If you have lived in Meaford for any length of time, you are bound to have heard a time or two that this municipality is on the verge of a development boom. I heard it when I moved here 16 years ago, and every few years we hear discussion of a building boom heading our way. Nothing ever seems...
Two weeks into a planned 28-day province-wide stay at home order aimed at reversing an upward trend in new COVID-19 cases in the province, and to avoid overwhelming our hospital system, many are understandably beginning to feel cabin fever-like effects.
Ordered by the province to stay at home but for the most essential outings like groceries or a stop at...
Lock-downs, stay at home orders, physical distancing, and mask wearing have all made for a frustrating and stressful past 10 months, but what I have found even more irritating is that we have clearly developed into a snitch culture and many have turned to public shaming on social media in order to virtually tar and feather those suspected of...
If my own circle of friends and acquaintances is any indication, no matter how dedicated we've been to following distancing and mask protocols, no matter how faithfully we have shuttered ourselves within our homes unless we absolutely need to venture out, we have all had enough of this pandemic and everything that has come with it.
For the past ten...
Welcome to 2021 – it doesn't feel any different does it? I suspect that 2021 won't feel any different from 2020 for a while yet.
I hope that all of our readers had as fantastic a holiday season as our current circumstances would allow. With Ontario residents encouraged to only gather with those within their own household for Christmas celebrations...
Like most new years, 2020 kicked off with a certain amount of optimism and enthusiasm, but all these months later, most of us can't wait for 2020 to be over.
At this time last year, as we readied ourselves for the holiday season, for many in the community the number one issue of concern was the proposed pumped storage facility...
Last weekend the Municipality of Meaford kicked off the traditional festive season in a less than traditional fashion thanks to the continued precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of seeing hundreds of residents bundled up to protect against the cold, lining Sykes Street shoulder to shoulder to watch the Santa Claus parade work its way through the downtown core,...
With every municipal budget season I am sure to hear from folks about the number of staff employed by this municipality. During this year's budget season I have heard from more and more residents who are convinced that Meaford's staff is bloated and could be slashed – some say in half. Several have asked for my take on the...
A little over a month ago I wrote about how well the Grey-Bruce region has fared during this COVID-19 pandemic when compared to the rest of the province. How things have changed in just a few short weeks.
In mid-October I wrote that, while Ontario had seen roughly 60,000 of its residents test positive for the virus, as of Monday,...
Last week I shared some of my thoughts on Council's first day of budget deliberations for 2021, which focused on the operating budgets. This week we will take a look at day two of those deliberations which reviewed the 2021 draft capital budgets where Council did find some areas to cut, as they attempt to reduce the 8.7 percent...
