I was invited yesterday to Ottawa to a national round table to present on some of our citizen engagement processes as they are recognized among the best.  Primarily, I discussed our recent process to develop our local growth management structure.  Some of the most interesting components included:

• a random telephone survey to get a baseline public opinions and concerns related to growth and the City’s future
• a Community By Design symposium that attracted several hundred people to explore sustainable approaches to growth management
• the use of an interactive software “game” where citizens could choose different futures for Guelph based on different decisions on growth management
• hands on exercises with lego and poker chips to identify future infill opportunities and population distribution in the city
• visualizations of key city streets under different growth scenarios
• a downtown design charette that created a model of the downtown that could accomodate 5000 more residents
• youth engagement process to redesign mainstreet sponsored by the Province of Ontario

Here are some images from these activities:

Building a city

Visualizing our future

Working with lego

Youth project

Downtown Charette model

November 11 – Remembrance Day (Canada, UK) – This day commemorates the soldiers killed in World Wars I and II.  Canadians always set aside this day in memory of those who gave their lives for freedom.  Many observers wear red poppies as a symbol of this day.

November 11 – Veterans Day (USA) – It was first proclaimed as Armistice Day in 1919 to commemorate the termination (at 11am on November 11, 1918) of World War I.

November 12 – Birth of Baha’u’llah (Baha’i) – Born Mirza Husayn ‘Aliinto one of the leading noble families of Persia in 1817.  His name is a title, in Arabic, meaning ‘The Glory of God’.

November 13 – International World Kindness Day (International) – The spark for World Kindness Day was lit at the Second Conference of the World Kindness Movement in November, 1997 in Japan.  Starting as random acts of kindness, the movement now has members in over 17 countries including USA and Canada.  They are committed to building a global organization dedicated to inspire and promote kindness.

November 15 – Shichi-Go-San (Japan) – Prayers are offered for children’s growth.  The ages of three and five for boys, three and seven for girls—are celebrated.  On this day, children dress up in their gala dresses and go with their parents to a Shinto shrine to pay a visit to the tutelary deity.  Children are given thousand-year candy which is red and white (auspicious colours) with crane and turtle illustrations (symbols of long life).

November 16 – Louis Riel Day (Aboriginal/Native Canadian) – He was the famous Métis leader who in 1885 led a rebellion and lost against Canadian authorities because he feared more Métis land would be taken away by the settlers.  Today his name is a symbol for Native independence.

November 20 – Transgender Day of Remembrance (USA) – Begun in 1999, vigils, services and a variety of other events are held to mark this day set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

Source: www.multiculturalcalendars.com

Part of a posting series on multicultural events for 2009.

Find out here.

A Captain Hook pumpkin was our submission for a pumpkin-carving display at Stone Road Mall to benefit UNICEF:

November – National Native Month (Canada, USA) – This month is designated to honour and recognize all Native, Indigenous, and Aboriginal of not only the Americas but in the world.  Four years prior to 1990, US Congress had enacted legislation designating ‘American Indian Heritage Week’.  On August 3, 1990, a Joint Resolution designated the month of November, 1990 as ‘National American Indian Heritage Month’.  During this month, the contributions of the continent’s first inhabitants are remembered and celebrated through ceremonies, powwows and special feasts.

November 1 – All Saints’ Day (Christian) – This day is for honouring saints, known and unknown.

November 1 – Dia De Finades (Portugal) – This holiday is celebrated by people visiting the deceased.  They bring hearts and crowns made of flowers to the graves.

November 2 – Guru Nanak’s Birthday (Bikarami) (Sikh) – Born in 1469 CE, he was the first of the Ten Gurus of the Sikh faith and founded Sikhism.  An accomplished poet, 974 of his hymns are in the Sikh scriptures, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

November 2 – Lokashah Jayanti (Jain) – This day commemorates the birth of a famous 15^th century reformer, Lonka Saha, who opposed temple worship and use of images.

November 2 – Kathina (Buddhist) – New robes and necessities are given to ordained monks and nuns.

November 2 – All Souls Day (Christian) – Catholic Christians day of prayers of intercession for the dead.  Prayers of the faithful are seen as helping to cleanse the souls of the departed.

November 2 – Dia De Los Muertos (Mexico) – This day is also known as the Day of the Dead, it is celebrated in parts of the United States and Central America.  Families build altars in their homes surrounded by flowers, food and burning candles.

November 3 – Bunka No Hi (Culture Day) (Japan) – A national holiday dedicated to the love of freedom and promotion of Japanese culture.

November 5 – Guy Fawkes Day (UK) – This is also known as Bonfire Night.  Guy Fawkes was a leader of a group of Catholic men who were plotting to blow up the king and Parliament but were arrested in time.  The English and Irish burn bonfires topped by a figure known as the guy.  West Indians from the Bahamas and Barbados celebrate it as well.

Source: www.multiculturalcalendars.com

Part of a posting series on multicultural events for 2009.

Tonight, we did a sod-turning for the Hanlon Creek Business.  Servicing will begin next month and continue through the winter.  Servicing close to the environmentally-sensitive areas will not occur until we complete addtional monitoring in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources.

These are my speaking notes for the event:

Good evening everyone, and thank you very much for coming to our official groundbreaking for the Hanlon Creek Business Park!

Thank you for accepting our invitation to be here to day. It is great to see so many business and community leaders out to support this important project.

In addition to all the people Peter mentioned, I’d like to thank and recognize the Members of City Council in attendance: Bob Bell, Ian Findlay, June Hofland, Vicki Beard, Christine Billings, Leanne Piper, Lise Burcher, and Gloria Kovach. Councillors Karl Wettstein, Kathleen Farrelly, Maggie Laidlaw and Mike Salisbury wanted to attend, but had scheduling conflicts and send their sincere regrets.

The Hanlon Creek Business Park is unanimously supported by this City Council. And, it has involved decision making from four terms of Council.

There has been a lot of discussion about this project over the past several months. Some of that discussion has been accurate and balanced – but a lot of it has not. So this evening, I’d like to provide some of the facts:

•  This development will create good local jobs – about 10,000 of them.  That means more Guelphites will be able to live and work in our community, instead of commuting. And, we won’t need to sprawl outside our boundaries to accommodate our job targets under Places to Grow. 
•  The business park will attract investment, providing business tax revenue to fund City services.
•  This will be a new kind of business park, with an environmental design that is a model for others across Ontario.
•  Its design comes after nearly a decade of studies and consultation.

Key features of the design include:

• Protection of the heritage maple grove;
• Restoration of 10 acres of meadowlands;
• Protection of Provincially Significant Wetlands;
• Protection of groundwater quantity and quality; and,
• Increasing the tree canopy from 26% to 35%.

In fact, we will be making a number of improvements to a site that, over the years, has been subject to farming with pesticides and fertilizer applications; alterations to natural drainage patterns; and the introduction of non-native plants, which now dominate the site.

Sometimes, I’m asked why Council can’t simply re-open this project and start again. The answer is quite simple. In 2006, the Ontario Municipal Board Minutes of Settlement were signed by the City and a number of other parties. The City of Guelph is legally bound to meet its obligations under this agreement. And there are other obligations as well that we cannot ignore. We have committed millions of dollars to this project – dollars that we plan to recoup through the sale of City-owned land in the business park.

If we don’t develop and sell the land, Guelph taxpayers are on the hook for those millions of dollars. And, we will have no debt capacity for other projects that are waiting in the wings.

In essence, this project is about balance and fairness.

Building a balanced tax base brings fairness and affordability to residential taxpayers.

Growing local jobs means that the investments we make today are fair to our children in the future.

Respecting all voices and balancing different points of view ensures a fair and democratic decision making process.

That democratic process involved many of you here tonight. It included six study groups; an OMB hearing; a Public Liaison Committee; the Kortright Hills Community Association; the Environmental Advisory Committee; and the Economic Development Advisory Committee. It involved working closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Grand River Conservation Authority.  Thirteen elected members of City Council voted for this project. The Federal government has supported it with more than $620,000 in funding. The Provincial government is cost-sharing with the City on the Laird interchange and has expressed its support.

I think the fact that so many of you have come out on a chilly October evening to celebrate this groundbreaking speaks volumes about the level of support this project has in the community.

I want to thank each and every one of you for the roles you are playing to make this business park project such an outstanding one.

No one likes conflict so your participation today is particularly appreciated.  For those of us who have dedicated a significant portion of our lives to democratic principles of inclusion and engagement, we find the circumstances under which we are required to meet tonight uncomfortable and troubling. 

This is, regretfully, an invitation-only event.  While invitation-only sod turnings are not unusual, this one had to be so.

Healthy debate and dissent is one thing.  However, when it crosses the line, these are the real repercussions when illegal activities, harassment and even the perception of intimidation attempt to undermine the democratic process and community decision making and why we can only ever have zero tolerance for this type of behaviour in a civil society.

Thank you.

The City was voted “favourite water supplier” in the Guelph Tribune’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards. This is great news – it shows that residents recognize the quality and value of our municipal drinking water.

Congratulations to Waterworks staff for their commitment to providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective drinking water to our community!

I have attended a remarkable diversity of events over the last few days.

ACORD 30th anniversary – For 30 years volunteers for ACORD have been providing services to adults and youth who have come into conflict withe the law.  One of their volunteers has been with them for 25 years and spoke passionately about his motivation for making a difference with ACORD.  I remember hosting community service placements through ACORD at an organization where I worked for many years.

First Annual Civic Leadership Prayer Breakfast of Guelph – About 400 people braved the rain, cold and wind to attend a breakfast at 6:30 am to give thanks to our civic leaders.  MP Frank Valeriote, MPP Liz Sandals, Councillors Karl Wettstein, Christine Billings, June Hofland and Gloria Kovach along with representatives from Fire, Police and Emergency Medical Services were acknowledged for their service to the community.  As I looked out over the crowd, I saw many other civic leaders from all walks of life.   As Mayor, I am frequently invited into the many faith communities of Guelph and am always overwhelmed by their warmth, generosity and commitment to making a difference in the lives of all people.

Rotary District 7080 Conference – Our four Rotary Clubs hosted Rotarians from across Southwestern Ontario.  I reflected on the collective impact that the Clubs and individuals in attendance have had on their communities.  In Guelph, Rotarians have supported better health care, education and a more sustainable environment.  Internationally, they continue their successful campaign to erradicate polio.

Autunno Trevisano – My husband and I joined the Italian community to celebrate the fall harvest and the splendid vegetable, the radicchio.  Music, dance,  food and fellowship filled the evening.

Youth Emergency Shelter – The City of Guelph’s Youth Emergency Shelter held an open house to showcase the facility to the community.  Some facts since opening their doors include:

• 101 clients served
• 329 total stays
• 5 days is the average length of stay
• 42% of clients only stayed once
• 49% of clients had planned exits to independent living
• 18 clients transitioned to a long term residential program
• 70% of clients used the Youth Resource Centre
• 68% of clients participated in the Aftercare Program

Filipino Induction Ceremony – I joined about 200 members of the Filipino community to held induct their new Executive Committee.

Today I was invited to be part of a roundtable discussion organized by Minister Lisa Raitt, Natural Resources Canada.  I was honoured to join energy leaders from across Canada to discuss how the Federal government might assist municipalities develop and implement community energy plans.  I was asked to speak about Guelph’s experiences in implementing our community energy plan.  Dawson Creek was also represented.  This community of 13,000 is well on its way to be carbon neutral. 

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources Study and Report on Integrated Community Energy Solutions was released a few months ago.  Guelph was asked to speak to the Standing Committee about our work.

Recently NRCan developed a document for the Council of Energy Ministers called “Integrated Community Energy Solutions: A Road Map for Action”.

This is all welcome news for Guelph.  Local generation, distribution and end-use efficiency is the only way to get at the very large system inefficiences and the resulting system-wide costs and negative environmental impacts of our current energy system.

Integration is the only way Guelph will achieve its ambitious Community Energy Plan target of approximately 50% per capita reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.