Edmonton Minute: Crematorium Controversy, Government Internet, and a Classic Case Of Whodunnit

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

This Week In Edmonton:

• This morning at 9:30 am there will be a City Council meeting with a 31-item agenda that includes Capital and Operating Financial Updates, the expropriation of three properties along the Yellowhead Trail, amendments to quite a few community plans for zoning variances and more. If more time is required, and it probably will be, the meeting will continue on Wednesday at 9:30 am.
  
  
• On Tuesday, the Agenda Review Committee will meet at 9:00 am, followed by a City Council Public Hearing at 1:30 pm to discuss various zoning amendments. One of the amendments will be to allow a crematorium to be built at the edge of an industrial area that borders the Prince Rupert neighbourhood. Local residents have come out against this plan as the crematorium will be quite close to some houses.
  
  
• Finally, on Wednesday, we have the aforementioned likely continuation of the City Council meeting at 9:30 am, followed by a non-regular meeting of the Community and Public Services Committee at 1:30 pm, where they will be considering the candidate interviews and assessments of those they have shortlisted to add to the various boards, commissions and agencies the committee oversees, notably the Public Library Board and the Edmonton Historical Board, amongst others.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• The Edmonton Public School Board unanimously passed a resolution that called on the City to bridge the divide in internet access in rich households versus poor households. While we agree that everyone should have access to excellent internet, we're pretty sure that the Board's suggestion of having the City run a municipal-owned internet company is the least likely way to achieve that goal. Can you just imagine how bad your connection would be if it had to go through the City's bureaucracy?
  
  
• In a classic case of whodunnit, the City is taking compost company Cleanit Greenit to court over ongoing odour complaints from residents who live near their site in the west. The company admits they had issues in the past, but claims they've now been addressed and that any remaining odours are coming from other nearby industrial businesses. We're guessing the Court won't accept the classic "he who smelt it dealt it" defence, though.
  
  
• Finally, the push to make COVID-related rules permanent has begun, starting with a proposed shisha ban. An activist group, the Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta, is calling for about 45 shisha and hookah lounges, which are currently closed under a public health order, to not be allowed to re-open, presumably forever. If you don't like shisha don't smoke it, but let's not let nanny-state activists use a pandemic to take away even more freedoms, both of potential customers, and of owners who've invested in their business. While this is the first attempt to make pandemic rules permanent that we know of, we're sure it won't be the last.

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