The Pulse: March 1, 2022

Integrity commissioner Jamie Pytel has dismissed a complaint filed by the president of the Edmonton Police Association against Coun. Michael Janz alleging that the councillor violated the council code of conduct.

S/Sgt. Michael Elliott made the complaint on Jan. 10, alleging that since he was elected to council, Janz had made a series of social media posts that violated the code. He also alleged that Janz had made decisions as a councillor that were biased, had made posts that were offensive and disrespectful of and to Edmonton Police Service members, and made misleading posts about police service members. Elliott said in his letter to Pytel that he requested a meeting with Janz prior to filing the complaint but received no response.

Elliott cited 24 tweets or interactions on Twitter made by Janz. Pytel assessed each one, and in a ruling obtained by Taproot, ruled that Janz did not breach the code with any of them.

"On balance, they fall within the realm of expressing an opinion on a topic of public interest," Pytel wrote. "I am of the view that it is not the role of the Integrity Commissioner to censor or interfere with political debate and commentary."

Though many of the tweets cited by Elliott were likes or retweets of posts made by others, some were posted by Janz himself. In a tweet posted on Dec. 17, 2021, Janz cited comments from Police Chief Dale McFee following council's vote on the 2022 budget and added, "Is fearmongering appropriate for a bureaucrat?" In her assessment, Pytel said "it is debatable that calling someone a 'bureaucrat' is disrespectful conduct lacking in decorum," and said the tweet was "commentary on a matter of public interest relating to policing, including funding and efficiencies."

She also ruled that it was outside her jurisdiction to make findings of bias or lack of impartiality, and she said councillors "should use caution when sharing commentary on social media as this could be deemed an indirect means of violating the code."

• Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said city council will convene a special meeting on March 8 at 1:30pm to discuss the mask bylaw which remains in effect even as the provincial mandate has been lifted. The city is collecting input on the mask bylaw until March 7.
• CWB Financial Group has announced it will be the anchor tenant of the final tower overlooking the plaza in ICE District. The deal "cements Edmonton as CWB's corporate home in the city where it was founded by local entrepreneurs 38 years ago," it said in a news release. Construction of the new tower is underway with occupancy expected in late 2025. CWB's departure leaves another vacancy along Jasper Avenue, Global News reports.
• The Edmonton Queer History Project is launching a new Downtown Queer History Map, walking tours, and a website and podcast. The launch event will take place at 10am on March 8 at Michael Phair Park. The project started last year by MacEwan University's Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity, with funding from the Stollery Charitable Foundation and the Edmonton Heritage Council.
• The city is collecting input from Edmontonians on potential enhancements to snow and ice control services, which council is expected to consider in April. An online survey is open until March 6 with questions "about lived experiences this season and proposed enhancements for future seasons."
• Kaycee Madu should be ejected from cabinet for his attempts to interfere with the justice process when he called Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee last year, the Edmonton Journal's editorial board argues.
• Health Minister Jason Copping said in an interview with CBC News that "new hospitalizations have been dropping steadily" in Alberta since announcing the COVID-19 reopening plan. "And we're confident that the numbers will continue to keep heading in the right direction."

Filistix is creating a food hall on the MacEwan University campus and bringing a new dinner concept to its main downtown location in an effort to make it to the other side of the pandemic.

As with other hospitality businesses, Filistix has been forced to continuously pivot over the past two years in response to changing public health guidelines. But there is no doubt that trying to maintain business at a post-secondary institution was particularly challenging, given the lack of foot traffic on campus.

"As the months went on, we were thinking about how we would recoup this lost revenue, especially at our University of Alberta location," said Ariel del Rosario, co-owner of Filistix. The opportunity he saw was to go big.

Filistix had a very public dispute with Aramark over the abrupt cancellation of its vending contract at the U of A in 2018. It ended up finding a new U of A home in the Students' Union Building, but it closed its MacEwan location, which was also managed by Aramark. Filistix maintained a good relationship with MacEwan, however, and reconnected with the school in 2021 to determine what was possible.

"We didn't want to just occupy a kiosk like we did last time," said del Rosario. "We wanted to convert the entire concession area in the Robbins Building into a mini food hall."

Food halls offer a collection of local food vendors and chef-driven concepts under one roof. JustCook Kitchens operates the only current Edmonton example, but they have popped up in every major city, del Rosario said. His version is called Takam Market, named after the Tagalog word meaning "to crave." It opened on Feb. 28 and will continue to phase in more offerings over time.

Among the concepts is Filistix Modern Filipino, which will serve a menu similar to the one available at the U of A branch, while Yelo'd will open up a Sosyal Scoops ice cream and milkshake shack. In addition, the market has partnered with The Colombian and Ayco Bakery to offer coffee and baked goods.

Meanwhile, the flagship downtown location of Filistix will be undergoing some changes in March. "We know people's dining habits have changed for the near future," said del Rosario. "People now go out once every couple of weeks. Are people who live in the outskirts compelled to come downtown and eat at a restaurant? If we're going to be a destination spot, we need to make our concept and menu a destination."

The restaurant will officially launch this concept on Fridays and Saturday evenings after previewing the menu at Downtown Dining Week in late March and early April. "This will be the grown-up version of Filistix," said del Rosario. "Wine glasses, linens, napkins, and a completely different look."

Edmonton Global, the economic development agency for the Edmonton metropolitan region, has launched Economic Development Matters, a podcast to explore questions such as what draws people and businesses to a community and how we can build a sustainable economic future.

The pandemic has seen foreign direct investment slow down, so it's important to find new ways to tell the region's story, said co-host Brianna Morris in the blog post launching the show.

The podcast is focused on the Edmonton region, and it started close to home with an interview with Edmonton Global CEO Malcolm Bruce. But it has also talked to a Boston-based corporate site selector about incentives to attract new investment. The show is meant to be of interest to anyone interested in economic development as engaged citizens or decision-makers.

"We really want this podcast to talk about how we can work to build a strong and sustainable economy for any community," co-host Sherri Bouslama said in the trailer. "International Investment matters, economic development matters. and so this is a place to talk about those things."

Economic Development Matters joins a suite of other podcasts launched by similar agencies, such as the Business Council of Alberta's AlbertaBETTER and Shift by Alberta Innovates. (We'll also draw your attention to Bloom, Taproot's new podcast about innovation, brought to you by Innovate Edmonton. And another way to stay on top of what's going on in the region is to subscribe to the Regional Roundup.)

You can listen to this and other podcast picks from Taproot on Listen Notes.