The Pulse: March 24, 2023

Three Western Canadian startups will get tens of thousands of dollars in investment, and at least six more will get smaller cheques, after pitching at Startup TNT's three sector-specific summits on March 23.

BioMimir, a regenerative medicine company that commercializes biomaterials to treat complex wounds, won the Life Sciences Investment Summit. The company is based in Sherbrooke, QC, but it also has a presence in Calgary.

"When I say I'm determined to do this, I mean it," said co-founder and CEO Fiona Simpson. "I want to see these products not just here in Calgary but all over the world in the next 10 years."

Two side deals were announced as well: one for Calgary's Qualisure Diagnostics, which helps oncologists personalize cancer treatment, and the other for Edmonton's Nanostics, which has developed a test for prostate cancer that it says is three times more accurate than the widely used PSA test.

Andrew MacIsaac, the CEO of Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API), told the crowd there was also investor interest in Alethea and Cohesic. "All is not said and done," he said during the live-streamed event at Platform Calgary.

The Cleantech Investment Summit, which was hosted at the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), saw the big prize go to Calgary's Innervision Wellbore Technologies, with side deals announced for Litus and MissionNet.

• The Edmonton Police Service has released details about the funeral for Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan, which is set for 1pm on March 27 at Rogers Place. Access will be limited to family, special guests, EPS members and others from the law enforcement, emergency services, and military communities. Members of the public can pay respects along the procession route, which will begin at the Alberta legislature around 11:45am, and watch a livestream of the proceedings from Ice District Plaza. The funeral will also be streamed live on the EPS YouTube channel. Road closures around Rogers Place will be in effect and parking will be limited.
• The Edmonton Police Service shared the results of a ballistics analysis on the gun used in the March 16 shooting that killed two police officers. According to EPS, a bullet casing recovered from a nearby Pizza Hut following a shooting there on March 12 forensically matched the gun used in the killings of the officers. Investigators believe the same 16-year-old suspect is responsible for both shootings, but this fact has not been confirmed. Detectives are still looking into the weapon's origin and how the teenager acquired it. The Pizza Hut employee shot on March 12 and the boy's mother shot on March 16 remain in hospital, both in stable condition. Police also confirmed that the suspect had previously been apprehended under the Mental Health Act following a call to the same apartment in November 2022. Supt. Shane Perka said EPS then transported the boy to hospital for assessment. Police have said the suspect had no prior criminal record.
• EPCOR is reminding Edmontonians that spring runoff into the North Saskatchewan River may give tap water a "musty or earthy" smell, but is still safe to drink. The utility company monitors the smell by having lab technicians called "water sommeliers" do tests and by recruiting about 300 Edmontonians a year to provide feedback on their tap water. EPCOR suggests you can reduce the smell by running your cold tap for three minutes if it hasn't been used for six hours or more, using a water filter, or putting lemon slices in your water to neutralize the odour.
• The 2023 provincial budget contributes $3 million over three years toward planning a new standalone Stollery Children's Hospital, which Health Minister Jason Copping said is "placeholder" funding until a projected cost is known. The Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation said it would match the province's planning investment for a total of $6 million. The province also gave the hospital $1 million for planning in 2021, which was followed by a needs assessment in 2022 and ongoing work on a business case. Officials have released no information about where the hospital will be or when construction will begin. NDP health critic David Shepherd said the UCP has a pattern of promising hospitals and failing to deliver, adding the party is "scrambling to get an announcement out the door ahead of an election." The current Stollery is inside the University of Alberta Hospital and opened 22 years ago.
• The largest earthquake ever recorded in Alberta, a 5.6-magnitude event that took place in the Peace River region on Nov. 30, 2022 and was felt by many Edmontonians, was likely induced by oil and gas activity, according to a new study by scientists at the University of Alberta and Stanford University. The region is a site of ongoing in situ bitumen recovery, which injects heat and fluids underground to extract oil too deep to mine. The study's results conflicts with the Alberta Geological Survey's original findings that suggested the earthquake was caused by natural tectonic activity. "The assessment of this earthquake as induced will likely have implications for future energy development, management, and regulation," the scientists wrote, "including carbon capture and blue hydrogen." The same day the study was released, the Alberta Energy Regulator issued an environmental protection order against Obsidian Energy Ltd. in an effort to prevent future seismic events.
• The city is accepting applications to join the City of Edmonton Youth Council until April 23. The council offers advice and perspectives to council on issues that involve or affect youth. Applicants must be 13-23 years old.
• Dozens of Edmontonians lined up in Kingsway Mall to be the first to shop at the new Zellers, which opened inside the Hudson's Bay store on March 23. The 9,000-square foot location sells lifestyle products, home items, and clothes. A spokesperson for the mall said Zellers offers accessible prices and a "nice little nod to nostalgia" and has the potential to expand if it is well-received.

Correction: This file has been updated to reflect the correct name of the entity that first investigated the source of an earthquake in northern Alberta, and to fix an incorrect link.

This weekend offers a showcase of beers from around the world, a retrospective on a provocateur, a collaborative art exhibit, a look at hockey history through stamps, a seedy spring event, and an experimental opera.

• March 24-25: Edmonton BeerFest at the Edmonton Convention Centre
• March 24-25: Can Art (Re-)Act? at Metro Cinema
• March 25-26: Train of Thought: Art Exhibition at The Creative Hive
• March 25-26: 2023 Spring National Stamp Show: Edmonton's Hockey History Then & Now, presented by the Edmonton Stamp Club
• March 26, 11am: Edmonton Seedy Sunday at Alberta Avenue Hall
• March 26, 2:30pm: Opera Le Désert Mauve from New Music Edmonton

Find even more things to do in the Arts Roundup.

Photo: The Edmonton Public Library's Seed Library is among the organizations participating in Seedy Sunday. (Edmonton Public Library)