The Pulse: Sept. 7, 2022

Edmonton Global is bringing more than 40 organizations together at the first forward/slash Economic Summit on Sept. 28 in an effort to promote a regional vision of economic success.

"Like we've been saying all along, it's really important that all the businesses and municipalities speak with one voice, and we're out there advocating and lobbying for our region," said Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur. "That's what makes this so important, if we want to attract businesses here and retain our businesses here."

Katchur will be one of 11 speakers at the summit hosted at the Edmonton Convention Centre, along with University of Alberta president Bill Flanagan, Amii CEO Cam Linke, and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi. The inaugural host of forward/slash is innovation strategist Shawn Kanungo.

Edmonton Global and many of the members of forward/slash's steering committee have long been pushing the idea of an economically and municipally united metro region. Stony Plain mayor and Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board chair William Choy expects the summit will be a step towards the next phase of that work.

"I'm hoping it comes with a rebranding of where we're going as the Edmonton region. Edmonton Global has now fully evolved and matured. And this is kind of a next iteration of where we see ourselves as the Edmonton metro region," Choy said.

"In today's market, we need to be more collaborative and cooperative, especially because we need to compete around the globe. We're not just within our own area and region. So the more that we're able to market together as a region, to say, 'This is who we are, here's what we have to offer,' it makes it more competitive to (attract) foreign direct investments."

Image: The Edmonton metro region includes four counties and 10 towns and cities, which forward/slash organizers want to see working together. (Supplied)

• Glenora residents who provided feedback to the city mostly expressed opposition to a proposed rezoning that would allow two homes on 138th Street and 102nd Avenue to be demolished and replaced with a six-storey apartment. The zoning application, currently being assessed by the city, names traffic, damage to historical buildings, and impact on trees as potential concerns. In March, city council rejected a motion from Coun. Andrew Knack to pursue a DC1 zoning that might have balanced greater density while preserving historic buildings.
• Parents in the Edmonton area are struggling to find space for their kids in swimming lessons due to staffing shortages. Kelly Carter from the Lifesaving Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, which certifies lifeguards and swimming instructors, said facilities are catching up after widespread lesson cancellations during the pandemic. Many instructors were teens and young adults who have moved on with their lives, and not enough training took place during the pandemic to replace them.
• University of Alberta professors Wendy Hoglund and Adam Abba-Aji spoke to the media about back-to-school mental health tips for students. Recent research indicates rising rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues among children, youth, and university students. The professors recommend positive self-talk, relaxation exercises, having a good sleep routine, reducing screen time, and understanding the difference between normal conflict and bullying. They also encourage parents to check in with their kids about what's worrying them.
• Sage Morin, also known as The Matriarch, is a 36-year-old woman who turned to a career in professional wrestling earlier this year following the death of her two-year-old son. A regular at the Monster Pro Wrestling training facility in north Edmonton, Morin has already competed professionally and has become a fan favourite. "I wanted to be a strong female. A powerful leader," said Morin, who comes from Saddle Lake Cree Nation. "The best leaders that we have in our culture are the matriarchs."
• Roberta Alook, a well-known fashion model from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, spoke to Alberta Native News about overcoming addiction and studying at the University of Alberta to become a Cree language instructor. Positive and proud representations of Indigenous people in the media can have a positive influence on youth, Alook said. "For a lot of us (Indigenous people), we don't have strong role models or the multitude of opportunities that others have."
• Sportsnet columnist Mark Spector thinks the Edmonton Oilers will be entering the 2022-2023 season as genuine Stanley Cup contenders. With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl now in their prime years and the roster finally coming together under general manager Ken Holland, the Oilers may be the team to surpass Calgary and Toronto and end Canada's "Stanley Cup curse" that has lasted since 1993. The season officially begins Oct. 11.

The accessibility of medications isn't just an issue of supply shortages, says pharmaceutical innovator Morẹ́nikẹ́ Ẹniọlá Ọláòṣebìkan — it also means finding modes of administration that better serve patients.

"I think about access to medication in nuanced ways, because you could have a drug that is just not effective for a lot of people. And to me, that's also an access problem," said Ọláòṣebìkan. "We currently make drugs in mass-produced commercial supply, and there are groups of patients that are left out of that."

Around 22% of people over 65 have difficulty swallowing pills and tablets, Ọláòṣebìkan explained, which is how the majority of oral medications are prescribed. Between the patients who struggle with complicated drug regimens and those who simply can't stand the taste of medicine, up to half of prescribed drugs aren't taken properly. This is a problem for patients as well as pharmacists, and one that Ọláòṣebìkan aims to address with her business-to-business platform KemNet, which supplies reformulations of popular drugs to pharmacies.

As a pharmacist, Ọláòṣebìkan has the ability and authorization to, for example, provide medications in liquid form for people who struggle with pills. She's working on scaling a business around that as a member of the summer 2022 cohort for Y Combinator's startup accelerator program, which will hold its Demo Day for about 1,500 investors and media on Sept. 7 and 8.

"I wish that more people knew that there were options available for them. And that they could ask their physicians for options that might be available for them," Ọláòṣebìkan said.

Not every drug can be easily reformulated, and there are legal, ethical, and pharmacokinetic considerations when preparing patient-specific alternatives to off-the-shelf prescriptions. But understanding a patient and finding prescription regimens that work for them is a key part of the pharmacist's job, said Jody Shkrobot, clinical assistant professor with the University of Alberta's faculty of pharmacy and pharmaceutical science.

"Compounding formulations is something that pharmacists have been doing since the origin of the profession, so to speak," said Shkrobot, though he added it is a bit less common in an age of mass-produced medications.

On this day in 1955, Edmonton was the centre of Alberta's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

The 50th anniversary of the province's creation served as a time to "look back at its years and count its blessings with humility and satisfaction," according to a souvenir program for the event. In addition, it highlighted the province's rapid growth over its first five decades, swelling from 116,000 to over a million between 1905 and 1955.

While there were celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary all over the province, the legislature was the site of the official ceremonies. The all-day event included the unveiling of a monument by Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, as well as speeches from Premier Ernest Manning, Mayor William Hawrelak, and other dignitaries.

It was followed by a luncheon at the Hotel Macdonald and a parade that wound through downtown and headed east towards Clarke Stadium, where more ceremonies continued.

Aside from the celebration, Alberta's 50th-anniversary shindig left a few lasting impressions. A number of commemorative stamps, coins, and medallions were produced to mark the event. And a time capsule containing artifacts and recordings of the celebrations was sealed away to be later opened in 2005 during the province's centennial.

But the most obvious legacy of Alberta's Golden Jubilee would be the auditoriums that bear its name. Construction started on the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium and its Calgary twin in 1955. In the decades since, both have seen several renovations and refits and have become anchors of their cities' respective cultural lives.

Recently, the provincial government created a new way to mark the province's founding: Alberta Day, to be celebrated every Sept. 1. While not a statutory holiday (as it falls in the same week as Labour Day), this year saw events across the province to mark the inaugural celebration, though enthusiasm for the idea appeared to be muted.

This is based on a clipping found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse — follow @VintageEdmonton for daily ephemera via Twitter.