The Pulse
Jan. 4, 2024

In 2023, Taproot reported on several stories that continued to evolve after we published them. Here are some updates:

Deeleeo offers same-day delivery to help local businesses compete (Jan. 10, 2023)

The original story: Deeleeo founder and CEO Jackson Payne told Taproot that he created the company to make the last mile of delivery for local merchants easier. Deeleeo had also been accepted into The Alberta Innovates Revenue Accelerator powered by GrowthX.

Then what? After progressing through several accelerators throughout 2023, Deeleeo now appears to have shifted its value proposition to same-day delivery that's both local and between cities. It is now operating in Calgary, Red Deer, Toronto, Vancouver, and Kelowna as well as in Edmonton. Over the course of 2023, Deeleeo made the top 20 for Startup TNT's Investment Summit VII and Investment Summit VIII. In September, Payne was a panellist with Prepr's 2023 Industry Future Challenge discussion on the future of retail. Asked what autonomous delivery will mean for the industry, Payne noted Deeleeo's merchants and consumers still value humans. "I believe there'll be a day when there's a lot of robots doing deliveries for a lot of non-perishable items that may be not as important to bring that personal touch," Payne said. "But there are a lot of deliveries still that a person doing them brings a lot of value, especially when that person has a great presence about them." — Tim Querengesser

Future Fields gets funding to scale fruit-fly-powered biomanufacturing (Feb. 23, 2023)

The original story: In February, Taproot reported that Future Fields had secured $15.1 million and was working to build the world's first production facility for recombinant protein derived from genetically engineered fruit flies in Edmonton.

Then what? In April, Foresight Canada named Future Fields the Venture of the Year at its first Alberta Cleantech Awards. "Cleantech is the present and the future," Future Fields posted on LinkedIn after the win. In June, co-founder Matt Anderson-Baron spoke with AgFunder News about using fruit flies to generate recombinant protein. Anderson-Baron also discussed the new Edmonton facility. Also in June, the company announced it was starting to work with gene-editing company Jenthera Therapeutics to manufacture a "first-of-its-kind cancer-fighting protein." In September, the company launched a contract development and manufacturing organization service to help small- to medium-sized biopharmaceutical companies produce proteins. Looking ahead to 2024, Anderson-Baron told AgFunder News that Future Fields will be able to produce "kilogram quantities" of proteins in its new facility. "We've broken ground (on the facility) now. We have the space. It's in progress. We'll be operational in there probably by January (or) February (2024)." — Tim Querengesser

Edmonton Police Service sees jump in departing officers in 2022 (March 10, 2023)

The original story: In March, Taproot reported that more Edmonton Police Service officers had left the service in 2022 than in previous years. As of Dec. 14, 2022, 50 officers had resigned and 47 had announced their retirement. A spokesperson for EPS said some officers had resigned "citing a negative political environment that made the job less enjoyable."

Then what? In the wake of a person gunning down EPS officers Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan in March, Edmonton Police Association president Curtis Hoople drew attention to the negative effects policing has on officers and their families. At the same time, a senior police official said the agency saw an increase in people interested in becoming a police officer after the killings. An EPS media advisor confirmed the police service received a marginal rise in interest but said it's impossible to pinpoint the cause. A spokesperson told Taproot that from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 22, 2023, 34 sworn EPS members resigned and 42 retired, for a total of 76 officers. That total is lower than 2022, when 97 members left the force, but is higher than every year since 2014. — Stephanie Swensrude

• Police and city workers have been taking down encampments in central Edmonton as a legal effort by the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights to pause their dismantling continues. The legal challenge is focused on eight encampments the city and police deemed "high risk," and had planned to remove beginning Dec. 18 before a provincial court issued a temporary injunction. The court order requires the city and police to notify encampment residents before dismantling their homes and ensure alternate accommodations are available. Half of the sites deemed "high risk," all located near social agencies, have been dismantled as of Jan. 3. The city said the remaining four sites will be reassessed and "notifications provided to occupants and social agencies in accordance with the court orders." The temporary injunction ends on Jan. 11, when a court will hear arguments from Coalition for Justice and Human Rights to pause encampment removals citywide. The group is also preparing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the city's removal policy.
• Public Interest Alberta issued an open letter to Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and city council calling for an emergency meeting about encampments and to immediately stop the "violent and disruptive decampment of hundreds of community members." The letter is signed by health care and harm-reduction workers, doctors, business owners, faith leaders, and local politicians, including MP Blake Desjarlais and MLA Janis Irwin. Council has been on break since the end of December, and Postmedia reported on Jan. 3 that an emergency meeting is unlikely. Marie-Josée Houle of the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate stressed her concern that the majority of the encampment residents are Indigenous. She is scheduled to meet with Sohi on Jan. 15.
• In a year-end interview with CBC, Chief Dale McFee said the Edmonton Police Service will increase efforts to fight violent crime in 2024 thanks to council's approval of a three-year police funding formula last August. The police budget for 2024 is $437.4 million, making it the largest line item in the city's operating budget. In Mayor Amarjeet Sohi's year-end interview with CBC, he said he expects city investments to result in improved safety this year. McFee said police are achieving results in areas that have had investment, including Chinatown and transit, but the results desired by the mayor will take time as the police service rebuilds capacity.
• In a year-end interview with Postmedia, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the city is doing a good job with things it is responsible for, including transit, police funding, snow removal, and encampment removals. Sohi said he has been focused on building relationships with other levels of government to address things beyond council's control, including impacts from pandemic restrictions, increased homelessness, drug poisonings, the housing crisis, and gang violence. Sohi said his relationship with Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee is "open and constructive" despite being strained in the past, and his "productive" relationship with Premier Danielle Smith and the provincial government could help bring more to Edmonton in the next provincial budget.
• Weather data shows that 2023 was Edmonton's warmest year on record, with a temperature average of 3.3°C above the 20th-century average, compared to 2.9°C in 2016, 3°C in 1987, and 3°C in 1981. Last year's average high was 11.7°C, beating the previous record from 1889.
• The city bought eight new ice bikes that can be rented for use on ice surfaces in River Valley parks, beginning at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park. Ice bikes have two ski-like runners instead of a wheel at the front, allowing people to cycle on ice and providing an accessible winter activity for people who are unable to skate.
• Isley Noelle Falk was the first baby born at an Alberta hospital in 2024. "We were surprised that she was born right at the stroke of midnight," said mother Laura Falk, who delivered the baby girl at Grey Nuns Community Hospital.
• The renewed zoning bylaw came into effect on Jan. 1, representing a significant step in the city's growth and the advancement of The City Plan. The bylaw, educational materials, and a new zoning map are available on the city's website.
• The city announced six projects that were selected for funding through the participatory budgeting pilot project in Balwin and Belvedere. A total of $69,000 in Neighbourhood Revitalization funding will be distributed for the initiatives.
• A 63-year-old woman died after falling out of an Edmonton Transit Service bus on Dec. 29, the Edmonton Police Service said in a release. The woman had been moving towards the rear exit of the bus when she fell against the door, shattering the glass and falling through it. She was taken to hospital in critical condition but later died.
• Kim Petrin has been appointed as the city's Deputy City Manager of Urban Planning and Economy. She previously served as a branch manager with Development Services. In her new role on the Executive Leadership Team, Petrin is responsible for city programs related to economic growth, climate action, and land use.
• Verna Yiu began her five-year term as Provost and Vice-President (Academic) at the University of Alberta on Jan. 1. She took on the role in an interim capacity in July 2022 and led the steering committee that developed the university's latest strategic plan, Shape. Yiu also joined the EPCOR board of directors in November 2023. She previously served as CEO of Alberta Health Services from 2016-2022.
• Rob Heron was appointed chair of the board of directors for NorQuest College, succeeding interim chair Tina Naqvi-Rota.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area:

• Edmonton Elite Business Net Workers starting at 5pm at Boston Pizza (Calgary Trail)
• TNT Happy Hour starting at 6pm at Northern Chicken (104 Street)
• Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon starting at 9:30pm at TELUS World of Science Edmonton

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Jan. 5: Lionel Rault starting at 7pm at Blue Chair
• Jan. 6: Coffee Tasting starting at 1pm at Alternate Route Coffee Co.
• Jan. 7: Anti-Racism Seminar and Beading Workshop starting at 12pm at the Sherbrooke Community League
• Jan. 9: Get to Know Alberta Catalyzer starting at 10am online
• Jan. 10: Introduction to 3D Food Printing starting at 9am at the Food Processing Development Centre

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.