- Police and city workers have been taking down encampments in central Edmonton as a legal effort by the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights to pause their dismantling continues. The legal challenge is focused on eight encampments the city and police deemed "high risk," and had planned to remove beginning Dec. 18 before a provincial court issued a temporary injunction. The court order requires the city and police to notify encampment residents before dismantling their homes and ensure alternate accommodations are available. Half of the sites deemed "high risk," all located near social agencies, have been dismantled as of Jan. 3. The city said the remaining four sites will be reassessed and "notifications provided to occupants and social agencies in accordance with the court orders." The temporary injunction ends on Jan. 11, when a court will hear arguments from Coalition for Justice and Human Rights to pause encampment removals citywide. The group is also preparing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the city's removal policy.
- Public Interest Alberta issued an open letter to Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and city council calling for an emergency meeting about encampments and to immediately stop the "violent and disruptive decampment of hundreds of community members." The letter is signed by health care and harm-reduction workers, doctors, business owners, faith leaders, and local politicians, including MP Blake Desjarlais and MLA Janis Irwin. Council has been on break since the end of December, and Postmedia reported on Jan. 3 that an emergency meeting is unlikely. Marie-Josée Houle of the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate stressed her concern that the majority of the encampment residents are Indigenous. She is scheduled to meet with Sohi on Jan. 15.
- In a year-end interview with CBC, Chief Dale McFee said the Edmonton Police Service will increase efforts to fight violent crime in 2024 thanks to council's approval of a three-year police funding formula last August. The police budget for 2024 is $437.4 million, making it the largest line item in the city's operating budget. In Mayor Amarjeet Sohi's year-end interview with CBC, he said he expects city investments to result in improved safety this year. McFee said police are achieving results in areas that have had investment, including Chinatown and transit, but the results desired by the mayor will take time as the police service rebuilds capacity.
- In a year-end interview with Postmedia, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the city is doing a good job with things it is responsible for, including transit, police funding, snow removal, and encampment removals. Sohi said he has been focused on building relationships with other levels of government to address things beyond council's control, including impacts from pandemic restrictions, increased homelessness, drug poisonings, the housing crisis, and gang violence. Sohi said his relationship with Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee is "open and constructive" despite being strained in the past, and his "productive" relationship with Premier Danielle Smith and the provincial government could help bring more to Edmonton in the next provincial budget.
- Weather data shows that 2023 was Edmonton's warmest year on record, with a temperature average of 3.3°C above the 20th-century average, compared to 2.9°C in 2016, 3°C in 1987, and 3°C in 1981. Last year's average high was 11.7°C, beating the previous record from 1889.
- The city bought eight new ice bikes that can be rented for use on ice surfaces in River Valley parks, beginning at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park. Ice bikes have two ski-like runners instead of a wheel at the front, allowing people to cycle on ice and providing an accessible winter activity for people who are unable to skate.
- Isley Noelle Falk was the first baby born at an Alberta hospital in 2024. "We were surprised that she was born right at the stroke of midnight," said mother Laura Falk, who delivered the baby girl at Grey Nuns Community Hospital.
- The renewed zoning bylaw came into effect on Jan. 1, representing a significant step in the city's growth and the advancement of The City Plan. The bylaw, educational materials, and a new zoning map are available on the city's website.
- The city announced six projects that were selected for funding through the participatory budgeting pilot project in Balwin and Belvedere. A total of $69,000 in Neighbourhood Revitalization funding will be distributed for the initiatives.
- A 63-year-old woman died after falling out of an Edmonton Transit Service bus on Dec. 29, the Edmonton Police Service said in a release. The woman had been moving towards the rear exit of the bus when she fell against the door, shattering the glass and falling through it. She was taken to hospital in critical condition but later died.
- Kim Petrin has been appointed as the city's Deputy City Manager of Urban Planning and Economy. She previously served as a branch manager with Development Services. In her new role on the Executive Leadership Team, Petrin is responsible for city programs related to economic growth, climate action, and land use.
- Verna Yiu began her five-year term as Provost and Vice-President (Academic) at the University of Alberta on Jan. 1. She took on the role in an interim capacity in July 2022 and led the steering committee that developed the university's latest strategic plan, Shape. Yiu also joined the EPCOR board of directors in November 2023. She previously served as CEO of Alberta Health Services from 2016-2022.
- Rob Heron was appointed chair of the board of directors for NorQuest College, succeeding interim chair Tina Naqvi-Rota.
Headlines: Jan. 4, 2023
By Kevin Holowack