Edmonton Minute: Addiction Support, Commission Recommendations, and Affordable Housing Repairs

Edmonton Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Edmonton politics

This Week In Edmonton:

• This morning, at 9:30 am, there will be City Council Public Hearing regarding several bylaw and zoning amendments. Of note is a proposal to close a portion of Rossdale Road for southwest bound traffic and another to allow for a digital sign at the Fringe Theatre Arts Barns.
  
  
• On Tuesday, there will be an Agenda Review Committee meeting at 8:30 am, followed by a City Council meeting at 9:30 am. At the latter meeting, Council will receive a Special Audit Committee report on the City of Edmonton 2022 Consolidated Financial Statements. Council will also pass the bylaws necessary to set the 2023 levy rates for properties within the boundaries of the Belvedere Community Revitalization Levy Area, The Quarters Downtown Community Revitalization Levy Area, and the Capital City Downtown Community Revitalization Levy Area. There will be a number of private non-regular reports as well, to deal with recruitment to various boards and commissions.
  
  
• There will be a City Council - Non Regular meeting on Friday at 9:30 am. No agenda is available for this meeting yet.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• The Province announced $17 million in funding for mental health and addiction support for Edmonton over the next three years. The funding will go toward a number of initiatives. These include doubling the number of HELP teams, which pair police officers with social navigators who connect Edmontonians to appropriate resources, adding two full-time health-care practitioners, two paramedics, two recovery coaches, and 12 community safety officers at EPS Downtown Division, and hiring eight mental health therapists to support Edmonton’s 911 Dispatch centre and EPS officers.
  
  
• Council unanimously passed a slate of recommendations meant to improve the relationship, accountability, and transparency with the Edmonton Police Commission. Council wants the Province to appoint a full-time chair to oversee the Commission as well as to establish an alternative dispute resolution process for navigating issues that come up between Council, the Commission, or the Edmonton Police Service. Another recommendation was for an independent, third party to be established for oversight of allegations against Commissioners. Council did remove one recommendation from the slate - the expansion of the Commission’s mandate to include oversight of all municipal programs involved in providing services related to community safety and well-being.
  
  
• An agreement has been reached between the City, the federal government, and affordable housing operators to renovate existing affordable housing in Edmonton. The City is contributing $14 million, affordable housing operators will provide $33.2 million, and Ottawa will invest up to $19.5 million through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund. More than 90% of operator Civida’s units are in need of repairs to keep them open, and almost 93% are considered to be in poor condition.

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