Edmonton Minute: Easter Activities, Bus Funding, and City Hall Reopens

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

This Week In Edmonton:

• City Hall will reopen to regular Edmontonians today, about two months after a man set off molotov cocktails and fired shots in the building. City officials noted that “security screenings” would be necessary to enter the building. Despite the reopening, there isn’t much action at City Hall this week on account of the Easter Holiday. The Agenda Review Committee will meet on Tuesday at 8:30 am. Council will return on Tuesday, April 2nd.
  
  
• This weekend is Easter. There’s plenty to do in the city, like hunts for kids in various locations, including the Magrath Campus Easter Egg Hunt, the Easter Eggstravaganza in West Meadows (they boast over 15,000 eggs), or any number of smaller community hunts. Historical Churches throughout Edmonton, including All Saints Anglican Cathedral, First Presbyterian Church, Grace Lutheran Church, McDougall United Church, Paroisse Saint Joachim, and St Joseph’s Basilica, all also have Easter services.
  
  
• The University of Alberta is now on the roster of NATO research partners. The University, now a part of the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, will support the development of technologies for both civilian and military applications. U of A students will be able to engage with companies and receive hands-on experience to develop their own ideas. The U of A is among 13 test centres and two accelerators in Canada added to NATO’s roster of partners.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• Once again, there was another shocking incident of violence downtown. Three security guards were stabbed at the downtown Edmonton library in a confrontation when they asked a man to leave the building at about 5:00 pm on Tuesday. Edmonton’s Police Chief Dale McFee said the police are looking at supplementing security in Edmonton’s downtown public spaces, but overall the situation has improved downtown. Really? How do you feel things are going?
  
  
• Details were revealed that the City has not set aside enough money to replace its aging buses. The City has roughly 322 buses that will need replacement over the next three years, but the current budget allows for replacing less than one-tenth of the fleet. The City has planned for $17.6 million of the roughly $257.6 million needed. How does a Council that seems intent on reducing car use and carbon emissions manage to not fund the transit system? Even driving the old buses won’t amount to cost savings as buses beyond the 12 year mark cost an average of $0.54 per kilometer more than newer ones. This is an abject failure of Council to fulfill one of their basic obligations.
  
  
• The Bissell Centre announced that it would need to close its day shelter space at the end of April after the City opted not to renew its funding. Meanwhile, Boyle Street Community Services also had their funding cut and will reduce their space availability. Councillors voted during a private meeting not to renew the temporary relief it had been providing to the organizations since 2021. The funding was aimed to keep day shelter spaces open for vulnerable Edmontonians to have a place to shower, eat meals, and do laundry. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said that the funding was never intended to be long-term, sustainable support “because it is not the City’s core responsibility”. Recall that Mayor Sohi recently made a political stunt out of declaring a homelessness emergency…

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