's a very short term and you've indicated

1:33:19that you're you're not interested in running again for one and a half years what is the

1:33:23would be your key strategic goal um if you were to sit in this seat again so what are you most

1:33:28proud of in the past what would you do in the the short time that you you may be in the horseshoe

1:33:33oh thank you I think uh the very first motion that I brought forward on my first term in council

1:33:41was actually one that I saw in operation this evening which was to bring an official land

1:33:46acknowledgement to our city and at that felt I was proud to have done that and I've been

1:33:53honored to have been able to participate in issues like that since also as the founder of the

1:34:00co-founder of the water watchers my efforts through uh water issues and climate change

1:34:08and culture felt like I was making a particular contribution that suited my experience and my

1:34:16skill set I think I would want to and also uh pretty darn proud that maybe if I'm chosen for

1:34:23this role I might be around to see that library finished and I worked hard on that that is actually

1:34:29one of my goals for the next year to see if we can help shepherd that through um I'm also very

1:34:36interested in learning more about how we can improve our quality of life with walkable neighborhoods

1:34:44and protecting our community identity which sometimes gets at risk as we grow thank thank you

1:34:54councillor Caron and uh to alt thank you very america three through you to the the candidate mr

1:35:02gordon um mr gordon I'm not looking to position someone in the next election I'm not looking to

1:35:08avoid it either I'm I'm looking uh to to find the best candidate and consequently I've not

1:35:14entirely decided so the question then becomes you've made reference to guardianship and I was

1:35:21wondering if you would please expand upon that with reference to the challenges of ward six

1:35:27especially as it is expanding sure um this might sound unusual but I in my experience as a counsellor

1:35:36one reason I have chosen not to run again should I take this role incumbency is a very

1:35:43powerful election advantage and where that relates to ward six that's actually one of the only

1:35:50wards in recent memory that has brought forward a new candidate replacing an incumbent um most of

1:35:59those around the horseshoe you know about that value so that means that for you to appoint someone

1:36:07this evening who has intentions to run for the next year you're most likely getting this appointee

1:36:15elected and I think that's quite a responsibility and I think it's really worth considering

1:36:22whether the advantages that you would automatically be giving to that person make sense or not so uh

1:36:29I think that uh I'm very impressed with what I see this evening and I really hope that all

1:36:37of these people that we're seeing if if not chosen this evening start now it takes at least a year

1:36:43start now to generate a team supporters uh staying involved and running in a in the election um if uh

1:36:53I think I don't know if the clerk clerks were aware of this but they probably never guessed that 26

1:37:00people would apply for this position um suggesting to me that there's that much interest if it looks like

1:37:10folks want to take part and continue that's a good argument for an election but that many

1:37:16maybe this should have been an election because it's not again I'll reiterate my concern that this

1:37:22could be an advantage and there's also a potential risk I see um I'm certainly not saying this would

1:37:29happen this evening but with this process this appointment could be used to install

1:37:34someone because of their loyalty to a particular agenda of some here rather than on their experience

1:37:41and their suitability so I'm sure uh glad that I don't have to make that choice but I'm well aware

1:37:49of the challenges that that come with that

1:37:52seeing nothing further thank you very much James okay and Catherine Hauser's coming on up and uh

1:38:02Donald Hay is uh going to be after Catherine and welcome Catherine thank you for coming

1:38:11and whenever you're ready okay that's a tough act to follow um good evening

1:38:21Mayor and Councillors thank you for the opportunity to present to you today I would like to take this

1:38:26time to briefly outline the qualifications and experiences that I would bring to the role of

1:38:30ward six city councillor every applicant in the gallery today has publicly shared their experiences

1:38:35and values for your consideration and I have done the same I would like to add that I was also elected

1:38:40in the 2022 municipal election as the public school board trustee by the residents of ward six

1:38:45with 2,549 votes or 59 percent as council knows firsthand campaigning is about more than putting

1:38:53out platforms it's about ongoing conversations listening and earning trust throughout and

1:38:58after that campaign I have worked closely with constituents and community groups always aware

1:39:02of the legislation regulations and scope of authority I carry and just as importantly where

1:39:07that authority ends I share this understanding with residents as part of my commitment to

1:39:12transparency and education it is important that everyone understands where responsibility lies

1:39:17whether it be school board municipal provincial or federal government I would like to next

1:39:22highlight my governance and stewardship experience with the upper grand district school board and

1:39:26also the University of Guelph board of governors I have received rigorous governance training

1:39:30including conflict of interest code of conduct procedural bylaws and public policy in addition

1:39:36I've completed training and equity in human rights leadership and advocacy mental wellness

1:39:41and accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities like city council my organizational governance

1:39:46and accountability experience includes hiring the organization's leadership the school board

1:39:50director and university president the creation of the strategic plan and the plans that underpin

1:39:55the strategic plan the development of a budget and the accountability performance measures

1:40:01the fun part of my role is engaging the community and stakeholders in the strategic plan

1:40:05creating a long-term inspirational vision much more difficult is the budget just this year the

1:40:11upper grand district school board passed a 500 million operating budget with 85 percent of it

1:40:16dedicated to human resources we also approved a 50 million capital budget which includes

1:40:21maintenance and new building projects like the long anticipated south end high school which

1:40:24will directly benefit ward six families the university's 635 million budget anticipates

1:40:30a deficit with just under 10 million dollars and there will there were difficult reserve fund

1:40:35discussions by the board of governors it is not my role to prepare the budget but it is my

1:40:40governance role to understand how things operate in the organization what the short term and long

1:40:44term effects will be to ask questions and to work together with my board colleagues to review

1:40:50reports that inform the budget as trustees we shape the future of our communities through

1:40:55thoughtful land use and long-range planning i have worked closely on school site acquisition

1:41:00educational development charges and municipal development proposals all guarded sorry all

1:41:05guided by the board's long-term accommodation plan which projects school needs based on regional

1:41:10growth edc's help fund land purchases for new school and require detailed collaboration with

1:41:15developers and municipalities in this work we have expropriated land severed and disposed of

1:41:20property and followed both provincial and board regulations i have reviewed zoning proposals

1:41:25development plans inherited designation files including the recent designation of titler public

1:41:29school in work too these experiences mirror the decision making needed for proactive responsible

1:41:34city governance my work on the university of guelph board of governors as the elected alumni

1:41:39staff representative further expands this experience my work on the physical and digital

1:41:43infrastructure committee introduced me to the university's building futures land use plan

1:41:48and i look forward to contributing to its development on the finance committee in every

1:41:52space i occupy i have earned a reputation for showing up having done the work and i bring a

1:41:56steady thoughtful and collaborative approach to complex issues behind every one of these milestones

1:42:02i do the work reviewing staff reports balancing competing priorities and ensuring the long-term

1:42:06sustainability of the organization it is not flashy but it is essential i am also eager to

1:42:12contribute to council's work and collaborate with each of you as well as with dedicated staff to

1:42:17move ward six and go off forward and while my qualifications and experience are both relevant

1:42:22and strong they are only part of why i am here i am also a renter a transit user a long-time

1:42:27guelph resident a single parent of four now-grown children and a former downtown business owner

1:42:32and employer i know the squeeze that families are feeling and empathize with the seemingly

1:42:36unattainable goal of home ownership i understand the urgency of issues like sustainable growth

1:42:41affordability and inclusive planning i am ready to help guide these conversations with both

1:42:45practical experience and a community-centered lens i believe my voice can add to the perspectives

1:42:51and discussions at council and i would love to be honored to continue serving the people in word

1:42:55six in this new capacity thank you for your consideration thank you very much kathryn thank

1:43:01you for putting your name forward to is there a follow-up oh sorry council or billings thank

1:43:10you through you mr mayor houseman i want to thank you so much for answering most of my questions

1:43:16the other day but i forgot a few things so first so if you were chosen today what's the process

1:43:24with respect to the school board vacancy that you would be creating would they fulfill it like

1:43:30right away like what's their process so legislation requires that i cannot hold two municipal

1:43:37election act seats so my seat wouldn't be immediately vacated at the board this conversation

1:43:44has already occurred should that happen they have a process in mind we have already gone through

1:43:50the process when there was a conflict of interest with the former trustee we had to replace that

1:43:55position so the process is i would assume they would undergo the same process so not necessarily a

1:44:02by-election no they wouldn't i well i mean i don't know what they would choose they'll have that option

1:44:07but last time we we did like an application process an interview procedure okay okay and and real quick

1:44:15just a follow-up from our conversation before your your role of being a union steward does that take

1:44:21up a lot of your time or are not really no um so it the position is really a liaison between

1:44:29employees and to get them where they might need more information so i would pass along their concern

1:44:35to either um the like the president of the vice president of the union um sometimes there might

1:44:40be a meeting that would happen and they would want like a steward representing them there

1:44:45usually just to take notes or something i haven't actually fulfilled that part of the

1:44:49task yet but that would just be during like my eight to four Monday to Friday role okay thanks

1:44:55Catherine thank you and just for one moment uh councillor Caron has a follow-up too

1:45:01I should thank you through you mr. mayor um as a former school board trustee myself um i know that

1:45:07there's a lot of overlap on planning issues things like planning the new high school boundary

1:45:11reviews that kind of thing are there any other overlap issues that that you can think of that

1:45:16tie in with what we do on uh on city council um the big big tie in for word six with traffic

1:45:23again especially around the school zones um other issues would be i think community engagement as

1:45:32well um i've talked to a lot of families that really enjoy like the school activities and all

1:45:37of the the fairs and everything like that so any engagements um would overlap as well thank you

1:45:45councillor seeing nothing further thank you very much Catherine we appreciate you thank you very

1:45:51much so i have another question mr. mayor oh i'm sorry uh councillor gibson was hiding on me there

1:45:59i apologize go ahead councillor gibson waving frantically no thanks mr. mayor uh thanks very

1:46:06much Catherine a great presentation i'd really appreciate your experience with the education

1:46:09board i think that's great um my question is just because i wasn't clear on your package

1:46:14your are you are you representing ward six are you are you is your civic address in ward six as well

1:46:20it is not no i live on gene field between scott stale and college avenue okay okay thank you um

1:46:27i did campaign in word six um so i do know where the boundaries are it's just right to the right

1:46:32it's right there i'm familiar to jane's yeah thank you very much thank you great thank you

1:46:40for sure there's no more questions so we're good okay i did mention uh donald haye is

1:46:45going to come up uh as well now and then you know what we're halfway through i think we need to kind

1:46:51of just get up for like five minutes and just kind of wander and take a bathroom break or whatever if

1:46:57we need to so donnie you're gonna you're gonna finish off for the first half then we'll have an

1:47:01intermission and then we'll come back for the finale after that so thank you very much for being

1:47:07here uh donald and i will turn it over to you all right thank you council mayor for listening to what

1:47:12i have to say my name is donald haye i've been a a gualf a gualfight since 2006 um when i first came

1:47:20to gualf i was an active addiction active addiction subsequently i checked myself in the stonehenge

1:47:27therapeutic community in 2009 and i celebrate 16 years sobriety in february in 20 thank you

1:47:42that's not why i did it but thank you in 2014 i became a full-time caregiver to my wife amy

1:47:49after open heart surgery due to her massive heart attack that she had during her addiction

1:47:55in 2018 i co-founded an organization called as now alliance awareness solutions now

1:48:03along with other like-minded people our key goal and initiative is to bring fully functional

1:48:07resource treatment program to gualf for the growing issue of substance abuse disorder

1:48:14during my struggle of caring for my yelling wife i managed to find the strength and the

1:48:19determination to advance and expand this initiative federally provincially and municipally

1:48:25through research education and raising awareness of this growing problem

1:48:30we visited other cities and studied their facilities their methods and their strategies

1:48:35we've learned a great deal from these visits for example we visited owensown and we visited

1:48:39london ontario and represented us from the city joined us on both visits

1:48:46as as well as as now we also ran a cost analysis benefit for the gualf general hospital

1:48:52and the high demands on their emergency unit due to ever-increasing number of

1:48:57number of patients arriving with drug addictions overdoses and related mental health issues

1:49:03in the process and over the last seven years we also designed and developed several new

1:49:08approaches and strategies to address and mitigate the ongoing health crisis in our community and

1:49:13country in summary we've worked hard to raise awareness but know the community needs more

1:49:18solutions in 2019 i started a group for people directly and indirectly affected by drug addiction

1:49:26at the drop-in though we had to stop when the group when the pandemic came i've also spoken as a

1:49:32peer leader at stonehenge community or therapeutic community recently as now is helping parkwood

1:49:39gardens in the food the food bank with donations once a month for fresh fruits and vegetables

1:49:46for the food cupboard at 50 to 65 for people with food insecurities

1:49:51it has become my duty and mission to give back to the city that has given me so much

1:49:56i feel i would make a great addition to the current city council together developing solutions

1:50:01for a better tomorrow you know if appointed by council to represent ward six i will work diligently

1:50:08on all the local issues and because of my life experience i will bring a unique insight and focus

1:50:15into the persuasive and growing mental health and addiction issues facing our community at all

1:50:19levels with my background in business banking i have a diploma from the toronto school of business

1:50:25i have the skill set to understand municipal finances and fiscal responsibility to the citizens

1:50:31and the taxpayers in this city in closing guelph is my home and it's where i found recovery of

1:50:38people and support that i found in this city it has given this opportunity and honor i will

1:50:43serve guelph with integrity commitment and compassion um thank you for the opportunity to speak and i

1:50:50appreciate your consideration great thank you very much donnie we appreciate it and let me see if

1:50:56there are alts thank you very much uh mr hay and thank you very much for your your very open admission

1:51:04of challenges that you have seen and it's because of these uh your life experiences um raises an

1:51:10important question for me how would you like to see us in guelph do it differently do the drug

1:51:17addiction problem yes drug addiction and mental health support well okay i've been banning this for

1:51:24years we need a treatment center i i don't know what more to say we we have the hard hub coming

1:51:31or it's already here that'll deal with detox because there's beds coming but we need a 30-day

1:51:36treatment center it's i just that's i don't know what more to say with and if it's run properly

1:51:44and i've said this before if it's run properly it can be amazing but it's like any other business

1:51:50success breeds success thank you great i don't see any other questions donnie thank you so much

1:52:00we appreciate you thank you very much stay guys um so uh as i said let's let's let's get up and

1:52:08move around a little bit okay take a break it is right now 439 come on back here at 545 okay thank

2:00:50okay everyone this is your 30 second warning all right this is your 10 second warning okay um

2:01:59um i'm going to call the meeting officially back to order and thank you to the first batch

2:02:09that have come on forward we really appreciate it i think it's going well i hope you think it's

2:02:15going well too so that's good uh justin hindricks are you here great justin come on down and is

2:02:24daniel kaufman here yes you're in the wings daniel justin thank you for coming up first right

2:02:30after the break we appreciate you and uh whenever you're ready you go right ahead great thank you

2:02:36hello council i would like to start by thanking the clerks for all the work they've done coordinating

2:02:41this whole process i'm sure with this committee this many candidates the job was considerable

2:02:46i would also like to thank their the counselors for their attentiveness throughout this whole

2:02:50process and a special thank you to you mr mayor for your candor that i think has made us all feel

2:02:55a little bit more comfortable and at ease i'm hoping you have all read my personal statement

2:03:01and given the time limits i'll just take a second to recap the highlights i've lived in ward six for

2:03:06nearly 20 years now i've opened 10 booster juice locations to this point currently sitting on three

2:03:12as well as a menchie's frozen yogurt i've started a wheatgrass business from the ground up and launched

2:03:17an online school lunch ordering business called booster lunch i currently serve as the vp of house

2:03:23league for the guelph regals lacrosse organization i run an adult volleyball league with roughly 150

2:03:28members and have served and currently serve as a team manager trainer and coach for several

2:03:34youth sports teams despite never having played much sports growing up i was uh in boy scouts

2:03:41my past and present ventures and endeavors point to why i'm a perfect fit for this position

2:03:46i've worked with thousands of families in sports and business on all issues big or small i've been

2:03:52an employer of as many of as 100 people i've given times i've dealt with construction zoning leases

2:03:59inspections contracts and i have an ability to handle multiple tasks and learn on the go all while

2:04:05remaining organized and on time that about sums up who i am i'd like to use some of my time now

2:04:11just to provide some thoughts i had on our housing shortage and the 2051 mandate that we're trying to

2:04:17stay on top of i believe the council and everyone has laid a strong foundation we've opened the door

2:04:23to four unit zoning accelerated approvals and targeted grants we still have more options that

2:04:30could swing the door wide open we have a very low retail vacancy rate and a lower than average

2:04:38office vacancy rate in this city which is phenomenal but if you talk to a lot of business owners

2:04:42they would confess that they're just barely getting by we could look at older strip plazas and the

2:04:48potential to build residential directly above this practice has been successfully done in toronto

2:04:54among other cities and although it comes with construction disruption for the existing businesses

2:04:59long term it increases their foot traffic these locations are already on existing transit routes

2:05:05and they're situated outside of designated heritage neighborhoods which typically allows for a

2:05:10smoother integration we could also try a flex zoning pilot similar to what was done in houston

2:05:17edmonton or tokyo we would focus on commercial corridors like silver creek or york road

2:05:23areas with aging commercial good transit and underutilized parking lots by allowing four to six

2:05:30story mixed use buildings by right permitting residential above commercial with no need to

2:05:36rezone allowing small scale infill units and setting clear design guidelines to maintain

2:05:42curb appeal and character we could make significant strides lastly we could try a more direct

2:05:48approach the city itself could build on city-owned land and lease out its homes directly to

2:05:55responsible operators with stringent rules on affordability for tenants uh i still have enough

2:06:01time left so i would like to touch on another issue i'm passionate about i think everyone here knows

2:06:07someone who's had a bike stolen a car rightful through or their business broken into i believe

2:06:13there are measures we could take to improve crime prevention without an increase in our budget or

2:06:19to our taxes so it's not to burden the already burdened taxpayers right now we allow residents

2:06:25to voluntarily register their outdoor cameras and police can request footage if a crime occurs

2:06:31this is a great step in helping catch criminals but if we with the rapidly uh lowering cost to

2:06:39outdoor cameras we could offer residents free or subsidized cameras at their homes at no cost and

2:06:45give full access to the police this way we could cut the residents when video footage is needed

2:06:50and potentially even monitor streets at night when most crimes occur just news of a tactic like this

2:06:56and proper signage alone should reduce crime uh in hotspot areas especially where residents

2:07:03consistently report issues we could launch modernized tech supported neighborhood watch programs

2:07:08when done right these programs have cut crime cut crime by up to 16 percent and with the right

2:07:13tools and coordination i believe guelph could do even better uh now these are merely just a few

2:07:19issues that i've chosen to focus on if for nothing else to show my potential usefulness on this council

2:07:25i would attack any issue uh facing my ward or the city with this much consideration so to

2:07:32summarize if you're looking for someone who knows how to work with people how to juggle real

2:07:36problems and with real world solutions and be here to stay i'm ready to serve great thank you very

2:07:43much uh it did just turn off yeah yeah so you got you got your uh your last couple words in there

2:07:50thank you very much justin uh we appreciate you coming down is there a follow up for justin

2:07:54at all there isn't thank you again and daniel kaufman's coming up and in the wings michael keegan

2:08:04is here daniel welcome and we we we know you know the drill daniel so thank you for coming

2:08:14and it will start whenever you're ready okay okay uh before i start um wow as somebody's

2:08:22beyond really interested in municipal politics and local politics a lot of great candidates tonight

2:08:27and so i'm certain that council's going to pick somebody great tonight that i'll be very happy

2:08:32even as constituent uh to see up here okay so starting off with my script starting off i would

2:08:38like to thank council for this opportunity to speak all my feelings about guelph my experiences

2:08:43within it and why i would like to join this council in shaping this city in which we live

2:08:49and that we love my interest in local politics began when through events in my own personal life

2:08:57my fellow tenants and i uh we're going to precarious situation involving our housing

2:09:03early last year our building our home was bought by the notorious king of rena victors swiftly they

2:09:09moved to undermine our rights misinform us and degrade our quality of life soon after we were

2:09:17given rena viction noses and told to leave our homes through no fault of our own i saw many of

2:09:22my neighbors who felt they couldn't fight back comply with the landlord's request while we

2:09:27watched our neighbors leave one by one a few of us were inspired to get organized and fight back

2:09:33it was around this time that we had the opportunity to meet with mayor guthrie

2:09:36and we're invited to come to council to speak about our experiences after my first time speaking

2:09:41at council i began to attend more regularly learning more and more every time it was here

2:09:47that i realized how much potential there is in local politics to help those around us i started

2:09:52meeting new and interesting people and it made me want to become part of this process soon after

2:09:58i decided to run in the next election spoiler there a former guelph counselor i had the opportunity

2:10:05to sit down with and have coffee with says something that sat with me when you look around the city

2:10:11almost everything you see was at some point a city council decision now after watching city

2:10:17council sessions and then moving around the city i can see and speak with people about the results

2:10:23of those meetings and it very much excites me i've worked in ward six for the past six years now at

2:10:29one of its local grocery stores and i can tell you there's no better place to hear about how your

2:10:33constituents feel about your city than at the grocery store i've had no shortage of enlightening

2:10:39conversations with all kinds of different people it's a public place and like any other in which

2:10:43you'll meet people from all walks of life when news about my rent eviction case became public

2:10:48there was not pouring support from public uh and people within the community there were also many

2:10:57in similar situations that came to me either to seek advice or just to have their problems heard

2:11:07being on the receiving end of all that showed me how much people in that ward and just

2:11:12you're in the city care about what happens to their fellow citizens because of the advocacy of many

2:11:20people across the province including our own city my neighbors and i were finally able to

2:11:26resist our rent eviction attempt now i want to use the position i'm in to give back as a

2:11:32counselor drawing in the experiences i've had i will endeavor to connect create and work with groups

2:11:38in our city to support those and give back to community around me thank you

2:11:44thank you so much daniel i appreciate you coming down putting your name forward too

2:11:50and uh is there any follow-up for daniel there is it but thank you again yep uh michael keegan

2:11:58is coming down and is uh vivian uh lie here is it liar lee okay sorry you're in the wings okay so

2:12:06you're up next and welcome michael and whenever you're ready the timer will start thank you for

2:12:17this time to talk to you today um to support the decision in front of you i thought i would try

2:12:23to give you a sense of how i would approach the role under consideration if indeed i had the

2:12:29autumn privilege of serving on city council what would michael do to begin i'm one of those people

2:12:37who believes that government can and should be a force for good in people's lives and therefore

2:12:42i believe it is incumbent to ensure that government works that it's effective and governing is hard

2:12:49i recognize that most decisions that reach council are difficult it's often an exercise

2:12:54in negotiating and balancing multiple perhaps competing objectives and interests difficult

2:13:01decisions like this one for example building a good city council team is very important

2:13:09my approach is municipal council would be to prioritize engagement

2:13:13and strive to balance the diverse public interests that shape our community by working

2:13:17with the team that is council and relentlessly focusing on effective and responsible governance

2:13:25what would michael do work with council as a committed member of the team

2:13:31my experience in the public sector as political staff and in the private sectors give me insight

2:13:35and learnings about the team sport and the complexity of decision making that is government

2:13:41working with ken the fellow ward six representative and with the rest of council would be critical

2:13:47i recognize that in navigating that complexity we can disagree in good faith and it's good it's

2:13:54healthy ultimately i would have a view on the right decision or perhaps at times the least worst

2:14:00decision and i would share and discuss my perspective with council colleagues

2:14:04and service to our shared commitment to this community what would michael do engage engage

2:14:11engage known as all the answers and so engagement with residents community members experts city staff

2:14:17and in particular those for whom decisions will have a direct impact is paramount to that end i

2:14:24would expect whether done by me directly or through city staff the community stakeholders

2:14:28are meaningfully engaged on their perspectives insights that engage in that their perspectives

2:14:35insights and concerns are known and understood perhaps most important as a representative of

2:14:40ward six i would prioritize engagement and work to understand the needs and concerns of those who

2:14:46live work and play in the ward what would michael do cultivate public trust with a commitment to

2:14:54effective public administration accountability transparency these are serious times money

2:15:01matters especially right now many people in this community are struggling with increased costs

2:15:06some more than others almost everyone is concerned about our collective prosperity and what the

2:15:11future holds the public needs to trust that those in government truly understand this council has

2:15:17a sacred obligation to ensure effective sorry efficient stewardship of public money and a

2:15:22sacred obligation to effective public services to me this is the core challenge and opportunity of

2:15:28government is perhaps an indictment of the world we live in today that the public trust in government

2:15:35everywhere is dangerously low so a transparent and explicit commitment to accountability and

2:15:41governance is indeed now more than ever important i believe it would be essential to communicate the

2:15:48reasoning behind my decisions as a member of council to clearly outline the anticipated impacts of

2:15:55those decisions and remain engaged on the implementation of those decisions our citizens deserve to know

2:16:02the why behind actions and the outcomes they can expect over time i was once told that progress moves

2:16:10at the speed of trust and i believe that this is truer than ever thank you once again and i hope

2:16:16this brief summary of what michael would do will be helpful in making the decision before you

2:16:23well thank you very much we appreciate you coming here as well and is there any follow-up at all for

2:16:29michael uh councillor Allt uh thank you very much mayor guthrie through you to the candidate mr

2:16:35keegan thank you for your past involvement in in government and private sector you made

2:16:42reference to prioritizing engagement and public trust so i want to pull those two together how

2:16:48are we going to prioritize engagement to instill more public trust so one of the things that i hear

2:17:02from people across the city and beyond but but in the city in particular

2:17:11and across the city um is their frustration their fear and a feeling of disconnection

2:17:18i would suggest that in ward six that feeling of disconnection is perhaps even more acute than

2:17:24in other parts of the city um i think that there are kind of two components to this one is what is

2:17:32meaningful engagement right there are kind of processes for consultation for example that can

2:17:40feel uh wrote rather than meaningful um and you know i think part of the challenge here is that

2:17:50there is no end of issues challenges problems um and so there is a need to make sure that people

2:17:59feel heard but i think more importantly that as council moves forward with uh its decisions

2:18:08and in choosing the things that it does and therefore the things that it doesn't do

2:18:12that it's understood why and so the communication um you know you you will never do enough consultation

2:18:20or engagement it's important but there will never be enough so that the the really important part is

2:18:26why did we make that decision why are we prioritizing this and by implication not that um and what does

2:18:34that mean what do we get out of it i think those are the two that's how those things interact thank

2:18:41you seeing nothing further thank you very much michael appreciate it and moving right along vivian

2:18:50come on down and is uh anika here okay you're in the wings anika welcome vivian thank you yeah and

2:19:02over to you whenever you're ready okay okay uh good evening everyone and thank you for giving the

2:19:08opportunity for me to speak here tonight my name is vivian and i'm here to run for the word six

2:19:14consular it is a privilege to be here along with so many candidates and all the great consular who

2:19:20cares deeply about our city and i'm running not just to represent a growing word but also help to

2:19:27share a more inclusive responsive and forward-thinking gual for everyone i fell in love with the city as

2:19:34a student at university of gual and i choose to stay after graduation because gual felt like a home to

2:19:40me and it still does over the year i watched war six grow more home more family and also along with

2:19:48more challenges i'm running because i believe this grows need to be managed thoughtfully

2:19:53and that our community deserve a consular who understand both human side of the public service

2:19:59and practical day-to-day issue that reston is facing professionally i work as a property manager

2:20:06overseeing modable condo community across engulf and surrounding area my job is to

2:20:13manage large part budget ensuring compliance is supporting reston and resolving issue often under

2:20:20pressure but always with empathy this experience helped taught me how to be effective accountable

2:20:27and diplomatic i work with contractor board owner and tenant on an everyday basis and i understand

2:20:35what you mean to balance diverse interests solving problem quickly and making decisions

2:20:40affect people human affects people's home and living it also gives me strong interpersonal skill

2:20:47sometime i believe something i believe is essential to be on the console because politics is always

2:20:54about people listening to them working with them and show up when it's needed i also bring a unique

2:21:01voice to the table as someone who speaks mandarin and candle knees i can communicate with people

2:21:07who are sometime underrepresented in the civil conversation i was i want every resident in war

2:21:14six regardless of the background to feel heard respected and included i understand that being a

2:21:20consular is not about just working alone it's about collaboration it's about building consensus

2:21:26navigating tough decision and always keeping the best interests of the resident at the center

2:21:32if i elect if i get elected i will work hard to earn the trust of my colleague contribute thoughtfully

2:21:41sorry uh contribute thoughtfully and putting sorry uh thoughtful to the console discussion

2:21:52and be respectful uh reliable team player in the chamber in closing i'm not here with all the answer

2:22:00but i'm here with open years a strong work ethic and a deep community commitment to the city

2:22:06i'm running because i care i care about people who who live here the family put down roots

2:22:12senior who helped build a city and newcomers who are just discovering i respectfully ask for your

2:22:18support and i'm looking forward for a chance to be on the table thank you everyone all right thank

2:22:23you very much we appreciate you putting your name forward too and is there a follow-up question for

2:22:28Vivian by anyone okay councillor Chew thank you through you mr mayor you mentioned that you

2:22:34managed properties within word six are you also within word six as well yes i'm right on Gordon

2:22:41Street um i managed we have a project new development and also the Gordon square is all managed by

2:22:51uh by me thank you great uh seeing nothing further thank you very much appreciate it uh

2:23:01anika come on down anika maldenato i hope i'm saying that right okay good i's actually okay i should

2:23:12stop right there then first pronounce it all right well we appreciate you coming as barba man here

2:23:18okay barba you're next perfect anika welcome and over to you um i want to start by thanking you all

2:23:28for giving me the opportunity to speak and by telling you why i am here i am applying for a

2:23:35seat on city council primarily because i care i believe positive change is possible and i think

2:23:43that i can help i am also convinced that municipalities are not as toothless as they seem

2:23:50even if many of the issues we face are systemic and will require widespread reform to solve completely

2:23:57we can take the first steps to solving these issues from the ground up at a local level

2:24:02through collaboration and a shared vision i have lived in guelph for most of my life and i am in

2:24:08touch with the needs of a diverse range of its citizens i live in the sunny acres neighborhood

2:24:13and many of my neighbors are homeowners some are renters some are retirees some are parents

2:24:20some are childless young professionals there are even a few young hooligans who play music too

2:24:26loudly and swear in the backyard over the years i have gotten to know many of them and have on

2:24:32occasion gotten to chatting about cost of living property taxes the job market and the polarization

2:24:38we see in our politics today and when this happens i frequently find myself walking away with ideas

2:24:45that i think might actually work to solve these issues and i wish that i were in a position to

2:24:51be able to bring them into a reality recently i have been feeling like it is more urgent than ever

2:24:58to have diverse representation with caring and solution oriented people at every level of government

2:25:05so when i saw that there was an open seat i felt like it was finally time to bring my wishing into

2:25:11reality and apply for the job a little bit about me i have been a hairstylist for 10 years and this

2:25:17year i started teaching at the local hair school downtown as a tradesperson i am intimately acquainted

2:25:23with the difficulties that come from running a small business during my time working with the

2:25:28public as a stylist i have also had the immense pleasure of honing my ability to get to the

2:25:33heart of people's issues and the art of listening to people complain both of which i think will serve

2:25:40me very well if i am chosen for uh filling the vacant seat um i recently completed a bachelor

2:25:48of arts in philosophy at the university of guelph where i focused on political philosophy and ethics

2:25:54and i am currently completing a thesis based master's degree also at the university of guelph

2:25:59and in political philosophy uh during my studies i have gained a robust education in political theory

2:26:06but the bulk of my education was focused on critical thinking finding the grain of truth in

2:26:12people who uh in arguments that um or sorry in perspectives that i disagree with and considering

2:26:18every side to every argument i have a passion for finding middle ground and i believe that most

2:26:24disagreements can be satisfactorily resolved through rational discussion and reasonable compromise

2:26:31on a more personal note i am a millennial i am a renter and i have a child who is in elementary

2:26:36school i live with my daughter my fiancee our two cats and our dog as a renter a student and a parent

2:26:44i am personally familiar with many of the struggles of balancing the cost of living i am also an

2:26:50immigrant and although i was young enough when we moved to consider myself to have grown up here

2:26:56i am personally familiar with the struggles of the immigrant community through my own early

2:27:00experiences here as well as the experiences of my family and friends i recognize the faces of a

2:27:07few members of our homeless community as people who i knew in high school some that i even called

2:27:12friends and i often wonder if their lives would be different if we had stronger social services

2:27:18we may not have the power to solve all of the issues that we as citizens face in this country

2:27:24but we do have the power to start building and implementing more resilient supportive innovative

2:27:29and sustainable strategies that will help communities lift themselves up instead of waiting

2:27:35for help to be handed down from lofty places i stand before you with a vision of politics and

2:27:40economics that does not assume there is a winner and a loser in every situation i stand before you

2:27:46with a passion to help my neighbors i stand before you with ideas about how we can affect positive

2:27:52change by offering people carrots instead of threatening them with sticks and i stand before

2:27:59you with a commitment to challenging the status quo on my craziest days i think that guelph could

2:28:05be a litmus test for how successful methods of uh for successful methods of changing things on a

2:28:11larger scale but i don't want to get too ahead of myself for now i just want to say that i believe

2:28:17that i have what the council needs fresh ideas fresh perspectives a deep desire to learn from

2:28:23people who are older and wiser and a willingness to and a willingness to collaborate we heard the

2:28:31last part so thank you very much yeah uh thank you anica and uh we appreciate you putting your

2:28:38name forward too so is there any follow-up questions for anica there is not so thank you very much

2:28:45we appreciate it and barbara man is coming down and uh ronata mares did i say your last name right

2:28:54all right thank you you'll be next barba welcome we've uh seen you here before as well so i think

2:29:02you know the drill thank you for putting your name forward to go right ahead whenever you're ready

2:29:06thank you uh mary guelph three counselors clerks and fellow candidates kudos to everybody that put

2:29:12their name forward it's a really good state of people here um thank you for this opportunity to

2:29:17put my name forward uh for the position of the interim ward counselor um six it's uh some of you

2:29:23as uh mary got three just said know me on this side of the podium very often and you may not know

2:29:29but i don't like public speaking um but you do know that i have a passion for guelph and i have a passion

2:29:35for doing the best for the city and as i said in my statement i was lucky enough to grow up in guelph

2:29:41but i'm one of those people who has also had the privilege to work live and study in two very

2:29:46diverse countries which means i'm part of the vortex that brings you back to guelph um and it

2:29:52means that i also have eyes that have seen some really great practices around the world uh my parents

2:29:58we're very very civic minded socially responsible people who help start the first non-profit daycare

2:30:05the community health center um recycling in guelph and that just came out in part of who i became and

2:30:14and as you saw by my sort of list of things i've done at university i was part of the group of

2:30:20people who helped start the first uh him well the only human rights and equity office on campus it

2:30:25still stands uh one other person and i started the mature students association is secured space

2:30:30it's still running today um i was in not for profit i secured funding and ran um a

2:30:39community conference on the criminal justice system including a moot court with real uh judges and

2:30:46police and panels over at shell dale because a lot of newcomers are afraid of authority and i had

2:30:52judges reading poetry and etc etc to make that all accessible to the public um i have to say

2:31:00too that i think a past city planner norm harrison for much of the knowledge i gained in planning

2:31:07and for my passion for planning he was exceptional in the fact that he knew that every voice no matter

2:31:14how young how abled how culturally different how creative was important to how the city grew

2:31:22and so things that people take for granted the riverrun center the covered bridge were all come

2:31:27out during that time it was also a time when the province started to take more control of decisions

2:31:33in the city and in 1996 when the the industrial areas were rezoned residential we had a lot of

2:31:42learning to do when when municipalities were losing sovereignty um years ago the pergola

2:31:49and the valerian's property that was the edge of the city and we all know how it's not anymore

2:31:55but i was very lucky under smart growth under the city of guelph to facilitate workshops out there

2:32:00and as somebody said a lot of times people at that end of the city they don't feel they're part of

2:32:06the city and it wasn't a surprise to me also what wasn't a surprise to me was they wanted to be more

2:32:13feeling of all of guelph like the rest of us also that the residents were concerned about the

2:32:19development to come after them because they were going to lose the fields to cross-country skiing

2:32:23they were going to have now roundabouts and traffic lights to get so i've been involved very much

2:32:31the next thing was the charrette about the clear malty i showed up there to ensure ensure ensure

2:32:36ensure that we remember that part of our groundwater sources in that area but also like somebody

2:32:42previously said to me to make it feel like not another area of missisaga but like guelph and i

2:32:49think we've missed the mark there a little bit i think we've missed a little bit of the mark with

2:32:53the idea of making it feel like homes along the way with the intensification behind it as well

2:33:00when i look at ward six i think of all the possibilities because right now one of the

2:33:05great examples is bishops mcdonald and how it's going to the energy is going to be used there

2:33:11as well we've got 35 mountford on the other side of town which is an exceptional ideology

2:33:17that can be transferred over to the to the uh ward six for affordable housing no it won't be

2:33:23rent geared to income but its financial model allows people to get in and build equity in their own

2:33:29home when they can't necessarily get a mortgage somewhere else and a lot of people i know they're

2:33:35in their first home at 35 mountford and they're staying there because it's so well done so quickly

2:33:40just to say similar to somebody else said is it time for you to bring in a new person or somebody

2:33:46that has a lot of experience understands the limitations the ports etc that other levels

2:33:52of government provide or is it time to bring in somebody new that you have to mentor through

2:33:56this next year and a half i would love to work collaboratively with you to finish the projects

2:34:01you've got on the plate to bring some fresh eyes into new ones that are coming and i would like to

2:34:07bring in excitement that was your last word yeah yeah all right thank you thank you barbara is there

2:34:16follow-up for barbara at all there isn't and thank you very much for coming we appreciate it uh

2:34:25yes ronata is coming up is jerry here jerry massie okay you're going to be up next jerry

2:34:34and welcome thank you very much and uh whenever you're ready okay just uh go right ahead

2:34:42good evening mayor guthrie council dedicated city staff word six residents and wealth neighbors at

2:34:49large my name is ronata mares i work live and play in word six i'm also honored to stand before you

2:34:58as a nominee for word six council my story is rooted in resilience community and a deep love for

2:35:03guelph a city that welcomed my family in 1996 as immigrants from hungary and refugee from romania

2:35:10i learned english at willow road public school and graduated from jonah frost in 2003 found

2:35:16mentors and experiences in guelph that inspires me to pursue a life of public service and it all

2:35:22started with my parents starting a new life in three countries and finding home in guelph

2:35:28my father was hired by linamar and worked over two decades my mother worked as a travel agent but

2:35:34she also started in factory work they worked hard they bought a home first in word four and then we

2:35:40relocated toward six in 2013 they cut they have built a greenhouse they collect rain water and we

2:35:49also have solar panels they tend to their gardens that brought them memories of home and made them

2:35:55feel included in guelph grain oriented community i feel privileged to have grown up in guelph and

2:36:01built a career as a public health nurse educator researcher and a global health leader for the

2:36:06past two decades i helped manage community outbreaks led vaccination programs and worked with the

2:36:11ministry of health ontario the government of nunavut and uconn during the pandemic i was fortunate

2:36:17enough to work with the world health organization to address health misinformation within our

2:36:21communities and across generations i'm a small business owner and many of my family members are

2:36:28and i'm the founder of adaptable folks inc coaching organizations and individuals to innovate

2:36:33and respond to complex challenges using a systems approach in healthcare and education

2:36:38my travel and work has span 30 countries and four continents a career inspired by my home

2:36:44experiences in guelph guelph is a city of remarkable strength i'm just sentimental

2:36:55we are known for our strong sense of community volunteerism a community

2:37:00to environmental leadership and economic innovation and resilience our green spaces

2:37:08sustainable initiatives and strong businesses and vibrant arts and culture scene make wealth one of

2:37:14the best places to live in ontario yes it's biased it's me this is a world-class city a city that

2:37:20values diversity inclusion and opportunity and i have the opportunity to volunteer with the art

2:37:25gallery of guelph the allora center for the arts and festivals like hillside and riverfest because

2:37:30arts and culture are the activities that keep us connected as part of a healthy community and democracy

2:37:38i'm also a board member with the workforce planning board of waterloo wellington dufferin

2:37:41because access to employment is crucial for people to live healthy and thrive but we also

2:37:48have challenges in our city housing affordability and supply are at a crisis point hundreds of

2:37:54families are on waiting list for affordable housing and many experiencing homelessness

2:37:59our transit system need to expand and grow with our population and we must find sustainable creative

2:38:05ways to fund the services that make wealth a great place to live as your counselor i will

2:38:11bring my experience in public health community development research and innovation to city hall

2:38:16i know how to listen collaborate and facilitate community engagement to co-create solutions

2:38:23to complex problems i will champion previously elected ward six counselors past and present

2:38:29visions their values until the next election but most importantly prepare to attend to prepare for

2:38:37and attend all the meetings till the next election i will advocate for affordable housing accessible

2:38:41transit safer streets and investment in our communities in a transparent and accountable manner

2:38:47in word six um for word six residents in guelphites regardless how the city council votes today i would

2:38:55like to give thanks uh for giving all the nominees an opportunity to present and speak today i'm

2:39:02proud to call go off home for the past three decades and look forward to serving another three

2:39:07decades more now i did want to address uh gen alpha as well so you're going to cut me off but

2:39:15i'm running forward six because i seriously vibe with meeting new people and actually listening to

2:39:20what matters to them i'm ready to touch grass in real life and not just scroll and hear what's

2:39:25really going on in our community team up with counselor kenny too we're going to keep you in

2:39:30the loop and uh with regular updates tea and good vibes only now real talk being a counselor

2:39:37isn't just vibes and memes you've got to go full skippity serious mode make tough calls i'm here for

2:39:44it thank you there was a lot of one liners there that was very very good yeah hey thank you so much

2:39:54uh we do really appreciate you putting your name forward um is there any follow-up at all from anyone

2:40:01there isn't thank you so much appreciate it uh jerry yes okay come on down jerry you're next

2:40:09and then uh laura mccollin is in the wings and it's a jerry is it massy am i saying that right

2:40:19like mass all right thank you jerry for coming appreciate it over to you thanks

2:40:25how would you like to be the well city council who is an office when the city of guelph is announced

2:40:30the 2026 most peaceable city with over 100 000 citizens in the world i would like to be part of

2:40:35that well city council i'm convinced there's a 99.99% chance that appointing me as the nearest word

2:40:41six well city councillor tonight will accelerate the achievement of the city of guelph being the 2026

2:40:46most peaceable city with over 100 000 citizens in the world by at least 1452 hours in a 1000 household

2:40:55word six guelph july 16th 2025 survey all one 1000 households agreed to make guelph the most

2:41:01peaceable city with over 100 000 citizens in the world also all 1000 word six guelph households in

2:41:07that same survey agreed there are four 20 2025 and 2026 charitably funded and revenue neutral

2:41:14programs that will make wealth the 2026 most peaceable city with over 100 000 citizens in the

2:41:19world these four programs are as follows wealth employment employment training program

2:41:25wealth shelter program wealth emergency physician and residence program wealth house arrest program

2:41:31the last one was wealth house arrest program since i added the wealth shelter program after the

2:41:37july 16 2025 survey i will verbally share two points about the wealth shelter program number one

2:41:44sorry number one on july 22nd 2025 i launched a wealth shelter program go fund me fundraiser

2:41:57to raise 40 269 to hire one full time 40 hour per week 17 60 per hour wealth shelter program

2:42:04gs coordinator beginning on february 1st 2025 and number two the other other than the management

2:42:10of the wealth rental housing registry mentioned on page four a five-mile statement of qualifications

2:42:15the gs coordinator will serve all the wealth community in regards to government of interior

2:42:20and city of wealth rules regarding the legal establishment of four plexus as well as backyard

2:42:24garden suites in assisting wealth low-income individuals who may need any season temporary

2:42:28accommodations such as winterized tents at official or registered within a city of wealth

2:42:33campsites within wealth or within 10 kilometers of wealth such as the grand river conservation

2:42:37authority camp site at gulf lake and before i take up two agenda authorized questions from

2:42:43each wealth city councillor whether i'm appointed whether i'm whether or not i'm appointed the

2:42:48newest ward six wealth city councillor tonight 15 minutes after this special announcement meeting

2:42:52is completed i've scheduled an additional one hour question answer period between myself

2:42:57wealth city council members in the media members of the media and the audience at the

2:43:02additional scheduled one hour question answer period i intend to answer one question from one

2:43:06or two wealth city councilors first then one question from the media followed by one question

2:43:10from the audience in that order for that schedule hour dear wealth city council 2022 the 2026 let

2:43:17us make eternal history in wealth together thank you for your time well thank you very much jerry

2:43:23we we really appreciate you putting your name forward too is there a follow-up for this candidate

2:43:29there is not so thank you again thank you so much laura mccollin's coming on down

2:43:35thank you laura and is ryan o'connor here sorry is ryan here no okay that will make that decision

2:43:52i will i'll be quiet um laura you are up thank you so much for coming sorry did i hear somebody say

2:44:00something pardon okay well right now we're gonna focus on laura so laura thank you for coming

2:44:08and uh it's over to you okay good evening mayor Guthrie and members of council thank you for the

2:44:13opportunity to speak with you today i'd like to use these few minutes to share why i'm applying

2:44:18and what kind of counselor i would be if appointed i live in ward ward six and i know firsthand how

2:44:25much the issues in front of council affect our daily lives i'm a teacher a parent a landlord

2:44:32and a longtime community builder i've worked across systems education child welfare animal

2:44:38services and housing and i've seen how much of daily life is shaped at the municipal level

2:44:45i've also seen how easy it is for people to feel disconnected from decision making even the issues

2:44:50like affordability infrastructure parks and transit are right outside their front door

2:44:56i'm applying because i care deeply about the future of our community as a guelphite i see every

2:45:02day how decisions made at city hall affect everything from safe streets to housing availability

2:45:08to recreational access i want to bring an open-minded grounded and forward-looking voice to the table

2:45:16someone who listens who understands the day-to-day realities of residents and who will work hard to

2:45:21make guelph a more inclusive sustainable and affordable place to live

2:45:27i first came to guelph to attend the university and during my four years there i volunteered with

2:45:31big brothers big sisters of guelph after graduation i moved away for work but when it came time to

2:45:37choose where my way to raise our family and set down roots my partner and i chose to return to

2:45:42guelph that decision reflects how deeply i value the city and its sense of community

2:45:48since returning i've continued to be involved most recently by volunteering at events like the

2:45:52great downtown guelph garage sale and i regularly attend city events with my family those early

2:45:59experiences and my ongoing connection to the community have shaped my long-standing belief

2:46:04in the power of building relationships and showing up for the people around me values that continue

2:46:09to guide me in my classroom in my neighborhood and now in seeking this role i believe good

2:46:16governance requires a mix of lived experience practical problem solving and a strong sense

2:46:21of responsibility to your neighbors i've come to see municipal politics not as a space reserved for

2:46:28career politicians but as a place where regular people with lived experience and a deep commitment

2:46:33to service are urgently needed i'm not applying because i want a political career i'm applying

2:46:40because i live here i raise my kids here i work here and i want to help make our city work better

2:46:46for everyone i've worn a lot of hats foster parent real estate investor teacher librarian

2:46:53and one of the strengths i bring to the table is the ability to see issues from multiple angles

2:46:58i understand the pressures renters face and the responsibilities that come with small scale housing

2:47:03i know how frustrating it is to navigate systems that don't meet people where they are

2:47:08i've learned that real change starts by listening to people who see things differently asking follow

2:47:13up questions and being willing to let go of your assumptions when new information comes to light

2:47:20i believe good leadership requires perspective and empathy being professional in debate and kind

2:47:25in collaboration that's the kind of representative i strive to be i want to work respectfully with

2:47:31colleagues even when we disagree and to always center the constituents over ideology i'm not

2:47:38someone who comes in with a fixed agenda or a single issue i believe in policies that are practical

2:47:44intentional and responsive to the people we serve and i believe it's a strength not a weakness to be

2:47:50open to changing your mind when your community tells you something you didn't expect i won't pretend

2:47:56to know everything about how the city runs but i know how to research how to collaborate how to

2:48:02ask good questions and how to follow through i've been attending council meetings for months

2:48:07before this position was announced because i care and i'm committed i'm constantly balancing

2:48:13immediate needs with long-term goals and working through differences to move forward

2:48:18if appointed i'll bring my full energy commitment and integrity to this role i'll show up prepared

2:48:24i'll be reachable and responsible and responsive i'm here to support and strengthen the important

2:48:30work council is already doing not just to bring new ideas but to help move existing priorities

2:48:36forward with energy and collaboration thank you again for considering me i would be honored to

2:48:42have your confidence great laura thank you so much and thank you for putting your name forward for us

2:48:48is there any follow-up at all for laura seeing none you covered it off thank you very much

2:48:56now is ryan here just saying it one more time no okay so uh is it ever is still am i saying that right

2:49:06am i saying that right okay come on down ever is still raw ramas jr am i saying all of that right

2:49:16okay welcome and thank you for for putting your name for it i'll turn it right over to you

2:49:22all right all right bialli everyone that's greetings and now at all i'm originally from texas

2:49:29i moved here in 2020 um to come take care of my mother-in-law originally and so

2:49:36as i learned more about myself and also about the city learning more of the history of canada um

2:49:44part of what uh why i submitted was because i feel it's my personal responsibility based upon

2:49:49my skills and my knowledge to be helpful for the community where i live and so when this opportunity

2:49:55came about that's why i applied for it and i don't want to just rehash what i made in my statement

2:50:01but i just want i made some notes on some of the things just from hearing people speak and

2:50:06i wanted to expand on some of the things and so part of like i'm saying is you know i'm i walk in

2:50:13many different worlds and in many different circles indigenous or not and so what i always try to do

2:50:18when i discuss these different things where i try and help with different issues and all of these

2:50:22different groups as well how can we do these things more efficiently how have we been doing these

2:50:27things in the past and why are we how are we trying to resolve these particular issues and is

2:50:33a better way because one of my mantras in life is the will is already around you really can't make

2:50:38it rounder but sometimes you need to find a different will and so sometimes people get too

2:50:43focused on their problems and too focused on the things that they're doing and they don't look at

2:50:48maybe a different type of solution or sometimes there is a solution there and they don't know

2:50:53because they haven't listened to somebody else and so when i work when i work professionally

2:51:00in all of my professional life i've always had to work i've always worked on teams i say had to

2:51:06but because a lot of the problems i've worked on are very large and they've also been very

2:51:11international when i worked in the oil field for 18 years we quite often had to work on things

2:51:18with limited resources or limited things limited items on hand so if something broke

2:51:22we needed to figure out a way how can we fix this right now or what are we going to need to fix this

2:51:27because quite often we're out in the middle of the ocean and not having easy access to just fix

2:51:34things so i try and take those lessons that i learned and apply it to everything else that i do

2:51:41and along that time period of of in my professional life i've always somewhat been a mentor for people

2:51:48in different job positions or or even even what's sometimes in governmental agencies because we would

2:51:54often go to new countries and they didn't know what we were doing so i often had to explain

2:51:58this is what we're doing this is why we're doing it and this is how we plan to help you

2:52:03and how we plan to solve these issues for you and so i relay all of that back to

2:52:11my life experiences where i want to share that knowledge and i want to share those skills

2:52:15because i quite often see here in canada that at times people don't know different processes

2:52:21or they don't know how can we do this more effectively and sometimes you just need to stop

2:52:26and say hey this is what we've been looking at this is how we've been doing it maybe we need to

2:52:31hear some different voices that we don't have at the table and how can we include them and how can

2:52:35we make changes um and so for me i took it as a i had a good thought about it and i had it and it

2:52:45came to the conclusion that if i really do want to try and make a difference and i want to listen

2:52:49to my own want to give honor to my beliefs and my ideals then this is a good way for me to give back

2:52:55to the community that has been helpful to me for my five years that i've been here as a new citizen

2:53:02and also to the city and i am happy to answer any more questions or expand on the statement that

2:53:11i have provided already absolutely just want to make sure that you uh you're you're done it's

2:53:16one sure i didn't want to interrupt you perfect thank you very much for putting your name forward

2:53:20to and coming down uh is there a follow-up at all for this candidate there is not so thank you very

2:53:27much appreciate it i'm going to keep asking if ryan's here okay just want to make sure i i'm

2:53:35always asking so okay and so we are at our last one unless i ask if ryan's here again at the end

2:53:44james uh sonan is okay come on down james welcome james thank you thank you for bringing your name

2:54:03forward and i'll turn it over to you whenever you're ready thank you mario guffrey and council

2:54:09i know tonight you have a tough decision ahead of you uh with 25 26 candidates including myself

2:54:18all very qualified i'm happy part of the process um i will say i'm a bit of a novice to to politics

2:54:25and serving in the community um but for me this is very important uh born and raised in guelph my

2:54:32family my parents moved here uh in 1980 to raise their family um and grew up in ward six and continued

2:54:40to live in ward six with now my family my wife and i always chose that guelph would be the city if

2:54:45we decide to continue staying in canada we would stay here in guelph um

2:54:51i've done stints in various countries in various cities there are always three years for some reason

2:54:56i don't know why but i always come back here my last in i lived in belgium for three years

2:55:02and relocated back to canada in 2017 for work even though my work was not here in guelph

2:55:08guelph is always going to be home no matter what i chose um and i was lucky enough to have met my

2:55:14wife here too and we've decided to obviously stay um in here the last 10 years i've been a program

2:55:21manager uh with various companies and and countries so i've worked with government organizations in

2:55:2725 countries now on five continents um i've been responsible for budgets as small as a million

2:55:34dollars and my current work takes me into about five to ten billion dollars of management um my

2:55:40current role is uh i'm the one of the program leads in the national shipbuilding strategy um so

2:55:47canada has a national shipbuilding strategy to build our ship opera various ships the current

2:55:52ship i'm working on is the brevory class destroyer program so we're going to build 15 ships for the

2:55:57royal canadian navy um luckily enough i'm able to work from home for that role and travel it

2:56:03occasionally um and it's been really great working with the federal government you learn a lot

2:56:09understand the bureaucracy things that you can bring at a smaller level when you work with various

2:56:14government organizations and various parties as well my team of people i end up working with

2:56:20us anywhere from 50 to 100 people so lots of management there um why do i want to be a city

2:56:27counselor i've had a lot of time to reflect on this since i've started thinking about it and put my

2:56:33name board um over time just getting back from vacation with my family and to me it's it's about

2:56:41the city is a good place to live but we can always do better um city council i always have to make

2:56:48tough decisions and it's not just decisions for today but it's decisions that affect everyone in

2:56:54the future as well things that are impacting where i live right now where we decide to make

2:57:00narrower streets on on my uh for for uh for housing now we only have cars on one side of the road

2:57:08to park but that came 25 years after the houses were built that role so my experience and a lot

2:57:17of what i do in my programs is is leading the maintenance on the ship i have to determine

2:57:22with my teams all the maintenance and all the personnel requirements for that these decisions

2:57:29won't be felt for 10 years when the ship actually goes in the water we have a lot of responsibility

2:57:34and that responsibility i've never fanged away from it's it's our responsibility actively engage in

2:57:41this in this process and seeing so many people here is it makes me feel good about the city as

2:57:49well that so many people feel um that it that they can run and that they they will be heard um

2:57:58and i hope that you hear me as well today um some of my concerns from a ward six perspective and i

2:58:03think it represents all of wealth as well is is is touched upon a lot of time is affordability and

2:58:11it's the fact that a a single bedroom apartment now is just under two thousand dollars a month

2:58:17um and if you go by the old adage that twenty thirty percent of your income should be represented

2:58:23by red that's eighty thousand dollars that a person or a a couple has to earn that's that's a lot of

2:58:28money uh that doesn't meet the average today a house is even more you need to now make a hundred

2:58:34ninety thousand dollars to afford the average house in this town um that that isn't right and

2:58:42if you select me as your as as your fellow council person today i'll be there to help build this

2:58:48city to make it to be what everyone dreams it should be um and use my experiences from all

2:58:55over the world to help influence those decisions and actually to listen to everyone and make sure

2:59:00everyone's voice is heard thank you thank thank you very much uh james we appreciate that um

2:59:07is there any follow-up for james at all there is it so thank you very much and as no surprise i'm

2:59:15going to say it one more time it's ryan o'connor here no okay everyone is a witness that i asked

2:59:24like five times okay well that uh that brings us to the conclusion of everyone's opportunity to

2:59:32come before council and i i just really thank you i think it'd be uh yeah let's give everyone

2:59:39a round of applause i think the clerks would would go crazy if we did this but we should we should

2:59:55uh we should amend the rules that we have uh what 37 counselors in guelph and then uh and then just

3:00:02invite you all just everyone pulls up a chair right so um so hey hey this this is thank you so much

3:00:10uh and you know now comes sort of the difficult part and i appreciate many of you mentioned

3:00:16that you kind of recognize it's a little bit of a difficult role for us so i just thank you for

3:00:20saying that and um uh it's a first for us kind of waiting through this and i i know in talking to

3:00:26a lot of my colleagues i just i know that it's like um you know like at the end of the day we've

3:00:33got to pick one because just it just is the process that it is but we are so thankful for all of you

3:00:38for putting your name forward and we do hope as many people have said here that there's maybe a

3:00:43commitment to look at other ways of still getting involved and uh either now or later and any of us

3:00:50up here would be happy to help you navigate that or talk to you about that in in any way

3:00:56so our city's in good hands uh both here and in the citizenry as as well so thank you very very much

3:01:05uh to the clerk we're going to keep going then we're going to we're going we're going to jump in

3:01:10so uh as a drummer this is where i would do the uh the drum roll but we're going to jump in on the

3:01:15first round of voting and uh maybe the clerk could just remind everyone just how it's how it's good

3:01:21to go and um let's uh let's get in certainly uh thank you mr mayor um as i mentioned earlier we

3:01:31will pull up each individual candidate's name on screen alphabetical ordered by last name uh then

3:01:37i'll uh allow you mr. mayor to handle the voting process each member of council is entitled to one

3:01:43vote in that first round of individual names that come up uh the moment that an individual

3:01:51crosses over that seven vote threshold they are the successful candidate and then we'll table or

3:01:57through you mr. mayor i'll require that you table a motion to appoint that individual

3:02:01effective immediately if we need multiple rounds then as i outlined earlier we'll follow that process

3:02:05as well and may i just ask one question for follow-up and maybe i'm the only one that needs to

3:02:11ask this so my apologies but i understand that if if there's people that don't get any votes they're

3:02:17automatically off for then the second round but you also mentioned or the lesser votes what defines

3:02:23lesser one two three five like what how how is that determined thank you mr. mayor and to you in

3:02:31council uh it depends on each round so i'll give an example um if there are five votes for one candidate

3:02:37four votes for another and three votes for a third in that first round no one will have

3:02:43crossed that seven vote threshold we would remove all the candidates from the second round of voting

3:02:48that that had zero votes in addition to that individual that only secured three votes and

3:02:54then that second round of voting would require the counselors in this case that voted for that

3:02:58individual receiving three votes to contemplate which of the remaining two candidates would receive

3:03:04their vote and then presumably at that point one of those individuals would crest over that seven

3:03:09vote threshold okay thank you very much uh and uh clerk would you like me to say the name or are

3:03:18you going to go through the names uh no mr. mayor it's it's uh perfectly your prerogative that we'll

3:03:23pull those names up on screen and then you can simply call for a vote show i'd rather it be you but

3:03:28okay i'm i'm i'm happy to do that mr. mayor no no no that's me wimping out so that's fine okay um

3:03:36and uh and my hope is that like everyone can kind of my hope is that everyone kind of stay and and

3:03:43we can kind of do this together as sort of a team and uh council in my office is actually we wanted

3:03:50to make this a little bit special as well so we've actually ordered sort of like some finger foods and

3:03:55stuff like that that we can all get together and mingle afterwards and like healthy democracy

3:04:01results right so i'm hoping that everyone can kind of stick around as best as possible and that

3:04:05will be available outside once once we're done with the whole the whole program here okay so

3:04:11councillor gibson i saw your hand up before i go what's your question yeah thank you through

3:04:14mr. mayor it's just dawned on me that um this is going to be very uh quick it may be quick or long

3:04:20but there's not going to be a lot of dialogue so i there's an opportunity for councils to

3:04:24thank the delegates and also give some insights into their decision making before we vote on all

3:04:29these today so so technically um i mean if you wished to but i really did sort of make it clear

3:04:39before we came here today that i think it would be actually better if we just voted instead of

3:04:4712 of us having a conversation about 25 people um so i you have the floor

3:04:56councillor gibson i'm sorry you know i i won't i won't burden it i just wanted to thank all the

3:05:00delegates i was truly humbled listening to all of the volunteerism all of the starting all the

3:05:06contributions that have been made um it was fantastic to listen to all the delegates uh bring

3:05:11those stories to council the city is well served by all of you so thank you very much uh to all those

3:05:18um to the successful candidate but also to those who don't hear their name tonight just

3:05:23congratulations you're your great contribution towards city thank you great thank you guess

3:05:33i'll cross that off my notes that's what i was going to say all right thanks council gibson

3:05:40okay uh we will we will start and it's alphabetical so here we go uh clerk you're ready okay uh so uh

3:05:47rebecca adam is going to be the first one and so i would ask for a show of hands for those of

3:05:55you that would like to uh to see if rebecca adams will join us here as a councillor so go right ahead

3:06:02put your hand up if you're there so i'm with one two three and four four i got four for adams

3:06:13okay and clerk are you ready for the next one okay thank you so i'll just keep moving right

3:06:18along michelle bolman is the next and i'll ask uh council to see if there's a vote for michelle

3:06:27okay there isn't thank you again michelle going right along to the next one which is jeremy

3:06:32uh kevan is jeremy no okay thank you again jeremy and uh for putting your name forward

3:06:43gregory cosy is the next one is there uh is there anyone that would like to go with gregory

3:06:48cosy no okay and the next on the list and thank you again gregory and just dakota cherry not seeing

3:06:59any again thank you dakota for putting your name forward uh robert cool one for robert cool

3:07:08no okay and what about i think you robert and what about shame koulis okay no one i thank you

3:07:18again shame for putting your name forward and onto morgan dandy and no okay and thank you again morgan

3:07:28uh jessica uh for for you know i hope i'm saying that right we've got one two three for jessica

3:07:36thank you jessica so that's three and now we have randy frieze not seeing anything for randy but

3:07:48thank you randy again uh hasham uh janity anyone for hasham no okay thank you again no hasham thank

3:08:00you so much for coming and james gordon nothing for james okay thank you and again thank you james

3:08:10catherine hauser can we see any hands for hauser please one two three four two three four okay

3:08:18four for hauser did i see four or did i see five i'm so sorry thank you to whoever that was in the

3:08:26audience i did not see uh councillor katein five thank you uh donnie hey who's the next donnie hey

3:08:39okay no one okay and we have thank you again donnie for for coming uh justin hendrix anyone for

3:08:49justin no again justin thank you so much for coming and on to daniel kaufman anyone for daniel

3:08:58not seeing any but thank you daniel as well and michael keegan anyone for michael keegan

3:09:07okay nothing for michael but thank you michael thank you for michael for coming uh vivian uh vivian

3:09:14lee anyone for vivian no thank you vivian if you're still here yes you are thank you very much for

3:09:23coming anika anika maldenato nothing for uh anika but anika wherever you are thank you very much

3:09:36barbara man anyone for barbara man okay and um thank you barbara wherever you are thank you for

3:09:45what you've you've always done thank you uh rinetta mares anyone for no thank you very much

3:09:56i know you were emotional and for your so we felt that emotion so thank you very much

3:10:01uh jerry uh massy is jerry anyone for jerry seeing and hearing on jerry thank you again for coming

3:10:11and laura mccollin laura anyone for laura no and laura where's laura thank you laura thank you very

3:10:20thank you laura thank you very much for coming uh is it everisto ramos jr is next anyone for no

3:10:30and james sodin thank you to everisto thank you very much and to james nothing for for james

3:10:41and i better ask ryan ryan hulk karner anyone for ryan no okay okay i'll turn it back over to the

3:10:51clerk i i was not keeping track and count so you tell us what's up thank you mr mayor we were

3:10:56keeping track um so we have uh candidates bowman cavin cosy cherry cool cooless dandy freeze jennedy

3:11:06gordon hey hendrix kaufman keegan lee maldonato man mares massy mccollin o'connor ramos jr and sodin

3:11:17removed with zero votes received um candidate rebecca adam received four candidate jessica

3:11:24furlino received three and candidate catherine hauser received five per the policy adopted by council

3:11:30the vote getters that received zero that i mentioned first will be removed from this next ballot so

3:11:35two will candidate jessica furlino as the lowest vote getter so we have two candidates remaining

3:11:41we will reflect that on the presentation screens uh that you'll call up and those candidates are

3:11:46rebecca adam and catherine hauser okay so just the two candidates are amazing uh remaining sorry

3:11:55and let me just circle who that is jessica you said sorry who is it yes through you mr

3:12:01mayor to council it is rebecca adam or rebecca adam yeah and catherine hauser will be the two

3:12:06candidates that will be remaining okay what's uh what's up here for all the candidates including

3:12:12jessica okay thank you very much okay so um i'll continue now for round two clerk are you ready

3:12:24for that all right so all those for rebecca adam please put up your your hand so we have one two

3:12:33and three and four and five and six and so i think we have seven there ken and carly and dan

3:12:41and christine and me oh yeah let me show all the hands higher so the clerk and i can count please

3:12:48richardson and guthrie and gibson and billings and chu and blossom but it's six this is why we need

3:13:02another counselor so we don't have six votes right okay so it's going to be uh it's going to be a tie

3:13:11because we in this round we can't go on to the next right so i'll still call the vote just to

3:13:16have it on record so i'll call the vote for catherine hauser so galler and alt and busetil

3:13:25and downer and katin and caron clerk over to you is it a sing-off thank you mr mayor we have again

3:13:37so two candidates were voted upon candidate rebecca adam and candidate catherine hauser

3:13:42um at this point i would suggest we take a very short recess i will outline the process

3:13:48where the votes that are cast are equal for candidates um and where there are only two

3:13:53candidates remain yours truly will buy a lot select one candidate and that candidate will be deemed

3:14:01the successful candidate and so we will take a moment we will ensure that it is an open and

3:14:06transparent process we will include the names of those two candidates on printed stock they are the

3:14:12same size the same card stock and we will uh i will draw that from a lot i will make sure that

3:14:18council can see the box that we will use to draw those names as well as the audience here tonight

3:14:24but if you can give us just a moment a short recess that would be appreciated okay so um

3:14:29wow interesting so it will be basically drawn from a lot drawn from a hat if you could say it that way

3:14:35so very interesting um let's take a break and and digest this and uh so come back in five minutes and

3:14:44so what time is it right now 702 see it 707 and uh right here and we will have everything done right

3:14:53we will have everything done right in in the middle here and we will have an announcement to make thank you

3:18:52okay this is just your two-minute warning okay everybody okay one more minute everybody

3:19:58if everyone could please grab your seats now that would be uh that'd be great okay 30 seconds

3:20:52if my colleagues online could put your uh put your cameras back on which you are thank you

3:21:03okay i'm going to call the meeting back to order if everyone could grab a seat please so um

3:21:10what's going to happen now is i am going to come down there uh and our clerk will also have a

3:21:17microphone there to kind of walk us through what's about to happen and we will invite the uh the two

3:21:24named candidates and uh we will have the ballot pulled out of a box uh over over here and then the

3:21:32clerk will announce uh who the successful candidate is and then everyone will cheer and then we'll move

3:21:38on to the next uh the next part of the official part of the program okay so i'll be coming down now

3:21:49thank you mr mayor so maybe i'll ask that candidates howzer and candidates adam come

3:21:55just sort of stand just so you can see this we'll make sure that the whole audience can see this as

3:21:59well we have two cards each with your names printed they are on the same card stock same same printing

3:22:07same card stock i am going to fold each one one time equally and i will place them in the box we

3:22:20have here so they are folded equally as you can see and inside the box there's no other materials

3:22:28in the box so you can see that that's empty as well okay mr mayor maybe you can come around

3:22:35this side with me i'll place both of those in the box mayor guthrie can shake if he chooses

3:22:44okay i never thought i'd be doing this okay and if you can hold it so i'm not able to see

3:22:56in the box but i will reach in and i will withdraw the name of the successful candidate

3:23:00and the name that's selected is howzer kathryn howzer okay so to make it official then i do

3:24:37have to know just we're going to take an actual vote and it is that council appoint kathryn howzer to

3:24:42fill the vacant ward six councillor seat or the term ending november 15th 2026 i think it would be

3:24:50appropriate councillor two moved that motion as your new ward mate okay and who would like to second

3:24:56that goller will second that and so i will call the vote is anyone against that is a unanimous

3:25:04vote of council to have you on that's perfect so i thought it would be uh i thought it would be kind

3:25:14of is is your is anyone from your family or anybody here no no okay well don't worry about them

3:25:18then um we're gonna i'm gonna invite the um clerk up here to i'll get out of the way so you can do

3:25:25your official oath right now and um if the media does want to come up uh adam or richard uh for

3:25:33any pictures or whatever you can come up a little bit here if it helps you okay um and i will move

3:25:38out of the way and uh and you guys can have this nice backdrop of the of the flags and stuff

3:25:43so i will do that now okay miss howzer please repeat after me i kathryn howzer i kathryn howzer

3:26:20having been elected or appointed to the office of councillor ward six having been elected uh or

3:26:25appointed to the office of councillor ward six in the municipality of the city of wealth

3:26:30in the municipality of the city of wealth do solemnly promise and declare do solemnly promise and

3:26:35declare that i will truly faithfully and impartially but i will truly faithfully and impartially

3:26:42exercise this office exercise this office to the best of my knowledge and ability to the best of

3:26:47my knowledge and ability i have not and will not receive i have not and will not receive any payment

3:26:54or reward payment or reward or promise thereof or promise thereof for the exercise of this office

3:27:00for the exercise of this office in a biased, corrupt, or any improper manner. I will disclose any

3:27:09pecuniary interest direct or indirect in accordance with the municipal conflict of interest act.

3:27:21I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III

3:27:27and I make this solemn promise and declaration conscientiously believing it to be true

3:27:39and knowing that it is of the same force and effect as if made under oath. Congratulations.

3:28:33All right, how's that feel? She said I don't know yet.

3:28:39All right, well we have to do the bylaws. Councillor Caron, are you okay to read them out for us for a moment?

3:28:47I am Mr. Mayor. The bylaws 2025-21113 and 2025-21130 be approved as amended subject to section

3:28:57284.114 of the municipal act, seconded by my new colleague, Board Six Councillor

3:29:06Catherine Hauser. Of course, is it going to be as amended to the clerks to add her name in there?

3:29:14Perfect. Is there anyone against that? No one. Perfect. We're at the most favorite part of the

3:29:20agenda now, which is the adjournment and I figured it would be appropriate for you to move adjournment.

3:29:27So this is how the mic works right there. You could say I'll move adjournment. I will move adjournment.

3:29:33Okay, and how about Ken? Councillor Chew will second that and now you're officially in the minutes

3:29:40and so I'll call the vote. Is anyone against that? Nobody. We are officially adjourned. We are a full

3:29:47council again and we're glad that's over with and we would like to invite everyone out into the

3:29:57lobby area, Margaret Kinnen room area. We can mingle, say hi to each other. A little bit of some

3:30:03finger foods there and please congratulate everyone that put their name forward, especially

3:30:08Councillor Hauser. So thank you so much.