- According to new data from Statistics Canada, there were about 87,600 Indigenous people living in the Edmonton census metropolitan area in 2021, an increase of about 15% over 2016. Edmonton's Indigenous population has more than doubled since 1996, and Indigenous people now make up nearly 7% of Alberta's total population.
- Premier Danielle Smith announced her new cabinet on Oct. 21 with a total of 27 ministers. Kaycee Madu, MLA for Edmonton-South West, will serve as deputy premier and Alberta's minister of skilled trades and professions.
- Indigenous-run healing lodges such as the Stan Daniels Healing Centre and Buffalo Sage Wellness House are underfunded, underused, and less plentiful than promised, despite lower recidivism rates and a growing population of Indigenous prisoners, reports The Globe and Mail. Conrad Johnson, who was sentenced to life for murder when he was 15, said the healing centre saved him. "The way I see it, I was born right here in Stan Daniels," he said. "I'll always be grateful for this place."
- In the proposed 2023-2026 capital budget, administration suggested cutting the diving pool and shrinking another pool from 50 metres to 25 at the Lewis Farms Recreation Centre could save $58 million that could be spent elsewhere. Coun. Andrew Knack told CTV News he wants to keep the original design. "If we are going to shrink this, does that mean we have to spend six months to a year redesigning it," Knack said. "Does that push the project back further? And what happens in that six months to 12 months? Does the cost keep going up again?"
- A newly formed non-profit called The Scona Pool Community Foundation is hoping to take ownership of the facility in order to reopen it — at least until the Rollie Miles Recreation Centre eventually opens. The group has submitted its business plan to the city and so far has collected about $10,000 in pledges from individuals. It hopes to raise $1 million in order to reopen the pool by the end of the year.
- Bike Edmonton has hired Dr. Greg Glatz as its new executive director, effective Oct. 19. Earlier this year, an effort by the organization's employees to unionize was prompted in part by changes in leadership.
- CTV News said a freedom of information and privacy request shows that Alberta Health denied a request to fund the construction and operation of a new youth addiction treatment centre in Edmonton that was submitted by Alberta Health Services in June 2020.
Headlines: Oct. 24, 2022
By Karen Unland and Mack Male