The Pulse
Dec. 19, 2024

In a year-end interview with Taproot, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said council's declaration of a housing and houselessness emergency in January led to real change, despite provincial criticism at the time that it was performative.

Council voted 9-4 to declare the emergency, after Sohi introduced the declaration as a motion. Sohi told Taproot that during budget deliberations this fall, as he and council worked behind the scenes to create amendments to the budget adjustment and lower the proposed tax increase, the possibility to cut funding for affordable housing came up.

"We already met our housing targets that we set as part of the capital budget. But there was no one moving (funding reductions) because people recognize that we have declared a housing emergency," Sohi said.

In January, when council made the decision, Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver called the move a "performative declaration." But Sohi compared the housing emergency to when council declared a climate emergency, in 2019, and said it took time for that declaration to be enshrined into the city's processes and policies. "The result wasn't immediate, but now, three or four years later, we are seeing changes happening in our organization and in our decision-making … in a way that without that declaration may not have happened," he said.

The city's updated affordable housing strategy set a goal to create or renovate 2,700 subsidized units by 2026. Sohi said the city is on track to surpass that by the end of 2024.

Meanwhile, the number of Edmontonians who are homeless has increased by nearly 2,000, to 4,697 in the last year, according to Homeward Trust's point-in-time count conducted in September.

Downtown investment

Sohi offered thoughts on the Downtown Investment Plan, co-authored by organizations including BILD Edmonton Metro, the Downtown Revitalization Coalition, and the Edmonton Downtown Business Association. The plan calls for governments to invest $427 million in Edmonton's downtown to improve the public realm, and for the city to offer financial incentives for office-to-residential conversions. But Sohi said it would take too long for these incentives to be paid back through property taxes for them to be viable.

"I don't think it is fair to ask working families and hardworking small businesses to deeply subsidize office conversions, which are very, very expensive to do, where the return on investment will take almost 85 years to recover," he said.

Sohi added that the city has invested close to $2 billion in downtown since 2015.

• The City of Edmonton declared a parking ban to clear snow from roads. During Phase 1, which starts on Dec. 19 at 7am, parking is prohibited on arterial roads, collector roads, bus routes, roads in Business Improvement Areas, and all roads with "no parking" signs. Vehicles can be parked on roads once they have been cleared. The ban is expected to last three to five days. The City will determine later if Phase 2 to clear residential and industrial roads is necessary.
• The City of Edmonton's director of safe mobility, Jessica Lamarre, called photo radar a critical tool for improving traffic safety after the Alberta government announced this month it would reduce the number of photo radar sites across the province by 70%. Lamarre said Edmonton now has 416 mobile sites, mostly in school zones, and 84 intersection cameras that catch drivers speeding through green lights and running red lights. After new rules take effect in April, about 130 mobile sites will be removed, and intersection cameras will no longer be used to ticket drivers speeding through green lights.
• St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Edmonton is being transformed into a community hub with affordable housing after decades of serving a shrinking congregation. Partnering with Right at Home Housing, the church donated its land and building for a redevelopment project that includes 11 affordable housing units. The project is supported by municipal, provincial, and federal funding, and is set to open in early 2025.
• Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins interviewed Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi about several municipal issues, including the approved 6.1% property tax increase, hiring a new police chief, and the province's reduction of grants in lieu of property taxes. When asked if he plans to run in the next municipal election, Sohi said he will make the decision in 2025.
• The University of Alberta will implement a hiring freeze starting Jan. 1 because of budget constraints. Staff members say they are concerned the freeze will increase workloads and negatively affect the quality of education and student support services. Meanwhile, the university's Board of Governors discussed a financial update, including a proposed 2% tuition increase in 2025-2026 for domestic students, as well as a 10% increase for international students in all undergraduate course-based programs who start their degrees in fall 2026.
• Fire crews responded to an explosion at Strathcona Spirits Distillery around 10:15am on Dec. 18. A fire at the back of the business was under control by 10:30am and fully out by 11:23am, and one person was taken to hospital.
• Sport Edmonton CEO Reed Clarke appeared on 89.3 the Raven to talk about the organization's Fresh Nets Hockey Edition, which is working with local partners to replace worn-out hockey nets at more than 120 Edmonton community league rinks.
• The Dec. 18 episode of CBC's Alberta at Noon focused on the introduction of political parties into upcoming elections in Edmonton and Calgary. Postmedia columnist Keith Gerein and CBC Calgary city hall reporter Scott Dippel discussed how the change will affect municipal elections.
• ATB Financial's latest economic outlook predicts Alberta's economy will continue to grow in 2025 and 2026, despite rising unemployment, cost-of-living challenges, and "geopolitical uncertainty." The province's GDP is expected to increase by 2.5% in 2025 and 2.3% in 2026, driven by high oil production, home construction, emerging sectors including tech and petrochemicals, and inter-provincial migration.
• Two Edmontonians were among new appointees to the Order of Canada. Kevin Martin, recognized as Canada's greatest male curler, was recognized for his role in advancing the sport, including the creation of the Grand Slam of Curling. Jeanne Brigitte Lehman was recognized for her leadership in founding the Francophonie albertaine plurielle and Black Canadian Women in Action.
• CBC published an analysis of Alberta's push for data centres to power AI, after Technology Minister Nate Glubish said he wants to see $100 billion invested into Alberta-based AI data infrastructure over the next five years. The Alberta Electric System Operator said it is currently assessing 21 data centre projects, representing 6,455 megawatts of load. In a social media post, University of Calgary economist Blake Shaffer said building the projects would roughly double Alberta's greenhouse gas emissions from electricity. Glubish said the path to net-zero power for data centers involves using natural gas with carbon capture, a technology previously deemed "economically unviable" in most cases.

Here are opportunities to inform municipal decision-making about recreation, engaging communities, arts and heritage, and more. Please only answer surveys from the municipality where you live.

• Engage and Play: Shaping Public Recreation — The City of Edmonton is working on a sports and recreation plan, which will affect decisions about programs, facilities, and budgeting. Edmontonians are invited to share stories about what they love about sport or recreation in Edmonton, or complete a survey until Dec. 20.
• Business Improvement Areas (BIA) Business Survey — The City of Edmonton is surveying business owners and managers about their perceptions of the 13 BIAs in the city. Business owners can complete the survey until Dec. 31
• Building Relationships to Shape Our City — The City of Edmonton is looking to improve its public engagement process for under-heard or culturally diverse communities. Results will inform future engagement processes and communications. The survey closes Jan. 15.
• Edmonton Cultural Infrastructure Plan — Arts Habitat Edmonton, the Edmonton Arts Council, and the Edmonton Heritage Council are creating Edmonton's first Cultural Infrastructure Plan. It's defined in the city's 10-year arts plan Connections & Exchanges as "a planning, support, and decision framework for arts and heritage spaces that considers community need, the pace of development, displacement, and population growth." Edmontonians can complete a survey to help inform recommendations to council.

More input opportunities

• Until Dec. 20: Passenger Rail Master Plan Survey (Government of Alberta)
• Until Dec. 20: Medical assistance in dying engagement (Government of Alberta)
• Until Dec. 20: Towards 40 Survey — 106 Street NW (City of Edmonton)
• Until Dec. 31: Central Nisku Local Area Redevelopment Plan (Leduc County)
• Until Jan. 5: West Jasper Place Rezoning — 95 Avenue NW (City of Edmonton)
• Until Jan. 5: Strathcona Blok99 Rezoning (City of Edmonton)
• Until Jan. 6: Diamond Estates Park Survey (Leduc County)
• Until Jan. 12: Budget 2025 Consultation (Government of Alberta)
• Until Jan. 15: Land Use Bylaw Redesign (Parkland County)
• Until Jan. 16: Wîhkwêntôwin ᐄᐧᐦᑫᐧᐣᑑᐃᐧᐣ Neighbourhood Renewal (City of Edmonton)

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• TechBOOST Student and New Graduate Information Session starting at 10am online
• TechBOOST Employer Session starting at 11am online
• Startup TNT Happy Hour starting at 6pm at Pub 1905
• Boston Bruins vs. Edmonton Oilers starting at 7pm at Rogers Place
• Grand Dueling Piano Show starting at 8:30pm at Birdog
• Nutcracker: A Burlesque at Varscona Theatre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Dec. 22: The Little Match Girl Passion at All Saints Anglican Cathedral
• Jan. 1: Calgary Hitmen vs. Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place
• Jan. 6: Silent Book Club at St. Albert Public Library

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