The Pulse: July 5, 2021

At its final meeting before the summer break, city council will hold a sanction hearing for Councillor Mike Nickel's third violation of the Council Code of Conduct in the past year.

Two social media posts from Nickel on April 12 and 13, directed at Coun. Andrew Knack, resulted in complaints to the integrity commissioner. One of the complainants was Mayor Don Iveson.

In a report, integrity commissioner Jamie Pytel wrote that Nickel's posts were "deliberate and intentional violations" of the code of conduct. She called the posts "misleading" and "disrespectful."

Nickel's lawyer, Jonathan Denis, argued in a letter in response to the complaints that "the purpose of the code of conduct has never been and never will be to police political speech."

Pytel wrote that the posts were "not mere political commentary or campaigning" but rather were "an attempt to intimidate people from making complaints in the future."

She recommended that council pass a motion to censure Nickel and added that "prior violations ... are considered an aggravating factor when making recommendations for sanctions."

"Coun. Nickel has demonstrated an intentional disregard for and flaunts the requirements of the code of conduct," Pytel wrote.

• A group of Black community leaders is calling for a third-party investigation into the attack on a Black teen outside Rosslyn School in April. In a letter dated May 24, the leaders said they have lost trust in the Edmonton police, after chief Dale McFee called the attack by seven other students "consensual."
• Police are investigating a series of racist, harassing incidents directed at a Sikh temple in Mill Woods. Since March, the Singh Sabha Gurdwara has been receiving daily threatening phone calls and deliveries of meat products, which are forbidden on the premises.
• A water main break at 101 Street between 115 and 116 Avenue caused significant flooding Sunday morning. Edmonton Fire Rescue Services and Epcor were dispatched to deal with the flooding and repair the damage.
• Hundreds attended rallies and runs organized on Canada Day in support of residential school survivors. Meanwhile, prisoners at the Edmonton Institution joined a hunger strike in a show of solidarity for those affected by the recent discoveries of unmarked graves in B.C. and Saskatchewan.
• St. Albert's Métis community will soon begin the search for unmarked graves at the location of the former Youville residential school, where a retirement home now sits.
• The Edmonton Social Planning Council has released a report calling for "robust investments in (Edmonton's) social safety net." The report outlines the results of a short-term bridge funding program that helped three vulnerable women out of poverty.
• Last week's heat wave kept emergency crews busy and caused some city infrastructure to buckle. An odd consequence of the blazing temperatures is the potential doubling of the city's ant, fly and yellowjacket wasp populations.
• The province is planning a normal back to school this fall, with in-class learning for the majority of students, reports the Edmonton Journal. The 2021-22 school plan was released online Wednesday.

This is city council's final week of meetings before the summer break. They'll be off starting July 9 until the executive committee meeting on Aug. 9. Then there's just a month or so to go until the municipal election gets underway with the close of nominations on Sept. 20.

Here's what is coming up at city council this week in addition to a number of committee recommendations:

• Administration recommends joining the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global Network of Learning Cities. The initiative "fosters partnerships, equity and diversity, builds capacity, and provides cities with an opportunity to be recognized internationally for their learning and development strengths."
• The city's Municipal Emergency Plan has been updated again and is ready for city council's review and approval. A related document, titled Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment, identifies blizzards, extreme cold, and a human health emergency as the top hazards facing Edmonton. Of 34 identified hazards, 13 have a risk level of "extreme" and seven are rated "very high."
• Council will again discuss the Reimagine Services update which recommends paid parking at a number of river valley parks. There's a motion on the floor from Coun. Esslinger to drop the proposed parking fees.
• An update on council's participation in the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and other committees is ready for review.
• A bylaw to enable the city to borrow $330 million for the Capital Line LRT extension from Century Park to 41 Avenue SW is ready for first reading.
• Charter Bylaw 19730 would create a new downtown park just west of the existing Urban Eden park on 103 Street south of 99 Avenue.

Meetings are streamed live on city council's YouTube channel.

Photo: City council's summer break runs July 9 to Aug. 9. (Mack Male/Flickr)

• The initially postponed Imagine Van Gogh exhibit arrives in Edmonton on July 6 and runs until Sept. 5.
• Replica Analytics and Health City are hosting the Synthetic Data Summit on July 7. It will "present how synthetic data enables academia and the life sciences industry to responsibly use health data in research as well as product development and launch efforts."
• DoM-GSA, AI4Society, and Precision Health Signature Areas are presenting a seminar "on the current uses and possibilities of artificial intelligence in the health sciences through a basic and applied sciences lens." Register for AI in Health: Trends and Possibilities happening on July 7 here.
• The Backyard is officially open, and with it comes more local events including yoga, live music, and more. Check out the offerings here.

Photo: Emily Rendell-Watson

In Episode 136 of Speaking Municipally, hosts Troy Pavlek and Mack Male discuss last week's heat wave, the deactivation of the mask bylaw, and fireworks on Canada Day. They also get into the hyperloop.

TransPod recently completed a feasibility study of its proposed hyperloop connecting Calgary and Edmonton. The company says construction of the line would cost an estimated $22.4 billion, plus an additional $6.7 billion for "fixed infrastructure such as stations and other indirect costs." Furthermore, TransPod forecasts "total economic output of over $39 billion" and a GDP boost of almost $20 billion as a result of the project. A test track is planned to launch in 2025 with full construction wrapping up by 2030.

Critically, the company says "it is not expected that public funding will be required" and that it will work to "ensure that the Alberta taxpayers are not financially responsible for the project."

"The problem is, if we build a hyperloop from Edmonton to Calgary, we are never building public high speed rail," Pavlek said, noting that ticket prices on the hyperloop will probably be significantly higher than they would be on publicly funded rail.

TransPod said its hyperloop would carry both passengers and cargo. Tickets would range from $90 for economy class to $150 for business class for the full trip between Calgary and Edmonton.

Photo: TransPod proposes to build a hyperloop from Calgary to Edmonton. (Supplied)