- Police Chief Dale McFee told city council during a budget presentation that "Edmonton has a crime problem that's existed for many years" and indicated a decrease in funding for the Edmonton Police Service would lead to a reduction in service levels. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said many services are facing financial pressures. "If the policing costs continue to rise as they've been over the last few years, we will not be able to fund other very important functions in the city," he said. Council will continue budget discussions on Friday.
- The Phase 2 parking ban has been lifted as of 3pm on Dec. 8. The ban, issued on Nov. 30, was Edmonton's first city-wide residential parking ban after its new phased approach to snow maintenance came into effect last winter.
- The Edmonton Oilers franchise has been valued at US$1.1 billion this year by Forbes. Doubling in value since 2020, the franchise is now the seventh most valuable in the league.
- Emergency room wait time estimates are now available online for all Edmonton-area hospitals, with the addition of the Devon General Hospital and East Edmonton Health Centre to the AHS website.
- The provincial government will fully fund the provision of the opioid treatment Sublocade for people entering its $6.4 million Virtual Opioid Dependency Program. The announcement comes as Calgary and Edmonton report a spike in opioid-related emergency medical calls. The government has faced criticism for the lack of available data about the effectiveness of its Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) app.
- A motion to provide notice to withdraw from Edmonton Global failed 5-2 at St. Albert city council on Dec. 6. "This is a long-term game," said Mayor Cathy Heron, who voted to remain involved. St. Albert will contribute an estimated $238,165 in 2022.
Headlines
By Mack Male and Madeleine Stout