Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie says Premier Doug Ford was eager to hear the issues affecting the Royal City after the two met on Monday morning at Queen’s Park.

Guthrie was one of seven southern Ontario mayors who received an invite from Ford for a one-on-one chat.

“I definitely jumped at the opportunity to bring the issues of Guelph right to the premier,” Guthrie said in a phone interview after the meeting.

The issues that were discussed, he said, included affordable housing, transportation, jobs and protecting Guelph’s water supply, among other items.

“He was very eager to hear what was going on in Guelph, he understood the issues that I was bringing to him, he wants to work on those issues with myself,” Guthrie said.

“When a city like Guelph succeeds, it helps not only the region around Guelph, but it helps province as a whole and he really understood that.”

Guthrie said one of the first issues brought up was the status of proposed two-way, all-day GO Train service on the line that stops in Guelph, along with the planned high-speed rail line between Windsor and Toronto.

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The Ford Government has yet to officially commit to either project.

“[Ford] did say he wants to work on transportation issues,” Guthrie said. “Those are key issues that he knows are important to not only to my city, but our region.”

While no firm commitments were made, Guthrie said he hopes to continue meeting with the premier during his term.

“If I can be that conduit to the premier’s ear, I will definitely jump on it on behalf of the citizen’s of Guelph,” he said.

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