- Chief Dale McFee of the Edmonton Police Service told the police commission he'll be moving police officers downtown starting next week, sooner than he had indicated earlier this week in response to calls for a greater police presence. "We can't wait," he said, as homicide detectives investigated the deaths of two men in Chinatown.
- Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and Coun. Andrew Knack stood behind Coun. Anne Stevenson after police commissioner Jodi Calahoo-Stonehouse said Stevenson should be removed from the Edmonton Police Commission because she employs police critic Robert Houle. "This seems like an overly expansionist definition of conflict of interest to me. It's not clear what material benefit Anne Stevenson is gaining from employing Robert Houle," criminologist Temitope Oriola told The Progress Report. "Allegations of conflict of interest should not be used to stifle dissent." Stevenson has advocated for more transparency in police accountability structures.
- Premier Jason Kenney will remain leader of the United Conservative Party until his successor is chosen, the UCP caucus said May 19. After receiving the support of 51.4% of the party's members in a leadership review this week, Kenney declared his intention to step down, but he indicated Thursday that he would resign upon the election of a new leader, the timing of which has not been determined. Nonetheless, the retrospectives have begun.
- Edmonton should expect a shortage of housing and commercial buildings due to supply chain issues, rising construction costs, rising interest rates, and a growing population, according to industry leaders who met at the Edmonton Real Estate Forum on May 18. Rohit Gupta, president of Rohit Group of Companies, said the demand for houses may outpace real estate developers' capacity to build them.
- Reservations at Alberta Parks for the May long weekend are down from last year. As of May 18, there were openings at 66 of 95 campgrounds, compared to 30 in 2021. Nancy MacDonald with Alberta Parks believes the difference can be explained by eased COVID-19 restrictions and changes made to the online booking system, which allowed people to book sites earlier and face fewer fees for cancelling.
- Game 1 of the Battle of Alberta, which the Oilers lost 9-6 to the Flames, was the ninth highest-scoring game in NHL playoff history, says Zach Laing of Oilersnation. "To say Edmonton was flat would be, putting it quite mildly, understating things," he said. The Mega 50/50 jackpot, however, is nowhere near flat — the total pot so far is more than $2.5 million, proceeds of which will go to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.
Headlines: May 20, 2022
By Karen Unland and Kevin Holowack