- Last night, Premier Jason Kenney announced Alberta's three-step approach to lifting COVID-19 public health measures. The Restrictions Exemption Program has ended as of midnight on Feb. 8, masks will no longer be required for students as of Feb. 13, and the provincial mask mandate and mandatory work from home order will end on March 1. All remaining health restrictions would be lifted in step three, with a date to be determined based on hospitalization rates. "Now is the time to begin learning to live with COVID," Kenney said.
- Explore Edmonton and Edmonton Destination Marketing Hotels have signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize a partnership aimed at attracting events and marketing the city. EDMH will provide Explore Edmonton with "important marketing funds" as the tourism and hospitality sector looks to recover from the pandemic. "This is an important step forward in recovery," said Marcela Mandeville, Explore Edmonton's board chair. "There is a lot of work to do to help the visitor economy recover, and this commitment to partnership will position Edmonton strongly as we rebuild."
- Nearly 23% of Edmonton's hotels boast environmentally sustainable operations, according to an analysis of Booking.com data by Uswitch. Edmonton ranked in the top five for sustainable hotels in the global ranking, along with Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary.
- Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has launched a new blog and wrote about his first 100 days in office. "I am proud of my fellow council-members and grateful to all the Edmontonians whom I have had the pleasure of working with over the past three months," he wrote.
- Construction has begun on the Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre, following council's approval of the $153 million budget last year. The facility, which will connect to the Peter Hemingway Fitness and Leisure Centre, is expected to be complete in 2026. "This building type will be unique in the world – a public place where you can participate in a triathlon on a -30° winter day next to casual users of the fitness and play spaces," said Dub Architects principal Michael Dub. "The juxtaposition of recreational activities will be electrifying."
- A new volunteer-led anti-racism group called Stop Race Based Hate has launched a website to educate allies on how to address racism. "When speaking out about racism, we kept hearing about the challenges people had in finding the right words to articulate why something is racist," said co-founder Linda Hoang. "The ability to put words to why something is wrong is powerful and the idea for this tool was fuelled by our desire to help people become more confident in their words and reasoning to speak out."
- A 63-year-old woman who was struck by the driver of a truck near 149 Street at 124 Avenue as she crossed the street in January has died of her injuries. Edmonton police have charged the driver, a 64-year-old man, with failing to yield to a pedestrian.
- Former Edmonton Oilers executive Jeff Harrop has been named president of FC Edmonton. "There's a lot of work to do, there's no doubt about that. We need to build a brand here. But if we do that successfully, I've no doubt we're going to flourish as a franchise," Harrop said. Edmonton finished seventh in the eight-team Canadian Premier League last year.
- Winter domes are now available in Rundle Park, Victoria Park, and Hawrelak Park. The domes are part of the WinterCity Initiative, and are intended to provide seating and shelter for park visitors.
Headlines
By Mack Male and Doug Johnson and Madeleine Stout