The Pulse
March 25, 2026

The story of a save-the-whales group headquartered in landlocked Edmonton in the 1980s shows that a small group of passionate people can make a difference, says the sister of one of the organization's founding members.

"I'm just really pleased that she and the Whale Society that she loved so much get this moment in the sun, as it were," Candas Jane Dorsey said of her late sister Jaclyn at a live recording of the Let's Find Out podcast on March 3.

Dorsey, an activist and author in her own right, donated boxes of papers to the City of Edmonton Archives, including Jaclyn's files from her days as secretary of the Whale Society of Edmonton. That's where they caught the eye of Let's Find Out host Chris Chang-Yen Phillips, who ended up incorporating them into a research project and making them part of a trilogy of podcast episodes on the intersection of media and environmental groups in 20th-century Alberta.

The Whale Society of Edmonton was active from 1979 to 1984, running public awareness campaigns and sending educational material to students in Alberta. The group, which numbered about 200 members but ran on a core of less than a dozen, also encouraged Canadians to send letters to their political representatives to urge them to support a global moratorium against whale hunting.

They also published articles on the importance of protecting these rare and threatened mammals. Jaclyn, who died in 1997 at the age of 54, was particularly enamoured with minke whales, even though she'd only seen one once on a trip.

"Someone has to care about the thing you only glimpse," Dorsey said.

• Edmonton's affordable housing initiatives have generated $2.6 billion in economic activity since 2019, city administration told city councillors. The city invested $258 million, leveraging $1.26 billion from other governments and supporting the development or renewal of more than 6,100 homes, which created more than 10,000 jobs. Councillors said every dollar invested has attracted about five dollars in additional funding.
• City of Edmonton officials say provincial photo radar restrictions have made it harder to fund traffic safety programs after many sites were removed in 2025. Revenue had already been declining due to policy changes and a pandemic-era drop in traffic, widening the funding gap. Experts warn residents may face higher costs or reduced infrastructure spending as the province maintains the restrictions. "At the end of the day, you are taking a revenue source that was being borne by few people who break offences, and now their burden is coming to everybody," University of Alberta urban planning professor Paul Boniface Akaabre said.
• Emergency doctors and hospitalists in Edmonton warn that the planned April 1 end to stipend payments could worsen ER backlogs and put patient care at risk. Physicians at Grey Nuns Community Hospital say the stipends currently ensure doctors are available overnight and on weekends to admit patients, preventing dangerous delays. Hospitalists say they will reduce patient loads without the extra pay, citing burnout, unsafe workloads and lack of compensation for on-call duties. The Alberta government disputes the risk, saying contingency plans are in place, while negotiations with doctors over compensation continue.
• RCMP have charged 18-year-old Jimmy Gassner with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Birinder Singh on Highway 2 near Leduc on March 14. Gassner, from Lloydminster, was arrested in Saskatchewan. The killing of Singh, a devout Amritdhari Sikh who came to Canada as an international student and was living in Edmonton, has prompted calls for a hate crime investigation. RCMP said the motive remains unclear and it has not been determined if it was hate-motivated. Gassner is set to appear in a Leduc court, but a date has not yet been set.
• Spring snowmelt in Edmonton has caused flooding near 129 Avenue and 170 Street, disrupting nearby businesses. Nick Spina of Central Auto and Truck Parts says the water blocks access to vehicles, parking and mail, while rising levels risk damaging cars. He said attempts to fix the issue stalled as EPCOR and the city's 311 system each directed him to the other. EPCOR said the flooding is partly due to a blocked culvert and heavy runoff, noting crews are handling hundreds of similar complaints across the city.
• The Edmonton Oilers have recalled forward James Hamblin from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on an emergency basis. The 26-year-old Edmonton native recorded 23 goals and 14 assists in 54 games for the Condors this season. Hamblin previously played 41 NHL games with the Oilers, scoring two goals and one assist.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Launchpad - Designing a Tourable Show on a Budget starting at 10am at Fringe Theatre Arts Barns
• Launchpad - Lights, Sound & Simplifying the Booth starting at 2pm at Fringe Theatre Arts Barns
• Domaine de la Bégude Winery Dinner starting at 5:30pm at Darling
• Edmonton Data Society - Apache Airflow & Modern Data Engineering starting at 5:30pm at Singhmar Centre for Learning
• Business of Sport Series - Driving Growth: Leveraging Women's Golf for Edmonton's Business Community starting at 6pm at Royal Mayfair Golf Club
• Odd Wednesday starting at 7pm at Rapid Fire Exchange
• March Book Club: We Are Green and Trembling starting at 7pm at Magpie Books
• Italy!…. Italian Wine Varietals from off the Beaten Path starting at 7pm at Crestwood Fine Wines and Spirits
• After Dark starting at 7:15pm at Delavoye Chocolate Maker
• Ultra Violets starting at 7:30pm at Westbury Theatre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• April 2: The Aviary's 10 Year Anniversary Show - Thursday Show at The Aviary
• April 8-14: NorthWestFest at Garneau Theatre
• April 10: A Fringe Benefit at Westbury Theatre

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

Test your crossword prowess and deploy a little of your Edmonton knowledge. Complete the puzzle.

Need a hint to 7-Across and 3-Down? Here you go.