The Pulse: Feb. 2, 2023

The City of Edmonton has introduced a series of operational measures to reduce costs in support of city council's request for $60 million in savings over the 2023-2026 budget cycle.

Effective Feb. 1, spending on new hires, travel, training, and some consultants will be restricted, the city confirmed to Taproot. All recruitment will be reviewed by deputy city managers, with only critical postings allowed to proceed, but some hiring will continue.

"This is not a hiring freeze, I want to be clear," city manager Andre Corbould said at a city council meeting on Jan. 25. "It's a restraint mechanism."

Corbould said the city would honour the collective agreements it has in place. "I recently expressed that we would do this in a meeting with the coalition of civic unions," he said. "We'll honour that commitment of collective agreements for sure."

Deputy city managers will also review all travel and external training requests, approving only essential or legally required activities. Likewise, expenditures for hosting must be pre-approved and only for essential business. The use of management consultants to provide external advice on business strategy will be limited.

While the city does not have an estimate for the financial impact of the measures, spokesperson Janice Schroeder said administration will report back to council next month on some of the initial savings. "For example ... we will likely know how many recruitments were cancelled before an offer was made, and how many vacant positions were deemed critical/not critical in the first weeks of the program."

The measures have been introduced in support of an amendment to the 2023-2026 operating budget put forward by Mayor Amarjeet Sohi that directed administration to find $15 million in savings per year, without impacting frontline essential services.

In a statement to Taproot, Sohi said he was pleased to see administration moving forward with the spending restraints. "This budget was about affordability, not austerity — making life more affordable for all Edmontonians continues to be a shared goal of both Council and City of Edmonton administration," Sohi said.

Corbould told council he's confident the desired outcome can be achieved.

"That $60 million has already been taken out of the budget," he said. "I'm confident we can accomplish that reduction, and I've called on all service areas of the organization to consider and contribute to that work."

• The Alberta government is deploying 12 sheriffs to Edmonton to work with Edmonton Police Service officers and the Healthy Streets Operations Centre in Chinatown as part of a 15-week pilot program set to begin late February, which the government said in a release will "help deter and respond to crime and social disorder." The provincial sheriffs are being reassigned from regular duties to allow police to increase patrols in inner-city neighbourhoods, including Boyle Street and McCauley, with coverage 22 hours a day, seven days a week. The program comes from the Edmonton Public Safety and Community Response Task Force, which the province created in December 2022. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he welcomes the additional resources but added it doesn't do enough to address root causes of social disorder and reiterated calls for the province to increase support for mental health, addictions and homelessness, which fall under provincial jurisdiction.
• Richard Sutton, a leading AI researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, said he is considering launching an Alberta-based venture, which could be a non-profit, start-up, or open-source research organization. Sutton was formerly employed by DeepMind, the London-based AI organization owned by Google that recently announced it was closing its Edmonton hub.
• Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney got a new job as senior advisor with Bennett Jones, the Calgary law firm that also employed Peter Lougheed after he served as premier from 1971-1985. Kenney will be a member of the firm's Public Policy Group but said his work will not include lobbying the province or provincial entities. Meanwhile, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's former chief medical officer of health, signed a six-month contract to work as British Columbia's deputy provincial health officer.
• Six Edmonton-area bands were nominated for eight awards at the Junos, scheduled for March 13 at Rogers Place. The bands include the Celtic-inspired band The McDades, the rock group Rare Americans, and Altameda, whose release Born Losers is up for Adult Alternative Album. The Bearhead Sisters and Cikwes were among the artists nominated for Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year.
• Edmonton-based skincare company ēcōMD, which launched in 2020 during the pandemic, will have some of its products included in gift bags at the 65th Grammy Awards. The bags are given to performers and presenters. "We are excited to hopefully put Edmonton on the map for awesomeness in the personal care field," said brand director Raheela Gangji.
• Connor McDavid is sitting at 92 points in 50 games played so far this season, which puts him ahead of all other NHL players. He has made 41 goals, three below his career-high number from last season. "You almost become numb to the great things that he does because he just does it every day," said Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft. "You don't appreciate the magnificence that you're seeing."
• The province increased funding for low incidence disability supports and services in schools by $3 million, which will allow schools to hire professionals and buy equipment for students who have visual or hearing impairments, or complex communications needs. Kelly Baldock, president of the Edmonton district for the Alberta Society for the Visually Impaired, welcomed the additional funding but said the province needs a long-term solution to ensure students are supported.
• Alberta received a grade of A- on the Red Tape Report Card issued by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The provincial government has reduced red tape by more than 27% since 2019, according to Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction.