The Pulse: Aug. 17, 2021

City council has unanimously approved $21.6 million for the construction of nearly 140 supportive housing units, but a lack of provincial funding for operating costs could reduce the capacity for support.

Council decided at its meeting on Aug. 16 to add the funding to the operating budget of the city's social development branch, with $14.9 million originating from the federal government's Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) that was committed in March 2021. The remaining $6.7 million comes from the city's housing reserve.

The funding will facilitate the conversion of two hotels into supportive housing, one with 53 units and the other with 85 units. Supportive housing includes supports meant to maintain residents' independence such as the presence of medical clinics, professional development opportunities, financial coaching, and others services dependent on tenant needs. The location of the two hotels is being kept confidential until they are purchased by third-party housing providers and construction can begin.

The funding, however, does not cover the cost to maintain supportive housing operations. Instead, administration said it is continuing discussions about operational funding commitments with the "appropriate ministries" in the provincial government.

"What we're seeing is the federal government and cities stepping up to increase investment, trying to get us over the finish line, and really focusing on supportive housing," Christel Kjenner, the city's director of affordable housing, told Taproot.

"What we're just hoping for is an increase in investment from the province, as well, to match the renewed leadership from cities."

Kjenner acknowledged the province's "challenging financial decision," but identified the cost-benefit analysis to Alberta joining forces with city and federal governments.

"There certainly are benefits to investing in (supportive housing), and a lot of it is a sustainable solution. From that perspective, I'm optimistic that eventually, all parties will be aligned."

• Edmonton's major school boards have released their back-to-school plans. While both will require daily screening of staff and pupils, the public and Catholic school boards will have differing mask policies. Edmonton Public Schools will require students at all levels to wear masks at all times, whereas students from Grade 4 to 12 at Catholic schools will have to wear them in common areas, but not in the classroom.
• Crown prosecutors are appealing the 12.5-year sentence given to Bradley Barton, the Ontario truck driver responsible for killing Cindy Gladue, a Métis and Cree woman, in Edmonton in 2011. In a notice of appeal, the Crown said the sentence was "demonstrably unfit."
• Ben Henderson, councillor for Ward papastew, has taken an unpaid leave of absence to run for Liberals Party in September's federal election. Council voted unanimously to grant him the leave. Henderson is not seeking re-election in the upcoming municipal election.
• The number of syphilis cases has been rising steadily in Alberta — to rates not seen since the 40s — and experts say that COVID-19 is exacerbating the situation. Almost half the cases are in the Edmonton zone, which recorded 1,229 cases in 2020.
• The University of Alberta plans to demolish the $26-million Soaring mansion as it prepares to sell the Riverbend property. The mansion was donated to the university by entrepreneur and philanthropist Sandy Mactaggart and his wife, author Cécile Erickson, in 2010 and used as a conference centre until 2018.
• The city's transit peace officers received the St. John Ambulance Life-saving Award for helping to prevent 371 overdose deaths between 2019 and 2021.
• CBC News has analyzed the eight recommendations made in August 2019, when Edmonton city council declared a climate emergency. While there has been progress made toward each call to action, critics say the city hasn't accomplished enough.
• The city has named a park in the Blue Quill area after Gurchran Bhatia, a 90-year-old former Canadian citizenship court judge, and his late wife Jiti. An Indian immigrant, Bhatia was once told to "look more Canadian" in a job interview.

Edmonton might be seeing a resurgence in wine bars. Darling, a wine bar focused on natural wines opened in July, while Culina shared the news that it will be re-opening the much loved Bibo later this year.

Darling is the brainchild of Justin and Derrick Jones. Justin is a veteran of the industry and is currently the general manager of hospitality at Biera. It was there that he was introduced to the idea of natural wines, as the restaurant wanted to ensure the drinks matched the quality of the food they were pairing.

"Natural wines involve no intervention," said Jones. "It's making wine but not messing with it."

Jones is passionate about sharing his love of natural wines, and so far, Darling's customers have run the spectrum from those eager to learn more to seasoned wine drinkers keen to see their inventory. "That's why it's fun," said Jones. "We are not pouring wine and walking away – we want to share the story of the winemaker."

Mass wine producers prioritize consistency above all else, Jones said, and as a result, add flavouring components, dye, or animal products to ensure bottles taste similar year over year. For Jones, the beauty of wine is to enjoy the nuances imparted by the inconsistencies of farming. "This really is not a new concept," said Jones. "It dates way back in Europe, but is now becoming a craze in Canada."

Justin and Derrick had been thinking about opening a permanent restaurant before the pandemic, but things were put on hold in 2020. However, they were approached by their friends, the owners of Take Care Cafe and Weekly Trim True, who asked if they wanted to test the waters in their space in the evenings. As a result, Darling is currently a pop-up and runs in the cafe and salon from Thursdays to Sundays from 7-11pm. There is indoor and outdoor seating, but Jones has a preference for the latter.

"The courtyard is the best part, with 32 seats in the back under the apple tree," said Jones. "It's a nice little oasis."

Samdesk has been awarded a contract by Transport for London (TfL) to provide notifications about emerging disruptions to the transportation network in London, U.K., enabling staff to respond to incidents more quickly.

"We're excited by the trust they have placed in us," James Neufeld, CEO of Samdesk, told Taproot. "It means we are being battle-tested for mission critical applications."

The two-year contract is in the "high six figures" Neufeld said, adding that size of deal is "becoming the new norm" for the company which has contracts with many defence departments and is in talks with other emergency response organizations around the globe.

Samdesk's solution uses artificial intelligence and real-time public data such as social media posts to detect potential disruptions to the transportation network. A six-month pilot with TfL focused on the surface network for buses and now the solution will be deployed across TfL's entire network, helping to detect disruptions to the Underground too, such as platform overcrowding.

Initially, Samdesk's solution will be deployed as a separate app in TfL's operations centre. Staff will also have access to the mobile app and email alerts. Eventually, Neufeld said the company hopes to better integrate into TfL's systems which would offer the potential for automated action based on alerts.

Neufeld said the solution had a big impact during the pilot. In one instance, Samdesk detected a fire that ultimately affected 23 bus routes and was able to alert TfL a full hour before its traditional alerts picked up the incident. That speed of response will enable TfL to take proactive measures to prevent buses from getting caught up in the disruption.

As COVID cases rise in Alberta, the B.1.617 "Delta" variant of the virus continues to spread in Edmonton according to data from Alberta Health Services.

The Delta variant has sparked concern among public health officials since it was first discovered in December. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned the variant might be twice as contagious as the original COVID-19 strain and said that there is some evidence that it can cause more severe illness. Delta became the dominant strain of COVID worldwide in July, according to the CDC.

Delta's spread has added to a surge of new COVID cases in Edmonton over the past month. As of Aug. 12, the Edmonton zone reported 1,063 active COVID cases, with the majority of them being the Delta variant.

The resurgence of the virus has led provincial officials to reconsider scaling back COVID protections. The government said last week it would delay plans to reduce both contact tracing and COVID testing and to scrap mandatory isolation requirements, for six weeks. The province also decided to leave back-to-school measures up to school boards.

In Edmonton, city council voted on Aug. 16 to have administration prepare amendments to the Temporary Mandatory Face Coverings Bylaw to continue to require masks on public transit and vehicles for hire as of Sept. 27, when the provincial requirements are set to expire. And on Aug. 13, the Edmonton Public School Board announced that students returning to the classroom will have to wear masks until a vaccine for children is ready.

Vaccines, health officials say, are still an important part of slowing down the spread of Delta. While there have been cases of breakthrough infections in those who are fully vaccinated, those who have not received the shot are bearing the brunt of the highly contagious variant. For information on booking a vaccine appointment in Edmonton, visit Alberta Health Services' website.