The Pulse
Feb. 2, 2024

A survey completed by nearly 8,000 residents shows that nearly half of respondents support Edmonton's single-use item reduction bylaw and the other half don't.

The city survey asked if reducing single-use items is an important way to help the environment. About half of respondents said yes, while a quarter said they were strongly against the statement. Asked if the bylaw was a reasonable way to reduce waste, the spread of responses was about the same.

The city put the bylaw into force in July 2023. Under it, customers must now pay 15 cents for a paper bag and $1 for a reusable bag when shopping at retail stores or buying fast food, among other changes. Fees are set to increase in July 2024, to 25 cents for a paper bag and $2 for a reusable one.

Nearly 8,000 people responded in November to the city's survey about the bylaw, making it the second-most subscribed city survey in 2023.

Those surveyed suggest they view reusable bags at retail stores differently than they do paper bags at takeout and drive-thru restaurants. About 70% of respondents said they never bring their own bag when buying takeout or drive-thru food, and just over half said they would continue to pay for a paper bag if the fees were to increase. Meanwhile, most respondents said they typically bring their own reusable bags when shopping and would continue to do so if fees increase.

The results of the survey were published ahead of a utility committee meeting on Jan. 22, where councillors and speakers discussed the survey as well as options for increasing the bag fee.

Sean Stepchuk of Waste Free Edmonton told the committee that the low level of support for bag fees could make the bylaw more successful, especially in retail settings. "A $2 fee (for a reusable bag) will further incentivize people to get into the habit of actually bringing their bags, and when they do forget the odd time, it will cause them to think twice before they buy another cheap reusable bag when they already have a sack of them back home," he said. "I think it's clear that this is going to create further impact and further disincentivize the use of single-use bags."

Coun. Erin Rutherford said at the committee meeting that the survey didn't feature many respondents under the age of 24 or from lower income brackets, and asked administration to provide a memo to council with the survey answers from those groups. "I would be very interested in what their thoughts are on this," Rutherford said.

Business owners surveyed had stronger opposition to the bylaw and potential increases. Nearly three-quarters of them said they did not support an increase and that the bylaw was not an important way to help the environment. Less than half said they had been using fewer paper bags since the bylaw arrived.

• EPCOR says that crews have completed repairs at the E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant, and work to "stabilize the system and replenish the reservoirs" was ongoing, but the mandatory non-essential water ban will remain in place until Feb. 4. As of Jan. 31, water consumption in Edmonton and surrounding areas dropped from an average of 370 million litres per day to 335 million litres per day, and EPCOR said it "recognizes the tremendous efforts" made by residents, business owners, and large water users. Councillors will question EPCOR representatives at the March 4 utilities committee meeting. Committee chair Coun. Tim Cartmell also hopes to discuss the possibility of water restrictions and increased fire risk this summer. The province has warned municipalities to prepare for a hot, dry summer and recently launched "unprecedented" negotiations with major water license holders to prepare for water shortages.
• The City of Edmonton said an emergency operations centre temporarily set up downtown on Jan. 17 has so far overseen the removal of 49 encampments, which included 211 structures and 175 residents. About 100 people living in those encampments went to a separate navigation centre opened last month by the province. The city opened its emergency operations centre one day after a provincial judge dismissed a lawsuit from the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights challenging the city's encampment removal practice. Avnish Nanda, a lawyer for the coalition, said the city and police "feel emboldened" now that they are no longer subject to a temporary injunction placing certain restrictions on evictions.
• Edmonton is organizing a variety of events in February and March to celebrate Black History Month. The city's theme for the month is "Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build," and it is working with the Africa Centre, the Edmonton Community Foundation, and the Edmonton Heritage Council to support 15 community organization with their events. Working with the community to "institutionalize the month-long commemoration of Black History Month" was a recommendation from the city's Anti-Black Racism Plan, which is part of its Anti-Racism Strategy.
• Construction on the Terwillegar Drive Expansion Project will impact traffic on Whitemud Drive and Terwillegar Drive starting Feb. 9. The westbound Rainbow Valley Bridge on Whitemud Drive will close, with traffic redirected to the eastbound Rainbow Valley Bridge. Meanwhile, full lane and shoulder closures will be staged along the Whitemud Drive and Terwillegar Drive corridors. The work will widen the bridge to four lanes plus shoulders and add a new pedestrian bridge. Once work on the westbound bridge is finished, crews will start work on the eastbound bridge, with both expected to be in service by late 2025, said Nathan Stelmach with the city.
• Retired Edmonton Police Service officer Collin Smart, as well as a civilian who works as a traffic ticket agent, were arrested and charged in relation to 19 separate instances of falsifying arrest reports and paperwork related to the execution of warrants. Their first court appearance is March 5.
• The University of Alberta Students' Union and the Graduate Students' Association organized a town hall on Jan. 19 about proposed tuition hikes. University administrative staff attended to present on the proposed increase, which is 2% for domestic students for 2024-2025 and 5% for international students for 2025-2026. Some students attended to protest the increase, while others shared concerns about affordability, a worsening student experience, maintenance damage in buildings for arts students, and insufficient pay for graduate students working at the university.
• The Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) has released details about its approach to investing in climate. AIMCo's new approach introduces a system of evaluating and classifying the carbon intensity of its existing and potential investments. The corporation also introduced the Energy Transition Opportunities Pool, a new $1-billion fund dedicated to investing in energy transition and decarbonization.
• Children's Autism Services of Edmonton announced it has secured necessary land, donations, and approvals to begin renovating a building at 17456 102 Avenue NW into a K-6 school exclusively for children with autism. The school is set to open in September 2024, with plans to start small but eventually grow to 200 students.
• CANADALAND's weekly media criticism podcast Short Cuts discussed the shooting at Edmonton City Hall in its most recent episode. Host Jesse Brown spoke to guest Mattea Roach mainly about the media's coverage of the event and the shooter's "video manifesto."
• At a Feb. 1 news conference, Premier Danielle Smith talked more about new provincial policies impacting transgender and non-binary people in Alberta and said the UCP plans to introduce legislation this fall in support of the planned changes. The policies will impact surgeries and access to other gender-affirming health care, pronouns in schools, the teaching of gender and sexuality in schools, transgender women's participation in sports leagues, and more. Alberta's policies, which are more far-reaching than those introduced last year by Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, sparked wide condemnation from LGBTQ organizations and advocates. Egale Canada and Skipping Stone Foundation said they will take legal action against the proposed changes, which they said are "clearly unconstitutional."

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Wetaskiwin Economic Development Update starting at 11:30am at the Best Western Wayside Inn
• Solar & Friends Mentoring & Networking starting at 4pm online
• UBC Thunderbirds vs. Golden Bears starting at 5pm at the Clare Drake Arena

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Feb. 3: Real Talk Pond Hockey Classic at the Larry Olexiuk Field
• Feb. 3-4: Lunar New Year Extravaganza at West Edmonton Mall
• Feb. 4: River City Big Band presents Jazzy Friends at The Yardbird Suite

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