Edmonton Minute: Vaccine Passports, Municipal Deadlines, and Photo Radar Tickets

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

This Week In Edmonton:

• It’s going to be a busy week in federal politics because today is election day. Polls are open from 7:30 am until 7:30 pm. Check out Elections Canada, if you’re unsure where your polling place is.
  
  
• The City has announced it intends to use the provincial Restriction Exemption Program for access to some City facilities once the province releases details that can be reviewed by City officials. All guests 12 and over entering a City facility, including recreation centres and indoor attractions, will need to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test completed within 72 hours of entering.
  
  
• There will be no City Council meeting this week, as the current Council is done until the election on October 18th. Speaking of which, today at noon marks the nomination deadline for anyone wishing to run for Mayor, Councillor, or either Public or Catholic School Trustee in Edmonton. All candidates must have their signatures submitted by today at noon, and anyone who drops out of the race afterwards will still be on the ballot on October 18th.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• The major universities in Edmonton have all mandated that students must be vaccinated to attend campus. This includes the University of Alberta, MacEwan University, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and Norquest College. The other (somewhat impractical) option is a private COVID test.
  
  
• It emerged that Edmonton handed out zero - THAT’S ZERO - photo radar tickets in construction zones this year. When questioned about this the City said the provincial moratorium on new photo radar sites has prevented the set-up of new sites. Therefore, the City has to go to the old tried-and-true sites, such as keeping pedestrians safe at Yellowhead and Anthony Henday interchanges. (We said sarcastically.)
  
  
• More Mayors said they didn’t agree with the vaccine passport letter from last week, which was apparently sent without their permission. Beaumont Mayor John Stewart and Devon Mayor Ray Ralph have now said that they only agreed to an earlier version of the letter asking for more data. They join Leduc County Mayor Tanni Doblanko, who last week said something similar.

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