- The City of Edmonton is holding a New Year's Eve celebration at Churchill Square with free entertainment, fire pits, food trucks, and fireworks. The event starts at 6pm on Dec. 31, with fireworks displays at 8pm and again at midnight. The Entertainment District on Rice Howard Way will feature activities from 6pm to midnight. Stanley A. Milner Library will host a screening of The Princess Bride at 2:30pm.
- Edmonton city council received a report showing that a disproportionate number of people released from jail live in Edmonton compared to other Canadian cities, which is partly due to a high concentration of prisons. Three times as many inmates are released in Edmonton than in Calgary, and Edmonton's jails have the capacity for 3,405 inmates, compared to Calgary's 1,111, the report says. Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee said the high concentration of prisons contributes to inadequate support systems and higher recidivism rates, while Coun. Michael Janz said it's "not fair" for Edmonton taxpayers to pay for Canada's "social ills and challenges."
- The Edmonton Public School Board heard from two youths and members of the public about concerns over reports of children of undocumented workers being denied access to school. Marco Luciano, director of Migrante Alberta, said his organization has heard of at least six children not allowed to attend school. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said schools require documentation to ensure children are legal residents, a law that advocates say should be revisited.
- Muriel Stanley Venne, a Métis matriarch and advocate for Indigenous rights, has died. Founder of the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (Esquao) and Women of the Métis Nation in Alberta, she devoted decades to advancing justice, equality, and awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women. Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak joined others in mourning her loss, honouring her as a mentor, ally, and trailblazer whose work profoundly shaped advocacy and policy.
- The City of Edmonton closed its bidding process for 53 new high-floor LRT vehicles, which will replace 37 aging trains on the Capital Line and Metro Line and help accommodate service growth for the lines' extensions. Six international bidding teams expressed interest, of which four will be invited to submit a proposal, the City said.
- The Edmonton Police Service has permanently extended its partnership with the IT company Technology North for an employment program for people with autism. The program connects people with work in redacting body camera footage. The police service says the project aligns with the skills of the Technology North team and helps with the ongoing adoption of police body cameras, which began in September.
- The Alberta government says it is implementing a new compensation model for family doctors that will improve attraction and retention. The new approach moves away from a mostly fee-for-service model and offers incentives for having a high number of patients and providing after-hours care. The Alberta Medical Association previously said that delays in finalizing the deal had negatively affected access to health care, and a survey earlier this year found 90% of family doctors were concerned about the viability of their practices and 60% were considering leaving Alberta.
Headlines: Dec. 20, 2024
By Kevin Holowack