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· The Pulse
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  • City council unanimously approved a motion from Coun. Aaron Paquette to investigate the creation of a vaccine passport for Edmonton. Administration is expected to report back on Friday with options. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he was "really disappointed" with the provincial decision to end the Restrictions Exemption Program and plan to lift other public health measures. "I wish they were done in a more thoughtful way, a more gradual way," he said. "This is not our choice; we don't want to have our own municipal exemption program in place."
  • Edmonton Public School Board chair Trisha Estabrooks said the decision to remove masking in schools starting next week "is too much, too fast." She said school divisions were not consulted.
  • A motion from Coun. Erin Rutherford requesting a bylaw amendment to add another council-appointed seat on the Edmonton Police Commission passed unanimously. The amendment will return to a future meeting for approval.
  • Though the population of the Edmonton metropolitan region has grown to more than 1.4 million people, new data from Statistics Canada shows that Edmonton's downtown population declined from 2016 to 2021.
  • Alberta's population has risen by 200,000 people since 2016, the StatsCan data shows. This is slower than the national average, 4.8% compared to 5.2% — but an analyst suggests that shifts in the province's economy may see more people head west.
  • The city's Boyle Street and McCauley renewal plan needs more work, community members say. Generally, they were in favour of some of the proposed infrastructure and beautification efforts, but the plan would also turn some streets into one-ways.
  • Edmonton's real estate market remains hot, having seen around 25,000 transactions this year. Tom Shearer, the past chair of the Realtor's Association of Edmonton, said he's projecting a 3-5% increase in average sale price by the end of 2022.
  • Premier Jason Kenney apologized for comments he made comparing the difficulties the unvaccinated face to those of people with HIV/AIDS. "I was wrong to do so and apologize without reservation," he tweeted.
  • The province is seeking $1.3 billion in compensation from the U.S. government for the Keystone XL pipeline. President Joe Biden cancelled the pipeline's permit, so Alberta is planning on using legacy rules tied to the old North American Free Trade Agreement to try to recoup some of its losses.