The Pulse: Dec. 8, 2021

The Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB) will usher in six new mayors on Dec. 9 at its first official meeting since the municipal elections earlier this fall.

Beaumont's Bill Daneluik, Devon's Jeff Craddock, Morinville's Simon Boersma, Parkland County's Allan Gamble, Spruce Grove's Jeff Acker, and Edmonton's Amarjeet Sohi will join seven incumbent mayors who were re-elected in their respective municipalities.

"Newly elected mayors bring fresh perspectives and help the group consider new opportunities," St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron told Taproot. "I think a healthy mix of returning members and newly elected members will enable us to identify the best possible course of action for the EMRB." She pointed to the development of the board's new strategic plan in 2022 as an opportunity for the group to set a common path forward.

The board, which is made up of mayors from Edmonton and the 12 largest municipalities in the area, is a driving force for regional collaboration.

"Our work will continue to tackle complex issues that no single municipality can undertake on its own," said William Choy, mayor of Stony Plain and chair of the EMRB in the previous term. "Our region had over 100 years to plan for the first million residents, but we know the region has 30 years, maybe less, to plan for the next one million people and 450,000 jobs that we will attract and create."

One of the first items the board will tackle is a mandated five-year interim review of the region's growth plan. The review will take place over the next 18 to 24 months, using updated census data and projections to assess how the region is faring in its aim to ensure sustainable growth.

Choy added that while it's too soon to determine specific areas where the EMRB should focus, "it will be important for this board to take stock of where the region stands, consider the work that has been achieved to date, and what we will collectively want to advance as priorities."

• The city's first five permanent supportive housing developments will not open in time to support residents experiencing homelessness this winter as planned, due to labour and supply chain disruptions. The housing developments, totaling 210 units and located in Inglewood, Terrace Heights, Westmount, Wellington, and King Edward Park, are now expected to open in spring 2022.
• The city has removed concrete barriers from the 110 Street bike lane in Garneau after numerous Edmontonians complained on social media. The barriers were used to close the bike lane to allow for the installation of appropriate signage, the city said. "This does not align with city plan, this does not align with our values, this is beyond infuriating," said Coun. Michael Janz.
• Homeowners are frustrated after Edmonton police caused extensive damage to their backyard while responding to a break-in call on Nov. 26. EPS removed a fence and cut down multiple trees in order to enter the downtown backyard with an ARV1 armoured vehicle, which subsequently broke down and needed to be towed from the scene.
• The Edmonton Cenotaph has received a municipal historic resource designation in recognition of its historical significance. First unveiled in 1936, the Cenotaph commemorates Edmontonians who died in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the War in Afghanistan.
• The Concordia University of Edmonton Faculty Association (CUEFA) may be the first faculty association in Alberta to strike after 90% voted in support of striking on Dec. 1. CUEFA has been negotiating a new collective agreement with the university since the spring, with disagreements around workload expectations and job security. University of Alberta staff have also considered striking in response to proposed wage rollbacks.
• The Alberta Energy Transition Study, conducted for Calgary Economic Development and Edmonton Global, found that "both Calgary and the Edmonton region are uniquely positioned to be leaders in a transition to a lower carbon economy" and concluded that 170,000 jobs could be created in Alberta's cleantech sector by 2050. Edmonton is home to 429 of Alberta's 945 cleantech companies, according to the news release.

The provincial government has committed $15.5 million in funding to Entos Pharmaceuticals to establish a new commercial manufacturing facility in Edmonton, which would produce vaccines as well as future genetic medicines.

The clinical-stage biotechnology company will have to secure financial support from the federal government as well in order to access the provincial funding, but if Entos is successful in doing so, it plans to build the facility within 12 months.

"That would mean that we could manufacture our Covigenix (COVID-19) vaccine in Edmonton for Canadians and for users internationally," Entos CEO John Lewis told Taproot. "We could also offer our other partners (in genetic medicine development) the ability to manufacture both on a clinical scale for clinical trials, but also a commercial scale for approved drugs right in Edmonton."

The facility will cost about $80 million, with the rest of the Entos funding request to the provincial government bringing the total amount to $155 million. It would use the other funds to complete the clinical development of its COVID-19 vaccine, which is entering the second stage of clinical trials in South Africa.

The company is hoping the federal government will provide half of the total cost of the project, and Entos would put up the remaining money itself, said Lewis. If the funding isn't secured, he expects it will delay the building of the facility by six months to a year.

"It's a dance," Lewis said, explaining that the announcement sends a message to the federal government that Alberta is investing in biomanufacturing.

"If we want rapid access to vaccines and if we want to be protected against new variants, we need to establish domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity. But without government support, it's unlikely to be in Edmonton."