Two of Guelph’s prominent figures are weighing in on the ongoing issue of the lack of available housing in the southwestern Ontario city.
Shakiba Shayani, president and CEO of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, believes more should be done to address the issue and it should start with the leadership of the municipal government.
The chamber issued an open letter addressed to Mayor Cam Guthrie, city council and CAO Scott Stewart on Monday calling for action from their elected officials. The letter goes on to say that “we can’t do these extraordinary things with a business-as-usual mindset” adding, “We must be bold in our vision, recruit everyone to the cause and put a dedicated team in place with the ability to move solutions forward.”
“For the better half of two years or more, we’ve been working on this file with all levels of government, with all different stakeholders,” Shayani said. “We’ve been involved, we’ve been at the table, we’ve worked closely with the municipality, our partners, and frankly we have hit a bit of an impasse at this point.”
Guthrie went on Twitter that day to announce that he is calling for an emergency council meeting on the matter.
He said it will be a dedicated workshop that will “have a conversation about what has been changed at city hall already with our processes, with other policies, and how our staff are working hard to make the process go faster.”
“The other part of the workshop,” Guthrie said, “would be one that talks about what is being worked on right now. There is lots that staff are already working on that will come to fruition soon.”
Guthrie would not say whether the decision to hold an emergency meeting was in direct response to the letter from the chamber and added they have been working on the housing issue since long before the chamber put out its statement.
“There are many other organizations and stakeholders that I’m having meetings with and staff are having a meeting with constantly, and we are all working together to try and figure out the crisis that we’re in.”
Shayani said Guthrie has been a proponent of housing development in the city for quite some time and is well aware of the challenges that exist.
“It is a good sign if our mayor’s intention is to bring council together to talk about how we get away from the politics of blame and move more into identifying solutions for action.”
Recently, Rentals.ca put out a report that showed Guelph at number 10 on the list of the highest average rent in Canada. A one-bedroom apartment in Guelph in May was $2,095, while a two-bedroom apartment would go $2,454.
No date for the council meeting has been set but Guthrie said it may be sometime in July when they are able to get all councillors together for the workshop.
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