The Pulse: Oct. 1, 2021

A lagging local economy compounded by a crushing global pandemic didn't stop nine Edmonton companies from growing revenue by at least 50% over the last three years and qualifying for the 2021 Report on Business list of Canada's Top Growing Companies.

Health service providers, tech-based firms, frozen food manufacturers, and recreation equipment retailers were among the Edmonton companies that made it onto The Globe and Mail's ranking of 448 companies with at least $2 million in annual revenues.

CarePros, with more than 190 employees and revenues of $2 million to $5 million, scored highest at 29th with growth of 2,082% over three years. The company, founded in 2016 by Charles Wong to primarily serve Stollery Children's Hospital patients, now offers care services for children and youth with special needs.

Mattress maker GoodMorning.com was in the 101st spot with three-year growth of 550%. "We're ecstatic to be recognized as one of Canada's Top Growing Companies for a second year in a row," founder and CEO Sam Prochazka said in a news release.

Jobber's 433% revenue growth placed the business management software provider for small home-service companies at 122 on the list. The company, founded by Sam Pillar, now has 309 employees and revenue in the $50- to $75-million range.

• Edmontonians observed the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Thursday with rallies, tree planting and an Orange Shirt Day Run. A monument dedicated to residential school survivors was unveiled at Enoch Cree Nation School. But not everyone in Edmonton's Indigenous community is happy with the idea of a national holiday, reports CTV News.
• The former Grandin School has been renamed Holy Child Catholic Elementary School. Edmonton Catholic Schools trustees unanimously voted for the name in a special board meeting Wednesday. It was chosen to honour the memory of the children who were victims of the residential school system.
• Edmonton police handed out nearly 2,000 tickets as part of project TENSOR, also known as, Traffic Enforcement Noise/Speed Offence Reduction. Now in it's second year, the project aims to address noise and speeding complaints.
• The province announced that two new high schools in Edmonton would be built through a public-private partnership with Concert-Bird Partners. Construction on a public high school in southeast Edmonton is expected to begin this fall, while the company will break ground on the Catholic high school in Heritage Valley in summer 2022.
• Advocates are calling for the province to proactively distribute unused rapid tests to schools and parents to help curtail the spread of COVID-19. Alberta Health has a stockpile of 980,000 kits that schools or other organizations can request.
• Some Edmonton-area intensive care units are receiving harassing phone calls from people questioning patient numbers and capacity. The Edmonton zone is currently sitting at 87% capacity, said Alberta Health Services in a series of Twitter posts. The province is finalizing arrangements with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to bring eight to 10 ICU-trained staff members to Edmonton.
• The Alberta Teachers' Association is calling for an immediate halt to the pilot of the province's draft K to 6 curriculum. Of the 6,500 teachers and school leaders that provided feedback on the pilot, 95% did not support the curriculum. In the spring, Edmonton's public and Catholic school boards announced they would not be piloting the curriculum.
• Premier Jason Kenney announced a vaccination policy for provincial employees on Thursday. Alberta's 25,000 public servants will have to submit proof of full vaccination by Nov. 30 or produce a negative PCR test result every time they are in the office.
• The Canadian Medical Association is calling for lockdowns in Alberta and Saskatchewan. New projections show that hospital admissions will continue to rise for several weeks in Alberta.

Of all of the candidates who have responded to the Taproot Survey so far, no one thinks Edmonton is doing more than it should to uphold the spirit and specifics of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 calls to action.

They do differ, however, on whether they think the current approach is sufficient or the city should do more.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued 94 calls to action in 2015 to recognize the harm done by residential schools and repair the damage that continues to this day. In response, the City of Edmonton developed an Indigenous Framework, which was endorsed by city council in February.

We asked this of candidates running for mayor or councillor in the upcoming municipal election: Do you support the city's current approach to upholding the spirit and specifics of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 calls to action?

As of Sept. 30, 64 of the 85 candidates have responded to our survey. Of those, 32 chose "Yes, I support the current approach," while 29 chose "No, the city should do more." Three candidates said they don't have a position on this issue. All of their responses, plus any future responses, are visible on the question page.

Among the mayoral candidates, Rick Comrie, Kim Krushell, and Diana Steele said they supported the current approach. Abdul Malik Chukwudi (who has since endorsed fellow mayoral candidate Mike Nickel), Brian (Breezy) Gregg, Michael Oshry, Amarjeet Sohi, and Cheryll Watson said the city should do more. Vanessa Denman, Augustine Marah, and Mike Nickel have not responded.

YEGPodFest, an annual audio storytelling celebration, is back for year two. Dozens of Canadian podcasters will gather for the virtual event to attend masterclasses, forums, and panels from the best in the business. On the roster of podcasters is Clare Bonnyman, who is slated to co-host a masterclass on audio storytelling with fellow CBC producer Anis Heydari. Bonnyman is well-known for her role as founding producer and host of CBC's The Loop.

The Loop is your guide to Edmonton's ins and outs. Every week, Bonnyman takes listeners behind the curtain of the CBC Edmonton newsroom. The most recent episode launched The Young Vote, a new mini-series where young Edmontonians talk about the issues that matter to them leading up to the municipal election.

Bonnyman also contributes to another CBC podcast series called World on Fire, and is currently working with CBC's Now or Never.

Episodes of The Loop are available on CBC, as well as Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Bonnyman and other experts in the field will present, instruct, and network at YEGPodFest on Oct. 1-3.

You can listen to podcast picks from Taproot on Listen Notes or Spotify.

• Watch Oscar-qualifying movies at the 35th annual Edmonton International Film Festival running Oct. 1-10. A film guide is available online.
• The Grindstone Theatre will present EDMONten: A Showcase of Ten-Minute Plays by the Short & Suite Collective on Oct. 2.
• Project Unity Arts & Culture Festival and Market is a two-day event showcasing multicultural designers, vendors, artists, and performers on Oct. 2-3.
• Puddle of Mud Productions and the Sherbrooke Community League will host Triple Fun Day — a 45-minute choose your own adventure performance on Oct. 3. This event is the third of the art organization's public performances between Edmonton and Calgary.
• Firefly Theatre, an award-winning aerial circus performance company, will present VIVAREE on Oct. 3 at The Arden Theatre in St. Albert. Audiences are promised dizzying displays from aerialists, acrobats, and Australian Shepherds.

Photo: Puddle of Mud Productions organizes and leads fine arts classes in Edmonton and Calgary. (Truus Verkley/Puddle of Mud Productions)

Correction: Edmonton Opera's Wild Rose Opera Project (which was initially part of this edition of our weekend agenda) will not stream on Oct. 1, and instead will announce project updates in the coming weeks.