- Edmonton city council has hired Eddie Robar as the new city manager. Robar, formerly the deputy city manager for city operations, has served as interim city manager since April, stepping into the role after Andre Corbould left the position in March. Robar discussed his background and approach to the job in Episode 262 of Speaking Municipally.
- The province has launched Stop Housing Delays, a portal to allow developers, municipalities, and others to report "red tape issues that are delaying housing development." Jason Nixon, minister of seniors, community, and social services, said the province could withhold funding from municipalities that don't speed up the construction process. "The hammer is money," he told a news conference in Calgary. The initiative is "an important step towards addressing the practical barriers our industry faces in meeting the housing needs of Edmontonians and residents across the Edmonton Metro Region," said Kalen Anderson, CEO of BILD Edmonton Metro. Coun. Aaron Paquette told CTV the permitting process is slower in Edmonton because it's a bigger city with more factors to take into account than a smaller place like Leduc, while Coun. Andrew Knack criticized the province for meddling in a municipal jurisdiction.
- Edmonton city council got a first look at the 2025 draft operating and capital budgets prepared for the fall budget adjustment. Council said it wants to lower the proposed 8.1% tax hike for 2025, but it's unclear where cuts will be made, Postmedia reported. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told reporters he is working on a plan to "strike the right balance" between lowering the 8.1% and making investments in economic growth, safety, housing, and core services.
- The City of Edmonton emitted 16.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2023, failing to meet its emission target of 13.4 million tonnes, and it is not on track to meet 2024 targets either, according to an update on the 2023-2026 Carbon Budget. As part of the fall budget adjustment, administration has proposed cutting the Community Energy Transition Strategy Program by $1.8 million. The City aims to reduce community-based net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
- The City of Edmonton re-established a shared recognition and cooperation agreement with the Otipemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation of Alberta on Nov. 13. The governments also met at city hall to declare Nov. 10 to 16 as Métis Week, with events happening in Edmonton, Strathcona County, and Calgary.
- Weidner Apartment Homes donated $1.5 million to MacEwan University for the new School of Business building, which is the single largest donation made through the MacEwan Means Business capital campaign. The Alberta government put $125 million toward the project, while the capital campaign is raising $25 million. The building, to be complete by 2027, is expected to bring an additional 7,500 students downtown.
- Nine candidates have now declared their intention to run for Edmonton city council in the 2025 municipal election. Chris Nielsen, a former NDP MLA, plans to run in Ward tastawiyiniwak, currently represented by Coun. Karen Principe. In the 2019 provincial election, Nielsen beat Principe, who was running for the UCP, by about 1,400 votes. Former councillor Tony Caterina and former Progressive Conservative MLA Peter Sandhu have registered to run for mayor.
- Postmedia columnist Keith Gerein reflected on Edmonton city council's decision not to require candidates to submit criminal record checks. While council members opposing the idea made good arguments about how the rule could be unfair to people from marginalized backgrounds, the discussion shortchanged transparency, which could be important to voters, Gerein argued. "(Council) is essentially saying to Edmontonians we don't want you to have this information because we think you will misuse it," he wrote.
- Alberta Worker, an independent labour news outlet run by Kim Siever, looked into contracts for warehouse workers in Edmonton employed by Aramark Canada, who are represented by Teamsters Local 987. Roughly 140 workers, who provide contract services for three Shepherd's Care branches in Edmonton, got a 2.75% wage increase in July 2024. However, most positions still have a starting wage under $20 per hour, and the pay bump fails to cover a shortfall in real wages of nearly 12% over three years, Siever reported.
- Jordan Abel's novel Empty Spaces won the Governor General's Literary Award for English-language fiction. The book is a response of sorts to James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans and the role it played in erasing American guilt about attempts to annihilate Indigenous peoples. Abel, a Nisga'a writer who teaches English at the University of Alberta, told CBC the $25,000 award was "incredibly affirming."
- Coun. Andrew Knack appeared on the Good Game YEG podcast to talk about how he got into video games, as well as his work championing esports and other aspects of gaming culture in Edmonton. The interview was filmed while Knack and host Cory Sellar played Mario Kart.
- Some Edmontonians witnessed a meteor lighting up the sky around 6:30am on Nov. 13, while others picked it up on dashcams and security cameras. Frank Florian with the TELUS World of Science - Edmonton appeared on Global News at Noon to talk about the science behind the event.
Headlines: Nov. 14, 2024
By Kevin Holowack