What is Council Trying to Hide?
In an article in CollingwoodToday titled 18 simple rules? Council receives draft of new Code of Conduct, we learn that council is looking to update and revise its current Code…
Ian Chadwick
Council Considers Possibly Thinking About Maybe Doing Something Important Sometime in the Future
We’re almost two years into an ongoing pandemic, yet all the lessons learned in jurisdictions worldwide about vaccinations and public safety have apparently simply drifted past our inept and gormless…
Casanova Dies in Bohemia
At the end of his long and storied life, Giacomo Casanova found himself a lonely man in a damp, cold castle in Bohemia, a small German kingdom distant from all…
Why is Millennium Park so Poorly Maintained?
We took a walk along the sidewalk and trail into the inappropriately-named “Millennium” Park* this week and were deeply disappointed by the lack of maintenance there. Aside from seeing a…
Another Council Facepalm Moment
In a story on CollingwoodToday, this week council again discussed their job-growth-and revenue-killing interim control bylaw (ICBL) that has stopped the town from issuing new home building permits for the…
Can Collingwood Pass the Strong Towns’ Test?
Back in 2014, the USA-based Strong Towns group posted a test to “measure a successful Strong Town.” The ten questions or conditions posed include: Take a photo of your main…
Uppercase Imperialism?
Dr. Linda Manyguns has stylized herself as Dr. linda manyguns because she stopped using uppercase (capital) letters to protest the “symbols of hierarchy.” Manyguns is the associate vice-president of indigenization…
Our Scruffy, Run-Down Town
There’s a gravel trail that runs along the waterfront, north of the Shipyards development, that’s been blocked by barricades since the spring. It’s been that way at least six months,…
Cwood’s Ship Walk of Shame
Collingwood’s long history of shipbuilding, from the first hull (the Huronic, in 1901), to the last in 1985 (the Paterson, #231) was intended to be proudly captured in bronze plaques…
Musings on Swearing and Vulgar Language
(Warning: I swear in this post… frequently. You can’t write about swearing without actually swearing a bit. Or a lot. Easily offended folks might want to look elsewhere.) I find…
The Sad Neglect of Collingwood’s Terminals
Whether you want to restore them or tear them down, you would probably like council to do SOMETHING about the decaying, century-old icon*on our waterfront. Anything, in fact. But as…
Yet Another WTF Were They Smoking Decision from Council
Council has decided to close Maple Street to vehicular traffic at the end of this month, to make the street safe for bicycles as a one-month trial. Yes, I’m serious:…
Wilson Blames Council for Hospital Debacle, Brushes Off Saunderson
“I blame somewhat the local council,” said MPP Jim Wilson in this recent interview from the Peak FM about the continuing debacle of the hospital redevelopment. Well, so does most…
Meng and the SVJI: Parallel Cases?
The ongoing case against Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou has an odd parallel in Collingwood. Our own petty, revenge-obsessed council’s threats to sue people who caused no harm nor have ever been…
Jail the Unvaccinated
In a recent opinion piece in Macleans Magazine, Scott Gilmore wrote what I expect many vaccinated Canadians felt about those who still refuse to get vaccinated and help end this…
Houghton Wins Precedent-Setting Lawsuit
Both local media reported that after a lengthy court battle, former Collus CEO Ed Houghton (and former Acting CAO for Collingwood), was awarded costs for his legal expenses during the…
Another WTF Were They Smoking Moment From Council
I read this in CollingwoodToday: At Monday night’s council meeting, Coun. Deb Doherty got support from her council colleagues to ask staff to investigate the feasibility of creating a Healing Forest…
Montaigne on Ketchup-Flavoured Cheetos
In his famous work, Essays, Michel de Montaigne, channelling the Epicureans, wrote that, “All the opinions in the world point out that pleasure is our aim. (Book I: On the…
I Miss Collingwood’s Elvis Festival
I miss Collingwood’s Elvis Festival. It was a weekend full of visitors, friends, music, entertainment, dancing, and fun. But it was killed in 2019 by a council that dislikes others…