The Pulse: Feb. 8, 2021

A campaign by Canada's biggest newspapers to require Google and Facebook to pay them for distributing their news appears to be getting traction with the federal government.

Readers of the print editions of the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun were greeted by an empty front page on Feb. 4 as part of News Media Canada's Disappearing Headlines campaign. They were among the 100+ newspapers across the country to participate.

The campaign was meant to draw attention to Levelling the Digital Playing Field, which calls on the federal government to require Google and Facebook to compensate news organizations to make up for the fact that they don't pay for the content they distribute and take more than 80% of digital advertising revenue in Canada.

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault seemed to be swayed by the argument, promising legislation this year to "address the imbalance between news media organizations and those who benefit from their work."

Journal and Sun editor-in-chief Colin McGarrigle signed the explanatory letter that ran in both papers and on their websites (which did not go dark). The same message was signed by Lorne Motley in the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun. Edmonton and Calgary each had two major newspapers until 2016 when Postmedia consolidated the newsrooms in both cities as well as in Ottawa and Vancouver, letting dozens of journalists go in the process.

• Two Muslim woman were assaulted last week. Police are calling the incidents "hate-motivated crimes." Similar attacks happened in December at Southgate Mall.
• A Muslim career mentorship program called the Muslim Awards for Excellence has launched in Edmonton. It pairs "young Muslims with experienced Muslim professionals to foster strong networks and a sense of belonging," reports CBC.
• GraceLife Church in Parkland County continues to operate despite orders from Alberta Health Services to shut down. "In the statement posted to its website Sunday, the church argued that the negative effects of the government lockdown measures on society far surpass the risk and impact of COVID-19," writes Postmedia.
• The provinces will move forward with easing COVID-19 restrictions on Feb. 8, leaving some minor sport associations adjusting on the fly to changes to guidelines.
• CTV Edmonton reported that "unexcused absences are up in (Edmonton Public School Board) schools in the first four months of this school year compared to last year."

Edmonton is in the midst of a deep cold snap, with homeless agencies increasing support for vulnerable populations and closures and cancellations amassing across the province.

• CBC Edmonton wrote about how homeless agencies and the city are responding to the extreme warning.
• CTV compiled a list of the school divisions that cancelled bus service this morning. More bus closures notices are available here from CBC.
• "Wind chills between -40 and -55, frostbite within minutes" read a Edmonton Journal headline on Feb. 7.
• "A north Edmonton mosque is opening its doors as part of a larger effort to shelter hundreds of Edmontonians from wind chills," wrote CTV about how Al Rashid Mosque is helping Edmontonians out of the cold.

Here are some of the notable agenda items coming before city council for the week of Feb. 8-12:

• Proposed amendments to the Zoning Bylaw 12800 promise to "reduce barriers to business and aid in the economic development and recovery in Edmonton." The amendments include changing the conditions under which variances may be considered, enabling the development of both a secondary suite and garden suite in conjunction with semi-detached and row housing, and enabling electronic notification of rezonings and some development permits.
• An audit of the Snow and Ice Control program resulted in 12 recommendations, all of which administration has accepted with eight scheduled for implementation by the end of the year. The recommendations include improving public communication about snow clearing, implementing a formal process to monitor staff productivity, and evaluating the community sandbox program.
• Part 2 of the City Productivity and Performance Audit found that "productivity itself is not a priority measurement" for most city services and that most city services are reluctant to benchmark their performance to external organizations.

In Episode 115 of our weekly podcast on municipal politics, hosts Troy Pavlek and Mack Male are joined by Michael Janz, Edmonton Public School Board trustee for Ward F, to discuss surplus school sites and a little-known public school board power to levy new taxes.

While you may not be up for venturing outside to see the sunrise given the extreme cold, helicopter pilot Curtis Romerman captured this shot to tide you over while you're hibernating inside!