- Police commission member Ashvin Singh wrote to Mayor Amarjeet Sohi asking for an investigation of fellow commissioner Anne Stevenson, who is also the councillor for Ward O-day'min, on the grounds she has "attempted on numerous occasions to actively influence an investigation of one of her close contacts, Duncan Kinney." Kinney, the executive director of Progress Alberta and its media outlet, Progress Report, has filed a complaint against Chief Dale McFee after the Progress Report's media credentials were revoked. At a March 17 police commission meeting, Stevenson asked why the Edmonton Police Service made that decision. Stevenson told Postmedia she disagreed with Singh's characterization of her actions, but she would not discuss specifics. Sohi said in a statement he has no authority to investigate Stevenson and is "uncertain why this request was sent to (him) in the first place."
- The Edmonton Oilers were swept out of the Western Conference Final after the Colorado Avalanche beat them 6-5 in overtime at Rogers Place. Even before the loss, downtown businesses expressed hope that the enthusiasm would continue even after the playoffs. "I think everyone understands how important it is to get back to where we were for vibrancy and excitement downtown," said Downtown Business Association executive director Puneeta McBryan, adding that she believes upcoming festivals, shows, and concerts will continue to feed the downtown rush.
- Edmonton-based workers of the Irish video-game company Keywords Studios, all 16 of whom are contractors of BioWare, voted to unionize through the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, creating Canada's first video-game sector union. "Workplace frustrations are widespread throughout this industry, and it has become clear that workers need to unionize to address those issues," the union president said in a release.
- The Edmonton Police Service's latest budget update requests that $4 million originally intended for an in-car camera project be redirected to a digital record-keeping and crime analytics project. In January, EPS told the police commission that in-car cameras were delayed due to a "longer than anticipated request for proposals process," conflicting with executive director Matthew Barker's new statement that the delay is due to a "reduction in planned funding increases," a reduction Postmedia says EPS has been aware of since 2020. "It appears clear that the police do not want to have in-car video and that they're not making it a priority," Coun. Michael Janz responded. Council is scheduled to consider a recommendation on changes to police funding on June 7.
- Organizers of the Russian pavilion at the Heritage Festival announced there will be no pavilion this summer, citing issues of safety and stress on volunteers, supply chain problems, and negativity currently associated with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. "We hope that Heritage Festival patrons will enjoy our famous dancers groups and will come to see us in person next year!" the Russian Heritage Cultural Development Association said in a statement. The festival runs July 30 to Aug. 1.
- P & D Enterprises, a gun store just north of Unity Square, is recording record sales and says it sold out of handguns after the federal government's June 30 announcement of Bill C-21, which could prevent buying or importing handguns if passed. "It's been unbelievable," owner Chris Gubersky told CTV News. "The phones are ringing off the hook."
- The city is running a series of public engagement events for the Balwin/Belvedere Open Spaces Revitalization project, which was approved in 2018. The in-person and digital events offer residents a chance to contribute to the planning and design of five new open spaces in the two neighbourhoods.
- Chris Jones, head coach and manager of the Edmonton Elks, has been busy deciding on the 46-man roster since ending the preseason with a 37-7 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on June 3. "(We) had some guys that did a few things that kind of solidified our thoughts about them, and we had some guys that went in the other direction," said Jones. The Elks face the B.C. Lions on June 11 for their first regular-season game.
- Age Friendly Edmonton has kicked off Seniors' Week with a video recognizing the contributions of older adults.
Headlines: June 7, 2022
By Kevin Holowack