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· The Pulse
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  • Jibril Ibrahim, president of the Somali Canadian Cultural Society of Edmonton, criticized police inaction after his organization reported a hateful and racist voicemail in advance of its Canada Day event. In a June 30 statement, police said they failed to respond "for reasons yet to be determined." The event drew around 100 people instead of 300 as planned, which Ibrahim suggests is due to fear. University of Alberta criminology professor Temitope Oriola believes the inaction was caused by police not seeing the voicemail as a serious threat. He urged Edmontonians to consider the context around such messages, such as the recent spate of attacks against Muslim and Somali women, Global News reports.
  • The Edmonton Police Service revealed that Const. Scott Bailey, a six-year member of the force, has been charged with assault causing bodily harm following an investigation by the EPS's domestic crime unit into an off-duty incident that occurred on Feb. 20. "The EPS recognizes there was a significant delay in releasing this information," a police spokesperson said. "We do our best to release information as soon as we are able, and that did not occur in this case." Bailey's duty status is under review, and he has been on leave since the incident, Postmedia reports.
  • The Edmonton Elks announced that children aged 12 and under can attend games for free for the rest of the season thanks to an initiative sponsored by Save-On-Foods.
  • The first 16,000 free tickets to Pope Francis' mass at Commonwealth Stadium on July 26 were booked within 15 minutes. Another round of tickets will be available later this month as organizers roll out a phased booking process, which is intended to prioritize Indigenous attendees. "Today was a very, very positive start to the day," said Neil McCarthy, a spokesperson for the pope's visit. "People really want to be with him."
  • Edmonton has experienced 14 more shootings in the first half of 2022 than the first half of 2021, most recently a July 4 drive-by shooting in northeast Edmonton and a July 1 shooting in Hazeldean that sent stray bullets into a family home. According to police, 12 shootings occurred in May alone, 11 of which were targeted and nine of which had the potential to injure bystanders. Doug King, a justice studies professor at Mount Royal University, said firearm use in criminal activity is being exacerbated by the pandemic's effects on substance use, isolation, and mental health.
  • The city has set up water taps at 13 fire hydrants to help vulnerable Edmontonians stay hydrated this summer. A pilot project last year had taps at five locations.
  • Alberta's electricity rebate program, first announced in June, has been extended to the end of 2022. Eligible Albertans will now see $50 rebates automatically applied to their bills through to December for a total of $300. The government said a natural gas rebate is also forthcoming.
  • Alberta courts have again ordered the province to disclose key documents related to its decision to lift school mask mandates and block school boards from implementing their own. Justice Grant Dunlop of the Court of Queen's Bench rejected Justice Minister Tyler Shandro's claim that publicizing Dr. Deena Hinshaw's Feb. 8 PowerPoint along with cabinet minutes from before the decision would violate cabinet immunity. The province was given until July 12 to release the material but said it may appeal the decision.