The Pulse
Nov. 1, 2021

Edmonton's new city council has been sworn in and as they get to work over the next couple weeks, Taproot's civic affairs podcast is presenting a series of short interviews with each councillor to introduce you to who they are and what they want to focus on during their first year in office.

The first such segment in Episode 153 of Speaking Municipally introduces Keren Tang, councillor for Karhiio, and Ashley Salvador, councillor for Métis.

Tang has worked in public health, health promotion, and urban wellness. She is aiming to bring that lens to the council table.

"Part of the big reason why I ran back in 2017 and again in 2021 is because I wanted to be a stronger, more effective bridge between people and the decisions made at the table," she said.

Tang conducted a series of virtual conversations in the lead-up to her run for council, which helped her identify the main pillars of her platform. When asked by Speaking Municipally hosts Mack Male and Troy Pavlek which issue she will focus on as she establishes herself as a councillor, Tang said mobility and transit were consistently identified by her constituents as priorities.

"When I talk about putting the people back in decision-making, what I really mean by that is we have to think about people's stories. The bus network redesign, the LRT... the negative impact disproportionately affected seniors," she explained.

• A temporary shelter operated by Hope Mission, initially set to close on Oct. 31, has received additional funding from the province and will now operate until at least the end of November. The shelter was under scrutiny last month when a man was found dead at the facility.
• The City of Edmonton will also be extending funding for day services at Boyle Street Community Services, the Mustard Seed, and the Bissell Centre to the end of December to reduce gaps in services during cold winter weather. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton has more than doubled.
• An Edmonton Bulletin article has been credited with the first printed reference to the popular Halloween phrase "trick or treat." Barry Popik, a New York etymologist, discovered the reference to "treat or tricks" in a 1922 article.
• Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault, minister of tourism and associate minister of finance, told Postmedia he's looking forward to representing Alberta at the cabinet table. "It's a great honour for me," he said. "I'm looking very much forward to making sure that the concerns and priorities of our province are voiced."
• According to the latest provincial data, on average four people die each day from drug poisoning in Alberta. Between January and August this year, there were 1,026 drug poisoning deaths, up from 856 during the same time period in 2020.

• This year, Diwali — the Hindu festival of lights — will fall on Nov. 4. Learn how to celebrate at Diwali 101: A #YEG Inspired Virtual Presentation on Nov. 1.
• The YEG Housing Month speaker series kicks off on Nov. 2 with Housing and Mental Health: A Lived Experience Perspective.
• Michael Landsberg, former host of TSN's Off the Record, will be the closing speaker for the Edmonton Public Library's Forward Thinking Speaker Series on Nov. 3. Landsberg's talk will explore his battle with mental illness, how depression impacts athletes worldwide, and his #SickNotWeak campaign.
• An educational session from GamePlay Space on Nov. 3 will teach attendees how to pitch to publishers at the MEGAMIGS tech and gaming conference later this month.
• MacEwan University's annual Understanding Hate series explores prejudice and its impact on diversity and inclusion. This year's virtual summit on Nov. 3 will focus on community responses to hate, with panelists from Sisters' Dialogue, ACT2EndRacism, Black North Initiative, Canadian Anti-Hate Network, and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres.
• Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) will host an online workshop about creative disruption, artificial intelligence, and business on Nov. 3.
• Business Link will offer a free marketing session on brand and voice on Nov. 4.
• The Addictions Don't Discriminate Exhibit will be open to the public at the Stanley A. Milner Library from Nov. 5 to 9.

Photo: The sun is setting earlier and earlier as winter creeps up on Edmonton. (Zahid Yasin/Instagram)