Days 2 and 3 of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Sustainable Communities Conference are in the books! Tomorrow I’m headed home. If I tried to give you a play-by-play of the past two days we’d be here all night. But there were some common themes that came up over and over again, and it’s worthContinue reading “Working with Nature”
Author Archives: Jeff Wheeldon
Affordable Housing, and Managing Growth
Today is the first full day of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Sustainable Communities Conference, held this year in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It’s been a very busy day, and my mind is buzzing with possibilities for Brighton, but I’ll focus on the two main sessions I attended today. Affordable Housing This morning I attended aContinue reading “Affordable Housing, and Managing Growth”
On Patriotism, and Nationalism
There’s nothing like a common enemy to bring us together, a trope that’s been proven true over the past few weeks as Canadians from across the political spectrum have come together to raise our middle fingers in the general direction of Donald Trump and his 25% tariffs. Calmly and politely, in the Canadian way. ItContinue reading “On Patriotism, and Nationalism”
A New Councillor
On Friday, Brighton Council heard short presentations from nine excellent candidates to fill one open seat on council. We asked each of them questions to draw out their strengths and potential points of comparison between them. Each one of them was and is remarkable: it takes guts, passion, and responsibility to stand for a councilContinue reading “A New Councillor”
Agency and Identity in the Internet Age
Last week I had the pleasure of addressing the Presqu’ile Probus Club, and what follows here is my talk. It’s considerably longer than my usual blog posts; the talk lasted 50 minutes. It was well received there, and I hope it’s useful here as well. _________________________ Today I want to talk about agency and identity.Continue reading “Agency and Identity in the Internet Age”
Political Analysis, Punditry, and Gossip
As I write this, we’re flooded with political questions at every level. Internationally, we’re hearing analysis about which parties can support peace (or war) in Gaza and Ukraine, or getting details about the indictment of the President of South Korea, not to mention the non-stop speculation about what incoming US President Donald Trump will doContinue reading “Political Analysis, Punditry, and Gossip”
Do You Want to Join Council?
I’m not yet over my sadness at the loss of Councillor Faretis, but I am nonetheless happy that Brighton is in the process of choosing a new councillor to serve out the remainder of the 2022-2026 term. The details of the appointment process will be confirmed on a special meeting on December 24th at 9am,Continue reading “Do You Want to Join Council?”
Filling a Vacant Council Seat
As much as I’m still uncomfortable with saying that there’s a vacant council seat in Brighton, especially with Councillor Faretis’ celebration of life still to come this Saturday, council was required to declare his seat vacant within the first two council meetings after his passing. That was this past Monday. Council postponed determining how hisContinue reading “Filling a Vacant Council Seat”
Farewell, Byron
Councillor Byron Faretis recently and suddenly passed away, and it’s a big loss to our community. There’s been a lot of other things going on that I’ll blog about eventually, but today I’d like to reflect on the impact Byron had on our council, and on me personally. When I first heard about Byron’s nominationContinue reading “Farewell, Byron”
What Elections Tell Us About Ourselves
One of the worst things about American elections is that, even when they’re over, they’re never over. Even though we’re not American, our news and social media have been deluged with American politics for the past two years; we’ve weathered the spectacle of the primaries, the spectacle of the campaign, and now we’re stuck inContinue reading “What Elections Tell Us About Ourselves”