- The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) announced that summer service changes will take effect beginning July 2. The changes include an extension to weekday On Demand Transit service hours for seniors residences, the addition of route 727 from Chappelle to Heritage Valley Transit Centre, and extensions or adjustments to routes 56, 500X, 516, 900X, and 901. ETS makes regular service changes five time a year.
- City council's community and public services committee received a report on June 19 that says Edmontonians will see a decrease in snow and ice control services in 2023-2024 compared to 2022-2023 due to funding cuts as part of the latest budget. The city's plan is to clear arterial roads, business districts, and bus routes in five days instead of four. Meanwhile, it could take 10 days instead of eight to clear residential roads, alleys, and school zones, and six days instead of four to clear city sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, bridges, and parking lots. Bus stops, benches, pathways, and the corners around pedestrian crossings will need to be manually cleared within 22 days instead of 13, and there will be less proactive enforcement of snow and ice removal on private sidewalks. Tonia LaRiviere, chair of the city's accessibility advisory committee, told council that people with mobility barriers face greater risks from snow and ice and said that waiting "nearly a month" to clear bus benches and paths is a "huge accessibility concern for all Edmontonians."
- Brian Blacklock, president of local wholesaler Pegasus Paper, told CBC that Edmontonians should expect a significant increase in the price of takeout after the city's ban on single-use items, such as plastic shopping bags and foam containers, takes effect on July 1. "The packaging for your takeout food is about 20% of the cost of your meal," said Blacklock, "and if that 20% doubles in price, somebody's got to pay for it." The city's Single-use Item Reduction Bylaw will also require businesses to charge at least 15 cents for a paper shopping bag and at least $1 for a reusable bag, serve beverages to dine-in customers in reusable cups, and have a policy to accept customers' reusable cups. The federal government's single-use plastics regulations banned the manufacture of plastic shopping bags and other hard-to-recycle plastic items in 2022 and will prohibit their sale Canada-wide in December 2023.
- The city closed its evacuee reception centre at the EXPO Centre for evacuees of Edson and Yellowhead County on June 19 after residents were allowed to return to their homes in those areas. According to a release, the city registered 1,800 people since June 9 and provided lodging, food, health care, and support for pets. It also sent four fire crews to help with firefighting efforts in Edson.
- Postmedia columnist Keith Gerein questioned Edmonton's "cult of the tree", which he says is reflected in recent and longstanding debates about the welfare of local trees, including the backlash against the Hawrelak Park Rehabilitation Project that could put 700 trees at risk and Coun. Andrew Knack's recent effort to create a bylaw protecting trees on private property. Gerein argued that policies to protect trees that create more red tape for developers would hinder the goals of the city's Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative, which aims to improve affordability and climate sustainability in part by encouraging greater density and slowing sprawl. "Or, to be more blunt, adding one new infill duplex does far more to curb emissions than saving a few trees on that same lot," he wrote.
- Edson declared a state of local emergency on June 19 due to flooding brought on by heavy rains. Mayor Kevin Zahara said the town will seek assistance from neighbouring municipalities and be in touch with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. As of June 19, 13 properties were reported to have flooded, and phone and internet lines were down. The wildfire south of town remains out-of-control but received 84 millimetres of rain within a few hours. Sara Hoffman, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said areas in central and western Alberta experiencing heavy rainfall are catching up to normal precipitation levels for this time of year. Other regions, including northwest Alberta, are still dry.
- Thirty-six members of the NDP caucus, which is the largest official Opposition in the province's history, were officially sworn in on June 19 during a ceremony at the Alberta legislature. NDP Leader Rachel Notley told the media her caucus consists of diverse representatives who "can dig deeper into a whole range of issues and be even more thorough" in holding the UCP government to account. Two NDP members were not sworn in during the ceremony because their close election wins remain subject to ongoing judicial recounts. Independent MLA Jennifer Johnson was sworn in separately on June 19, and the 48-member UCP caucus will be sworn in on June 20.
Headlines: June 20, 2023
By Kevin Holowack and Mariam Ibrahim