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Headlines: March 20, 2025

· The Pulse
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  • All unions that represent striking education support workers in Alberta have reached tentative deals to end the labour dispute at schools across the province, including Edmonton Public Schools, Sturgeon School Division, and Parkland School Division. Support workers at Edmonton Public Schools voted 93% to accept their settlement, and workers in the Parkland School Division voted 97% in favour. Both groups are expected to return to work March 20. Workers in the Sturgeon School Division began voting to ratify their agreement on March 19.
  • The Alberta government says its 2025 budget includes funding to plan or design 14 school projects in the Edmonton area. Edmonton Public Schools predicts it will reach 100% capacity by the 2026-2027 school year without new buildings, and Edmonton Catholic Schools predicts it could be full by 2029. Among the projects slated for planning funding are new public high schools in Castle Downs and The Grange, and new Catholic high schools in Lewis Farms and the Meadows.
  • The City of Edmonton ended the 2024 fiscal year with a $700,000 deficit, about 0.2% of the overall tax-supported budget, significantly less than the $73.8 million projected in the fall. This is the fourth time since 2020 the City ended the year with a deficit, which requires the use of reserves to balance the budget. Council voted to replenish reserve funds over five years, which will require 0.6% tax increases in 2025 and 2026.
  • St. Albert city council voted to rename the Grandin neighbourhood to The Gardens due to Bishop Vital Grandin's role in Canada's residential school system. The decision followed a lengthy debate, with a 5-2 vote supporting the name change and a 6-1 vote approving the new name. Mayor Cathy Heron said the change was not about erasing history but about acknowledging harm and fostering understanding. The transition, set for September, includes updating street names and covering residents' costs for official document changes.
  • University of Alberta researchers secured $24 million in federal funding to develop Batman-inspired smart clothing that adjusts its shape and stiffness to assist individuals with mobility challenges. Led by Vivian Mushahwar, the project involves more than 60 researchers working on composite fibres that function as artificial muscles and sensors. The clothing will integrate low-voltage power to enable structural adjustments without the rigidity of an exoskeleton. Researchers aim to produce prototypes within three to four years.
  • Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition chair Kristine Kowalchuk wrote an op-ed criticizing city council's decision to rezone 10 acres for Scandinave to build a Nordic spa by the river valley. Kowalchuk said the coalition opposes the rezoning due to a failure to consult with the Treaty 6 Confederacy, council's decision to waive their top-of-bank policy, and insufficient protection of wetlands and trees. The cost to use the spa will also make it inaccessible to most Edmontonians, Kowalchuk wrote.
  • Community members rallied around Magpie Books in the Ritchie area after a break-in that caused $5,000 in damage. Customers placed online orders, left encouraging messages, and covered the boarded-up window notes of support. No items were stolen and the bookstore reopened within a week.
  • Alberta Crown prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence for Const. Hunter Robinz of the Edmonton Police Service, who pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust for making sexual advances toward vulnerable women he met while on duty between 2017 and 2019. The Crown argued two to three years in prison would ensure Robinz never again holds a position of trust. The defence is asking for a conditional sentence, citing Robinz's post-traumatic stress disorder from his military service in Afghanistan. Sentencing is set for May 16.
  • The Alberta government said it will amend the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, which the UCP introduced in 2020 in response to rail blockade protestors, to also apply to the federal government. The province said the new amendments are intended to help implement an earlier motion made through the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act that aimed to stop energy companies from submitting emissions data to the federal government and prohibit federal workers from doing site visits without provincial approval.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have improved their play by focusing on defence, after a rough period following the 4 Nations Face-Off break in February, sports journalist Gerry Moddejonge wrote. The team let in just one goal in the last three games and secured their first three-game win streak since Jan. 16.