- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Edmonton on Tuesday promoting his government's budget. He shook hands with entrepreneurs at Startup Edmonton and emphasized a new small business tax policy that enables businesses to continue benefitting from the lower rate even as they grow and scale up. Trudeau also met with local Afghan and Ukrainian communities and visited a lab to tout his budget's investments in green technology, CBC reports.
- While in town, Trudeau expressed concerns over Alberta's opioid crisis and said he would welcome Edmonton's application to decriminalize possession. The prime minister said he spoke with Mayor Amarjeet Sohi about the opioid crisis. "I can tell you that he and all of us are extremely worried about what Albertans are going through on the opioid epidemic."
- Councillors Andrew Knack and Keren Tang are each setting aside $25,000 of their $177,000 discretionary budget — usually used for assistants, furniture, and business lunches — for a participatory budgeting project that will award micro-grants between $500 and $2,000 to Ward Karhiio and Ward Nakota Isga residents. "This is a trial year, and I know it's not a lot of money. But I also have seen communities do amazing things with limited resources," Tang told CTV News.
- Flair Airlines celebrated its new non-stop flight between Edmonton and Nashville even as its status as a domestic airline is under review by the Canadian Transportation Agency over concerns about its ownership. Flair's license could be suspended as early as May 3.
- Brad Bartko, a local disability advocate and consultant, is calling for more accessible seating at venues. His action comes after noticing accessible seats for Hamilton at the Jubilee Auditorium cost $150 compared to $84 for seats not designated as such. "It comes down to equal opportunity for everybody to be able to enjoy the show," he told CBC News.
- On July 3, Edmonton will host nearly 200 world-class athletes on their way to the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The Warm-Up to Worlds Invitational is happening at Foote Field, a more intimate space than Commonwealth Stadium which hosted the world championships in 2001.
- CTV News assignment editor and data enthusiast Kyra Markov shared a series of graphs to make Alberta's COVID-19 data easier to understand. "I am all about making data more digestible visually," she tweeted.
- The Conservative Party of Canada's first official English language leadership debate is scheduled for May 11 at 6pm in Edmonton. CBC News reports that a format for the debates has not yet been set.
Headlines
By Kevin Holowack