Added transit service hours, Amarjeet Sohi leaving council to run for the Liberal Party of Canada, and extended producer responsibility for waste and recycling are three stories the co-hosts of Episode 301 of Speaking Municipally examined. Here’s a snapshot:
1. Bus hours up, bus hours down
On March 24, the City of Edmonton announced that Edmonton Transit Service will offer 50,000 extra service hours in 2025. Co-host Mack Male noted that some of those hours will go to route 747, which runs between the Edmonton International Airport and the Century Park LRT station. Co-host Troy Pavlek said the increased hours are “something the transit service needs,” but had a but. “Not everything it needs, but it got some (of what it needs).”
The city’s press release said this change is a net increase of 50,000 service hours. That means some transit routes get more hours, some routes get less, some get created, and some get eliminated. A bus route servicing Keswick and Glenridding Ravine, for example, will debut in late April. The city said it will further detail the changes in April and May.
2. Principe questions Sohi’s leave despite taking one, too
Amarjeet Sohi announced his intention to run for the Liberals in the Edmonton Southeast riding just days after appearing on Speaking Municipally’s 300th episode last week. On March 23, Prime Minister Mark Carney called an election for April 28. This past week, Sohi’s fellow councillors granted him an unpaid leave of absence as mayor to allow him to run. Should he not win, Sohi will finish his term as mayor, but said he will not run for mayor in the municipal election in October. During a procedural “stumbling block,” Pavlek said, Coun. Karen Principe asked during the council meeting to discuss the leave if Sohi could step down instead. Principe, who will serve as deputy mayor until April 21, took leave to seek the nomination in Edmonton Griesbach for the Conservative Party of Canada but lost this month.
“The unpaid lead of absence is (the) standard practice of politicians in the City of Edmonton,” Pavlek said. ”(Principe) is now back to taking her council salary.” Male added that, in the past, former councillors Tony Caterina, Mike Nickel, and Ben Henderson have taken leave to pursue elected office at other levels before (though none served as mayor). Pavlek and Male also discussed the potential for Coun. Andrew Knack or former mayor Stephen Mandel to run for mayor in 2025.
3. Unpacking new waste rules
The Government of Alberta in bringing extended producer responsibility rules into effect on April 1. That means the onus will shift from municipalities to the producers of products to handle them after use from consumers, much like how Alberta handles beverage containers. “Producer Responsibility Organizations” Circular Materials, Product Care Recycling, and Call2Recycle will now handle things ranging from batteries to plastic products in Edmonton, the city’s release says.
“Almost every other province in Canada already has an EPR program,” Male said. “I don’t think (adding that in Alberta) will dramatically impact your cost or the cost that you pass on to the consumer.” Still, both co-hosts said “middlemen” could complicate the process because they will handle future decisions on waste and recyling drop-off. That could cause “some confusion and a split in the way that we do things,” Male said.
The March 28 episode of Taproot’s civic affairs podcast also covered developments in both Edmonton and Calgary’s film and hydrogen industries. Plus, Taproot’s managing editor, Tim Querengesser, provided an update from the Taproot newsroom. Speaking Municipally comes out on Fridays. Listening and subscription options are all right here.