Edmonton Minute: Bridge Construction, Medication Shortages, and Year End Interviews

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

This Week In Edmonton:

• There is only one meeting this week on account of the holiday season. The Agenda Review Committee will meet at 8:30 am tomorrow.
  
  
• Demolition of the Stony Plain Bridge is ongoing - along with associated road closures. The bridge is being demolished as a new one is required for the Valley Line LRT project. Stony Plain Road will be closed between 129 Street and 131 Street until fall 2024, and according to the City, there are substantial penalties for closures longer than 800 days. Hopefully, this fares better than the rest of the Valley Line LRT which is two years behind schedule.
  
  
• Lunar New Year is being celebrated this weekend at various venues around Edmonton. At the Ice Palace at West Edmonton Mall, there will be lion dance, Tai Chi and Kung Fu performances, Cantonese opera, Chinese music performances, and more.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• ‘Tis the season for year-end interviews and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi gave a rundown of 2022. He called his relationship with the new provincial government good so far, but expressed concern about the upcoming provincial budget. Sohi recently went on a spending spree, adding millions to an already bloated budget, so naturally he wants the Province to provide even more funding for other projects. The Mayor says tension is a normal and healthy part of the democratic process - tension between authorities and Council and tension between Council and administration. He failed to mention the tension taxpayers are likely feeling!
  
  
• In his own end-of-year interview, Police Chief Dale McFee said 2022 was a tough year. McFee said he’s well aware of the complaints residents have about crime on transit - and on the streets in general. Stopping short of naming individual elected officials, McFee said the lack of support from Councillors and their desire to slash the police budget isn’t helping matters and called the relationship with Council “strained”. He also called on the Province to work collaboratively to end homelessness, noting that a simple housing-first approach won’t change the mental health and addiction issues.
  
  
• After kids’ cold and flu medicine was finally restocked, pharmacists have warned of a shortage of those same medications in the adult variety. One pharmacist said that, in 27 years, he’s never seen supply issues like this. Packaging, printing of packaging, bottle supply, and medicine supply are all contributing to the shortage. And let’s not forget, those pesky federal regulations that require French labelling…

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