The Pulse: Oct. 29, 2021

The appointment of Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault as Canada's new tourism minister was cheered by the city's tourism industry, which is recovering from a pandemic plunge in trips and revenues.

"Explore Edmonton is thrilled to have a dedicated ministry focused on tourism as the sector begins to dig itself out from under the profound damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," Dan St. Pierre, director of strategic communications and partnerships, told Taproot in an email.

"The tourism sector was the first hit, the hardest hit, and will likely take the longest to recover. Creating a focused ministry demonstrates a commitment to that recovery."

Edmonton went from a record year in 2019 — with 6.3 million people visiting the capital region and spending $1.7 billion — to just 3.3 million visitors and $315 million in revenue in 2020, the destination management and marketing agency notes in its relaunch plan.

While Boissonnault has a national mandate, "we would be lying if we didn't admit we're very excited that someone who loves Edmonton as much as we do is the federal minister of tourism," St. Pierre said.

Several federal government initiatives are expected to help the industry generate employment this winter, including the new international vaccine passports and two new aid initiatives – the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery program and the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery program.

• As of Oct. 27, 88% of staff at the City of Edmonton are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with another 4% partially vaccinated. Employees who are not fully vaccinated by Nov. 1 will have to comply with rapid testing, including about 51 bus drivers. Another 15 have been placed on unpaid leave for refusing to comply. Edmonton Transit Service is temporarily cutting back the frequency of bus service as a result.
• "In the past year, Edmonton has witnessed a rash of hate attacks, most of them targeting Muslim women," wrote Postmedia reporter Jonny Wakefield in a deep dive into why Muslim women in Edmonton are being attacked.
• According to Jessica Lamarre, director of safe mobility for the City of Edmonton, there is "almost no correlation" between neighbourhoods that reported traffic safety issues and those that actually experienced them. The Crash and Equity Analyses Technical Report found that "crashes are concentrated in 15 neighbourhoods and disproportionately affect low-income, Indigenous Peoples, and linguistic minorities by virtue of where they live."
• The Edmonton Oilers have unveiled a new logo designed by Lance Cardinal for the team's Indigenous celebration night on Nov. 1. "This design honours Turtle Island, the name that we use to describe North America," Cardinal wrote on LinkedIn. "This design welcomes all who are from this country to be a part of this moment, celebrating hockey and sports and representing indigenous people in a good way."
• Anthony Muobike, a 14-year-old Edmontonian who hopes to play in the NBA one day, was interviewed on The Kelly Clarkson Show recently. His story went viral over the summer when the community rallied together to buy him a basketball net. "Clarkson told Muobike she'd like to have him on her show again when he reaches the NBA," reports Global News.
• For Halloween this year, SONiC 102.9 radio announcer Lauren Hunter dressed as the Ever Given container ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal for six days back in March. Hunter, who spent more than 60 hours working on the costume, has a history of going all out for Halloween, reports CityNews.

When the world is metaphorically and literally on fire, how can the average person fight the flames? What On EARTH Can We Do?, a storytelling and education podcast from the Alberta Emerald Foundation and Hoopla Media, pursues that answer — and the first two episodes of Season 3 have recently hit the airwaves.

Following the annual Emerald Awards, podcast hosts Gregory Caswell and Colleen Nuc facilitate a series of conversations with recipients. Episode 2 of the new season features Jade Janzen from Lives with Less Plastic and Robert Herritt from StyroGo to unpack what can be done about plastic pollution.

The foundation serves to recognize and celebrate environmental achievements in Alberta, and in turn, "inspire environmental excellence and improvement." Apart from the Emerald Awards, the organization also offers youth grants and lifestyle cards that provide discounts at participating retailers.

With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) starting on Oct. 31, it's a good time to think about action.

You can catch What On EARTH Can We Do? on the Emerald Foundation's website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify.

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