The Pulse: Feb. 25, 2022

Heading into the provincial budget, Edmonton asked for money for supportive housing, public transit, COVID-19 relief for core businesses, and the city's World Cup bid.

But of the city's specific asks, it only received $5 million for downtown revitalization.

"I have worked hard to ensure that this government understands that we are here as their partners. In return, they gave us a slap in the face. I'm deeply disappointed," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told media on Thursday.

"We asked for four basic needs that would help us to make life better for all Edmontonians. And we received next to nothing in return."

Sohi highlighted four specific budget requests to Premier Jason Kenney in late January, which he said were pared down to the "bare minimum needs" from a list of 12 at the request of the premier. Those asks were:

• $49.7 million towards the construction of 552 supportive housing units, and $8.9 million a year to provide wraparound social services to inhabitants of the housing complexes;
• Emergency operating financial support for the transit system;
• Support to help businesses in the downtown core recover from the pandemic;
• Support for Edmonton's bid to be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Sohi said that the $5 million earmarked for downtown revitalization was "added at the last minute to the budget just to say ... that they're doing something for Edmonton", noting a stark difference between what the capital city received and what Calgary got.

"When I look at the list of the capital projects being funded in Calgary and the lack of funding for our city, I can only assume that decisions are being made based on where UCP MLAs are," Sohi said, charging that politics rather than good governance seems to be driving decisions.

• Mayor Amarjeet Sohi announced the High Level Bridge would be lit yellow and blue in solidarity with Ukraine. "I am extending my support and deepest sympathies to all Ukrainian-Edmontonians who are affected by this unprovoked invasion of their homeland. We stand with Ukraine," he tweeted. According to the provincial government, more than 345,000 Albertans have Ukrainian heritage. "Edmonton has a large Ukrainian-Canadian population and a large population of new Ukrainian-Canadians, so this is very real and very raw for them," said Father Cornell Zubritsky of the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist church in central Edmonton.
• Edmonton police shot and killed a suspected armed robber and an innocent victim in a nearby apartment suite. Chief Dale McFee would not speculate about how the man — the resident manager of the Metro 105 Apartments — was shot. "I would be guessing. There's so many things that could have happened," McFee said in a press conference. "I don't think it's fair to put that speculation right now." The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has taken over the investigation.
• City council has approved $3.9 million for a three-year pilot to expand the Community Outreach Transit Team which launched in September 2021 as a partnership between the city and Bent Arrow. The expanded COTT program adds the Edmonton Police Service to form "a unified, shared command and dispatch system."
• City council has approved $16.77 million in grant funding as part of the third round of the Affordable Housing Investment Program to help create 265 new and 300 rehabilitated affordable housing units. "Affordable housing fills a broad spectrum of needs, but it's ultimately about making sure people have safety and stability," said Christel Kjenner, director of affordable housing and homelessness. Kjenner spoke about the need for affordable housing in Episode 154 of Speaking Municipally last November.
• The purchase of the Boyle Street Community Services building near Rogers Place by the Oilers Entertainment Group highlights "the gentrification of the Ice District and the continued displacement of a homeless community that is more than half Indigenous and highly concentrated in the same neighbourhood," writes Omar Mosleh in a feature for the Toronto Star.
• At the end of the academic year, Edmonton Catholic Schools will close St. Basil Catholic School in north-central Edmonton due to falling enrollment in its Polish bilingual program. The school also has "substantial" transportation and operating deficits, according to the school board. The closure will affect 192 students and is estimated to save ECSD about $989,000 annually.
• A more transmissible Omicron subvariant is emerging in Alberta. Provincial labs report that 8-15% of daily recorded COVID-19 cases identified have come back positive for BA.2. These numbers only reflect PCR tests, which are inaccessible to the majority of people.

This weekend's calendar includes a couple of theatrical opening nights; various flavours of musical performance; events marking Black History Month; and a brand-new ice festival.

• Feb. 25 and 26: Opening weekend of Off Book: The Improvised Musical from Rapid Fire Theatre
• Feb. 25 and 26: ESO Great Symphonies: Beethoven's 5th with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
• Feb. 26: By Black For Black Business Summit at the Maharaja Banquet Hall
• Feb. 26: YEG Ice Fest at the Edmonton Ski Club
• Feb. 26: Rob Heath at the Northern Lights Folk Club
• Feb. 26: Afarin Nazarijou and Isabel Crespo Pardo – Qanun and Voice from New Music Edmonton at Co*Lab
• Feb. 26 and 27: Opening weekend of Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Citadel
• Feb. 26: Taste of Africa - Celebrating Black History Month at the Arden Theatre

Photo: Rapid Fire Theatre's Off Book: The Improvised Musical is on this weekend and continues on four more dates in March (Rapid Fire Theatre)