Edmonton Minute: Affordable Housing, EPS Engagement, and Two Upcoming Events

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

This Week In Edmonton:

• City Hall remains closed to the public again this week, but you can tune in to the meetings virtually. Today, at 9:30 am, there will be a Community and Public Services Committee. On the agenda are two reports, one regarding mental health and addictions and another about pop-up dog parks. On Tuesday, there will be an Agenda Review Committee meeting at 8:30 am, followed by an Urban Planning Committee meeting at 9:30 am. At the latter meeting, the Committee will discuss adding some climate-related red tape to developers in the form of mandatory energy labelling. On Wednesday, at 9:30 am, the Executive Committee will discuss approving a single-source contract for M.A.P. Water & Sewer Services Ltd. to construct Blatchford West Stage 6. Finally, on Thursday, at 9:00 am, the City Auditor Recruitment Committee will meet to discuss the recruitment of a City Auditor.
  
  
• There are two excellent events happening this week. First, our friends at Project Confederation are hosting an Alberta Pension Plan town hall on Tuesday evening at 6:00 pm at the Transit Smokehouse. Josh Andrus, Executive Director of Project Confederation, will be providing information, answering questions, addressing concerns, and gathering feedback for potential improvements. The event is free, but registration is required. Click here to RSVP.
  
  
• The second event is one of our own - Common Sense Edmonton is hosting a Pints & Politics event on Thursday night at 6:00 pm at The Canadian Brewhouse in Ellerslie. We're going to keep things simple and just have some casual drinks, with no formal agenda, as an opportunity for everyone to get together with like-minded Edmontonians. Come out and meet Executive Director Will Vishloff and the rest of the team. The event is also free, but registration is required. You can RSVP by clicking here.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in town to announce $175 million in funding to expedite the construction of over 5,200 new housing units in Edmonton within the next three years. The funds, channeled through the federal Housing Accelerator program, aim to address housing barriers and enhance housing options in the city, including rentals, affordable apartments, and housing near educational institutions. Trudeau said that federal governments of all political persuasions have “stepped back from the business of ensuring that housing was properly built right across the country”, suggesting he’d like Ottawa to take a more active role. Great, just what we need - another federal takeover of something best left to the market...
  
  
• Edmonton has given approval for the redevelopment plan of the Griesbach neighbourhood, which involves demolishing over 500 affordable rental units on federal land. Canada Lands Company (CLC), a federal Crown corporation, plans to transform the 65-hectare northeast quadrant of Griesbach into a mix of new single-family and multi-residential homes, primarily for private sale. The redevelopment also includes a commercial area and small parks. Some Council members raised concerns about the fate of current residents losing their affordable homes. Over 85% of the existing homes in Griesbach have three or more bedrooms and are currently rented below market rates, with few comparable units available at the same prices in the open market. Canada Lands aims to build 20% affordable housing in the entire Griesbach neighbourhood, offering support to current renters in finding alternative accommodations.
  
  
• The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) celebrated excelling in social media engagement, garnering 59 million impressions and six million engagements in 2023 across five platforms. The EPS Facebook page averaged 729,000 engagements, significantly surpassing other police departments. EPS social media platforms serve different purposes, with Facebook for storytelling, X (Twitter) for news alerts, Instagram for showcasing EPS activities, LinkedIn for company culture, and YouTube for news conferences and updates. Wonder how many people are engaging with their social media pages to remind them that the streets are a mess and crime is rampant?

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