Headlines: Nov. 10, 2023

Nov. 10, 2023 · The Pulse
By Kevin Holowack

The Edmonton Community Foundation and the Edmonton Social Planning Council released their annual Vital Signs report, which this year focuses on food security. The report found that the number of food-insecure Albertans rose from 12% in 2011 to 20% in 2022, while the cost of healthy food for a family of four rose from $10,920 in 2013 to $15,306 in 2022. More than 20% of Alberta children live in food-insecure households, and 23% of BIPOC Edmontonians report having difficulty accessing food from their culture. The report also found healthy food accounts for 41% of a low-income family's monthly budget, while rent takes up 54%.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services crews responded to a fire at a vacant hangar at the site of Edmonton's former municipal airport on the morning of Nov. 9. Crews were called at 2:50am, and the fire was under control by 6:45am. No injuries were reported. The fire did not affect Hangar 11, the site of a proposed redevelopment project, or Hangar 14, which houses the Alberta Aviation Museum and was put up for sale in October.
NBC 5, a Texas news station, sent a reporter to Edmonton to learn about the city's Vision Zero initiative and how similar strategies can be implemented in Dallas. Edmonton's Vision Zero plan includes features like scramble crosswalks, reduced speeds, narrowed roads, and bright, automated speed enforcement vehicles. While the cities are similar size by population, Dallas had 228 traffic deaths in 2022, while Edmonton had 14. Since Edmonton adopted Vision Zero in 2015, traffic deaths have declined by 50% and severe injuries by 32%.
Criminologist Temitope Oriola published an opinion piece building on the recent report Combatting hate: Islamophobia and its impact on Muslims in Canada, published by the Senate of Canada's Standing Committee on Human Rights. He highlighted the report's messages about hate crimes committed against Muslims, higher unemployment among women who wear hijabs, and the intersection between Islamophobia and national security in a post-9/11 world. "Islamophobia is damaging to individuals, families and communities. It is also very costly to national security," wrote Oriola, who called for the implementation of all 13 recommendations in the report.
Edmonton has a lack of female family doctors who are accepting new patients. Data from mid-October indicates there were more than 800 female family doctors in Edmonton, but only three were accepting new patients as of Nov. 8, according to the Find a Doctor database from Alberta's Primary Care Networks.
The Senior Protection Unit of the Edmonton Police Service launched an educational campaign to raise awareness about crimes against seniors, especially theft, undertaken by their appointed Power of Attorney. The campaign includes a 15-second commercial that will air on local TV stations in coming weeks.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery tabled a bill that, if passed, would require Alberta's ethics commissioner to suspend investigations of provincial politicians during election periods. The changes were recommended by ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler in her May 2023 report, which found Premier Danielle Smith had broken the Conflicts of Interest Act by speaking to controversial street preacher Artur Pawlowski. Earlier this week, a legislative committee voted to replace Trussler as well as Glen Resler, the province's chief electoral officer.