The Pulse: Oct. 3, 2023

A Calgary-based specialty liquor store chain is now open on 124 Street after a successful appeal to bend the city's rules governing the concentration of alcohol vendors.

Vine Arts Wine and Spirits opened its first store outside Calgary (and third overall) on Sept. 9 at 10961 124 Street NW. It's the result of a longtime goal of its proprietors.

"We probably first started looking at spaces kind of casually in 2014," co-owner Jesse Willis told Taproot. "Edmonton actually has more stringent municipal bylaws about liquor store licences than Calgary or elsewhere in Alberta. So that was part of the challenge."

Willis cited a bylaw passed in 2007 that requires a minimum distance of 500 metres between liquor stores. That rule was loosened for suburban communities in 2016, but a recommendation by administration to do the same in Oliver and downtown was voted down in 2019.

"The original intention of those bylaws is to make sure that we don't have clustering of liquor stores either in an area where it might potentially have some negative social impacts, or just somewhere that it doesn't make sense," Willis said.

The new Vine Arts is in fact within 500 metres of two other liquor stores: Cheers and Beers Liquor Store and Westmount Liquor Hub. The company behind the retail space, Beljan Development, took its case to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board in July 2022 and won.

"On the basis of the evidence presented, the Board is of the opinion that the proposed development would not unduly interfere with the amenities of the neighbourhood, or materially interfere with or affect the use, enjoyment or value of neighbouring parcels of land," reads the appeal board's written decision.

Vine Arts isn't the only specialty liquor store on 124 Street to receive an exemption. Sip Liquor Market's owners went through the same appeals process prior to opening in June 2022.

• Provincial data shows that 313 people have died of drug-poisoning deaths in Edmonton in the first sixth months this year, a slight drop from 320 who died during the same period in 2022. Of the 2023 deaths, 290 were opioid-related, according to Alberta's substance use surveillance data. Across the province, 937 people died of opioid poisonings, a 16% increase over the 808 who died during the same time last year. The Health Sciences Association of Alberta is calling for more harm reduction services from the provincial government in response to the opioid crisis. The UCP government is currently pursuing a recovery-oriented care model and has indicated it intends to propose legislation that would allow family members, police, or doctors to ask the courts to enforce mandatory addiction treatment if someone is considered a threat to themselves or others.
• The Crown has stayed the proceedings in the private prosecution launched against an Edmonton Police Service officer who kicked an Indigenous teenager in the head in 2020. Pacey Dumas had filed a charge of aggravated assault against Const. Ben Todd, but the Crown declined to prosecute the case. The incident was initially investigated by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which determined there was "reasonable grounds" to believe Todd committed a criminal offence, but the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute because it did not believe there was a reasonable likelihood of conviction. The cancellation of the Oct. 13 private prosecution hearing has left Dumas looking for other options to pursue justice. He has also filed a lawsuit against Todd and the police service.
• The Love with Humanity Association has opened a 24-hour mini community food bank and library located outside the BlueSky Day Care in the Kensington neighbourhood. Association founder Syed Hassan encouraged Edmontonians to donate what they can to support families in need. "It's easy and accessible," Hassan said. The organization has previously set up nine outdoor food banks in Calgary, but this is its first in Edmonton.
• The Jewish Federation of Edmonton is the latest organization to call for the removal of two monuments in the city that commemorate Ukrainians who fought with the Nazis during the Second World War. The federation is also pushing for Holocaust education to be mandated in the core curriculum in Alberta. The calls come after Parliament recognized 98-year-old war veteran Yaroslav Hunka, who was later found to have fought with the Nazis during the war.
• Edmonton Police Service Const. Clayton Tipton had assault and intimidation charges against him withdrawn after he agreed to enter into a peace bond following a Jan. 14 incident at the TransAlta Tri Leisure Centre in Spruce Grove while the officer was off duty. Tipton admitted to grabbing a woman with whom he shares custody of a child, which caused her to fall to the ground. The peace bond requires Tipton to keep the peace, be of good behaviour, and avoid unauthorized contact with the woman for 12 months.
• Homicide detectives are investigating the suspicious death of a 39-year-old man who was discovered outside Hope Mission's Herb Jamieson Centre at 105A Avenue and 100 Street on Oct. 1. An autopsy is scheduled for Oct. 3, and anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
• The Alberta government launched its new COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) dashboard on Oct. 2. According to the data, there were 1,772 COVID-19 cases, 70 influenza cases, and 23 RSV cases between Aug. 28 and Sept. 23. There were 29 deaths during the same period, all due to COVID-19.

Boyle Street Community Services has moved to four temporary locations while it waits for its new facility, okimaw peyesew kamik (King Thunderbird Centre), to be finished next fall.

• Bissell East at 10527 96 Street NW will house Boyle Street's general services, such as bus pass and mail pickup, harm-reduction supplies, and the pet food bank;
• The Mercer Warehouse at 10363 104 Street NW will be the site for Indigenous cultural support programs;
• CO*LAB at 9641 102A Avenue NW will host a 25-person community space;
• Trailers at the new site at 10010 107A Avenue NW will provide temporary quarters for Four Directions Financial and Hiregood.

"I am really heartened by all the teams involved stepping up … to do this," remarked co-host Troy Pavlek on Episode 235 of Speaking Municipally, Taproot's civic affairs podcast.

But the puzzle remains as to why Boyle Street found it financially unviable to extend its stay at the community centre at 10116 105 Avenue NW, even though the Oilers Entertainment Group said it could continue to lease it for $1 per month.

"It makes me wonder what exactly these conditions that are private that we're never going to hear about — how arduous could they be that it is a better idea for Boyle to fracture their services all across the city?" Pavlek asked. "What was so arduous about these lease conditions that this is the best path forward?"

Concerns remain about how well the changes will be received by those who need help.

"It's the people that Boyle Street serves that are going to pay for it," said co-host Mack Male, citing worries expressed by Jim Gurnett of the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness.

Hear more on the Sept. 29 episode, which also tackles the Valley Line LRT audit, the Edmonton Police Commission's perception survey, and a campaign to address crime in Old Strathcona. You'll also hear about an illuminating field trip that changed Pavlek's mind about the Blatchford LRT station.