The Pulse: April 21, 2021

Edmonton is the latest in the long list of municipalities along the North Saskatchewan River to endorse designating 818 kilometres of it as a Canadian Heritage River, which could encourage tourism and greater protections against ecological damage — such as contamination from coal mining.

City council voted unanimously on April 19 to support an effort led by Smoky Lake County to make the change under the Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS). The system is a joint provincial, territorial, and federal program that aims to promote and conserve rivers with cultural and environmental value.

Currently, 50 kilometres of the river within Banff National Park has a heritage designation, but Smoky Lake’s effort seeks to designate the remaining kilometres within Alberta. This change requires community support, and Smoky Lake is seeking endorsements from the 16 municipalities that border the section of the river in question. Edmonton is the fourteenth to sign on.

Coun. Aaron Paquette told Taproot that although the designation does not come with concrete regulations or legislation, it would impact decision making when it comes to policies that affect the river.

"It encourages jurisdictions to communicate and work with each other on preservation, on threats, and on development," he said. "There's nothing binding about heritage river status, but symbolically, in the public's mind and in the minds of governments, it's actually quite important."

Kyle Schole, who works in Smoky Lake County's planning and development department, agreed that the designation would allow municipalities to work together on protection strategies. He added that it could also encourage tourism by giving the river national recognition, and that the increased attention would help educate the public on its importance.

"It's not about more enforcement or increased patrols along the river — it's about individual responsibility and education," Schole said.

• Edmonton Public Schools and Edmonton Catholic Schools are moving students in grades seven to 12 to virtual learning beginning April 22. Currently, students are set to return to in-person classes on May 6.
• Premier Jason Kenney said on April 20 that he will will decide in the next 24 hours whether or not to offer three hours of paid leave for Albertans to get the COVID-10 vaccine.
• Downtown Edmonton’s outdoor street celebration, Al Fresco, will be back as of June 5, and will run every Saturday until Sept. 11 from 10-3pm. The events will feature local makers, extended patios, live music and more.
• At least 6,500 people in the Edmonton medical zone registered for the AstraZeneca vaccine when it opened up to Albertans 40 and older. That "is nearly three times the number of people who got the shot in Edmonton and Calgary combined between April 12 and 18," reported CTV News.
• Bohdan Medwidsky, a professor who spearheaded the study of Ukrainian culture at the University of Alberta, has died of COVID-19, reported CBC News. He was 84 years old.
• It's expected that there will be a bedding plant shortage this summer, according to greenhouse owners in Edmonton. An extreme cold snap earlier this year in Texas is the reason behind the issue, marking the second year in a row that supply might be a problem.

Thirteen Edmonton-area municipalities have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving collaboration to bring more investment to the region.

"This region has been competing against each other and itself forever, and what we really need to do is compete with the wider world," said Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson in a video announcing the initiative. "With this agreement, we're finally going to hunt as a pack."

The Collaborative Economic Development (CED) initiative announced on April 20 will complement the work that Edmonton Global is doing to attract investment to the Edmonton metropolitan region by putting an end to competition between municipalities for new opportunities.

"What this will now allow us to do, if we lean into it, is create a situation where whatever the investor chooses as the best location for them in the region, participating municipalities will benefit from that, rather than having winners and losers, which is the situation that exists today," Iveson told Taproot.

Alberta is receiving $16 million in federal funding to expand virtual care services across the province.

"(The) investment will support Alberta in its work to meet the health needs of Albertans during this pandemic, through expanded virtual health services," announced Canada's Minister of Health Patty Hajdu on April 14. 

The funding will be used to establish a virtual health strategy and expand Alberta's MyHealth Records patient portal information and capabilities. The funds will also help the province develop secure messaging and collaboration services to enhance communication, as well as a privacy and security framework for virtual care.

Health City CEO Reg Joseph told Taproot that investment in those areas is fundamental to the province's health system because it will allow the province to offer virtual services to more Albertans.

Joseph also said the province should invest more money in providing virtual care to remote communities.

"The focus should be on communities that have challenges to access first. If we address that need by providing better accessibility to those remote communities then I think (the government) will be doing a good service to Alberta."

The first hydrogen hub in Canada launched last week with more than $2 million in funding from three levels of government.

The Edmonton Region Hydrogen Hub is looking to accelerate a regional hydrogen economy through low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen fuel. However, as Postmedia reports, a strategic plan is still in development and a timeline with specific steps has yet to be announced.

Planning for over 25 potential projects related to supply, delivery and the use of hydrogen is underway, according to the news release. The hub will serve as a blueprint for other developments across the country.

“The race is on and we will move as quickly as possible to be a part of the market,” board chair and Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said at the announcement.

This week's word is "kinawasôntin" which means "I have chosen/elected you" in Cree. Here's how to pronounce it.

The Cree lesson of the week is produced in collaboration with local strategic communications agency Naheyawin.