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Headlines: Nov. 1, 2024

· The Pulse
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  • The 2025 Edmonton election campaign period has officially launched. Edmonton Elections is accepting notices of intent to run from prospective city councillors, school board trustees, and political parties and slates. The city's website has more information about running as a municipal party or slate, an option now available to candidates in Calgary and Edmonton following the UCP government's amendments to local election legislation, which came into effect on Oct. 31.
  • The City of Edmonton released its fall budget adjustment reports, which recommend an 8.1% tax increase for 2025, up from the 7% council tentatively approved in April. Inflation and rapid population growth are driving budget challenges and are making it harder to deliver the same services, said Stacey Padbury, the City's chief financial officer.
  • The number of people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton increased to 4,697 in September, nearly 2,000 more people than a year earlier, according to the By Name List maintained by Homeward Trust. The organization considers "homeless" to include a "range of physical living situations" without safe, permanent, appropriate housing, CBC News reported. Another method used to measure homelessness, the point in time (PIT) count, was conducted on Oct. 10, with results expected in a few months.
  • CKUA announced that it successfully raised the $3 million needed to keep the station on air, including $1 million in a "do-or-die" campaign. The station also says it has found "efficiencies" in capital costs and negotiated with its lender to defer debt payments. CKUA will continue fundraising to maintain operations.
  • The Edmonton Police Service has withdrawn discreditable conduct charges against a constable accused of disobeying a peace officer at a traffic stop in St. Albert in 2021, after the peace officer declined to finish testifying. While the police service did not release the constable's name, Postmedia obtained documents identifying him as Kevin Clark. The case "looks bad on police" and is an example of "the kinds of things that really impact police legitimacy," said Dan Jones, chair of the justice studies program at NorQuest College.
  • The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has closed its investigation into the removal of a pro-Palestinian camp at the University of Alberta, concluding no "serious" injuries occurred. The Edmonton Police Service had used batons and chemical agents to clear the encampment, sparking criticism. Three protesters faced charges, which were later stayed. Meanwhile, the university has commissioned a third-party review of the incident, with results expected by Nov. 10.
  • Startup TNT announced the companies selected to attend its Summit X Finale Night, happening concurrently in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Vancouver on Nov. 14. The goal of the event is to raise more than $1 million for startups and engage local angel investors. The Edmonton companies taking part are CANDLE Lithium, Colabmacs, Elementiam Materials And Manufacturing, The Fort Distillery, and Theragraph.
  • CBC News published an overview of numbers that defined Alberta's 2024 wildfire season, which ended on Oct. 31, although about 30 under-control wildfires are still burning across the province. This season, firefighters responded to more than 1,210 wildfires, which burned more than 705,000 hectares. Overall, fires this year burned about one-third of the area destroyed by wildfires in 2023, which was a historic year for wildfires in Alberta and across Canada.
  • Alberta Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie told reporters that he attended an unspecified number of Edmonton Oilers home playoff games last spring as a guest of MHCare Medical but has no "personal or business relations" with the company's CEO Sam Mraiche. Two other Alberta cabinet ministers, Nathan Neudorf and Nate Horner, have also said they attended a free game as a guest of Mraiche, whose company was involved in the province's $80-million purchase of children's pain medication from Turkey.
  • The province introduced three pieces of legislation that aim to restrict gender-affirming health care for youth, the use of students' preferred pronouns in schools, and transgender athletes participating in sports. Bill 26 would prohibit health care professionals from performing gender-affirming surgery on children under 18 and restrict puberty blockers and hormone therapies for those under 16. Bill 27 would require education staff to get parental consent before using a student's preferred name or pronouns, and also require parents to opt in for students to engage with materials related to sexuality, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Bill 29 would require sports organizations to create "athlete eligibility policies" for amateur competitive sports. Xtra Magazine released an explainer video, calling the legislation "Canada's harshest anti-trans policies yet."
  • The Edmonton Oilers announced that captain Connor McDavid is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks following an ankle injury sustained in the Oct. 28 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his absence, the Oilers have recalled forwards Noah Philp and Drake Caggiula.