- Protesters opposed to the Edmonton Public Library's Over the Rainbow Storytime event, led by local drag queen Felicia Bonée, were met by counter-protesters from the 2SLGBTQ+ community on Aug. 6. "A lot of hate-filled, angry people are emboldened by current political figures that seem to be kind of rising in power," said Evolution Wonderlounge co-owner Rob Browatzke, who attended the counter-protest. "They are welcome to protest, they absolutely are, that's their right," said MLA Janis Irwin. "I would ask them to do it respectfully because it wasn't fully respectful today." Protesters vowed to return as long as the readings continue.
- Edmonton's integrity commissioner Jamie Pytel said "there is no question" that Coun. Michael Janz broke city council's code of conduct when he retweeted a police-related post containing the word "pig" earlier this year. Janz acknowledged the language is inappropriate. "Elected officials should not use derogatory language, of course I agree with that," he told CBC News. But Janz also questioned whether the code of conduct should be used to investigate social media posts. "I, for one, don't want to see a code of conduct that is being weaponized to try and silence councillors or try and restrict freedom of speech or anything like that," he said.
- Edmonton wrestler Gigi Rey — who gained a local following after giving a shout-out to Mill Woods on an episode of All Elite Wrestling Dark — will participate in an event at the Rec Room on Aug. 26. "I get messages from people all over Edmonton, Mill Woods all the time telling me that they're excited for me to come home, and can't wait to see me come wrestle back in Edmonton," she told Postmedia. "Mill Woods is definitely on the map in the wrestling scene."
- The 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, which kicks off on Aug. 9 at Rogers Place, is having a tough time attracting fans, with tickets for all games — including the gold medal game on Aug. 20 — still easily available.
- Doug Schweitzer, Alberta's minister of jobs, economy and innovation, has resigned from cabinet and plans to resign as the UCP MLA for Calgary-Elbow by the end of the month. He had already announced that he would not run in the next general election. "I believe that people will look back at the last 6-12 months as the economic turning point for Alberta," he said in a tweet, though he did not say why he was leaving early.
